Only one!

 On Saturday I met up with my Greek friend Achileas, who I hadn't fished with since 2015! We kept in touch and he always wanted to come fish with me up in Skye. He mainly fishes for sea trout and mackerel thus I thought it would be good if I'd take him out on the boat and show him something different. 

Conditions prevented us from visiting any Northern marks so we launched from a Southern slip and headed out. The fish are well into spawning now and this makes them tricky to find and tempt but I had high hopes for a few but quality fish...

We reached my preferred spot and started casting slim home poured Sluggo imitation soft plastics. After a few casts I got a bite and solid resistance...

The fish didn't seem to realise what happened and it was sluggish but I could feel it's weight as I was bringing it in. A couple short runs and I got her up. A fat mama was in the net moments later and we were delighted! I was expecting quality but not a double in the first few casts! I urged Achileas to cast to where I got her while I unhooked the fish. He got no bite and we then took a couple photos before releasing her and continuing fishing. 

Fat mama!

Same fish...

It was unfortunately one of those days that they didn't want to show up and even though we could see them on the fish finder, they weren't responding to our lures. We persisted for a couple hours but my friend needed to head down to Edinburgh so we decided to call it and head in. 

I was glad Achileas witnessed the quality of fish up here but disappointed I couldn't get him connected to another one. There's always next time I suppose...

Tight lines!

A long hike for the big ones...

About this time every year, I tend to get to marks that are harder to reach as Skye is packed with tourists and I prefer to avoid the crowds. Moreover the fishing can be tremendous as well!
Thus on Thursday I took a long hike to my favourite southern mark and started fishing about midday.
The tide had just started to ebb and it was sunny though with a brisk southerly wind and a bit of a swell.
I started casting my usual sps and metals but was getting only tiny pollock that seemed to be shoaled up. Surprisingly for this mark, the coalies weren't about either along with the mackerel that have yet to show up...
Took me about half an hour till I got the first proper bite on a 6" Sluggo on a 20g darting jighead. This mark doesn't produce lots of fish, but what it offers is usually big! The first fish turned out to be the smallest of the lot at 66cm...
They were keeping to a relatively tight spot and casts a few metres either side wouldn't get hit. I clipped on a couple slow jigs too (as the wind was getting stronger) and in all, I had about 50-50 of the fish caught on the metals and softs.
Unfortunately, even though I was using my trusty LSJ setup, I had a brute of a fish take lots of drag and actually manage to open the snap (Owner P-24 Lead snap #1!). Nevertheless, a few more big ones made me feel better after that...

In good condition though a tad thin..

All solid fish here!

A nice kelpie...

 Here's a video of a couple fish only as the battery run out...

A great day in the sun and I honestly cant believe how good the weather has been so far.
Even though I do love this mark, I'm planning to get a RIB in a few months just so I can reach marks like this more easily! Growing old..lol
Had a morning's searching session today, trying to find some mackerel as I've had reports of a few of them getting caught but alas I didn't manage to find any.. Hopefully, it won't be long now for them...

 Tight Lines

Gear used.
Rod: MajorCraft Solpara SPS-1002LSJ, 3.05m. max 50g
Reel: Shimano SW Biomaster 4000XG
Mainline: Duel X wire X8 PE1.5
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 20lbs and 25lbs
Lures: 30- 40g slow jigs, various soft plastics











 

Mission Barracuda: Complete!

