Blankety blank cheque book....

Never caught a Guillemot before, one this weekend and another two weeks ago. Both birds went for my plug. Curios as I have not heard of anyone catching one either, must be starving to be honest. Anyway both safe and sound, probably still looking for their next meal. That aside, no fish on Saturday. I had one nice follow just when I announced to Jamie I was finished for the day and possibly saw another fish near my lure. Not exactly exciting stuff but I enjoyed the chase as ever. Maybe one other shot with lures this month and then it will be a switch in tactics although I’m not sure what that will be yet.

The Gambler

It’s been good this week, Blackberry switched off, no Excel and no clients to speak with. Since Friday I have enjoyed a couple of sessions, caught some fish and got some domestic choirs done and have even taken my mother and mother in law out for lunch…check me!

However cant help thinking that if the weather would have played ball I would be in Wexford with Jim, fishing, talking fishing, thinking fishing, learning fishing and quite possibly catching. I have to say that while I am genuinely disappointed that the trip didn’t happen there is a Kenny Rogers song that sums it up.

Next year….

More weed than Cheech & Chong

The weather has been true to forecast this week, wish it wasn’t but that’s showbiz! So with this in mind I went back to the same area I fished on Monday, bigger tides and possibly bigger problems with weed but I was optimistic with the incoming tide coinciding with the fading light. Anyway fished the tide down, good news, no weed to speak of. Weapon of choice fresh crab, like McDonalds I went large and didn’t hold back on the baits hoping for a big back end fish to beat my PB. Things looked promising from when on my third cast the rod indicated a solid thump followed by a standard issue slack liner which produced a fish of 3.10. This was followed by a slightly smaller fish about 20 minutes later. With the incoming tide still to come it looked like a promising session lay ahead. Well it came and went with no joy and instead the dreaded weed arrived, not a massive problem but enough to cause me to pull my hair out (if I had any). It was manageable till I got about 20 yards and the gripper, trace and leader knot picked it up like a hoover, lovely. I gave myself to 7.30pm and with the light almost gone I sat watching both rods as I tidied things up when the rod in the left cup displayed a decent bite which developed into a rod stand wrenching pull which sent the whole lot , 2 rods , stand and the bag suspended below it seaward. Having seen this happen before on this mark it’s usually the sign of a decent Bass and once I got a handle of saving the gear and with a slack liner I picked up and felt for what was surely a good fish…nada. I disappointedly wound in one rod and then the other and my reward was a surprise 2 pound cod on the other rod, not really what I was looking for but it was a fish. Makes you wonder how they can do it and not get a 2 x 3/0 pennel rig to stick, maybe a full on line bite in or around the bait and rig but I will never know that’s for sure…

Making the best of my options

It’s been about 5 weeks since my last trip. That wouldn’t have been that big a deal as I should have been in Wexford this week for 6 days Bass fishing. Unfortunately this was quite rightly cancelled due to a horrendous forecast that would have made it pretty difficult to catch anything on lures. Add this to the fact that I had to cancel my trip to Alderney late in October due to work commitments (Wexford was the replacement) left me feeling a little sorry for myself.

So on Monday despite a grim outlook in relation to wind strength and direction I left home at 4.30am. The plan worked, two fish on lures with the best one about 3 pounds and then with a bit of a drive and a change in tactics four fish on fresh crab with the best again 3 pounds and the other three about 2 pounds.

So there you have it, not where I wanted to be but with the time off work I made the best of it. There is little chance of me using lures for the rest of the week but I do have plenty of crab left over. The tides and weather look ok for Wednesday so, will see what that brings.

Here is how not to take a photo, self timer in sunshine oh dear! The fish sat pretty but I failed miserably and this is after trying to change the contrast in Photobucket!

Local session

Spent a couple of hours with my mate on Thursday night, tried locally in an area which has produced a few Bass recently. We picked some broken ground with beaches eithier side. While its true that these fish came in onshore wind conditions on bait there must be a chance on lures ? Anyway we didnt catch anything but it was good to catch up, have a laugh on what was a cracking night, warm and and windless. I dont know how many of these nights we have left this year so it was good to get out. I will try again as it would be nice to get a fish or two only a few miles from home without a four hour round trip.

