Monday, September 28, 2020

Trying a new spot for a new two spot.

I think it's fair to say that over the last couple of months I've rediscovered my love for fishing. Obviously lockdown meant fishing wasn't even possible for a long time and this combined with being furloughed for a few months gave me a complete break from fishing altogether. I love my job in the Edinburgh Angling Centre but perhaps working in a tackle shop full time and fishing in my free time had eventually taken its toll and the enforced interruption has definitely been a positive thing. As they say never combine business with pleasure! Anyway, my recent gilthead hunting trips and late night scad sessions down at Torness Power Station as well as other sessions further afield have rekindled my passion and last Wednesday it was a nice day so Lillian and I went for a leisurely drive to the west coast. I got permission to try fishing at a new spot on the shore of Loch Creran, inspired by an underwater photo of a fish with two spots I've never caught before I found online that was taken there.

This is a two spotted clingfish, so named due to having, you've guessed it, two spots. These are located one on either side, to the rear of the fish's pectoral fins. A very small species, its maximum length of 6 cm will obviously make catching one tough but if you don't try...

Fishing into deep water from the end of a small pontoon using #14 hooks baited with tiny pieces of raw prawn, I quickly added a few species to my 2020 tally in the shape of dozens of pin whiting and a few small dabs.

I got comfortable for a couple of hour's fishing while Lillian read a book and took the odd photo of me.
These pin whiting made up the bulk of my catch from the deeper water out in front of the pontoon.

After a while I decided to switch from casting out as far as I could and tried dropping my rig straight down off the end of the pontoon. It's always worth remembering that a lot of the time there are usual fish right at your feet! As soon as my rig touched down on the bottom my rod tip started twitching away to rattling type bites, so I swapped to an even smaller hook to see if I could find out what the culprits were. This worked a treat and I now have a new favourite mark for targetting painted goby. Their size averaged about 4cm long and with mouths perhaps smaller than the two spotted clingfish I was hoping to catch this gave me confidence that my tactics were spot on and might work should I happen to get lucky and put my rig in the vicinity of my target species.

There were plenty of them down there and my little observation tank soon had a few in it.

After a while I decided to ignore my own advice on fishing at my feet and began firing my rig out into deeper water again, trying different distances and directions. A few more whiting, a solitary cod and a lone sand goby were all caught and released. The sand goby again a vindication that small fish at distance in deep water can be successfully caught. Before we left I tied on a small HTO shore jig fitted with a single hook at the rear and had a go for mackerel as I'd had one or two of them follow my lead in when I had been retrieving my bait rig earlier in the session. It didn't take long to catch a few and whilst most were released by shaking them off the hook a couple of slightly bigger ones were kept for my tea the following day. 

It's easy to forget how beautiful the humble mackerel is with its colourful markings and iridescent sheen. They're great sport on very light tackle as well and grilled with a generous splash of Frank's red hot original cayenne pepper sauce they're very tasty into the bargain.

So, yet again a my first ever clingfish had eluded capture but if nothing else I'm persistent, so I might return to the west coast sea lochs to try my luck again if the weather is suitable during the coming weeks. With summer well and truly over now my thoughts are also beginning to turn to my old Scottish pink,red and brown nemesis, the three bearded rockling, so a trip or two down to the Southwest of Scotland for an after dark session targetting those is on the cards too.

Tight lines, Scott.

Friday, September 25, 2020

Colourful captures.

I drove through to the west coast last Wednesday for a day's fishing, targetting mainly colourful mini species. My workmate Callum joined me, and we headed to a spot in Oban that I know has produced Connemarra clingfish in the past. Truth be told it was one of these strange looking little fish that I was hoping to catch.

This small species "clings" to rocks using its fused pelvic fin that acts as a suction cup.

My approach was fairly simple, drop tiny chunks of raw prawn down into nooks and crannies where I thought a clingfish might hide. The mark in question usually produces lots of goldsinny wrasse, poor cod and leopard spotted goby as well as the odd rock cook wrasse. It was one of these small mouthed colourful fish that I happened to catch first.

I love catching rock cook wrasse. Just look at the beautiful violet markings on them.

Callum's experience of fishing in saltwater is relatively limited but it didn't take him long to start pulling out lots of little fish from the crystal clear, relatively shallow water we were fishing in. Between us we caught the main three residents but I also managed a small female cuckoo wrasse and a small ballan wrasse as well. The bulk of my fish were leopard spotted gobies though. They like hiding in cracks too.

