Expedition Chile! Part 2.

The break offs of the first session along with the nature of the terrain and fish, making landing them a difficult task, convinced me that I needed to beef up my mainline. Thus on the morning of the second day we went to look for a tackle shop to buy some braid. Nothing difficult about that you'd think, only you'd be wrong as this is Chile and for the life of me couldn't locate a tackle shop in the whole of Puerto Montt! No tackle shop in a city next to the sea?!
After looking on the Internet I managed to locate a couple tackle shops in nearby Puerto Varas, and since it was in the list of places to visit anyway, we headed there straight away..
Puerto Varas is considered a top destination for the fly anglers that target the salmonids in and around the lake Llanquihue, and being much more touristic explains the presence of tackle shops there. As luck would have it I walked in the first tackle shop just about when the last wheel of braid was sold to another angler (!) and was directed to another shop that might stock braid. On the next shop I cant really say that I was mesmerised by the variety on offer, but I found some Sufix 832 braid, allbeit in a horrendously thick diameter (0.24mm - 17.7 kg)!! This was not gonna be Light Game anymore... lol
After having a drive down the lake and taking a swim and a siesta, we drove back towards the rocky coast, at a mark I spied on the way back from the previous day.
This was a much more easily accessible mark with a narrow path through thick vegetation and down to the rocks. It was clear that it wasn't a virgin spot although it was looking too good not to fish it. This time I carried with me my Savage gear roadrunner XLNT 7' 3-16g travel rod and with the reel spooled with the donkey-rope (!) I felt a lot more confident!
I put on a 12g metal and started yoyo jigging it on the bottom. The first strike came very quickly and a sizeable rollizo was fighting on the end of my line. Having the heavy line allowed me to enjoy the fight and after a while I got the fish on the shore.

First cast!

After releasing the fish, I made another cast and got hit yet again by a good fish. Another fight ensued and I brought the fish near the shore. As I was excited I tried to swing the fish on the rocks with the rod, as I thought the rod could take it.. Only it didn't and broke at the spigot near the tip!
I felt as if somebody had cursed me.. Having the gear that copes with the intended fish only to break it and having to fish UL again..

Rod breaker!

Anyway, I went back at the car to get my Mobile Stick and I was going to use it with the donkey-rope line thus extra care was needed... Not really balanced gear but it got the job done, and for the remainder of the session I had fish after fish on various lures and presentations. I would have liked the extra reach of the heavier lures but there were plenty of fish about and they seemed to be close in anyway.. I fished an hour after high water till almost the ebb and was surprised at the speed the water moved. Moreover the fish seemed to get even more active towards sundown with more big specimens showing then and unfortunately getting cut off from what must have been a couple very serious fish. I'm convinced that these cut offs were not always due to rock-abrasion but also the rollizo's teeth.
Metals seemed to work better with the sun higher up and texas/cheburashka rigged slim curlytail worms being the best performers. Paddletails were not far behind in effectiveness and I noticed that they were working best when retrieved very slowly with a few pauses but no sudden jerks. The fish would pounce on them as they came close in and would then bolt for the nearest cover. They would even attack on straight retrieve, well above the bottom, especially close in.
The larger fish seemed to be more territorial and loners, while at times I got the impression that this fish tends to associate in loose groups at the most favourable spots. This was due to getting repeated catches from a relatively small area.
As mentioned above long casts were not necessary, although I suppose in shallower reefy waters, the longer casts would come in handy allowing to reach more 'holes', rocks etc.
I caught a lot of rollizo that day but unbelievably, not a single other species! I speculate that when the rollizo are in numbers, they dominate the area as I tried many different lures/presentations/retrieves etc to no avail for other species. Cant complain much though as I really had a blast!
Below more pics and the video of the day.

Metals always a good solution in 'new' waters..

The mark from above..

Near the ebb.

Serious rock mark!

Possibly the biggest of the day. Kilo plus...

Japanese pose!

Unfortunately I only had one remaining day in Puerto Mont and I would have to try and get a robalo somehow..


