Weird night game.

The title of this post refers to the behaviour of the fish I encountered yesterday night. I finished earlier from work and I went up to my Loch Etive mark while there was still light. I intended to use some blade baits until nightfall but there was little current as it was approaching high tide and after a few casts I decided to change lure. I tried a spinner and caught a small pollock but it wasn't until I put on a 2.8" Keitech Sexy Impact on a 3g jighead that things started to liven up. I got a couple fish OTD and in the retrieve before nightfall. It is new moon this week and the sky was very dark, but I persisted with my presentation to see what could be had as I was curious if fish would attack in such dark conditions and deep water on a small finesse bait.
I then witnessed the unusual behaviour I mentioned where the fish would hit the bait OTD or a few seconds after touchdown but not really on the retrieve. The lure would hit bottom and I would usually get a nimble bite straight on but if not and I started the retrieve either straight or with pauses and jerks not much would happen. The fish didn't seem to attack the bait but more like picking it off the bottom.
I hadn't encounter that behaviour before and I was surprised with how light some of these bites where. A couple times it felt like a very gentle and steady pull but I didn't manage to hook the fish so I'm not sure if it was the pollock. After a few fish I wanted to try some 3" Berkley Gulp Alive Shrimp that I recently purchased. I mounted the shrimp on a 3.5g football jig trying to show a larger profile without adding weight as the fish seemed fixed on very light lures. After a few casts it became apparent that the fish preferred the smaller/light presentation but I persevered hoping that something else or a larger fish would go for my lure and after a couple bites from small fish I felt a single tap and set the hook on a nice fish. It fought nicely making three powerful runs before I managed to land it. A nice pollock of 55cm. I then released the fish but it was tired and needed some reviving so I bend stepping on a rock to straighten the fish and then slipped right into the water! And of course the fish swam straight away...Typical..

Plenty of this size caught on a 2.8" Keitech Sexy Impact and 3gr jighead.

The Berkley Gulp Alive Shrimp on a jig.

.. It worked fine!

He really wanted it.

After getting soaked I kept fishing but didn't get any more bites so I called it a night.. I did hear some splashes though that I have to check out if they were from fish...

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel:Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f.
Mainline: Seaguar Kanzen braid 10lbs.
Rig: jighead, jig
lure: Berkley gulp Alive shrimp, Keitech Sexy Impact

Trying for more.

The past week I tried to cramp in as much fishing as I could, due to the weather being fair and wanting to try more spots. I put in a couple of night sessions without finding the target species I was after, that being cod, but managed to get a few pollock to avoid the blanks.
On Saturday I went on my usual mark in Loch Etive and was planning to target the pollock at the mouth of the basin and then move further up the coast towards some marks I found on Google Earth. I got a codling at first and then a nice pollock of 53cm that gave an excellent fight!
I decided to move straight after this fish to check the new marks as I was pretty happy with the session so far. After a bit a of a walk and a hike down the rocks I could see there was a good depth in the water with plenty of kelp close in. After a few casts I realised the depth was considerable and was hoping for something special but I got no bites in the deep. Instead I caught two codling when the lure was almost vertical on the base of the rocks. Obviously the codling prefer the structure and feed where the rocks meet the silty bottom. The light was fading fast and I decided to go back at the basin for a last crack on the pollock but only managed a couple small ones. In several other night sessions I have found mostly smaller pollock while the bigger ones feed closer to sundown.
On Saturday I tried again at Loch Awe for trout but again had no luck although I saw some small fish near the shore and that gives me hope for the following sessions. In the evening I went up Etive again but with no luck this time.
Overall Im satisfied with the results except on the freshwater side but I will intensify my efforts there soon. The new marks in Etive definitely need more sessions to see if something better comes out from there but the fishing is getting better.

A lovely pollock!

Steep drop offs should provide the surprise..

Codling are always near structure and kelp.

Massive mouths!

Night pollock.

