Davyred
Well-known member
I got back on Saturday from my annual 4 days up the Mull, after some Bass, Pollack and whatever else I could manage. The weather was mixed to be honest, especially Thursday when it was blowing a gale from the SW putting the West coast Pollack marks out of bounds.
Got there on the Tuesday to a fairly strong Southerly wind, Luce bay was a bit choppy,
so it meant fishing low water and the start of the flood for Bass. I met my mates Kev and Dave who live up there, and we went out to dig some Lug, which were pretty easy to find. We climbed aboard the 4x4s and drove along the beach looking for gullies where we hoped the Bass would be holed up. Once we found one, it was out with the gear to give it a try.
Sadly, the Bass wouldn't play with just the one flounder taken by myself.
One of the main reasons I go up there is plugging for Bass, I love it. You have to put the hours in, not to mention the footwork but it's really rewarding getting them on plugging gear.
I always try the same ground that I've fished for years now. Some years you really struggle, some years there are a good few fish there. I prefer surface lures as the water, although pretty deep, is weedy, so you need a lure that skips over the top of it. I'd been fishing for an hour with no success when the first Bass of the trip launched itself at my Patchinko. Just a schoolie, but a start.
After a few more casts, I decided to have a move. I moved 30 yards along the beach to where the offshore weed bed was about 10-20 yds out and cast my plug over the top of it.
On my third cast, all hell broke loose. A Bass launched itself at the plug and took off. I managed to slow it down and guide it through the weed. I couldn't believe my eyes when I seen it come to the waters edge.
A PB of 7lb 10oz. After a hurried camera shot of her, I put her back in the water. Unfortunately, the fight had taken a lot out of her, and I thought she'd died, but after cradling her and pushing water through her gills for 5 minutes, she started to support herself and with a slow waft of her tail, she was off. I was over the moon she went back alive. Needless to say, I wouldn't have been bothered if I'd got another fish for the rest of the trip!
As far as Bass were concerned, that was it. I tried a couple of other marks, but only seen one fish rise. Some great scenery though...
On the friday, the wind had died of enough to get out on Kevs boat for Pollack on the West side. After feathering plenty of big Launce (THE top Pollack bait over there) and Mackerel, we headed to the marks south of Crammag head. I took this pic from the shore, but it shows the type of marks we were fishing...
Seals are all over up there now, they sit on the rocks until you appear, then they're in the water waiting for you to hook a fish. The plan is to get the fish up and out as soon as you can - easier said than done with some of the Pollack over there.
I took no pictures, but during the first couple of hours, I got smashed up 3 times with fish I could just do nothing with at all, all on floatfished Launce. The power on them has to be felt to be believed. Kev managed a few fish to 5lb and got smashed off one. He was bringing a fish to the side when a seal came from under the boat and took off with it, with line screaming from his reel. After a couple of minutes, the seal dropped it, only to pick it up again, dive and snap his line. Good fun when you're watching it all
.
As the tide turned, the sea got up and the fish disappeared. We tried a bit of jigging a couple of miles off Logan but nothing of note came from it. The highlight though, was chucking a mackerel back and this white flash hit the water 2ft in front of me. A couple of seconds later, up it came with the mackerel in its mouth. We threw a few dead ones in amongst the gulls and it was nailing them before the gulls even had a chance to move. The speed of them is unbelievable.
So that was it. A great trip made even better by the catch and release of my PB Bass. I can't wait for next year.
Got there on the Tuesday to a fairly strong Southerly wind, Luce bay was a bit choppy,
so it meant fishing low water and the start of the flood for Bass. I met my mates Kev and Dave who live up there, and we went out to dig some Lug, which were pretty easy to find. We climbed aboard the 4x4s and drove along the beach looking for gullies where we hoped the Bass would be holed up. Once we found one, it was out with the gear to give it a try.
Sadly, the Bass wouldn't play with just the one flounder taken by myself.
One of the main reasons I go up there is plugging for Bass, I love it. You have to put the hours in, not to mention the footwork but it's really rewarding getting them on plugging gear.
I always try the same ground that I've fished for years now. Some years you really struggle, some years there are a good few fish there. I prefer surface lures as the water, although pretty deep, is weedy, so you need a lure that skips over the top of it. I'd been fishing for an hour with no success when the first Bass of the trip launched itself at my Patchinko. Just a schoolie, but a start.
After a few more casts, I decided to have a move. I moved 30 yards along the beach to where the offshore weed bed was about 10-20 yds out and cast my plug over the top of it.
On my third cast, all hell broke loose. A Bass launched itself at the plug and took off. I managed to slow it down and guide it through the weed. I couldn't believe my eyes when I seen it come to the waters edge.
A PB of 7lb 10oz. After a hurried camera shot of her, I put her back in the water. Unfortunately, the fight had taken a lot out of her, and I thought she'd died, but after cradling her and pushing water through her gills for 5 minutes, she started to support herself and with a slow waft of her tail, she was off. I was over the moon she went back alive. Needless to say, I wouldn't have been bothered if I'd got another fish for the rest of the trip!
As far as Bass were concerned, that was it. I tried a couple of other marks, but only seen one fish rise. Some great scenery though...
On the friday, the wind had died of enough to get out on Kevs boat for Pollack on the West side. After feathering plenty of big Launce (THE top Pollack bait over there) and Mackerel, we headed to the marks south of Crammag head. I took this pic from the shore, but it shows the type of marks we were fishing...
Seals are all over up there now, they sit on the rocks until you appear, then they're in the water waiting for you to hook a fish. The plan is to get the fish up and out as soon as you can - easier said than done with some of the Pollack over there.
I took no pictures, but during the first couple of hours, I got smashed up 3 times with fish I could just do nothing with at all, all on floatfished Launce. The power on them has to be felt to be believed. Kev managed a few fish to 5lb and got smashed off one. He was bringing a fish to the side when a seal came from under the boat and took off with it, with line screaming from his reel. After a couple of minutes, the seal dropped it, only to pick it up again, dive and snap his line. Good fun when you're watching it all
.As the tide turned, the sea got up and the fish disappeared. We tried a bit of jigging a couple of miles off Logan but nothing of note came from it. The highlight though, was chucking a mackerel back and this white flash hit the water 2ft in front of me. A couple of seconds later, up it came with the mackerel in its mouth. We threw a few dead ones in amongst the gulls and it was nailing them before the gulls even had a chance to move. The speed of them is unbelievable.
So that was it. A great trip made even better by the catch and release of my PB Bass. I can't wait for next year.
