Been a busy couple weeks for me with family holidays and other commitments but last week I hosted Alan and Paul againfor a week. Up until their arrival the weather was fantastic but typically once they got here the winds picked up. We had two full days and I have to admit that unfortunately, this was some of the toughest fishing I've had in years... We fished hard, covered ground, moved areas, changed a myriad of lures and presentations but it just wasnt happening. Thankfully the lads had a couple good days on bait with spurdog and rays giving them some action.
Even though we found some concentrations of fish (looser than last year), the abundance of bait was possibly what made them very picky. Moreover we couldnt hit the areas I'd have liked due to the wind. I felt really bad for the guys as they worked so hard but the fish didnt play ball. Especially when they brought a glut of new lures and jigheads to try as well. We cought some average sized fish but nothing to shout about.
Second-cast fish filled with promise...
A couple double strikers.
Best fish on a deadsticked sp on cheburashka.
Anyway, the lads had a good time as they enjoyed the pubs (a bit more than they'd like!) and hopefully they'll be back next year to try again. This is fishing I suppose and even in a top destination like Skye, nothing is guaranteed.
I experienced the finnicky mood of the fish furtherly, on a solo outing on my way to a family day out. I had a few casts early in the morning at a weedy spot where I know to hold good fish. I raised one on the Autowalker and then as they wouldnt come up, I tried a variety of softplastics and metals. I must've had a dozen follows on my lures and at time nips at them but not taking it properly. The water clarity was very good as it usually is this time of year and I could see the fish clearly... In the end I tried a Xorus Patchinko just in case and managed a solitary pollock.
Solitary Patchinko smasher.
The abundance of bait, clear waters and very sttled weather are my main plausible factors for the finnicky nature of the fish at the moment and I really hope this doesnt last long as we're entering my favourite fishing time of the year...
The settled weather has continued and the fishing can only be described as being on fire!
Had a sib session with friends Colin and Fred and I still can't find the words to describe how awesome the fishing was!
It was a cold, overcast, morning last week but there was only a breath of wind and very little swell. We fished shallow (10-18m) kelp ledges and from the get-go, the fish went crazy for our lures. After catching some lunkers on sp's, I told the guys to get some topwaters on... Colin is more acquainted with them as he fishes for bass, but Fred had only recently given them much time.
Colin put on a Patchinko while I gave Fred an Autowalker 115s and showed him how this lure works just by retrieving it steadily. Hits were instant..
Colin hooked up to something big, as did Fred though his fish got off soon after. Colin was still bringing his fish in and Fred was in again! Unreal stuff!
Finally, I saw colour from Colin's fish and upon putting it in the net, we realised that this one was a big mama! She went to 10.5lbs and left us all looking each other in joy and disbelief. I unhooked her and Fred's fish and quickly sent them back into the water. The mayhem continued for almost 2 hours and I lost track of how many fish we got. Topwaters really shined on the day. The fish were hitting them hard and getting them deep with far fewer misses than usual. There seemed to be a significant influx of pale pollock (open ground, shoaling fish) along with the darker ones I tend to find more on this mark. The reason must have been the shoals of baitfish showing on the finder... Everything caught fish, even a big squid lure that was skipping the surface as Fred was bringing it in, when a pollock hit it mere meters from the boat!😆
On a Topwater!!!
Madness...
Hungry fish.
Another nice one for Fred.
So many double hook-ups!
Stonking fish..
Some bait there...
On the puffin!
At some point, Colin offered me to try his favourite rod, a Tailwalk eginn paired with a Shimano Sustain. It was a lovely combo that I could fish with all day... I say was and not is, as unfortunately the setup was lost in the most unreal incident that I've ever experienced whilst fishing...! We were all fishing softplastics for a bit and Colin and Fred were into fish, wanting to help land their fish, I retrieved my line, put the rod down with the tip over the water and the lure just hanging in the water. This proved to be a big mistake... As I was bending over with the net, I caught with the corner of my eye, the rod flying into the water at speed!! Obviously, a pollock took the static lure anc crash-dived taking the rod with it...! I was left speechless after this incident and also very deflated that I lost such a great rod and reel. I tried to retrieve it for an hour or so with a lead and hooks but to no avail. Colin
took it better than me and we decided to not let this stop us from enjoying the day. I've since sorted it out. We kept fishing and despite the bite slowing down, the fish were still willing to take OTT. Thus we would cast metals and softplastics and after seeing interest, we'd try a topwater. This gave me a lovely pollock on the Autowalker again.
It was soon time to head back after a day that none of us would forget any time soon!
A dark kelp brute.
A pale one and a kelpie.
Autowalker does it again!
Big gob.
Even on the squid!?
