Freshwater exploration...

The past couple of weeks, I have set my eyes towards the freshwaterw lochs near Skye, and wanting to find out their potential, especially if they contain a few predatory species...
Thus I gave a good look at the map, got all the info I could and identified the lochs and the areas I would target.
First target were the trout and to be honest it's not that hard to find trout up here as they're everywhere! The loch I fished though offered me a few little sea trout in addition to the usual brownies!
Simple spinning tactics with small spoons were the most effective. On the first session, practically all the bites came on the drop/pause of the spoon and the fights have been pretty 'tame' (water temps?). Overall the fish hit hard although the seatrout noticeably harder! I'm using the solid-tipped MC KGS832ST and in combination with barbless trebles on double split rings, I've yet to lose a fish from jumping or shedding the hook as they usually do...

Brown...

...or silver. Its impossible not to love them!

They hit much harder than the browns!

Them spots...

I've been using cheap spoons that I've changed the trebles to either Owner or Gamakatsu sizes #8-#10  and crushing the barbs. I also add a second split ring if they don't have it already.
Many of these spoons are usually made with small pond/'area' stocked trout in mind, and though they have nice action, they're usually too light to cast far on the ML gear. Hence I tend to 'sandwich' two of them. They might need a slightly faster retrieve to get the same action but the trout here didnt mind!

2 in 1...

works well...

I also located a few lochs that hold pike and perch and after a long time I got a skinny jack in a surprising location...

Hello old friend...

 I will persevere with the freshwter theme for the time being as I have really missed it ! Especially those perch...They are my next target...!
Here are a couple videos from the trout.

Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod:Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f
Mainline: YGK P.E Line Frontier WX8 Shore Casting Line 150m P.E 0.8
Leader: Toray Excellent fluorocarbon 6.8lbs, YGK Nitlon DFC 10lbs
Lures: various spoons

Good weather finally!

Well it seems like we finally got a respite from the crappy weather this season and finally got some sunshine... Ive done a few forays and decided to use the finesse gear to make things more interesting. I have finally sourced a tip part for my beloved KGS 832ST and after using it a few times now, I realise why I like it so much! Managed a nice wrasse the other day on a short lunch-break session and also yesterday on a dedicated finesse session over deep rocky reef. Needless to say that the pollock and the cuckoo wrasse obliged... Some pics and videos below.

A beaut!

And another beaut!

Of course the heavy gear saw some use as well, especially over the kelp forests as I dont know for how much longer the fish will stage on them before the weather turns colder...
For a while I have been interested in some Ocean Ruler Artemis Crazyg wave Deep (what a name!) offset hook jigheads that I though might help me in providing a slug/sandeel presentation that has a slight wobble, is weedless and rises fast over the kelp on the retrieve. I used to achieve a similar presentation with the saltybaits/senko combo but there are times that I thought something subtler may be more productive. Thus I got some of the said jigheads in 20g and 30g and I have to say they worked pretty well. The only issues would be the sometimes missed takes (a softbait-designed rod shoud've been more appropriate) and the susequent dislodging of the lure down the hook (some superglue will see to that).

A very effective presentation in the kelp...

They like it!

Hope this weather lasts for a bit as Im planning to hit Rubh na dunain again soon for a chance of a big girl..

Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod: MajorCraft Solpara SPS-1002LSJ, 3.05m. max 50g, MC KGEvolution KGS832ST

Reel: Shimano SW Biomaster 4000XG, Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f
Mainline: YGK G-Soul Super Jigman PE1.2, Duel Hardcore x4 PE0.8
Leader: Duel Hardcore Powerleader fluorocarbon 20lbs and 12lbs.
Lures: Various

New reel christened..

For some time now I have been wanting to get a proper sized reel for my medium rockfishing tactics and rod. So far I couldn't justify buying a new one as the little Mitchell has done very well for years.. Lately though it started to show signs of strain and since I'm going on holidays soon, I didn't want to risk being left without a reel. Thus I bought myself a Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f that really makes a nice combo with my Major Craft KG Evolution.
Wanting to try it as soon as possible, I decided on an early session for bass the next day.  The braid I filled it with, was the Spiderwire fluorobraid at 10lbs test,
I headed to my spot at around 06:00 and started out with a Sakura Magikeel shad tail on a 10g Delalande articulated leadhead. After getting some strikes without hookups I was getting a bit frustrated but persisted as the tide and time were still good.
 At some point I casted over very shallow water and speeding the lure up in order not to get snagged I saw a bass accelerating behind the lure and smash it in front of my feet!
 After a short fight I got the fish out and was really pleased managing to christen my new toy in the best way..

Later I got a smaller one on a Lunker City Swimming Ribster and a nice wrasse.

In the evening I went down to the harbour and after a few casts I got some nice squid and the usual night suspects.

Overall the reel seems very good  with a really even line lay, smooth drag and no wind knots on strong casts. Of course only time will tell if it was a good purchase but first impressions are good..
The fishing is really improving lately with most species being very active and obliging, The larger wrasse have become harder to catch as they seem to be definitely affected by the high temperatures and prefer to feed early in the day now, but I hope to get a good one before leaving the island. Moreover I have heard reports of black bream catches and I would really like to have a go at them with lures in the following weeks.

