Clonakilty, Deep Sea Fishing And One Hell Of A Night
I recently turned 30 and last Saturday was only the second time I had ever been fishing in my life. The last time I had been fishing was a disaster. To make a long story short, well… I fell through the front window of the boat. It cost me more than just my pride.
So keen to have a more positive experience on my second time fishing, myself and 7 of my best mates headed to the beautiful West Cork village of Courtmacsherry for some Deep Sea Fishing followed by a big night out in Clonakilty. We arrived in Courtmacsherry for 10 am and after getting set up with our rods and stocking the boat with the essentials… cans…we headed out on the open water.
Our Captain was man by the name of Jim. He told us the plan for the day, which would be to catch a few mackerel for use as bait and then we’d head out further in search of bigger catch. So we made our way along the coast to find a school of mackerel. While we all enjoyed a relaxing beer and took in the beautiful Cork coastline.
When we arrived at the first location, it was time to attach our hooks and tackle to the fishing rods. Just to make you all aware but those hooks are very sharp. So be prepared to catch your finger, elbow even arse cheek on one of them more than once as the day goes on. Once that was done it was time to drop a line and catch us some mackerel.
The current was pretty strong underneath the water. I found this out very quickly as I thought I had caught some mackerel only to realise it was one of the lads on the other side of the boat. This happened to me a lot during the day and it seemed like the only thing I was going to catch was one of the boys or myself again.
The rest of the lads were far more successful than me and quickly collected 30 or so mackerel as bait. We were all excited by the catch of mackerel. Especially as this was just for bait and we all had day dreams of catching big cod, whiting or pollock and displaying them in the classic ‘look what I caught style’.
The radar on board the boat can detect schools of fish. It also has plenty of popular fishing spots that you can try. As soon as we came across one school we dropped a line. Everyone anxiously waiting for a nibble, a bite and of course to be the first to pull a big fish up on board. Everyone wanted the biggest catch of the day and to lift this great trophy.
Yes that’s a shot glass and a stress ball covered in tin foil with old birthday candle ends shoved in…
We waited patiently for the fish to bite but no joy. One of the lads caught a cod alright. Our captain Jim said he was only a small one and to throw him back there will be bigger later. That wasn’t the case, we should have held onto him. What happened over the next 3 hours or so, was to witness our serious inability to catch fish. Jim said he never seen the likes of it. He simply put it down to a bad day and they weren’t biting.
Luckily we had lunch with us and weren’t relying on the fish we caught to feed ourselves. And sure we had plenty of beers so we were happy out. It was hard to get upset when you’re surrounded by breathtaking scenery. The only thing we were upset about was, that we didn’t catch any big fish for Maisy.
When we made it back on dry land, we took in the second half of the Ireland game. It wasn’t easy viewing but the atmosphere and the craic in one of Courtmacsherry’s local watering holes more than made up for it. It was then time to make the short drive to Clonakilty and check into the hotel. We needed a shower! Let’s be honest no one wants a group of lads walking into a packed bar on a Saturday night smelling of fish.
A quick bite to eat, to recharge the batteries and it was time to really experience the Clonakilty nightlife. After taking in a few more beers and watching the rest of Euro 2016 it was time turn the night up a notch. This is where the 10 baby Guinness’s showed up. Down the hatch they went on it was on to the next pub for some live music.
West Cork and Clonakilty in particular is renowned for it’s live music and if you don’t get in one of these great music sessions you’re missing out. De Barra’s is where we ended up and we bumped into a few stag and hen parties and few revellers from across the globe. There was unique rendition of ‘Wild Rover’. Well it was more of a serenade to a fantastic hen party group. Then it was out the back for a few more drinks and to pull some questionable moves on the dance floor.
The band was fantastic and got everyone in the bar raring to go and up for an all nighter. It was then onto one of Clonakilty’s top night clubs. In we all went to help ourselves to a few more refreshments and to party well into the early hours. Lucky for us are hotel was to the side of the club and are rooms just above the club. So stumbling back to my room later wouldn’t be that hard.
When both my mind and body couldn’t go on any more. I stumbled up the stairs and into a welcoming bed.
I woke the following morning earlier than I wanted. In my possession was one of the lads phones for safe keeping and he had an alarm set. I arrived for my hangover early. My hangover appreciated my punctuality and happily started the whole process early. I was in a bad way.
As I sat over my pot of coffee and fry up, (Make sure to try the Clonakilty black pudding, it’s the stuff the Gods eat), the hangover was worth it for one hell of a night. Everything from the Deep sea fishing as an activity, to the accommodation, the shots, the bars and the club was perfect. We couldn’t have asked for more from the night, well maybe no hangover, but we wore that with pride.
Clonakilty is a small West Cork down that has nightlife that can match any big city. The locals and the people you meet along the way will make the entire night a memorable one and you’ll be recommending Clonakilty to all your mates as a great place for a stag party weekend.
So what you waiting for, book your Clonakilty stag today!
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