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.