fiveyardcast
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2020
- Messages
- 580
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- Points
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- Location
- West Yorkshire
- Favourite Fishing
- Lure
Went up to Skye with my old mate who i've only crossed paths with briefly in the 10 years that he was living in Oz. Skye is an old friend to both of us and we were excited to get back there after so many hinderances.
We used to stay in a big static caravan which was placed on a crofter's land by the parents of a friend many decades ago but despite being still there it is showing it's age and on recent trips we have taken the opportunity to wild camp, often at Duntulm and Neist before returning to the Kinloch site at Dunvegan for a bit of comfort. On this occasion, being older and a bit less fit (more of this later) we booked a bothy on Glendale.
Now, my mate has a few health issues and his mobility is limited, partly as a result of several ACL ops when he was an amateur footballer. Neist was out of the question, as were other marks that require a bit of a scramble to access. I went for a session at Milovaig on my own on the first day, eager to wet a line and try some lrf techniques as i dont think ive ever seen a Skye lrf report. I also took my new 42g 3m HTO Nebula which i paired with a 3000 sized Exsence reel with 12lb Spiderwire. As i was losing the tide i started with my 10g MC N-One with a 7g metal to see if there were any pelagics about.
After a few casts, the lure was hit with a solid thump and i started to reel in something unusually heavy for my light rod. I initially thought i might have hooked the end of a kelp frond as i wound into a dead weight but i eventually glimpsed a telltale flash of gold as a sizeable pollock neared the surface. It must have seen me at about the same time because it suddenly came to life, lunging toward the depths and demanding every bit of careful drag control on the 5lb Small Game braid on my little Vanquish. Thankfully, i'd set up my landing net prior to casting and somehow managed to get it under the fish one-handedly with the light rod bending in my other hand. The fish, still not done, went nuts in the net but i'd won the battle and landed a pollock which, although not massive by Skye standards, was great fun on the light setup.
I rigged up a dropshot rig with a size 16 hook after this as the tide had dropped to the point where i could see some mini species under my feet. I got a small coalie and a small pollock before a different, solid bite resulted in a species i hadn't been expecting to see but was thrilled about nontheless: a lovely leopard-spotted goby which came out pale and beautifully marked but darkened by the time i could take a pic.
With the tide still dropping I tried a few underarm lobs with the dropshot, teasing it back slowly through the weeds. It was pretty much a fish a cast, with common blennys, coalies and small pollock, but i also managed a lovely golden poor cod.
The following day, we trundled around the island in our hired van and found ourselves at Carbost. With the tide low again Carbost pier didn't look the most exciting prospect with it's platform towering above sea level but i just had to see what might be hiding around its supports. As soon as we got on the pier we could see all manner of baitfish and a whole food chain of different sized species. I dropshotted again and was thrilled to find that some of them were small codling - my first ever on lrf gear.
After catching countless codling, coalfish, tiny pollock and a shanny a shoal of mackerel suddenly appeared and i managed to tempt one by frantically jigging my dropshot lure. Despite being strongly tempted to change to a metal lure i persevered with the dropshot for a short while and a different, solid bite resulted in another species i'd been really hoping to see: a short-spined sea scorpion. Another first for me.
Switching to a metal after catching the scorp brought about a good hour of straight-up joy catching macky after macky which we kept for tea and for bait. Ocassionally, a small coalie would take the metal and 20-30 mackeral would appear on the surface, attacking it on the way in. We packed up smiling and agreed to return the following day, perhaps to lob some juicy mackerel baits into the depths of Harport..
Alas, this wasnt to be. 2 weather fronts arrived back to back and changed our plans for 3 days. The younger versions of ourselves would have been undeterred, but these older anglers chose to accept other leisurely options for those days apart from one brief session back at Milovaig, only to find that in a stiff easterly breeze the fishing was dead.
We drove around the island stopping for the odd pint at the Stein Inn, Edinbane Hotel, Sligachan Hotel and Old Inn at Carbost. We saw a golden eagle near the Storr, several deer and some porpoise and generally took in the beauty of the island.
As it was, we only managed one last session on our last full day, back at Milovaig in an increasingly stiff southerly and increasingly heavy rain. I cast a huge mackerel bait out with my AFAW Match Pro and had a few casts with a slim metal on my Nebula. I lost a decent pollock at my feet before landing a smaller one.
With the tide dropping again I could see some small wrasse moving around above one of the ledges below. We had discussed the apparent absence of wrasse this week despite our best efforts so i couldnt resist tying another dropshot rig, this time with a size 18 hook. It took every bit of my concentration and strained eyes to tie it all up with wet fingers and i knew i wouldnt be attempting it again, so was careful to place the dropshot in a place where there were fewest weeds. After a few rattles i eventually struck into a fish which i watched take the lure and was able to react quickly. I was surprised, but pleased, to land a beautiful rockcook.
The weather chased us off eventually, but when i heaved into the Match Pro i was pleased to feel a weight on the end which turned out to be a bonus dogfish, my 10th species of the week.
We were joined that evening by another friend who had driven up from Sheffield. As soon as he arrived, the weather settled completely. The loch stilled and the sun appeared, almost like it was shining out of his arse. He pulled out a bottle of whisky (not from his arse, you understand) and we had a long-awaited catch-up and (for me and Russ) a final night party. At some point after sunset the 3/4 moon appeared and shone brightly to the south, making interesting cloud illuminations. For some reason, my mate was looking to the north and said "we've got lucky lads". The northern lights had appeared and they danced for us for a good hour.
Not the best aurora pics you'll ever see, granted, but frankly you should have seen the state of me.
