Didn't fish much last week but I did manage a short session in a loch targeting trout and instead, getting cucumber sized jacks! Also had a few hours on the SIB after work.
Some pics below.
Good fun on the UL gear.
Starting him young!
Cucumber on the Ryuki.
The loch seems to hold good numbers of jacks and I'm thinking it'll be worth another visit with some bigger lures and also topwaters to get some better fish and more fun!
Off the SIB, the fish were keeping deeper than usual (possibly due to plankton) and were quite picky. I think we're well and truly into early summer patterns here that favour smaller/lighter lures and finesse presentations with the exception possibly of lipless cranks, although they wise up to them faster right now. Some good fish in excellent condition, a tad subdued on the fight though...
Good condition.
Lunker!
Man its good to be out again! We're getting some iffy weather this week but I'll be out first chance I get.
Since the arrival of my son, fishing time has been obviously non-existent, but as I've got an understanding wife, I was allowed to get out of the house for a few hours. Weather is still crap but we did get a couple slightly settled days that were doable on the SIB.
On the day, typically conditions were rougher than forecasted but I launched nonetheless. I was really looking forward to trying out a new underwater camera I got recently (Olymbros underwater camera). I've always been fascinated watching the fish react to lures etc and it was only a matter of time till I got a camera for me.
I fished mainly with a Duo Tide Vibe Slim 140 while the swell was up, as I find that slim heavy lipless crankbaits (and metal vibration lures at some places) can be very effective this time of year.
Got a few chunky pollock on the Vibe and when the swell died down and hit the low water mark, this bite slowed down and fish started preferring soft plastics instead.
Chunky Prespawn fish.
They smash the Vibes.
By now the current and swell had died down and it was time to try with the camera.
Its a floater(!) so I had to put a 30-40g weight to get it down. I tried a few lures just to see the different reactions from the fish and I have to say that the footage offers a lot of food for thought...
Then yesterday I wanted something more of a challenge and decided to hike to a mark I've wanted to try out for years! There was a storm coming but the spot would offer shelter.
It took about half an hour's hike to the mark and it did look fishy. The only problem was how precipitous it was and fish extraction would be problematic.
I started fishing with metals but didn't get a whiff on them so I switched to cheburashka rigged chartreuse paddle tails that got hit very quickly. The fish were keeping low and the bites were hesitant but I hooked up into 2 fish that, unfortunately, lost on the way up to the ledge I was on.
I decided to look around and find a more suitable spot that would allow me to land fish and as the tide ebbed more, I was able to walk on the rocks under the ledge I was at.
I only had limited time left but finally managed to winkle out one in the end. Blank avoided so it was time to head home.
The weather is meant to be better this week so I'm hoping to get out more and get some more footage on the underwater camera. There's a couple new spots Id like to try and fish from the SIB as well.
I also look forward to the opening of the trout season as well and I'll definitely have a few trips for them as well soon.
A few weeks back, the unthinkable happened and I lost my Tailwalk Power Rock rod and Stradic FK combo... That combo had worked really well from the rocks for me and even better off the SIB. Thus I needed to find something similar to replace it. I really couldn't justify the cost of it though and started looking for cheaper options...
For some reason, it appears that the market has geared more towards £200+ rods and I couldn't see many options of comparable rods for less than £100.
Now its no secret I use a lot of gear from Aliexpress and after trial and error, I think I've found out which companies tend to produce ok stuff and which ones crap... Thus I thought I might try and find a rod there.
Moreover, I started looking around in Youtube as well, especially in Russian channels as they tend to use a lot of this gear.
Somehow I ended up watching a video with a rod called Ruffy (!) by the company JOHNCOO. Its action and specs seemed close to what I wanted and after a quick search, I found it on sale in Aliexpress for around £40 delivered!
I pulled the trigger and a few days ago, I got it in my hands. First impressions were very good. Fuji guides, robust reel-seat and pokey/firm action. I went for the S862MH model (2.6m, 15-55g) that's more akin to the Power Rock I had.
Yesterday, I got the chance to try it out on the rocks in a short session. I used 20g+ darting jigheads and 16cm soft jerkbaits along with 28g cheburashka and 11cm paddletails.