Tight lines

Gear used.
Rod: Savage gear roadrunner XLNT 7' 3-16g and Spro Mobile Stick 80UL
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000FC
Mainline: Sufix 832 0.24mm 17.7 kg !
leader: Pline Halo 10lbs.
lure: Various

Expedition Chile! Part 1.

Its been almost a week now that I've returned from my holidays in Chile, reluctantly so I must add...
The opportunity was given to me, as a close friend of mine lives in the capital Santiago and invited me and my brother there.
We were to have our base in Santiago but obviously with them being in summer now and us haven't experienced summer at all the past year, it was imperative that we would visit the coast! Moreover a trip to the South had to be made as well since it would have been a mistake not to get at least a glimpse of Patagonia and water systems very similar to the ones I fish here in the West coast of Scotland...
Therefore we decided to head to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar on the central coast of Chile as it is where most of the tourists go for their summer holidays!
Now on the fishing prospects of the trip, in reality Chile seemed like a blank chart! Nowhere could I find serious info about fish species and angling in general. This is because there hasn't been enough research done on the fish species there (especially in the south), the information being mostly in Spanish and lastly the little coverage angling gets over there (with the exception of the alien salmons and trouts in the South). Now it did cross my mind to wet a line for the salmonids when in the South but to be honest my attention was firmly set once again on the rocks...
Seeing a documentary about sea otters in Patagonia a couple months ago, only seemed to ignite my interest of what rockfish could be found there and all along the coast we were meant to visit. The only species I was able to find easy information on, is the robalo (Eleginops maclovinus) a sort of bass/corvina-looking fish though not related at all to them and being the only member of its genus and the only member of the family Eleginopsidae (!). Thus I was hoping to at least get one of them!
To cut a long story short, I fished very little while in the Valparaiso area. This was because of two main reasons: Firstly, the Pacific swell that rendered most of the beaches in the area dangerous to swim (red flag) for the duration of our stay, and secondly, the realisation of the inadequacy of my light gear for these waters! In any case, I tried a few casts here and there in sheltered marks but only had some success in Valparaiso harbour, by catching a few wrassy/blenny looking fish, that unknowingly at the time, were going to be the mainstay of my catches in all my sessions!
Unfortunately most of the harbours/marinas were working areas and I had limited access to them and that was a real pity as I'm sure they would hold plenty of fish...

Part of Valparaiso harbour.

My first Chilean fish!

Parts of the coast in Valparaiso.

The beach in Laguna Verde. Red flag - no swimming!

Outside Valparaiso harbour. Again not alowed to reach the lighthouse..

Seeing that my 'fishing expedition' wasn't off to a great start, I focused even more on looking for good marks in the South. We had booked a room in Puerto Montt and one area in particular, towards the Southeast stood out. Now Puerto Montt is situated at the northern end of the Reloncavi Sound, thus well protected from the Pacific swells, and the area that got my attention was the coastline near La Arena. It is there that the Reloncavi fjord meets the Sound and from the look of it a typical fish-holding mark, very similar to marks I have here! Moreover the South is very tidal and thus even more similar to here...
On the first day at Puerto Montt, I explained to my brother that we were here for business (meaning fishing) and he should quit his moaning and get on with it! We rented a car (a must in my opinion) and soon headed off to La Arena. On close inspection, the point was looking very fishy, with deep waters close in and rough/rocky ground, but the main problem was that the rocky shore was just too abrupt and the point too heavily forested to allow for easy (or even moderate) access. Not being in a mood for mountaineering, and not having a machete with me (!) we decided to have a couple empanadas (loco queso) which surprisingly doesn't translate as crazy cheese but instead means abalone and cheese! After our snack we headed a couple miles back the road we came from and I picked a precipitous, rocky spot to start fishing. I decided to take only my Spro Mobile Stick with me, just so I could 'scratch' around for what was there. I put on a 7g metal and started casting around. It didn't take long and soon after getting unstuck from a snag, I got a hit, and the fish cut me off straight away! This was repeated a few more times and I had to raise my leaders length and diameter (2m of 10lbs) while only having 0.4 PE mainline... I persisted with metals and soon got a fish on that stuck this time. It fought with short but explosive runs towards the bottom and soon after a dark shape came to the surface thrashing violently. I pulled the fish up by the leader and was looking at it like it was alien.. Something between a wrasse and a blenny, with teeth and soft, leathery skin (though with rough scales if stroking towards the head). Almost impossible to handle/hold with bare hands as well. It was clearly a larger specimen of the little fish I caught in Valparaiso harbour and the place proved to be full of them! After a bit of research I found the fish's name being rollizo (Pinguipes chilensis) or Chilean sandperch in English. I kept fishing for a couple more hours, trying many different lures and presentations, but they seemed to be unfussy fish with a very healthy aggressive instinct. A true rockfish! Below some pics and the video of my first serious rock fishing session.

