Nice fish for Jamie

No fishing for me this weekend but Jamie did manage a nice fish this afternoon. This is his first Bass of 2012. A good start in anyone's book.

Cost ? Value ? Reliability? Luck?

Not good....to be continued

Good day for a blank and a tramps tan

Thats the first blank of the year in the SW out of the way. Jamie and I had a chance each at a fish but that was it. The water was warmer than I thought it might be and there was plenty of of Tern, Gannet and Seal activity so its all getting  to work nicley down there at the moment.

I stuck with the Bombarda for a while with these 4 inch softies which are recessed top and bottom which makes it easy to fish weedless. I also threw around some Wave Worms for the last 30 minutes but the excitment was over.

We picked up a stray Marine on our travels pictured in the foreground, normally doesnt get his feet wet unless he's launching a boat.....

Hand made

I picked some bits and pieces up this week which I ordered last month but which never arrived in time for my Kyle trip( no fault of the retailer) Long story short I got talking to a member of the team when I placed the order and we spoke about in- line Sea Trout lures from Kinetic and he knew how these worked and how they were produced from what was cottage industry till it was bought out. As it happens he also makes them by hand and you might recognise these from some patterns you have seen in the past but there are a few differences.Its basically a Launce imitation designed to be fished on or near the surface in a tail down sort of presentation. At 22g and 12cm it will cover a country mile.When you see it working underwater with an explanation of why accompanied with the footage of Launce in action scooping off the surface in the videos mentioned previously on my blog it seems a reasonable option. It should be a handy addition to the toolkit.

Thank you James.

A bleak night with a little sparkle

I Stayed in Dundee again last night and while the tides were not great the times were sociable enough to encourage me out for a session. The whole scene had a rather dour look to it with the light S'ly winds which were in the forecast at one point managing to turn themselves around to gusts of 15-20 mph NE's with some rain in the mix....

The water colour was not what I wanted it to be but the fact I could see three sizes and colours of lures at 7-10 yards meant the fish should see what was offered as well. I covered a lot of water before this fish hit on a long line cast up tide, no doubt I was glad to see it. It took the lure really positively and went airborne straight away. I  felt a hard vibration on the braid instantly and when it went vertical again the fish  was also across and down tide having covered a surprising distance.It was the same sort of feeling a fly line has cutting through the water at speed.10/10 as it was punching above its weight.

These nothing to something moments on a wet skankie night is as good a reason as any to pick up a rod.

Not bad for a cold and wet night . 2 from 2 with another small fish and no other sign of life to be seen.

Kyle of Tongue & Durness

I spent a couple of days in the NW of Scotland this week. Its a rugged and remote place which has good Sea Trout and some Bass fishing.

There are some pristine beaches that will throw up Turbot and Flounders.

As expected I was too early for the Bass so focused on the Sea Trout. I met one other local angler on my visit who took this picture of my first fish of the trip.

The weather was mixed with strong Northerly winds which took out the beach options I had. I fished the Kyle and Naver estuary as well as a trip over to Durness. The estuary fishing  unsurprisingly is focused on short tidal windows 2/3 hour sessions.

When the weather allowed it I had some sessions on the beaches on the more sheltered bays I could find. This is where I hooked played and lost a beast of a fish on my first night. The water quality is great and I lost count of the amount of fish I saw following my  lures when the light and waves allowed me to see into the water.

Tactics due to the weather were long casting lures to cover the water some of which I have painted one side white to dampen the flash and provide a more natural look.I also added some mother of pearl glitz and with the action of the lure moving this it got a lot of attention. They dont look much but apart from the pencil bait second from the left they are proven ST catchers with a Danish background and have a great action, compact profile and cast for mile on my 8 strand braid.

Sea Trout can be difficult at times and I switched lure profiles, colours and  added a teaser on the dropper when the weed allowed me to.You need to be sensible especially at the Kyle on an incoming tide and its not advisable without intimate knowledge of the tides/heights

To target Sea Trout you need permission. This  can be obtained from the Ben Loyal Hotel in Tongue for the Kyle, the Store in Bettyhill for the Naver and Martin Mackay in Durness for the Kyle of Durness. The tickets cost buttons. I took one fish for my supper which was superb so if you visit make sure you keep yourself on the right side of the law.

The bottom Kyle is heavly corrugated with some deep ruts, this little chap got out there eventually.Peter the angler pictured above explained that the fish sit in these ruts as the tide drops. Some of them are pretty deep in points but overall its a shallow area.

I'm not great with a camera but if thats your thing and apart from the landscape you have a lot of opportunity

If you thinks it's right it probably is

It's harsh environment sometimes. One of my favourite films and this scene is one reason to stick to your guns if you think what you're doing is right. But its always healthy to ask a few questions....

The things people ask you about

Like anyone that has more than a passing interest and can get focused on their fishing they will get asked from time to time from non anglers, friends and family what do you do when you go fishing? What do you think about?

It’s an easy answer which is nothing really (Travel, Tide, weather, wind direction, time, disengage, engage, watch, repetition, colour, size, movement, light, moon, change, watch, keep moving, more repetition, take the beatings, enjoy the highs, look what you could have won, things break, things don’t work, that was a surprise, did anyone else see that? appreciation, satisfaction) Yeah not much really….

Slow evening..again

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.

Perfect camouflage

I picked this up on a bait meant for Turbot in the NE of Scotland last year

Jack Crevalle

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!

Nothing doing

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 : (

Tick tock...

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.

Spin stop style

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.

Tay estuary ticket

http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/a2z/fishingpermits/

Only....

Never post about music as a rule and this song has been about for a while but  always wanted to go to SXSW

Cold morning...no fish

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.

Sea Trout Action in my underwear

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.

First Bass of 2012

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.

A different angle part 2

Another snippet where the anglers hooks a double shot of Sea Trout !