The rod had no problem jerking the softpastic in 15-20m depth and I could feel quite easily any taps and touches. Did pretty well on dragging the paddletail on the bottom as well.
I got no monsters on the day but the fish were thick with big bellies and I even managed to lift a couple sizeable ones without the net...
Getting ready to spawn.
I'll let the video below show the rod better.
I know its entirely possible that this rod might break on the next outing, but I reckon even if it only lasts me one season, I'd still be very happy considering how little I've spent for it. I'm not in any way sponsored by JOHNCOO or anyone but feel like I had to talk about this rod as I was so pleasantly surprised by it. I'm very keen to see if it's anywhere near as dependable and impervious to some 'heavy handling', as the Tailwalk was. Only time will tell...
Tight Lines
Gear Used.
Rod: Johncoo Ruffy S862MH
Reel: Shimano Biomaster SW 4000XG
Mainline: PE1.5
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 25lbs
Lures: 16cm soft jerkbait on 20g+ darting jighead, 11cm paddletail on 28g cheburashka.
Well, its October now and we've yet to see an end to the near constant wind and rain!
Ive only done limited fishing comparing to the same time of year the previous seasons, but the fish seem so up for it that its almost like they're asking for a bit of calm weather to go on a rampage!
I'm saying this after having a guiding session off the rocks and sib today and we literally had fish from the first cast! Moreover, even though the waters were slightly cloudy, with a swell running and brisk SE winds, we witnessed fish hitting topwaters... I love this time of year because of the fish feeding so hard but damn, I could do with some settled conditions!
Anyway, today I had a revisit from Andrew who had come back in summer for some rockfishing, only now he brought his mate Nick and wanted to fish off the Sib but also a couple rocky points if possible. The lads were mostly focused on numbers today although Andrew wanted to catch on the fly and also requested as many coalies as possible! Its so cool to find like-minded anglers!
I was worried about the forecast all week but thankfully it stabilised and I managed to plan a session in the North of the island.
We set off at dawn and after a short run on the SIB, we reached the mark.
We were fishing near the edge of a kelp covered ledge over 8-12m of water. Armed with 12-14cm shads on 30g jigheads, the lads started casting near the kelp and straight away were into good fish.
There was a touch of chaos in the boat for a few moments but in the end we got both fish landed and it was time for the usual pics.
First cast!
A fat one for Andrew.
Many more followed and most were over 2kg with the biggest going 3.6kg on the scales. The pollock were in excellent condition, fat and rounded though the few coalies we found seemed on the slim side.
The sps were more consistent with the big fish as expected though some crackers were caught on tiny metals as well. It was very interesting watching the sounder when small shoals of coalies would appear, we'd get a couple and then pollock would crash the party and the coalies would move on...
After catching a good few fish and even though the conditions were far from ideal, I put on a topwater just hoping we'd get one or two to jump on it. Well it actually managed to raise 5-6 fish with a small one jumping on the lure as i was about to pull it out of the water! No hook ups unfortynatelly.
Happy faces!
Mayhem!
After a while, Nick wanted to stretch his legs a bit and we beached on a rocky outcrop so that he could have a few casts there, while me and Andrew would stay in the boat and try to locate some coalies and catch them on the fly.
It turned out that coalies were very patchy on the day but instead Andrew managed a wee pollock on the fly. His setup was a very light one and with all that wind, he could only get the fly a limited distance. I'm sure that with a heavier setup, the results would've been much better.
While we were looking for shoals of coalies we passed over deeper water and saw fish near the bottom, wondering what they were, I put on a slim paddletail on a 28g cheburashka and let it touch bottom. Got a couple soft bumps and then struck into a fish. It turned out to be a wee codling. They were shoaled up but a bit finicky and we didn't manage another one as the pollock were quicker on the bite. I found shoals of codling at about this time of year last year too, so it must be a seasonal movement.
A nice one for Nick.
Even the biggest fish get tempted by small metals..
Silvery pollock on silver metal.
A good bend on the wee rod!
Small but Andrews first pollock on fly.
So fat and strong!
Need to get on them!
Cod food.
With this and that it was time to head back to the harbour. A very successful day in a thankfully better day than forecasted! It was a pleasure having the guys and hopefully we'll fish again together at some point.
