Latest Fishing Reports: Highlands and Islands
-
06/2020
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jun 2020 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Congratulations to Phil Riley who won our last free prize draw on May 30th with national lottery bonus ball number 45.
Sadly the weather has closed in and looks bad until next week.
We have been enjoying some excellent fishing from Liverpool, the best off shore wrecking trip was with Layland & District Sea Angling Club.
Normally the club just fish on the Mersey with us during the winter but they decided to take advantage of us being in Liverpool during the summer.
They booked a wrecking trip and was not disappointed, after a quick tutorial of how we like to fish wrecks they had none stop action and landed 98 Pollack, 35 Coalfish, 17 Cod and 2 Ling, most fish where 3lb to 5lb with the biggest just over 8lb, perfect eating size fish.
The inshore Bass fishing is getting very good we had a group of carp anglers onboard they had never caught a Bass before they caught 29 to 5lb 8oz all on light spinning rods.
We have now teamed up with an accommodation company in Liverpool called Serviced Living, we can now offer fully furnished apartments to rent close to Liverpool Marina if you need accommodation when fishing with us in Liverpool.
If you fancy joining us from Liverpool here are some available dates.
JUNE
Thursday 11th offshore Tope/Huss/Ray
4 places available £65 pp 5am sailing.
Friday 26th inshore Bass £55 pp 4 places available 5am sailing.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters Liverpool
07999628511
#Mckiesfishingcharters
#Shimano
#Liverpool
#Servicedliving
View Boats Page
-
21/02/2020
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
21 Feb 2020 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
The winter season has now come to an end for Size Matters on the mighty Mersey.
It was a much better winter season then the two previous seasons that’s for sure.
Our best day on the Cod was 56 keepers, this was on February 18th and we averaged 21 Cod per trip over the season.
Early in the season there was lots of Rays about up to 40+ per trip taking the Cod baits, this was also when we had our bigger Cod this season, normally we catch the bigger Cod from mid December to March.
There was a lack of Cod from 8lb to 10lb this season with our best only being 9lb 1oz, but the amount of Cod from 2lb to 4lb made up for it compared to the previous two winter seasons.
The off shore wrecking was about as good as it gets, our best day was 120 Pollack and we averaged 59 Pollack per trip when we could get out.
Most of the Pollack where 4lb to 8lb and the biggest went 12lb 8oz, normally you can fish all year on the wrecks from Liverpool and only see the odd double figure Pollack but this year they where in good numbers.
The most surprising thing this winter season was when we went to the off shore wrecks in January catching plenty of Pollack to double figures and they where full of roe.
This was the first time I have ever seen Pollack on the wrecks in the winter and with roe in, it just shows how rising sea temperature is changing fish migration around the UK.
We will be returning to Liverpool around mid October, if you would like to fish onboard
Size Matters next winter season then you need to start booking now especially if you want weekend dates, wrecking dates or good sailing times.
Now it’s time for us to head north of the wall (Scotland) where we are loved by the many and feared by the few ha ha.
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Liverpool)
07999628511
#Liverpool
#Shimano
#Mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
-
08/02/2020
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
8 Feb 2020 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
With the weather forecast giving 30 kts SE and getting much worse every day we had no choice but to cut our last set of tides short and get the boat out the water for the yearly spruce up.
We only had two days to get it done before the rain arrived and gale force winds.
The boys got stuck in, scratch coated the old anti foul, new coat of anti foul,
polished the prop, polish all the gel coat,
applied two coats of wax and change all the anodes.
Massive thanks to everyone who helped,
the 19 year old Guimond 45 (Size Matters) looks as good as new, I am sure this boat gets bigger every time it comes out the water!
The fishing on the Mersey is pretty steady and is showing no sign of slowing down, at this rate the cod will be here till spring in good numbers.
Most days catching 20 to 30+ cod per trip to 8lb 10oz but most are 2lb to 4lb,
Rays are starting to show more and more each set of tides to 10lb along with Whiting, Flounder and Dabs.
