Latest Fishing Reports: Scotland
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24/02/2014
Fishing Report by Dave Rushworth
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
24 Feb 2014 by Dave Rushworth
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I'd booked onto a Mersey charter trip aboard the 'Brigand' with Althebass, Brian & Frank, it was a 6am lock out which meant a 4am alarm call :sleepy: and despite getting everything ready the night before, in my sleep deprived befuddled state, I somehow managed to run late and didn't set off till 5am which meant a mad dash down the motorway at breakneck speed :roll: I just managed to get to the marina for 6 (ish) with the skipper waiting for me at the gate :oops: everyone was already on the boat waiting, which meant all the best spots had gone and I was tucked under the canopy by the wheelhouse on the left side of the boat, which meant I would be casting cack-handed! :doh: serves me right for being late! :huan kerr: :lol:
We were soon out of the marina and steamed out onto the river in the gloom and headed up to our first mark just past the clock tower. After a short steam down river we anchored up in the fierce running tide and launched out our baits expectantly
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I had an assortment of baits, blow lug, frozen black, crab, mussel and squid. The skipper Kev told us squid had been doing the business over the last few trips.....
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Frank was first in with a nice keeper....this got him all smug & excited cos we had the usual £1 for the biggest and he was in the lead
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The tide run started to ease, the wind dropped and the sun came out.....it was looking like it was gonna be a decent day.....
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Even Al was smiling....only at my attempt to get him to use one of my armamesh concoctions, he said it looked like one of my turds :lol:
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I was targeting the small stuff :whistle: even with my 5/0's and big baits...
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Brian had predicted that the fish would come on the feed better 3hrs or so before low water and he was bang on the money for himself.....
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Al got into a good fish but bumped it off on the way up, his powerful muscular arms glinting in the weak winter sun, his sparrow legs buckling underneath him as he slumped to the floor and threw his (muscular) arms up like he'd been shot in 'Platoon'....."Noooooooooooooooooo..........." (it was later estimated by Al that the fish was 'at least' 6lb which rose by a lb ever time someone mentioned it, so at the end of the day Al had lost a 12lb fish...allegedly!)
We carried on fishing right down to low water with just the odd fish coming out...
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Tuskar steaming past
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The skipper told us at dead low we would be heading upriver to Bromborough where we could wait for the tide to turn and have our lunch of Curry & Rice...now we're talking! :yeah2: spot on it was too, just on the right side of spicy and a good portion as well
The lull in activity gave Frank the chance to show off and have a quick brag :lol:
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Though all the excitement was all a bit too much for him :sleepy: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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but at least he made a new friend......
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Who's the guilty party? :whistle:
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The tide took an age to get going, and the wind freshened which kept the boat facing the wrong way for longer than expected, Otterspool in the distance......
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As the tide got going, a surprise plaice came aboard.....
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The odd good codling came aboard too so I hedged my bets and put on the last of my crab and mussel...
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Which paid off handsomely...
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4lb 4oz....biggest of the day
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A couple of thornies came out too with the biggest going 6lb
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I got another keeper of around 2½lb at the death on straight squid, all the bait I'd got left!
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It was a thoroughly enjoyable day out, the craic and banter was top notch even though (or probably because) the fishing was hard going and a bit slow at times. Around 40 codling came aboard with only a dozen or so keepers but we all caught and dropped a fair few fish too.
I have to say though the skipper Kev McKie was superb, he never stopped working and did everything in his powers to put us on the fish. I was particularly impressed with the way he coached the less experienced anglers on the boat, nothing was too much trouble for him. He was constantly offering advice, sorting out tangles, preparing bait and even casting in when asked. He kept us topped up with hot brews throughout the day and the curry was superb. You could tell he is an angler himself, he knows his stuff and is as keen as mustard, I'll certainly use him again and I'd recommend him to anyone, top skipper...... - See more at: http://www.anglingaddicts.co.uk/forum/brigand-charters-mersey-24th-feb-t11198.html#sthash.LAYYAhhx.dpuf
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01/2014
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jan 2014 by Kevin McKie
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Species caught: Cod, Dab, Thornback Ray, Whiting.
