Dont forget LRF...

Yesterday the weather was fine with only a moderate SW breeze and I decided on a bit of a drive-around in order to suss out new marks. What was mostly in my mind was wrasse! I need to find a suitable mark for them as pollock all day (even big ones) can get a bit monotonous... Moreover I had heard reports of mackerel in the Southwest beaches and as I've never been there decided to give them a try.
I started off at Talisker bay and although conditions looked good (for bass maybe) there was a lot of weed close in and after getting a few baby coalies, I decided to move and drove to the rocks between Portnalong and Fiscavaig (name sounds fishy so I took it as a good sign!). The rock ledges there are quite flat and make for comfortable fishing, while the kelp is not so extensive as in the Northern marks, thus I took only the LRF gear with me.
I played around with the baby pollock on topwaters and then switched to a 3g tungsten cheburashka with a #8 hook and a 2" Gulp Fish Fry. I fished straight down the ledges and soon felt some sharp bites. I struck and soon had a small ballan wrasse come up.
There were quite a few of them and I really enjoyed catching them. Hopefully I will encounter their mothers soon...
I made a few casts further out and these resulted, well, in what else than pollock... Catching a 1lber on this gear though reminded me why you need to respect this fish!

Talisker bay.

Eyes bigger than its belly...

a beauty...

Respect to this fighter...

More of a wrassy look...

After a while the bites slowed down and I decided to move yet again. This time I drove to Glenbrittle and had a few casts on the beach there. I was hoping for some mackerel or even flatfish but after seeing some fish come clean out of the water, I put on a metal and burned it fast near the water surface. After a couple missed takes I had a fish stick and it went absolutely mental! You gotta love trout.. a quick release and got a second one soon after that didn't even make a single jump...! Mental fish indeed...

Mental trout!

not so mental...

The sun was setting by now and I called it a day. It may not have been the most productive of sessions but variety is the spice of life as they say..

Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Majorcraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI
Reel: Shimano Biomaster 1000fb
Mainline: Gosen mebarin braid 0.3PE
leader: Toray premium fluorocarbon, 6lbs.
lure: 2" berkley gulp Fish Fry on a 3g Tungsten cheburashka with #8 hook.

More trout!

Went to the tout pond again and this time I tried something different. It was a sunny and calm day and I could see the fish moving near the surface at the central part of the ponds. In order to reach them but also to present them with a slow sinking presentation, I decided to use a 5g bombarda in caro rigging. I added a 40cm hooklength with a light (1g) jighead in the end and tried a variety of softbaits. After some casts I decided to switch the jighead to a #8 hook as I wanted an even slower/natural presentation. I put on a 2" Berkley Gulp Fish Fry and after a couple casts I got a take and fish on! It was a nice plump rainbow and after an ok fight I managed to land her.

A fat beauty..

I persisted with this presentation and got some more hits and bumps but without  hookups. The sun was high now and there was no wind so I opted for a complete change in tactics...
I switched spool to the one with 3lbs fluoro straight through and a 2.2g Megabass Izabella at the business end. I saw a fish rising and splashing near some trees and headed there. I got a hit but not hookup on the first cast and after a few more casts I got a solid take and a screaming drag! This was a different animal! It even jumped and for a moment I thought it might be a brownie! After a couple more runs I had this one landed as well and it was clear that this fish had passed a considerable amount of time in the pond... Much leaner, darker and with scars from bird attacks, it was a real warrior.

Rugged fighter.

 Below the video of the action.

I think that this was probably one of my last trips to the trout ponds as I'm planning for some different and 'grander' things to come...

Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Majorcraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI
Reel: Shimano Biomaster 1000fb
Mainline: Gosen mebarin braid 0.3PE, Toray BAWO superhard upgrade Fluorocarbon 3.9lbs.
Leader: Toray premium fluorocarbon, 6lbs.
Lure: Megabass Izabella 2.2g, 2" Berkley Gulp Fish Fry.

The pollock are back!

