Back from bonny Scotland

[gullyworm]

Well i m finally back from my three weeks of work and fishing in the west of scotland and what a cracking three weeks it was.
I was diving during the week so mainly got out fishing at the weekends giving up the pub with my work mates to get out and explore the beutifull loch Etive and maybe catch a few fish.
I had one memorable dive when i looked up to see a huge shoal of pollock passing only feet above my head,later in the same dive i came accross some resting dogfish but left them to doze away the day.
As ive already posted i fished the quarry mark early on with mixed results,i never blenked but the fishing was never great with the odd spurdog,wting,ray,coddling and dogfish making the ocasional apearance but never of any great size.
A few nights later and i decided to give flat rock a go ,this is a very deep mark about a half hours walk north of the quarry.I got there about 3 in the afternoon and as usual bights were hard to come by in the light but as soon as the sun started to sink the fish came on the feed.
Rigs for the sess were pulley pennal rigs with 70lb snoods with either luminous beads or starlights attached,these definatly make a difference in the deep black water.
As the name sugests this is a rock mark,i wouldnt fish it alone at night as the water at your feet is about 150ft and the rocks you fish off are very slippery,on casting out your spool runs for ages before your rig finnally makes bottom,the water 100yrds out must be 2-300ft deep.
First fish to show were the ever present whiting but of a good size with the biggest one and a half pound,i then had a cod of about 2lb which i kept as the swim bladder was blown.
When it got fully dark the spurdogs really came on the feed but all very small,after about 3 hrs i gave up as the place was infested with spur pups and theres only so many times you can wind up from 250ft
I fished the quarry the next night with some geordie lads i met,we didnt get much just the odd coddling and dogs and a couple of small rays,i have to admit the thought of the pub got the better of me and i gave in to alchohol
The next day i went for a drive to the north east side of the loch and after following forestry trails for a while i got out and lugged my gear with the help of ropes down the side if the mountain to the loch.It looked a good spot and the old chart i had showed 30-40 fathoms close to the shore (200ft ish)
It was a lovely still sunny day and when my first two casts got snagged up and lost i feared the worst but my next cast produced a good bight,the tip dipped and then a minute later bent over and kept going,i wound into it and being aware of the snags really bullied the fish.It was more like boat fishing with my line going straight into the water and my rod bent right over,after about 2-3 mins a lovely thornback ray came into sight and i scrambled down the rocks to lift it out.I was sure it was a double but on weighing it it was 8 and a half pounds.Still i was well chuffed and on looking up from returning it saw my other rod was pulling over the same,i wound into another good fish but after a while became snagged up and lost the lot.
I had 6 casts at this mark landing one good fish ,losing another and losing 4 sets of gear.
I fished a few more times from the quarry after this with the usual results,if your ever in the Etive area, i d really recomend getting out and having a walk to find marks ,its a beutifull area and you may be surprised by what you catch,and the weather was a lot warmer then the south coast.
Ive got lots of pics and will post them if i ever find my brain.
PS Dont take to much gear,i felt like a mountainear on occasions and was deffinatly in need of some oxygen

[wellyfish]

well done gulley , nice read and sounds like a great couple of weeks ,especially spending it around loch etive (lucky b*&*&*&*) im going up oban way soon but not sure i will get any fishing done though ..well done with the different species though mate ...did you see any haggis

[baitmaster]

nice one gully worm i enjoyed that alot and it seems you enjoyed your stay as well
hope you get your brain in gear and post them pics

tightlines
baitmaster

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Great read mate and sounds a wonderful place to fish

I love fishing in scotland

[pingu]

excellant reoport gully
well done on shore boat fishing(less chance of sea sickness i guess)

[gullyworm]

Originally Posted by pinguprogress

excellant reoport gully
well done on shore boat fishing(less chance of sea sickness i guess)

LOL
I was nearly bloody sick when i got back to the road,
Top tip dont go mountainearing with all your fishing gear,its hard word and i thought i was fit

[fishingbonsai]

Great read Gully looking forward to the pics.

[Norfolkboy]

Well done John, sounds like you had a fun time

[BaggieRich]

Nice one Gully. Really looking forward to those pics.



Rich.