That's fishing...

 Been a busy couple weeks for me with family holidays and other commitments but last week I hosted Alan and Paul again for a week. Up until their arrival the weather was fantastic but typically once they got here the winds picked up. We had two full days and I have to admit that unfortunately, this was some of the toughest fishing I've had in years... We fished hard, covered ground, moved areas, changed a myriad of lures and presentations but it just wasnt happening. Thankfully the lads had a couple good days on bait with spurdog and rays giving them some action. 

Even though we found some concentrations of fish (looser than last year), the abundance of bait was possibly what made them very picky. Moreover we couldnt hit the areas I'd have liked due to the wind. I felt really bad for the guys as they worked so hard but the fish didnt play ball. Especially when they brought a glut of new lures and jigheads to try as well. We cought some average sized fish but nothing to shout about.

Second-cast fish filled with promise...

A couple double strikers.

Best fish on a deadsticked sp on cheburashka.

Anyway, the lads had a good time as they enjoyed the pubs (a bit more than they'd like!) and hopefully they'll be back next year to try again. This is fishing I suppose and even in a top destination like Skye, nothing is guaranteed.

I experienced the finnicky mood of the fish furtherly, on a solo outing on my way to a family day out. I had a few casts early in the morning at a weedy spot where I know to hold good fish. I raised one on the Autowalker and then as they wouldnt come up, I tried a variety of softplastics and metals. I must've had a dozen follows on my lures and at time nips at them but not taking it properly. The water clarity was very good as it usually is this time of year and I could see the fish clearly... In the end I tried a Xorus Patchinko just in case and managed a solitary pollock.

Solitary Patchinko smasher.

The abundance of bait, clear waters and very sttled weather are my main plausible factors for the  finnicky nature of the fish at the moment and I really hope this doesnt last long as we're entering my favourite fishing time of the year...

Tight lines!