And a wee video
This week, I was guiding again but from the rocks this time. Friends Ryan and Craig came for the first time to Skye and wanted to experience the fishing. Conditions were looking great although the tide wasnt ideal. We started soon after first light but things were slow to develop. The seals were keeping very close and once we started getting some fish, they became a pest by stealing them... We encountered shoaled up 2-3lbs fish and it proved hard to get through them to the bigger ones throughout the day. It kinda felt like spring in a way ie shoals of smaller immature pollock but very few bigger ones.
We did hook a few 4lbers but only managed to land a couple whole...😑
Nevertheless, it was a very pleasant day and it felt good to be on the rocks again. Was getting too lazy fishing off the boat all the time. The boys were happy as long as they were catching fish as even the ones we were catching were of good size compared to where they usually fish. It does bug me on the rare days when the biguns don't show and despite our efforts, it just wasn't happening that day. Goes to show that even in Skye you cant expect lunkers every day.
I did recommend to the lads that they come again after Xmas when the big females are in. Hopefully I'll be able to showcase them the potential of this place then...
Last week I was booked to guide three spirited French anglers that drove all the way to Skye from the suburbs of Paris!
Jacques, Pierre and Jean-Paul were keen to sample some of Skye's saltwater fishing and we couldn't have picked a better day to do it. I picked them up at 06:00 from their accommodation and we drove to my favourite shallow bay. It was an overcast, warm morning with only a slight breeze that didn't dissuade the midges at all (French insect repellent don't work on Scottish midges!)! The plan was to try and get a few fish off the top and then fish with the usual softs and metals.
The plan took a wee backstep after Jacques though he lost his iPhone and I had to retrace our steps to find it... Typically, all the way back in the car...😆
Apart from Jacques, the others were only occasional anglers and thus not very familiar with modern lure fishing techniques. I had the first cast to try and show them how to 'walk the dog' and I got a hit straight away midway in the retrieve! Immediately I gave the rod to JP and after a couple casts, he started getting the hang of it.. I could see a couple follows from fish and soon enough he hooked up to a lovely 2pounder.
A good start to the day and Pierre was next... He got a few follows and bumps but unfortunately not a topwater fish for him... This was soon rectified after I put a softplastic on a 20g cheburashka and he had his first pollock as well.
The tide state wasn't actually favourable for this mark but near the change point things started to liven up and everybody started hooking up with the softplastics.. Surprisingly Jacques (the most experienced of the group) hadn't caught a fish yet! After the others managed a couple more each, I decided to change his presentation from a paddletail to a darting slim and he was in soon after! Took him a while but he landed the best fish of the morning of approx 5-6lbs.
It was then time to change marks and moved to a trickier ledge where distance and right presentation was key on the day.
Here the experience of Jacques showed as he caught some nice 60+ cm fish and ended the day with a 70cm! The lads kept a few fish for tea but the larger ones went back quickly to keep growing!
It was a very enjoyable day with some true gentlemen and Im glad that everyone caught some decent fish.
JP with his first 'Lieu' and on a topwater!
Pierre was next...
Jacques fight back!
A solid fighter!
The next day I decided to do something that's becoming a favourite style of outing for me. That is, to start early around dawn with topwaters and then switch to the fly gear.
It was another overcast day with a slightly stronger breeze. I started with the well known Xorus Patchinko imitation of the smaller size (10ish cm), that I find works very well in choppier water. After a few dozen passes with the lure I got 2 slaps on it from very decent fish but again, as usual, no hookup! It's so frustrating when they slam the lure so hard that they don't get hooked. And it's usually the bigger specimens that do that...
Anyway, a few casts later and I connected to a feisty 3pounder that was well hooked from the first and middle treble. No more topwater interest after that..
Switched to the Fly and after a bit of the usual faffing about to get the casting right, I connected to a good fish! A good fight but soon enough he was up for a pic. Still surprised how the gentle pressure of the fly rod manages to get them out of the snag, but then again this isn't a very snaggy spot anyway...
Some more casts later, and while working the area where the topwater was hit by a better fish, I got a solid take and immediately realised I was connected to a better fish. Another good fight ensued with plenty of 'hairy' moments but I soon managed to coax her towards me and onto the weedy ledge. A lovely fish around 6-7lbs and I'm convinced it was the same one that hit the topwater at the start of the session! A few pics and then I let her go back in...
Here's the video.
A very productive morning and I was back for breakfast well before 10 AM!
Something that Ill start experimenting with in the next few weeks will be to change the trebles on all my topwaters. I'll try and see if there's any improvement on the hookup ratio by using different types and sizes of trebles, i.e short shanked, round bend, coloured etc.
I'm sure in some cases the lure's action might be affected significantly but as long as I get some more of those hard hits ill be happy...
