Reports
Achmelvich Lochinver
10 days 21st July - 30th July 2007
weather various
Our annual trip to Achmelvich when we arrived the weather was fine sunny spells and a light wind sea conditions were also fine we launched Jims boat and Billy and myself managed to put out the lobster/crab pots in the bay straight out and straight back no need to start fishing immediately as weather was ok relax for a day or two and think about where we could fish all good so far checking the pots each day and rebaiting with freshly caught mackerel no problem catching the mackerel and some nice brown crabs in the pots first fishing outing for me I took Jim q and David out at 08.00hrs first stop and David caught his first fish mackerel and soon after Jim was into them as well also Jims first fish plenty of the mackerel about I got a few as well taking a shot of David's rod giving him a wee rest Jim then caught a nice flounder just under a pound then it was back to shore by 11.30 as Jim was taking Anthony out
over the next few days Jim and Anthony caught Pollack to 3lb and cod to 3 1/2 pound, red gurnard and of course plenty of mackerel Jim q and I fished the rocks into deep water with big baits for a few hours with not a touch also a bit of spinning no joy on day five the weather changed with five days of our trip left choppy seas all the way through and could not get the boat out perhaps we should have done more fishing at the beginning of our trip anyway on the second last day Jim and I roughed the choppy waters and managed to recover the pots in the bay we had some small baby lump suckers on the pot ropes when bringing them in we then fished on the drift back to the beach Jim catching mackerel and I caught mackerel, a nice flounder and a greater sand eel
the fishing was there for us but the sea conditions were not
again a great time had by all including everyone not fishing maybe the weather will be better next time
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Wee Dram Summer shield
Loch Sween Tayvallich
hot and sunny
17/07/07 & 18/07/07
Fished loch sween over two days for our wee competition this time there was me (Kenny) Jim, Billy and Ryan the weather this year was on our side hot and sunny burnt again, we launched the boat from Tayvallich and fished loch sween billy being first to catch with a tiny wee cod followed by a tiny wee pollack and I caught a wee corkwing wrasse of about three ounce a new species for me
Mackerel were also being caught by all apart from me was not targeting them well thats my story to be honest the fish were scarce not a lot happening then nearing the end of day two Jim done it again and lands a nice thornback ray of about 7lb so that going to cost Jim another £12 to get the trophy engraved yet again jammy sod
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Loch Long, Inveraray and Strachur
July 4th 2007
sea conditions and weather were fine with some sunshine
Thought I would try to stock up the freezer with some
mackies today so headed up to Loch long with spinning rod and some spinners
fished Loch Long for about two hours with not one hit
ah well I am out now so bugger it headed up to Inveraray maybe a better chance
up there on the way up an ambulance went screaming by me with all the blues and
twos going a transit van upside down on the rest and be thankfull hope the guys
ok
arrived at Inveraray car park and walked along to the pier quite a few folk
fishing with a few mackies each so thats it I will get my mackies here then !!
back to the car to get the rod
I got about four casts in before that old bugger the Vital Spark decides to dock
right along the front of the pier with all the other parts of the pier taken by
the early birds had to call it a day at Inveraray
on the way home gave it a try for about an hour and a half just by Strachur
again no Joy not a sausage
is anyone catching mackies in numbers from the shore anywhere???
still it turned out to be nice weather wise and it was good to get out
Arbroath Harbour
28/02/07
sea conditions fair swell with coloured water
weather cold and very strong winds
Well another go at the cod for me
Fished Abroath Harbour from late afternoon about 17.00hrs tide going out I got my first and only fish at about 21.00hrs at the top of low tide a small coalie of about ¾ lb and Jim caught one of about the same size roughly about an hour later Them Jim caught a codling which weighed in at about 1 lb all fish were safely returned to fight another day At high tide 01.00hrs Jim hooked in to a hefty beast pure dead weight took him about half an hour to get it to the harbour wall and could not reel it any further I went to the car to get a pair of gloves so I could hand ball the fish in Up until this moment I thought Jim had perhaps hit a rather heavy snag but once I started to hand ball the line I would pull it up about 2ft and the fish would pull it back down about 3ft this went on for a while and just as the fish was about to break the surface that’s exactly what happened the line gave way clean break about an inch above the pennel rig (60lb line used on the rigs) We never got to see what the fish was my guess was conger but Jim since it would have been his thought it might be a huge cod If this was a cod it must have been well over the 20lb mark Well that was the end of the trip and I still never got my first cod Liked this area and will be back
Tight lines and take care
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Arbroath Cliffs
18/02/07
sea conditions fair swell with coloured water
weather sunny and mild
arrived at low turning tide 08.45 and fished through high returning to low again left at 17.30hrs
well this trip was to try for my first Cod
great spot good swell and coloured water but no south easterlies and too much sunshine what a complaint !!
