Tweet
A venue you are maybe not familiar with. I have fished it several times before but always referred to it as "somewhere just south of Oban" but how things have changed over the last year. The skate have now got the protection they deserve so the threat from commercials is far less.
Ian Burrett of On Yer Marks has moved his Easter skate trip from Loch Aline to Crinnan so the name has been appearing regularly on forums.
I got a text from Ian saying he had a boat spare on Easter monday and tuesday and contacted Oblickta, and two others from this forum. Two of them could not make it so an old friend and his 12 year old son came along for the ride.
We travelled up sunday evening to Newton Stewart and stayed over at Oblikta's house and then completed the journey early monday morning arriving in Crinnan 4 hours later at around 8am. We had booked one night in a B&B which turned out to be the first building you come to as you enter Crinnan and directly opposite a tesco's extra which is vital for those emergency supplies such as cigs and red wine
Also worth noting is the large car park big enough for the boat trailer on future trips.
8.30 saw us at the harbour and the boat pulled up at the jetty. What a pleasant change not to have to go through the rigmarole of launching and also the bit of extra space from what I am used to.
I had found some frozen coalies and mackrel in the freezer however Mattie the skipper had brought along some frozen scad which had been doing well. For tackle I took along the three skate rods I own and Oblikta took his own rod. A quick run out to where mattie had bouyed his anchor off the day before and within 15 mins it was 4 rods down and fishing.
Chatting to Jed, the youngest on board at 12 years old, it turns out his largest fish prior to this trip was a 4 1/2lb trout (about the size of the one we used as bait a bit later in the day.)
At around 10am a few clicks from one of the rods signals some interest and this quickly developed into a decent run and a fish on. Jed was harnessed up and given the rod...let battle commence. Which it did for the next 35 mins
About this time another run developed on Grahams rod which was struck into and Jeds dad Tim got buckled up and was playing a fish. So within two hours we have the two skate virgins on board into fish and the prospects were looking good for the day.
After around an hour and ten minutes the wind on trace of jeds rod appeared from the depths meaning around 25 feet to go, and very soon a male skate which measured 99lb on the old charts and 103 on the new ones was aboard! Thats our first 100 of the trip to a very happy young angler and his Dads fish is rapidly coming up in comparison.
This turned out to be a small male of 30lb, both fish were tagged and returned.
Out went the rods again and we sat back waiting for the next fish. This turned out to be quite a long wait.
Usually when I fish the area there is not another boat in sight but it seems Ian's decision to move his skate hunt has encouraged others to join him and there was another four or five boats all fishing. The banter on the radio was quite amusing at times but it seemed only one boat fishing slightly further south was catching a steady procession of smaller males and the rest blanked during the afternoon.
Around 4pm Grahams rod had a good take and since it was his turn for a fish it was time for him to christen his new buttpad and harness. This was something we had been blaming for the lack of fish and had actually considered throwing them overboard to encourage the fish to feed. One reason he had bought this was the problems caused by the difference in girth between him and me and the fact the harnesses are never the right size when you need them in a hurry. In a little under an hour he brought a nice male aboard which measured just over 100lb... two in the day ain't bad.
The weather was warm but a little bit blowy and the chat on the radio showed that other boats were starting to get some fish as well, so with things looking good for the evening Mattie suggested we stay out a bit later to make up for the fact we had asked to finish a bit earlier the following day. So out went the rods again and a sit back and wait.
Around 6pm it was looking like our hopes would be for nothing and the B&B was looking more atractive after our 3 am start. So its time to wind up the rods and head back. The rod I picked up to reel in gave a peculiar jerk as I started to reel it in and the hook was soon set into the last fish of the day. Since all the other rods were in and it was getting late I wound up the clutch slightly harder than normal and soon had the fish on the move upwards. This turned out to be the largest fish of the day at 179 lb. All in all not a bad days fishing.
Once again the anchor was bouyed off and it was back to harbour which was only a trip of about a mile. We arranged an early start for the Tuesday which would allow us to finish early and be on the way home at a sensible hour. This did prompt comments from Mr Burrett senior of "Are there two 7.30's in one day? "
Off to the pub for a pint in celebration, got kicked out cos of the smell. our usual curry house was closed so it was a chinese and back to the digs to collapse into a dead sleep.
