A Spring like last year?

 I've had a single session so far this month but I have to say I was surprised with the results and the fish behaviour considering the time of year and weather conditions! 

I set off with an ok forecast that, as is so often the case up here, got worse by the time I reached the mark... The northerly swell had persisted throughout the night and I decided on a quick change of mark to a more sheltered one.  This mark is very sheltered but in close proximity to deep water and strong currents. It mainly holds good numbers of average pollock and usually big shoals of coalies.

As soon as I arrived I found the fish holding deep and close to the bottom. I started with the usual soft plastics and it wasn't long for the bites to develop. Once I got a couple fish up, I started switching up the presentations using some lipless/vibration hardbaits and A-rigs thinking they would fire the fish up as it usually happens this time of year. Surprisingly the fish didn't show much interest in these... It was near high water and I saw some bait fish passing higher in the water column, this possibly raised the pollock up and called in a big shoal of coalfish. I had a couple shallow attacks of them on the A-rig and I thought to try a topwater since they seemed fired up. The coalies didn't disappoint and had hit after hit for the best part of an hour! When casting closer to the ledge I noticed a couple pollock coming up for the Autowalker and it wasn't long until they got fired up too. I had a couple hit and misses from good fish until one of the bigger ones stuck! Cracking action for the beginning of March! 

A cracking fish and a cracking take!

Big and small wanted the Autowalker!

Plenty of Coalies.

Rugged fish.

Standard size.

I kept some fish for a feed and all of the pollock were very close to spawning with enlarged gonads. I don't think it's my imagination but in the past couple years Spring fishing has definitely improved...

Water temperature is slightly colder than what it was at this time last year but still close to 9C which may have something to do with the perkier fish. I really hope I can get out soon before all the fish spawn and get myself a couple of fat mamas!

Tight Lines

Belated report...

 Somehow we're in February now and I've realised I haven't made a report of last couple months  fishing. To be fair we've had storm after storm hitting us and any fishing sessions were few and far between weeks of bad weather. 

I kicked off my first session of the year at the beginning of January and the fishing was hectic! Plenty of topwater fish with the coalies being especially ravenous...

First of 2024.

First topwater fish of 2024!

Loved this strike!

Ravenous...

That session was pretty much all my fishing for January as I couldn't go near the sea because of the storms!

Then once February came the storms let up a bit and I managed to get a guiding session last weekend. Still not perfect weather but doable with some hardy souls...

Then yesterday I managed another solo session with adequate conditions and got a few fish for a feed. The coalfish loved a bit of A-rig action although soft plastics and vibration hard baits gave fish equally.

A-rig action...

Average size 

It does now feel more like prespawn and winter fishing with fish responding better to bright colours, slightly smaller sized lures, closer to bottom presentations and some 'annoying' lures like vibs and A-rigs.

Hopefully the Spring fishing will be as good as it was last year although some settled weather would be good enough for me.

Tight lines.

Ding a ling...

 November has been unusually busy for me but the few times I managed to get out, I did some scouting but also visited areas that I've not been in a while...

I've been on the lookout for a mark that would give me good shelter from northerly winds as Staffin can be too exposed at times but also productive enough to worth the effort. Thus I towed the boat and launched at a pretty decent slipway. I had only a couple hours to spare and quite some area to cover. Thus I runned and gunned my way past saved fishy spots on my Navionics app. Most proved very quiet but typically on the last 40 mins of the day I struck into a hotspot with good numbers of solid pollock! I hooked a number of hard fighting fish with a few spitting the hook so I will definitely be returning to this mark... The weather was pretty good on the day but I'm hoping for similar results on a less than ideal day.

Hard fighter

The next session took place in one of my favourite marks that I tend not to fish very often as access with the trailer can be a bit tricky. The wee Honwave and the Tohatsu were needing a good run though so I decided on a tech free day just wanting to get the rod bend. 

Well, there was plenty of that as good pollock and ravenous coalfish were on my lures cast after cast. It was a good day on the topwaters with a couple pollock on the autowalker 115s but also the good old whopper ploper, that drove the coalies in a frenzy! I had two of them hooked up on the same lure a couple times! 

I had to move out of the way as a creel fisherman put the fleet out but waited around as this can be a good trigger for bringing in fish since the fresh bait attracts them... I focused on soft plastics and moved in as soon as the creels were down. Plenty more pollock but the cherry on the cake came as I slowed right down the retrieve and a nice ling hit my shad! Always a pleasure seeing them on my lures...

Nice ling!

Only took one pic as they're a bugger unhooking in the inflatable!

They love that thing!

Excellent condition 

I got some more pollock after that and it wasn't long before I called it a day. It's really refreshing sometimes to fish with minimal gear and just enjoy the tug!

Hoping to get some more outings this month before the holidays. As long as the weather doesn't get too bad it should be pretty good right now.