January has been the best month so far for winter Cod fishing on the Mersey. We have seen some very good catches of Cod, big Whiting, Dabs, and the odd Thornback Ray. We only had one bad day in January that was down to the weather conditions on the day and not being able to present the baits correctly on the seabed. With the Cod being late arrivals this season, we expect February to continue the current trend of good numbers and decent sized fish.
Notable Charters:
January 8th saw the biggest Cod landed on Brigand so far this season; a nice fish of 12lb 2oz. On that day we also had another 10 Cod from 2lb 8oz to 4lb 8oz, along with plenty of whiting and dabs.
January 24th was a good day to be on the Mersey. Eight anglers on-board who managed to land a total of 23 Cod from 2lb 8oz to 5lb 8oz, along with the ever present whiting and dabs.
On January 25th the good sport continued from the previous day, landing a total of 14 Cod from 3lb to 4lb 8oz; and the lads were kept busy with small codling, whiting and dabs.
The Fish of the Month goes to Mark Sweeney for his 12lb 2oz Cod, caught on January 8th. Mark wins a free individual charter courtesy of Brigand Charters. Congratulations, Mark! View Boats Page
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11/01/2014
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
11 Jan 2014 by dominic wilson
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uptiding again this Saturday with 8 lads from Selby.only a small tide at 4.4m and we needed to find some tide which we did down at Robin Hoods Bay.
a day of finicky bites,fish on til half way up and then "disappearing" but we managed to land 16 cod (biggest 10lb),a solo whiting and a solo "doggie".
no one bait excelled but squid was the backbone of all combinations View Boats Page
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04/01/2014
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
4 Jan 2014 by dominic wilson
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went uptiding again at the weekend(4/1/13)....didn't go afloat on my vessel but on "Tina Dawn" for a bit of a "busmans away-day"!
the water was coloured and a massive tide running(6.0m).I and the skipper managed 6 cod a piece with another 4 being landed on the boat plus half a dozen jumbo whiting(+2.5lb),
squid and lug plus crab cart was the order of the day with most fish being hooked on the top of the pennel.
fish size was smaller than the marks at Robin Hoods Bay but all went away happy.
average fish size was 2-3lb with the largest pushing 6lb and a couple of undersize "chuck-backs
twas a day of finicky bites View Boats Page
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29/12/2013
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
29 Dec 2013 by dominic wilson
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had my experienced(and very keen!) Latvian fishers out this sunday(29/12) on a beautiful December day when wind and tide aligned plus colour in the water to give cracking uptiding conditions.
took a gamble and went to fish Robin Hoods bay area and it paid off!
squid,worm and crab cart combinations took all the fish...all bar 2 being hooked on the top pennel (3/0 circle)
final tally was:
1x13.5lb
1x12.5lb
1x10lb
2x9lb
5x8lb
9x1.5lb
10x 4-6lb
best bag was 6 cod for 36.5lb(inc 13.5lb fish)
give a pound or two it is nearly 10st of cod across 29 fish...not a bad stamp View Boats Page
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28/12/2013
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
28 Dec 2013 by dominic wilson
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took the Scunthorpe boys out on Saturday(at the 3rd time of asking due to poor weather) for a 5hr uptiding/downtiding trip under hawsker lighthouse in about 45ft of water.
it was a slow start and a poor end .but the bit in the middle produced 12 codling......1 at 9.5lb,4 at 1.5lb and the rest were in the 4-6lb bracket.
all fish were hooked on the top of the pennel on a 3/0 circle and the bait of choice was squid and black lug wrap. View Boats Page
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12/2013
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Dec 2013 by Kevin McKie
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We have come to the end of Brigand’s first year and what a successful year it has been!
