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Well it's not an NE boat report, but there seems to be so few these days, I thought I would post this.
My childhood friend Alasdair bought a wee boat a few months ago with his brother, who has retired to Millport on the Island of Cumbrae. The boat had a few "issues" when they bought it, as did the tender! Anyhow Alasdair told me they were all fixed and the boat was finally in the water and moored in Millport bay. So he invited Lynn and I to join him and Richard for a wee day out. However the only problem was that the boat only takes three(at a push) so we would have to take turns going out during the day.
We were fine with that so we took the 30 minute drive down to Largs and met Alasdair at the ferry. We left the cars on the mainland and Richard picked us up at the terminal on Cumbrae and we drove to his house to pick up the rubber tender. He "mentioned" that it was leaking but that he thought he thought he had fixed it. We hauled the semi inflated boat down to the beach where the boys pumped it up.
By this time I think Lynn's confidence in the day had waned and sportingly told us 3 boys that we could go out first and she would sunbathe on the beach!
Even more sportingly she said we could go out for 4 hours and then come in for her. I think she reckoned that if we hadn't drowned in the first 4 hours it would be safe to have a go!
Eventually the rib was inflated and the plan was for all three of us to row out to the mooring swap boats and be on our way. I was having none of that and asked to be picked up at the slipway with the proper boat!
I took a few photos of the bay some with the hills of Arran in the background. It really was beautiful and another absolute scorcher. It had been 31 degrees here on Thursday - unheard of in my lifetime - and I'm old! It was high 20's yesterday, so I was plastered in factor 30 and even had my Aussie hat to protect my bald patch!
After a monster amount of faffing about the chuckle brothers eventually headed toward the slipway to pick me up.
The only one of the four of us who have any knowledge of boats is Alasdair, with his years as a deckhand in CalMac. Lynn and I know nothing about boats and Richard knows even less, so life jackets were the order of the day. This was not really a fishing trip, as Alasdair doesn't fish and Richard just messes about with a spinning rod, so I just took my light gear and brought some ragworm. I have never fished Millport before so did some research and found that the east side of little Cumbrae(yes there are two islands) hold some decent Pollack and Wrasse round the rocks - apparently! I just had some shads, spinners, 2 ounce weights and a few two hook flapper rigs, so really light. If the Pollock and Wrasse didn't show the Mackerel surely would, with the gorgeous weather and being the last day in June so I knew we would get some fish.
We headed out towards little Cumbrae and with 2 hours to high tide and a bit of a breeze blowing we decided to just have a bit of a cruise first. The boat is pretty tippy and you have to sit strategically to keep her level, so it was me and Alasdair in the middle seat and Richard in the cuddy with his head out the roof window! It was too bumpy to go to the sea side of the island so we cruised around the sheltered side. Little Cumbrae is a private island, no roads but a big house, now owned by an Indian businessman who lives there occasionally. The "Keep" to the right hand side of the Victorian House relates to the original castle built on the site in the 1500's and destroyed by Cromwell's soldiers.
The only place to land is by the house, but he doesn't allow it!
We had a lovely couple of hours watching porpoises and seals. I didn't get any photos of the porpoises, as with the sun blocking my camera screen all my photos were taken blind.
At high tide the sea flattened out enough to get round the other side of the island and try a spot of fishing. Richard got out his spinners while I baited up with ragworm and headed for the bottom. My 2 ounce weights made it impossible to hold the bottom as the drift was really fast. I reeled in and added a second weight which helped a bit and I began to be plagued by pin whiting.
I then snagged and lost the lot, the line parted at the bale arm, so I was not a happy bunny. I rigged again, only to be straight back into the micro whiting. To my amazement Richard had nothing on the spinner. My rag were suffering in the heat and I gave up and went to the shads. The rocks looked very decent for Pollock and Wrasse around an abandoned lighthouse. This was Scotland's only second ever lighthouse when it was built in 1757. Looking at it obviously it had been heavily renovated over the centuries until it closed in the early 1980's.
However nothing was biting, not even mackerel and all to soon it was time to go ashore and pick up Lynn. It was down to me to take my turn shoreside and Richard decided to keep me company and we went to the pub! Lynn and Alasdair steamed off into the distance and she took my camera and rod. Here are some of her photos.
They didn't do much fishing, but she did drop down a set of feathers and of course returned with 6 mackerel in only 2 drops. I refuse point blank to post any photos of her fish!
The drama was't quite over however as Alasdair dropped Lynn off at the slipway and he and Richard(after three pints) went back to the mooring to tie up the boat. From what we could see from a distance the tender looked pretty under inflated again and Alasdair had to bale out water and blow the boat up again! On the way in an rollock broke and the site of the chuckle brothers paddling in made us both laugh. I decided not to rub salt in the wound, so did not take a picture. A brilliant day out and when the boys get a new tender, we will be back out in a shot.
After a lovely day we popped into the pub (again) and Lynn was ostracised for catching fish!
We then headed for the ferry and drove home by 8pm, lobster red.
Last few photos.