For a while now I have been planning a trip to Southern Greece in search of the predatory Mediterranean barracuda! This is a species I've never caught before as its not very common in Northern Greece. I was visiting relatives in Athens and it would be a good opportunity to fit a fishing day or two in between.. My friend Stelios invited me way back in Summer and now was the time.
Although, with the weather we were having here in the North I had to postpone this visit twice and I finally found a window of settled weather last week. It was only gonna be a short visit thus we had to make every minute count...
Upon my arrival in Athens we arranged when to meet and our fishing destination would be the island of Poros. With me I had only the UL travel rod and two reels (1000 and 2500) as my friend would bring an extra heavier rod for me. Tactics wise we would fish mainly softplastics during the night (slugs/soft jerkbaits on darting jigheads) and hardbaits at dawn (slim jerkbaits and minnows).
Thus, late afternoon on Friday we reached Poros and after settling in the hotel, sorted our stuff and got out fishing. There were splashes in a wide area near some strong lights as large shoals of baitfish were attacked by the cudas.. I started with the UL setup as I wanted to land one of these fish on lighter gear and after a few casts with the 4" Attira on a 7g jighead I got a solid take near the surface and immediately the drag started singing! The fish was making powerful runs and shakes and when I tried to get line in it felt like pulling a brick! Needless to say that the Mobile Stick was bent to the handle! After a few minutes I managed to bring the fish close to the wall and my friend Stelios got it in the net. We then realised that the cuda was hooked on its side (!) something that tells me it reacted more out of aggression than hunger. Nevertheless I had my first cuda in the net within minutes of starting the session and enjoyed a great fight!😀

Success!

My first Cuda!

After releasing the fish we persevered but I only got another half hearted bite near the bottom before we called it a night around 22:00. We grabbed something to eat and then got to our beds as we had to wake up at 03:00 for the morning bite...!
I was up before the alarm and we headed down the harbour straight away. We then met up with Stelio's friend Alex. A local who fishes for cudas day in day out. The news weren't encouraging... The past few sessions he only got a few fish by fishing all night long (!), while as is always the case, he was having great catches a couple weeks ago when I was bogged down by the snow...
Alex had already caught a couple fish though and I was paying attention to what he was using since this is always a good thing to do when fishing for new species and in new areas.. When in Rome...
He was using 4.5"-5" white or chartreuse/yellow Sluggos and Xlayers, working them close to the bottom with a few jerks and medium speed. I was using my friend Stelio's rod (a Lucky Craft ESGII 871HXF) but it was slow going. Bites dried up and we moved to another spot (a chokepoint) where the fish usually hit hardbaits at first light. I put on a Tide minnow slim 140 and as the sky was turning colours just before dawn I got the first strike. I hit the fish hard but didn't manage to set the hook. The same thing happened a few moments later while the others (friends Gianis and Nasos also showed up) were hooking up! It became apparent that this rod wasn't ideal for fishing hardbaits and cudas as it was too soft and couldn't set the trebles hard enough in the cudas bony mouths. My friend Stelios then offered me his rod (Apia Foojin'R ART MAGIC 88MLX) and I finally managed to land a couple cudas! This rod was quite impressive and I might look towards Apia next summer...

On a jerkbait around dawn.

A little one.

The channel..

As soon as the sun came up the bites stopped and we fished a couple spots for the chance of a bonito. Giannis was the lucky one and got the only one for the day... Then it was back to bed till lunchtime (well fed!) and out again after sundown.
On the second night again the fish were splashing and hunting about soon after dark but I felt more confident about how to get them into biting. I started with a chartreuseish 4.5" Xlayer on a 10g Owner darting jighead and started covering the spots that the fish were working over... I was retrieving and pausing the lure to touchdown in regular intervals and made sure not to strike in any nibbles but kept working the lure.. I then got a sudden and powerful take and the fish immediately took drag.. The rod was well bent (the Lucky Craft) and the fish took off again. Then all of a sudden it got off! I thought it bit through the line but soon felt the lure's weight again and took it out of the water to be met by this...

WTF?

 

 I'm not entirely sure it was a cuda and I'm even considering a big gilthead as a possible suspect, since they're known to frequent that mark and got jaws strong enough to do this.. I proceeded to lose another fish that didn't hook up properly and by this point I had no faith in this rod...Thankfully for the remaining of the fishing trip Stelios lend me his Apia...
After the second lost fish, the spot dried up and we decided to move to a nearby spot for a chance of scad and False scad. We used 3" Sluggos on 7g jigheads and soon enough Stelios got a scad while I got a false scad of about a pound. The fish weren't tightly grouped and holding near the bottom a fair cast away, but I still would've preferred to get them on the UL/LRF setup.. In any case things soon slowed down again and we were back to beds in preparation for the last session.

