Run and gun!

This weekend saw me adopting the run and gun tactic in order to cover as much ground as possible (and new locations) and catching as many species as I could.. Moreover I wanted to finally break my blank streak in the freshwater side and more specifically catch a fish in Loch Awe!
Thus I used mainly 'searcher' lures aiming to find the most active fish fast and cover vast distances. The lures comprised mini spoons, spinners, blade baits and some soft plastics perfect for power fishing.
My plan for Saturday was to visit Loch Avich first for a crack at some trout, then go down to the northern side of Loch Awe again searching for trout, following this I wanted to try at the Taynuilt pier in Loch Etive for a chance of sea trout and finally finish the day at my mark in Bonawe aiming at the pollock.
The morning seemed promising with overcast sky and little wind. I reached Loch Avich and was looking forward to finding some trout. Not knowing the loch's features I decided to wade and fish some bays with stream mouths running in them, hoping to find some vegetation. There was no surface activity and after wading for more than a mile of the bank without a touch (and falling in the water/getting my smartphone wet) , I decided to go to Loch Awe.
Again I focused near stream mouths and steep drop offs near them but it wasn't meant to be and I got no bites. I was getting frustrated but I was hell bend to catch myself a trout and tried the pier at Taynuilt near the mouth of the River Awe. On reaching the pier I noticed the tide was out and decided to wade here as well. I was using my new rod and reel (Majorcraft Crostage CRK-T782AJI, Mitchell Mag Pro Lite 1000) and a 5cm Hansen stripper spoon. I saw some action in the water and had a couple bumps but then I realised there was an otter around and the fish weren't feeding well. After a while the otter moved away and I made some casts near some vegetation. I got a bite and then another one and hooked a small brownie that gave a good scrap on my setup. I let the little guy go and continued fishing. I then lost another one that threw the hook on a jump and finally got another small trout only this time the fish was looking more like a sea trout, silvery and with only a few red dots. There were no pics unfortunately as the phone was still drying out!

Loch Avich.

 I then moved to my final mark and was very keen to try a different approach to the pollock. I knew that the water was coming in at the natural harbour at this time and the pollock usually sit at the entrance, ambushing whatever comes in with the current. I was going to use small blade baits (metal vibration) cast 'upstream' and worked on the bottom with the flow. I was trying to mimic more of a prawn type bait then a fish with short sharp flicks and pauses to get the lure back to the bottom. I also used the Ecogear ZX 35 blades that also look like a shrimp and I was sure the pollock would oblige..
And oblige they did with many fish falling for this little blade some good ones among them as well. Again sorry about the bad pics but the phone had just dried out a bit but there was still some moisture on the lens left..

I found it was better to wait a bit on the strike for better hooksets with the ZX.

Coalies like it as well.

This one with lamprey markings?

Today I was going to visit Loch Awe again albeit on the Southern shore aiming once more at the trout and later planning to fish some shallow bays for a chance of a pike since they are now spawning.
I picked my UL gear and set on spinning with small spinners and spoons while walking along the shoreline. It was a bit later in the day than I wanted but last nights clubbing had taken its toll! Not much was happening until I found some weedy areas and even then I only got a couple follows from small fish and bumps. I had walked a long way from my starting point and was thinking of stoping and accepting defeat for one more time... I decided on a few more casts and I also changed to a slightly larger (#2) golden spinner. On the end of the retrieve I saw a big silver fish smash my little spinner and I knew this was no trout.. I had hooked and was face to face with the king of the rivers, a shiny salmon of almost a meter not three meters away from me! The fish didn't go on a run instead it moved slowly up and down the shore with me following it and being unable to do anything.. This went on for a few minutes and I got impatient and tried to coax the fish a bit closer. This seemed to wake up the fish and with a couple flicks of its tail took around 20m of line! I noticed the drag was a bit tight but didn't think of loosening it as the line held... Then the fish went on a second even more powerful run and the line parted... I was left speechless and utterly devastated .. First for loosing the fish and secondly for leaving the spinner in its mouth. I fell on my back and stayed there for a few minutes cursing my bad luck for losing the fish of a lifetime.. After that I had no more interest in continuing fishing there and decided to try in the bays for pike and hopefully get luckier there.
I got my medium gear and put on my trusted 13cm Savagear soft 4play mounted on the offset hook but with a treble attached to it. I kept only one of the tungsten weights on as I wanted the lure as light as possible since I would be fishing in very shallow and weedy water.
I waded in to get a good cast and worked the lure in a sink and draw fashion with plenty of twitches of the rod tip. The first bite didn't wait long and it was a hard one. The fish wasn't big but it put on an excellent fight with strong runs and two spectacular jumps clear off the water! Finally I hand-landed a well conditioned jack of about 2.5kg. I kept moving and saw some disturbance in the vegetation near the shore. The pike were definitely there spawning and I hoped to get a female. In another long cast and I got a solid take not long in the retrieve and this time the fish felt much better. Strong slow head shakes showed that this was the fish I was looking for.. The pike didn't run but instead kept going left and right keeping resistance by using its body, but as soon as it came near the shore it started fighting harder and did a few runs. Slowly but surely I was gaining on it though and in the end I managed to slip my hand under its chin and pull her out and on to some grass. She was an absolute stunner and possibly my PB, unfortunately I had left both the measuring tape and the scales in the car! I used the rod for a size estimate and the fish almost reached the first guide so It looks like near the magic metre mark! To be honest I didn't even bother looking closely and examining the fish as I wanted to put her back in the water as soon as possible since the long fight had tired her. After a couple minutes she was gone with a couple powerful strokes of her tail.. I was very happy with this fish but unfortunately it was not real consolation for the lost salmon..

The first jack.

A beauty!

The eye of a predator.

Shallow bays are the best spots in Spring.

Feeling full of the days fishing I decided to head home and go for a curry with my brother in Fort William. After the curry I tried some lrf on the pier wanting to see what was out there. And after a few casts the coalies started coming! I was focusing mostly near the bottom and close to the walls as I was hoping for a sea scorpion since Ive never caught this fish before. A few casts later i get a bite and after striking some resistance without the crazy coalfish dives. And I finally did it! My first scorpion fish and a very pretty one too with  an almost fluorescent yellow belly.. After this fish I couldn't ask for anything else and headed home..

Coalfish always there for some action!

My first one!

Amazing colours.

What a weekend that has been! If only I had landed that salmon I would be the happiest man on earth.. I'm sure it will haunt me for the rest of the summer...

Tight lines

Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g, Majorcraft CRK-T782AJI
Reel:Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f, Mitchell Mag Pro Lite 1000
Mainline: Seaguar Kanzen braid 10lbs, Sunline siglon fluorocarbon, 4lbs
lure: various