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.
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 soI 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.
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.
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.
As the title says the last few sessions saw me trying to focus on these two species. Wrasse because I haven't really targeted them this year and codling because it soon will be time for them to shoal up and provide excellent sport..
For the wrasse I tried at Loch Fyne while for the codling I was planning on an East coast trip (needing to take advantage of having the car before my brother returned from his holidays back home).
The good weather has unbelievably lasted till now (though don't think for too much longer) and I was sure I could get some ballans. I started not at my usual harbour mark but on a rocky outcrop a few miles further down the road, that is a known dive site and lots of wrasse are seen there. On arrival I realised that I was a too early as the tide was coming up and cut off access to the point and after casting on the sides I managed a couple wrasse and pollock. Although I was sure that most of the fish would be at the point (as the divers reported most of the sightings there) I decided not to stick around for the tide to recede and just go to my usual haunts..
I was fishing my LRF setup with the MC Solpara as I love using this rod and barely used it this summer.. I started casting around my favourite rocky point and chatting to some anglers that were pulling in pollock after pollock (small and average ones mostly) on float fished baits and surfcasting gear (!) when I got a good bite and a strong first run! After this the fish quietened down and I could feel some good weight on the end of the line... Bringing it to the surface I saw what must have been the best wrasse of the year flapping on the surface! This usually means that the fish is beaten, but nobody told that fish and it made another powerful run through some rocks and got stuck... My leader parted soon after... Thinking that this is part of the deal with wrasse and lrf gear I stuck on but no more wrasse came from the point. I then moved to the inside of the harbour where there are lots of boulders but the water was very cloudy there and no fish could be found. Moving to the next point I started picking up some chunky codling and pollock before finishing with a small ballan. I decided to head home soon after as I was tired and was planning to return the next day anyway.
A very dark ballan.
Nice pollock on the Solpara.
Codling time coming!
Pretty ballan.
The next day the weather got noticeably chillier but still sunny and after a lot of casting around with small creatures on jika rig I failed to get any wrasse on that presentation. I got plenty of poor cod from the deep though and then reverted to the cheburashka. I was fishing 4g-6g cheburashka and small paddletails, though on the finesse setup this time, and after putting on a peculiar 2" softie (Bait breath O-Go Kyu that I had in my bag for years but never really tried them alot) I got the only ballan of the day.
I then switched to heavier cheburashka and 2.5" AGM Paddler grub paddletails, targeting the codling. I started getting some but I had lots of snags and cut lines, as my mainline has weakened especially after my Skye trip. Seeing that the codling weren't that big I just started tying straight on the braid without a leader. Unsurprisingly this didn't affect the codling one bit...
Poor cod on jika.
Quirky 2" Bait Breath O-Go Kyu does the job..
Not leader shy..
The next day I headed off for the East coast at the same mark at Fast castle as the week before. The intense westerlies had died down a bit and that mark seemed the best choice. Moreover I was in an exploratory mood and wanted to walk around to find some more areas to fish.. Needless to say that after wasting 1.5 hours hiking up and down the cliffs and sweating like a pig, I didn't manage to find a suitable spot and instead of settling on the known rock, I decided to drive to St Abbs head thinking I would have more options there.
On arriving I realised that St Abbs is more exposed to the wind and the eastern side of it was showing frothy signs of the swell. I decided to give it a go and started getting among some jumbo mackerel on the metals. It was good fun but I didn't come here for them and soon started working the bottom with soft plastics. The sea was too rough for my liking and after some casts I was ready to head back at Fast castle, when I got a good bite on the bottom... I recasted and a pollock was on my lure OTD. I then got a nice coalie and realised that although the sea was rough these fish were feeding... I changed spot to where I had been before with my mate Scott and started working my lures again near the bottom hoping that a cod would take it...
Alas this mark was infested with the fat mackerel that were hitting the lures hard and getting caught at every cast! I changed lure colour from silvery/white ones to bright orange and pink in order to dissuade the mackerel but also to be more visible in the cloudy water. This seemed to do the business and although I still got mackerel, they would loose interest if the lure was left static or worked very slowly near the bottom whereas before they would still take it...
The first pollock didn't take long to show and I was impressed by the size of its belly! The next few fish were similarly in good condition and fat bellies, showing that they were feeding well in this rough water. I believe that this is because the baitfish were concentrated tighter and the predators took advantage of the relatively low water visibility to attack them. I was then even more surprised when after I struck at a repeated take and feeling good resistance on the other end, I got a lovely ballan on the rocks! This reminded me of my days on Sark where when the water was rough (not too rough though) the wrasse fishing would show less numbers but bigger fish.
After this fish I persevered while getting drenched by a few big waves until I retreated further back in the bay. Last time I had some good pollock from this exact area and after a few cast I had a good fish but it didn't feel like a pollock... The fish wasn't really making runs and instead zig zaging on the way back. This made me believe that I finally had a good cod although there were no head thumps...Bringing the fish closer I could see it was a good pollock but in the last minute it crash dived and cut me on the rock in front of my feet. Because of the large waves I was fishing from further back on the rocks and the line got cut on the lip of the ledge.
A few casts later I had another take and a similar slow fight and yet another pollock. Again the waves made the landing difficult and the line parted after a wave came crushing and then pulling the fish away while I was holding the leader... I did touch the leader though so it still counts! I think its time to invest in a good ISO net with their long telescopic handles... I haven't used a net in my fishing for a year!
I'm not so sure as to why the pollock behaved like this but possibly the water clarity had something to do with it, or their full bellies!
The sun was gone by that point and it was soon time for the drive back as I had to pickup my brother from the airport.
A long way down...
...and a long way up!
looks fine settled form a distance..
Chunky mackerel!
Chunky pollock...
500g of mackerel!
Not expecting one of them...
Lots of white water..
Even the little ones were chunky!
Well I really enjoyed my few day's fishing and certainly made most of the car but I'm now back to being carless! The cod are still in my mind though and I hope Ill be able to somehow arrange a trip for them on the East coast.
Tight lines!
Gear used.
Rod: MC KG Evolution, KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g. MC solpara SPS-S792M, 7'9", 0.5-5g
Reel: Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f, Shimano Biomaster 1000fb
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 0.8, Mebarin braid 0.4 PE
Leader: P Line Halo fluorocarbon, 10lbs, Toray premium fluorocarbon, 6lb
Lures: various