We start out last set of tides on the Mersey for this winter season on February 14th, this is the only day we have 7 places available 4.30am sailing back in at 1.30pm, £45 pp includes all fishing tackle and hot drinks.
Hopefully we will get chance to go to the offshore marks before we finish in Liverpool,
it will be very interesting to see if the fishing is still as good as it was a few weeks ago.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Liverpool).
07999628511.
mckiesfishingcharters@hotmail.com
#Shimano
#Liverpool
#Mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
-
25/01/2020
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
25 Jan 2020 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
The fishing from Liverpool onboard Size Matters has been very surprising to say the least for this time of year.
One group wanted to give the off shore marks ago, I told them the fishing can be very poor out there at this time of year.
The lads where happy to gamble because we had such a good forecast.
The lads had none stop action for 3 hours catching 60 Pollack to 12lb 8oz and 3 Cod to 3lb on the drift.
Then we decided to put the anchor down but the fishing was very poor with just a few whiting and dogfish being caught.
On the way in we filleted all the fish as we always do and the Pollock where full of roe, this is the first time in 25 years I have seen Pollack in the Irish Sea with roe in side them, surely this could mean we now have a winter Pollack fishery in the Irish Sea.
Anyone who is booked onboard Size Matters from now till the end of February will be offered the opportunity to go offshore instead of fishing the Mersey if the weather allows.
Fishing in the Mersey is getting much better, averaging 25 to 30 cod per trip, most are 2lb to 4lb but we have had a few better ones to 8lb 4oz.
Our best day in the Mersey we landed 39 Cod along with Rays, Flounder, Whiting, Dab and Rockling.
12 year old Danny was top rod fishing with his grandad for the first time on the Mersey, they landed 17 Cod between them, keeping just the ones that where deep hooked and letting the rest go.
It’s been good to see a lot of first time anglers onboard lately catching there first ever fish and enjoying the sport.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Liverpool).
07999628511.
mckiesfishingcharters@hotmail.com
#Shimano
#Liverpool
#Mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
-
11/01/2020
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
11 Jan 2020 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Our first set of tides on the Mersey in 2020 has felt more like fishing in spring than the middle of winter.
It’s been so mild and we still haven’t had a frost yet, it seems like there is no such thing as winter anymore.
On the very small neap tides we where catching lots of Rays to 11lb 8lb, this is not normal for January.
On the bigger neap tides up to small spring tides the Rays have disappeared and the Cod have come on the feed to 9lb (most cod are small just 2lb to 3lb).
There is still plenty of Whiting being caught to 1lb 8oz, Dabs and a few Flounder.
When we have fished wind against tide the fishing has been a struggle especially on the very small neap tides.
When it’s wind with the tide or across the tide the fishing is much better.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Liverpool).
07999628511.
mckiesfishingcharters@hotmail.com
#Shimano
#Liverpool
#Mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
-
22/12/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
22 Dec 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
2019 has once again been one hell of a year for Size Matters fishing from three ports around the UK.
Here is how the year unfolded onboard
Size Matters.
SCOTLAND
The Skate fishing from Scotland was truly outstanding at times, we totalled 641 Skate for a total weight of 80,617lb!!!
We averaged 9 Skate a day with the average weight of 125lb 8oz!!
At times we would have four Skate on at once, trying to get them all to the boat in over 600ft of water was challenging at times but we managed it.
442 Skate where female and 199 were male, we caught 44 over 200lb and 359 over 100lb!!
The biggest Skate was caught by Wirrel angler Mick Walsh a cracking fish of 232lb!!
Bert Willams from the Wirral caught the first ever Blue Skate in Scottish waters all 22lb of it, this is an exceptional catch in UK waters.
The most Skate we caught in one days was 37 for a total weight of 2790lb, by Garry Streeter and his lads from South Wales.
The Liverpool A Team consisting of Phil Riley, John Owan, John Mcbride and Paul Hendrick, had the most weight in one day with 20 Skate for a massive total weight of 3590lb!!
The best part about this is all the Skate are out there swimming around to be caught again in future.
We did manage to get two the wrecks a few times and some of the wrecks held massive shoals of Pollack to 9lb, we will be doing much more wrecking in Scotland in the future.
