Dodging the showers

Where has the time gone, 1^st of July? After work sessions don’t really cut it for me but that’s all I had time for.

Some spectacular showers on the coast tonight. Thankfully I dodged all but one, not sure how I managed this as I seemed to be surrounded by sheets of rain and black clouds to my left and right. As the sun began to set it made for a nice backdrop with the low angle of sun breaking through the cloud emphasising the grey and pastel colours in the distance. A very cold start to July as well with two layers and a shell- fantastic!

It’s been two years since I’ve been here but things haven’t changed much. I’m still a seal magnet which told me there were probably a few a fish around.

 
I appreciated catching a couple of Bass tonight, yep, not very large but certainly welcome.  With the pace of life at the minute I can feel the season moving faster than I want it to.  I’m not sure being relaxed about my objectives is working for me… : 0)

Home

It was a nice break but a week was way too short. When I managed to get out fishing it was more of a miss than a hit. I picked up a severe infection in both feet which curtailed me somewhat. The upside to this was it made for a more relaxing time over last few days. The unsettled windy weather wasn’t helpful and the last morning was typically the flattest day since we arrived. I still blanked over a couple of hours hobbling along the rocks and beach. I could however see things changing a little and there were a few signs of life.

When I arrived here it seemed things were just the same as they were six years ago on my last visit but it seemed to change overnight. I hadn't spotted a Pelican since Wednesday and the beach, compared to 6 years ago was almost devoid of crabs. Neither seemed to like the conditions. I even threw in a couple of bread rolls one evening and these remind untouched. So no monster Jacks from the beach this time around unfortunately. Having caught a new species and number of fish on my birthday last Tuesday as well as a few fish on Wednesday I'm happy at that.

We stayed at the Riu Yucatan this time, nice hotel. We had some wildlife at close quarters in the grounds.

Howler monkeys woke us up most morning. One particular male somewhere in the trees  liked to tell us who was king of the swingers about 6am.

 

I spotted these flying insects and climbed a tree to take this shot in macro mode. It was still a reach and I was struggling to keep my balance.With the sunlight on them it didn't turn out exactly as I wanted but it's still an interesting shot.

They did not like the attention and started to swarm me. Before I picked up more insect bites or another injury I got out of dodge.

A common pet for some. I think these are spiny tail Iguana which could be spotted most afternoons.

These were real characters tearing around the hotel grounds at dusk and dawn. Common Agouti which are related to guinea pigs. Some are the size of a small dog. Not that you see it in this shot but they have long legs and are quite fast and agile. They seemed to freak a few nervous visitors out initially till they got used to them.

I cant remember what these bird are but they are very common. They would have the fillings from your teeth though. Turn your back at breakfast or lunch and they would be off with what was on your plate. 

I took this while lying down on a sun lounger. Lynne had a snack at the time and it watched on waiting for an opportunity - as we all do I suppose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can blank anywhere

I’ve been lucky and had very few blank sessions this year but today it was my turn. The tides have moved on and the weather is more unsettled. I’m now fishing the drop and not the start of the flood. Having a couple of hours at dawn suits me but even in the short space of time I’ve been here I’ve noticed the general activity changing as the tides do what they do here and at home. I did however see the intended target about 7am this morning. From my position on the rocks in the background in one of the images below I spotted two big Jack Crevalle. They were moving fast and hard on the bottom, they are here.

I  also had half an hour on the beach this afternoon thinking the Palometa would at least put a bend in my fly rod. These were noticeably absent from the various spots in the gutter at the start of the beach. I'm told I'm having a rest day tomorrow:0)

One last cast as always

 

 

Smashing time

I’m now in the market for a new pair of Costas after a minor accident yesterday. I’ve had these since about 2002, they’ve done well to survive this long. Ironically of all the places they’ve been and could have been lost or broken I dropped them lense down on the floor as I entered my room.

