To spin or not to spin, that is the question?

[Rab]

Have any of you guys tried spinning in the depths of winter?
The notion might seem crazy but it may be worth having a spinning rod set up.

At the start of December I was getting a few fish on bait but decided in the last half hour to change tact and have a go spinning the result was 25 coalies. Also at the w/e up here in Scotland a guy was fishing at Furnace on Loch Fyne and had some decent pollack to 6lb and mackerel to 2lb while using a spinner.

 

[mark]

I have!

Granted mainly up in your neck of the woods, and seems to be just as succesful as in summer for pollack and coalies.

2 or 3 hokkais with a 28 or 40g dexter wedge on the bottom, or just the dexter.

Dunno what anyone else feels about dexters, but they have been the most succesful lure I\'ve used by far for the last couple of years

even tried spinning at night and done alright too, especially if you use luminous hokkais and charge em up with a torch first.

I find the bigger pollack are higher up in the water when its dark

 

[Rab]

Dexter wedges are a fantastic pollack lure also not bad for the sea trout.

I usually find by far the best spinner/feathers are shrimp feathers. The amount of fish I\'ve caught on them over the years is just silly!

Im off to Ardnamuchan this year for my hols, are you going up that way yourself this year mark?

 

[mark]

Aye Rab! Fornight at least at the end of august, probably a week in June and a week at easter If I can get away with it!

My plan (fantasy!) is to buy a boat by then! something 14-18 foot on a trailer. If I can get something sorted by easter, I\'ll slip it at Portuairk and leave it in the water there till september.

Watch this space! If I manage to convince my financial advisor (wife!) that it really is a sound investment that is

 

[Rab]

I\'m heading up for 2 weeks on 7th August. I\'ll be needing to pick your brains about spots around Portuairk like the gully you have mentioned. Have you ever tried any of the shore marks at night with bait and if so how have you faired?

Any other marks you could tell me about apart from the obvious lighthouse would be much appreciated.

 

[ralph]

what type of rods do you use for spining? iv seen a second hand 10ft \'spinning\' rod but thaught that it was only for freshwater because of the length. iv always just rigged up on my beachcaster with some feathers or a heafty spoon.Ralph

 

[mark]

My spinning rods are 6 foot 8foot or 9foot

I can usually get a good 80 yards with a 40g wedge.

Nice and lightweight so you can keep on the move, and good sport with decent fish

 

[Rab]

I suppose it really depends on where you fish Ralph. If you fish mainly piers then its ok but I do alot of rock fishing where float fishing or freelining is a great tactic to use. You try doing that with a 13ft beachcaster, it just aint practical!

For my spinning I use a shakey quadra flattie its long out of production but a great rod none the less. I Can get a really long cast with it. Shakey do a very similar rod for £30-35 called the odessa flattie I got my Dad one for Christmas and it looks well above its price.

[Edited on 15/1/2004 by Rab]

 

[Ell]

Ralph \"edit, Rab even!\", I\'d have to say that beachcasters are really not suited to spinning at all unless you\'re trying to load up on a few maccky from the pier, everything about them is wrong for spinning. Your average maccky spinning rod would obviously struggle with a 2lb coalie 3lb pollack (or better). A good pike rod would do the trick IMO. You\'d almost certainly have to handball a decent fish up a pier but pound for pound you\'d end up doing that anyway with a decent codling on an average beach / pier rod. You\'re not going to need a beachcasters grunt to get out of snags as you\'ll not be fishing the bottom.

[Edited on 15/1/2004 by Ell]

 

[Rab]

I wasn\'t saying beachcasters are great for spinning just saying they would suffice off piers, like you say for hauling in a string of mackerel. If you look back Ell you will see what I mean!

A spinning/flattie rod is one of the most adaptable pieces of kit you could own IMO.

 

[mark]

I\'m heading up for 2 weeks on 7th August. I\'ll be needing to pick your brains about spots around Portuairk like the gully you have mentioned. Have you ever tried any of the shore marks at night with bait and if so how have you faired?

Any other marks you could tell me about apart from the obvious lighthouse would be much appreciated.

I think we might cross over, need to check but think we are there from the 15th to the 29th, if so we could meet up at some point.

Fished Sanna Bay evening/dusk/early night fall from both the sanna side and Portuairk side - lots and lots of flatties, always in size with the odd bigger un. Caught a 3lb brill, might\'ve been a turbot tho, either way its the first and only of either i\'ve ever caught

Since I was up last time, the same guy I always ask, that took 3 years to tell me about the first gully, told me there\'s another one about 300 yards further round, which was probably better but a bitch to get to. I actually tried jelly worms from the rocks there and caught a 2lb pollack first cast, so was well chuffed. Soon wore off tho as I caught nowt else till I put the usual bits of metal back on the end again.