The rocky point at La Arena.

Too dificult to climb.

The mark I fished! Hairy descent...

My first good rollizo!

Plain coloured curly tails proved extremely successful.

Thick rubbery lips, teeth and an attitude to match its appearance..

 

So my first day on the South seemed to live up to expectations although it was clear that I would have to find a thicker mainline and this proved much harder than anticipated...

To be continued...

Gear used.
Rod: Spro Mobile Stick 80UL
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000FC
Mainline: YGK G Soul X3 braid 0.4PE
leader: Toray premium fluorocarbon, 6lbs then switched to Pline Halo 10lbs.
lure: Various

First fish of the year! Almost...

A while back I was contacted by my fellow Greekspinners forum member and Facebook friend Giorgos, that he would be in the UK for holidays and that he would really appreciate if I could take him fishing. This made me extremely happy as I love nothing more than going fishing with like minded anglers and showing off my marks! The month he selected to be in the UK though is definitely not considered prime saltwater lure fishing time... Being almost the end of January now! Nevertheless he was extremely lucky to have his arrival on Friday coincide with unseasonably warm weather, brought by strong Southwesterly winds. This window of opportunity weather wise wasn't going to last long and in similar previous occurrences I always had good results in fishing.
My main worry now was where to take him?
I knew he wanted some spectacular Scottish scenery but also he preferred to fish with the LRF gear and had to find a suitable target for him. The first target that came to my mind were of course coalies! One shoal of them and we would thoroughly enjoy ourselves but as of my last session on Loch Fyne, they still hadn't shown up there. Moreover my quarry mark there is really not considered very scenic and thus also taking the wind's direction in consideration, my thoughts turned to the East coast...
We would have the wind on our backs and I've been wanting, for a long time now, to check how it fares in the winter. Obviously not as sheltered as the sea lochs but on this occasion it wouldn't matter.
We woke up early on Sunday and packed the gear into the car. Had a coffee and made the drive to St Abbs head, arriving around 10 o clock there. High tide was around 14:00, the sea was relatively calm though the wind was threatening to sweep us off our feet! At least the casts would go a long way...!

St Abbs on January..

Giorgos was very excited seeing all the cliffs and couldn't wait to start fishing.
We started on the first accessible rock ledge and put on some metals searching for the coalies. Our position was very elevated and the wind made things very difficult, but we soldiered on.. After fishing next to Giorgos for a while, I decided to move on the other side of the ledge. Not much was happening there as well so I went back to see how Giorgos was doing after some casts and break offs on snags. I found him with the rod bend over and the drag screeching! Straight away I scrambled to the rocks below him and managed to land his first Scottish fish, a plumb coalie! Needless to say he was over the moon and honestly I felt even happier that he caught a fish than I would've felt had I caught it myself!

A very happy LRFer!

