Blairmore this Saturday-First of the Summer(pics)

[kayos]

Well after Lynn's incredibly jammy catch of a sea trout last week, we are off on our first proper Summer day trip (to Blairmore) to see if any early season Mackerel have ventured up Loch Long yet.

After her catch (which we put back) I googled sea trout and was surprised to find that it was illegal to keep any you catch within 1.5 miles of the shore, as they are "owned" by the landowner of any nearby rivers. How daft is that?

So if she catches another one, I must insist she returns it

Last year we saw a good number, of what I presumed to be Mullet, swimming around the pier. Looked pretty big. I have heard they are really difficult to catch, any advice anyone?

Early start to catch the tide, picnic in bag, we hope for a good day. Here's a couple of pics. Hope to take some of my own on Saturday with a few fish!!





It's a gorgeous place to fish and won't be packed with holidaymakers yet.

[lingking]

hi,mark

mullet;the fish that draws a man from the arms of a good woman,and sends him to a place called madness

sorry i havent got a clue about catching them

good luck

[kayos]

hi,mark

mullet;the fish that draws a man from the arms of a good woman,and sends him to a place called madness

sorry i havent got a clue about catching them

good luck

Haha. Well Duncan, they certainly weren't interested in spinners, just serenely swam right past them! Think I'll stick to Mackerel, at least I have some limited success in that regard

[Persues]

After a almost a week of frustration trying to catch some mullet from Cairnryan ferry terminal when I was about 13 I finally nailed a few as follows:

1. make a bread and finely chopped shellfish or ragworm 'chum' and suspend it so that it sits within the top few inches of the sea where you want to fish.

2. bounce your chum often (no sniggering at the back) to give a good spread of the groundbait and help bring the fish onto feeding

3. drop a few small pieces of bread or chopped worm (larger than the bits in the chum) around the chum bag, which usually brings the fish onto the bigger bits.

4. float fish with small freshwater floats or freeline a piece of bread squeezed onto the hook or some bits of ragworm.

Free lining was great fun; you see (and feel) the line bounce when the fish takes the bait but mulet are at least as quick as trout in spitting out anything they are suspicious of.

I dropped from 15 to 12 and then to 8 pound line before I got my first fish, and got even more when using some of the 'invisible' snood mono that was available back then. Once they were feeding well I found I could go back to the heavier line and they would still take, unless it's a very, very bright and clear day.

Depending on how picky they are being you might need to drop your hook size a lot too.

Freshwater gear works great on any rod capable of handling tench, barbel or sea trout, salmon et al.

A trout rod is a little undergunned IMHO since you will be fishing around pier and jetty pilings and the fish are spectacularly strong.

A drop net (or a ladder ) is a must.

Good luck, and have fun

[jameswlong1941]

Blairmore.

Well Mark and Lynn good luck to you both on your fishing trip and i fished for mullet in BENIDORM and had fun catching them and returning them back into the sea and all i used was fresh bread pressed into a little ball right on the end of the hook and on float so you can just see the bait floating about and as the mullet bite you strike immediately because they are very cunning fish but like i say fun to catch so again Mark m8 good luck to you both. nice pics too.

[kayos]

After a almost a week of frustration trying to catch some mullet from Cairnryan ferry terminal when I was about 13 I finally nailed a few as follows:

1. make a bread and finely chopped shellfish or ragworm 'chum' and suspend it so that it sits within the top few inches of the sea where you want to fish.

2. bounce your chum often (no sniggering at the back) to give a good spread of the groundbait and help bring the fish onto feeding

3. drop a few small pieces of bread or chopped worm (larger than the bits in the chum) around the chum bag, which usually brings the fish onto the bigger bits.

4. float fish with small freshwater floats or freeline a piece of bread squeezed onto the hook or some bits of ragworm.

Free lining was great fun; you see (and feel) the line bounce when the fish takes the bait but mulet are at least as quick as trout in spitting out anything they are suspicious of.

I dropped from 15 to 12 and then to 8 pound line before I got my first fish, and got even more when using some of the 'invisible' snood mono that was available back then. Once they were feeding well I found I could go back to the heavier line and they would still take, unless it's a very, very bright and clear day.

Depending on how picky they are being you might need to drop your hook size a lot too.

Freshwater gear works great on any rod capable of handling tench, barbel or sea trout, salmon et al.

A trout rod is a little undergunned IMHO since you will be fishing around pier and jetty pilings and the fish are spectacularly strong.

A drop net (or a ladder ) is a must.

Good luck, and have fun

Thanks so much for that great advice. Sounds like great fun and it must be very rewarding to catch one after all that effort. If the Mackerel aren't biting will definitely give it try. No drop net I'm afraid, so if we hook one it looks like Lynn will be scrambling down the ladder, landing net in hand, because I would be too chicken!

Think it may take a few attempts to get it right though.

By the way, jacket is great, thanks again.

