South West Scotland

South West Scotland

This location offers the best of both worlds.

Targeted skate fishing with an average of 4 to 5 skte per day or

General fishing with lots of rough shark, skates, rays, pollack etc.

A nice article about the captain and his fishing in Dutch angling magazine Zeehengelsport! And here some nice articles on Totalfishing. article 1, article 2, article 3, article 4, article 5 and article 6.

And here a nice article about our pilot trip!

The targeted skate fishing takes place in the northern part of Crinan in the spring and autumn and the general fishing takes place from May to October in Luce Bay and the Irish Sea from Portpatrick, Stranraer or Drummond.

Luce Bay is particularly rich in fish for general fishing. In case the wind blows just a little too enthusiastically you can go to the sheltered bay and in good weather it is only a short distance to fish directly on the Irish Sea. The tide difference here can be as much as 3 to 4 metres and that means current! And where there is current there are fish. And there are a lot of them here. Up to 50 species of fish are caught here.

Most sought of species that are fished are the shark species, rays and pollack. In addition, fly fishing for pollack has also risen sharply in recent years. On top of that, the beautiful and impressive nature of southwest Scotland and the warm-hearted people make the fishing trip a memorable one for sure!

So what are you waiting for? Go to the UK by boat or plane and drive to this location. ONM the left hand side of the road this is an adventure in itself. This spot has something for everyone, young or old, experienced or beginner. Everyone will find his or her desired fishery here.

You can catch a lot of different species here. More than 50 species have been caught here and the record of the boat in one day is no less than 27 different ones. From the beach or coast these are plaice, dab, sea bass, sole, mackerel, small sharks and flounder but also from the boat whiting, mackerel, pollack, cod, coalfish, ling, wrasse, bull huss, rays, tope, blue shark, catfish, spurdog, red and grey gurnard, conger and also skate. This ray is caught a lot here and reaches royal proportions. Targeted skate fishing for large specimens is mainly done in the spring and autumn from the more northerly Crinan.

Here the film of our pilot trip:

SKATE

In the spring and autumn (April and November) these giants of the sea are targeted for one month. Fishing trips start from Crinan near Lochgilphead. It is a fascinating fishery where the numbers vary per day but the average is around 4 to 5 per day! In the spring of 2014 no less than 29 skate were caught that exceeded the magical limit of 200 lbs. The average weight during that period was an insane 185 lbs! For this fishery, 80 lbs of equipment is used, which is included when renting the boat.

TOPE

For the regular fishing of shark, ray and pollack you can go from May to October with the right weather conditions. But one of the most important species that is targeted here is the rough shark. There have been weeks in which more than 150 rough sharks have been caught by boat. Early in the season they target specimens of around 10 to 15 kilos of rough shark in only 10 meters depth with light rods of 6 to 12 lbs. This is a truly spectacular fishery. But also with the float, there is targeted fishing for rough shark. In the summer months, the fishery is a little further from the coast to locate the larger specimens of around 15 to 20 kilos. The average number per day is then around 10 to 12 specimens per boat. In September and October the numbers get a bit lower but the size increases to 25 to 30 kilos. While fishing for rough shark, bull huss, smooth shark, spiny dogfish and also different species of stingray are regularly caught. This is a very welcome bycatch in which most catches are simply made with mackerel as bait.

POLLACK

Fishing for pollack takes place only a few meters from the cliffs, so you can fish here (almost) always sheltered and practically no days fall out. A typical day starts with catching mackerel in order to have enough bait on board. Then we switch to the shrimp paternoster to catch fresh sand eel. This is used as live bait for the pollak. The choice is now yours to go fishing for pollack with a float or by free-lining. An average day on the boat brings forth about 100 + pollack so it continues to work with average specimens between 2.5 and 5 kilos and peaks to 8 to 9 kilos. these fish give you a fantastic fight and are for nothing inferior to fellow pollack. The joy is further increased by using a bass rod that provides even more action. Saithe, conger and wrasse are also caught at the same locations. Of course the conger is fished with a heavier set up where at 20-30 lbs is advisable.

SALT WATER FLY FISHING

This fishery has developed strongly in recent years. Usually it is the pollack that reports on the offered streamers, but also saithe, mackerel, wrasse and even rough shark have been caught on the fly. The fishery is spectacular and offers many possibilities. The number of fish is around 30 to 40 per person, which certainly means that larger specimens cannot be kept. A 9-10 rod with a medium sinking line is recommended. For this specific fishery there is a maximum of 2 to 3 anglers on 1 boat.

Practically all fishing is based on catch & release!