Spring firing up!

This week, unexpectedly, I got some days off early on, so seeing the weather was superb I decided on another last minute session on the lochs. I wanted to try in Loch Etive first, to see if the pollock started showing there as they have in loch Fyne. I reached my favourite mark around 11:00 and I was gonna use the LRF gear and a carolina rig as its very effective in drawing finicky fish, especially early in the season and in this mark.
The weather on the day as mentioned was superb, with only a slight wind and glorious sunshine. Although I don't find bright sunshine particularly positive in lure fishing, I have noticed that early in the season and after all those weeks of horrible weather, fish don't usually mind it that much. On the contrary I think it 'wakes them up'... I didn't want to target tiddlers, instead focusing on finding the pollock and thus I used 3" UV and scented curly tail worms and paddletails. I started getting some bites but they were from smaller fish and only manged to hook a few. No pollock though, they were codling and a coalie. I persevered and moved to the mouth of the basin where I usually get most of the pollock. I got a solid take OTD and stiff resistance although it wasn't the usual pollock dives. The fish was thumping its head and hugging the bottom while attempting to snag me... After a short fight, a nice and healthy looking codling came to the surface.

Nice codling!

After the codling I wrapped up the session there seeing that the pollock weren't playing ball and drove to Loch Fyne. Arriving at my next mark, I switched tactics to metal jigs and cheburashka with 3"paddletails on the MRF/finesse gear. It was late afternoon now and after getting a small pollock, I thought it would be followed by more. More pollock didn't show but I hooked some nice codling at around 2lbs that more than make up for it.Was surprised to see that the largest codling spat a fair size baby codling or whiting! showing the predatory/cannibalistic nature of the species...

Spring codling are fat...

Very fat...

Greedy..

codling or whiting?

I also made a short video that day.

Yesterday I got a message from fellow Lure Forum member and avid angler and blogger Scott Hutchison. Scott was planning to fish the lochs with his mate Nick and asked if I was free to tag along. I duly did and today morning saw us driving up to loch Fyne yet again! The guys wanted to fish with bait on another mark of the loch, but on reaching there we saw other anglers already unpacking so we kept on driving to my usual mark. They were still planning to fish bait (and they did for most of the day) while me of course stuck to my 'clean' lures... Today was another sunny day but there was a brisk easterly wind that made for much more uncomfortable fishing. I was positive that it would be good fishing though and I started fishing on the left arm of the harbour. The guys went on the right to fish of the pier instead.
I began casting my metal jigs on the MRF gear and working them slowly close to the bottom. As per last time I tied the jigs with a rapala knot and moreover I tied the tail hooks to a short length of fluorocarbon line (weaker than my leader) so as not to loose too many jigs. after a couple casts and while the jig was just about to touch bottom I felt a take and struck to a good fish. From the fight I realised it was another nice codling and it put a smile to my face even though I cut my thumb on its teeth.

Sick of loosing them!

In excellent condition.

A few casts later and I had an even stronger take and resistance but the short fluorocarbon link gave way and I lost the fish. I guess we cant have it all...
I tried some soft plastics but today was a metal day! Codling, pollock and coalies attacked my jigs and I was having a good time.. After a while and when the water hit the low water mark, the fishing slowed down and I decided to move to the others and fish around the pier. They weren't having as much fun as I had with bites slow to come by. I moved to the point and the fish soon came to the feed with the water changing and the current picking up. I would cast my jigs up-current and let it sink in semi-controlled line, giving it twitches here and there (in order for the jig to flutter) but not retrieving line until the jig was past me. This worked well and soon coalies and pollock were upon it! I managed a couple better coalies along with a nice plumb pollock among the average fish..

A variety of coalies and pollock on metals..

The best coalie.

Plumb pollock

The guys joined me later and managed a couple coalies as well I think. The hot period wore off after a while and it wasn't until near sundown and after moving yet again to the left arm that I had the final few fish for the day. Feeling playful, I used some blade baits/cicadas as well , even though the location isn't really suited to fishing with them. I was getting bites but couldn't hook up well, as Ive swapped all the treble and double hooks on them with a single hook at the back. When I finally hooked up and brought a pollock up I was astonished in the way it was caught! The photo says it all really...