I put the fly rod to work yesterday afternoon and had some fun with the Palometa. They took a fancy for a Petterson breeding shrimp fished along the gutter about five yards off the beach. Line management wasn’t great with breaking waves and getting the fly line caught between my toes regularly. Let’s face it though, not the worst problem to have.

Stormy conditions this morning with lightning on the horizon at dawn. The fishing was slow. There were a few Needlefish around and I also managed a couple of Cero Mackerel before it was time for breakfast.

 

 

Playa del Carmen

First session this morning, the place is alive with Needlefish and unfortunately also mozzies.The stretch of beach I’ve decided to fish has scrub directly behind it. This seems to be a good environment for insect life! Quite a few fish about as well so I’ll see what I can pick up during the week ahead.

Yellow Jack ( I think)

 

Dead sticking for dummies

Sometimes work puts me in the right place at a time that suits me. So I managed a short session after I finished work today. I all but packed in Bass fishing in 2015 with only a couple of blank sessions fairly early on, my angling efforts were spent elsewhere.

It was nice to get a fish at my first attempt this year.

The deadly technique - cast the surface lure out, close the bail arm, hold the rod between my legs and adjust my glasses while putting my hat on - at the same time wait for the rod to be pulled from between my knees.

Unusually I also had a Garfish crash the lure shortly afterwards. I did catch one in 2014 but these on whole appear to be few and far between. Apart from one follow that was it, can’t complain really as I recognise luck when I see it.

Watching and waiting

I had a few options today and decided to fish for Sea Trout again following on from Friday night’s success. The forecast and tide times suggested I would be better off making an early start, it would be pretty difficult conditions from mid-morning onwards. For once, really nice bank holiday weather.

I’ve started to fish a stretch of coast which is new to me, the only way to get to know it is be there. I’ll probably take a few hits along the way but there are few shortcuts.

Sea Trout soup! 150 yards of weed and small marine life.  There were Terns, Cormorants and a few other birds having breakfast as I sat and watched for signs of life. I saw a couple of fish moving around but it was impossible to fish of course and too deep to wade to the far side of the weed line. It didn’t stop me trying right enough.  The ebbing tide sucks these sands dry and the fish are there hoovering up whatever they come across.

There were lots of sand eel around, as many as I’ve seen in this part of the world. The Sea Trout weren’t short of food items today. I managed a couple of fish and lost another one deep wading in the tidal flow. By late morning I didn’t feel there was much point in hanging around but I did anyway. Sometimes it’s just useful to observe, something I'm not particularly good at a lot of the time.

Keep making the casts

Sometimes it just feels and looks kind of fishy despite the barren hours you invest in a day. Keep thinking, moving and making the casts, you might just come across an opportunity.

The fish gave itself away and I was lucky enough to be in a position to cover it. What a cracking Sea Trout. One I shall remember for a long time.

 

 

The Godfather v The Godmother

I’ve been lucky many times over the years, the hooks hold, the knots stay tight and I’ve found myself in the right place at the right time either by luck or some knowledge. From time to time, like everyone else I pick up a few accidental captures along the way.
Some you win- some you lose from Martin A on Vimeo.
I was genuinely surprised by the size of this Pike. It was hooked on heavy drop shot gear while fishing for Perch, Spro Godfather 3, 5-28g and 8 pound Suffix 832. I took my time and let the gear do the work. It was hooked right in the centre of the top lip. In the end, the hook must have worn a hole and popped out just when I got to a boat with a net big enough for the job. I took this option as I didn’t want to risk breaking the fish off handling it on this gear.

No shortage of bait around

My new rod is a little long in the butt section. I'll probably take something off this as it was pretty awkward at times. One of these things when you buy blind, there were no dimensions on this element of the rod published.

I kind of regret not having this with me. Space is limited and it would have been overkill on a Perch session. I hope I get a shot at a fish like that again when I actually start targeting them. The Perch fishing on Saturday was average and the fish were small, early days though, a big stripey will come along soon.