Super Super Spook in the moonrise

Had a session last night, glorious evening totally still, so still I could hear the lure sloshing through the water as I walked it back toward me. The mark I fished is truly treacherous under foot so much so I had to think twice about fishing it myself. Jamie still has my wading stick so I never moved around much which probably resulted in me only catching one Bass of about 2 pounds. The highlight of the night were the crazy crazy Pollack, stopped counting after fifteen, nothing big with them all being under 2 pounds but man oh man ! Having fished here before I expect a few along with the Bass but I don’t think the latter got a look in last night. What I did get was lots of practice on twitch and move with the Super Spook in chartreuse, truth is the less you moved it the better. The nearest thing I have seen to their antics was a sea lion playing with a ball as they bounced the lure a foot into the air when the didn’t get hooked (which was also lots and lots of times) I found myself standing laughing out loud alone, needed something to make me laugh as its total leg & ankle straight into an air ambulance sort of place. Pictures were a hassle and they one’s I have are pretty crap, no time to take decent pictures for the faaashen

Day 3

Morning broke and we were met with flat calm seas and bright sunshine...superb.Basking sharks everywhere, we saw about 15-20 in a two mile stretch. Three days on a boat had started to do strange things to me by this point.

Evening day 2

A light refreshment, some food and a Tope for me in 8 meters of water at our anchorage, what a laugh

Day 2

Day 2

Off by Arran and Pladda on Friday night to put our head down in Campbeltown. A few pints then off in the morning for Islay at dawn. We got the balloon floats ready and off we went.

Long distance Porgie trip Day 1

Had a great weekend with Stu and Willie on Reel Deal which is their Rodman 1040(nice btw). We fished the North Channel between Ireland and Islay for Porgies. No joy on the Porbeagles but we saw large whales jumping clear of the water,smaller species of whales and more basking sharks than I have ever seen in one area. There was some amazing currents and whirlpools due to the tide flowing hard over reefs and pinnacles, flat calms seas, good banter and some tope here and there as well as some Pollack and Whiting thrown in, tip top.

Porbeagles ?

I got a phone call at 8.30am on Thursday. Fancy weekend fishing for Porgies? Eh, yes when do we leave? Being in Aberdeen at the time I came back home last night and hurriedly got myself organised. We leave tonight, 2 ½ days living on my mates Rodman, should be interesting. I will hopefully have a few tales to tell…..

Heads of Ayr last Monday

After a few nice Bass were caught of Prestwick beach last week I thought I would try a session locally for a few hours mid week. Jamie and I headed to a rock mark I had not fished for 15 years. With a rising tide into darkness I guessed we might have a reasonable chance of a Bass. Kelp, broken ground and patches of sand meant my memory had not failed me and with a few gannets working the area we had a chance. Early in the session we both had fish hit the popper hard, we both saw the fish but they were to far out to ID correctly. I gave it a 50/50 chance of being Bass. An hour or so later and with the tide well on the rise we started to pick up some fish, not Bass but some nice Coalies and I had a solitary Mackerel. The blank was off and the Bass just might have been in the area at the start of the session. Jamie did better than me opting to throw some metal at the fish; I stuck with the Maria Chase hoping any passing Bass might prefer this offering. The fact is with fish to 6 pounds caught locally this place should produce the odd Bass, maybe next time

I had a late afternoon session on Sunday at a new mark I had walked by and fished close to before. Difficult little area which was shallow,had tide, onshore wind and stacks of bladder rack to deal with. Four of us fished and I was lucky to have three of the four fish caught. Between us we lost a few more fish and had a number of takes. My fish came on the Feedshallow x 2 and Mag Popper x1

Schools Out

I saved a blank today late on in this early morning session. After last night I just needed to catch. It took me three hours before I managed to get on a run of schoolie Bass. I appreciated these all the same and managed 5 in an hour all on a pingusi patternZonk fished at a distance which was as far as I could cast it wind assisted about 50 yards I guess. The fished seemed to be patrolling a strip of sand between two beds of kelp which run parallel to the shore, not breaking any records here but I seem to have made the right call this time. The same conditions last year brought roughly the same result… break in case of emergency!