We must have had about fifty of these! It's easily the best mark I know of to visit if you want to catch a leopard spotted goby.

Callum concentrates on his rod tip. He didn't have to concentrate too hard however as the bites were frequent. Most of the species he caught were his first too.

Before we knew it the time had come to return to the car as the parking ticket was about to expire. We had a couple of casts each on the way back, over some rocky ground, and Callum caught his first ever corkwing wrasse, completing a wrasse grand slam between the two of us in the process. Lochaline logging pier is the only other place I know where this feat is a reasonable possibility.

A male corkwing, yet another colourful fish.

After some lunch we headed up to Loch Etive to fish from Kelly's Pier. Here we hoped to catch a few grey gurnards on light tackle, fishing raw prawn on a one hook paternoster at range and we eventually did, yet another new species for Callum. We only managed three between us though, so I decided to switch to my micro fishing setup and tried to catch a few gobies from around the legs of the pier using tiny flecks of raw prawn on tanago hooks. After catching a three spined stickleback I fiddled around with my float rig until I got the depth correct and found a pocket of two spotted goby. After catching a few small ones myself I handed the rod over to Callum so that he could have a go. Before too long the tiny chianti float went under and he pulled out this monster.

Possibly the biggest two spotted goby I have ever seen!

After switching back to targetting grey gurnard for a while, but with no further interest in our baits, we decided to pack up and make the three-hour drive home. It had been a great day trip and whilst I didn't get my intended colourful little target we had caught plenty of other just as colourful fish. It was nice to see Callum enjoy trying some of my slightly unorthodox fishing styles and catch quite a few species for the first time in the process.

Tight lines, Scott.

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Chance encounters.

I visited Torness Power Station yet again on Tuesday last week. I only intended to spend an hour or so over high water targetting mullet but when I arrived I met an angler in the car park named Cooper that I'd been talking to in work about species hunting earlier this month so I ended up staying all day until it got dark. The mullet fishing wasn't great but we kept at it and eventually I caught one thick lipped mullet, one golden grey mullet and one bass. All of them took freelined breadflake. Cooper didn't manage to hook up with the bites he was getting which left him a little bit frustrated as he was after both types of mullet for a species hunt he is taking part in. They're there all year round so I'm sure he'll get them before the year is over no problem.

My first fish of the day was this nice plump thick lipped mullet.
Thick lipped indeed.

Next up I showed Cooper where he could catch a sand goby for his species hunt tally and we spent thirty minutes or so doing just that. Using tiny flecks of ragworm on very small hooks we caught several of the diminutive fish.

Successful species hunter don't ignore micro species.

Finally, before we left we headed around to the inlet area to see if we could catch some mackerel. I wanted a couple for the table and Cooper wanted a few to top up his bait freezer for future fishing trips. After a while, as the light began to fade, we eventually started catching some and as we did we chatted about our differing approaches size wise. Whilst Cooper was fishing a 28g jig fitted with a single treble, I was fishing a 3g micro jig fitted with two tiny assist hooks that I bought in Japan last year. The conversation then drifted to Japanese tackle shops and target species. I had literally just finished telling him about how popular fishing for horse mackerel (Aji in Japanese) was in the land of the rising sun when my rod tip was pulled over by another fish. It fought a little differently to the mackerel I'd caught already and at first I thought it might have been a coalfish. Then this appeared.  

Right on cue, only my second ever Scottish scad.

Neither of us could quite believe it, especially as I'd just been talking about them! Cooper was then keen to catch one himself as he'd never caught one before and it would also be a relatively unusual capture to improve in his species hunting tally for his club competition. Keen to catch more myself I then decided to switch to the method favoured by most Japanese Aji enthusiasts, a straight lure on a jighead fished on the drop. This method is incredible simple. You cast your lure out then let it swing back towards you in a curve fall under tension. This soon proved to be just as effective on The Japanese horse mackerel’s Atlantic cousin when I caught a second horse mackerel using it. A little while later Cooper eventually got one too on his heavier metal jig and was over the moon. It then went quiet so we ended our nine hour session on a high note.