Brigand Charters began on the 1st of June 2013 and has seen a total of 27 different species of fish, all caught around Liverpool Bay and the River Mersey. This included Tope to 40lb, Thornback Rays to 15lb, Huss to 13lb, Pollock to over 7lb, and Cod to over 8lb.
We appreciate everyone's support during 2013 and are currently in the process of introducing a monthly competition and boat records. This will see us give away a free Charter to the winners, and hope to have these running from the beginning of 2014.
Brigand Charters wishes you a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2014!!
December 2013
Species caught: Cod, Dab, Pouting, Rockling (Five-Bearded), Whiting.
December saw quite a few cancellations due to the persistence of southerly and south-easterly gales. On the days we did get out, the fishing was a lot better than it was in November. There were quite a few Cod about, averaging around 3lb 8oz – though we did get them up to 8lb 4oz. There was also plenty of large Whiting over 1lb, Dabs and the odd Pouting. If this trend continues, January should be the prime month with the Cod being roughly six weeks behind last year. Hopefully, we should start to see double figure Cod in the coming month.
Notable Charter:
On December 10th we had Simon Everett aboard Brigand from Total Sea Fishing magazine doing an article on Mersey Cod fishing. Although we had a good day, we can’t say too much about it as the article will be featured in the February edition of the magazine.
Towards the end of the month, December 29th, we had a group of individuals on board and it was Cod time straight from the off. In total we landed 10 Cod, weighing between 2lb 8oz and 4lb 6oz, along with plenty of little Codling, big Whiting, Dabs and the odd Pouting. The star of the day was young Daniel Parker (age 11) who caught his first Cod at 4lb 6oz and was also the biggest of the day! He was fishing with his dad Gavin and had such a good day that they both booked again for January. View Boats Page
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22/12/2013
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
22 Dec 2013 by dominic wilson
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managed another uptiding trip,again the predicted forecast was wrong and the wind gusted more than anticipated along with hail and sleet but we managed to lay wind with tide for the majority of the 8hr trip.
in the poor conditions we still managed worthy catch........1 cod @ 11.5lb / 3 cod @ 8lb / 6 cod @ 7lb and another 18 at 2-4lb.
I fished myself and had 9 cod for 19kg and lost a further 6 on the way up. only 2 of the cod were "gut hooked" and all others were hooked on the top hook of the pennel rig.....again the preffered top hook being 3/0 circle.
All baits fished but quality crab cart was definitely required as my catch rate was double anyone else and had I landed the other 6 I would have had a 4:1 ratio in favour against the next highest catching customer View Boats Page
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12/2013
Fishing Report by reg lewis
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Dec 2013 by reg lewis
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with our final trip of the year coming up one can only thank our skipper Kevin MacKie for some really good sport this year for our club members. Finding the fish doesn't seem to be a problem with good thornbacks, bullhuss and smoothounds prominent in our catches since july. New members and visitors alike are impressed with both the boat and Kevin's non stop activities making for a pleasant fishing trip while the old hands have never had it so good with such good baits to fish with. Looking forward to next years trips. Reg Lewis, sec Bold Sac.
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11/2013
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Nov 2013 by Kevin McKie
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November 2013
Species caught: Cod, Dab, Dogfish, Pouting, Thornback Ray, Whiting.
November has not been as good as previous years - it has been far too mild. There have been lots of 1lb+ whiting in the river and if you fish for them you can catch them all day long in certain places, along with dabs and the odd thornback ray. As far as the cod fishing goes it's still a bit patchy and there are loads of tiny codling in the river from 5oz to 10oz - these little fellas still manage to steal your cod bait on 5/0 hooks along with the whiting and dabs so it makes it harder to catch the better fish. But all these little codling is a good sign for the future stocks.
Notable Charter:
On 23rd November the lads just wanted to fish for cod all day as the conditions where perfect. We caught 17 codling, the best being 4lb 6oz, and we had 7 keepers - the rest where returned alive. We also lost 5 good fish as well, just didn't get a good hook hold. Better luck next time. View Boats Page