Passive Bass

Friday night again.... it was a nice night for this weeks Friday night Saturday morning session, overcast, rising tide, bait in the water. Highlight of the night was a fish which looked like to me to be about 4-5 pounds following the Z Claw on a number of casts, tight behind it in a flat calm breaking the surface but not aggressively, just having a real good look at the target, not seen this happen before in such a manner. Anyway, blanked on Bass but I did have some fun on a Frosty surface lure that’s a stone dead look alike for a large sand eel or small launce, 6 Mackerel late on, the last one I caught was about to 11.30pm in a place the Bass should have been !

Back 2 Back Bass sessions

I fished last night and again this morning after five hours sleep in the car. I had five fish almost identical in size miles apart from two separate areas. I weighed one of these, 2 pounds 4 oz. I had my chances to probably double the numbers of fish I caught but the Bass were intent in trying to drown the surface lure and not eat it. I enjoyed both sessions but I fished hard for what I caught. Where are the bigger fish? I hope to find them soon. They do exist here but the reality is its not Wexford or Brittany… it’s the SW of Scotland. Maybe the next session will throw one up. Marie Chase BW in green eel and a Z Claw in mullet did the damage.

It's a funny old game sometimes

I fished last Friday night which is the first in July for Bass. In terms of sessions I have not really got going so far in June, July or indeed this year and it felt like it. Jamie and I fished an area I had not visited for a couple of years. There had been a SW on it for most of the day with the wind switching to the NW then NE with the sea calming off nicely it looked good to go. Long and short I had a Pollack straight away on a Z Claw. Jamie had 3 Bass and lost one on the Mag Popper. I changed pretty much after Jamie took two fish but with the same lure I only managed one offer.You can try and work it out sometimes but still doubt what you’re doing. The answer is probably the most rational one, although we were about 20 yards apart there were no fish in front of me at that point (that’s my story anyway)

Playacar Rui Palace Mexico

Great holiday,hotel was amazing and there was some great DIY fishing to be had 15 mins walk SW from the hotel. Small Threadfin, Jacks, Palometa and Permit if your lucky. Caught one of these and did not have the camera with me but here are a few pics.

All good things

Currently sitting in Cancun airport having the last beer of my holiday. Hopefully the flights on time. The weather has cleared up today but we have lost the last three days of our holiday to a tropical storm, the tan is fading fast.

This was never intended to be a fishing holiday but surprise surprise...managed a few sessions, caught some cracking fish and added a few more species to the list. We stayed at Playacar, Riu Palace Mexico which was superb. The service was second to none the suite was roomy and cool and the food was tip top. Not to mention the fishing which was handy just a fifteen minute walk down the beach. I will post some pics and detail this week.

Boo hoo, back to work Wednesday

A while coming

I drove south last night after work. A strong NW wind was forecast and was duly accurate. I found this area a month or so ago on one of my early season blanks. The first lure on was the IMA Kommo II. On my fifth cast a put the lure out about 40 yards and let it sit for about ten seconds, jerked it and did not get through the first rotation of the reel handle…bang. It’s a small Bass buts it’s the first of the season and also on a lure which to me seems really versatile and it’s also my first fish on this lure which I bought in January. You could fish this in a saucer of water it runs so shallow and was ideal in terms of where I was casting it. Not much of a Bass but who cares, first of the season and hopefully one of many.

A bite a chuck

Last weekend I had a nice little session with my mate Rod. We had a glorious morning for it, very little wind and totally scorching by mid morning. We fished from around 8am till 12pm and with the exception of the odd lull it was pretty much a bit a cast with Roach, Perch, and Skimmer Bream with Rod picking up a PB Bream of around 4 pounds. I just love looking at a float when this dips and slides out of sight. For a while toward the end of the session the bites seemed to occur on the drop and for me proved a little trickier to connect with. Nice session, good laugh as usual and tip top weather, great way to start a Saturday.

