How did you get on?

[103841]

With temperatures in the high twenties the coast seemed more promising than a visit to the estate lake.

Headed first for Epple Bay and wanted to explore plenty of marks in search of any bass activity, two wheels gave me an opportunity to cover a greater area.

Unlike my last visit just a few days ago the water was now crystal clear.

Apart from a few Mullet swimming close to shore there wasn't any sign of bass activity so headed back to my regular mark in Westgate bay.

Two hours and many casts provided nothing, strange that last week I had a couple in coloured water, so much for the theories!

The highlight was a fly past by a Chinook coming in fast and very low.

With the warm air due to last overnight an early morning dawn trip to the estate is in order in an attempt to find the elusive tench, that’s if I can get up at 4am.mg:

 

[Pete Shears]

Just back from a week in Devon visiting friends and family but also fishing a very private and secluded lake for carp.The weather changed within hours of arriving at the lake and settling into the only log cabin set in the surrounding woodland.Managed to land twenty nine carp including one mirror of 23lb,the rest being commons of all shapes and sizes,the biggest was 15lb 5oz.As there is no shooting on the land the wildlife is the attraction for me - buzzards,kestrel,sparrow hawks even a peregrine,ravens jackdaws,all sorts of little brown birds,tree creepers, nuthatches which beg for boilies,badgers, roe and fallow deer - superb,catching fish was a bonus.

 

[Roger Johnson 2]

Our first properly hot day of the summer here with temperatures around the 30c mark. Our evening dog walk showed plenty of fish rising above the wier , though I suspect they were mainly bleak. Nevertheless a decision was made to spend the last hour of the day fluff chucking,( much to the pooches disgust, she prefers barbel fishing from the bank.... more treats!). Once out into the river,nice to be cool for the first time today, there were very few fish rising in the faster water here below the wier but there where a few midsize brown mayfly type things ( my sum total of entomological knowledge), so I tied on something brown and feathery and fished blind for a few casts. About 10 casts in there was a rise in the vicinity of my fly so I recast, the fish rose again this time to my fly and..... bloody hell, I’d actually hooked a brine trite on a dray flay. Plucky little chap too, half a dozen leaps and a good pull downstream. About 25 cm in length a good plate size, but the size limit here is 30cm for trout and anyway the fish here have a hard time with otters, cormorants and people all trying to eat them, so back he went. Sorry for no pictures but I was having trouble standing in the flow without adding trying to take photo whist holding rod, phone and fish.
Sadly not caught from my property but I did at least start the wade from my garden so nearly counts.
Really important lesson learnt, don’t be tempted to have a cool beer on the town square if 30 minutes later you’re going to be wearing chesties and up to your nadgers in cold water especially at my age!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[theartist]

First trip down the coast to my favourite working dock and everyone else had the same idea as it was rammed with anglers and families crabbing all enjoying the sun with a fairly brisk breeze keeping the temps perfect but the water choppy.

Saw a few mullet which saw me first, they are cagey here as it's fished a lot but I still went on the wag and bread attack fishing blind into the chop which isn't always the best idea If you can't see any feeding. I wasn't expecting any mullet to be honest but I knew there would be plenty of bass taking and I had bites all day on small bits of flake and punch. A dace sized bass goes like a pound perch so they kept me busy.



I managed to lose the only good fish off the top which did a clutch screaming blast into a weed bed before I could even raise the rod it had such speed, could have been a mullet but it looked like a bass slurp although bass don't usually shed the hook which this fish did, nevermind I'll never know.

 

[103841]

Up at 3-45 am and fishing on the estate just 45 minutes later. A really warm start to the day but it was spoilt to some extent by a very fresh breeze giving me problems sighting my float through bleary eyes.

Fished for four hours catching the obligatory skimmers and bream with just the one tench brightening up what would have been a disappointing trip.

 

[The Runner]

Had a houseful of visitors last week but managed to get out once for a three hour session with mate while his other half went round the expensive craft shops and their daughter and her boyfriend did the boat wildlife tour out of Portree harbour.
Went the twenty or so miles up to Staffin and found ourselves faced with an unexpectedly very heavy swell running straight in to the rocks rather than at its usual angle
View attachment 6802

After about half an hour lure fishing we both came to the conclusion that with the heavy backwash making a good 20 yards or so milky with bubbles, and the water going in all directions, anything around would have moved further out. Mate moved a couple of hundred yards back to a slightly more sheltered spot while I set up beachcaster with a decent strip of mackerel on a 2/0 and lobbed it about 40 yards just past the disturbed water.
View attachment 6803

Forgot tripod...
Soon heard a shout from mate signalling his first pollack, no real size, turned back round to see my rod top banging away and missed it. Longer story short, missed one more bang on the tip and mate ended up with three pollack, all on a Toby, but only around a pound or so.
Lots of gannets diving about 200 yards offshore, and apparently two days later we could have seen an orca go past.

