Wrasse and Eel spotting on Bute

I took a trip to Bute with mate and fellow blogger Scott Hutchison on Sunday. The weather was superb and despite being pretty tired after my Bass trip I decided to make the best of Lynne being away for the weekend to squeeze in another session, this time for Wrasse. I've never fished here before but Google maps provides enough information to go at when prospecting new areas such as this.

I spotted the finger of rock below on Google so we set off for it and started working our way along it. We split up and covered more ground.

Scott got hooked trying to winkle out some Goldsinny and Ballan Wrasse from a gulley on one corner of the rocks. He kicked off by catching his trademark species the mighty Common Blenny.

Now, he's got a soft spot for these little creatures and I can sort of see why. When I look at them I just think Bass &  livebait. He gave me a sideways look later in the day when the subject turned to my plans for his little mates sometime this summer, sorry Scott!

I took a walk over for a  chat and a catch up and then headed off to try a new section of rocks.

Jake and Scott put me onto these Lunker City Ribsters last year, handy little SP this. The Wrasse in Kerry loved them so I tried this colour as well as a laminated two tone version on an Owner 10g finesse jig head. I started to find little pockets of fish but as usual lost more than I caught on this method. A lot of the time the fish were tearing off holding on to the end of the bait or missing the hook altogether.

I think it was this fish above that took me about 10 minutes to catch.It followed the lure up the rocks and across the white barncle covered splash zone many times before I eventually hooked it

The above fish was the best of the bunch I landed.

Not big fish but good fun.It's also difficult not to look like a goon sometimes with a selection of gems here as I tried to keep my head from being burnt.

Scott was having a bit of a nightmare and was struggling to land a Wrasse. As the tide dropped off the bites stopped for me as well and it was time to head home.

As we walked back across the rocks the gulley behind us had emptied out. In fact the top end of it looked to only really get flooded on big tides being filled with weed and algae. As we passed it Scott spotted a little bit of movement amongst the weed. On closer inspection it was an Eel and the more we looked into the water the more movement we saw. Now it would have been easy to keep walking but Scott decided to have a crack at catching this Eel for his species hunt as well as salvaging something from the day.

This man wont be beat!

Straight away he got some interest on the jig head and Gulp worm. The Eel seemed  pretty agressive and had a go at the lure the minute it got within range but spat the hook and then ran for cover. We spotted a few more Eel's and Scott stalked them in the sunshine.

So, here is the Eel stalker...  and another species and a nice little bit of angling to be honest.

A nice day out with some laughs and some fish with superb weather. There are a few other spots to try so we will be back and the Wrasse should be a little bigger later in the summer.

Birthday Bass

A tough couple of tides over Friday and Saturday for Jamie and me. We both drew a blank on Friday night  and got to bed about 3am.

We set off after a hearty breakfast in search of sun tan lotion and maybe a Bass.

We struck out on the lotion but came up with a couple of decent fish....eventually.

64cm to the fork and a nice fish for my birthday, about time as well.

A few hours in Dundee

Last weekend’s blank was still in my mind when I started fishing on Wednesday night mainly due to a massive leak discovered in my waders the minute I started wading. This was thanks to sliding down a barnacle covered rock in search of the first Bass of 2013, anyhoo I’ll be trying to put that right this weekend….


As I made my way along the beach I was followed by some feathered friends.

I think they must have thought I was after Mullet as it seemed they were looking for some bread, three hours later they were still with me, they must have just liked the company.


I had a succession of small Coalies about 8 inches in length. I’ve seen this before here and the Sea Trout seem difficult to catch when they’re around. Not sure if it’s the competition or they just don’t like to mix. It was proven to be the case again tonight and it took me a while to eventually get on offer.  I had to walk along the beach to some skinny water to get away from the Coalies.

This fish took on a long cast of about 45 yards after I saw some black headed gulls picking up some morsels at range. I presumed they might be getting on some small fish or eels scoured out by the tide.

It was a lively scrap and I had to retie the leader which was badly frayed. I’ve had this happen a good few times this year, as well as jumping the fish have got down and tried to remove the hook on the bottom. I made a pig’s ear of netting the fish and in the end the only thing that kept it attached were its teeth which got stuck in the net!   After rigging up again I made a similar long cast, this time the fish hit the lure right at the end of the retrieve. A smaller fish this time but more than welcome.  

