A good day's guiding on Skye.

Last week saw me do some guiding with a fishing aficionado! George has a very extensive freshwater match fishing background but only recently got into saltwater lure fishing and wanted to get some tips and also sample the great fishing Skye has to offer... Thus we started our day at first light and the venue of choice was the imposing Neist Point, a mark that I believe everyone who comes for the first time on Skye must visit.
Conditions-wise it was looking like a textbook pollock day... Overcast, a bit windy but with mild temperatures. George told me that he would be happy with some good pollock and also a cuckoo wrasse, both species readily available on Neist.
We had spring tides this weekend which made the currents very strong around the point, thus we targeted the pollock first and when the current became too strong, moved to a more sheltered spot. After catching some fish (but also getting cut off by some very good pollock) the tide was reaching the ebb and the current slowed down. We then moved again towards the deeper water but the cuckoos proved elusive.
More pollock were caught that gave George a good workout and after a while and by persisting with bottom fishing tactics (heavy texas rig) a couple ballan wrasse were caught. The second one was a solid and beautiful fish..
Seeing as the cuckoos weren't in a mood to bite and with the session nearing its end, we decided to have a go with the topwater lures for pollock in a nearby suitable mark.
After demonstrating the 'walking the dog' to George, he made a few casts with the Ima Skimmer and raised a couple fish that didn't take. I then changed the lure to the Tacklehouse Vulture and George proceeded into catching his first pollock OTT!
We kept at it for a while longer and after a couple more boils and splashes he connected to a second fish. This was the end of a very productive day and I believe that my friend thoroughly enjoyed the fishing. For me it was a very pleasant day, George was good company and even though I wasn't fishing, I felt rewarded by seeing someone else catch fish and experience the intense action that the Isle of Skye can offer! Admittedly we didnt manage to find the cuckoos but the combination of spring tides/strong currents and windy weather definitely isnt ideal for these fish.
Next time as they say...

One of the many fish caught..

It was a bit windy at times...

A decent pollock.

Best fish of the day. A hard fighter!

George with a beautiful ballan.

OTT!

 
 Next week Im expecting my friends Scott and Lee for a long-awaited joint session! Seems that the weather will be reasonable so I'm hoping we'll experience some more good fishing...

Tight Lines!