PS We had mackerel for breakfast courtesy of the only angler in my household. Grrr!
My childhood friend Alasdair bought a wee boat a few months ago with his brother, who has retired to Millport on the Island of Cumbrae. The boat had a few "issues" when they bought it, as did the tender! Anyhow Alasdair told me they were all fixed and the boat was finally in the water and moored in Millport bay. So he invited Lynn and I to join him and Richard for a wee day out. However the only problem was that the boat only takes three(at a push) so we would have to take turns going out during the day.
We were fine with that so we took the 30 minute drive down to Largs and met Alasdair at the ferry. We left the cars on the mainland and Richard picked us up at the terminal on Cumbrae and we drove to his house to pick up the rubber tender. He "mentioned" that it was leaking but that he thought he thought he had fixed it. We hauled the semi inflated boat down to the beach where the boys pumped it up.
By this time I think Lynn's confidence in the day had waned and sportingly told us 3 boys that we could go out first and she would sunbathe on the beach!
Even more sportingly she said we could go out for 4 hours and then come in for her. I think she reckoned that if we hadn't drowned in the first 4 hours it would be safe to have a go!
Eventually the rib was inflated and the plan was for all three of us to row out to the mooring swap boats and be on our way. I was having none of that and asked to be picked up at the slipway with the proper boat!
I took a few photos of the bay some with the hills of Arran in the background. It really was beautiful and another absolute scorcher. It had been 31 degrees here on Thursday - unheard of in my lifetime - and I'm old! It was high 20's yesterday, so I was plastered in factor 30 and even had my Aussie hat to protect my bald patch!
After a monster amount of faffing about the chuckle brothers eventually headed toward the slipway to pick me up.
The only one of the four of us who have any knowledge of boats is Alasdair, with his years as a deckhand in CalMac. Lynn and I know nothing about boats and Richard knows even less, so life jackets were the order of the day. This was not really a fishing trip, as Alasdair doesn't fish and Richard just messes about with a spinning rod, so I just took my light gear and brought some ragworm. I have never fished Millport before so did some research and found that the east side of little Cumbrae(yes there are two islands) hold some decent Pollack and Wrasse round the rocks - apparently! I just had some shads, spinners, 2 ounce weights and a few two hook flapper rigs, so really light. If the Pollock and Wrasse didn't show the Mackerel surely would, with the gorgeous weather and being the last day in June so I knew we would get some fish.
We headed out towards little Cumbrae and with 2 hours to high tide and a bit of a breeze blowing we decided to just have a bit of a cruise first. The boat is pretty tippy and you have to sit strategically to keep her level, so it was me and Alasdair in the middle seat and Richard in the cuddy with his head out the roof window! It was too bumpy to go to the sea side of the island so we cruised around the sheltered side. Little Cumbrae is a private island, no roads but a big house, now owned by an Indian businessman who lives there occasionally. The "Keep" to the right hand side of the Victorian House relates to the original castle built on the site in the 1500's and destroyed by Cromwell's soldiers.
The only place to land is by the house, but he doesn't allow it!
We had a lovely couple of hours watching porpoises and seals. I didn't get any photos of the porpoises, as with the sun blocking my camera screen all my photos were taken blind.
At high tide the sea flattened out enough to get round the other side of the island and try a spot of fishing. Richard got out his spinners while I baited up with ragworm and headed for the bottom. My 2 ounce weights made it impossible to hold the bottom as the drift was really fast. I reeled in and added a second weight which helped a bit and I began to be plagued by pin whiting.
I then snagged and lost the lot, the line parted at the bale arm, so I was not a happy bunny. I rigged again, only to be straight back into the micro whiting. To my amazement Richard had nothing on the spinner. My rag were suffering in the heat and I gave up and went to the shads. The rocks looked very decent for Pollock and Wrasse around an abandoned lighthouse. This was Scotland's only second ever lighthouse when it was built in 1757. Looking at it obviously it had been heavily renovated over the centuries until it closed in the early 1980's.
However nothing was biting, not even mackerel and all to soon it was time to go ashore and pick up Lynn. It was down to me to take my turn shoreside and Richard decided to keep me company and we went to the pub! Lynn and Alasdair steamed off into the distance and she took my camera and rod. Here are some of her photos.
They didn't do much fishing, but she did drop down a set of feathers and of course returned with 6 mackerel in only 2 drops. I refuse point blank to post any photos of her fish!
The drama was't quite over however as Alasdair dropped Lynn off at the slipway and he and Richard(after three pints) went back to the mooring to tie up the boat. From what we could see from a distance the tender looked pretty under inflated again and Alasdair had to bale out water and blow the boat up again! On the way in an rollock broke and the site of the chuckle brothers paddling in made us both laugh. I decided not to rub salt in the wound, so did not take a picture. A brilliant day out and when the boys get a new tender, we will be back out in a shot.
After a lovely day we popped into the pub (again) and Lynn was ostracised for catching fish!
We then headed for the ferry and drove home by 8pm, lobster red.
Last few photos.
PS We had mackerel for breakfast courtesy of the only angler in my household. Grrr!
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