So two Sea Trout in two casts after 3 hours fishing. I’d had enough and made my way back to the car wet  yet again...

The week ahead

Dont know the last time the Windguru forecast for Luce Bay looked like this ? OK the directions a bit here and there but some high pressure might help things along.

Another blank

 I started off at a mark at an old mark thats a little out the way and requires some effort to walk into. I've some good memories from here, it still holds my record for the most Bass caught in a session. The signs were good as I caught site of the sea the first thing I saw was a Gannet and then eight in total working an area about 200-440 yards offshore. This was always the case here on or around hight tide and on the drop.The fish however were missing.

Fast forward through a relocation to 1.45am. The moon's crescent came over the horizon. at first it looked like a ships sail that was illuminated.The fact that I thought this told me I needed a Red Bull and having given up the smokes 6 months ago there was not much keeping me awake. As it got a little higher in the sky for some reason I felt more optimistic. About 20 minutes later I went to pull the lure from what I thought was some weed and I was into a fish , 5 seconds later it was off. It was a very slow take and with my hands pretty cold my reactions were a little slower than they could have been.

In at 6am and in two trips probably 10 rod hours down the line and nothing to show for it, thats fishing. Well early Bass fishing with lures in Scotland for me anyway.

Some action and a sunset

I've been feeling like shit since I went to Norway due to a sinus infection. Thanks to the magic of Amoxicillin I felt great today so headed up the sea lochs after work.



The fish I caught tonight were a bonus.

This was the first session this year where I was on one layer of clothing.

Nice little fish on frost silver/copper Fight





49cm as the light started to go and the tide dropped. It took a UV 360 in-line, this is fast becoming my favourite Sea Trout lure.







47cm ,one for the road, again on the UV in-line


Last Friday night was scrubber so the plan is to head down the SW for my second attempt at  Bass this year. I've got some crab there just in case the weather changes ; o )



The talking's over.....

196 mile round trip and bed at 3.30am. Thats the first blank trip for Bass done and dusted for 2013. It is still pretty cool for using lures. I took the  sea temp, 8.5 and the air temp  varied on the way home between 1.5 and 5. Next !

Skjervoy Norway days 1 & 2 of 6

Wednesday


Wednesday was our first fishing day, we had a late start after getting the shopping sorted out. The weather was brutal, wind, rain, snow and sleet. The fishing wasn’t much better but we winkled out a few fish as we ducked for cover around points out of the wind.

My first fish of the trip, the sunglasses are on to keep the sleet out my eyes

Del wearing most of his layers, it was that type of day

A wolfie to end a very cold day

Thursday


There would be a big improvement in the weather for Thursday which would enable us to head to a few marks off Arnoya. We’d all fished here before so after a healthy breakfast we were rigged up and ready to go, expectations were high over the 1 ½ hours that it took us to get there. We speculated that we might get some bigger Cod this year as we normally fish later in May. With the sun shining we were straight into fish with treble and quadruple hook ups not uncommon.

Not the biggest Cod they varied between about 8 and 17 pounds, with the sun shining down into the water we let the Cod decompress and release gas a few metres down.

We had very few casualties as a result of this. After a miserable start we were finally under way. The highlight of the day was when Stuart brought a 10 pound Cod to the surface which was followed by a huge Halibut, Del threw a lure in its general direction but with a flick of its tail it glided off into the blue. For what was left of that drift there was a heightened sense of anticipation, we didn’t know it at the time but that would be our only look at Halibut on this trip, but what a fish.


Stu managed a rock Cod close in

The SG Mama Rosa again..

Say aaagh!

As you can see, a little on the skinny side, thats the fish by the way

Skjervoy Norway days 3 & 4 of 6

Friday

Over a beer on Thursday night we agreed to try some distant marks on the charts. The fish we caught were in good condition but skinny and with no 20’s in the mix it was time to try somewhere else. It proved to be a good move and with improving conditions we made the best of it. I beat my PB from my first trip to Norway in 2002.





Stu with a fish, you can see Loppa in the background

Willie getting in on the action

My new PB 60 pounds on a Savage Gear cutbait 25cm 460g

Saturday

Another cracking day weather wise. Stu wasn’t feeling great and took a break day. Willie was at the helm and we headed back to where we scored on Friday. We’d met some good lads from Bristol who were struggling to find the fish so they followed us out, good move for us all as we were on the money.