For the past couple of weeks the pollock have been making their presence felt, more so than in the previous summer months. Apart from the occasional decent fish, the summer is not usually considered the best season for pollock and this was true for me and this summer. I'm not referring to the usual 1-2lbs fish that are ubiquitous pretty much everywhere but to the 3lbs+ fish.  I hadn't seen large fish in numbers since spring time but in the latest sessions I started getting some of them and I was thinking that a visit to Loch Fyne was in order to target them, as I caught a good one on my visit with my friend John there.
Thus I was there by midday and everything looked promising. Overcast sky, tide coming in and plenty of baitfish around. I headed straight away for the point at the entrance of the basin as this is where I usually catch pollock here. There was an other angler already fishing there but he was concentrating on the outside of the basin and fishing with feathers for mackerel. Although he hadn't caught anything.
I was fishing with the Solpara as Ive managed to break the tip of my Crostage (spare on its way) and I wasn't expecting something extraordinary so felt pretty well covered with it.
I was using the same 2.75" Lunker City Swimfish on a 7g Sakura fishead that's been effective lately and made a good cast towards my 'hot spot'. After letting the lure touch bottom on loose line, as the place is quite deep, I started a stop and go retrieve with some jerks of the rod tip. I felt a tap on the pause but kept retrieving and then I got a solid take. I struck and the rod tip just stuck down without recovering! I could feel it was a decent fish and it was bringing the Solpara to its limit.. I kept the drag setting as it was, since the rod could take it and let the fish do its runs. It was very powerful and kept diving with unstoppable force but slowly I was making progress on it. It snagged me for a while but after feeding it line it got out again.. Slowly but surely it was coming up and I was sure it was a good fish, but I did not expect it would be that big as what surfaced next! The guy fishing next to me couldn't believe it! It was my biggest pollock ever and pushing double figures.

PB!

Unfortunately I couldn't take pics with my phone as it had taken water but thankfully the other lad fishing offered to shoot a couple pics. I was planning to release the fish but seeing that the lad had no fish I decided to give him the fish and asked him if he could weigh it. He then send me a text and the fish weighed 9lbs7oz!
I continued fishing after the big fish and managed a few more descent pollock and a couple good codling of 1.5-2lbs. Most of the fish were caught on a 6g cheburashka with a #2 offset hook and various slim paddletails.
Today I decided to fish near Easdale as the deep waters there should provide me with some more pollock and good coalies.
I fished from the rocks first, overlooking a shallow bay where the water drops quickly to great depth. The pollock and coalfish usually lay around the kelp where the depth changes and attack what moves above. I was using metal jigs but due to the wind and the thicker braid on my heavier setup, I couldnt work them properly and only managed a nice coalie. I decided to change tactics and try something Ive been thinking for a while. I would use small kabura/inchiku type jigs that have been productive to me in the past in similar conditions but I added some gulp on the hook instead of the usual muppet. The lure I used was the 10g Duel Salty bait and I just added a Berkley Gulp minnow on the offset hook. These lures are meant to imitate crustaceans/mollusks/nothing in particular! But seem to draw fish. Most of these lures are worked on steady retrieve and/or pulls of the rod tip but not with the usual jerks of shore jigging. They have an intriguing action and in this case they proved successful as I managed two nice pollock although I lost the one when pulling it out of the water..

Coalies this size are superb fighters!

A successful presentation that I need to keep working on...

He wanted the salty bait!

I decided to move as there wasn't much else showing. I walked to the car but I decided to change gear to the lighter stuff and try the harbour entrance as the tide was coming in and it looked a good spot for coalies. I put on the microjig baited with 2" Berkley Gulp Fish fry and as predicted, the coalies were there and kept coming thick and fast on the lure! It was hectic action and I made a short video that I will upload soon.

Coalies!

After this I felt pretty satisfied with my days fishing and called it a day.
I'm looking forward to more pollock action as I better get the most out of it now, although I think it will be a while before I catch a pollock like this again!

Tight Lines!

Gear used.

Rod: Major Craft Solpara SPS-S792M (7'9", 0.5g-5g),   Majorcraft KG Evolution,KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Shimano Exage 1000fd ,Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f
Mainline: Spiderwire invisibraid 0.10mm, FinnsWindtamer braid 10lbs
leader: Dragon 7lbs Fluorocarbon, YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 8lbs.
lures: 2.75"Lunker city Swimfish, Duel Salty bait 10g with Berkley Gulp Minnow trailer, 2" Berkley Fish Fry. 

Its got them all!

I have been unable to fish properly for the past couple of weeks either due to the weather being absolutely crap or by getting distracted by other commitments. I have been visiting my loch Linnhe mark close to home though and in these short sessions I started having better results and some more surprises. The mark as I've mentioned before is a narrow deep bay with boulder-covered, steep banks and plenty of kelp close in while soft bottom further out. I have always fished it on the side closest to the road but wanted to try the opposite side as well, since there's a steep point and less angling pressure. Today I finished early from my morning shift and thought it would be a good opportunity to visit the 'other side'.
From the previous sessions here, I noticed that the fish started preferring slightly larger lures than the usual 1.5"-2" ones I've been using. The pollock especially seemed locked on the slim paddletails and I'm pretty sure that's due to the sandeels being their main target now. Thus I had very good results with slim lures such as 2.75" Lunker City Swimfish and the M Ecogear grassminnows.
I started with the same presentation today and after reaching the point I started fan casting around the point in order to locate the fish. I would mix between letting the lure drop freely and also controlled in order to get bites near the bottom or OTD. The bites came quickly and I started getting decent pollock one after the other that were giving a great scrap on the Solpara!

