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.

Not a bad Good Friday

If you can find them you have a chance of catching them. Yesterday was a case of drive, walk, cast, watch, rinse and repeat.

When I did eventually connect with a Sea Trout it coughed up a few ragworm. I didn’t see any obvious markers as I walked the beaches but at this time of year the fish can be locked on to their breeding cycle.  The tell tail sign is normally groups of gulls continuously dipping down and picking the ragworm off as they go about their business.

 

 

 

Another little piece of knowledge gained with four fish from a new spot and somewhere else to revisit in the future.

 

 

 

DIY GoPro kayak camera boom

It’s been busy weekend on the domestic front, bought a car, built garden furniture and caught up on some choirs around the home.

I also had an idea to build a camera boom for my kayak last week. So a trip to the in-laws for lunch today provided an opportunity to access some tools I don’t possess, namely a dremel and a vice. Game on and another job to be done when I was in the mood.

Buying a boom seemed pricey and I reckoned l could make one using some of the bits and bobs I had in my garage.

Components


Scotty 280 mount,M6 fine thread bolt, wingnuts/bolts, GoPro mount,

1 metre of 15mm aluminium square bar and shrink tube.

I took the dremel to the Scotty mount and took off the part that holds the rod leaving a flush surface. I drilled three holes and fitted bolts and wingnuts to hold the bar in place. The bar was shrink tubed before I started. The rod holder slots into the Scotty 438 gear head track adaptor on the GT175 rails on the yak. I’ll fit end caps when I source them to provide a tidy finish. I'm not 100% sure about the wingnuts as I can see loose braid catching on them. I will probably change them out for nuts.

This set up will provide some good angles and a great range of movement based on the flexibility of the Scotty mount/gear head adaptor.

I also wasn't completely  happy with the bite on a coarse thread M6 bolt to the GP mount so I sourced a fine thread in Phil’s garage.I cut this to the correct length and fitted this through the bar to hold the GoPro mount in place. I now just need to source the end caps and put my hand in my pocket for a remote.

 

 

In terms of shit ideas

 

This is another peach

China needs more cheap coal apparently.The pickings must be easy and cost of extraction per tonne must be cheap, but what's the price?
Chuitna - More Than Salmon On The Line from Trip Jennings on Vimeo.

A couple on a clouser

Myself and Jim gave the coast a thousand lashes today. We met a few other anglers, chewed the fat with them and swapped a few fish stories, theories and ideas. Simple as that really, and I’m grateful for it. Sometimes it’s all I need in a complex world.

Pink to make the Trout wink

It was a two spoons of coffee in my travel mug kind of morning. My intention had been to put the kayak in the water for the first time this year and I spent a lot of last night getting the gear ready. I checked the forecast again at 5am after looking out of my bedroom window. Decision made. I’m on the beach today, it was just an easier option.

A fairly difficult day lay ahead and the fish were hard to find. I fished for seven hours , covered a lot of ground moving numerous times making the changes as I went. Some worked, some didn’t, the usual I suppose. Pink made the trout wink though , my wife’s nail varnish did a great job on two of my lures which scored for me.

 

When I made the switch to my fly gear I stuck with this theme and picked up a nice little fat fish on a pink Pettersen. I made a short cast to my left to the spot I was wading to and the fish hammered it on the third or fourth pull. My double haul is also getting slightly better, it’s just a better class of poor now! It felt like a long day, guess I’m just getting match fit after a lazy winter.

 

 

  

Two stroke Jock

It was a lovely day to be out. Having had a late start I missed a good part of the rising tide and the opportunities that it would have delivered. I don’t normally meet or see any other anglers on my travels and I’m sort of spoiled having the various spots to myself.  As I set up an angler went past perched on a SUP rigged for fishing. This looked interesting, silent, good exercise and possibly a lot of fun. Then there were the SIB’s, three of them to be precise. As I stood wading and casting one rolled up to me to ask me if I had any success. No I replied, just started. A two stroke outboard roaring around shallow water on a bright calm day just isn’t helpful. Having started on my fly gear I also felt a little restricted. Especially on a day like today as I was clearly covering less ground than I would with a lure rod. Not an issue though. I just have to get some time using this gear as I want to do a little more in the year ahead, now is as good a time as any. The SIB was just one of those things that I had to put up with. It took me a couple of hours to pick up a fish but it was worth the wait, one of Jim’s flies did the trick again.