The landlord of the digs agreed to do us a pack up in place of a very early breakfast and provided coffee making facilities to fill flasks. 7.30 saw us back at the harbour and by 7.45 the rods were being baited up and dropped down on the previous days mark. The idea was that the previous day the mark had fished well early in the day and we would fish it untill 11am then pull up the anchor and try an area further south I had done well on in previous trips.
The tide was a bit slacker than our previous day but as it started to pick up we got our first run ( Just as the other boats were coming out) and Jed was back in the harness again and with far more confidence than the previous day boated a nice male around the 105lb mark. This was soon followed by another for his dad of over 100 lb. So it was mission accomplished with all anglers breaking the 100lb barrier.
As per the previous day things went quiet so at 11am the anchor was pulled up for the first time in over a week and the 600m ( yes 600 METRES ) of anchor warp coiled up and we headed south about a mile. We dropped anchor and down went the rods. Another boat about 1/2 a mile away was fishing 1lb leads but despite using leads of over 1kg we could not hold bottom. There are some very unusual currents in this area. So up came the anchor and we headed north again and a bit further inshore.
Down went the rods into 460 ft and far less current, and a rod baited with squid went over for the tiddlers as a species hunt. The squid rod got a bite and the fish then ran round all the other rods. This caused some confusion as one of the skate rods got a run and Tim was back in the harness. This was the start of an hour of rod shuffling around the boat to keep the two hooked fish away from the three other rods. The result was a 6lb thornback for Jed and a 115lb male skate for his Dad.(and a headache for the skipper)
Final fish of the trip fell once again to grahams rod just before packing up time and was just over 120 lb.
So the final tally was 7 fish for 745 lb ...oh and a thornback
Back to the harbour for 3.30 and home by 8pm. A great trip.
Just to let you know this was not a one off. Ian Burrett has been running this skate hunt for several years to Loch Aline. Their previous best for the 6 week/two boat trip has been 72 fish. The Crinnan venue up to the time we left had produced 107 fish to well over 200lb IN TWO WEEKS!
If you fancy giving it a go I would suggest you book early for next year as I think this is going to be a very popular venue. Its affordable fishing for huge fish! I hope to get back over there a few times this year and hopefully it will be a bit quieter than the easter trip.
Never fear Northeast1 and Jason ...you still got first refusal
Having FTP problems so cant upload the pics just now.
Cheers
Dave
Ian Burrett of On Yer Marks has moved his Easter skate trip from Loch Aline to Crinnan so the name has been appearing regularly on forums.
I got a text from Ian saying he had a boat spare on Easter monday and tuesday and contacted Oblickta, and two others from this forum. Two of them could not make it so an old friend and his 12 year old son came along for the ride.
We travelled up sunday evening to Newton Stewart and stayed over at Oblikta's house and then completed the journey early monday morning arriving in Crinnan 4 hours later at around 8am. We had booked one night in a B&B which turned out to be the first building you come to as you enter Crinnan and directly opposite a tesco's extra which is vital for those emergency supplies such as cigs and red wine
Also worth noting is the large car park big enough for the boat trailer on future trips.8.30 saw us at the harbour and the boat pulled up at the jetty. What a pleasant change not to have to go through the rigmarole of launching and also the bit of extra space from what I am used to.
I had found some frozen coalies and mackrel in the freezer however Mattie the skipper had brought along some frozen scad which had been doing well. For tackle I took along the three skate rods I own and Oblikta took his own rod. A quick run out to where mattie had bouyed his anchor off the day before and within 15 mins it was 4 rods down and fishing.
Chatting to Jed, the youngest on board at 12 years old, it turns out his largest fish prior to this trip was a 4 1/2lb trout (about the size of the one we used as bait a bit later in the day.)
At around 10am a few clicks from one of the rods signals some interest and this quickly developed into a decent run and a fish on. Jed was harnessed up and given the rod...let battle commence. Which it did for the next 35 mins
About this time another run developed on Grahams rod which was struck into and Jeds dad Tim got buckled up and was playing a fish. So within two hours we have the two skate virgins on board into fish and the prospects were looking good for the day.
After around an hour and ten minutes the wind on trace of jeds rod appeared from the depths meaning around 25 feet to go, and very soon a male skate which measured 99lb on the old charts and 103 on the new ones was aboard! Thats our first 100 of the trip to a very happy young angler and his Dads fish is rapidly coming up in comparison.
This turned out to be a small male of 30lb, both fish were tagged and returned.
