Sunshine doesn't mean hot action...

Had two sessions lately both under blue, sunny skies... That didn't equate to great results though.. The low water temps (6.7C!) and being in the spawning period definitely kept the fish down low and unwilling to bite... Still though with perseverance I managed to winkle some out and I noticed that there were two distinct categories of them. Some fish were bunched together over broken ground in deeper water and looked definitely worn out with lots of scratch marks, red fins and worms on them. While I also found other fish keeping very close in amongst the kelp being more active and looking in much better condition.. Food for thought.
A mixture of slow jigs and softplastics was used with the fish biting in short feeding spells.

A fish from deep water in poor condition..

And one from the shallows looking much better...

Towards midday I started getting some more fish but then the damn seal showed up and put a stop to the fun.
I reckon this year it will be a couple more weeks before things start to really fire up. I hope the temperature will start rising soon though as I want to have a go for some trout in freshwater...

Tight lines

Gear used.
Rod: MajorCraft Solpara SPS-1002LSJ, 3.05m. max 50g
Reel: Shimano SW Biomaster 4000XG
Mainline: Duel X wire X8 PE1.5
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 20lbs and 25lbs
Lures: slow jigs and plastics on cheburashkas

Fussy buggers...

In March now and as usual things have slowed down fishing wise... It was very interesting to note the fish change behaviour from pre
cold front to post frontal conditions. Although Skye was largely unaffected by the snow and extreme weather that the rest of the country faced (we did get some below zero temps and strong easterlies though), that was enough to push the fish down deep near the bottom, and combined with them being in spawning mode, make them very fussy...
Just before the cold front I had a very entertaining session catching pollock and coalies on sinking pencils and vibration lures, with the latter being clearly more effective as the fish were inhaling them and coming high up in the water column to hit them on straight retrieve...
All this changed after the front passed and I didn't manage a single touch the other day on the hardbaits.. Actually, even the softplastics weren't producing as they were supposed to... Fish showed a clear aversion to loud/bright colours and only hit natural ones. But even then the bites weren't decisive and fast strikes were necessary to hook them.
Moreover it's the first time this winter that I've started seeing some pollock with worms on them as they've only now been pushed to the bottom and are less active... Also, the coalies seem to be few and far between after the cold conditions...

Pre front, well conditioned and aggressive fish...

Post frontal, natural softplastics near the bottom...

Interesting colours and markings on this one...

The areas that seem to be less affected by these conditions though tend to be deep rocky marks near fish cages and there are always active fish around them...

Active fish near cages...

I have also tried unsuccessfully to catch my first fish on the Fly, but with the current conditions and the fish staying deep its quite a challenge, so I might wait till warmer weather to get at it again...

Was asked about my stud arrangement...

Tight Lines!

Gear used.
Rod: APIA Foojin'R Best Bower 96 MLX
Reel: Shimano Stradic FK C3000
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X8 PE 1.2
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 20lbs
Lures: various