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Loch Etive.
We set off at 02:00 and after a five and half hour drive we arrived at Loch Etive and were greeted with this sight.
After a bit research on the internet the day before we decided we were going to fish just down from Bonawe Quarry. We headed over the Connel bridge and took the first right and drove along the Loch towards the quarry, just before the quarry we turned right down a single track road and followed it around between a couple of houses to the end of the road where we set up near an old boat and slipway.
The tide was on the ebb and after getting set up and putting out a bait of half a mackerel fillet on a penneled pulley rig we didn't have long to wait before the rod went and after giving a good account of its self in the strong tide I had a dog fish. We had a few of these over the next hour or so keeping our rods busy.
Then it went quiet for a bit with only crabs robbing our baits so I decided to get the lrf rod out and have a poke about down the side of the slipway typically soon as I dropped my line down the side my main rod went and i had to scramble back over to it. Soon as i got back over the rod went again with a slight rattle I struck into it and what felt like a small fish turned out to be a Grey Gurnard which I needed for the species hunt. After a few more Gurnard the fish stopped biting and it went quiet for a while.
On the flood we were hopeful of a few more fish. I changed my rig to an up and over rig with 1/0 hooks penneled with a sand eel and squid cocktail bait in the hope of a ray. Not long after the rod had a slight rattle and after reading on the internet about ray bites and them needing longer to position themselves over the bait before they can get it in their mouths causing the rod to rattle and if you strike to soon you can pull the bait from underneath them and miss the fish. The rod rattled again and i had to practically sit on my hands so I wouldn't strike to soon but the third time the rod rattled excitement got the better of me and I had to strike it haha after getting the fish in it was what I was hoping for a nice little Thornback Ray a first for me and another one for the species hunt I was over the moon.
After the excitement of catching a ray it went quiet again for a couple of hours, I get the impression that the fish come through here in waves so I had another shot of the LRF rod and managed a red codling, a few coleys and a mini Pollock. I noticed quite a few eels swimming about in the seaweed that I kept away from not wanting to deal with all the slime.
At about 20:00 the fish started to bite again we had more dog fish and my brother must have been in the right place for Gurnard because he was bringing one in just about every cast.
I had hoped to catch a Spurdog after it got dark and chucked every bait we had with us at them but didn't manage to get one hopefully next time im there i’ll manage to get one. We packed up just after 10 pm and headed back home.
overall it was an enjoyable day with excellent weather and decent fishing the only downside was I now look like I have chickenpox from the amount of midge bites I have off wearing a t shirt all day and forgetting to take midge repellent cream be warned they are lethal up there haha Here's a couple more scenery pics.
Thanks for reading.
We set off at 02:00 and after a five and half hour drive we arrived at Loch Etive and were greeted with this sight.
After a bit research on the internet the day before we decided we were going to fish just down from Bonawe Quarry. We headed over the Connel bridge and took the first right and drove along the Loch towards the quarry, just before the quarry we turned right down a single track road and followed it around between a couple of houses to the end of the road where we set up near an old boat and slipway.
The tide was on the ebb and after getting set up and putting out a bait of half a mackerel fillet on a penneled pulley rig we didn't have long to wait before the rod went and after giving a good account of its self in the strong tide I had a dog fish. We had a few of these over the next hour or so keeping our rods busy.
Then it went quiet for a bit with only crabs robbing our baits so I decided to get the lrf rod out and have a poke about down the side of the slipway typically soon as I dropped my line down the side my main rod went and i had to scramble back over to it. Soon as i got back over the rod went again with a slight rattle I struck into it and what felt like a small fish turned out to be a Grey Gurnard which I needed for the species hunt. After a few more Gurnard the fish stopped biting and it went quiet for a while.
On the flood we were hopeful of a few more fish. I changed my rig to an up and over rig with 1/0 hooks penneled with a sand eel and squid cocktail bait in the hope of a ray. Not long after the rod had a slight rattle and after reading on the internet about ray bites and them needing longer to position themselves over the bait before they can get it in their mouths causing the rod to rattle and if you strike to soon you can pull the bait from underneath them and miss the fish. The rod rattled again and i had to practically sit on my hands so I wouldn't strike to soon but the third time the rod rattled excitement got the better of me and I had to strike it haha after getting the fish in it was what I was hoping for a nice little Thornback Ray a first for me and another one for the species hunt I was over the moon.
After the excitement of catching a ray it went quiet again for a couple of hours, I get the impression that the fish come through here in waves so I had another shot of the LRF rod and managed a red codling, a few coleys and a mini Pollock. I noticed quite a few eels swimming about in the seaweed that I kept away from not wanting to deal with all the slime.
At about 20:00 the fish started to bite again we had more dog fish and my brother must have been in the right place for Gurnard because he was bringing one in just about every cast.
I had hoped to catch a Spurdog after it got dark and chucked every bait we had with us at them but didn't manage to get one hopefully next time im there i’ll manage to get one. We packed up just after 10 pm and headed back home.
overall it was an enjoyable day with excellent weather and decent fishing the only downside was I now look like I have chickenpox from the amount of midge bites I have off wearing a t shirt all day and forgetting to take midge repellent cream be warned they are lethal up there haha Here's a couple more scenery pics.
Thanks for reading.
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