January pollock and coalfish on topwater. Mission accomplished!

Got another chance yesterday to get out for a couple hours as the winds subsided... I was very curious to see if there'd be any fish keen to come up for the topwater as they did a couple weeks ago. My reasoning was, the weather hasn't changed so their behaviour shouldn't either...
The only negative on the day was the state of the tide, as it hit low tide already when I got there but nevertheless, I was glad to be out of the house and fishing.
I clipped on the Autowalker 115s and started fan casting the first spot. I failed to raise any fish and after 30mins I switched to a soft plastic and got a few smaller pollock and some nice coalies. The bigger pollock didn't seem to be active yet...
As the tide started coming in and the current picked up, I anchored-up and moved to a different spot.
Again I started with the Autowalker but after 15mins I had no swipes. I was about to give up and accept defeat when I saw splashes behind my lure and a fish hooked up momentarily before getting off!
Game on...
They were more like slaps on the lure by multiple fish, so I assumed they were coalfish. I hooked up on the next cast and after a spirited fight, I pulled a nice coalie in the boat.
I was chuffed with my fish but I really wanted to get a pollock... Coalfish come up on the surface while hunting throughout the year (seen them blitz sprats in February), so I wasn't too surprised to get them.

Lovely coalie!

A few casts later and a fish partly breached and took my lure... Now, this was what I was after!
Took a bit of drag but I soon had him under control, my first ever January pollock on a topwater. The day was made for me...

Job done!

Quickly released the fish after a couple pics and put the Autowalker back in the case. It did its job well.
I put on a shad and had a couple nice pollock before heading back home.
What a fantastic wee session!
Here's the video of the fish.

Can't really ask for much more this winter. Gonna try for a session on the rocks if the weather behaves but other than that it'll be more chilling-out at home for me this month.

Tight Lines

And just like that, its 2020!

Well, 2019 is behind us now and what a year it was! Quite possibly my most successful year fishing wise. Variety, numbers and sizes were pretty good and I'm hoping 2020 will be similar.
Even though it has been such a great year, the weather, especially towards the end of it, was anything but. The constant wind and rain have kept me indoors but nevertheless, I did manage a couple quick sessions before the year was out.
Conditions were far from ideal but what surprised me was the willingness of the fish to hit topwaters! I've had big shoals of chunky coalies but also pollock hunt high in the water column and just freely come up for a swipe on the surface. Something that has made me very happy although again, I just didn't have even remotely good conditions for an outing. What is more surprising is that they're willing to hunt so actively in plummeting water temperatures (8.6-9C now). I do hope to get out soon and catch a topwater pollock in January as I've never managed that!
Below some pics and videos of the last sessions of 2019.

Wee boat doing alright.

They're in great condition just now!

Coalies too!

Tons of them OTT

A wee surface hitter

Some of the coalfish were quality..

They love the Autowalker!

And the Videos

I have been very pleased with my new wee SIB (Honwave T32) that I've paired with my old 2stroke and for quick outings closeby, it's all that's needed and much easier to assemble/handle than the bigger one. Although the bigger boat is much more fun and I do prefer the solid floor when fishing.
Anyway onwards and upwards for 2020 with many more fish to come!

Tight Lines and Happy New Year!

Shite weather but hungry fish!

Yesterday was the first day I managed to get out and do some fishing in December! We've had some horrific weather the past couple weeks with constant storms and winds of up to 80mph! Even the roof of my shed was blown away and I had to rebuild it!
Nevertheless yesterday I had return client Rob, come up for a session! It was touch and go weather-wise but seeing the conditions in the morning, we decided to go ahead and launch.
Even though we had a great couple sessions last time Rob was up he didn't have enough and this time he wanted to get some big ones on the fly from the sib and if possibly OTT on surface lures too.
Considering the conditions on the day, I thought that it could be tricky doing either of these!
Air temperature was 4C with intermittent rain and N-NE wins. There was some swell as well but it wasn't too bad.
We reached our spot after a short run. We would be fishing the start of a kelpy bay with depths of 8-15m.
We started fishing with softplastics but it was all fairly quiet at first. It was an hour or so after HW and there was little current. I played around with lures, switching to metals and other sps and after about 30mins, the bites started coming... They were good fish in excellent condition.
The bite started to develop, and we had fish taking our lures quite high in the water column. It was time for topwaters! I put on an Autowalker 115s and after only a couple casts, I had a blowup and then I hooked up to a nice fish! Took a while to land it but as soon as I did, I gave the rod to Rob so that he had a go. It wasn't long till he had a couple fish jump on it and then a hook up on a consecutive cast! It was another good fish and Rob was chuffed to get one on topwater as it was something we came close to doing last time but didn't manage to.

We're in!

Nice stamp of fish.

Autowalker 115s does it again!

Finally, he got his too!

Happy with getting the topwater fish, Rob now wanted to get the Fly gear out. It really wasn't good conditions for the fly, as the wind was a pain! But Rob is an experienced fly-angler and managed to cast well despite the wind. Moreover, he would let the current take the fly further out and then start his retrieve. It didn't take long for the bites to come and after a couple fish that shed the hook, he was able to get one in!
The next fish took far longer to come in and the fight was like a tug of war with the fly rod bent to the base! Soon enough Rob got the upper hand and got it close to the surface, this was a far better fish and I barely managed to fit it in the net!
We were elated of getting such a fish landed and about the general results of a day that was looking to be hard for us. I didn't have my scales with me but this may well have been a double and Rob definitely deserved it! It really wasn't easy having to persevere on the fly in conditions like that. Perseverance does pay off as they say!

