The Springtime grind...

Was contacted by some lads coming on holiday to Skye, for some guiding over the weekend and I managed to make it happen yesterday. Forecast was surprisingly good but it deteriorated on the day (sigh!). Nevertheless I decided to get Dale and his large company (7 people in total) across to the island in two loads. 

We got settled and set off for the first mark of the day.  I informed the guys that as we're getting into the spawn now, it would take persistence to coax them out. Usually when they are spawning,  you get sessions with immature fish and a couple larger prespawners if they can be bothered to bite. We used mainly loud colours and metals throughout the day and we started getting some small fish straight away.  

Keen group...

On a productive rocky outcrop.

It took a while for quality to improve but Dale did it with a plump female that took his 60g metal OTD. This proved to be the fish of the day too and went back to the drink after a good fight. A few more eater-sized fish were caught but there was no real pattern. Most of the guys caught (and lost) fish throughout the day but even though conditions were good, you could feel the change from a few weeks back where even while there was a swell and big tides, the fish were more aggressive and there was a discernible pattern.

Man of the day.

The highlight of the day was when one of the guys caught a tadpole fish on a slow jig!

It's the first time I saw one alive and couldn't believe it went for a metal!!! Told the lad to go get a lottery ticket because he wouldn't get another one like that in his life... For the story, it was caught in about 23m water in an area with underwater caves and lots of boulders. It took a 40g pink slow jig.

Unbelievable!

Young gun.

Soon enough the session came to a close. The wind had really picked up and it got a bit hairy (wet more accurately) when leaving the island. We all got back at the slipway in the end and we said our goodbyes. The guys were proper troopers and hopefully they'll be back in better weather.

I think I'll only go for another session if conditions are perfect otherwise I've got too many projects that needing completion just now. 

Tight lines.

New PB Cuckoo!

 The other week, we saw a window in the weather and me and dad headed to Neist for some proper rock fishing. 

I was keen to actually take him to my 'spiritual home' on the island and also try my new shore jigging rod (Savage Gear SGS2 shore jigging 100MH). It was a beautiful day and we set up on one of my favourite rocky points.  We soon got amongst the pollock although none of them over 4lbs. Good eaters though.  They weren't too fussy and would hit metals and softplastics. 

Cracking day...

Run of the mill...

After getting a few for the pot, I started trying some heavier metals and put on a 60g extra wide slow jig. The rod cast it some distance away and I started working it close to the bottom. I got an aggressive take on the drop and some thrashy resistance.  No problem on the big rod but you could tell the fish would go well on lighter gear. I knew it wasn't a pollock but was pleasantly surprised when I saw a big Cuckoo wrasse on the surface. It was clearly my biggest Cuckoo and as the fish wouldn't go back, I put it on the sling. It went to just under a kilo and was a stunning fish. Felt bad I had to keep it but they don't return well sometimes. 

A cracker!

PB for sure.

Found the rod a good tool for those 60g jigs and I suspect it'll work 80g equally well too. Seems to work better closer to it's upper limit.  A bit overkill for the fish on the day but I reckon it'll fit the bill for distance work and big mamas. I tried some big softplastics on it too and it did reasonably well with 40g darting jigheads and 6"-7" soft jerkbaits. Now just need to give it more fishing time.

Tight lines 

Pre Christmas fishing.

Have been lucky enough to get some very settled weather the last week. This settled weather coincided with big tides, so not exactly perfect conditions but good enough for me!
Had a session on the rocks trying to get a big female but the swell was still running a bit and along with the big tides, it just wasn't the conditions that the big fish like. Still, I got some very decent coalies and pollock.
The next day, it was time to get the SIB out... I found the fish very shallow again, and they were really fired up! All in the 50-60cm with some good coalies among them.
As it wasn't windy, I picked up the fly rod and had a great time with coalies and small pollock. At some point, a better fish came along and reminded me of how much fun it is playing them on fly gear!
I was just using my cheapo 9' 8wt with a 6ips full sink line and a chartreuse/white clouser minnow.
Below some pics and a video of the day.

 A beautiful coalie on the jig.

 

Tip top condition!

Good fight on the fly!

Average size.

Unfortunately, I won't be having any more sessions until next week as I got my family over, but ill definitely get on it again soon after new year.
Thus, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and tight lines for now!

Sunshine doesn't mean hot action...

Had two sessions lately both under blue, sunny skies... That didn't equate to great results though.. The low water temps (6.7C!) and being in the spawning period definitely kept the fish down low and unwilling to bite... Still though with perseverance I managed to winkle some out and I noticed that there were two distinct categories of them. Some fish were bunched together over broken ground in deeper water and looked definitely worn out with lots of scratch marks, red fins and worms on them. While I also found other fish keeping very close in amongst the kelp being more active and looking in much better condition.. Food for thought.
A mixture of slow jigs and softplastics was used with the fish biting in short feeding spells.

A fish from deep water in poor condition..

And one from the shallows looking much better...

Towards midday I started getting some more fish but then the damn seal showed up and put a stop to the fun.
I reckon this year it will be a couple more weeks before things start to really fire up. I hope the temperature will start rising soon though as I want to have a go for some trout in freshwater...

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: slow jigs and plastics on cheburashkas

Shore-slow jigging for a (probable) PB!

We had a change in weather this week, with predominantly SW systems that raised the temperature and also the wind died down a bit. I decided on a midday session with the light shore jigging setup as I wanted to try out some slow jigs but also aim for better fish...
The water was slightly milky from all the swells and I went for a chartreuse/zebra glow 40g slow jig.  There was still some swell running and I expected the fish to be further out.
I made the first cast and after some bumps on its way down from coalies, it wasn't long before the first pollock was on..
Fought pretty well but was soon landed for a pic..

Wanted some metal today!

 
Another cast and this time I got hit soon after touchdown... The fish  managed to shed the hook soon after and as I was nearing the kelp edge I started a constant retrieve and then got hit again!
It didn't feel too heavy at first and I began pumping it in but then it started peeling drag in such a rate that I honestly thought it was a seal and started cursing my luck!
The fish did some more runs and I was waiting for the ''seal'' to let it go until I saw that I was actually hooked on a very good pollock!
Got the net out and with a bit of faff I got her in... A proper dark and battle-scarred warrior this one!
Around 81cm and with a big belly (near spawn time) thus I'm fairly sure it was bigger than my
pre-Xmas PB!

Bruiser mama!

Superb fight as well...

After a few pics I released her and kept at it. I caught some more fish and it was interesting to note how aggressive they were as they would fight hard, bite OTD and also come up on straight retrieve too...
I avoided striking into bumps and would instead tighten up only when I felt weight at the other end in order to avoid the coalies. I reckon with a larger single assist hook I could be even more selective...
This seemed to work pretty well as I didnt get through many coalies, though I have to say that the pollock were shoaled up and dominated the spot.

Notice how darker fish from rock/kelp are...

After a while the bites died down and it was time to change spot. I targeted the deepest areas and was rewarded with a few more pollock and loads of coalies!

...Comparing to ones from cleaner ground.

It was still early in the day but thinking that I couldn't do any better that day I decided to head home a happy man.
What a place Skye is...!

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: 40g slow jigs