Oli and I had only gone to the boat to pick up some tackle for a shore fishing trip later this week to Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway, assuming that conditions wouldn't be good to take the boat out, but when we got to Amble we found no swell and the sea to be relatively calm. It was only at about 15.00 that we headed out, fishing the headlands around Hauxley, Wainway Bush and Bondicarr. As it turned out, it was mostly slackwater at this point, and the current had not built up enough speed to bring the fish onto the feed. The strong wind however was causing the boat to drift quite fast. It wasn't ideal but we thought we might pick up a few mackerel all the same for the freezer.
We didn't get any mackerel in the end, with most of the fish seen on the screens turning out to be small coalies. We couldn't see any baitfish either, nor was there any bird activity. We often find that when there is no current, the fish stick to the reefs and the banks, and this is indeed what happened. It was tricky all the same. The fish wanted small lures, and the best method was to leave the lure on the bottom and let the drift do the rest. Over the next 2 hours I had around half-a-dozen codling to 3lb, and Oli had about the same number, plus a small pollack. I also had around 20 coalies, all between half a pound and a pound, mostly on sabikis meant for mackerel.
Quite a few boats were out yesterday, presumably wrecking which would have been a better option if we'd have had more time. It would be interesting to hear how they got on.
We didn't get any mackerel in the end, with most of the fish seen on the screens turning out to be small coalies. We couldn't see any baitfish either, nor was there any bird activity. We often find that when there is no current, the fish stick to the reefs and the banks, and this is indeed what happened. It was tricky all the same. The fish wanted small lures, and the best method was to leave the lure on the bottom and let the drift do the rest. Over the next 2 hours I had around half-a-dozen codling to 3lb, and Oli had about the same number, plus a small pollack. I also had around 20 coalies, all between half a pound and a pound, mostly on sabikis meant for mackerel.
Quite a few boats were out yesterday, presumably wrecking which would have been a better option if we'd have had more time. It would be interesting to hear how they got on.