Out went the rods again and we sat back waiting for the next fish. This turned out to be quite a long wait.
Usually when I fish the area there is not another boat in sight but it seems Ian's decision to move his skate hunt has encouraged others to join him and there was another four or five boats all fishing. The banter on the radio was quite amusing at times but it seemed only one boat fishing slightly further south was catching a steady procession of smaller males and the rest blanked during the afternoon.
Around 4pm Grahams rod had a good take and since it was his turn for a fish it was time for him to christen his new buttpad and harness. This was something we had been blaming for the lack of fish and had actually considered throwing them overboard to encourage the fish to feed. One reason he had bought this was the problems caused by the difference in girth between him and me and the fact the harnesses are never the right size when you need them in a hurry. In a little under an hour he brought a nice male aboard which measured just over 100lb... two in the day ain't bad.
The weather was warm but a little bit blowy and the chat on the radio showed that other boats were starting to get some fish as well, so with things looking good for the evening Mattie suggested we stay out a bit later to make up for the fact we had asked to finish a bit earlier the following day. So out went the rods again and a sit back and wait.
Around 6pm it was looking like our hopes would be for nothing and the B&B was looking more atractive after our 3 am start. So its time to wind up the rods and head back. The rod I picked up to reel in gave a peculiar jerk as I started to reel it in and the hook was soon set into the last fish of the day. Since all the other rods were in and it was getting late I wound up the clutch slightly harder than normal and soon had the fish on the move upwards. This turned out to be the largest fish of the day at 179 lb. All in all not a bad days fishing.
Once again the anchor was bouyed off and it was back to harbour which was only a trip of about a mile. We arranged an early start for the Tuesday which would allow us to finish early and be on the way home at a sensible hour. This did prompt comments from Mr Burrett senior of "Are there two 7.30's in one day? "
Off to the pub for a pint in celebration, got kicked out cos of the smell. our usual curry house was closed so it was a chinese and back to the digs to collapse into a dead sleep.
The landlord of the digs agreed to do us a pack up in place of a very early breakfast and provided coffee making facilities to fill flasks. 7.30 saw us back at the harbour and by 7.45 the rods were being baited up and dropped down on the previous days mark. The idea was that the previous day the mark had fished well early in the day and we would fish it untill 11am then pull up the anchor and try an area further south I had done well on in previous trips.
The tide was a bit slacker than our previous day but as it started to pick up we got our first run ( Just as the other boats were coming out) and Jed was back in the harness again and with far more confidence than the previous day boated a nice male around the 105lb mark. This was soon followed by another for his dad of over 100 lb. So it was mission accomplished with all anglers breaking the 100lb barrier.
As per the previous day things went quiet so at 11am the anchor was pulled up for the first time in over a week and the 600m ( yes 600 METRES ) of anchor warp coiled up and we headed south about a mile. We dropped anchor and down went the rods. Another boat about 1/2 a mile away was fishing 1lb leads but despite using leads of over 1kg we could not hold bottom. There are some very unusual currents in this area. So up came the anchor and we headed north again and a bit further inshore.
Down went the rods into 460 ft and far less current, and a rod baited with squid went over for the tiddlers as a species hunt. The squid rod got a bite and the fish then ran round all the other rods. This caused some confusion as one of the skate rods got a run and Tim was back in the harness. This was the start of an hour of rod shuffling around the boat to keep the two hooked fish away from the three other rods. The result was a 6lb thornback for Jed and a 115lb male skate for his Dad.(and a headache for the skipper)
Final fish of the trip fell once again to grahams rod just before packing up time and was just over 120 lb.
So the final tally was 7 fish for 745 lb ...oh and a thornback
Back to the harbour for 3.30 and home by 8pm. A great trip.
Just to let you know this was not a one off. Ian Burrett has been running this skate hunt for several years to Loch Aline. Their previous best for the 6 week/two boat trip has been 72 fish. The Crinnan venue up to the time we left had produced 107 fish to well over 200lb IN TWO WEEKS!
If you fancy giving it a go I would suggest you book early for next year as I think this is going to be a very popular venue. Its affordable fishing for huge fish! I hope to get back over there a few times this year and hopefully it will be a bit quieter than the easter trip.
Never fear Northeast1 and Jason ...you still got first refusal
Having FTP problems so cant upload the pics just now.
Cheers
Dave
Comment