Having discovered their presence I've subsequently been back again several times and have had a few more scad. They’ve all been a good size and are great fun on ultra light tackle. My mate Nick and a couple of my workmates have all joined me and they’ve all caught them too. It’s great to have discovered another potential target species for after dark on summer evenings. Maybe not as prolific as the shoals that arrive down on the south coast this time of year but with a bit of perseverance Scottish scad and the sport they offer the ultra light angler are there to be enjoyed.

Tight lines, Scott.

Saturday, September 19, 2020

Golden opportunity.

Over the last month or so I’ve had quite a few sessions down at Torness Power Station. The main reason for these visits was so that I could make an attempt at catching a gilthead seabream, a species that believe it or not does get caught there on the rare occasion. The first such session sadly was pretty poor, my chosen approach of ledgering small chunks of prawn on light tackle in the outflow only produced a solitary fish but it was a nice chunky corkwing wrasse, so despite the lack of any other action I left reasonably happy.

The inlet area of the power station produces large corkwing wrasse but this was my first one from the outflow area.

Another session, this time at the power station's inlet area, fishing light game metals for mackerel, produced a bonus large sandeel. Lacking the prominent dark spots on either side of its snout that the greater sandeel has and having a noticeably dark chin I suspect that it may have been a Corbin's sandeel.

Dark chins matter. Especially as they are a key distinguishing feature of the Corbin's sandeel.

I’m still not 100% sure about the identity of this large sandeel and having purchased a rather old species identification book I'm still doing further research into the differences between the greater sandeel and Corbin’s sandeel, so I can hopefully reach a conclusion. In hindsight, I perhaps should have kept the fish for further, more detailed examination, but instead opted to take lots of photos so those will have to do.

A few days later I returned to have another go for gilthead seabream. When I arrived at the outflow however there were over half a dozen other anglers already fishing, targetting bass using controller floats and Redgill eels, so I decided to fish from the area directly above the outflow. Ledgering small chunks of prawn I quickly had a take and couldn’t believe my eyes, or luck for that matter, when a reasonably sized gilthead seabream eventually came to the surface after putting a spirited scrap. My heart was pounding as I cautiously played the fish out in the current but my excitement was short-lived as it quickly dawned on me that landing it on the ultra light gear I was using and from my elevated position would prove very difficult especially as I did not have a net with me. My hook set seemed good though and after tiring the fish out I made the decision to try and lift it up. This proved to be a mistake and when the fish thrashed around my braid came into contact with the edge of the overhanging concrete shelf in front of me as a result and parted. To say I was absolutely gutted to lose what would have been my first Scottish gilthead seabream would be a massive understatement. I carried on fishing for a while and caught a few small bass, which ironically I did manage to land, but left the venue kicking myself at my decision to leave home without a net of any kind. It’s not the first time that being without a net has cost me a fish but this time it felt so much worse. The only positive to be taken was that I had discovered that there were indeed gilthead seabream present to be caught and where there is one there are usually more!

Determined to hook another and to land it successfully I dug a large drop net out of the back of my cupboard and returned several times with heavier tackle to try and do so. I tried several types of bait and also gave small live crabs a go, which I quickly discovered to be a very productive method for catching bass.

It turns out bass love small live hardback crabs.

A drop net wasn't the only thing I dug out for use during my sessions. My mate Ross told me that in his experience blow lug and peeler crab had been the best baits for catching gilthead seabream in the UK so several trips to Portobello Beach to dig worms were undertaken in the hope that some top quality freshly dug worms might increase my chances. The following photo of me digging away was taken by a passing female who was out for a walk. Not taken with my permission I might add, I turned around to find she had sneaked up behind me and was crouching down to compose her shot. Once caught she offered to email me the photos she'd taken and assured me she wanted to capture the sight of a large sweaty man bending over for artistic purposes only.

Worth making the effort to reduce the odds even just a little.

Armed with fresh lug worm, raw prawns and some peeler crab, generously given to me by my workmate Gordon from his winter cod supply, I was quietly confident that if I put the time in I'd catch another if the conditions were right. By the end of August however I'd had a few more unsuccessful sessions and was beginning to get concerned that as the end of the summer approached my window of opportunity may close. My mate Nick joined me for a few more sessions at the start of this month but all we caught were bass and, much to our amusement, several thick lipped mullet that after nibbling away at our baits on the bottom eventually hooked themselves. I also took a some bread along with me for one of the sessions and using smaller hooks managed to catch a golden grey mullet on small pieces of freelined flake too.

