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. 

2023 just like that...

 Happy new year to everyone and best wishes for 2023. I really don't know where December went as work and family have kept me very busy. Moreover, the cold and windy weather hasn't exactly spurred me on towards fishing... I've had a few sessions here snd there with good results but not the long sessions I'd like.

Back in December, I made an exploratory trip to Bracadale with mixed results. It was a lovely day out but I'd have far better fishing over my patch... A few quick shore sessions provided some good eaters but it wasn't until yesterday that I had a proper fishing session. 

Usual size. 

Some lovely coalies lately. 

I set off with dad and this was his first trip on the tinnie. Weather was OK with an incoming tide and a fresh southerly that felt warmer than the past few weeks.

We fished a sheltered spot first and got hungry fish straight away! Dad managed some good eaters and a couple bigger ones that were released. I got a few too and then got cut off by a good fish. Unfortunately a seal came for a visit and the bites dropped. Decided on a quick move and I started with a topwater. The Autowalker got hit almost instantly and I realised there was a shoal of coalies pushing bait up the reef. Time for fun... Rigged an Autowalker for dad and after showing him the retrieve speed, he started catching pounder coalies one after the other!

Dad started with a fatty.

He's in! 

Loads of them on the Autowalker. 

Good size coalie. 

Nice coalie on the Autowalker

There were some better ones among them and I had a cracking slap on the lure from a nice fish that weirdly didn't stick. I kept using the lure and catching a few fish until at some point realised that my middle hook got broken back when I had that strike! Mad coalies... I switched to a Lucky Craft Gunfish imitation to gove thdm something different and kept getting hit. It was great fun giving the lure a couple twitches and then getting some takes while it was resting. Most fish wanted it moving though. The hook up rate was somewhat reduced on this lure despite the 2 trebles. There's definitely something about the hook configuration and flowing action of the Autowalker that gets more hookups I feel.

In other news, I decided to treat myself to a new reel before Christmas... I did my usual research but nothing jumped to me on my price range. I wanted something more stepped up than the Sedona but not as expensive as the Stradic. In the end I settled for a Shimano Nasci C5000 XGFC at about £75. Typically smooth straight off the box, hopefully it'll take the punishment. I was really wanting to try a non shimano reel but at that price range and with the specs offered on the Nasci... I remain a shimano fanboy still! The cheapo Sedona has been excellent so far and there's no reason that the Nasci won't be as good. Thankfully, with most of my fishing done from the boat these days, the need for bulletproof reels has lessened and sturdy, well made cheaper reels seem to be fitting the bill ok.

Another one...

The cold and snowy weather could really move away now and would love some settled conditions in the next few weeks as dad wants to get out on the tinnie again! Let's see how it goes.

Tight lines!

Old friends and new weapons.

 Last weekend I had the pleasure to host my friends Alan and Paul again. We only managed to fish the Saturday due to the weather,  but we gave it a good go fishing all day practically. Last year I had a tough week with the lads and we really struggled to get some good fish in the boat. This year I was determined not to let that happen again... 

We had great conditions on the day so much so that we were possibly overconfident... We started at a shallow, kelpy mark that I tend to visit a lot this year. We got fish straight away but then they got fussy very quickly and the action slowed right down. It was infuriating as we could see loads of fish on the sounder and also feeling bites on our lures but no hookups. We spent a bit longer than I would've allowed regularly on this mark as I was thinking that the fish were waiting for the right tide state. Nevertheless I decided to move eventually and we headed for some slightly deeper spots. Thankfully we found some active fish and the boys got stuck in! 

Paul with a nice coalie.

Warrior pollack 

Alan with a plump fish in perfect conditions

Good times

Getting better...

That's more like it!

A nice one for Paul.

Eyes bigger than his belly this wrasse..

Alan's lure pile...

They're both in!

Double trouble 

Great condition on these fish 

I had some new rods to try as well, one being the MH Spro Specter finesse spin (2.42m 18-48g) and the other the Mifine Maximus (2.28m 10-40g). They both got some fish and I'm happy with them but can't form an opinion until after much further use.

Maximus!

New MH rod

We noticed extensive shoals of baitfish throughout the day and I persisted with topwaters as it seemed perfect for them. The fish had different ideas though and I only managed one to the usual Autowalker...

Topwater love.

Get in!

The lads got a good number of fish with the bigger ones around 3kg but no monsters showed up this time. I'm glad the fish played ball in the end as it was honestly a cracking day weather wise.

I'm starting to think that the tinnie may not be as 'stealthy' as the sibs when approaching shallow water fish. It could be the noise reverberating from the metal hull, the shiny colour and/or even the 2 stroke engine that does it, but its been a few times now that we approach a mark, catch a couple fish and they then go into lockjaw.  I'm going to try hanging off slightly farther from the fish next time and also turn off the engine (use the electric motor) before closing in. See how it goes.

I've not fished at all for myself the past couple months but hopefully I'll manage it this month as guiding has slowed down. I really want to take the boat out the west side and try a session for spurdogs... 

Tight lines 

THE time of the year...

 As per the title, when weather behaves even a little at this time of year then things seem to come together and make for some great fishing. I've had a few guiding sessions already this month and they have been very productive. 

What has stood out for me, is how important the lure retrieve can be.  I had 2 anglers in the boat the other day and even though the fish were biting well, it took giving them the lure at the speed and manner they wanted it. One angler switched on to it and it was like each person was fishing at a different sea! On the day they wanted a more aggressive approach with intervals of fast recovery and wouldn't look at a slow lure! In the end both anglers sussed it out and the fish kept coming...

Happy Garry with a run of the mill fish.

Good bend! 

Now we're talking! 

We've also had some 'big fish' bites that unfortunately couldn't convert into fish on the deck as they cut us off. Now this is always expected when pollock fishing but these encounters have increased this month. I have added a new rod to my selection (SPRO Specter finesse spin M) and whilst I like it very much, I think it's a bit light for these fish, hence I went and bought the heavier model the other day and can't wait to try it.

Pretty codling 

Dave clocked it!

And again.

Colin soon switched on.

Then THIS happened!

Get in!

These are freshwater rods but as they are designed mainly for soft plastics fishing for Zander etc, they can work well in the heavier models for the sea. They are fast actioned and sensitive whilst maintaining good hooking power. I just hope the MH model can fight the bigger pollock better... The price was good too (80£ish) although I've yet to find something like the Johncoo Ruffy as every rod I've ordered from China recently hasn't come through. 

I've yet to have a proper topwater day this season as I've not found the right conditions for it. I persisted with them the other day though, trying to at least get a blowup for the guys to see (and believe that it happens!) And typically a good fish smashed the lure when they were busy unhooking another fish on the other side of the boat...! 

Nevertheless things are definitely gearing up just now and with a bit of luck we'll get some settled weather the days I'm out. Plenty of fishing to be done into November and hopefully some big mamas will show up.

I've also recently sold my first sib the YAM380S but as yet no luck finding something to replace it. It was a cracking SIB but I really need one in better condition for taking people out in difficult to access areas. Been a while since I've ventured afield...

Tight lines