A "cracking" day...

 Last weekend I guided a keen angler from my old hunting grounds in Lancaster. Tim wanted to taste what Skye has to offer and came up prepared with 2 brand new rods and reel specifically bought for this trip.

We met up on Saturday morning and were gonna fish that day off the sib and Sunday on the rocks. We set off to the first mark and conditions were looking good. He got his new Savage Gear Sgs8 rod paired with the lovely Shimano Vanford and to be honest I was slightly jealous of the setup... we had a few casts before he got snagged to some kelp. Unfortunately after applying some pressure, the rod snapped just above the spigot!! I didn't think that he exerted so much pressure as I proceeded to free up the lure with a slight tug...! Nevertheless, he switched to his heavier rod (SGS5 I think) and got straight into fish!

They're getting more predictable lately and we found them where I'd expect them to be. I suppose nearing Autumn things will get back to normal after this calm Summer.

We proceeded in finding some good fish mainly on softplastics, with the homemade Crazy Sandeel imitations from my Northumbrian friends doing plenty of damage. At some point we had another breakage, as my net hoop finally succumbed after netting hundreds of fish the past few years! A day of cracks for sure...

Lovely brace.

Some nice coalies about.

Good fish in great background

The next day it was time for shore fishing and I picked up Tim on my way to Neist Point.  The tide wouldn't be at my preferred stage for a few more hours but it's best to fish early in the busier marks anyway.  

The current was strong and we used heavy softplastics first and 40-60g metals later on. There were plenty of fish about although not of any great size. Tim got his pb ballan wrasse though on a paddletail.

Lovely ballan.

Average size.

Content! 

It was time to move to my next spot where I was counting on the better fish but Tim had enough of the hiking and was happy to wrap the day up. Skye hikes can be tough!

It was a pleasure to fish with Tim and he's informed me that the perch in the Lankie are doing well! 

I've got no guiding booked till September now so I'll do some solo sessions hopefully for sea trout and mackerel.

Tight lines 

Them Northerners again...!

It's the time of year for my Northumbrian friends to come again and they've had a busy week... Mick, Keith and Chris came up on Saturday and we went out on Sunday morning. Me and Mick on my boat and Keith with Chris on Mick's sib. Conditions were very good and we covered a good number of marks during the day. 

We used mainly the lads homemade soft plastics and jigheads with good results. The fish were still spread out but every mark we went to had them! The size department was lacking a bit in comparison to other years but Keith did improve on that later in the day. We did get a couple of better coalies in amongst the pollock, with Mick having one that reminded me of my Norway trip... He was fishing with a lovely MajorCraft Solpara slow jig rod and the bend on it was unreal!

Keith and Chris with back to back fish!

Some bend!

A proper coalfish...

Standard size and great fun.

A coalie for me too..

Chris with a nice one.

Keith with the best of the day..

Cracking day!

The fish were a little bit fussy and required specific lure weights and profiles to get them going. Once unlocked, bites came thick and fast until they slowed down again and another presentation had to be found. We were anchored up with my Haswing Cayman GPS bow mount trolling motor and the other boat was connected to us by a 15m bungee cord. It was very impressive seing the motor work effortlessly with both boats tethered!

Unfortunately we didnt take many photos as everyone got stuck in the fishing! It was a great day and Im glad the lads managed to make it up here again after a year like this one...

More to come...

 

Tight Lines

Tropical fishing.

 I've not gone holidays outside the country so far but it seems that the hot weather has come to us.  This, combined with big tides, very clear water and sunny conditions, has unfortunately made fishing quite hard especially in the salt. Its something I call the midsummer blues when every year around this time the fishing slows down.  Typically I had 3 consecutive days guiding from shore and boat! We had to work hard for our fish but we didn't do too bad in the end...

Cracking days...

A happy angler.

That's better.

Wrasse from 20m.

Nick with a dark kelpy.

Got one too.

And then the haar lifted.

It came down to fishing early mornings while the haar was still low and then choose deeper kelpy marks when the sun came out. Especially from the boat it became apparent that the fish moved a bit deeper and were keeping low in the water column.  Also they were more loosely shoaled and fairly spread out. Nevertheless a good number of them came out, fighting hard along with a couple ballan wrasse.

