First Mullet of the year!

Imagine trying to sleep in a caravan with a Harley Davidson ticking over 3 ft from your pillow? So off I went as a result of Les and his snoring and landed on the chosen spot at about 5am. Having spotted the fish on a scouting mission the previous morning they were there in the same spot at roughly the same time. Having fed them with an offering the previous day I was optimistic about my chances. With the forecast being what it was for Sharkatag I had packed my Bass and Mullet gear planning this as a possible back up. Anyway, had an offer on my second cast and missed it and then struck at a line bite so when the third offer came along I was now warmed up and off the fish went. Nothing like it at that time of the morning to get the adrenalin going, better than an espresso! 5 minutes later my first of the year was beaten and some pictures taken and the fish returned. I then headed to Ardwell to meet with Gordon for the next leg of the Sharkatag but the weather unfortunately beat us on the day with a straight southerly no good to anyone. So...will post some pictures shortly but in the meantime here is a shot from the caravan with Michael and Jason's pup (which was seasick on Saturday) Its doesn't seem to have put Sinbad off by the looks of it !

The fish above shows some conflicting ID points according to the National Mullet Club site, the jugular space under the chin too wide- not a Thick Lip as well as the lips a being different, gold spot behind the gill like a GG but no slime, no black patch on the pectoral fin like a Thin Lip ??? Watch this space this needs further investigation, better pictures and a closer look the next time I'm in the area.

Sharkatag Event

Home early due to the weather today...lousy too much wind in Luce Bay. I did manage a 5am start this morning thanks to big Les and his snorning but more about that later. It was worth it but with 4 hourse sleep on Saturday night I'm a tad tired today as the troops rocked in a 3.30am to start a snore fest!

Thanks to Gordon for another good day aboard Tickety Boo, Tope, Smuts and Thornbacks with more Scad than Mackeral as they were very hard to come by we still managed on frozen baits and fresh crab.

Another local session

Works was grim today so I required to empty the head went in search of another addition to the species list specifically trying for a Rockcook ( sad but true). These as well as any form of Rockling seem to avoid any offering cast forth for the time being, anyhoo added this meagre Pollack but caught lots of fish nevertheless but only this was a new one for me this year.

Back to some real fishing this weekend if the weather plays ball...

So so far this year 24 species to date

Bass....about time

Decided to scratch the itch and eventually focus on getting a Bass this morning. Went to where I caught my first Bass ,cut my teeth on them and also had my PB. Some things you don't forget.... decent fish as well,really thick set.

Thanks to Rodney for taking me there many years ago.

Self timer picture here so not the best, also need to remind myself to iron my face before I leave the house.

Been getting around..a Turbot here and a Smoothie there

Up in Aberdeen for a few days so packed a rod with the intention of targeting Turbot. I headed north after work tonight with some mackerel for bait to the Pirates Graveyard area, nice surf, incoming tide but lots of weed and thankfully some fish...two Turbo's and five Flounders. The best Turbot was 1pound 1oz not big by any stretch of the imagination but a welcome site as its zipped across the sand in the clear water. This is also a new club record as we don't seem to get too many down Ayrshire way or possibly not to date yet...

Will post a few pics od the Turbo when I get home.

We also had a club shore match last Sunday in Luce Bay despite favourable conditions the fishing was lousy. I managed to get lucky and catch the only Smut of the match(34 inches) to add to some Dog's. It provided a nice little russel on my light BTB amorphous rod. The Bass were strangely absent and Ian dropped a nice Huss estimated at 12 pounds. No pictures of my Smut which is a pity, it was raining heavily,I had a bitch of hangover and Jamie is still limping around. We gave it about five pounds and was the real point scorer that counted on the day with Dog's only worth 10 pts.

Prestwick

Monday night is not normally a night where I do much so Jamie and myself had a short session locally. The beach had a decent enough surf running initially but this flattened off as the light faded and the tide started to creep in. We both had a couple of small bites on crab baits and Jamie had a decent rattle as we were packing the rods away which resulted in this small Bass. They seem to be avoiding me for the time being and although I've not really tried for them serioulsy this year yet there have been a few around in the some of the places I've been so its time to get a couple of proper sessions under my belt but the fishing/social diary is pretty full at the moment.

Mooching around

Had crack at the mini species last night and got a nice surprise into the bargain. I started trying to catch some Gobies but only managed a bag of nine common Blennies, pretty funny watching and them and sadly quite addictive. I then moved on to the Wrasse, Corkwing, Goldsinny and amongst them a nice Ballan of just over two pounds. I was using my Mullet gear and had four pound line on the reel, just as well the drag was set as when I hooked it as comparatively this was like an express train and was a nice surprise. I also equaled the club record for Corkwing but this was about 2-3 oz lighter than the one I caught in April. As the light faded so did the bites and I changed tactics and threw some lures for half an hour without success, no joy yet for the elusive( for me so far) Bass. I caught another fish which I need to confirm regarding its ID so we will wait and see about that one.