please identify fish if you can

[jimbo123]

Fishing a Loch on the Scottish west coast, river fed but tidal on spring tides I caught two fish while spinning from a boat with a silver mepp. These two fish were the hardest fighting fish I have ever caught. Both took over twenty minutes to boat on twelve pound tackle. I have caught salmon in excess of twenty five pounds on the same tackle with less difficulty. Now the strange bit. The description. I have searched for forty years to identify them and in fact I found this forum browsing the net still looking. The shape was identical to a mackeral including the swallow tail from a narrow neck, the colour was solid silver with a distinctive stripe frim the top of the gills along the sides and curling down about the anus similar to a cod. They both were about one pound in weight which makes the fight all that more spectacular.

Unfortunately at the time iI left them for a couple of friends for identification. By the time I got back they had eaten them. Can anyone answer the mistery? What did I catch? Jim

[monkey nuts]

hi jim and welcome
how about these two
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/p...waiteshad.html
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/p...emackerel.html
or just a have a look though this site, http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/index.html

[jimbo123]

Good try but at the time 1966 I was working on the salmon netting at the head of Loch Fyne, Mackeral was a major pest. So plentiful we used to catch them single hook at over 100 per hour. It was not mackeral. The line was very distinctive so the shad is close but not correct. head was also wrong. I always wondered if it was a hibred due to the very low salinity, Jim

[fishypaul]

hi jimbo , welcome to the forum

i wonder , the fight the fish gave you and the description you gave made me think of a tuna , could it be possible ??

[geejayy]

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aquarium/p...emackerel.html

maybee?------------------ahh bin suggested b4, sorry guys.

[jimbo123]

Could but how? If you have google earth find Inveraray. The road east forms a double loop the first much less than the second. On the apex of the first loop you will see the river Shira. Half a mile up the river is the Dubh Loch. On a spring tide the salt water can get in to the loch but it is very dilute. For it to contain tuna they would have to come up through the Clyde estuary to the head of Loch Fyne. Then enter a river system. It is a mystery. I tried for another day on the loch a few years back but the Argyll Estates let the salmon trout fisheries as a block lot and fly only. One thing I did wonder was if mackeral were trapped in the loch would the fresh water bleach them. The fight however was far more powerful than any mackeral. Jim

[Mik]

Hiya Jimbo and welcome.
I have friends here in Blackpool that come from the Highlands of Scotland and have travelled a lot up there. I mentioned about your fish and as soon as I told them what you had said they both said that it sounds like an Arctic Char.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...007/binary.jpg

Hope this helps.

Mick

[jimbo123]

sorry but I have caught artic char in Loch Dochart, Killin. The coour is right but the tail is wrong. I have not caught char so low down. But thanks Jim