Thinking there would be more of them around, we kept casting our metals and working the area but we saw no more signs of them. We soon decided to move to another rock ledge and after a bit of strenuous hiking we reached the spot. Unfortunately my friend wasn't wearing studded shoes and couldn't come all the way to they rocky point so he decided to fish the deep bay instead. I made my way to the tip of the rocky finger and started casting about my metal jig again without success. I saw some water birds diving though and then switched things up and tied a Texas rig with a 7g brass bullet head, glass bead and my favourite Decoy RS WORM 101 offset hooks #2. I mounted a 7,5cm dark coloured (UV) Vibro worm by Crazyfish and started making long casts and working the bottom.
I would let the lure touchdown then give it a few jerks to get some noise from the bead, and then lift and drag it on the bottom. After a few casts I got a proper take and felt some good weight on the end of my line. the fish wasn't tearing about in speed, instead moving relatively slowly but with force and thumping its head about. A typical cod fight although it wasn't meant to be long, as the fish cut me off on the bottom...  I was gutted and really annoyed with myself for getting caught unprepared (only with LRF gear).. I was then further annoyed as I realised my action cam battery had died without me realising and I didn't get the action...
I retied the same rig, changed battery and after casting out got a couple sharp bites (possibly coalies) but then got snagged. Another rig and another long cast saw me get a good take again but this time to something with much better speed that unfortunately cut me off again!
This time I got it on video:

I'm thinking that this probably was a good coalfish for reasons I will explain further down.
After loosing the two fish, things slowed down and since it was getting late, I went back to Giorgos to see how he fared. He didn't have a sniff but didn't seem too concerned as the one fish was enough for him to make the trip worthwhile. We made the arduous hike back up the cliff, got in the car and headed home tired but happy!

Giorgos on the ascend..

I may not have managed to land a fish but I was more than happy that Giorgos got one and also was pleasantly surprised at the potential for big winter fish on this mark. Needless to say Ill be back...
Back home, I gutted and cleaned the fish and was left amazed when I found what it had been feeding on!

Cockles?!

The seemed like cockle shells or something and the fish was full of them! This may explain my belief that my second fish was a coalie as they were obviously feeding on the bottom. Would never have thought that coalies would feed on shellfish but always love it when fish surprise me like that! You never stop learning in fishing... Next step try shellfish shaped soft plastics?!
Something else that Giorgos showed me was  the existence of  anti-fogging pads for action cameras and even gave me his to put on mine! Was always annoyed by that phenomenon and I'm looking forward to making better videos now!

Anti-fogging pads.

It was a real pleasure being a host and fishing with Giorgos and hope we will meet again soon. All in all a great day out despite not landing my fish.
I am now really looking forward to my impending two week holiday trip to far away Chile, and can't stop thinking about the fish I might get there!

Tight Lines and best wishes for a fish-packed 2016!

Gear used.
Rod: Majorcraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI
Reel: Shimano Biomaster 1000fb
Mainline: Gosen mebarin braid 0.3PE
leader: Toray premium fluorocarbon, 6lbs.
lure: 7.5cm Crazyfish Vibro worm on a Texas rig with a 7g brass bullet weight, 8mm glass bead and #2 Decoy RS worm 101 hook.

Finally a sunny day!

Woke up yesterday and looking out my window I realised that there was no rain and no wind! It has been pretty bad for the past few weeks although the temperature seems to be relatively high for this time of year. Anyway having finally gotten some days off I didn't need more encouragement to pack the gear in the car and go. Destination was Loch Fyne and I would fish with the LRF gear again. I didn't expect things to have changed so I would follow similar tactics as in last time. Namely a carolina rig with a 7g brass bullet weight, 8mm glass bead, #1 Decoy RS worm 101 hook and this time the lures were mostly dark, slim paddltetails as the water was crystal clear.
I arrived at the mark maybe an hour before high tide, and it was going to be a big tide as my spot was already covered by water...
I started casting my rig around the point and focused on bottom work at distance first and then changing to more OTD and steady retrieve tactics as things were slow on the bottom. A few casts in and I got my first bite on a steady retrieve after a couple tugs with the rod tip to get some noise going. The fish put up a good little scrap but was soon landed. Only a small pollock but much better than the micro ones from last time! This bite kept until the high tide mark with a few pollock caught on the same way. They would hit as soon as the lure passed a ledge or rocks they were staging. I also had a couple OTD fish and bites showing that the fish were pretty up for it for this time of the year...

Finally!

Much better than last time!

They seem healthy as well still.

I then decided to move to the second point and play with the codling but after a couple hours there and with the weather starting to change, I got only a couple codling-like missed bites and a lovely short spinned sea scorpion. It comes to me that most times I encounter them, the codling are quiet. Possible preference for less competition?