I have been mainly using different variations of double lure rigs fishing hard on the bottom. I prefer to use Berkley Gulp or  Ecogear aqua bait as the main lure and adding smaller fluorescent soft plastics as teasers. In this way I combine scent and something appealing to the eye as well. Appears to be working well and I'm hoping I'll soon get some larger codling on it.
If weather stays calm again this week I'll try and finally get a freshwater fish somewhere!

Tight lines

Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel:Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f.
Mainline: Seaguar Kanzen braid 10lbs.
Rig: double lure rigs
lure: Berkley gulps mostly

Finding the culprit...

As I mentioned on my previous post, I had problems with fish cutting the thin fluorocarbon mainlines I use and at the time I thought they were bigger pollock.
Trying to get to the bottom of this I visited the loch again a couple days later for a session with my medium rock fishing gear and much stronger rigs. More over I was starting to doubt that these fish were pollock as Ive caught plenty of good sized ones after long fights with the lure lost in their mouths while the line held... Something else was going on and I had to find out what...
The day was horrible with strong wind and constant rain, quite heavy at times, but I knew the fish would be there. I started fishing with a 4" Berkley Sandeel on a texas jighead and on the first cast something picked it OTD and shoot off taking some drag.. Moments later it was off cutting the line.. I could not believe my bad luck and tied an articulated jighead with a 3" Berkley Gulp Baitfish (was using 7lbs line) after some more casts I got a poor cod, then a pollock and then lost another fish that bit the line clean.. I was clueless and really frustrated..
In addition to the lost fish the weather turned even more sour and I was already soaked through.. I persevered but after a small coalfish I had to go home as I was gonna get frostbite or something!
Back home I thought about all the fish I lost and their behaviour etc in order to get all the pieces together and figure out the best approach.

Plenty caught like this yet the line held..

The coalfish was no consolation...

The lost fish seemed quite large, prefer larger baits with strong smell and bite better when there is some wind. My thoughts were that I'm dealing either with some larger codling or Spurdogs (?!).
Knowing that both these species prefer to feed at night, I decided on a night session.
Yesterday I got the opportunity as I finished relatively early from work and headed up the loch. I reached my mark and the conditions seemed good with little wind and the tide slowly starting to ebb. I put on a light wire trace made from my favourite Knot 2 Kinky and a 5g articulated jighead with a 3" Ecogear Aqua Bug Ants as these lures have a particularly strong scent. I started making long casts and working the lure on the bottom with short flicks and twitches to mimic a fleeing prawn or crayfish. After some casts I got the first bite but I reacted too quickly and didn't hook the fish. This happened a couple more times before the bites drying up and then I changed to the Berkley Gulp Baitfish. The pack I had was fluorescent and with a charge from my head torch I cast it into the depths. A few casts later and I got a subtle bite. I let it develop and feeling weight on the rod tip I struck and set the hook. I got good resistance and the fish was taking drag but it wasn't like the crash dives of pollock, slower fight and with some head shakes. The fish came up and it proved to be a much better codling than the ones I get during the day. Around the 4lbs mark with a huge mouth! I thumb-held it to let it go back and then saw blood on my thumb from its teeth so I'm pretty sure that this is the culprit of the cut lines.. I continued fishing a bit longer and after losing what felt like another codling I got a small pollock and decided to call it a night..

The main rig used.

Fatty!

Big mouth!

What became apparent is that most of the little fish are not active at night ant the bigger ones come out. This makes for a more boring fishing without all the little bites but also more rewarding in terms of fish size. These fish seem to clearly prefer smelly lures and a slower presentation bumping the bottom. Both the Ecogear aqua and Berkley Gulp draw bites and the fish seem to be happy munching them for a while so I'll try and give them more time before strikes next time. Again a little glow in the lure draws the fish but scent seems more important at night.
I was quite pleased with the result of my first night session up here and I'm sure there will be many to follow with hopefully even more predators of the night.

Thanks for reading!


Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft KG Evolution KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g
Reel:Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f.
Mainline: Seaguar Kanzen braid 10lbs.
Rig: K2K trace articulated jighead
lure: Berkley gulps mostly.