That moment was short lived however as I could see another two SIB’s coming directly toward me. I was waist deep in water wading and from about half a mile away one of them pulled up to me within casting distance, why would you do that? The two stroke he was using looked and sounded like it was from the Barry Sheen era.  Realising that it was over for me at this spot I walked back to the car. I could hear the angler swearing at his now silent engine as he drifted away on the tide. It did ignite to life once more. Like Frankenstein’s monster being hit by a bolt of lighting, out of gear and on full throttle for about 5 minutes, could still hear it as I drove away. The nearest he will get to a fish will be to visit Pets at Home or his local chippie.

A few hours passed and I picked up another fish on my lure rod just as the sun began to set. The little bar of silver soap gave me the slip as I unhooked it over the net it jumped out of my hands and off it went. A rare wind knot in my braid then brought me session to an end, it was time to head home anyway. Certainly not a classic day of Sea Trout fishing, but then again, every day and every fish is a bonus.

 

Jim's budgies

                                                          

The Kraken and the White Magic Head, two patterns, two different target species. I'm looking forward to trying them out. Good work Jim!

Balancing the books

If you happen to live around the west coast of Scotland and took a look out of your window today you couldn’t be blamed for deciding to stay indoors. I was ready to go, called off, and then decided that I was back on again. It was a rough old day. The fly rod remained in the car as the conditions were beyond my ability to deal with or enjoying using it. Three hours driving, two hours fishing and just shy of a handful of nice little fish for the effort. Like most of us my working week is long one at the minute. This of course pays the bills. A few hours in the afternoon, even on day like today can settle accounts that aren’t measured in pounds and pence.

Fly for silver

                  

Salty Sea Trout in the snow

It was great to be back on the beach, it always is after a few months off. The weather didn’t matter and we took the sleet and snow in our stride. I was wrapped like merino wool mummy and Jim had his system too. Casting, wading and chatting we had a good day.

 

 

 

 

 

Jim ties some nice fly's so I pinched one of his tidy olive/white clousers and got lucky

Getting back in condition. It's putting it on and I'm taking it off

 

 

 

 

 

Here we go for another year.

The afternoons are getting a little longer, spring is on the way. The cycle of things hasn’t changed much for me in the last few years and this year won’t be that different. The desire to get out there again is building daily and hibernation is coming to an end. I have a few plans for the year ahead, some new objectives. In front of those I'm just going to enjoy my fishing. There have been a few new additions to my garage and some that will need dusted down. I had it bad for big Perch last year, still do, and I'll probably improve on that this year but at the same time target larger Pike which is kind of new to me. I gave the Bass fishing a pass last year, my heart wasn’t in it. I think 2015 was the first time in about twelve years I’ve not caught one. I can maybe mix this in with some Smoothie fishing and maybe a Tope from the kayak, all good, lots to go at if it takes my fancy nearer the time.

I’ll be out next weekend though, regardless of the conditions kicking off my Sea Trout season. I’m meeting up with Jim to hit the coast where we’ll be armed with fly rods and lures and a fist full of enthusiasm. The year ahead should be a good one. The reels are spooled and my battered Sea Trout lures have a fresh coat of Sally Hansen. Somewhere, the fish will be waiting.

Over the starting line for 2016

Gordon invited me aboard Tickety Boo for a trip to Loch Sunart last weekend. Having been resident on the sofa for the about two months a trip was indeed overdue. The wind had dropped to a level that would enable a more pleasant day afloat and we were on the slipway waiting for the 8.30am ferry after the long drive north.

With weeks of rain and a sharp drop in temperature overnight the boat was encased in ice.It was a case of quite literally chipping away at it before we got underway. Sunart’s not been good to me over the last couple of years but Gordon and a few others had been catching some big Spurdog well into double figures in the last few months. It would certainly be dry for the day which was a bonus, it’s usually a wet affair for me. My first visit here a good few years ago now provided great fishing, Common Skate, large Spurdog and the other boat I was with caught a Halibut. The rain however didn’t stop for two days solid.

The squid and mackerel baits soon hit the bottom and it wasn’t long before the resident dogfish made their inevitable presence felt.

We picked our way through the plague of dogfish and along the way caught the odd Spur.

                        Gordon had a nice little Thornback Ray / dogfish double shot

                           Another dogfish with a Spur joining it on the trip to the surface.

