A whole day with topwaters!

The other day on my day off I had a break in the weather and decided to fish mostly topwaters for pollock! I was intending to wake up at first light but the tide state was unfavourable for the mark intended and thus I got a few more hours sleep and went fishing later...!😀
Now I knew this wasn't ideal time for topwater work but the tide was right and I thought it still worthwhile..
On the first spot I had to wait a bit for the tide to ebb and I witnessed as the gullies were slowly emptying and water trickling out just at the lip of the kelpy ledge. ideal ambush conditions... I clipped on a Dam Effzet stickwalker (a sort of pencil-popper) and made the first cast near the edge of the ledge... I had a fish boil at it straight away and on the second cast a fish went airborne and slapped the lure hard with its head, catapulting it a few meters away!!
This repeated itself a good few times before I finally managed to catch a fish..
Lure rotation was very important as the fish would soon get 'tired' of the same lure passing overhead and would require a change. Nevertheless after a good number of attacks, the surface action died down (usually when fish get pricked by the hooks they wise-up) and it was time to move to a different area.

I then fished with the LRF gear for a while and this saw me catch my first Skye whiting and a couple mackerel along with the usual 'interference' of pollock...
In late afternoon I drove to my last mark for the day where its a shallow bay with access to deeper water nearby and plenty of rocks and kelp. Perfect topwater fishing ground..
From the off it was clear that the fish were spread out in a wide area and were very aggressive towards the lures as they were hitting them constantly! Again though this didn't translate to hooked fish and I speculate that the fish weren't really feeding but just going for reaction bites out of aggression. Some of the hits on the WTD's were brutal! I suspect that in similar conditions early in the morning or around dusk (or even with some cloud cover as it was broad daylight) the hook ups would have been more...
Moreover as the water was slightly choppy at times, the more stable lures seemed to 'stick' better to the fish and the ones with narrower actions. Wide swaying lures would incite a lot of interest but the fish wouldnt stick..! Food for thought..
Of course this is where a good selection of various topwaters will make the difference.
Regarding the type/speed of retrieve, short burts of 'thrashing' the lure at the surface seemed to drive them wild and also when the lure was approaching drifting bits of kelp or seaweed etc, it was taken even static!
I hooked a couple fish and had one cut the line just infront of me (and taking my lure) but just seeing those violent strikes and the pollock going airborne was really enough for me!

A wee whiting...

Towards the end of the session I moved to a sheltered rock-wall that the fish tend to hold very close to and it was there that I had some fish leaping out of the water mere meters away from me! Absolutely heart-racing stuff! And many of these fish weren't the usual couple pounders but actually pretty decent fish..
Soon after I hooked up close in to a decent one on my trusty Ima Salt Skimmer and as I tried to land it on the rocks (left the net in the car 😞) it thrashed and managed to break the leader and take my Skimmer with it!
Gutted but filled with sights of leaping pollock, I decided to call it a day..
Below the video of the day... There were many more strikes during the day but it would be tiring to include them all in this...!

Thanks for reading and Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod: APIA Foojin'R Best Bower 96 MLX
Reel: Shimano Stradic FK C3000
Mainline: Unitika Shore Game X8 PE 1.2
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 18lbs
Lures: Ima Salt Skimmer. Tacklehouse Vulture, Dam Effzet stickwalker, Duel Silver dog, Lucky Craft Gunfish, Zara saltwater Spook

Two new spots with decent fish.

