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  • 07/2021 Fishing Report by Kevin McKie on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)

    Jul 2021 by Kevin McKie

    Report on-board Size Matters

    With fishing holidays abroad being a thing of the past due to the NEW NORMAL of covid restrictions and horse plop being forced on the general public from our so called government.

    So we decided to start to offer 10 day live aboard charters, the purpose of these live aboard charters is to showcase the fishing we have available around the British isles and to give our anglers the opportunity to experience being a boat pikey.

    The plan on each trip is to fish for anything and everything while trying to stay one step ahead of the weather all the time.

    When the weather is good we go the distance and when the weather is not so good we fish inshore if possible or take the day off go the pub and talk about catching moby dicks little brother.

    Our first team of four anglers on the Size Matters boat pikey challenge was team SHADY PINES consisting of Rob, Brain, Tommy and Roy, these lads had a combined age of 528 but they had the stamina of 40 year olds.

    We decided to use Milford Haven as our base because the weather forecast was looking good around that area for the first few days.

    Day 1 ,
    On the way down to Milford Haven we fished for bait but it was terrible we only caught about 35 Mackerel, every where we stopped the fishing was very poor.

    Day 2,
    We went sharking the lads managed 5 Porgies to 227lb and 7 Blues, none of the lads had caught Porgies before and really enjoyed the fight.

    Day 3,
    The lads wanted to try some reef fishing, it was very poor only managing 30+ Pollack, Cod, Mackerel, Whiting, Pout, Poor Cod and Launce.

    Day 4,
    Weather was terrible so we fished in the Haven for a few hours to try and catch Gilt Head Bream but the conditions where very hard and the lads only managed to catch Ballan Wrasse and Goby’s back in the Marina.

    Day 5,6,7
    We got the weather window we had been waiting for to head to Jurassic park to feed our pet Six Gills Sharks.
    Lucky enough we managed to buy 50kg of Mackerel from a fish merchant this with the fish we caught reefing was just enough for our session.
    We had to steam a very long way from Milford Haven thank god we have a 480 mile range in the fuel tanks.
    Only 35 minutes after putting the anchor down we hooked into our first Six Gill Shark, the lads managed to catch 14 Six Gill Sharks in 21 hours with the biggest estimated at 450lb+.
    The biggest we measured on the boat was 414lb and when it was in the water it looked 350lb+, the girth of these sharks is massive and that’s what gives them the weight.
    It was good to catch a few small ones around 25lb - 35lb to show Jurassic park has a very healthy population of Six Gill Sharks.
    The average size of the Six Gills is very good 450lb+, 440lb+, 414lb, 320lb, 300lb, 295lb, 280lb, 273lb, 250lb, 200lb, 190lb, 130lb, 35lb, 25lb,
    The lads also caught Conger, Haddock, Megrim, Blue Whiting, Pout, Poor Cod, Gray Gurnard, Whiting and Ling in between fishing for Six Gills.

    Day 8,
    The lads wanted to start catching fish to take so we hit the wrecks on the way back to Pwllheli, we boated over 100 Pollack to 9lb and a few Coalfish to 4lb, it was a busy day for the lads.

    Day 9, 10,
    We used our home port of Pwllheli as our base because the lads wanted to sample the excellent inshore fishing on offer, they caught Lots of Bream, Tope, Huss, Bass, Turbot, Cod, Mackerel, Pollack, Weaver and Dogfish.

    It had been over two years since we visited Jurassic Park, just after that trip a number of fishing tackle suppliers sent us some samples to use on the Six Gill Sharks but sadly due to covid restrictions we never managed to use the samples until this latest trip.

    Peter at Leadertec give us 900lb wire, crimps, Bristo hooks 10/0 and 800lb big game ball bearing swivels.

    Stuart at British Big Game Fishing give us 900lb wire hook lengths with 13/0 VMC hooks and his own style of circle hook for Thresher sharks that have worked for Porgies and Blues so far.

    Mark at Cox & Rawl give us AFW wire in 600lb crimps, Meat hook extras size 20/0 and all sorts of other bits.

    We caught Six Gill Sharks on all of these components so if you are looking to head out in search of a Six Gill Shark then get in contact with these guys and they can all supply you with everything you need, massive thanks to these guys for the samples.

    As always we only use the best fishing rods and reels available from our sponsors Shimano UK, here is a list of tackle used on this trip and available on all charters free of charge.

    Reels,
    Talica 50 & 25 2 speeds,
    Tiagra 30 2 speed,
    Speedmaster 16 & 12 2 speeds,
    Torium 20s & 16s,
    Nasci C5000,
    Exage 5000,

    Rods,
    Tyrnos 80lb class,
    Speedmaster Dendou Maru 1000 & 4000,
    Technium Slims 20/30,
    Vengeance Bass 100g,

    Please note all sharks boated where kept in excellent condition as you can see by the photos, shark welfare is paramount we use a specialist lifting sling supplied by Sea World in the USA to make sure the sharks are not under any stress while giving the anglers the photo they really want.

    Thanks
    Kevin Mckie
    Size Matters (Pwllheli)
    07999628511

    #Shimano
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