Mull of galloway info

[nwfishing]

I did a week recy in oct with the family. Fished many marks in the week this is what i discovered.
First go to the sports shop in stranraer They have a great guide to marks and stock loads of frozen and fresh bait. I would give the beach and the rocks at ardwell bay a go, You will need a strong rod when float fishing the rocks as i found with big fish/conger takeing you straight to the bottom and you will have no chance with light spinning gear. Boat rod and a big multi reel and im not jokeing. The beach at port logan is a good mark popular with the local's who just drove their 4x4's down the sand and fished it back up the night we fished it, the beach is renound for a run of big plaice in summer with bass,pollack, cod. the pier is very weedy and room for only a few rods.
At port patrick go off the big rock on the northside of harbour, float fish into deep water. Park up before the cattle grid before the open moor leading to thre light house at the mull. Walk down the track past the muck heeps and on to the point of west tarbet bay, rocky bottom but i liked it.
The whole mull is a great place to fish good marks easy to get at and you can find shelter wherever you fish in any weather.

[Bushwhacker]

You will catch a lot more bigger fish if you try away from the popular marks that are fished day in,day out all through the summer.
Get yourself an Ordnance survey map,get off the beaten track,travel light and find some "really" good fishing.
And always inform someone where you are going in case you need help for anything.

[wheres the fish?]

You will catch a lot more bigger fish if you try away from the popular marks that are fished day in,day out all through the summer.
Get yourself an Ordnance survey map,get off the beaten track,travel light and find some "really" good fishing.
And always inform someone where you are going in case you need help for anything.

Listen to this man, it's the best advice anyone can give

[OuTkast76]

All taken on board for easter

[Chris-scott]

Cracking thread mate as im hoping to there soon as weather breaks

[<(Andy2009)>]

Listen to this man, it's the best advice anyone can give

Couldnt agree more.

Much better marks to fish when 'off course', though to be honest theres much better marks than portpatrick and stranraer altogether.

Cannit wiat for summer, definatley gonna have another weekend away up at brighouse bay, couldnt ask for more species on ya doorstep, including bass, conger, thornback rays, tope, smoothhounds, bull huss, L.S. dogfish, codling, pollock, coalies....................................... the list is endless.

[Davyred]

You will catch a lot more bigger fish if you try away from the popular marks that are fished day in,day out all through the summer.
Get yourself an Ordnance survey map,get off the beaten track,travel light and find some "really" good fishing.
And always inform someone where you are going in case you need help for anything.

This.

A couple of marks I fish up there have gulls nesting - a sure sign that they don't get many visitors . Obviously I fish the marks late on after the young have gone.

Sadly, the popular marks are now just about fished out, but for me, the thrill of getting fish from a new mark you found yourself is well worth the effort.

[Davyred]

I did a week recy in oct with the family. Fished many marks in the week this is what i discovered.
First go to the sports shop in stranraer They have a great guide to marks and stock loads of frozen and fresh bait. I would give the beach and the rocks at ardwell bay a go, You will need a strong rod when float fishing the rocks as i found with big fish/conger takeing you straight to the bottom and you will have no chance with light spinning gear. Boat rod and a big multi reel and im not jokeing. The beach at port logan is a good mark popular with the local's who just drove their 4x4's down the sand and fished it back up the night we fished it, the beach is renound for a run of big plaice in summer with bass,pollack, cod. the pier is very weedy and room for only a few rods.
At port patrick go off the big rock on the northside of harbour, float fish into deep water. Park up before the cattle grid before the open moor leading to thre light house at the mull. Walk down the track past the muck heeps and on to the point of west tarbet bay, rocky bottom but i liked it.
The whole mull is a great place to fish good marks easy to get at and you can find shelter wherever you fish in any weather.

If you're float fishing, I doubt they're conger, more likely big Pollack. You don't need a big multi reel and boat rod at all.

Have a look at this site, and the pollack they get on light gear.

Onyer Marks Sea Fishing Charters. Sea Angling For Tope And Pollack In The Irish Sea.

[Fishery Pokery]

I did a week recy in oct with the family. Fished many marks in the week this is what i discovered.
First go to the sports shop in stranraer They have a great guide to marks and stock loads of frozen and fresh bait. I would give the beach and the rocks at ardwell bay a go, You will need a strong rod when float fishing the rocks as i found with big fish/conger takeing you straight to the bottom and you will have no chance with light spinning gear. Boat rod and a big multi reel and im not jokeing. The beach at port logan is a good mark popular with the local's who just drove their 4x4's down the sand and fished it back up the night we fished it, the beach is renound for a run of big plaice in summer with bass,pollack, cod. the pier is very weedy and room for only a few rods.
At port patrick go off the big rock on the northside of harbour, float fish into deep water. Park up before the cattle grid before the open moor leading to thre light house at the mull. Walk down the track past the muck heeps and on to the point of west tarbet bay, rocky bottom but i liked it.
The whole mull is a great place to fish good marks easy to get at and you can find shelter wherever you fish in any weather.