The drive back is always a reflective one. We stopped a few times and the journey was 12 hours all told. Easily long enough to reflect on the importance of friends, of health, and of good times whenever they may come.
We used to stay in a big static caravan which was placed on a crofter's land by the parents of a friend many decades ago but despite being still there it is showing it's age and on recent trips we have taken the opportunity to wild camp, often at Duntulm and Neist before returning to the Kinloch site at Dunvegan for a bit of comfort. On this occasion, being older and a bit less fit (more of this later) we booked a bothy on Glendale.
Now, my mate has a few health issues and his mobility is limited, partly as a result of several ACL ops when he was an amateur footballer. Neist was out of the question, as were other marks that require a bit of a scramble to access. I went for a session at Milovaig on my own on the first day, eager to wet a line and try some lrf techniques as i dont think ive ever seen a Skye lrf report. I also took my new 42g 3m HTO Nebula which i paired with a 3000 sized Exsence reel with 12lb Spiderwire. As i was losing the tide i started with my 10g MC N-One with a 7g metal to see if there were any pelagics about.
After a few casts, the lure was hit with a solid thump and i started to reel in something unusually heavy for my light rod. I initially thought i might have hooked the end of a kelp frond as i wound into a dead weight but i eventually glimpsed a telltale flash of gold as a sizeable pollock neared the surface. It must have seen me at about the same time because it suddenly came to life, lunging toward the depths and demanding every bit of careful drag control on the 5lb Small Game braid on my little Vanquish. Thankfully, i'd set up my landing net prior to casting and somehow managed to get it under the fish one-handedly with the light rod bending in my other hand. The fish, still not done, went nuts in the net but i'd won the battle and landed a pollock which, although not massive by Skye standards, was great fun on the light setup.
I rigged up a dropshot rig with a size 16 hook after this as the tide had dropped to the point where i could see some mini species under my feet. I got a small coalie and a small pollock before a different, solid bite resulted in a species i hadn't been expecting to see but was thrilled about nontheless: a lovely leopard-spotted goby which came out pale and beautifully marked but darkened by the time i could take a pic.
With the tide still dropping I tried a few underarm lobs with the dropshot, teasing it back slowly through the weeds. It was pretty much a fish a cast, with common blennys, coalies and small pollock, but i also managed a lovely golden poor cod.
The following day, we trundled around the island in our hired van and found ourselves at Carbost. With the tide low again Carbost pier didn't look the most exciting prospect with it's platform towering above sea level but i just had to see what might be hiding around its supports. As soon as we got on the pier we could see all manner of baitfish and a whole food chain of different sized species. I dropshotted again and was thrilled to find that some of them were small codling - my first ever on lrf gear.
After catching countless codling, coalfish, tiny pollock and a shanny a shoal of mackerel suddenly appeared and i managed to tempt one by frantically jigging my dropshot lure. Despite being strongly tempted to change to a metal lure i persevered with the dropshot for a short while and a different, solid bite resulted in another species i'd been really hoping to see: a short-spined sea scorpion. Another first for me.
Switching to a metal after catching the scorp brought about a good hour of straight-up joy catching macky after macky which we kept for tea and for bait. Ocassionally, a small coalie would take the metal and 20-30 mackeral would appear on the surface, attacking it on the way in. We packed up smiling and agreed to return the following day, perhaps to lob some juicy mackerel baits into the depths of Harport..
Alas, this wasnt to be. 2 weather fronts arrived back to back and changed our plans for 3 days. The younger versions of ourselves would have been undeterred, but these older anglers chose to accept other leisurely options for those days apart from one brief session back at Milovaig, only to find that in a stiff easterly breeze the fishing was dead.
We drove around the island stopping for the odd pint at the Stein Inn, Edinbane Hotel, Sligachan Hotel and Old Inn at Carbost. We saw a golden eagle near the Storr, several deer and some porpoise and generally took in the beauty of the island.
As it was, we only managed one last session on our last full day, back at Milovaig in an increasingly stiff southerly and increasingly heavy rain. I cast a huge mackerel bait out with my AFAW Match Pro and had a few casts with a slim metal on my Nebula. I lost a decent pollock at my feet before landing a smaller one.
With the tide dropping again I could see some small wrasse moving around above one of the ledges below. We had discussed the apparent absence of wrasse this week despite our best efforts so i couldnt resist tying another dropshot rig, this time with a size 18 hook. It took every bit of my concentration and strained eyes to tie it all up with wet fingers and i knew i wouldnt be attempting it again, so was careful to place the dropshot in a place where there were fewest weeds. After a few rattles i eventually struck into a fish which i watched take the lure and was able to react quickly. I was surprised, but pleased, to land a beautiful rockcook.
The weather chased us off eventually, but when i heaved into the Match Pro i was pleased to feel a weight on the end which turned out to be a bonus dogfish, my 10th species of the week.
We were joined that evening by another friend who had driven up from Sheffield. As soon as he arrived, the weather settled completely. The loch stilled and the sun appeared, almost like it was shining out of his arse. He pulled out a bottle of whisky (not from his arse, you understand) and we had a long-awaited catch-up and (for me and Russ) a final night party. At some point after sunset the 3/4 moon appeared and shone brightly to the south, making interesting cloud illuminations. For some reason, my mate was looking to the north and said "we've got lucky lads". The northern lights had appeared and they danced for us for a good hour.
Not the best aurora pics you'll ever see, granted, but frankly you should have seen the state of me.
The drive back is always a reflective one. We stopped a few times and the journey was 12 hours all told. Easily long enough to reflect on the importance of friends, of health, and of good times whenever they may come.
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