Tight lines!

What a weekend that was...

 Had a guiding session after work on Friday and one yesterday morning. The fishing was fantastic to say the least!

On Friday I met up with James, a committed fisho that studies in Aberdeen Uni and wanted a taste of some Skye pollack. The session started fairly slowly with plenty of fish showing on the sonar but not overly aggressive towards our lures ( early postspawn behaviour). A bit of tweaking and perseverance coaxed them out and James started catching. His pb was something like 4lbs so we quickly beat that and started getting a succession of average pollock. This continued until near sundown when the fish quietened down. At this time of year this can mean that they have switched off but in this occasion it was just that the bigguns came out to play...

First of many...

Hit it first cast!

They're getting bigger...

James got a solid bite and then an immediate run pulling loads of drag! Little by little he got the upper hand and brought a lovely fish up to the surface. I quickly slipped the net under her and got it in the boat. She went 4.2kgs and after a quick photo was put straight back. Pretty much the same thing happened on the next cast! This time it was a slightly leaner fish at 3.9kg! Absolutely unreal fish back to back and if we were 3 weeks before, then they'd be easy doubles. Nevertheless, James was understandably over the moon with his catches and it was time to head in. Absolute pleasure fishing with such passionate young anglers.

Lunker!

Proper rod-bend!

Copy paste almost!

On Saturday it was  again time for my friend Mubashar and his mates to come up for some fishing. This time they had 2 new friends from Egypt that they wanted to introduce to Scottish saltwater fishing. As usual, I did two mini sessions on the boat and got the first group of 3 out. It was a much windier day than Friday but I managed to find some calmer water behind an island. The lads were looking to get a good feed out so mainly interested in eaters. Them we found in good numbers and mixed with plenty of codling and a few nice coalies. It didn't take the boys long to start catching and it got very hectic at times with 3 rods bringing fish one after the other and even all at once! 

First fish on Skye for Malik!

Same for Beshoy!

Codmaster...

He's in!

Mubashar with another one!

It was fantastic seeing so many codling showing up and long may they continue! Headed back for crew change and more of the same although with a couple better fish showing up this time.  Before long it was time to head in although it was a struggle to get the rod out of Mubashar's hands!

Yet again we' ve had a cracking day's fishing and the lads will have plenty of fish for a while! 

On the fishing front, we're now into proper postspawn and smaller, finer presentations seemed to get the better fish. I really hope the cod stick around longer as I really love catching them. Have done a service on the boat trailer and a couple reels so I'm feeling ready for the Summer season. Bring it on!

Tight lines!

The silent approach.

Can't believe it's been a month since I wet a line! Saying that, the weather has really been something else this winter. We haven't gotten the big Northerly storms like last year but it has been constantly just bad enough for going out.

Have been keeping a close eye to the forecast and yesterday was looking like the best day we've had so far. Thankfully the forecast got it spot on and I headed out after breakfast. Wasn't looking for anything spectacular, just needing to feel a fish on the end of my line! 

After a bit of faffing with the wires of the electric motor (tbf I don't look after it at all) I got it going and decided to hit a spot where I've been noticing the fish getting spooked easily with the aluminium boat. This time I stopped the main engine a good distance from the mark and made my approach with the electric motor keeping the sounder off. Made a few lure changes at first to see what they liked and natural presentations got hit better. 

I started getting a steady stream of plump pollock near the bottom at first but also on straight retrieve later on. I could also feel some coalies on the vicinity as they'd bump my lure so I thought it was time to try out the new Autowalker 83s from Mechanic Lures. Coalies really love hitting it's bigger brother the Autowalker 115s but a smaller presentation better matches the wee sprats and sandeels they're usually feeding on.

Autowalker 83s

Standard size pollock on the paddletail.

In the net.

Streamlined hunters.

Love seeing codling more often.

I started fan casting and sure enough after some casts I started getting blow ups on it! The 83s comes with only a treble at the back hence it took a few goes for the fish to stick as they were hitting it head on. Nevertheless, the coalies put up a good show as they were of a good size. It seems to me that the 83 has a more aggressive action as I was using it with heavier gear and still getting a pronounced snaking with some tail side slapping. Need to bring out the light game setup next time for a proper go. Saying that, the lure still casts and works very well on MH gear.

I alternated between topwater and SPs keeping the fish interested until the bites dried out. This took surprisingly long though, especially considering that I went toward the end of the "bite time" for this mark.  Made a small move to another nearby spot and found even more fish stacked on a ledge...

Here the coalies were even thicker, interspersed with some pollock and even a couple codling. A brighter coloured soft plastic did better in the deeper water of this mark.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day but as always it was time to head in soon enough. Today is another windy and rainy day so I'm glad I made the most of it. I really hope we get another day like it soon so I can try and winkle out a big girl!

Tight lines.