SandTiger
01-Oct-07, 23:01
September ended spectacularly with its last day giving us flat seas, no wind and warm sunshine throughout the day – I had arranged a trip for a group of individual local anglers who regularly come out with me when I'm not booked by visiting parties for the weekend.
I decided that given the overall conditions it would be suitably productive if we worked west out of Scrabster.
The first stop was for bait – The mackerel are becoming fairly scarce on the ground now and you have to work even harder to find them for your anglers but after a few drifts we nailed them and the anglers filled over half a box in one drift – More then sufficient for the day ahead.
I can never tire of the dramatic scenery that is presented to you when I do this run – The sheer cliffs are breathtaking, Clett Rock which stands majestically apart from the rest of the face supported on her own weight as she towers out of the sea. The numerous caves that have opened up to allow the powerful waters crash in. The views of Dunnett and the views of Orkney in the distance.
After baiting up I decided on trying a few of my ling marks that have produced the larger species for me. The anglers were getting a steady flow of ling to the 8lb mark. We had a few younger members on including 11 year old Brody Atkinson who was wanting something else from the three pound Coalies he was pulling up – Bang! His rod doubled over with the butt nearly lifting him in the air. I came over and stood behind him with his father whilst he got over the shock of hooking into the sea bed – Or so he thought! I assured him that he was not snagged and advised him to keep the pressure on the fish, relax and take his time – I had my large landing net in my hand and after what must have seemed an eternity for Brody the big fish started to break from the deep – As it came to the surface it was clearly in the low teens. It was still thrashing on the surface and I was having difficulty getting the body of the fish into my large landing net. Finally I managed to flick the net to move the fish into a tight circle before scooping it out of the water. The look on Brody's face was one of sheer achievement and delight. The Ling weighed in at 13lb 7oz
http://www.mv-stormdrift2.co.uk/e107_plugins/autogallery/Gallery/2.30th_September_2007_2.jpg
He continued after this by out-fishing many of the older more experienced anglers on the boat with further good size Ling, Cod and Pollock.
After giving the party lunch I told them we would target Pollock and made sure everyone tackled up accordingly. Sure enough we found the Pollock running through the kelp giving hard runs as they sped off like rockets from the deep back into the safety of the weed after connecting with the hook. The nippers were not intend on letting the adults up for air and now it 13 year old Caitlin Quinn's turn to show them how it was done as she coolly brought a 9lb 4oz Pollock to the surface after a cracking fight. She hardly batted an eyelid as the adults stared in disbelief.
http://www.mv-stormdrift2.co.uk/e107_plugins/autogallery/Gallery/3.30th_September_2007_3.jpg
It was a cracking day out with 10 species to the boat: Coalie, Cod (8lb 8oz), Ling (13lb 7oz), Pollock (9lb 4oz), Red Gurnard, Lesser Spotted Catshark, Ballan Wrasse, Cuckoo Wrasse, Mackerel, Dab.
I decided that given the overall conditions it would be suitably productive if we worked west out of Scrabster.
The first stop was for bait – The mackerel are becoming fairly scarce on the ground now and you have to work even harder to find them for your anglers but after a few drifts we nailed them and the anglers filled over half a box in one drift – More then sufficient for the day ahead.
I can never tire of the dramatic scenery that is presented to you when I do this run – The sheer cliffs are breathtaking, Clett Rock which stands majestically apart from the rest of the face supported on her own weight as she towers out of the sea. The numerous caves that have opened up to allow the powerful waters crash in. The views of Dunnett and the views of Orkney in the distance.
After baiting up I decided on trying a few of my ling marks that have produced the larger species for me. The anglers were getting a steady flow of ling to the 8lb mark. We had a few younger members on including 11 year old Brody Atkinson who was wanting something else from the three pound Coalies he was pulling up – Bang! His rod doubled over with the butt nearly lifting him in the air. I came over and stood behind him with his father whilst he got over the shock of hooking into the sea bed – Or so he thought! I assured him that he was not snagged and advised him to keep the pressure on the fish, relax and take his time – I had my large landing net in my hand and after what must have seemed an eternity for Brody the big fish started to break from the deep – As it came to the surface it was clearly in the low teens. It was still thrashing on the surface and I was having difficulty getting the body of the fish into my large landing net. Finally I managed to flick the net to move the fish into a tight circle before scooping it out of the water. The look on Brody's face was one of sheer achievement and delight. The Ling weighed in at 13lb 7oz
http://www.mv-stormdrift2.co.uk/e107_plugins/autogallery/Gallery/2.30th_September_2007_2.jpg
He continued after this by out-fishing many of the older more experienced anglers on the boat with further good size Ling, Cod and Pollock.
After giving the party lunch I told them we would target Pollock and made sure everyone tackled up accordingly. Sure enough we found the Pollock running through the kelp giving hard runs as they sped off like rockets from the deep back into the safety of the weed after connecting with the hook. The nippers were not intend on letting the adults up for air and now it 13 year old Caitlin Quinn's turn to show them how it was done as she coolly brought a 9lb 4oz Pollock to the surface after a cracking fight. She hardly batted an eyelid as the adults stared in disbelief.
http://www.mv-stormdrift2.co.uk/e107_plugins/autogallery/Gallery/3.30th_September_2007_3.jpg
It was a cracking day out with 10 species to the boat: Coalie, Cod (8lb 8oz), Ling (13lb 7oz), Pollock (9lb 4oz), Red Gurnard, Lesser Spotted Catshark, Ballan Wrasse, Cuckoo Wrasse, Mackerel, Dab.