Who needs hooks?

After a few more fish and with the sun gone behind the mountains we decided to call it a day. For me it was a fantastic day but I don't think Scott and Nick share the exact same opinion.. The cold easterly along with few bites made for a tough day for them.. Nevertheless a day out fishing especially in the company of like minded anglers is always cool and I hope I can meet the guys again soon.

Tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Major Craft Solpara SPS-S792M (7'9", 0.5g-5g), MC KG Evolution, KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g.
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000 fc, Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f
Mainline: Yamatoyo SW super Light Game PE 0.4, Duel Hardcore X4 PE 0.8
leader: Sunline FC guide special fluorocarbon, 6lbs, YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon 8lbs.
lures: 3" paddletails and curly tali worms on carolina, 3" paddletails on 10-12g cheburashka, metal jigs.

A sunny day..

As the title says today was a lovely day and this coincided with my day off so there was only one place for me to go... The previous week saw me visit loch Fyne again, but the weather was truly atrocious (as it has been for most of February). This almost led me to my first blank on the saltwater since.. I cant remember when! But thankfully a switch to the 'pure' LRF gear brought me a lone codling and saved the day.. Today though it was gonna be a different story.
Although I have another two days off this week, I decided to go fishing today as the weatherman said that the gale-force winds that have been prevalent for weeks would subside towards mid-day and the sun would make an appearance as well. Moreover the strong winds will pick up again tomorrow so there was really no other option..
I arrived at the loch around 11:00. It was sunny but still cold (7-8C), around the low tide mark and with a stiff westerly wind. I started fishing on the left arm of the mark using 12g cheburashka with a #2 offset hook and some new scented paddletails around 3". These baits were also UV and I was intrigued about their effectiveness.
Surprisingly I got hit on the first cast and a decent pollock came up after a 'dirty' but short fight. Following this, I got some subtle bites and then another slightly better pollock O.T.D. I was hoping the action would get even better but in fact it slowed down. I was still getting some interest and fish (mostly codling) here and there but it wasn't until later in the day and after changing spots and returning to my starting point, that the fishing picked up. The tide was on the ebb again and I noticed some fellow anglers were getting coalies on the feathers. After locating the depth they were feeding (almost bottom) with my cheburashka/soft plastic and seeing that they were in a chasing mood, I changed to an 8g metal tied with a rapala knot (ran out of snaps!) and I observed that it had an even more 'open' action this way, so I could now work the lure even slower.
The takes didn't take long to materialise and soon I was getting among the coalies, though they were smaller than the ones I encountered a few weeks back. I lost a few on the way up and then lost the lure on a snag. I reverted to cheburashka and managed a nice pollock OTD but then lost the cheburashka as well... Frustrated I tied another metal jig on a rapala knot and proceeded in catching another small pollock and then the best one of the day, again OTD.

First cast!

Glistening in the sun.

Codling always there, in good or bad weather.

A GT-coalie?!

They don't fight as hard as in the summer but they're always welcome!

A decent fish..

These were the first pollock of the year on metals and I'm starting to reconsider my opinion about these lures being mostly effective in the warmer months. I believe that the slower way of working them (almost like softplastics) along with a wider shape (slow jigs) could be very effective even in the early season.
Something else that became evident throughout the late winter is that most fish (except maybe the crazy coalies!) wouldn't fight as hard as in the warmer months. Of course this is to be expected due to the lower water temperatures.
Another slightly more surprising observation is how fine-tuned these fish are with the weather and conditions above. Despite living in these deep (40m+) basins and natural harbours, without experiencing the large swells and storms of the open sea, they seem to be affected by the changes in wind/sunlight and other factors almost instantaneously... For example today, the action was slow during mid-day when the sun was at its brightest and the wind was strong. But as soon as the sun went down along with the wind in late afternoon the fish became active again.
It appears that we are really in spring mode now and things are starting to happen.. I'm getting ready for the season with new supplies but I had to limit the amount of reels I had as some of them were getting very little use. Thus I am now left with only four (!) covering from LRF to heavy spinning. Moreover, I'm planning to get a baitcaster for pike fishing and hopefully I will stop there...!