Another species that has golden markings but not the one I really wanted to catch.

Last Tuesday I was off work and the forecast conditions looked great with mostly clear sunny skies, an offshore wind and reasonably big tides too. The timing of the tides also meant the chance to fish over high water twice as well during daylight, just after sunrise and just before it set again, so I made a full day of it.

The start of a glorious summer day.

My session began just after sunrise but things were very slow to start with. A few hours went by before I eventually got a few bites and caught a couple of small bass in quick succession. After another long lull my rod started registering little knocks, so I wound in to see what it was. It turned out to be a rather ravenous blenny that had tried to eat a lug worm a little longer than itself and had somehow squeezed my chinu hook into its mouth. 

Something greedy going on!

Over low water things went very quiet again and as it was also very hot I put my reel into freespool and tried to take shelter from the midday sun by sitting down in the shadow cast by the railings behind me.

Strangely I had the place all to myself. The rocks to the right of the outflow are normally lined with anglers trying to catch bass.

Once the tide started flooding I was hopeful that I'd catch a few more fish but another couple of hours went by and with not much happening I decided to try swapping out my hook for a smaller one, so I could fish small chunks of raw prawn for a while, after all that's what I'd hooked the gilthead on several weeks ago that I'd failed to land. A short time passed and then I had a very aggressive take that had my rod tip thumping away and line being jerked from my reel. Quickly lifting the rod an engaging the drag it didn’t feel big but when the fish came into view my heart immediately started racing. It was my target species, this one perhaps half the size of the one I'd lost weeks before but after playing it out I still had to land it from my elevated position with no assistance. Decision time! Whilst I did have my large drop net with me I figured trying to get it, lowering it down over the ledge and then manoeuvring it in the current below whilst still holding my rod was perhaps just as risky as simply lifting the fish up. In the end I just went for the lift. I had tied on an extra long rubbing leader so didn't have to worry about braid touching the ledge and my 9ft extra heavy lure rod had the required strength to do the job. It was still nerve racking as I hastily hoisted it up but the fish was soon safely up on the platform with me being unhooked for a quick photo.    

My first ever (successfully landed) Scottish gilthead seabream.

Once the fish was returned I did a bit of celebratory fist pumping and shouting having successfully added another species to my lifetime Scottish tally. I fished on for a while but having accomplished my goal I ended up leaving earlier than I had originally planned. All the time and effort I'd put into the sessions had been worth it in the end. It was great to capture one of these in Scottish waters and I only know two other anglers who have done the same so it was a really special capture. As sea temperatures continue to rise it's predicted that this species will move further north so who knows, they may become a much more common catch for us anglers north of the border.

Tight lines, Scott.


Thursday, September 03, 2020

Rock hopping and here's hoping.

Since the five mile travel restriction was lifted I've been down the A1 to Eyemouth and St Abbs several times. Fishing light tackle, I was hoping to get lucky and catch some of the more unusual species that are occasionally seen by divers along that part of the coastline. Ledgering ragworm sections on small hooks was the approach taken but unsurprisingly the much more common species that one usually encounters repeatedly found the bait.

On a rock mark near Eyemouth it was nice to have a fish put a bend in my rod. Any fish.
St Abbs Harbour and Starney Bay to the north of it were also visited.
St Abbs Harbour produced some coalfish and wrasse but it's also a great venue to sight fish lures for flounder and I spent a couple of hours doing just that. When they're in the mood they'll take all sorts of offerings including this chartreuse hellgramite fished on a Carolina rig.
Whilst fishing the rocks that get cut off over high tide on the southern side of Starney Bay, amongst another steady procession of small coalfish and pollock, I caught this ballan wrasse which was great fun on light tackle.
During a different session on another Eyemouth rock mark I fished small baits on the bottom again in an attempt to pick up something unusual yet again. Lots of coalfish, a single flounder and a long spined sea scorpion were all I caught however.
I still love catching these little gremlins.

I'm trying to be realistic about my chances of catching something odd during these sessions. To be honest they're slim at best! That being said you never know and it was nice just to be able to visit these areas again. I dare say that simply spending time outside doing a bit of fishing won't be taken for granted for some time regardless of what's being caught.

Tight lines, Scott.