Also had a go off the ferry pier at kilchoan as it was getting dark as well, another fairly hot pollack/coalie spot

I\'ll be taking plenty fly gear as well. The fish were so prolific last august (first time I\'d been in high summer), it was a hoot. Don\'t know what all these people are on about when they say saltwater fly fishing is hard, I was getting anything from 4 ounce coalies to 2lb mackeral every cast

the chart might be useful, it gives some idea of the depths off the light house and the headland around to Portuairk


[Edited on 16/1/2004 by mark]

[Edited on 16/1/2004 by mark]

[Edited on 16/1/2004 by mark]

[Edited on 16/1/2004 by mark]

 

[mark]

A spinning/flattie rod is one of the most adaptable pieces of kit you could own IMO.

Been considering buying a 12ft carp rod to see how it goes. I\'ve heard/read of a few people using em for allsorts - from plugging/spinning, flattie bashing float fishing etc etc etc

 

[Rab]

The flattie rod I use is 11ft, a carp rod will definetly increase your distance which is needed sometimes when the mackerel and sitting a good hundred yards out.

Btw is the depth of teh chart in fathoms or metres?

Do you ever try the beachcaster at any of the other marks? I\'ll be staying in Kilchoan so the pier will be getting tried afew times. Have fished there on a couple of occassions before but only had small coalies and various species of wrasse.

I\'d appreciate if you could tell me more about the first gully ie specific directions etc!

Yep it would be good to meet up for a cast or 2.

Another place I\'d like to give a bash is Loch Sunart from the shore. I will hopefully be going up there a few times before my holiday to do a bit of homework and hopefully find a few decent spots.

 

[mark]

fathoms,

there\'s one spot under the lighthouse where your in 20 fathoms almost straight away.

all along sunart, and the round the point the bottom is a nightmare. People talk about heavy ground here in the north east but its nothing in comparision. Had me wet suit and snorkel on and went in to have a look last summer (was swimming with a basking shark too!) and the bottom is just a waterlogged quarry of granite boulders and kelp. My guess is if you lead lands on top of a bigger boulder and stay there you get it back, if it goes down the sides is aint coming back unless you can somehow lift it out vertically!

Its got to the point that I now don\'t ever expect to get any gear back unless I catch and not sometimes then, so tend to stick to float, spin or fly, except on the obvious sandy bits.

The north coast is a lot gentler, and I\'ve heard (but not tried) that from the rocks at kilmory puts you into a reasonable depth and clean bottom.

there\'s one spot that seems ok if you can cast a reasonable distance (my casting is pants!) If you look where it says bo kora ben on the chart, there\'s a reef a couple of hundred yards out, approx at 2oclock from the \'n\' in ben. I\'ve seen people that can cast that far take some good pollack from it.

I\'ve got plenty digi photographs of the lay of the land out of portuairk to the gullies so I\'ll put something together and post it. It seems to die right off at low water, and is best top half of the tide, especially as its getting dark

 

[Rab]

What programme is that your are using for the depths, how much does it cost and where can I purchase it?

So you never really give bait on the bottom a try at the lighthouse then i take it? Have any of the marks around the area produced rays or doggies from the shore for you?

I know Sunart has some good spots I just don\'t know where they are yet!

If you are after some bigger fish from the shore then Loch Aline pier is worth a go. There is a chance of basically anything from there as the water is 350ft deep!

Now on to bass, have you caught many from Sanna? Any other places worth a try for them?

 

[DaveMason]

Mark,

Where did you get the chart copy from ?

 

[mark]

A friend has it on his PC (i\'m a Mac user) he got from ebay for 20quid.

When you walk up to the lighthouse, before you head towards the old foghorn, look over the wall down to your left, you\'ll see whats left of the old lighthouse service pier, you can cast into reasonable water with a clean sandy bottom, had some nice plaice from there as wellas the usual stuff from round the other side and you get your gear back. have had the odd school bass, pound and bit from there.

The guy to ask about where abouts on sunart would be Andy Jackson that does te charters/boat hire at laga bay. He certainly knows all the good holes in the loch it self.

One good spot at sanna is at sanna point, bit of hike but worthwhile, its the most seaward point heading towards the small isles. I bought a book called night falls on ardnamurchan, about a guy the grew up there and he kept on a bout somewhere he called the \'the fishing rock\' its right at the end and you can fish easily into the bay or out into the minch, with a bit of allsorts going on, takes a good half hour or more to walk to from the car park

 

[Rab]

You don\'t know the name of the programme then?

The old pier certainly did look a good spot for a few casts but I had already packed up by the time I got a chance to take a look. Have you had much baitfishing off the lighthouse itself? Or is it just the usual pollack and coalies? I think there may be a distinct chance of something abit different from the area such as a garfish. They are more common that you would think in Scotland.

Sorry for all the questions lol but have you fished Sanna Pt yourself and if so what have you caught?

 

[willywetegg]

Well Rab have read all of this with great interest and I for one will be giving it a go this year mate.

 

[Rab]

Glad to see atleast one convert lol