I Love sea scorpions!

Stunning...

On the upside, I met a fellow lure angler and member of The Lure Forum on the second point and we had a good chat and a lovely coffee that he generously offered. Joe fishes Loch Fyne regularly with heavier gear and had lost a good fish today that took him to the rocks. Nevertheless he sounded as pleased as me for going out and enjoying the day. Moreover he owns a boat and has kindly invited me to join him on a trip when the weather is a bit better. Now that would really be cool!
It really was a lovely day to be out and I needed it. Although the codling didn't play ball, the pollock more than made up for it plus I always enjoy catching the sea scorpions. The brass and glass combo either in carolina or texas rig seems to do the job well and for the second time I noticed that I had very limited losses. Possibly 2 rigs, which for this mark is very good. In addition I only had a couple missed bites and for that I think that the extra sharp Decoy RS worm 101 hook played an important role.
Below the video with the pollock action.

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Majorcraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI
Reel: Shimano Biomaster 1000fb
Mainline: Gosen mebarin braid 0.3PE
leader: Toray premium fluorocarbon, 6lbs.
lure: 2.5"-3" dark slim paddletails on a carolina or texas rig with a 7g brass bullet weight, 8mm glass bead and #1 Decoy RS worm 101 hook.

Brass and glass carolina day.

It has been too long since my last fishing session (and blog post for that matter) as the worsening weather, increased workload and lack of car conspired against me... Things are looking up recently though as I finally managed to get myself a car and today nothing was going to stop me from going fishing! Not even the rain, sleet and 20-30 mile winds that I encountered...
The past month, even though I wasn't fishing, I didn't stay idle either.. I purchased various bits and pieces of fishing gear to try and also sent the heavier reels for service.
One bit of gear I bought were some brass bullet weights along with a pack of glass beads from Aliexpress. Now you can find both of these items from UK and European sellers but especially the brand named ones are ridiculously expensive!
What I noticed from last winter especially, was that while the fish were there at the marks I fish, most of the time they would be fairly fussy and needed something 'extra' to get their attention and make them commit.
After watching some fellow Japanese HRF anglers targeting greenling (tohoku) with big golden coloured brass sinkers, I thought that they could work for our species too so I gave them a go today.
Since Ive sent the larger reels for service, I decided to use a LRF setup namely my Majorcraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI paired with my Shimano Biomaster 1000fb.

Blinky presentation.

I took it easy in the morning and only arrived at Loch Fyne around 13:00. It was high tide and the weather was terrible but there were transitions of calmness and even spells of sunshine amidst the wind and rain. I fished at both points of the harbour and got into fish straight away! It was a joy feeling a fish on the end of my line once again! A shoal of baby pollock were hanging near the ledge just before the deeper water and they would attack my lure (jackall I Shad 2.8") as soon as it passed through or above them.
Due to the intense wind and cold hands (time for gloves now) I missed a few bites.. Nevertheless it became apparent that the bottom fish weren't very active and I then moved to the other side of the harbour, where the codling are usually more concentrated. Unfortunately the wind had reduced the water clarity and also didn't allow for long casts and thus I only managed one decent codling that gave me a very good scrap and a couple small pollock

A bleak day..

First fish!

A decent scrapper!

It was interesting to note the lack of coalies as I would have loved to play with them a bit!
Anyway, It was a relatively pleasant short session despite the bad weather and I hope to repeat it soon before Christmas.
The brass and glass combo did seem to attract fish easily but I will need to have more sessions with them. Another interesting point is  that I didn't loose a single rig today! I could have been just lucky although I believe that the brass sinker's larger mass and less density may have had something to do with this..

Tight Lines!

Gear used.

Rod: Majorcraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI
Reel: Shimano Biomaster 1000fb
Mainline: Gosen mebarin braid 0.3PE
leader: Toray premium fluorocarbon, 6lbs.
lure: 2.8" Jackall I Shad on a carolina rig with a 6g brass bullet weight and glass bead.

Its codling time!