Lately Ive been thinking of purchasing a slightly smaller sib to go with my wee 2stroke outboard for solo missions. Even though my solid floor takes relatively little time to assemble, its too heavy in combination with the 20hp outboard for the 'rougher' launches, plus the 2 stroke is just sitting there gathering dust... Saying that, I was very happy that the lads didn't mind at all fishing in such a cosy space and the Yam performed well with the added load.
The tourist season is very slowly winding down and this gives me more time to get out. I have November off and I'm really looking forward to some chilled out fishing then. Hopefully the weather will calm down by then!
Below some more fishy pics from recent solo outings and a wee topwater fishing clip from last week!
Had another trip out on the inflatable, with my fiance this time and we managed to find some good fish yet unfortunately in an area full of seals. Again most fish were shallow (10-20m) and very aggressive, hitting on straight retrieve near the surface. Had a couple boils on a topwater but the most effective lures were 20-30g inchiku like the Duel Salty bait and Hayabusa Kick tail. She also managed a codling on handlined feathers.
Lovely pollock on a lovely day!
Claire's codling..
Hanging by a thread...
Nice bend...
Bingo!
Here's the video.
The good weather has continued and I had a go at LRFing for some flatties down the harbour. They were very keen on the isome baited cheburashkas and I enjoyed their spirited fights on 3lbs fluorocarbon straight through.
Full of character!
Average size.
Unusual colouration on the underside.
There are a couple more nice days on the forecast and I'm planning to go out again before the usual order resumes. This has been a very enjoyable week for sure!
Tight Lines!
Gear used on the boat.
Rod: Tailwalk Saltyshape Dash Power Rock S90H,
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500f
Mainline: PE1
Leader: Daiwa Tournament FC fluorocarbon 20lbs
Lures: 20- 30g inchiku jigs
Last week I managed to capitalize on a break in the weather, straight after storm Callum, and got the SIB out along with my friend Pablo. We headed for a mark in the north part of the Island and fair enough the water was looking good.
It was also an opportunity to test my new electric pump and see how fast I could get the boat in the water. It turned out to be a bit over 15 mins and I'm quite happy with that.
We hit a couple reefs close in (using navionics) and soon enough we started getting bites.
They werent from big fish and felt more wrassy. I had tied a heavy Texas rig for Pablo and soon enough he had a fish on! A pretty wrasse came up and this was Pablo's first fish ever!
After a few more drifts with only tentative bites, I decided it was time to target more exposed spots and after a short run, we came to a favourite spot of mine, albeit from the shore...
I changed rigs for the both of us, putting on a cheburashka rigged paddletail on one rod and a slim straight sp on a darting jighead to the other. We were casting near the kelp edge and it didnt take long to find the fish. Pablo was in first and his rod was bend all the way! The fish made some powerful runs but soon enought we had it in the boat. A quick pic and release to be followed by some more decent pollock and also another wrasse! Pablo was definiely having the beginner's luck on his side...!
It didn't take me long to find a nice fish though and managed to get a lovely looking pollock in the boat.
He's in!
A wee ballan for Pablo.
I love wrasse!
Bronze slab.
A vid from the session.
After a good number of fish (kept a couple for the table) we decided to head back in and we were all packed in the car just before the rain started! This was a very satisfying session and its given me a glimpse to the fishing potential from the boat.
I still need to make some additions/modifications though, starting with installing a fish finder and maybe ugrade the outboard to a more powerful one at some point...
The shore fishing has also been very good whenever the wind allowed me to have a cast, and especially around dusk, I've been having some steady sport on topwaters and sps. I love this time of year as the fish are all out aggressive!
So much fun!
A pack of them and entertainment guaranteed!
Among the coalies...
I think due to the constant winds and storms of late that have reduced water clarity, fish tend to prefer white/chartreuse topwaters and again the addition of a red treble seems to make fish aim for that area of the lure. Moreover they're that aggressive right now that they will freely hit topwaters even in rough water.
Another little vid.
Hopefully, we'll get some more settled weather soon and I'll be able to get the SIB out again and try topwaters and even the fly!
The loch seems to hold good numbers of jacks and I'm thinking it'll be worth another visit with some bigger lures and also topwaters to get some better fish and more fun!