Nice post, good of you to take the time to type it up to try and help people out.
Cheers.

[wheres the fish?]

For Pollock, A general rule of thumb is to look on an ordanance survey map, look for rocks with potential access to the water. The rocks that are steeper will useually have deeper water infront of them, (this doesent mean cliffs). On the map steeepness of hils etc are shown by how close the lines are together closer they are the steeper the hill take this into considdereation. On the map look for points that stick out further than others, peninsulas (Heads) at MOG, gullies etc. And most of all look for names you havent heard of. Because if you havent heard of them chances are they wont be fished that often or at all.

When you get to your mark if theres birds nesting (As said above) theres food there. Birds only nest in places where there is food close by. This is a very good sign, if theres birds theres food, and if theres food theres fish.

Going off the beaten track so to say is hard work mate, its trial and error but trust me you can reap in the rewards at fantastic fishing if you find a nice mark. You can go to places and go wow, and you cant get down, some you cast out and its only 7ft deep (Me and drumbrennan looked so promising but deeper water was just beyond casting distance). If you cant get down you look for a place to get down, it has to be fairly easy (You shouldnt be rock climbing) if you still cant get down you try somewhere else. Be prepared to walk, as these marks can be quite the hike.

You need to travel light, a bum bag and a spinning rod is all youll need. And this is important DO NOT GO ALONE. These marks are your best friend or a one way ticket to heaven if your alone. You need someone there with you mate this is no joke.

Another thing, allways try and look at your access route down from a side angle, i only started doing this 2 years ago when i relised i had just walked over a rock bridge only 2ft thick, theres lots of them on the west coast mate and if your not careful it could be your final trip. Also never go to these marks if its been raining or forcast to rain, as the rocks are worse than ice when wet.

Tackle wise i find a 3oz plain lead with jellyworms the most productive with the longer 6-10" worms being the best for bigger pollock you will need 3/0 and 4/0 strong hooks (Sakuma's) as aberdeens and vikings just get streightened mate, you fish these as tight to the bottom as you can, if your not losing gear your not close enough to the fish. Pollock like a steady retrieve, so none of this crap you see people doing for mackerel of south shields peir in summer. You cast out let it hit the bottom lift up and wind at a steady rate keeping it as close to the bottom as possible. And make sure your drag is tight as you have to bully these fish in, you give them an inch they take a mile mate and you dont get them out.

Braid in my opinion is essential as pulling out of snags from these marks with mono is too dificult where as with braid you can pull out standing still. (No stretch). The set up is not complicated, just a single strong snaplink on your mainline with a 3oz lead connected directly to this and the trace with the jellyworm on the same link. Nothing complicated needed.

As for wrasse ive found float fishing tight to the rock edges with mussel to be the most productive but you can use, peeler, mackerel (small thin strips), head hooked rag all will catch you fish. Either right infront of where you are spinning or useually there is deep cut ins to the rocks that fish there tits off for wrasse.

Just take snacks, drinks, sunglasses and fishing gear, and a friend. Its all you need.

Hope this helps mate.

Dean.

[Chris-scott]

Excellent info mate, cheers ur really getting me goin now lol roll on easter

[wheres the fish?]

Excellent info mate, cheers ur really getting me goin now lol roll on easter

Another thing, if theres no grenery on the trees mate the fish are not there in number... For bigger early pollack middle to the end of may is the best time to go hunting. But be warned... Its bloody cold... We had our tent freeze last year in may!

Wish i was going with you lol... Its my favorite place in the world to fish!

[Chris-scott]

Well if ur up for it il let u know nearer the time theres only 2 of us so far, the more the merrier, done bit at coldingham/st abbs last year but only caught coalies nd mackerel jus wanting some nice pollock on light gear

[baz5193]

where do you pitch your tents?? mate of mine says you can camp in weast tarbet bay itself and the famer just comes down and takes a couple of quid per night?????? anyone camped there before???? any info would be apreciated i fancy a trip down there myself in the spring

[wheres the fish?]

There's plenty of places mate, most of them you don't need to pay. Check out our camping spot on my MOG thread. Aslong as all rubbish comes with you anywhere that's not someone's land is good to camp. You are also allowed to camp at east tarbet or of you want a shower etc sandhead still takes tents nice site quite sheltered not to far from Stranraer. Beach is good for lug and it's a high water bass mark (if you know the right spot ) so you have plenty options available to you