The day before yesterday I was in two minds as to wether I was gonna go fishing this week. But seeing that the weather was getting worse towards the end of the week I decided on going even if I wasn't 100% committed. Next morning I headed for the train station only to find that many services were cancelled and the one that did make it was late jeopardising my bus trip to Loch Fyne... Moreover the train was absolutely crammed with people and I was just about to turn back and head home when I found some room to get in. After a power walk to the bus station (not my thing definitely!) I managed to get my bus and a couple hours later I was at Loch Fyne, that was looking calm and inviting. I suddenly felt much better for doing the trip (the nap on the bus helped) and was filled with anticipation for what was to come in this day's session.
It was about low tide, calm and with a slight drizzle. Very good conditions for this mark.
The plan for the day was fishing cheburashka and slim lures in the bottom for the codling that should be shoaling about now. Of course I wasn't gonna say no to any pollock or late season wrasse as well!
Despite my high hopes the session started very slowly as fish were being very picky and other than missing a bite from what felt considerable, I only managed poor cod and a couple small pollock for the first half of the day. I changed spot moving to the right arm of the harbour and by then the tide was half way in. Things started to get better though and after some long casts I started to encounter my target. Codling were there though not as bunched up as I would expect for this time of the year, but with perseverance I got the solid bite I was waiting for and after a dogged fight and with the fish taking me to the rocks a couple times, I managed to land the best codling of the day. A plumb healthy fish of approx 2.5lbs. Having not eaten cod for a while, I decided to keep this fish while I released all other codling caught.

Always greedy the poor cod..

First of the day.

A nice codling...

..deserves a second pic.

Video of the day.

Nightfall was soon approaching but the action only seemed to intensify, something that surprised me as usually things go relatively quiet soon after sundown. Not this time though and I speculate that fish are still in 'summer time mode' making the most of this settled weather. Moreover the incoming tide seemed to be a positive factor as well. After the last light, I moved closer to one of the few lamps on the harbour and changed presentation to a texas rig with a 8g cone weight, luminous bead and a #2 Decoy RS worm 101 hook. The lure of choice was a 4" Berkley Gulp sandeel.
I couldn't believe the amount of bites and activity and was really gutted that I didn't have much time since I had to get the bus back home, I made the most of it though and caught some more poor cod, codling and surprisingly pollock. The latter were very quiet today and only really switched on after dark. I love it when I get surprised in my fishing and learn something new!

Night pollock.

Still feeding hard after last light.

Eyes bigger than his belly..

I then took the bus home and made a lovely dinner of my codling and some poor cod. Overall I believe I made the right decision to go fishing!

Thanks for reading!

Gear used.

Rod:  MC KG Evolution, KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g.
Reel: Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 0.8
Leader: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 8lbs.
Lures: various 2.5"-3" slim paddletails, 4" Berkley Gulp Sandeels on Texas rig.

I just couldnt resist!

Last week I was given a surprise three days off from work and not being able to control myself, got the ticket for Oban and went to get the car from my brother. Although I wasn't gonna fish my usual area but instead chose to drive up to Skye yet again! I blame the weather for this (!) as the unseasonably mild and dry days were absolutely perfect for fishing. The only factor I didn't calculate was the moon phase as it came to play a critical role to my fishing success (as I will describe further down). Moreover I only have videos from my fish and sessions there, again for reasons I will mention...
For this trip I was better prepared with new leader line (16lbs), more metal jigs of 15g-20g, more cheburashkas (15g-20g) and lots more soft plastics along with a few hardbaits that I thought could work so I was looking very optimistic...
So as the winds were from the south, It was yet again a good opportunity to head to the northern marks. Thus I drove in the night at Aird were I slept in the car.
I woke up to a lovely day and headed to the rocks. First order of the day were topwaters!
Unlike last time, I took a few with me including poppers and WTD lures as I was sure I'd have fun with them on Skye.. After seeing some disturbance on the water's surface (definitely from hunting coalies) I made a cast and after a couple more I got a good take and a lively fight. I then landed a very good coalie of 2lbs thus making me think that surface fishing might be a legit way of catching the bigger coalies as well... After fishing some more on the surface and having a laugh with all the smacks and hits along with catching a few more coalies and pollock. It was time for some serious fishing..
I started with the usual cheburashka and paddletail but was surprised to see that the fish were being a bit picky... Last time I had great success on this mark with senkos/stickbaits and of course the
Salty Bait inchiku/stickbait combo, thus I put on a 5" stickbait on a weighted offset that did a much better work. Still, I noticed that the water was receding very fast and it was then that it dawned on me that we are near the full moon and that means big tides. Now this may be advantageous for some species (like bass etc) but I think for pollock and other structure-oriented fish may not be so positive.
In combination with the mild weather and sunshine it felt as if the fish were dispersed and the action was not as hectic as last time. More over the bigger fish didn't show with most fish being in the 2.5lbs-4lbs bracket.
I walked towards the deeper water spot  thinking of trying some new inchiku/madai jigs where I caught the ling and cuckoo wrasse before, only to find a completely altered mark. The water was very low now as the tide was ebbing and a torrent was pushing past the rocks. It was impossible to hold bottom but making the most out of the situation I used some normal metal jigs, casting them uptide, letting them touch down and jigging them near the bottom and adjacent to the rocks. I lost a couple jigs doing that but got rewarded with a hard fighting pollock.