The Bristol lads Arvor heading out with us

Willie smashed his previous PB and when the lads from Bristol came alongside as the fish was weighed and then released it was fair to say there was some celebrations as two of the lads had also just beaten their PB’s…happy days.

Another treble shot...



Willie's PB @ 58, delighted !!

Willie with a stray Coalie

Skjervoy Norway days 5 & 6 of 6

Sunday

The weather window continued and we fished way offshore. Most of the good fishing seemed to be in the deeper water @ 100 metres + so we targeted some plateaus rising to this depth from around 300 metres.

This was the best day for big fish on our trip. Stu beat his PB with a 60, we had some 40’s and plenty of 30’s and 20’s. We headed home with a nice feed of Redfish for our supper and renamed it sore arm Sunday.

Willie getting a work out

Fish on as the Fulmars watch & wait

Your head can go inside one of these

Stu's PB @ 60

Treble shot

Del with his first Wolfie

Monday

The weather window was now firmly closed. Our intention was to run for cover and hide from the weather and target Halibut in the fjords relatively close by. We were the only boat to leave the harbour which said it all. We did catch some fish but it was all small stuff with no sign of a Halibut. As we made our way home we had some very rough conditions to deal with where the wind funnels down off the mountains and through the channels. I think we were all pleased to see the harbour.

Norway, it was OK I suppose.....

Just back from a long trip up north, it was great to be back in Norway again.When you catch a break in the weather the fishing can be something else. I'll put a report together later in the week.

You've got to be optimistic

I knew it was a good fish as soon as I hooked it. When it was eventually subdued enough to consider putting a hand on it I was pissed that I was deep wading and the net was half a mile away in the car. Just as that thought left me the fish rolled around with the pressure I was putting on it to bring it within my reach ,the line I could see was wrapped around its snout and gills unravelled , the hook came out and it was gone. It took this better than I normally would as that was the biggest Sea Trout I’ve hooked to date. That aside, I wouldn’t want it to happen again :0) At the moment I’m finding the fish, catching them , losing some of course  but I think I’m fishing well and the rest is your luck.  There’s definitely some really nice fish around, I’ve seen them and hooked them. It’s not every day you get the opportunity to double your PB but there are one or two like that around. I’m optimistic enough to think I might have another chance like that this year….

Nice bright fish,41cm

45cm  but not in great condition

Anyway, shouldn’t have been fishing today but I woke up at 5.30am. I should really be finishing packing for Norway, better crack on!

What else do you do on a wet Friday night?

Second time out this week, two very different nights in terms of the weather. The fishing’s been OK; I’ve had my bad luck and my good luck. I lost a proper fish earlier in the week, too much drag  I think and the hook tore out, wasn’t happy with that one at all. Just prior to that I also had a nice bright fish about 40cm resting in the net and was just about to take a picture, as I went to lift it out the fish bolted straight out a hole I hadn’t noticed in my landing net, it was all going well, at least the sun was shining on what was a nice warm evening. I also missed few chances and decided at that point I would be changing out the existing hooks for some new Owners I’ve had for a while.

Tonight was a wee bit different, scudding 20 mph winds with rain and it was 50/50 if I would make it out. I really didn’t fancy the long drive through the tea time traffic but I’m glad I did.  The new lures had arrived from Denmark and with the nice new Owners to go with them there was not much point staying at home was there?

Fisherman by their nature are prone to exaggerate sometimes, but  honestly , it took the lure about a rod length out and was 20 yards away as quick as a flash and it never let up till it was in the net . It also took me around some structure, my leader was wrecked and I could feel the fluro grating against the rocks.  I was happy I’d paid a little extra for the Seaguar fluro, good gear that. Netting the fish was a fiasco but I got there in the end. Not the most flattering picture of me, need to work on the angle or wear a mask, but trying to take a picture in driving wind and rain while thinking about returning the fish in good condition is not easy. It’s an improvement on my salt caught PB weight wise. I took a rough measure against my rod as I left my tape at home, somewhere around 57-59cm and what I believe to be one of the skippers I’ve been looking for lately. The fish never seemed to mind the weather tonight, nice little session.