Mackerel and cod from a solo day.

Hadn't caught one in a while 

Have been really spoiled with the weather this summer and I can't complain even though it makes fishing hard work. 

Had a couple solo outings in the freshwater that didn't go too bad. Fished for perch on another hot day, and despite taking a while to find them, they were shoaled up in a weedy bay and in a hunting mode. I didn't use finesse tactics and instead opted for a chatterbait-cheburashka and 2" softplastics. The bites were instant and one after the other. No fish of any size but loads of them! Got a few slaps on a wee topwater as well but no hookups. I really wish I wouldn't have to drive 2 hours plus to fish for them. Also managed a lovely brownie that smashed a mini spoon almost at my feet!  

Perch on chatterbait-cheburashka 

Loads of them. 

A welcome surprise. 

Got busy times ahead with lots more fishing and guiding! Also need some LRF mackerel for the bbq...

Tight lines 

My first Scottish bass!

 Had a lovely break down Dumfries way with the family last week. Obviously, it would be rude not to try and wet a line in the salt and freshwater down there and it was the perfect opportunity for me to get my first Scottish bass. I had an Invitation from my mate Colin last year but with covid and other commitments (plus the 7h drive) I never got round to it.

Througout our stay the weather had been very warm and I had a day on Loch ken in the kayak. It was some hard fishing as the water levels were low and I lost the morning by the time I managed to sort out the fishing permit and launch. Why cant we have online permits everywhere in this day and age...! Anyway, I only fished till mid afternoon and I was baked by the end of the session with barely a fish to show for my efforts. A feisty jack and a couple perch but at least I enjoyed the pedaling. Lovely Loch but super busy and I think itd be better in Autumn.

The next day, I met Colin on a bouldery beach at mid-morning to go after some bass. I used my APIA Foojin'R Best Bower 96MLX paired with Shimano Stradic FL 3000XHG and mainly casting Savagear Seekers as we reasoned the fish would be keeping further out in such a sunny day. There was a good face-on breeze blowing though, something I find positive when bass fishing on beaches. Colin indicated the spot we'd be casting from and within a few casts I got a good strike and fish on. It was only a schoolie but I was very happy to finally tick it off the list. 

We had about half a dozen fish each in a couple hours, mainly schoolies with some keepers too. They were stubbornly holding far out and with the chop and high sun wouldnt hit topwaters. Thus, seekers and similar lures were the best option. We each had a couple falls in the water as its been a while since I've waded a beach and wasn't wearing studded boots. To my surprize, the water temperature was very pleasant and in retrospect I should just have worn some shorts!

My first in Scotland!

Beautiful!

Perch from loch Ken.

Theres definitely good potential for better fish down there but unfortunately, we live so far away that it can only be a once a year treat. Back in Skye now and the weather seems to be holding up. Planning some fishing very soon...

 

Tight Lines

Firing up nicely!

 With the settled weather of late the water is now over 10C and the action is picking up fast! I have been fairly busy with guiding the past couple of weeks and the results have been very satisfying. Moreover I havent needed to travel far as Staffin Bay has been the most productive area and right at my doorstep...

Most fish have fallen to natural coloured soft plastics and a couple have opted for the topwater as well!

Bandage!

Nice coalie.

Chunk...

More of this please! 

It's great seeing old and new faces coming over and I'm hoping this hot action continues, hopefully with some Summer species added to the mix.

Had another outing for Seatrout on the kayak but the area seemed devoid of them. Not sure if the green waters from the bloom played some part to this. I could see lots of sandeel but nothing preying on them...

Also a quick freshwater session in less than favorable conditions saw me catching a couple trout. I've yet to find the time for a proper fw kayak session but I'm sure I'll get round to it soon.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I got a new fishfinder but also a new transducer from Aliexpress for my old unit. It turns out that the cheapo transducer works fine and I just need to devise a better mount for it on the kayak.

Anyway plenty more fishing to be done!

Tight lines