Mixed Bag

I looked at the beach Jamie and me were supposed to fish last night and just didn't fancy it. Too calm, no wave and the winds forecast for that time just didn't materialise.

Anyway Jamie stuck to his guns and caught fish and had great delight in texting and calling me to say so. I wondered if I had made the right decision and despite me getting my first Shore Rockling of the year the prospect of some Bass made me shift for the third time. Not big fish just school Bass but four fish and a Flounder from a mark not normally frequented left me fairly satisfied with my efforts. The wind arrive at midnight and shortly after that I wrapped it for another night. Another highlight of the night was when I went to bait up my other rod and bent down to pick some bait up and a fox had its snout in the trough... nearly shat myself! Chased it up the beach as I was angry I got a fright.

Busy night tonight mixed bag

I'm just checking my emails and then I'm off to bed. I will put a post up later this morning but Scottish species 44 tonight and one that's been proving difficult for me to achieve. After what I thought was a poor decision the plan eventually came together like it seems to more often than not( did I just say that?) That one will probably bite me on the backside a bit like the fox I met tonight....

Wrasse..again

I love my Wrasse fishing so I had another try for them today. Worm baits to locate and search for the fish and then switch to hardback crab to sort the larger fish out was the tactic and it worked. I banged out a number of medium weight Ballans but not the 3 pound plus fish I was looking for. True to form the hardbacks did take all the larger specimens and when using worm I picked this nice little Corkwing Wrasse up which is a new PB at 5.5 oz. The Rio hard alloy mono I bought for lure fishing is really good for Wrasse, tough,abrasion resistant and ideal for dropping into the kelp jungle that these fish live in.

Golden Grey

Having been trying to get a Golden Grey for a couple of weeks now I met with and spoke to another angler who reckons like me there are hybrid Mullet around. I have suspected this myself on considering some of the features on the NMC web site and handling a few suspect fish. I will however keep trying. This fish was around 14 oz the same size as the other 3 Mullet I caught from the same area last night which looked very different and were stone wall Thick Lips(This has now confirmed as a GG by someone who has caught them from the area I fished and I will count this on my personal list for 2011)

Long Spined Sea Scorpion

As a result of the daft hours I've been keeping over the last few days my body clock's out of sync. A late evening session resulted due to me not feeling tired. The fishing was grim with only a massive edible crab of about a pound and half to show for my efforts until the last cast produced another first for me and another counter to my 2011 species tally. I need to get a new memory card for my camera as it took me about ten attempts to get a picture to stick without an error message showing a fault with it. Anyway I managed this which clearly shows the difference between this and its larger short spined cousin. By the way...still no Rockling

More small Bass

With a nice onshore wind last night Jamie and me fished into darkness. We had seven Bass but nothing to write home about in terms of their size. There were apparently a couple of larger fish landed last night and indeed the night before but as luck would have it only small ones for the both of us.

Another one off the list...Sand Goby

One of my better pictures in macro mode where this little fish decided to behave itself for its photo shoot.

Why I hate Rockling...

In my usual feeble efforts to add any type of Rockling to my species tally for the year I tried a local mark in Troon. The mark is scabby broken ground with some sand and the bait was Mackerel strip and 20 Ragworm I scrounged from my mate on the way to the beach. As usual confidence was not sky high to say the least. No Rockling again... but two small Bass in 5 minutes the first on Rag and the other on fish strip as well as another missed bite. I'm on holiday this week so will have a serious attempt at Bass tonight as Jamie found it hilarious that I was trying for a Rockling on a night that was perfect for Bass. I didn't have the bait for Bass but still managed a couple of fish so I will see what damage I can do tonight when I'm geared up for it. Jamie and the guys had 6 Bass the last time we spoke about 12.15am

Dunbar Wrasse, Ling and a few Cod

Dunbar on Saturday after Friday nights Eel session was a bit of a struggle and not to mention a long day. I met up with Gordon at 8am and we headed through to the east coast. The fishing was poor and I actually caught more Wrasse than Cod and my second SSSS of the year.

Solo Conger

Fishing at night yourself is pretty boring to be honest. After three hours of darkness I has about to wrap it but after dozing off I was awakened by the ratchet on the reel and the tell tale sign of some interest from a snotty eel. Not the biggest Conger I've caught and also a pretty bad picture,check the state of me. The self timer worked but the fish was doing its best to wriggle free from my grip.