 

 

 

Shadered-new place, new species

Myself and Scott hit the road last week in search of Twaite Shad on the River Barrow at St Mullins. Having spoken about this trip last year we didn’t get around to it. So we made the late evening crossing to Belfast and drove down to the Republic during the night. It seems the fish arrived on the Wednesday, we got there at 5.45am on the Friday morning. The timing in this respect was just about right. Scott had his first fish at about 6am, I blanked after losing 5 in our first session.

I picked up some sound advice from a fella called Jay at the start of our first evening session that proved useful. I broke my duck and ended up having a great trip with 48 Shad from Friday evening to Sunday evening.

I didn’t manage a Shad on the fly but I did spend some time trying. For the most part the fish were deep and either near the far bank or mid channel. If I had dedicated a full session to this method I would probably have got a few, they would have gone well on the fly gear. A lot of the bank is not suitable for fly fishing  but it is certainly possible on some sections.

The river is tidal for about 40 miles and the transformation over the course of the larger tides is something else. The first set of big tides in May heralds the start of the Shad run. More general information about the species can be found here.

It is not advisable to park your car at most spots along the path over the top of the tide

The end of the road for the Shad as they are not able to pass this weir

I can’t say I liked the Tasmanian Devil to start with but it was certainly effective when I found out how to work with it. The most used lure on the river and I don’t suppose it pays to ignore local advice.

Never leave your waders in the digs!

Sometimes the spots on the fish were clearly defined

What you catching in there Scott?

 

It’s an interesting species, scenic venue and it was a sociable trip in terms of the people we met. 

40 hours with no sleep at the start of the trip, a minor car accident( sorry Scott) and 3 countries in a pair of slippers as a result of wet boots. We should be back next year for another crack at the Shad run. I'll  drive the next time, it's the least I can do. Thanks to Scott for some of these images.

Windy and weedy

I was back in the salt today, thankfully it didn’t rain much. It was however the kind of day that would have many an unhinged windsurfer frothing at the mouth and polishing their board till midnight in anticipation of the day ahead (do they even do that?)

Almost despite myself I found a couple of Sea Trout. The phrase “fishing like a dick” hasn’t been used for a while on here but it applied today. Sometimes the fish come easy, sometimes not and today made me even more appreciative of the guys and girls who choose a fly rod as their weapon of choice 100% of the time.

As I picked hooks out of a variety of objects in between various tangles I was reminded of a recent re- tweet I spotted on a well-known Bass guide site. Said slightly tongue in cheek I would I imagine.

“Saltwater Fly fishing is for people who think they are so clever that they have to make it hard for themselves!”

I’m not that smart but I’m daft enough to have a go, even today.

 

I had a decent line out and had just pulled it straight, the fly was sinking and was taken on the drop. The fish then went on a nice little run taking the few remaining feet of line out the basket and I was straight on the reel. Satisfying....

I had to literally dig this one out of the weed with the net followed by tying yet another leader.

With some luck the next blog post should include some of these. I might even use the fly rod ( for a little while at least)

Twaite Shad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afloat at last

My first launch of the year has been well overdue for some time now. I put the roof bars on the car on Friday night so I had no excuse. Two minutes from home it was nearly all over as a deer leapt over a hedge, had a refusal at the next hurdle and cut back in front of me. After two heavy applications of the brakes in quick succession I stopped to check the load straps before getting underway again.

When I arrived I bumped into to Derek who I’ve not met since we were in Norway together a few years back. It was good to see him again. We had a laugh and wondered what would go wrong as he too was launching ,in his case his Warrior boat for the first time this year.

I got myself afloat and played around with the Lowrance, looked for my first waypoint and peddled off. After having a look over the first spot I dropped in the H Blok marker float, drifted back from the feature and got in position making a few casts.

The first Perch of the year, what a nice one to start with as well. I was using a Berkley drop shot minnow for the first time, quite like the action and the little foil strip in the centre of the lure.

Last year I became frustrated with GPS lag when targeting what are relatively small features.  It’s amazing how far out your judgment is on open water, even in light winds. This will be invaluable, drop it on the feature and fish around it. I even switched the fish finder off the conserve power.