Below are all the fish caught on my two previous sessions and as you can see it was tough going..

My hand was almost frostbitten!

Last week's blank saver...

 Hopefully that was enough of the slow fishing and the weather will start behaving itself more..

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod:  MC KG Evolution, KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g.
Reel: Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 0.8
leader: YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 8lbs
lures: Scented and UV 3" paddletails on cheburashka and metal jigs

Things are stirring in the deep..

For the past few weeks Ive been making a foray to the lochs once a week and things seem to liven up the past couple sessions. Last week I managed to visit my favourite mark in Loch Etive and although it was already late in the day I still managed to rack up a nice little mix of species and had quite a lively short session comparing to the long drawn affairs of the previous ones. This was in part because of the ideal weather conditions (overcast, mild, no wind) along with the suitability of the mark as a sheltered area away from the main loch. There were no big fish but all the signs were there that it wont be too long now..
I chose to fish with my spro travel rod so as to maximise fun with the little fish due to its semi parabolic character and indeed it was a joy! I fished simple 3.5-5g cheburashka with #8 slim offset hooks and 2" slim softies.

love the colours on poor cod.

A lonely whiting, first from loch Etive..

Skinny coalie..

This week I was planning to give the lochs a rest but the forecast showed very mild temperatures, with warm southerly winds, overcast skies and a new moon. I couldn't let the combination of all these favourable factors pass so in the morning I headed up to loch Fyne at my usual mark. I decided to start from the left arm of the harbour so that i would fish the outside and have the wind at my back. It was hard controlling the line and feeling for bites but for once this wind was relatively warm and I was glad I could fish without gloves for the first time this winter! I was fishing Gulp prawns on 12g cheburashka and soon I felt a bite. i struck and felt some weight with a few head shakes but not much more. It was a lovely sea scorpion and I'm always happy catching these little beasts..

Stunning!

Not scared of big baits..

After the scorpion I moved towards the point and fished towards the inside of the harbour as the wind died down a bit. I changed to slims and paddletails and the bites started coming, followed by some very welcome codling, pollock and coalies much better sized than the ones from my winter sessions of late..

Better sized codling from the deep.

Some nice pollock as well in good condition..

After a while and while the tide had receded considerably i decided to move to the opposite arm of the harbour as I was sure more fish were to be found there.. On reaching the other point I was left with my mouth open as fish were going on a blitz and smashing fry on the surface! This is an unusual occurrence in the warmer months but in the middle of February personally its something Ive never witnessed! I knew at once what fish was doing this though... Coalfish! At once I started casting the little shad and was getting hit every cast but some fish didn't stick so I changed to a metal (if only I had a popper!) and was now getting coalie after coalie.. They were of a good size and excellent condition. I was fishing with the heavier gear but nonetheless I lessened the drag and enjoyed the fights with a wide smile on my face! I was also reminded how much i like coalies for my dinner so i kept five while releasing all the rest, possibly around twenty fish altogether. superb fun!

Rugged fighter!

Coalies save the day!

Dinner...

They were feeding well..

Finally a session worth noting and a lovely dinner as well. Hope the mild weather continues as the best fishing is just around the corner when the pollock shoal up in spring!
From the freshwater side the canals are now ice free and a friend informed me of some fishy-looking lochs not far from home that we will explore soon.

Tight lines!


Gear used.
Rod: Spro Mobile Stick 80 UL, 2.40, 0.6-8g, MC KG Evolution, KGS-832ST 2.53m, 3-15g.
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000 fc, Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f
Mainline: Yamatoyo SW super Light Game PE 0.4, Sunline Tenya PE 0.7
leader: Dragon fluorocarbon 7lbs,P-line Halo fluorocarbon, 10lbs
lures: Scented prawns, slims and paddletails on 12g cheburashka, metal jigs.