Black Goby

What cracking looking little fish and another first for me. The dark scales contrast with the iridescent blue make this an unusually marked fish in comparison to the pictures of other fish of this species that I have seen. For comparison here is a picture of a Black Goby I caught from the same place 5 minutes later, pretty boring by comparison

Small Thick Lip

I attempted to add a Golden Grey to my tally for the year after a couple of suspect catches including one of my own in the SW earlier this year. I managed this little Mullet of 11 oz, the smallest Mullet I have caught the quest for a GG goes on!

Clyde Wrasse & Pollack

Myself and Rodney made our annual trip today and as usual the weather played ball as did the fish ...eventually. Things were slow to start with but picked up nicely. Rodney after a shaky start got into his rhythm and added fish after fish . I dodged on and tried for quality over quantity sticking with hardback crab for quite a while, less bites and I guess proven to catch the bigger fish.

Rock Cook & Dragonet

I ticked another two boxes tonight when I finished work adding a Dragonet and a first for me the Rock Cook Wrasse, beautiful little fish.

The weekend finishes on 35 species for the year so far

Port Logan mixed bag with Huss & Tope thrown in

Scott invited me aboard Scary Mary for a Logan session based on a great forecast and flat calm seas we headed out for what was to be a really good days fishing with a mixed bag of fish and a total of 12 species. One of the fish I caught turned out to be a potential Scottish record Launce of 9oz and more like a Gar than a Launce. We fished more towards Portpatrick than Port Logan with the rain for the better part of the day staying off. We had a laugh and caught some good fish.

Porbeagles and Bass

Gordon and Kenny have recently managed to catch a couple of super fish. Gordon had a half share in this boat caught Bass that took a Tope bait that Matty Burrett had cast out and Kenny managed a Porgie on an Irish trip. Cracking fish both returned.

Bass on the Z Claw

I took the opportunity to the throw a few lures for an hour or so within the club match at the weekend. The Zenith Z claw really is a cracking lure with a smashing wide lazy walk when worked properly. The fish seemed to be interested in it when it was stationary or with the slightest of movements after a short walk. The Bass action was as good as it got with only some predictable dogfish turning up as darkness fell.

Dunure

I tried for some bait briefly at the weekend and a local rock mark which is normally pretty good for Mackerel but even these proved hard to get. I managed a few Coalies and a stray Launce hardly what I need for a next weekend and meagre tally for an hours hard feathering when you need about 20 Mackerel .....sometimes you just need a boat.

Wexford memories

Had a great time in Wexford. It was one of the toughest weeks fishing I've had. Jimmy was great and we put in some fruitless shifts which were as hard for him as they were for me. I learned a lot and put eyes on some fantastic spots that we just don't have the like of in Scotland. I will be back that's for sure.

Cobh- Cork Harbour

Here is the impressive cathedral in Cobh ( note the gill net in the foreground apparently banned but 20 ft from an inland fisheries car which was parked....)

I stood in a nice little harbour with a cruise ship where the Titanic once sat anchored before its maiden voyage. I fed the Mullet for 40 minutes before they decided to play.

Cork Harbour

The Irish are lucky in many ways as we we know. Cork Harbour what a place! So many options and angling possibilities. I spent a morning afloat and then in afternoon in Cobh when Jim attended a fisheries meeting the Mullet whisperer's idle hands were at play.

Wexford plastic fantastic

What can I say about this place on my first visit? Tough fishing, tough weather some nice fish on a new method in tough conditions....


I visited Jim and took part in the Hendricks experience. The man does not stop. Miles we drove miles we walked covering the water and what water it is. I had the pleasure of visiting some interesting and varied Bass environments that even when the prospect of a fish seemed distant the possibilities kept us both focused as Jim knew and I was aware what might happen next.

Jim talked me through the use of soft plastics and how to fish them in the strong tidal environment with some success on my virgin Irish Bass outing.

Starters orders

Bags packed of a fashion, weather playing up and I hope the Bass are playing as well....

Somersualting Sea Trout

Hooked up with my old mate Rodney tonight for a long overdue session for Sea Trout. It has to be said that Rodder's mood was less than positive for some reason. But it is amazing what a take on on your first cast can do to lighten the frame of mind....I've got one, he says in the most surprised manner...

We had some fantastic fun, lost more than we caught and also had these two cracking fish of 2.7 and 2.5. My fish will stay in my memory for a long time,superb scrap with 6 or 7 high jumps and screeching runs on a light drag, happy as Larry as the man says and a satisfying way to hit number 30 in the species hit list. Really pleased with this one and Rodder's was the cheshire cat at the end of night!

Rock Goby & Common Goby

Another one for the species list.... 28, edit from Monday 29 another addition on Wednesday without too many posts about Goby's had a few other Rock Goby's and three Common Goby's..