The size of Pike that gets you hoping your 2.5 inch lure has been snaffled by a really big Perch.

During one of the many squalls passing through I became snagged in the feature I was targeting. As I manoeuvred the kayak around trying to work the lure free I drifted directly over the snag. The angle became too much for the rod and with a loud pop I now find myself in the market for a new drop shot rod.

The loch was pretty busy today and one spot go a lot of attention from three boats. On the face of it I think they seemed to do better than me. I could have gone home after 1pm. I can’t complain really, ten Perch including a solid 2 pounder and a Pike isn’t the worst start I could have had. I also get to buy a nice new rod J

 

 

How many lures do you need?

I took a detour after work this evening only to find I had left my bag at home this morning. I had 3ft of leader tied to my braid from my last session and one lure in the boot. Not a great start. After an hour I spotted two fish move just a few feet from the rocks, despite some clumsy footwork to get in position I managed to hook up and land one of them.

The TG-4 and Joby grip combination is working out well. While letting the fish revive in the net I have the camera set to take two frames at 2 second intervals on custom setting. Handy for me, better for the fish if I want to take a picture.

It’s about time to dust down the Perch gear. I can feel a drop-shot session coming soon.

 

A quick fix

I didn’t think I would manage out this weekend but squeezed in a 2.5 hour session to scratch the itch. I spent more time driving than fishing but it was worth it.

This Sea Trout took an epoxy minnow teaser fished below a Kinetic D 360 in-line. I was fortunate to land it with trailing hooks in amongst lots of weed and large boulders. Fishing a teaser like this can be effective but not without risk. The better Sea Trout I catch always play a little dirty using any obstructions in the vicinity. After a quick change of leader I was back in business for another fish before heading home.

Brand Philosophy

It’s fair to say I’m a fan of Patagonia clothing but I’m not a label tart. Functional, practical and certainly value for money when you shop around, their gear just works. When it gets to a point that it stops working the company will repair it and post it back free of charge.

Now and then over the years while doubling up on wading duty this Torrentshell jacket has seen better days. The zip has failed as a result of wear and exposure to saltwater. My mate Scott is not a fan of my Cilantro green shell so he'll be glad to see the red one on my back again.

My Retro X vest is in a similar state.

 

This item along with my R1 Hoody is pretty much my go to set up for most of the year in Scotland. I should have sent the hoody for repair the last time I used their repair facility. It’s now in tatters around the sleeves after countless encounters with hooks and fences. I’m told that I might well receive a new one for my birthday as my wife’s sick looking at it.

 

Yes please!

 

Hello Martin,

Thank you for sharing our Brand Philosophy: Reduce, Repair, Reuse, Recycle and Reinvent. In order to start the repair process, please print out the form enclosed and send it together with the item to be repaired to our repair center in Portugal. Patagonia will pay for the repair costs and the shipping costs from the repair center to you. You only need to bear for the shipping to our repair center. We kindly advise you to send the parcel with track-and-trace. Typical turnaround time for repairs - with shipping - is about four to five weeks, but may be longer during periods of high volume. If you have any question, do not hesitate to contact us. We would be happy to help.

 

All the best!

 

Kashin 

  

Big moments in small packages

I see the fish jump clear of the water and aim my next cast in front of where I think the fish now is. Working the lure I add a few pauses but all too quickly I’m running out of water. I can track the white side of my offering on every other turn, maybe the fish is there? I see the subtlest of creases in the calm water behind the lure, probably my imagination? Even with low light polarised glasses I still don’t see a fish. One last spin stop and it’s now or never, the Sea Trout knows it, so do I. On a short line the fish goes airborne, once, twice, three times and it’s deep in the fringe of floating bladder wrack before being scooped up by a well-placed net.

90 seconds from start to finish but just magic. At this time of year in Scotland there’s no other fish I would rather be chasing.

I have to thank Sam for any fish I caught today, he had an old room with a view over the Easter break. They’ve been there all along mate and I think we both agree that the grass isn’t always greener.