Latest Fishing Reports: Highlands and Islands
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12/2013
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Dec 2013 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
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.
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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
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10/2013
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Oct 2013 by Kevin McKie
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Species caught: Bull Huss, Cod, Conger Eel, Dabs, Dogfish, Plaice, Rays, Whiting
Weather wise, October was not great. We only managed to get off-shore once; the rest of the charters were in-shore. The Cod only started to show in numbers during the last week of October. All of the trips in October were very similar with Rays to 8lb 12oz, Whiting to 1lb 10oz, Dabs to 1lb, Dogfish and the odd Cod up to 3lb. The Cod seem to be arriving later this year, roughly 4 to 6 weeks behind previous years - this may coincide with the Mackerel being late earlier this year.
Hopefully, November should see good numbers of Cod now that they have finally arrived. Things should only get better now as the cold weather persists.
Only a few days remain for November so book now! View Boats Page
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09/2013
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Sep 2013 by Kevin McKie
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Species caught: Ballan Wrasse, Cod, Dabs, Dogs, Flounder, Gurnard (Red, Tub & Streaky), Huss, Ling, Mackerel, Pollack, Poor Cod, Pouting, Sprat, Thornback Rays, Tope, Weaver and Whiting.
For the first week of September, Kev was away with the Bold Sea Angling Club fishing in the Shetland Isles for big Cod and Turbot, but the rest of the month saw some good catches on Brigand.
Although this time of year is ideal for wreck fishing for Pollack, the weather was not very favorable so we only managed to get to the wrecks on a few occasions. The remainder of the charters saw us mostly finishing in-shore.
If the weather permits, wreck fishing will continue during October in the hope to land the last of the autumn Pollock before they migrate for the winter.
Notable Charters:
On the 12th we had a party from Tasker’s Angling who fish with us every month. The plan was to go Tope fishing, but the Mackerel seemed scarce, so we decided to go wreck fishing instead as the weather was ideal. We had 16 Pollack from 3lb to 6lb, 4 Cod up to 4lb, and a Ling. When slack water arrived, we decided to drop anchor and spend the rest of the day bottom-fishing. This seen us catch a 29lb Tope, plenty of Bullhuss up to 10lb, Ballan Wrasse, Whiting, Dabs, Pouting, Poor Cod, Gurnard (Tub & Red), Dogfish, Mackerel and Sprat. We totaled 15 species in one day!
On the 29th we had a group of individuals on board. The weather conditions were not suited for off-shore, seeing strong south-easterly winds, so we had to fish in-shore around Burbo Bank wind farm and then in the River Mersey. We caught 4 Bullhuss up to 11lb 10oz, 8 Thornback Rays up to 8lb 5oz, Gurnard (Streaky), Mackerel and plenty of Dogfish, Whiting and Dabs.
Even though we didn’t get off-shore as much as we’d have liked to, the in-shore fishing is still very good. View Boats Page
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08/2013
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Aug 2013 by Kevin McKie
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August 2013
Species caught: Dab, Dogfish, Gurnard (Red, Tub & Gray), Huss, Mackerel, Poor Cod, Pouting, Sprat, Thornback Ray, Weaver and Whiting.
August was a slow month for Brigand due to Kev being on Holiday for the first two weeks, fishing for big Tuna in Canada. The weather also played a part, with the Mackerel being spread out in small shoals making them hard to find. Though once located, they were a decent size of 1lb to 2lb.
From August through to early October is a good time to catch big lone Tope but not many people fish for them. Lets hope the weather settles for September so we can get out for the last of the summer fishing.
Notable Charters:
On the 27th we hooked into a big fish, had it on for 5 minutes and could not stop it before it bit through 150lb mono. It would have to be a very big Tope to have done that, or it could have been a Porbeagle Shark. A similar thing happened to Kev last September, which suggests there are some very big fish out there this time of year but we won’t know what until we land one. From now on we will be using wire traces which will give us a better chance of landing one.
On the 28th, 7 members of Bold Sea Angling Club booked a charter and caught 18 Bullhuss up to 11lb and a Thornback Ray of 9lb. Also caught were Tub Gurnard, Dabs, Whiting, Mackerel and Dogfish.
All fish caught were returned to the water alive. View Boats Page
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07/2013
Fishing Report by keith gray
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jul 2013 by keith gray
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had a great day with kevin and the boys,, weather was great and so was the fishing, plenty of mackerel, dabs dogs whiting and a lot of stonking good bull huss averaging over 12lb each..good boat and skipper, lots of hot drinks and food as well,,,, would recommend this boat very highly,, cant wait to go out with kevin again,,,, 5 stars **************************************************8
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07/2013
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jul 2013 by Kevin McKie
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Species caught – Cod, Dabs, Dogs, Flounder, Gurnard (Red, Tub & Gray), Herring, Huss, Mackarel, Plaice, Pollack, Poor Cod, Pouting, Scad, Smooth-hound (Common & Starry), Thornback Rays, Tope, Weaver and Whiting.
The hot weather persisted into July; the algae was clearing up and we saw a reduction in Jelly Fish….. the Mackarel had arrived en mass!
Notable Charters:
The 1st of July brought us a surprise catch in the River Mersey, two Cod were landed, one of 5lb 8oz and the other 4lb. Although we caught Cod in June, these were found on the off-shore wrecks. Its unusual at this time of year considering the Cod don’t usually arrive in the River until around October.
On the 6th of July we had a bumper day! On the same off-shore mark as on June 13th, we caught 27 Bull-huss (up to 12lb) and 11 Rays (up to 15lb) – its good to see the big Rays returning to the bay!
Later in the month, July 21st, saw Brigand’s first Tope! The charter was booked by a group of lads from the Mondeo Center in Speke who had never fished before and what a first catch! The Tope weighed in at 40lb. The Tope have been thin on the ground lately, roughly six weeks behind schedule, and this seems to coincide with the late arrival of the Mackarel.
(NOTE: All Tope are weighed correctly by being placed in a sling which is then attached to the scales).
All fish caught were returned to the water alive. View Boats Page
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06/2013
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jun 2013 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Species Caught – Cod, Dabs, Dogs, Gurnard (Red, Tub & Gray), Herring, Huss, Mackarel, Plaice, Pollack, Poor Cod, Pouting, Scad, Smooth-hound (Common & Starry), Thornback Rays, Weaver and Whiting.
Although the water seemed abundant with Jelly Fish and algae, the Mackarel being scarce, Brigand’s first Month on the sea as a Charter Vessel still saw some good catches.
Notable Charters:
In-shore fishing for Smooth-hounds was on form. On June 4th we had 43 Smooth-hounds between six anglers, the largest tipping the scales at just over 10lb, the average being 3lb to 5lb.
On the off-shore marks, we saw plenty of Rays and Huss. June 13th saw 17 Rays (up to 10lb) and 25 Huss (up to 13lb) between nine anglers.
All fish caught were returned to the water alive. View Boats Page
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19/11/2012
Fishing Report by Moira Smith
on Spirit of Adventure (Kyle of Lochalsh, Highland)
19 Nov 2012 by Moira Smith
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November Trip for Porbeagles - none caught this time, but Spurdog, Mackeral and Pollock very plentiful.
A great 3 day trip 19th - 21st Nov. View Boats Page
