Not much to report, tried a variety of presentations, colours, styles, shapes and sizes but the tides and the continuing north easterly winds will not have helped.
These little micro Savage Gear Nail lures look promising fished Scandinavian style on a Bombarda you can cover huge distances if you need to but the fish need to be there and in the mood in the first place. In the end this tiny Sea Trout took a small 7g metal and that and one other bump on the Nail was it for the night.
Lynne bought me this Patagonia Retro X vest at Christmas and its ideal for this time of year being wind proof it keeps the core of your body warm but enables unrestricted movement. Ideal for the amount of casting you do in a session. I like their gear and while I'm not into buying brands for the sake of it their kit is as good as it gets in my opinion. Not sure how their eco policy sits having previously made the MARS system for the American military quite a strange partnership really.
Having watched Robson Green this week its got me in the notion for Mexico again. I was there in 2000 and in 2010...good times.
As you can see below you can do ok without spending much ( on fishing anyway) . I took this on a little Megabass lure, one of the best scraps ever on what was a four piece Mullet rod. It went on for a while and covered hundreds of yards of beach, you can see the rocks where I hooked it in the distance. It was so far offshore on a run that when Harold walked by he couldn't believe it "dis is ze fish ?" in his English/ German accent. This was also the first day of a storm that turned into a hurricane which wrecked the last two days of the holiday. The pictures don't do it justice as the rain was horizontal and straight at me I could hardly see...what a buzz this fish was a thug!
The estuary seemed devoid of life tonight having got that feeling within about five minutes I shouldn't have stuck at it for 2.5 hours.It only needs one decent fish to change the outcome but tonight was not the night. The rain over the last 24 hours having maybe pushed the fresh fish up the system and they ones that fancied feeding up out to sea, who knows? Back to the hotel and no winners juice for me tonight : (
Some things don't have a battery and have no idea know what GMT is or use Outlook to set them a reminder.
For the last five of the six years I've lived here they have arrived on the 23rd of April, uncanny really. I noticed the date the first year as it was a friends birthday. It's a sure sign and a natural marker summer is just down the line sometime very soon.They were late this year. Might cut them a bit of slack as they don't use public transport, have a passport or wear a watch. The humble Swallow has arrived. I asked myself why today especially on a damp day in Ayrshire. Then again they've been doing it longer than I've been here so must have reason enough.
I put some homework into practice tonight with a variation on an old method.
A long day for me today having been in Aberdeen I made a pitsop in Disco City on the way home but it was worth it. I went 2 from 3 in three hours including this mint fish below which I intially thought was a small Grilse it was so silver and almost spotless.
I cleared a heavy frost from the windscreen this morning and set off at 6am and with hopes high after watching a fishing DVD late last night.
The waves deposited no bounty today. Only one sign of interest from a fish that followed the lure right to my feet, paused for a second in the back tow of the wave and then about turned and was gone.
I did see some Gannets working in two places which is a good sign and there have been some Mackerel caught in two places that I know of so the season is moving on despite the sharp overnight frost.
Time to wash the ST metals down and keep the hooks sharp for the next session.
I'm away from home again...one night, one suit no trousers to fish in! I got organised last night but forgot to pack a pair of strides so i left the hotel with my leaky breathables and my boots on....nice look going through reception.
I have to say it was a bit chilly when wading especially with a few leaks in important strategic areas such as knee level. I could have opted not to wade but why come home dry when I never do ??
3 from 5 tonight best fish around 1 1/2 cracking scrap with lots of jumps.
I've decided to try and take better and more interesting pictures if I can. Here are a couple of standard pics
(I will post them up when I get back home) I also have another video clip, not much better than the last. I might get a Go Pro camera set up at some point, would be great for getting some Sea Trout video action and would be spot on for surface fishing for Bass in the months ahead. The Olympus is hanging in there but with it getting a dunking in saltwater its only a matter of time.
I used the HPR for Sea Trout for the first time tonight, really good. The outfit certainly put the 18g Hansen Fight lures out there and the whole outfit has a nice balanced, smooth and sensitive feel to it.
I hooked up with a few guys from TLF today for an overdue session with the prospect of a few fish into the bargain. Prospects were ok but the water was a little dirty and we hoped that it would clear as the tide rose, it did and we got a few fish. There was actually a fair amount activity at a few points with some Bass showing up in patches on the surface chasing sandeels.
So it was good to eventually meet you face to face Richie, Jason, Jake and Scott I 'm sure we'll get a few sessions in here and there over the coming months.
Headed north with work today then back south again, pit stop disco city. For some reason a 7ft Savage Gear was found in my boot... 3 nice fish from 4 offers tonight then home. I managed to press record on my camera this time. The new Scandanavian metals seem pretty good, even caught a fish on the jaffa pattern that I bought for a laugh, its got a mental action.
Here is the 1st little chap about a pound.
I took a picture of this fish and a little bit of video and then my camera just about died.
The lures that did the damage with the Merlot that might just do some damage as well ....
Gear- 7ft Savage Gear Bushwacker
Daiwa Caldia 3000 & 10 pound Copolymer and some Norse metal
I've not used the HPR for Sea Trout yet but might give it a run out on my next session. Its 9ft and casts 5-28 so it should put the light end lures out there better than the whacker.
My mate Rodney put me onto these videos a couple of years back. I also had a discussion with Jim Hendrick in Ireland about them last year. Jim commented that it made it look easy, we both laughed and agreed that reality is very different from the movies. Having been in touch with a couple of people who have been to Denmark they confirmed that the sea is not strewn with Sea Trout. It does however look tempting.
I need the water to warm up and some Bass to arrive soon before I get involved :-)
A bit more activity out there today and it’s the first time I’ve seen any baitfish this year. It was a nice day for fishing mild with good cloud cover that helped extend the morning session a bit and a nice light wind. I also saw two fish on the surface a good way off the beach so all in starting to feel a bit more like it despite snow apparently being on its way.
I put in 5 hours today and went 1 from 9 on the Sea Trout. Only one of the 8 other fish felt the hook and it nearly gave me a heart attack. The last thing you should be doing at the end of a retrieve is day dreaming which is exactly what I was doing. I was watching some ducks when the fish hit me with about 12 feet of line from the rod tip and the fish went vertical straight away at about eye level to where I was wading, probably 5 pounds. I’m unlikely to see another fish like that for some time but that’s fishing!
I had this fish earlier in the morning on a copper and red Pilgrim spoon. I guess it’s about 2 pounds. I took some nice video of the release only to find out I hadn’t hit the record button
The balance of the action came by way of follows and boils. An enjoyable day made more so by the fact that it was a Monday.
For the past few years at roughly the same time of year I've found myself looking at the satellite sea temperature model for the Irish Sea. So being the 1 st of April here it is and as usual at this time of year I wish the nice orange colour was extending up the east coast from Wexford in Ireland around the Isle of Man and up and into Luce Bay but its not, so I'm off to dry my eye's and deal with it...
As you can see the gulf stream water has to circulate Ireland and sort of meet up. As much as I like Ireland it would handy at the moment if it was located about 500 miles north. Here is the 24th of April last year for comparison, still a long way to go till June and 11 c