Mexico

I managed to get a holiday booked, off to Playacar Mexico. Certainly looking forward to the break and while it wont be a fishing holiday there will be some opportunity to chuck some lures and maybe the odd livebat or two. Two weeks today...happy days

More Mullet

Bank holiday Monday, great weather forecast and not much else to do and cutting the grass can wait.

Had me second session for Mullet in three days. Why is it that nothing happens for an age, you then take a second to throw some ground bait in and then the float dips? This happened twice today, not just half hearted bites but the type of offer that takes the float down a foot or two, sods law, never understood that statement but that’s what it is I guess.

I managed one fish pictured here, I would give it around 3 ¾ but never weighed it. About 20 min’s later the float stopped its slow wind assisted drift from left to right then shot down. When I struck into the fish it went berserk and jumped clear of the water. It then tore off left, then towards me and then took a screaming run against a light drag for about 15 yards to my left again. I had the fish pretty much beat and was easing it toward the net when the hook popped out. Having had a real good look at this one I would say it was a good 5 ½ - 6 pounder, that’s showbiz as they say…. all summer to catch that one again. I don’t think it would have beaten my PB of 6.5 but would have been a great end to May.

May Mullet

The tide dictated another early start this morning leaving the house at 5.30am I double dropped two coffee’s and off I went. Today was the first Mullet session of the year, overcast with the threat of rain it mattered not,it was great to be up fishing at this time and not driving to work as has been the case lately with lots of early starts.

I decided to change from 4 pound to 6 pound line this year due to some obstacles I encountered last year, 11 inch Drennan waggler due to the strong wind and my usual mix of bait. I will keep it short, two bites one fish lost and this one landed 4 pound 10 oz. A nice start to the Mullet season with a solid fish which fought well and went back easily. The threat of rain became a reality so off home for some breakfast I went.

Have I got time to slink a Bass in May?

Battered Ling & homemade tartar sauce…lovely

Scoffed this two days back to back last weekend. I like to use Thai spices in my batter…braw!

Cod & Ling in the sun

Superb weather this weekend, along the same lines of this time last year 26 degrees on Saturday.

The weekend started with a visit to the SW on Friday afternoon, fished for around 3 hours till around 9pm. No sign of a Bass, nada. Having been down there working anyway it was no big deal I would however like to get my first one of the year sometime very soon please. If I had stayed till the light went I might have had more of a chance but the fact I had a two hour drive home and a 3.30am start on Saturday played a major part in the early finish. Les had invited me over for an east coast session with decent prospects so it would be worth the effort..

I dozed off at around midnight, alarm went off and up and out the house I went. Lynn asked me if that was me just coming to bed! I headed off to Edinburgh to meet with Les, short trip to Dunbar to a flat calm sea and the prospect of some fish at last. No disappointment this time, plenty of Codling for us both with Les getting a number of double shots on jellies. I opted for a baited pirk no shortage of fish for us both. We also tried two diving vanes trolled behind the boat which produced the first Mackerel of the year for me and some beautiful fresh bait for Ling.

The best Codling went about 6 pounds and we also caught Pollack, Coalie, Ling, Pouting, Launce and the solitary Mackerel.

The last time I wore the shirt in these picture was in Cape Verde in May 08. Checked the pocket before it went into the wash last night and found 1000 CV Escudos, couldn’t remember what they were worth. My excitement was short lived £8.21, not to worry; I still have the Lotto to check!

