Loch Linnhe

Headed straight up to Loch Linnie on Friday night after work to fish the tide two down and three up ove from Corran Ferry. I thought the traffic would be hellish due to the bank holiday but the roads were pretty good thankfully barely a caravan in sight. 

On arrival the wind was stronger than forecast and straight in my face, but after considering a move I decided to set up as the wind was consistent and not very gusty. Quickly set up and baits in the water wind was hampering casts but not hellishly. I was just using mackie and squid cocktails as I had thought I had bluey in the freezer but was wrong. First fish came first cast a wee thornie with nice patterning, quickly followed by a tiny doggie.


Unfortunately the second catch was the way things continued. Things went quiet after the first catches until the tide turned and then it was a doggie a cast. I only lost two traces all night, one to a crack off and one to a snag and I think I lost a reasonable thornie to the snag.

I could have fished on but was getting a bit sick of the constant doggies but it was still a good busy session even if I'd have rathered more thornies.

Solway Trip: a week with Malky

Well I'm just back from a week down staying with Malky Udderman. That is one man who likes to fish hard.  The plan was to fish a couple of marks per day and hopefully to get me a smooth hound.

Day 1

Now I am no slim jim and not the fittest person in the world so I was not looking forward to the marching to and from marks as I knew most of the paces Malky likes to fish are at the end of a bit of a yomp. Malky said a short flat walk to start the week, cut to me a sweaty mess after a 2-3 mile wander through the countryside. Still it was a nice looking mark (sorry but I don't really know where I was most of the time just following the chief) a big flat slab of rock into reasonably deep water. Smoothies and rays were what we hoped to get. But it was not to be and after a few hours and an ever increasing wind with only one bite between us (Malky landing his favoured doggie) we retreated to a nearby mark that was out of the worse of the wind. Bites came thick and fast here but as the tide was small it seemed that the fish were just playing with their food as dozens of bites only resulted in one doggie to me and a further two to Malky as well as a small  but fairly rare Solway codling. It was still a bit of a despondent trudge back to the car when we packed in.

Day 2 

Awoke to a howling gale and down pour. Neither of us had a lot of get up and go due to the previous days dissappointment. Malky suggested a local trip to dig lug and then off to Carsethorn for some flounders. Lug dug (by Malky:)) and another frustrating day with lots of obvious flounder bites but absolutely nothing hooking up left us both blankers after three hours in the rain.

 Day 3 

By day three I realised that the trips to the bait shop were as much about 'wee blondie' as they were to get bait, each to their own lol. Today's first mark was a 'wee flat walk'. Hmmm as it started gentle up hill and go slowly steeper I politely enquired if Malky knew the meaning of flat! Over a fence then through a fairly enclosed wood to the shore which was a really broken array of sharp rocks which were not so easy to cross to the fishing point. This turned into another blanker with not a bite. I think I got a bit of heat stroke which wasn't helped by trying to find a short cut back that didn't really work.

That evening we were to meet up with Callum and fish a mark that was a bit further walk, but Malky seeing the physical wreck I was decided we would change and fish another mark nearby. This really just turned into a banter session (always flying about when Malky and Callum are together) as there were few bites and all three of us retreated blankers.

Day 4

A bit of a trip out of Malky's immediate area to the Isle of Whithorn to fish the late evening high tide and ebb was the plan. A mark neither of us knew so after some clambering about we had decided on a stance of rocks to the East of the point beyond the white tower. It was obvious we would get stranded for about an hour over high but after checking the forecast and the surroundings we decided that it was a safe place to do that. Lots of bites and lots of doggies for both of us from the off as well as a feisty wee pollock for Malky. An odd current started to swing very strongly against the tide about two hours prior to high tide and was starting to get us all tangled up and dragging us into snags. We decided that we weren't going to be able fish that mark any longer and decided to move onto the point itself before we got stuck where we were. After some more scrambling around it was obvious that all the fishable stances were occupied and we had to call it a day. Probably the most frustrating day of the trip as the whole of that area looks really fishy and we would have loved to have fished well into the night as planned to see what was about. Hopefully next trip down.