2020 is fully booked in Scotland but we do have dates available for 2021.
PLYMOUTH
When we arrived in Plymouth around mid June we done our first trip of the year to Jurassic Park, catching no less than 12 Six Gill Sharks to around 500lb, the biggest we boated measured and released was 410lb and the smallest was 145lb!!!
That was definitely a trip to tell the gran kids about in the future and a trip that we will try to beat in the next few years.
The wreck fishing on the drift was good from June to the start of August, once the algae bloom started to die and sink to the sea bed the fishing was very hard.
Wreck fishing at anchor for Conger and Ling was slow in June and July due to the lack of fresh bait available, but in August and September the fishing really picked up with up to 70+ Conger and Ling per trip.
Sadly we never caught any big Conger this year our best fish was 55lb, we did catch some monster Ling this year to 39lb 8oz a new boat record.
Shark fishing was very poor from June to July because of the massive algae bloom we had, I got told by a marine biologist it was the worst algae bloom in 10 years, just goes to show how polluted our oceans really are.
Once the algae bloom started to die and sink to the sea bed in August the shark fishing picked up a bit with our best day catching 19 Blue Sharks on a 23 hour trip and 11 Blue Sharks on a 12 hour trip, this is still very poor compared to previous years.
In July we had big plans to go well off the charts but sadly the weather put a stop to that so plan B was to try for Thresher Sharks.
We managed to pull it out the bag catching three Thresher Sharks to 150lb, pulled the hook on two more and missed one!!
This was the 7th species over 100lb caught onboard Size Matters in UK waters.
It was great to do a trip like this for the first time and learn so much in just a short space of time.
It was definitely a very strange season in Plymouth not like any we have had in the last four years, the algae bloom didn’t help things either.
We only seen a few Sunfish this year, in the pasted I have seen 17 in just one day.
There was no Atlantic Bonito this year and last year you could catch them daily in September and October.
We only caught one John Dory this year and last year we caught 11.
This was the first time the wrecking fishing on the drift was over in August normally you can still chip away catching Pollack, Cod and Ling right through the year.
From the start of August the weather got more unsettled as the season went on, we had so many good trips booked in but the weather put a stop to them.
Even sailing to Liverpool we normally do some fishing on the way but the weather window was too small so we had to do the 360 miles none stop.
2020 is fully booked from Plymouth and we only have a few individual places available in 2021.
LIVERPOOL
We arrived in Liverpool around mid October, we decided to target the off shore wrecks when the weather allowed and fish the Mersey as a back up.
The wrecking was fantastic catching plenty of Pollack to 11lb 8oz, most where 4lb to 7lb.
The Mersey in October to the end of November was full of Rays to 10lb, Whiting to 1lb 8oz and upto 20 Cod per trip to 9lb.
As we went into December most of the Rays and Whiting moved off shore, this increased the Cod catches up to 39 per trip.
We have available dates in 2020 for the Mersey and Wrecking.
Once again we have some very big plans for 2020, we just need the weather on our side and a bit of luck.
We would to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors Shimano UK, everyone who fished with us and helped us out during 2019, we appreciate the continued support.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters
07999628511.
mckiesfishingcharters@hotmail.com
#Scotland
#Plymouth
#Liverpool
#Shimano
#Mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
-
12/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Dec 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
We are now at the halfway point of our winter season in Liverpool.
Over the last week we managed to get our first 21 hour wrecking trip from Liverpool on.
The plan was to steam during darkness and arrive at the first wreck at day break, using lures to target Pollack, Cod and Ling.
The first wreck was void of fish but after a quick move we found some nice Pollack to 7lb and Coalfish to 4lb.
Then we had another move and found a massive shoal of Pollack to 7lb, the lads caught 110 Pollack most where 4lb to 5lb and 5 Coalfish to 4lb.
Once the lads had enough Pollack we decided to get the anchor down, straight away the lads had 4 Huss to 12lb, 1 Tope 25lb and plenty of doggies.
Then as the tide start to ebb the wind increased and conditions where difficult to say the least with wind against tide.