Tight lines!


Gear Used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f
Mainline: Spiderwire Ultracast Fluorobraid 10lbs, YGK nitlon DFC fluoro leader 10lb
Lures: 4" Lunker City Swimming Ribster, 12cm Sakura Majikeel Shad Tail (soft)

Fresh marks and more wrasse.

Even though I have been on the island for a good few months now, what amazes me is that there are still marks that I haven't tried out and have a lot of potential as well. Thus on my day off yesterday I visited a mark on the west point of the Island. There is a narrow channel formed as a small island lies a stones throw from Sark. The waters are quite deep and the currents are more similar to a river than the sea. As expected reaching the mark takes a bit of walking and rock-climbing but its definitely worth it as it turns out.
On reaching the mark I opted to fish right at the corner of the rock wall overlooking the channel. I started with a texas rigged Reins Rockvibe shad on a N2 Maruto Worm19 hooks and a 7g bullet weight. It was hard holding bottom in the current but instead of adding weight to the rig, I preferred to let it drift and cover more area. There was a crevice where the water seemed to circulate and I expected most fish to hide there waiting for food to come to them. As my lure drifted in the crevice I got a bite and a wrasse. I managed a few more there but decided to move as the fish were mainly small.

The narrow channel.

I moved to a nearby gully that seemed very promising and got plenty of wrasse in quick succession.

After the gully 'dried up' I moved to a more open spot with vertical rock walls and caves. I changed to a carolina rig and tried many lures with the most effective being the Rockvibe shad, Bubbling shad and the Curly Curly. The fish got better here averaging a couple pounds.

Late in the afternoon I decided to go to the southern marks of the island as the wind was coming from the north and I would get easier fishing. As I managed to drop my fluorocarbon leader spool, I had to fish with the LRF fluoro mainline. This was kind of risky as I haven't got my new net yet (broke the previous one!) but with a bit of finesse there were no major problems.
The wrasse tend to move very close to the shore-rocks at this time with most fish coming from short casts. I started getting a steady stream of wrasse on the sp's and was really impressed with the Maruto worm19 hooks as they hooked the fish perfectly every time. They are of the extra wide gap style and I think that it suits wrasse better.
I then changed to hard baits for a bit of variety and put on a Daiwa DC shad, this lure dives deep and being a suspender (slow floater actually) gives enough time for the wrasse to attack it. I was casting the lure parallel to the rocks and with the rod tip down I was retrieving fast to get  the lure at the base of the rocks. As soon as the lure hit structure I would let it float a bit and then give it a sharp twitch. I could see it coming closer and letting it static I saw some movement behind it. It was a large wrasse that after observing the lure for a millisecond, pounced on it! It run straight for the deep peeling drag and the all went solid. The fish snagged me up and even though I gave it time it wouldn't move, so in the end I had to pull for the snap. I felt terrible leaving the fish with the lure in its mouth but hopefully it will manage to get rid of it as the barbs were crushed.

After the lost fish I called it a day and went home knackered of a full days fishing. I think I get more tired fishing on my days off than at work!

Thanks for reading and tight lines!



Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire invisibraid 0.10mm, Trilene fluorocarbon leader 10lbs and YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon 3lbs
Rig: mainly Carolina and Texas with a 7g bullet weight and Matzuo or Maruto worm19 offset hooks sizes 1-3/0
Lure: various


 

A lot of effort for a few fish..

Lately the weather has been unstable and in combination with swells hitting the west coast of the island, means that my best wrasse marks were unfishable.. I noticed though that even on unaffected areas by the swells and northerly winds, fish just didn't want to play ball.
So after a couple marathon sessions and changing many marks, I managed to catch mainly small wrasse with only a few exceptions. I also wanted to try some new soft baits and was hoping to catch a big fish to test my new rod but unfortunately things don't always go as planned..
At least I was able to enjoy catching the smaller fish that did provide me the feedback on the lures and presentations I was using (slower days are better for trying lures in my opinion).
Most of the fish were caught on carolina or texas rigged 4'' Lunker City Ribsters, 6'' Big Bite Curl Tail Worms and the biggest wrasse was caught on an 4.5'' Owner Shivertail Worm. I also managed to catch a nice pollock as the conditions are better suited to them right now.

The biggest wrasse.

I'm still getting used to the extra fast action of my Major Craft KG Evolution and really loving the
feedback I'm getting on the retrieve, as even tiny bumps or changes in weight (weed etc) are felt easily. Only need some serious fish to test its power now! More over I have heard reports of some schoolie bass attacking poppers lately and hopefully they will be here in numbers soon.

Thanks for reading!


Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Spiderwire invisibraid 0.10mm, Trilene fluorocarbon 10lbs
Rig: mainly Carolina and Texas with a 7g bullet weight and Matzuo offset hooks sizes 1-3/0
Lure: 4.5'' Lunker City Ribster, 6'' Big Bite Curl Tail worm, 4.5'' Owner Shivertail.