Bendage!

Big mama on the fly!

I really do think most fly anglers are missing out!

Rob managed another nice fish on the fly but then as the tide intensified, so did the wind and the bite slowed down. It was time to head home and we were glad to get out of the wind! On our way back we were lucky to encounter a pod of dolphins that came extremely close to the boat. It was amazing to see them from such close proximity!

It was great fishing with Rob again and he's already thinking of coming back in the Summer next year as he wants to see Skye with some sun and not the usual rain and wind he's encountered so far!😆 I do hope we get some settled weather soon though as the fish are still so active and takeable on many methods.

Tight Lines!

Some exciting fishing on two sibs!

The weather has settled a bit the past couple of weeks and this has allowed me to get out a good few times. I had a fun session fishing around Neist Point from the sib, something I've wanted to do since I got it! It was a fantastic sunny day and I got good numbers of pollock along with a nice wrasse and some coalies. I had found shoals of tiny mackerel and after catching some on feathers, I decided to use them as bait near the bottom.
My target was spurdog but unsurprisingly it was almost impossible to get through the pollock! A large shoal was holding over a rocky reef at around 50m deep and would pick up anything dropping before it hit the bottom!

Good stamp of pollock.

Lovely wrasse!

Unfortunately, it was time to head home and I didn't manage to catch a spurdog...
The next day I went out on a new boat I got for solo outings. It's a Honwave T32 air v floor inflatable and I paired it with my old Evinrude 2 stroke outboard. I've been wanting a lighter and
faster-to-assemble combo for when I want to hit multiple spots and from 'rougher' launching areas.
In the day, the combo behaved pretty well and I got 14-15kts although I did have some issues with the boat that im trying to resolve...
The fishing wasn't bad either, with a few good pollock among a 'flood' of chunky coalies. I also got among some codling from a deeper spot. Not a bad couple of hours.

Hungry chunks!

From slightly deeper water.

 Then yesterday, we were in a small tide week and in combination with the settled conditions I was hoping the fish would be up for it. I targeted the area around Neist again and was going to do some bottom fishing for those spurdogs again, but on the way there, the pollock had other ideas...
I found shoaled pollock and coalies high up in the water column and they would often break the surface as they were feeding!
Time for topwaters! I took out a Mechanic lures Autowalker 115s and after a few casts, I had a couple blow-ups and fish jumping on it. It didn't take long before I connected to one and the fun started!
Got some nice fish and the hook-up ratio was far better than usual. It appeared that the fish were hitting to feed. Top fish was one of about 2.5kg that managed to hook me while thrashing!
After that fish, I decided that it was already a successful day and headed home. I'll get those spurdogs at some point for sure...

Autowalker does it again!

Lovely dark kelp fish.

Thats my blood...

Its been a fantastic couple weeks and I hope that the nice weather continues. I'm looking forward to my time off from work coming soon and intend to get out as much as I can.  Definitely gonna try and bait fish for some different species although it will be hard to get away from surface feeding fish!


Tight Lines

Topwater time and Island hopping!

Had some fantastic sessions lately and the settled weather along with the aggressive fish, made for some very exciting fishing!
Firstly, I had a good day out on the SIB with my friend Milos. It was his first time fishing in Scotland and I made sure he caught his first Scottish fish! Whats more, he caught it on a topwater lure that's made by a friend, within the first few casts! We had loads more pollock throughout the morning, mostly on sps and metals. Also, we picked up some mackerel and a wee wrasse on a Breaden metalmaru with the LRF gear.

First Scottish fish...

...And on a topwater!

Metalmaru for this aggressive wee fella. 

LRF pig!

Mechanic Lures Autowalker 115s...

Then on Sunday, I had the pleasure to fish again with the mad Geordie crew! The lads were up for the third time in a row and this time they brought two Skye virgins...
I've fished with the lads in most good marks of the Island and this time I wanted to offer them something different... I've been thinking for a while to try and get my friends on the islands I tend to visit with the sib, but instead of fishing from the boat, just beach and fish from the rocks.
This we did and soon enough we started catching. The fish preferred metals early in the morning and Keith managed a few OTT with a patchinko and my friend Soulis Autowalker 115s.
Unfortunately, the head of my prized Solpara landing net fell off (worn threads) while trying to net the first fish and for the remainder of the day we fished without it, resulting in some losses. Nevertheless, everyone caught some very good kelp pollock with their dark colours and the action got intense soon after HW. 
Later on in the day, the soft plastics started giving most fish, with the Fiiish Crazy Sandeel proving irresistible to the big ones! Mick realised this last year and now he was armed with a whole box full of them! He got some very good fish but also got reefed by a few donkeys!

There we go.

Mick with the first.

Bob with a chunk.

Topwater aficionado!

A nice one!

Double hook up!

Dave with a good one!

And another kelpie...

Keith bringing one up accompanied by its mate!

Lovely fish for Mick.

Another OTT for Keith.

A brute.

 It was an awesome day and we returned to the harbour knackered! The island doesn't have sheep on it and the vegetation grows wild, making hiking quite tiresome. We did get rewarded with excellent fishing though along with seeing a big sea-eagle, so no complaints there.
I have already ordered a replacement net and can't wait to get out there again!

Tight Lines!