So we decided to drift the wrecks on the way home in darkness with bait for Ling, but sadly the fish just did not want to know.
Fishing in the Mersey has been good on most days averaging 20+ Cod a trip.
On our best day we managed 39 Cod to 6lb 12oz but most where only 2lb to 3lb.
On another day four anglers chartered the boat and they managed to catch 32 Cod all 2lb to 3.5lb.
The bigger tides are definitely producing the better catches of Cod on the Mersey this winter so far.
It is so important to use plenty of top quality bait when fishing the Mersey to attract the fish to the boat.
Expect to use 5 packs of lug and a box of Squid per person minimum, some regulars who fish with me use double that every trip.
The highlight of the week was when one guy turned up using rib-eye stake for bait, sadly he never caught anything on it but it did entertain us for the day ha ha.
If you would like to join us, here is a full list of available dates from Liverpool this winter season.
Please note top quality Shimano rod and reel hire is included in the price of all charters.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Liverpool).
07999628511.
mckiesfishingcharters@hotmail.com
#Shimano
#Liverpool
#Mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
-
11/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Nov 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Over the weekend we have managed to get out to the off shore wrecks both days from Liverpool.
The lads fished in some very difficult conditions and caught 108 Pollack to 11lb 8oz, with most fish 4lb to 6lb.
If we get enough interested we may do a
21 hour wrecking trip on Monday December 16th sailing at 3am back in at midnight.
The plan would be fish all daylight hours drifting with lures targeting Pollack, Cod and Ling, then in the dark we will anchor using fish baits for Conger, Ling and Spurdog.
Cost would be £160 10 anglers max, if you are interested contact us.
Fishing in the Mersey will start to come into its own from December to the end of February for Cod, Whiting and Dabs.
Personally my favourite time is mid December to mid February for bigger Cod. View Boats Page
-
11/11/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
11 Nov 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Size Matters has well and truly kick started the winter season from Liverpool.
Off shore wrecking has been excellent catching up to 84 Pollack per trip to 10lb 8oz along with a few Cod, Spurdog, Balllan Wrasse, Gurnard, Whiting, Mackerel and Ling.
The fishing has been that good we have put two more wrecking trips on in November to try and make the most of the good fishing.
The inshore fishing in the Mersey has been good on most days, our best day catching 30+ Rays, 17 Cod and loads of Whiting, but we did have two days where we struggled with SE winds and flood water in the river catching just half a dozen Cod and a few dozen whiting.
The early signs are good for this winter season on the Mersey our best Cod so far is 9lb 1oz with a few 8lb and 7lb fish showing, most cod are 3lb to 4lb.
As soon as most of the Rays leave the Mersey around the first week in December the Cod fishing will be in full swing.
We also had a first onboard Size Matters,
a Cod about 5lb spat out a Lampray in perfect condition this just shows how clean the Mersey is now days.
Please note top quality Shimano rod and reel hire is included on all charters.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie View Boats Page
-
10/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Oct 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
After a steady 28 hour steam from Plymouth
Size Matters has now arrived at our third port of the year and it’s our home port of Liverpool.
We have arrived a few weeks earlier than planned due to the unsettled weather on the south coast.
So this means we have a few extra dates available in October, the plan is to get to the wrecks to target Pollack, Cod and Ling, if the weather allows, if not then we will be in the Mersey targeting Cod, Rays, Whiting and Dabs.
Size Matters has a fully heated cabin that can seat up to 8 anglers, this is ideal for when anglers want to warm up on them cold frosty winter days and most of all the kettle is always on.
Size Matters also has a massive open deck space that can easily accommodate 12 anglers with plenty of room to walk around, at times we have even had 10 to 12 camping chairs on the deck at once, these are perfect for fishing the Mersey in comfort during the winter months.
Wrecking charters from Liverpool are 11 to 12 hours and Mersey trips are 9 to 10 hours depending on the lock times.
All tackle is included in the price, any tackle losses must be paid for, we have thousands of packets of top quality frozen XXL black lug and Squid you can purchase onboard. View Boats Page
