#ANGLING - Known as the 'wolves of the sea', blue sharks haven't yet been showing in numbers off Cork Harbour, but a number of them surprised a group of anglers recently.
Donie Geary of the angling boat John Boy tells Cork Harbour Angling Hub that he was taking out a group of UK anglers in an area north of the Ling Rocks in a calm Saturday morning.
The boat put out a shark trace using mackerel, bran and fish oil as bait, but as Geary says, he wasn't optimistic about their chances, especially with the low numbers of mackerel.
Meanwhile, the group enjoyed a morning and afternoon of bountiful bottom fishing, forgetting about the shark rods, when "one of the ratchets screamed off".
That one was a false start, Geary explains, but the next one was hooked - and after "about 30 minutes of gentle coaxing on 30lb braid" they landed an impressive 60lb blue.
A few more scraps with the marine predators later and an even bigger 80lb specimen was landed and photographed before release.
Here's hoping this 'shark attack' is a good omen for more blues in Cork coastal waters this year.
Cork Harbour Angling Hub has more on the story HERE.