not so good only one bite for the whole day and missed the fish on the strike
no fish but I like the look of this place and will certainly be back for another go at the Cod
lot of other guys fishing but never seen anything caught
saying that one of the guys on the wsf forum said his mate caught three Cod there on the same day as my trip all about the 2lb to 3lb mark
I will be back
tight lines take care
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loch Linnhe
Lurignich just south of Cuil Bay
07/02/07
sea conditions calm
weather sunny and cold -2
Fished from low tide
to high tide about 15.30hrs until 21.30hrs
never fished here before and after humping all the gear along the road and
through the trees, over the rocks only to discover on the first cast that the
water was not very deep here
decided to stay and give it a try lots of small nibbles but in the end
only one fish a dog of about 2 1/2 lbs at least that's 2007 off to a start
a very cold night
well good luck for 2007 and tight lines
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Ardgour
22/09/06
sea conditions - flat calm
weather cloudy with sunny spells
lots of midges about
last fished this spot back in February 06
results back then were lots of dogfish and had to put one rod away so that I could cope with the bites but that was in the darkness
this time was not a lot different from Feb fished 3hrs either side of high tide which was at about 18.30hrs from start off a bite within a minute or so and landed a dogfish of about two pounds and this went on and on until about 21.30hrs packed in for the night with 22 dogfish landed from 1/2lb to about 2 1/2lb caught on squid and mackerel cocktail, squid on its own, mackerel on its own, sand eel, and whole bait fish 5" long. next morning fished high tide for about 2hrs catching 1 dogfish which came in with a large brown crab
all fish were returned safely as well as the crab but it was the crabs lucky day, it was a whopper and would have been pot bound if it were not for the fact that I was not going home but heading further north to meet up with Jim and Billy to do a bit of trout fishing
all in all a good days fishing
dogfish here February and September in abundance
take care and tight lines
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Loch Ryan
13/09/06
Sea conditions - very rough
Weather dull, wet and very windy
Fished Loch Ryan on a beach just outside of Cairnryan
from 12.00hrs until about 18.30hrs with high tide at about 15.30hrs using Mackerel and Squid baits
only caught one small eel but lots of bites by the evidence of well chewed bait but with the wind really howling very hard to see any indications of bites
turned out to be more of a ferry spotters day out and boy the waves that come of these things, be very careful when fishing this area
take care and tight lines
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Summer holiday 2006
Lochinver (Achmelvich)
July 20th – July 30th
Sea conditions – very calm
For most of the 10 days
Weather very warm
For most of the 10 days
Fished Achmelvich bay from the rocks spinning with poor results only small Pollock caught on each outing and not in great numbers mostly fished around high tide
Fished Achmelvich bay by boat plenty of Mackerel caught at anytime and any location of the bay Mackerel were required each day to bait up our two Lobster pots and we had no problem in catching them as and when required
We also had an outing in the bay by boat fishing for flounder after only catching two over a three hour period using purchased flounder rigs we decided to quit and go to Lochinver the next day and buy some small size 8 trout hooks, we made up some rigs with the size 8 hooks and fished the same area again this time producing some thirty plus flounders over three hours with some nice ones for the pan
Lobster pots were baited every day and retrieved the following day we had great results with plenty of brown crabs each day which were all very large The crabs were all cooked and dressed the same day as caught (lovely eating) We also caught our first Lobster which was eaten within half an hour of being caught now that’s what I call fresh. Two conger eels were caught in the pots one about 3ft and another of about 4ft Nasty stinking sons of bitches – both returned to fight another day, both congers were caught close to the shore about 20ft from the rocks in the bay so targeting these fishing from the rocks at night should be very easy
Over the ten days plenty of wild life to be seen from the water Amongst other things were puffins, porpoises, a Basking Shark of about 10ft and plenty of seals
A great time had by all and looking forward to next year already
Take care and tight lines
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Location :- Tayvallich -Loch Sween and the Sound of Jura
Date :- 16th -18th July 2006
Sea :- mixed
sunny spells with light rain
found Tayvallich by chance, we were in this area and looking for fishing and a campsite for our yearly trophy The Wee Dram Summer Shield and stumbled across Tayvallich a lovely little place.
fished from boat on the sound of Jura on day one strong current and nothing doing apart from the odd Mackerel and one member out for the day with sea sickness, Jim and Kenny still up for it but no joy, moved in to a small bay and fished for Mackerel for the last hour with 49 caught and released. back to the campsite washed up and down to the pub at the campsite entrance, after a good meal and a few pints Billy feeling much better and hey bingo also found his sea sicky pills so all set up for next day.
fished from the boat on Loch Sween again not a lot doing with the odd Mackerel being caught, sad to say but Jim was leading the way in the trophy stakes with a small Pollock of about 3 or 4 ozs (as the Mackerel do not count in our trophy) we had just about given up on our way back to Tayvallich when Jim struck in to a nice Pollock of about 4 and 1/2 pounds well that's our guess as we forgot the scales but judge for yourself view the picture in the gallery, anyways Jim won the trophy this year and bought us a wee drink when we got back to Tayvallich campsite.