Mini Tarpon

My dry spell continued tonight albeit with some entertainment. The target was Sea Trout on a dropping tide into darkness. When I locate these fish in the sea any breach on the surface even a slight lump or wake usually pays dividends. The result in my experience is almost always an offer or a follow. Tonight I did this four times and had four hook up’s. On a bad night I would expect to get two from four, tonight was worse with no fish landed. Two of the fish hit the lure and took straight off into the air, second jump and then the slack line you dread. The next two solid head shakes and then the realisation that something’s not right more jumps….same result. I had one other fish follow me right in leaving a nice wave and boil in inches of water, probably the best fish of the night 16 inches or so, I flicked the lure out a short distance thinking the fish was still in the area, it was, same result a nice follow then off. On reflection I think I was a little sore on two of the fish being a bit out of practice. I use a softer rod for this and always nylon as mainline while the Bushie would have been nice to use in my opinion it’s just too quick for ST.

No surprise really

Being in the SW working this afternoon I packed the gear last night with a view to having a few hours this evening. To be fair the planned session was more out of complete optimism than reality, as was the session in March. Having set myself a probably unrealistic target of an early Bass on a lure at least I had to try.

Blank. No surprise really. After a cold winter my enthusiasm has got the better of me. I have however tried some new gear, had some exercise, got the boots on, walked a few miles and found some new marks again. The next two weekends I will be tied up and by that point things will have moved on again.

There was noticeable increase in gannet activity tonight, more sandeels and a few moulted crab shells. No holding the season back now.

The difference a month makes

I will be out this Friday for a quick session after work, the temparature looks a lot better. Here are two views today and this time last month. While far from being confident it's worth a try. I am currently in Inverness and will be at the other end of the country on Friday,,,,,

Rudd & Roach, something different

I decided after last weekend that the water temperature was still to low and that I was probably, at best about another two weeks away from a realistic chance of a Bass on a lure.

A friend called me on Friday night and suggested that we could have a try for some Roach, Rudd with the possible chance of some small Carp. Never having caught any of these fish in Scotland off we set armed with poles which was another first for me.

The fish here is a Rudd, beautiful little fish. I also caught Roach and Perch but no Carp unfortunately. I can see why people can get addicted to this style of fishing. A Carp would be fun on the elastic…maybe next time. I will need my specs when I try again, light lines, tiny knots and pin heads floats!

I also discussed some coarse fishing tactics which will be useful when Mullet fishing come May.

First Bass trip of the year....skunked !

Yesterday was my first attempt to target Bass this year. The water temperature was 7/8 and being March it was never going to be easy. To be fair I have never caught a Bass on lures or bait this side of May, but then again I’ve never tried.

Fished three hours late morning into the afternoon then had a break for a few hours then fished till dusk…..nada. I guess I put in around six hours in total.

To be fair I just felt I needed a day out and a trial run with some of the new gear I have bought since last year. The breathable waders were spot on cheapo’s from Bass Pro in the states. The Scierra Dynatrack studded wading boots Lynne gave me for Christmas were great and provided me with a massive improvement in grip. In terms of the lures the Komomo II and Z Claw look tip top. If the Komomo does not do the business for me as the year moves on I will be very surprised.

When I took a break from fishing in the afternoon I travelled a few miles and took a walk down a dirt track of some west facing cliffs. Never been here before but it looks great in terms of bait fishing opportunities. Bass will be a certainty and I would be surprised if I could not pick up a small Turbot or two. The picture is pretty naff but there was nice surf, plenty of tide and a number of features which are out of the shot.

Loch Etive

First trip out today since November. Myself and Scott made the trip north to Loch Etive for the first club match of 2010. The weather was better than expected with sunshine and for the most a light but cold wind from the north. We had around 90 Spurdog…all small fish with the best going 3 pounds 8oz, trebles and doubles at times with a few whiting mixed in. You can see Scott here with the typical fish for the day, a small male. Some of the guys found some doubles and there were a handful of fish to just over 11 pounds. No decent fish for us I’m afraid but it was good to get out.

Trying some new kit ahead of spring

Tried out these new lures today, all below £6 apart from one via Bass Pro Vegas. Great value!

Super Spook Jnr

Daiwa Chugger

Rapala Subwalk

Yo Zuri Chrystal Minnow SP

Daiwa Salt Pro

Lucky Craft Flash Minnow SP *

Bass Pro Laser Eye Lipless