A nice False scad.

We woke up slightly later that day (04:30) and we headed down the harbour to find the others fishing already. They had caught a couple fish each and were hammering the most productive spot, though the fish seemed to have shut down. I moved in close to them with a plan in my mind. They were using 5"-6" bubblegum and chartreuse slugs on 15g+ jigheads but it had been a while since they had another bite. I opted for a 10g darting fishead jighead and a pink 4.5" Xlayer. I fished slower than them and with fewer darting movements on the retrieve trying to show something more 'natural' yet still enticing to these pressured fish. The first bite didn't take long to come but I didn't get a good hookset even with the Apia (damn those bony jaws!), I changed Jighead and lure immediately after, opting for a white Xlayer on a 15g Ecogear jighead. This would make me work the lure slightly faster and I hoped to aggravate another fish to bite as I knew I wouldn't get many chances. A few casts later and I was in! Not a big fish but it felt good managing to 'unlock' them.

Another on the Xlayer.

Going back.

 We soon moved to the 'chokepoint' for another go with the hardbaits. Out of curiosity I decided to use shallower running jerkbaits than the others to see if they fish would show a preference.. And they did though not for my lures! As the sun started to come out the others started getting fish while I got one strike and a couple follows. The bite didn't last long but I wasn't bothered too much about not catching since I got useful hints to the behaviour of these fish.
After the sun came up higher, I had a few casts at the bonito-spot but with no luck. We then picked up our stuff and boarded the ferry back to Athens. A lovely fishing trip with plenty of exciting moments although without tonnes of big fish. I'm glad that due to my friend Stelios I managed to catch a species that eluded me for years and also have a great time and make new friends!
Bellow I add some bullet points and observations regarding this trip.

• Use jigheads with sharp 2/0 plus size hooks.
• Midwinter, softplastics near the bottom at night and possibly hardbaits at first light.
• Preferably a stiffish rod for good hooksets.
• 0.34mm fluorocarbon leader minimum.
• 4"-5" soft jerkbaits/slugs on darting jigheads most effective.
• When having lots of nibbles etc keep working the lure. Strike hard on positive takes!
• White, pink, with hint of chartreuse etc good colours for nighttime.
• Begin with lighter jigheads first and then go heavier for faster/more reaction based work. Typically 10g-15g at aprox 6m depth.
• Trailer hooks such as open eye Siwash may be a useful addition to the jighead hook.
• Vary lures and presentations after dropped takes and overworked fish.
• On Poros, cudas at night were staging at the deep parts of the canal, usually at the drop offs and near the first major light source but in the shadows. At dawn in the chokepoint.
• Megabass Super Xlayers most consistent softbait. DUO Tide Minnow Slim and Seaspin Mommoti for hardbaits.
• First bites and splashes after sundown and then again around 04:00.
• Feeding spells can be brief especially with hardbaits midwater and higher, Softplastics near the bottom more consistent.
• 14cm+ jerkbaits very effective at dawn on straight retrieve with some speed variations.
• Sayori, cuda and 'sparkly' colours most effective then.
• A slightly larger lure than what the others are throwing might get more fish when they're fired up.
• Cuda like more 'intense' actions on hardbaits than bass do and a slightly deeper dive.
• Scad and False scad near the lights but in more 'open' areas and deeper water.
• Bonito might pass soon after first light at the deeper water near the chokepoint.
• The presence of baitfish is a must!

The fishing team!

Well its soon back to Skye now and my more usual fishing targets. Although I had hoped for much more action filled holidays (fish-wise) the horrendous weather really killed any chances for that but I cant complain too much as at least my main target was achieved and besides I had a great time!

Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Spro Mobile Stick 80MH, Lucky Craft ESGII 871HXF, Apia Foojin'R ART MAGIC 88MLX
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000fc, Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 0.8
Leader: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon 0.34mm+
Lures: Various.

My first boat fishing session on Skye!

Last week I had the rare opportunity to go on a boat with my mate Dylan. He had just bought a boat in Lochmaddy and was meant to get there by ferry and then return with the boat to Skye.
Without a second thought I agreed to go with him (obviously with fishing-stops included) and we were very lucky to have very good weather.
On reaching Lochmaddy (North Uist), the first thing that struck me, were the cliffs surrounding the inlet and the many rocks in the bay on the way to the harbour. I now knew where my first fish-stop would be later on...
After waiting for a while for the boat to arrive and getting it in the water, we jumped in and set off. The outboard was only a small one, and the trip across would take most of the day but we were well provisioned and enjoying the fine weather.
We had a sounder on board and it was my first time trying out such equipment. It was only a basic one but it clearly showed the depth and bottom contours and proved to be extremely useful..
We stopped on the first fishy looking rock and I told Dylan to get close enough so that I could let a few casts. I tied on a 30g Salty bait with a 4.5" Sluggo for a trailer and cast near the rock. The current was strong but the lure didn't have time to sink for more than a few seconds before it was intercepted by a fish! A short fight later and a pollock was on the deck. This fish was followed by many more in varying sizes. They were practically stacked around the rock and feeding actively. I couldn't believe how easy it was and to be honest I now realise the great benefits of having a boat... I do love my rock fishing but this was just pure fun and no effort!

One of many from the rocks at Lochmaddy.

Salty bait and Sluggo. lethal combination.

So much fun!

Decent scrapper!

Fish on!

Go back!

 After spending about 20mins on the rock, we decided to move as there were too many areas on the way that I wanted to cast a line at!
It took us a few hours to make the crossing and we then hit Waternish Point. This is an area Ive yet to fish, but with clear potential (as so many other similar areas on Skye!) that I just haven't gotten around it yet. We noticed large shoals of sandeels in the sonar and I started picking up some fish. The usual pollock but also s few mackerel and coalies that were trailing the sandeel shoals.

Waternish Point..

A very welcome mackerel..

..and a nice coalie!

Again we didn't spend too much time there as it was getting late by now. We headed towards Uig and after passing next to the cliffs, I identified a hump in about 30m depth and thought to make a couple casts. I had a 30g Hayabusa Kicktail on and casted out over the hump with the intention to bounce it on the bottom back towards me and over the hump. Soon after touchdown though I felt weight and habitually struck. The rod tip stayed down and after briefly thinking I was stuck, I felt the 'snag' move and heard the drag letting of line at a slow, constant pace. This was very similar to the 'thing' that took much of my line a few months ago but I thought now I had a good chance of seeing what it was..
I fought the fish for well over an hour and chased it with the boat a few times. I managed to get it off the bottom twice and on the second time I brought it to a depth of about 12m and we could clearly see it on the sonar. Moreover it seemed to have company as another shape followed it up!  The fish refused to come up though and made another near unstoppable and determined run, although it felt slower this time and seemed to spend more time in a single place on the bottom. Unfortunately we were loosing light and the wind was picking up. Unprepared for navigating at night (no lights) I tried to hurry the fish and tightened the drag more. This lead to the leader breaking at the knot and my second chance of landing the 'Skye monster' was lost...
After that I lost all appetite for fishing and we went straight to the harbour.
I'm now 99% sure it was a common Skate and I'm surprised it took the inchiku lure (there was no fish caught on this time). They are clearly more predatory than I thought. Alas it was the same setup I had as last time and its just not enough for fish of this size...
Below a little vid I took on my mobile as I'm experiencing problems with my action cam (one day I needed it!)