                 Gordon sang the odd Oasis song while firing up the stove for some hot noodles

 

It was soon time to hit the road before the daylight was gone. Loch Sunart again didn't  fire for me on this trip but I'll be back up at some point. It was good to catch up with Gordon though ,one of these days he'll guide me to glory and restore my faith in this place. Might be a while, but we'll get lucky one day, maybe :0) 

Thanks for the reminder

Jim occasionally drops in for a look at my blog and I met him for the first time in the summer for a short session fishing for Wrasse. I had an email from him on Saturday which prompted me to think about opportunities that are still some way off at the minute. It was also a reminder that I should consider spending a little more time chasing Sea Trout in the year ahead. The last two seasons I’ve not put much effort in at all. The weather was poor last spring and I seemed to run out of time. Being back out on the coast making casts is always good for the spirit and it’s something to look forward to.

Back on the GUC

I was travelling to the midlands for a meeting on Tuesday so this presented me with an opportunity to have a catch up with my mates Stef & Kerry who stay in Warwick. The GUC is right on their doorstep so I made the arrangements and took Monday off. Travelling down from Scotland on Sunday afternoon the weather was horrendous, five overturned lorries and numerous trees were downed on the hard shoulder. I lost count of the adverse weather warning signs so the conditions on the canal on Monday wouldn’t be great.

I got off to a good start and had a Zed shortly after starting on a pearl dying minnow. The hook came out the second the net touched it, good start, I was pleased to get a fish on the bank.

Things were very quiet despite me covering a lot of ground. I tried various approaches but the fishing was slow. I went back to using the drop shot and got a hook up straight away but the Zed came off as I reached behind me for the net. The conditions were poor with strong gusts and showers so having had enough it was time for a change of scenery and a coffee on the way. The next spot always delivers something but I never leave here with any of the rigs I arrive with. Today was no different.

Swinging 60

Scott’s been closing in on his Jan-Dec stretch target of 60 Scottish saltwater species for a few weeks now. I’ve had a few texts from him in the evenings telling me where he is and what he’s been targeting to hit this number. I’ve been watching the TV with the rain bouncing off the windows. He’s been creeping about rocks and docks, at some points questioning his sanity no doubt.

We got together on Sunday to hit the SW in search of two species, Conger and Three Bearded Rockling. The forecast was good considering the weather we’ve been experiencing and on the drive down we had a catch up and talked fishing till we arrived at our untested mark. We negotiated electric fences and fields with Bulls eventually arriving at a decent spot as the tide was on the flood. Scott didn’t waste any time in getting a bait in the water while I put a plain lead on and made a few casts to suss out what the bottom was like around the spot I had chosen. Two rods were deployed by both of us, one for Conger and another for TBR. We picked up some small Coalfish and Pollack waiting for darkness to fall. These kept my rod tip nodding and held my interest till the main event got underway in darkness.

Expectations are always high as the sun dips over the horizon

Scott picked up an odd double shot of a Mackerel and a Shore Rockling. He commented at the time that fresh bait might just be what was required. This is always a boost to confidence when using frozen bait and it was to prove crucial. Scott had a bite which sounded very Eel like to me. I probably shouldn’t have told him as I’m sure it added a little bit of pressure as he excitedly picked the rod up and hit it. We could both see there wasn’t much weight to it but with two headlights focused on the water a small Conger appeared. I made ready to hand line it up the rocks but Scott decided he would just swing it  up due to its size. My fingers were crossed for him as when you need a fish the most errors can sometimes be forced.

A very happy chap and I was delighted I was there with him when he caught it. Well done mate, fantastic effort you’ve put in to get there.

Having done the same challenge a few years back I know how it can get. I won’t be doing it again, Scott probably won’t. He does however have a short Scottish hit list remaining. I’m sure I’ll get a few more texts when the rains bouncing off the windows and I’m watching TV.

Scott's species hunting madness can be found here Here




 

Fantasy Pike

I’ve never really targeted Pike, any I’ve caught in the last few years have been while targeting Perch. Living in Scotland and having access to some quality Pike fishing I’ll be having a look at this in the future. Over the winter and into next year I would like to make more use of my Outback. I’ve not even touched on the potential I have with it so far. Anyway, while looking at some gear I came across this video. This anglers day started with a mild hangover and poor conditions in February, three things that would probably have had me still in my bed. Quality fish don't catch themselves, instead of hibernating we should be out there, you just never know.