Mark

[seery]

back in the mid to late 70s ive seen 36lb angler fish , cod to 30lb, coalfish over 10lb caught from blairmore peir and plenty of other species aswell caught from there , i wish i had a time machine and go back there jim

[Charlton]

Sounds like great fun and it must be very rewarding to catch one after all that effort.

having fished for mullett for many years, wish I had never started, as already stated it leads you to a type of madness which nobody but a mullett nut can understand. Yes use the lightest gear you can for the venue, plenty of chum, I use mackerel, tuna oil, anything realy that will make a scent trail and attract them, small maggotts are also an option for bait, as well as a baited mepps spinner (small) even when they are hammering the ground bait don't expect them to come charging in for your bait, they will swim around it, over it, under it, nut it off the hook and eat it. Some will swallow it right down and when you strike you will land on your arse and wonder how, they will form lines and swim around your bait, I had three all about 10lb swimming around a float in Port Patrick harbour totally ignoring everything. Then the most annoying, this has happened to me, a young lad will come down, throw in a great big ragworm on a 4/0 hook on one of those handlines with the orange line and hook a 4lber in minutes, this is all part of the mullett madness, if you value your sanity DON'T, be warned once you have caught one there is no hope for you, even just fishing for hours and not catching one can lead you into the mullett madness.

[kayos]

back in the mid to late 70s ive seen 36lb angler fish , cod to 30lb, coalfish over 10lb caught from blairmore peir and plenty of other species aswell caught from there , i wish i had a time machine and go back there jim

I read somewhere that the Angler fish was a Scottish record. As I have lived by the Clyde all my life, I remember only too well how good the fishing was and the shocking speed with which it was obliterated. That was the main reason I gave up fishing for so many years.

Still we reap what we sow and have to live with the consequences. I am just glad now to be back fishing and catching some good Cod, Ling and Pollock. Even if I do have to come to the North East to fish for them

There is definitely an irony in the fact that as a youngster I remember, clubs from the North East used to travel regularly to the Clyde to catch Cod, now it's the opposite way round.

Oh and in case anyone misunderstands me, I don't think anglers were in any meaningful way responsible for the collapse of fish stocks in the Clyde, I think we all know where most of that blame lies!

Will put up a catch report about Saturday............if we catch!

[kayos]

Sounds like great fun and it must be very rewarding to catch one after all that effort.

having fished for mullett for many years, wish I had never started, as already stated it leads you to a type of madness which nobody but a mullett nut can understand. Yes use the lightest gear you can for the venue, plenty of chum, I use mackerel, tuna oil, anything realy that will make a scent trail and attract them, small maggotts are also an option for bait, as well as a baited mepps spinner (small) even when they are hammering the ground bait don't expect them to come charging in for your bait, they will swim around it, over it, under it, nut it off the hook and eat it. Some will swallow it right down and when you strike you will land on your arse and wonder how, they will form lines and swim around your bait, I had three all about 10lb swimming around a float in Port Patrick harbour totally ignoring everything. Then the most annoying, this has happened to me, a young lad will come down, throw in a great big ragworm on a 4/0 hook on one of those handlines with the orange line and hook a 4lber in minutes, this is all part of the mullett madness, if you value your sanity DON'T, be warned once you have caught one there is no hope for you, even just fishing for hours and not catching one can lead you into the mullett madness.

D'you know, on second thoughts Alan, maybe I'll give fishing for Mullett a miss. Let's face it, I have a hard enough time catching the normal run of the mill fish, never mind these beggars.

Also your young lad story, would for me, be substituted for Lynn and another species thrashing would be just too much to be bear. I mean a man can only take so much humiliation!

[Persues]

I can lend you a longbow and some fishing arrows if you like

Sadly, I'm not even kidding

Mischief of the highest order...

[blugsden]

back in the mid to late 70s ive seen 36lb angler fish , cod to 30lb, coalfish over 10lb caught from blairmore peir and plenty of other species aswell caught from there , i wish i had a time machine and go back there jim

Used to fish off the pontoons in the middle of the Loch at Arrochar in the late sixties and often saw fish over 30lb being caught (not by me) we used to get out in the rowing boats and use big chrome tubes as jiggers. The mackrel will be in now best just to use daylights or small spinners.

[kayos]

Used to fish off the pontoons in the middle of the Loch at Arrochar in the late sixties and often saw fish over 30lb being caught (not by me) we used to get out in the rowing boats and use big chrome tubes as jiggers. The mackrel will be in now best just to use daylights or small spinners.

My best was an 18lb cod from a rowing boat, aged about 13! As I have mentioned before, when you hired a dinghy, you got a bag of scallops free to use as bait. Changed days indeed

Spinners and daylites it is for Saturday. I might even take the beachcaster, bait it with fresh mackerel and see what's what!?

[g.ordon]

My best was an 18lb cod from a rowing boat, aged about 13! As I have mentioned before, when you hired a dinghy, you got a bag of scallops free to use as bait. Changed days indeed

Spinners and daylites it is for Saturday. I might even take the beachcaster, bait it with fresh mackerel and see what's what!?

Aye mate scallops are a deadly bait. As a kid used to get a bucket full from the guys coming in off the boats at carradale and it was a codling a chuck off of that little pier there. Happy days ehh

[codseeker]

some great storys there young men thanks for sharing