Today I decided to go on a reconnaissance mission in places I've been postponing fishing for too long!
The weather finally settled a bit and it was a mix of showers, sunshine and SW winds... Not perfect by any means but good enough for me! Both spots are near well known marks and at this time of year I try and avoid the crowds as much as I can, hence it would be very positive if the new spots produced a couple good fish ..!
I would be fishing the ebb straight after high water as the second spot is easier to approach over low water. This meant a late start (not advisable at this time of year) but the first spot was very deep and hopefully the fish wouldn't be put off by the bright conditions.
After a short but energetic stroll through dense shrub, I was on my first spot, a sheltered, deep bluff wall. I started with a Salty bait/gulp combo and could feel that the bottom further out was fairly clean while it was getting reefyer with some weed (not kelp) at the base of the rock-wall. Most nibbles were coming close in but didn't develop. After a while, I changed to a 4" paddletail on a 22g cheburashka and finally after lots of little bites I got a positive take while the lure was curve-falling towards the base of the wall.
The fish fought hard and stayed deep, a few runs later I got it further up and saw it flash, but then it took me to a snag and managed to unhook itself soon after. I persevered around the same area and soon after I got a take and solid resistance. Another good fight but this time I managed to get the fish up and away from the snags...

A solid fish.

The bites slowed down after this fish and only managed another smaller one before deciding to move and drive to my second spot.
Now the second spot is very close to Neist Point but Ive never seen anyone fish it and after an easy hike and a less easy decent  I was standing on a ledge overlooking a kelpy bay.
I started with a 4" paddletail on a 18g cheburaska but only got a couple 'snapy' bites that didn't develop. In my experience this kind of bites indicate limited interest yet the fish usually come around with a change in presentation (most times a more natural one). Thus I switched to a 4" Ribster and the bite came bang on first cast! A weird fight ensued with the fish swimming towards me at times (!) but soon got it under control and on the rocks, another good fish for the day..

Another one...

I kept to the same presentation and had a few more fish straight after along with some missed takes. Fish can be fussy at this time of year hence all the misses. After dropping a fish close in at some point, I kept retrieving only to be hit again close in by another (or possibly the same) fish and after a spirited tussle I got it on the rocks. While I was truing to lip-grip it I noticed something in its mouth. At first I thought it was seaweed but on closer inspection it was a hook from a feathers/sabiki rig that the fish obviously managed to cut loose from!

Tenacious!

This isn't the first time I encounter this and it reinforces my opinion that pollock and most fish in general are good at overcoming hooks stuck in them (especially away from vital organs) and don't feel too worried when they manage to cut me off in the snags.. Got to admire their tenacity though!
Hopefully these winds will die down a bit next week as I need to get some fish OTT!

Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod: APIA Foojin'R Best Bower 96 MLX
Reel: Shimano Stradic FK C3000
Mainline: Unitika Shore Game X8 PE 1.2
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 18lbs
Lures: Mainly paddletails and straight Sp's on 18g-22g cheburashka

August starts well!

Had a wee guiding session the other day with some guys from the West Coast of US. The guy who organised the session, William, has been fishing for most of his life and loves his saltwater fishing. He wanted me to put them on the fish and experience what Skye had to offer...
Since it was their first time on Skye I decided to head to Neist Point and was glad to see the conditions near perfect! Overcast, slight wind and a small tide.
We hit one of my favourite spots and started casting metals and softplastics on cheburashka...
 I showed the guys what to do and it didn't take long for the fish to show up!
William was in first with a nice pollock followed by the young guns. It was evident that the fish were in an aggressive mood and showed a clear preference to the metals...

William was first in!

As the tide started to change the bites started to become less frequent... Time for the softbaits
to shine... Used 3"-4" paddletails on 18g-22g cheburashka and Texas rig with a 20g tungsten bullet weight. The switch in preference towards the more 'finnessy' soft plastics was noticeable.
A few more fish caught and it was time to wrap it up.
Everyone caught and the weather helped a lot! William found pollock very much to his liking and that comes from a man who fishes for yellowtails and Calico bass...
Couldn't wish for a better start to August!

One of the better fish of the day...

A happy angler!

 On the way back we encountered a lot of garbage just left there from people who had camped over and it really baffles me why would anyone spoil such an iconic and beautiful place?!
I really hope these rubbish are not left by anglers as it only takes a few dirty idiots for extreme measures to be taken and I've witnessed many marks becoming off limits to anglers because of this..
How hard is it to pick up your rubbish!

Disgusting...

Hopefully things improve soon...

Tight lines!