This week saw a tremendous change in weather patterns and as if somebody flipped a switch it is now summer (well for these few days at least)! I was waiting for my chance to get to the water and got it on Monday as I was working in the afternoon and had the morning free.
The mark I was aching to fish but couldn't all this time was Aird, as it is exposed to Northerly and Easterly winds and had been too rough till now.
I woke up around 06:30 and drove to the mark. High tide was around 08:00 and the wind was only a light breeze. After the walk to the point I was greeted by a slightly rougher sea than I would've liked but still very fishable...
It was the first outing with my new Daiwa Freams 2500 reel and it was newly spooled with PE 1.0 Duel Hardcore X4 braid. The rod of choice was my MC KG Evolution Basic KGS-902L.
Its been a long time since I fished with a Daiwa reel but this season I'm looking to compare this Freams to my Stradic Ci4...
As the sea was choppy and the mark quite deep, I picked UV and vibrant coloured shads to mount on 16g-18g cheburashkas. These certainly did the trick, and I started getting hits OTD. I was surprised to see the fish hunting so high on the water column and they seemed to be in a feeding mode as I soon started getting them in! They were only average fish for Skye standards (2-3lbs) but very welcome, especially after the last few slow sessions. After a while, I got a better fish but unfortunately lost it on the way up... The fish weren't fighting very hard and seemed relatively lean, testament to the very cold water temperatures here (still below 9C!).
After the high tide point (and getting soaked by some large waves!) I changed lures to metals as the fish seemed to be getting more aggressive. At some point I hooked a nice fish and was bringing it in before it managed to get snagged close in. I felt it getting free and applied more pressure when suddenly my reel started screaming and loosing line! This went on for a few minutes at least and it took me a while to think of taking a video on my mobile!
Below is the last part of it before my line broke off near the leader knot...
I retied and cast again, caught another decent pollock and then the same thing happened at the same area (the lip of the ledge before deep water). Now I've caught a seal before on this rod but it didn't feel like this. Moreover for the duration of the session (3hours approx), I saw no signs of any seals about, and they are not usually very inconspicuous. I really have no clue of what it was (Tuna lol!) but it took about 70m of new braid with it along with my fish and lure... On a positive note, the drag of the Freams proved to be top notch!
I think this is going to be a very productive season fishing-wise and full of surprises!
On a closing note, I have been thinking for a while now to offer guided fishing trips on my days off from work, gear can be provided and different disciplines and species targeted. Obviously this would be lures only (LRF, HRF, Light shore jigging etc) and with a strong emphasis on catch and release.
I believe that Skye is a true fishing paradise and with the summer fast approaching more species will become available so if you're interested please get in touch!
Tight Lines and more to come!
Gear used.
Rod: MC KG Evolution KGS-902L, 2.7m, 7-23g.
Reel: Daiwa Freams 2500
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 1.0
Leader: YGK Nitlon DFC flouorocarbon 16lbs
Lures: 16g-18g cheburashka with 3" UV, Fluo and Chartreuse paddletails.
The mark I was aching to fish but couldn't all this time was Aird, as it is exposed to Northerly and Easterly winds and had been too rough till now.
I woke up around 06:30 and drove to the mark. High tide was around 08:00 and the wind was only a light breeze. After the walk to the point I was greeted by a slightly rougher sea than I would've liked but still very fishable...
It was the first outing with my new Daiwa Freams 2500 reel and it was newly spooled with PE 1.0 Duel Hardcore X4 braid. The rod of choice was my MC KG Evolution Basic KGS-902L.
Its been a long time since I fished with a Daiwa reel but this season I'm looking to compare this Freams to my Stradic Ci4...
As the sea was choppy and the mark quite deep, I picked UV and vibrant coloured shads to mount on 16g-18g cheburashkas. These certainly did the trick, and I started getting hits OTD. I was surprised to see the fish hunting so high on the water column and they seemed to be in a feeding mode as I soon started getting them in! They were only average fish for Skye standards (2-3lbs) but very welcome, especially after the last few slow sessions. After a while, I got a better fish but unfortunately lost it on the way up... The fish weren't fighting very hard and seemed relatively lean, testament to the very cold water temperatures here (still below 9C!).
 |
| First of many... |
 |
| A bit choppy.. |
 |
| Gleaming in the sun. |
After the high tide point (and getting soaked by some large waves!) I changed lures to metals as the fish seemed to be getting more aggressive. At some point I hooked a nice fish and was bringing it in before it managed to get snagged close in. I felt it getting free and applied more pressure when suddenly my reel started screaming and loosing line! This went on for a few minutes at least and it took me a while to think of taking a video on my mobile!
Below is the last part of it before my line broke off near the leader knot...
I think this is going to be a very productive season fishing-wise and full of surprises!
On a closing note, I have been thinking for a while now to offer guided fishing trips on my days off from work, gear can be provided and different disciplines and species targeted. Obviously this would be lures only (LRF, HRF, Light shore jigging etc) and with a strong emphasis on catch and release.
I believe that Skye is a true fishing paradise and with the summer fast approaching more species will become available so if you're interested please get in touch!
Tight Lines and more to come!
Gear used.
Rod: MC KG Evolution KGS-902L, 2.7m, 7-23g.
Reel: Daiwa Freams 2500
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 1.0
Leader: YGK Nitlon DFC flouorocarbon 16lbs
Lures: 16g-18g cheburashka with 3" UV, Fluo and Chartreuse paddletails.
Nice, interesting encounter!!
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