Yesterday was the first day I managed to get out and do some fishing in December! We've had some horrific weather the past couple weeks with constant storms and winds of up to 80mph! Even the roof of my shed was blown away and I had to rebuild it!
Nevertheless yesterday I had return client Rob, come up for a session! It was touch and go weather-wise but seeing the conditions in the morning, we decided to go ahead and launch.
Even though we had a great couple sessions last time Rob was up he didn't have enough and this time he wanted to get some big ones on the fly from the sib and if possibly OTT on surface lures too.
Considering the conditions on the day, I thought that it could be tricky doing either of these!
Air temperature was 4C with intermittent rain and N-NE wins. There was some swell as well but it wasn't too bad.
We reached our spot after a short run. We would be fishing the start of a kelpy bay with depths of 8-15m.
We started fishing with softplastics but it was all fairly quiet at first. It was an hour or so after HW and there was little current. I played around with lures, switching to metals and other sps and after about 30mins, the bites started coming... They were good fish in excellent condition.
The bite started to develop, and we had fish taking our lures quite high in the water column. It was time for topwaters! I put on an Autowalker 115s and after only a couple casts, I had a blowup and then I hooked up to a nice fish! Took a while to land it but as soon as I did, I gave the rod to Rob so that he had a go. It wasn't long till he had a couple fish jump on it and then a hook up on a consecutive cast! It was another good fish and Rob was chuffed to get one on topwater as it was something we came close to doing last time but didn't manage to.
Happy with getting the topwater fish, Rob now wanted to get the Fly gear out. It really wasn't good conditions for the fly, as the wind was a pain! But Rob is an experienced fly-angler and managed to cast well despite the wind. Moreover, he would let the current take the fly further out and then start his retrieve. It didn't take long for the bites to come and after a couple fish that shed the hook, he was able to get one in!
The next fish took far longer to come in and the fight was like a tug of war with the fly rod bent to the base! Soon enough Rob got the upper hand and got it close to the surface, this was a far better fish and I barely managed to fit it in the net!
We were elated of getting such a fish landed and about the general results of a day that was looking to be hard for us. I didn't have my scales with me but this may well have been a double and Rob definitely deserved it! It really wasn't easy having to persevere on the fly in conditions like that. Perseverance does pay off as they say!
Rob managed another nice fish on the fly but then as the tide intensified, so did the wind and the bite slowed down. It was time to head home and we were glad to get out of the wind! On our way back we were lucky to encounter a pod of dolphins that came extremely close to the boat. It was amazing to see them from such close proximity!
It was great fishing with Rob again and he's already thinking of coming back in the Summer next year as he wants to see Skye with some sun and not the usual rain and wind he's encountered so far!😆 I do hope we get some settled weather soon though as the fish are still so active and takeable on many methods.
Tight Lines!
Nevertheless yesterday I had return client Rob, come up for a session! It was touch and go weather-wise but seeing the conditions in the morning, we decided to go ahead and launch.
Even though we had a great couple sessions last time Rob was up he didn't have enough and this time he wanted to get some big ones on the fly from the sib and if possibly OTT on surface lures too.
Considering the conditions on the day, I thought that it could be tricky doing either of these!
Air temperature was 4C with intermittent rain and N-NE wins. There was some swell as well but it wasn't too bad.
We reached our spot after a short run. We would be fishing the start of a kelpy bay with depths of 8-15m.
We started fishing with softplastics but it was all fairly quiet at first. It was an hour or so after HW and there was little current. I played around with lures, switching to metals and other sps and after about 30mins, the bites started coming... They were good fish in excellent condition.
The bite started to develop, and we had fish taking our lures quite high in the water column. It was time for topwaters! I put on an Autowalker 115s and after only a couple casts, I had a blowup and then I hooked up to a nice fish! Took a while to land it but as soon as I did, I gave the rod to Rob so that he had a go. It wasn't long till he had a couple fish jump on it and then a hook up on a consecutive cast! It was another good fish and Rob was chuffed to get one on topwater as it was something we came close to doing last time but didn't manage to.
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| We're in! |
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| Nice stamp of fish. |
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| Autowalker 115s does it again! |
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| Finally, he got his too! |
Happy with getting the topwater fish, Rob now wanted to get the Fly gear out. It really wasn't good conditions for the fly, as the wind was a pain! But Rob is an experienced fly-angler and managed to cast well despite the wind. Moreover, he would let the current take the fly further out and then start his retrieve. It didn't take long for the bites to come and after a couple fish that shed the hook, he was able to get one in!
The next fish took far longer to come in and the fight was like a tug of war with the fly rod bent to the base! Soon enough Rob got the upper hand and got it close to the surface, this was a far better fish and I barely managed to fit it in the net!
We were elated of getting such a fish landed and about the general results of a day that was looking to be hard for us. I didn't have my scales with me but this may well have been a double and Rob definitely deserved it! It really wasn't easy having to persevere on the fly in conditions like that. Perseverance does pay off as they say!
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| Bendage! |
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| Big mama on the fly! |
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| I really do think most fly anglers are missing out! |
Rob managed another nice fish on the fly but then as the tide intensified, so did the wind and the bite slowed down. It was time to head home and we were glad to get out of the wind! On our way back we were lucky to encounter a pod of dolphins that came extremely close to the boat. It was amazing to see them from such close proximity!
It was great fishing with Rob again and he's already thinking of coming back in the Summer next year as he wants to see Skye with some sun and not the usual rain and wind he's encountered so far!😆 I do hope we get some settled weather soon though as the fish are still so active and takeable on many methods.
Tight Lines!