Day 5

Pressure on last session of the trip. I got up early doors to have a nice long session and found Malky missing lol. He'd got up at milking time and had been away crabbing and arrived back with 50 odd fresh peelers to go with the ones he had frozen down. Good man that Malky. We were off back to the second mark we fished on the first day in Balcary Bay. Best day off the trip, not a cloud in the sky, just a light wind to cool you down and most of my casts going further than normal. We knew the tide would get up so set up a few rocks apart to avoid tangles.

Lots and lots of doggies again from the off and another wee codling, for me this time. No fish playing with bait this time they were feeding hard from the off. After about an hour I hear Malky hollering from his stance for some help as he's into a smoothie and needs help landing it. A hop skip and jump later and one smiling Malky with a smoothie of about 6lbs or so.

Well they were about and thankfully I didn't have long to wait for one of my own. It led me a merry dance and tangled Malky and my line but after a bit of jiggery pokery it was landed and I had a smile like the proverbial cheshire cat and my main target for the week landed.

We then had another three in reasonable quick succession 2 to Malky and another one to me but Malky's was a belter around the 10lb mark though the picture doesn't do it justice.

When the hounds stopped biting Malky annouced, 'Ah aff crabbin mun' thinking about his further trips over his fortnight off and disappeared to scour the shore over lowtide.

And with that all the bites stopped and my trip down came to an end. I bumped into Jonner on Friday night as he was taking my place at Malky's for a few day, hopefully successfully.

A huge thanks to Malky for putting me up (putting up with me) for a few days and all the great banter. I've already booked to go back next year lol.

Sunny Salen: slow day

I was happy to receive an invite from Sharpie to meet up with him and Nikki to dangle some hooks in Loch Sunart on Sunday. Always good company and the weather looked nice as well, what better than a trip over Corran Ferry to some of the best scenery in Scotland and a chance of all sorts of species. Well the good company and scenery were right but the fishing was not up to scratch despite best efforts.

Launching a Salen Jetty we first went up to Laga Bay with the hope of some conger eels, a couple of rods with big hooks each and a variety of, mackerel, squid, octopus and bluey down to the depths, then a couple of wee hooked rods each to see if there were any whiting, gurnard or the like. After a decent while with no bites at all when Sharpie was rebaiting one of his big rods my small one bent over and went off on a decent run. Certainly not a whiting, nice big bend and a heavy weight on the rod either a thornie or a passing lump of weed moving in the tide, my thought was weed as I could feel no movement on the line so was happy to see a thornie appear from the 400ft depth. I never weighed it but guessimated about 3-4lbs or so.

Unfortunately apart from a handfull of doggies despite moving around and trying varieties of baits rigs etc that was it fishwise for the day. I do wish I'd taken a photo of the smallest doggie I have ever seen, no bigger than my middle finger. By the look of it it must've pupped then taken my bait straight away.

Really slow days fishing a afloat but lovely day to be out and a bad days fisihiong still beats most things hands down.

Oban Skate trip 2013 - Day Two

Day Two 

Day two dawned to find Oban Bay gray and overcast, wet and very gusty. Pete and the Morecombe lads started my cooking breakfast for half of Oban :) Sausages, eggs, bacon, beans, toast, fried bread, fried onions and mushrooms in mountainous piles. I seriously do not know where Pete puts it as he had a massive prawn curry after the pub the night before as well.

The morning was actually better wind speedwise than the day before but it was from a slightly more awkward direction and was due to increase more steadily than the day before. As discretion is the better part of valor Colin the skipper decided we were Etive bound as it would be too uncomfortable/dangerous to head out to the skate marks. We were all a wee bit deflated but not too much as it was expected all round to be honest and there is no excuse to push things.

Still a day in Etive was a good second choice and we were expecting a fair days fishing. Steaming round the corner to Etive we firstly anchored up just before the connel bridge. This spot has produced some decent spurs before and it did again today. Young Callum was first in I think, followed by his Dad, Pete, then Neil (who had joined us for the Sunday trip) all with spurdogs in the 2-4lb bracket. It was nice and sheltered here but you could tell that the wind was starting to bow and that the correct decision had been made to fish Etive. Paul then had a Lesser Spotted Doggie and Terry another spurrie aboard. Jay then caught a thornie so small the wind blew it of his hook when he lifted it out the water, but it gave a fair few kicks on the way up that made us think it was another spurrie.