I had planned to fish this mark for most of the day but facing these conditions I thought it best to change mark. I headed back to the car and then made my way to the middle peninsula in the area around Waternish that I had great success last time. I reached the shallow kelpy bay and by now the tide was on its way up. I started from the same rocks in the middle of  the bay and put on a Salty bait/stickbait combo. After a few casts I got a good take and after a strong fight managed a nice pollock of 2.7kg. Unfortunately I messed up with the action cam buttons and only got the release video...

Thinking this was a good start and that there would be more of them about I made my way for the rocky point overlooking the bay. I was shocked when I realised that the water was too high and I couldn't access the point! This was disappointing as it was near sundown and I knew there would be a host of pollock waiting for me there... Anyway I went back to the rocks i was before and just played around with the surface lures. Again I had so many hits and splashes with only a few fish to show but I got some useful notes afterwards.
After the sun coming down I called it a day and had something to eat. Moreover I formulated a better plan for the next day so as not to be caught out unprepared by the tide state again. I was going to fish the same area in the morning as the tide would recede and then maybe have a quick session on Neist point before the drive home.
So, early next morning I was back on the bay. the water was still high but receding and I decided to play around with various lures until I could access the rocky point. I started with cheburashka and paddletail but other than a couple smaller fish I didn't get anything. I could see birds diving about though and a seal so I knew the fish were there. I changed to the inchiku/stickbait and got a fish first cast. I then lost the lure with another fish (!) and seeing that both takes were quite high in the water column, I decided it was time for the hardbaits...
I put on an Xrap in mackerel but after a few casts, nothing. I switched to a Max rap 15 thinking it would imitate a sandeel and on first cast I got a coalie. Second cast and after a few jerks I get a proper fish on! It fought well and it was clearly a decent fish but it took me to the kelp just a few meters away from me... Not having another Max rap, I used a sinking pencil lure by Taps and after  letting it sink I started retrieving it with constant jerks and some pauses. In one of those pauses I got hit and landed an average fish soon after. By now it was time to move to the other spot though but I was glad I tried the hard baits.. I'm pretty sure that in marks such as this and in places like Skye they can be an added weapon when the fish want something different as in this case.

I scrambled the rocks to my spot and since there was still plenty of water I decided to work a 5" Powertail worm on a Texas rig with a  #1 Decoy RS worm 101 hook, an orange luminous bead and a 7g cone weight. I would work this until the water pulled out and the kelp would be too tangled to get the lure amongst it. This certainly did the trick and I had fish after fish all of a decent size and fighting well. They were all in tip top condition and really fat (like the ones I encountered on the East Coast). The new thicker leader line seemed to be working better as I lost fewer fish from close in. This was to change as the tide ebbed even more and I had to change presentation to cheburashka and metals for longer casts. A true kelp forest, was like a wall in front of me and I lost some fish as they went straight in the kelp-wall and even the 16lbs fluoro along with the 1.5PE braid weren't enough to bring them up. I'm starting to think that the sort of proper shore jigging gear or the setups used for 'punching' in largemouth bass fishing maybe whats needed for these situations but I don't encounter them often enough to warrant such a purchase...!
Below the video of the action.