Regardless of the lost monster it was a great day afloat and it certainly opened up my eyes on the potential of boat fishing here on Skye. We are planning to make these outings more regular now as I'm now hooked!
Just when I though I had most of my gear sorted for my fishing here, I now realise I need more!

Tight Lines and more to come...

Rod:  MC KG Evolution KGS-902L, 2.7m, 7-23g.
Reel: Daiwa Freams 2500
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 1.0
Leader: Duel Hardcore Powerleader fluorocarbon 20lbs
Lures: Various (mostly inchiku type metals)

Rubha Hunish.

On Monday I had favourable conditions and I was finally able to visit the northernmost tip of the Isle of Skye, Rubha Hunish. From reports I've read it has a good depth and plenty of current, a combination that always means fish! It was a fair trek though and that's why I set off early on in the morning. I aimed to be fishing just after high tide and after making my decent from the cliffs I was soon stationed on a rocky point and fishing away...
I only took one setup (heavier) with me on the day as I wanted to be as light and mobile as possible and started fishing with my metal/teaser combo as usual. I got straight into fish and this went on for a good hour at that spot, bringing in nice coalies and average pollock cast after cast.
This first spot was relatively shallow and after the bites dried up, I moved to the front of the point and started fishing. The water had started to move now and the current was getting noticeable. I was getting bites and plenty of pollock but not all were landed, either because they took me to the only kelp bed in the area (in front of my feet!) or by weak hook-holds (using simple round bend worm-hooks instead of my usual EWG's). As there were loads of fish about, I decided to try a variety of tactics and presentations to see if it would make a difference to the bite rate.. Thus I used metals, cheburashka rigged paddletails and ripple/curly tails, straights (Sluggos) on darting jigheads and in the end, my new Magbite Vassalo swimming jigs tipped with Gulp Sandeel.
To be honest everything worked... For a time...As soon as the bites would dry up on one presentation, a change to something different would usually see more bites develop. This is a common behaviour especially when fish are shoaled up as they were.

Its a long hike...

A bit 'hairy'...

Double shots galore!

My first spotted pollock...

On the darting action.

Impressive.

The rocks are teeming with birdlife.

Vassalo!

Need to get over that on the way back...

After fishing and exploring for a few hours, the bites slowed down while it was approaching low tide and feeling full of the days fishing I decided to call it a day. I didn't get any big fish but the potential for them on this mark is evident. Moreover I'm impressed with the sizes of the coalies lately and it wont be long till I do a light game session just for them!
Next time I visit this mark though, I'll come prepared with food and drink as its not really suited for quick sessions!
Bellow the videos of the day. To be honest there were more fish caught but it just got tedious pulling one fish after the other in... lol

Things are livening up and I'm soon gonna be doing some reconnaissance for more marks. It is surprising how many areas are overlooked...
Moreover I'm looking to fine-tune my gear and I'm on the lookout for a new setup that would allow me to fish more effectively in the marks and conditions that I'm now faced with.

Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Tica Seha Graphite, 2.7m, 1/4oz-1/2oz (10-30g actual)
Reel: Abu Garcia Soron STX40
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 1.5
Leader: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon 20lbs
Lures:Various

Lochaline and Skye adventure! Part 1.