I hooked up a belter of a feeling fish that was giving a real fight on my light rod. I stupidly got distracted and allowed the line to slacken off and with a last knock it was off. I'm still gutted at my stupidity as I genuinely think that was a big spur. Definitely a pb (currently 6lb) and possibly a doubler.

I was still feeling like an idiot as we upper anchor and moved into the loch to another mark after a short fruitless drift. The next stop was mid loch near to the Priory. Hopes were to bag a few thornies here and maybe some other of the Etive regular or irregular species. It wasn't to be, after an hour or so of no bites at all and little crab action we moved on to another point. Dave was getting pelters and starting to get nervy as he was the only person onboard on a weekend blanker.

Next stop produced no fish either and baits were getting torn to pieces by crabs with the odd one or two coming aboard until this crab ball appeared. Six or seven crabs made it to the surface, god knows how many might have been on the bait when it was 100 ft down. I knew that Etive could be bad for crabs destroying bait but I've never seen so many crabs. After a decent start to the day it was looking a bit bleak, pretty slow few bites and fewer hook up and fish landed. All sorts of baits and hook sizes were going down but to no avail. Still a lot of banter round the boat and know one was downbeat as it was still better to be out trying to catch.

As the tide would be running there again the skipper moved us back to near the original mark with a couple of hours of the trip left. The wind was howling now and rain coming periodically so the boat was moving at anchor quite a lot so it was pretty difficult to hold bottom. So it was a nice surprise when a few spurs started to come aboard.

I had a few wee niggley bites then which I thought were whiting then got a decent bite and hook up which I thought was a small spur. But was pretty surprised to find a mackie on my line which had taken a mackie bait, cannibal :)) Quickly dispatched and cut up as fresh bait before I managed to get a wee photo. Not to mind everyone has seen one lol. One last fish was to come aboard and the best of the day as it turned out an 8lb spur for Neil. We weighted it in a sling and were surprised it was quite as heavy as it was but it was a chunky monkey.

And that was the weekend, super fun time but slow fishing, ah well next time is bound to be a bonanza, isn't it???

Etive afloat

I'd been looking forward to this trip for a while as I'd not had a trip to Etive in several months. Everyone had to bring a beer, rig and chocolate bar for the sweepys; heaviest spurdog, heaviest thornie and most species

I arrived at the car park at Taynuilt pier to find everyone else just arrived ahead of me and the Ceagallan just tying up. Floaty on, kit oot the boot and onto the boat. Colin the skipper was soon steaming to up the Loch towards the Glen Etive end. First stop was a good 3/4 of the way up the loch and into 40m. Wee knocks quite  quickly round the boat but initially no hook ups. First blood eventually fell to me with a thornback ray (about 2.5lbs)  and a whiting. A few very small and small spurdogs started being landed round the boat and I had species three fairly quickly, a small lesser spotted dogfish. Just as the skipper was considering a move after the bites died a bit Jason (sultzer) then landed a nice 8lb Spurdog so we stayed a tad longer. A few more whiting and another LSD for me before we moved.

Next stop was deeper about 100m pretty close to my depth limit as I was only using light gear and had a small okuma multi. A bit slow to start with then loads of tiny spurs started to come aboard, pretty much to everyone bar me who could not even buy a nibble. Fair few fish coming aboard but this was a slow spot for me and it was looking like no fish on mark two. Then as one last drop before a move was called I got my first bite here and landed a small spur, species four.

Next stop was the shallowest of the day with everyone else hoping to bag a thornie. To get my species tally up I persisted with the wee hooks and was quickly bringing in a procession of whiting but no sign of the gurnard I was hoping for. Whiting and a couple of spurs round the boat but no sign of any other thornies, which was a bit of a surprise. Time again for another move for the last couple of hours.

A pin whiting's pins

Back to the whiting and small spurs round the boat and one cod as well. First up I had my second spur, then whiting and a poor Cod that looked like something had eaten it's eyes out. Gross but species five for me :)

Soon it was lines up and heading home. Starting to get chilly and everyone was ready to finish up. I won the choc bars and rigs for most species and biggest thornie (only one caught) and Jason had the beers for biggest spur.

I (and I'm sure everyone else) had a great time thanks to Jay for the organisational duties, Colin for skippering and coffees and everyone on board for a good laugh, plenty of banter and smiles.

Shore trip West  next weekend weather being kind.