Skate Trip - Firth of Lorne: Day 1

This weekend was one I had been looking forward to for a while. I came away without a skate last year but witnessed a couple of belters being landed. So determined to land my own I signed up for the weekend trip. Like last year Jason (Sultzer) had organised the trip onboard the M.V. Creagallan leaving Oban at 9 a.m. As ever before a big trip a restless nights sleep resulted in me leaving about an hour earlier than needed. Nice easy drive early in the morning and though a touch of rain and snow on the way over there was little wind and the sun was out in blue skies by the time I arrived to find Jason and Brian already in the carpark, where we were shortly joined by Jamie and then Frankie and his brother and friend. Everyone was in high spirits when we saw the skipper Colin heading over to the slip where we were waiting and quickly we were all loaded and steaming for the skate ground on the Firth of Lorne at the South Eastern end of Mull.

There were seven of us aboard, four skate virgins three of whom were on their first trips and there were a few double takes at the size of the baits being prepared and the realisation that these were not normal sized flatties we were fishing for. My personal bait was bluey and a broad squid which all told weighed more than a lot of the fish I've caught :)

 The first drop was fairly quiet with only a few light nods due to the tidal run not letting the baits settle for long and also probably indicating that smaller fish were bait robbing. The wind had got up a bit and was against the tide so the swell rose a bit and that had us bobbing about a bit more than expected, though it was still pretty calm overall. After about an hour it was apparent that Jason had caught the anchor rope bringing his bait up to change. 500 feet is a fair reel in with 2lbs of lead never mind if you are getting extra resistance from being wrapped round the anchor rope. About three quarters of the way up his line went rock hard and wouldn't budge. It was obvious that his hook had now snagged the anchor rope so it was lines up all round so the anchor could be pulled up to release the hook. I had been planning on leaving my bait for longer, but glad on being made to retrieve it as it had been utterly destroyed, probably by doggies or spurries. Once the anchor was back down and the boat settled we all quickly re-baited and sent our baits back into the depths.

It was a quiet morning fish wise but the craic on the boat was great tales of past battles with skate and other fishy tales, not to mention nights out and specifically Brian's escapades in high heels last year. But  with the afternoon came slack water around 2ish and only about 10 mins after a rebait Frankies pal (sorry I spent a weekend with you and have forgotten your name) his rod was indicating a proper skate bite and the forst of the weekend. Everyone was suddenly energised and whilst he was putting on his butt pad for the rod and really nice reel scream sounded fish on. He was getting some good advice and started to really feel the fish suck onto the sea bed.

After about 15-20 mins he managed to get it off the bottom and get it moving. It was hard going but he got some good advice from the skipper and the more experienced members on the boat. About this time my own rod started to bounce and then the ratchet rattled a few turns off my reel. Him a second skate hooked up? Right this was my first tussle with a skate, butt pad and harness on, drag set and feel the weight. I could feel its power immediately getting a bit of line then having it stripped back. There was a lot of activity on the boat with all the other lines being brought up to avoid tangles and two hook ups. not sure how long I was fighting that fish (30-40mins I think) I was getting near the top when someone peering into the sea shouts snag. WTF! turns out that all the time I was fighting the other guys line had gone fairly slack and I had been reeling in his fish as my hook had snagged on his line. Nightmare, I was exhausted and gutted beyond belief. Still I had felt the power of a skate, which when landed as a good 176lbs in weight and hopefully this would stand me in good stead when (if) my time came for real. Never got a photo unfortunately as I was sitting starting into space lol.

Very quickly after the baits went back down, Jamie (Fish OCD on WSF) had another good run and was into a really hard battle with a seriously feisty fish. It came off the bottom fairly easily but once, twice, thrice and four times Jamie lost most of the line he had gained has it dived and stripped line from the reel. He was getting a lot of good natured ribbing as he had turned brighter red than anyone I have ever seen and was pouring sweat, but everyone was on his side and excited at the fight he was having. It was a longer fight than the first and at around the hour mark he landed a cracking fish, which went to 177lb on the size charts but everyone thought was a good 15-20lbs heavier as it was a really thick muscled fish.

One last drop of the day saw Jason into the third fish of the day. He was having a really tussle with it. Different to Jamies, as this fish just did not want to move and took 45 mins just to get of the bottom. Jay was knackered and as he was fighting the fish and to keep his breeks up, Brian pounced for to get his own back for the high heel ribbing he had been getting earlier and a reeking mackie quickly found a new home but looked as though he was trying to escape just as quickly.

Shortly after Jay got it off the bottom it came apparent that his fish had moved round and collected every other line on the boat so he had an extra 14lbs of lead and the drag of 6 lines to add to. No wonder he was knackered and his legs jelly. Still after a full hour and a half and a lot of jiggery pokery untangling the lines a cracker of a skate was landed measured and released. All that effort was for the good as he had broken the 200lb mark with a fish of 205lbs (+ the14lb lead he has trying to add to the tally:))

After a slow start it was a great day, three skate landed with two skate virgins having their cherries popped and a lot of tired smiley folk off back to harbour and already looking forward to the following day..........