Excellent fun on this size!

I also got a few sharp bites that cut the lures tails and I then changed tactics as I knew that wrasse were about... I put on the trusty cheburashka with a #10 long shank hook rigged with a 2" Berkley Fish fry. After allowing the lure to touch bottom I quickly got bites and landed in quick succession a codling, a sea scorpion, a cuckoo wrasse and a ballan wrasse!

Haven't caught one in a while!

Seem to be getting only females for some reason..

I love ballan wrasse!

I missed a few more wrasse bites and I noticed that they would bite better when the lure was worked more aggressively (not faster retrieve).
I then started seeing fish breaking in the surface and targeted them instead. It was a large school of mackerel and I soon had one on the end of my line. I lost a couple and realised that the small hook didn't give me a secure enough hook hold so I changed lure to a 7g Yoshikawa little bit metal jig that would also allow me longer casts. On the first cast and as soon as the jig landed in the water I had a fish on! This one fought like a demon and for a moment I thought I hooked something very serious.. In the end I managed to land a brute of a mackerel of almost 40cm! Its the second time I catch a mackerel that big and I really wish they would get to this size more often!

The photo doesn't do it justice..

Dinner...

After catching a few more mackerel I decided to head home as I was really pleased with this short session. The mark has proven once again its worth and I will soon revisit it...
Bellow are some pics of a couple previous short sessions.

Cuckoo wrasse are lovely..

My first dragonet!

Shinny poor cod..

Gurnards are cool..

Hungry codling..

My biggest fish from this mark...

Beautiful view from the 'other side'.

All in all I think my persistence with this mark paid off and I just cant believe that it holds so many different types of fish! Hope to do some more fishing on my days off and possibly on the heavier gear for some good pollock on the deeper marks.

Thanks for reading!

Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft Solpara SPS-S792M (7'9", 0.5g-5g).
Reel: Shimano Exage 1000fc
Mainline: Spiderwire invisibraid 6lbs. Dragon fluorocarbon, 6lbs.
Rig: metal jigs, microjig, jighead
lure: Lunker City 2.75" Swimfish, Ecogear grass minnow M, Berkley Fish fry 2", 7g Yoshikawa little bit.

From gurnards to Salmon!

My days off have been quite productive. The weather has been really horrible with constant rain at times  but this made me think that the time for my salmon trip has come. Before that though I did a short LRF session in Etive on Wednesday and was planning to go for salmon on Thursday. I was hoping to get some more trout on the LRF as whenever I target the bottom species, I get a couple of them OTD. It was a slow session with only a few codling but I did get a few trout and also gurnards! Three in a row as there seemed to be a group of them. They were holding over soft bottom and were quite aggressive towards my 2" Berkley Gulp Fish Fry. What I noticed and have also read that before, is that the way they bite makes for missed strikes and a steady slow retrieve after the first tap usually sees them hooking themselves. I finished the session with coalies on the metal jigs fished in the current. I made a video as well..

Pretty trout..

Another trout meant to be here!

I love gurnard..

Deformed coalie..

On thursday I drove to river Orchy to try for salmon. I was hoping that the rains would have spurred even more fish up and I would stand better chance of catching one. I purchased my day permit but the news werent great. There were fish about but not biting (at least not on the fly) although somebody caught a couple on spinning the previous day. I decided to fish the same beat where that fish got caught and after driving there and having a chat with the owner I started fishing. I fished with my medium rock fishing gear and a 15g flying c type spinner. The river was looking very good with some deep pools, rapids and plenty of structure and cover. I reached an eddy  with a couple sunken trees in it and after seeing a trout follow, I persisted. I caught another trout and walking upstream I made a cast straight on the tree. After a few cranks I got a solid hit and I knew at once that I've done it! This followed..

The Orchy holds a lot of trout as well.

The king of the river!

A lovely 75cm fish and a lifelong dream come true! I thought that I would get more as I had the rest of the day fishing but alas I didn't find any more fish. I did caught plenty of trout and even a jack pike though.
I am now seriously hooked on salmon and thinking of attempting another trip before the end of the season but the cost is the only deterrent in my already limited budget!


Tight lines

Gear used.
Rod: Majorcraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI,   Majorcraft KG Evolution,KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Shimano Exage 1000fd ,Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f
Mainline: Spiderwire invisibraid 0.10mm, Seaguar Kanzen braid 10lbs
leader: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 8lbs.
lures: Berkley Gulp Fish fry, 7g HTO shore jig, 8g Savagear lrf psycho sprat, 15g Flying c type spinner.