The younger ones had the best day of it for wildlife, got three sea eagles feeding around the boat on the fish thrown for them. Didn't fish the next day but ended up watching two or three dolphins in loch Brittle. They were a good way off so no pics but it looked like they had some fish herded against some rocks protruding from shallow water. At first I thought that the disturbance to the surface was just small waves hitting the rocks but mate got binoculars out and pointed out that one of the "rocks" had just moved 30 yards sideways...

 

[wetthrough]

I'd originally planned to fish the Bridgewater yesterday but the wind put a stop to that. It would have been blowing a hoolie straight down the stretch I'd planned to fish. Switched to Cicely Mill pool, a WA water as I'd not fished it for a while and could choose to fish with or against the wind. Arrived around 7am and picked a spot on the East side facing more or less straight into the wind. It was somewhat of a mistake as it was also in the shade til about 1pm and I'd got the dress code wrong. Shivering my way through but catching more or less from the off on a 3bb Glow Tip Antenna to 3lb and 18s in about 44" of water. Fishing at about 9M but could cast to 20M quite easily despite the wind. Chap arrived shortly after me and fished on the North end starting off with the pole, that didn't last long, he switched to a waggler set up but left fishless around 12. I'm guessing it was just too much like hard work in the cross wind. Bites were very positive. Whether that was the conditions or my setup I don't know but I'd layed on more than usual, about 6" compared to my usual 3:4" and with a No10s tell tale at 8". Float was staying put, something else I wasn't expecting given the wind. No sign of any big fish activity but final total of 40. Mostly Roach around the 3:4oz mark, one small hybrid and two Perch of around 3:4oz, one of which took caster? Bait of the day, caster. Maggots would have caught more but smaller fish so I stuck with the caster trying corn from time to time. Picked up a few on corn later on but they wouldn't look at it in the morning. Nothing on bread. A good day if a little cold and a Mallard with her 9 ducklings always puts a smile on my face whatever the weather

 

[john step]

Not wonderfully yesterday. Still I had my second tench from the difficult lake. A small one but a tench nevertheless. Oh how I sometimes envy you lot "dan Souf" where according to the reports 8lb tench queue up to get caught. Only joking feeling silly today. :wh I have never found them that easy even before I emigrated up to gods county.

 

[Cypher2784]

Had a great three hour session back at selley bridge lake in low marishes, a good head of roach and Rudd to be going at with me bagging a pb Rudd just shy of two pounds, rain eventually stopped play by 7pm....all fish fell to corn and luncheon meat...the latter picking off the bigger fish, had one foul hooked tench of about 8oz too which was unhooked carefully and popped back.

Looking forward to my next session next week ???

 

[Another Dave]

Been a bit busy with work but managed a slot last week to take the youngest out with her rod to the local rudd pond. To my surprise the eldest wanted to come along and asked if she could have a whip to fish with. I took a chair but my @rse never contacted it, as i was constantly needed to help with unhooking and a few minor tangles.

Some of the rudd went to about 5oz and eldest managed a nice roach which of something of a rarity in here.

 

[103841]

A gem of a post as always Dave.

 

[seth49]

Back on the new pond again, early start there for five thirty, it was micks turn to fish the best peg, so I went opposite him, on a peg a chap was catching some tench from last week, started on the pole fishing mussel over groundbait, first bite a big carp, which shot off, bottomed the elastic, and snapped the six pound hook length.

So I put the pole to one side, and carried on with my carp rod instead, next fish a carp of ten pounds, they certainly scrap in here, gave a good account of itself, they seem to fight harder here than are usual fishery, but they are heavier built, probably better fed than are usual place with its various bait bans.

After that my day went downhill rapidly, I had a skimmer and then lost five carp on the trot, one felt like a good fish too, I had it on for about ten minutes, and then the hook pulled, never saw it but it felt heavy, the others took me into some willows and shed the hook, it also started raining which I dislike, as it means drying all my gear when I get home.

Mick meanwhile was having a great day, he finished with eleven carp and lost a few as well, at least it’s my turn on that peg next time.
So an interesting day, I don’t think I’ll fish that peg again, to snaggy, good to be out though, and back to our old fishery tomorrow.no photos site says I have had my limit.