Last Sunday I was unexpectedly given 4 days off and as I was planning to meet with my friend Scott anyway, I though it would be a good idea if he managed to get a couple extra days off so that we could go somewhere with more 'potential'...
That he did and we then decided to head northwest starting at Loch Linnhe, then moving to Lochaline where we would stay a couple nights and finish off at Portree in Skye.
Scott was looking to add some more species to his 50 fish for this year and he was aiming in this trip for cuckoo wrasse and ling more specifically among others, hence the choice of marks with deep waters.
After the morning drive we reached Loch Linnhe to find good weather conditions. I was confident that Scott would get his cuckoos here and maybe even a ling even though Ive caught them later in the season from this mark. From my previous sessions recently here I knew that there were fish about but not in the numbers that this mark is capable of yet. Nevertheless we started fishing and as expected it was relatively slow fishing. We were fishing the usual combination of metals and softplastics with Scott even using bait, and after a while the first fish started showing. Pollock and some codling along with poor cod were the order of the day, although I did get some 'wrassy' bites that didn't lead to the fish getting caught though.. Scott did manage his cuckoo though and I was glad the mark came true for him.. After a while we decided to change spots towards the old pier at Kentallen. The tide was rising as well and things started to get livelier with some nice codling taken at distance on cheburashka and small paddletails. I could see lots of bait moving about and decided to 'match the hatch' with a 3" sluggo mounted on a simple 4g, #4 jighead. I fished the lure mostly OTD and then straight retrieve near the base of the kelp and some pollock finally obliged..

Nice codling form Linnhe.

Cheburashka and paddletail killer combo!

Match the hatch and pollock follow!

He wanted the sluggo!

After a while we decided to head off to Lochaline so that we had enough time to fish there as well. On the way there the scenery was beautiful but the weather changed with clouds and rain coming down. We weren't too bothered though as we came prepared and well, this is Scotland and you cant do anything about it...!
Lochaline is renown for the very deep waters close to shore (at the western pier) and Scott had good results there especially on the wrasse species. On arriving there we first got sorted in our accommodation and then decided to head down to the ferry pier wich is at the mouth of Loch Aline and worth a few chucks with the light gear. Metals went on and from the first casts it became obvious that the place was stuffed with fish! There were large shoals of coalies feeding in the channel and they would at times smash fry near the rocks, they started hitting our metals and put a great bend on the rods along with a smile on our faces.. It was a fish a chuck for the most part and I was surprised to see so many and more importantly decent coalies of 1/2lbs-1lbs. They had recently quietened down on the lochs further south (same as last year) but I'm pretty sure all of them came up here now! Among them we caught a few mackerel as well but the coalies seemed to overshadow everything! I tried different lures as well such as soft plastics, crancks, minnows, blades etc but the most effective lures as expected were the metals followed by soft plastics and then hardbaits.
Below a video that shows what it was like...

As the sun went down the fish started hitting fry in shallow pockets near the harbour walls and rocks and I thought it was a good time to try something that Ive wanted to do since that day in the middle of February, to catch them on poppers! I was prepared with some lovely looking mini-poppers from Cultiva and Duel. They were about 4cm each and a bit thicker than I would've liked as the fish were feeding on slimmer profile fry, but after a bit of persuading they started to follow and hit them! The hits varied form full blown smacks while the lure was in motion to fish softly sucking it in while static! Moreover the hits started intensifying the darker it got and as the wind died down. Fishing under the lights and especially the transition from shadow/dark water to lighted, seemed the most productive spot along with areas near structure. I would give the popper a few good pulls to produce commotion soon after landing and would then retrieve it more gently with plenty of pauses. Most fish would hit on the first pulls after a pause. It is an addictive way of catching them that kept me totally focused and of course there is no better way of  fishing than the visual surface one! Unfortunately I couldn't use the action cam (although in retrospect I should've next to the lights) as it was too dark and also the pics aren't great, but I caught plenty of hard fighting, popper-smashing coalies and it was well into the night when I decided to call it a day... Light gear fun at its maximum!

Cheap yet effective metals rigged with micro-assist or single hook.

Lots of hard fighting coalies!

They're plump up here...

At the pier legs with ice-jigs...

Lochaline Ferry pier.

A pug-nosed coalie OTT!

Plenty followed suit...

More to follow tomorrow with some good pollock action! Plenty of pics and a couple videos as well...

Tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Majorcraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI, MC KG Evolution, KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000 fc, Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f
Mainline: YGK G-soul x3 PE 0.4,  Duel Hardcore X4 PE 0.8
leader: Toray premium fluorocarbon, 6lbs. YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 8lbs
lure: various.