take care and tight lines
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Location :- Loch Sunart
Date :- 2nd -3rd June 2006
Sea :- a light chop
windy and very hot
Friday :- fished Loch Sunart from shore at Reispole campsite Fishing with Mackerel and Squid baits only had a couple a small bites maybe crab but nothing caught all day, Back to campsite at the end of the day for whisky and dinner on a very hot evening
Saturday :- fished Sanna Sands at the far west of Ardnamurchan Fishing with small Mackerel baits on small hooks with flat fish in mind, Loads of bites but nothing caught, again a very hot day with a face like a well skelped arse back to campsite for more whisky, dinner on yet another very hot evening
All in all a very nice weekend great weather great scenery but no fish
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Location :- Bonawe Loch Etive
Date :- 09/05/06
High Tide :- 17.48hrs
Sea :- quite mild with strong wind
Well I thought I would go back to Loch Etive for another try since my last trip there in January
the good news is that I never lost any tackle this time, fished the very same spot as in January, the weather was hot but very windy, I fished for about 4hrs before high tide and 3hrs after, after an hour first bite was huge but unfortunately when I decided to strike there was nothing, rod back in and after about another two hours caught a nice doggie of about 2 1/2 lbs
every now and then baiting the rods
up and putting them back out I was thinking to myself that there must be a lot
of crabs at this location as the bait was getting chewed up a fair bit and I was
getting a lot of small nudges on the rods then my thoughts were answered as I
caught one of the many culprits a weird one never seen one of these before
(click on picture to enlarge) this crab was about 14 inches in diameter from tip
of leg to tip of leg
need to try deeper water up here next time and maybe some different baits
well that was it only one fish and one crab but it was a great day and the sun was shining and the drive up there and back was lovely
Take care and Tight lines
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Location :- Ardgour - Loch Linnhe
Date :- 03/02/06
High Tide :- 21.30hrs
Sea :- Flat calm
Fished this location for about 5 hours – 3 hours before high tide and 2 hours after
Started off using two robs but with so much action happening I had to put one away getting bites on every cast too much action ( the doggies were eating like there was no tomorrow ) wish every trip was this way !! caught 15 doggies of various sizes from ½ lb to 2 ½ lb all caught on mackerel baits, I did try other baits with hope of catching something other than the doggies but the doggies were not interested in these and neither was anything else, switched back to mackerel baits and started catching the doggies once more
All in a good few hours fishing
Head for the Corran ferry about 7 miles before Fort William – take the ferry over to Ardgour – when you come off the ferry on the Ardgour side turn right and follow the single track road out of the village about ½ to 1 mile – where the road then rises up from the sea there is a point on the shore here with fairly clean bottom but steep rocky shoreline (that’s the spot)
Good luck and tight lines
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Location :- Loch Long
Date :- 14/01/06
High Tide :- 13.20hrs
Sea :- slight swell
Fished here for about 2hrs before high tide and another 2hrs after not much to report fished various baits over the 4hrs with no bites what’s so ever, the weather also changed to rain and mist and very breezy, no fish – no bites but good to get out for a few hours,
I think this area is better off during the summer months
Fished half way between Finart and Arrochar
Good luck and tight lines
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Location :- Loch Etive
Date :- 07/01/06
High Tide :- 21.00 apprx
Sea :- flat calm very cold
Fished Loch Etive for about 5hrs – 3hrs before high tide and another 2hrs after, plenty of bites and hooked in to a couple of decent fish too but this was my first real attempt at sea fishing from the shore and made a lot of mistakes ( I mostly done trout fishing and the odd outing sea fishing from a boat before taking up sea fishing from the shore ) my tackle was too light and the location, about a quarter of a mile outside Bonawe had a very rough bottom – every fished I hooked in to was lost, bait used was mackerel and squid cocktail – very effective
No fish but a great day out
Take care and tight lines
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Location :- Loch Sunart
Date :- first week of August 2005
High Tide :- fished from boat
Sea :- calm to slight
Three of us fished from high tide to high tide by boat ( needed high tide to put boat in the water ) over two days using mackerel baits on various mackerel rigs
The weather was very hot with a slight breeze ( big red faces )
We fished Loch Sunart from the village of Strontian to the campsite at Reispole and caught loads of mackerel and 24 dogfish between us and I caught a nice spurdog of about 15 lbs ( opposite the campsite at Reispole in the middle of the loch ) It was a great two days fishing with great weather and the added bonus of great beer and food in the evening. I would also like to thank the friendly barman of the Ben View hotel whom kindly gave us a run back to the campsite in his car at shutting time.
A little note :- If you are staying in the Strontian area and you plan to eat out book a table in advance ie before you go fishing, climbing or whatever, we were close to eating nothing but our finger nails as everywhere was fully booked all night, the kind staff at the bistro in Strontian took pity on us and squeezed us in
The food was magic and of course the wine too
Take care and tight lines
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