 

[mikench]

Keith you can either revert to say Postimages or delete some of your older photos. I delved deep and found a way like John Keane.

Click on settings in the top right corner and them on miscellaneous in the left hand column to see attachments. Click on that and you can delete as many of your pics as needed to restore some capacity to your storage limit!

Quite why there is a limit I am at a loss to understand.

 

[seth49]

View attachment 6824View attachment 6825

Thanks mike, that worked, did have to restart my iPad after I deleted some photos to get it to work.

 

[The Runner]

Finished everything I needed to do yesterday by lunchtime and as it was a dry day after a few soggy ones decided on an afternoon session somewhere. Forecast was for wind strengthening and turning northerly which ruled out Staffin and Aird, didn't fancy the cliff climb at Rubha Hunish after a lot of rain, just about out of mackerel for the more sheltered spots to the West (and not really enough time for a long walk in ) so it was just a local day.

Walked out to the worm beds , digging was a bit harder than usual with a lot of fresh water coming down the river leaving standing water in a lot of places, but got 25 or so lug and a bonus king rag (minus tail)
View attachment 6826
enough for a three hour session with two rods

Back home, coffee and a bite to eat and walked out to one of the usual ledges past the Black Rock arriving at about half tide. Pics don't give any idea of how strong the crosswind was, and it got exponentially stronger as the day went on
View attachment 6827
View attachment 6828
Had set up feeder rod with ounce bomb, wind limiting this to close in, and beachcaster with simple paternoster rig and a longish hooklength. Nothing for half an hour and then plenty of activity as the tide rose further. Spotting the bites in the wind was a bit guesswork at times as even placed low the tip was constantly waving about .Couldn't leave it out too long either as bait and everything else getting smothered in slimy brown algae (think its what south coast anglers call mayrot) but quite a few of the bites were soon after hit bottom.

Ended up with eight dabs, six decent ones like this
View attachment 6829
and a couple of smaller ones
View attachment 6830
as well as retrieving two or three times to find the worm stripped
Called it a day just after high tide at 8 45 and dropped in to the Merchant for a pint on the way home. Hope the tourists appreciated the smell of lugworm.....

All fish at about 70 to 80 yards, nothing on the close rod apart from a couple of velvet swimming crabs, wrasse not arrived yet.
Had only ever had I think three dabs in total from here before in about a dozen visits. Very big tide today with the wind driving onshore into the bay, don't know if that made the difference, just a pity couldn't get them on the light tackle.

One distant eagle over Ben Tianavaig opposite, too far off to tell which species

 

[108831]

I love dabs,one of the nicest eating fish in the sea,taking two to four fish for me and the missus,usually dabs work their way up the bait until they've swallowed the hook,if given long enough,maybe your work stealers were the crabs,or small whiting,small wrasse,because they are notorious bait thieves.. Apparently they thought you were a local,because of the lugworm.....

 

[The Runner]

Lovely eating, yes.
All of these went back though as off down to London later today for grandsons birthday and they never taste the same if they've been in the freezer.
And yes, probably crabs. Last year the whole of the bay was carpeted with tiny coalies and codling but no sign of them yet this year.

 

[peter crabtree]

I seem to be going through a bad patch lately. Fished 2 matches over the weekend and did miserably. Monday I thought the town pit might throw up a tench or two but once again a blank.

Even my little white companion looked forlorn...

Yesterday our evening series started on the GUC, the water was a horrible peaty brown colour which seemed to put the fish off. Just little gudgeon and perch until a better perch took my whole Dendra.

Came 5th out of 12 with 1:8:0..
Codgers tomorrow, onwards and upwards...

 

[108831]

Lovely eating, yes.
All of these went back though as off down to London later today for grandsons birthday and they never taste the same if they've been in the freezer.
And yes, probably crabs. Last year the whole of the bay was carpeted with tiny coalies and codling but no sign of them yet this year.

I wonder why that is,a very changeable environment,the sea that is,seasons are a bit strange this year,down here anyway.

 

[108831]

I seem to be going through a bad patch lately. Fished 2 matches over the weekend and did miserably. Monday I thought the town pit might throw up a tench or two but once again a blank.

Even my little white companion looked forlorn...

Yesterday our evening series started on the GUC, the water was a horrible peaty brown colour which seemed to put the fish off. Just little gudgeon and perch until a better perch took my whole Dendra.

Came 5th out of 12 with 1:8:0..
Codgers tomorrow, onwards and upwards...

That's a bit old barge up from you Simon,all the fish were under that...