I fished hard till the bites died down although I could get fish on the metals far out but couldn't bring them up. As I was bringing another fish though and while bending on the side of the rock to thumb it, I didn't realise that the water had gone so low now, so I bend over even more and extended my hand when I felt my boots slipping! I quickly managed to grab hold of some kelp roots just on the side of the rock and was thinking that I managed to avert disaster only to slip again and fall in when I tried to take a step! The water wasn't as cold as I expected and after a couple attempts I was back up on the rocks but I was horrified when I realised that my 'water resistant NOT waterproof smartphone' wasn't working... Thus the phone is dead now and all the pics with it! On closer inc=spection afterwards I realised that the front studs of my boots were worn out...
I made my way back to the car and changed to some dry clothes. Not dissuaded I stuck to the plan and drove to Neist Point for a quick session before it got dark. This time I didn't take the action cam as it was almost out of battery and this was a pity as the session was yet again spectacular. The water was rough and some major waves would crash on the rocks from time to time making for a very scenic background. Taking the water clarity into consideration, I started by using a bright pink 3.25" paddler grub on a 14g cheburashka that had given me good results previously on the same mark. Casting straight out from the rocky point I could feel the lure being dragged with the current so I opted for fishing the inside of a gully. I got a couple sharp bites but no hook ups and thinking it could be a wrasse, I changed lure to a UV green/chartreuse 3" vibro worm and got the fish first cast. It turned out to be a fat kelp pollock and after a few more casts in the gully, only yielding a couple good coalfish, I decided to concentrate at distance again. I changed to a slightly heavier cheburashka (16g) and a silver Paddler Grub. I would let the lure being carried away by the current, only giving it a couple hops on the bottom from time to time until it reached the rocks again. Most times it didn't reach the rocks as it was intercepted by fat pollock staging near the entrance to the gully. These were fish that judging by their length would probably be around 4+lbs but in this case they were more likely 5-6lbs! Around the end I managed a better fish as well that I just couldn't lift its head up from the bottom!
An excellent session and the best way to end yet another visit to this magical place. I honestly think this is the start of an addiction!

A video from the surface fishing.

I will close this post with some further notes on the fishing and conditions I encountered.

• Good weather but with big tides around full moon, transformed marks. Fish feeding hard but more dispersed.
• Fish somewhat more particular than other times. Possible keying on a particular food source? Simple paddletails didn't cut it all the time, while the inchiku/stickbait was ever reliable!
• Good potential with slim jerkbaits at certain marks (shallowish, plenty of kelp) definite slim baitfish pattern.
• On surface fishing the Ima Skimmer was by far the most effective lure. Poppers and popper/wtd hybrids much less so. Always best at around sunrise/sundown.
• Coalfish are much more efficient surface predators than pollock. The latter would at times jump spectacularly clear out of the water but would miss the lure completely!
• All fish were well conditioned and very well fed. May well be the best time (except spring perhaps) for the big fish. Also could possibly be the best time for a large coalfish...
• The upgrade to 16lbs leader made a slight difference when fishing at close range and also I had fewer outright cuts on the runs but from the deeper water and generally when the fish tangled right up into the thick kelp they were lost. Moreover it seemed at times that the more stick I gave them the faster they would burrow...
•  Greenish/silvery slim paddletail lures usually more universally effective.
• Takes little wind to roughen up the water at Neist Point but its usually worthwhile fishing there. 
• In rough conditions, larger, dark paddletails on heavier leads were very effective as well.

Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod:  MC KG Evolution KGS-902L, 2.7m, 7-23g.
Reel: Abu Garcia Soron STX 40
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 1.5
Leader: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 16lbs.
Lures: 10g Duel Salty Bait/4.5" stickbait, 12g-16g cheburashka with 3.25"AGM paddler Grub paddletails. 5" stickbaits on 5g weighted offset hooks. Ima skimmer 11cm, Rapala Max rap 15cm.