Latest Fishing Reports: Highlands and Islands
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07/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jul 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
[This report was written when Size Matters was operating from Plymouth]
That’s another week in Costa Del Plymouth done and dusted for Size Matters.
We have been smashing a few PB’s for our anglers catching quality summer Ling to 21lb, Pollack to 16lb, Cod to 10lb 8oz and Whiting to 3lb.
The Conger fishing has picked up but we have not caught anything over 35lb yet, that will all change when we start anchoring the off shore marks in the coming weeks.
The Shark fishing has been very tough with our best day being just 3 Blues to 60lb, we even blanked on one shark trip, it’s been 3 years since we last done that.
Sefton Sea Anglers are looking for 3 anglers to join them on Sunday July 28th fishing for Conger and Ling, if you would like to join them give me a call.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Plymouth)
07999628511
#Shimano
#Mckiesfishingcharters
#Plymouth
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07/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jul 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
[This report was written when Size Matters was operating from Plymouth]
After our second Guernsey trip just over a week ago we have been flat out with charters from Plymouth.
The fishing has been very mixed with the best fishing being inshore due to the massive algae bloom off shore.
This has made the shark fishing very difficult to say the least, we had our first 23 hour sharking trip of the year and steamed out to a mark that has been very good in the pasted.
As we arrived at first light the water visibility was terrible 2ft to 3ft at best, so we advised the lads to head closer to shore to find clear water.
After a few more hours steaming we found clear water and only managed 5 Blues to 60lb.
On the inshore marks when drifting with lures and live baits we have been catching 40 to 70 pollack per trip most are 4lb to 8lb with a few a few to just over 13lb.
We have also been catching Ling to 14lb, odd Coalfish to 10lb and plenty of decent Whiting over 2lb with the odd one pushing 4lb.
The Conger fishing has been very slow with only 20 to 30 eels to 25lb being caught in the first few hours then it goes dead and the boat hasn’t moved position at all, weather this has something to do with the algae bloom is anyone’s guess.
We have been getting lots of inquiries for whole boat charters and individual places, we are fully booked for the rest of this year from Plymouth.
2020 from Plymouth we have no whole boat dates available and only a few Individual places available.
We have now started taking bookings for 2021 so if you want a whole boat booking then you need to book now for 2021.
INDIVIDUALS PLYMOUTH 2020.
APRIL
Saturday 4th 12 hour wrecking trip
3 places available.
Sunday 5th 12 hour wrecking trip
8 places available.
Saturday 11th 12 hour wrecking trip
3 places available.
Sunday 12th 12 hour wrecking trip
4 places available.
MAY
Friday 22nd 12 hour wrecking trip
6 places available.
Wednesday 27th 23 hour wrecking trip
8 places available.
AUGUST
Thursday 6th 12 hour wrecking trip
1 places available.
Friday 7th 12 hour wrecking trip
2 places available.
SEPTEMBER
Sunday 20th 12 hour wrecking trip
4 places available.
Monday 21st 12 hour wrecking trip
5 places available.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters Plymouth.
07999628511
#Shimano
#Mckiesfishingcharters
#Plymouth View Boats Page
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06/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jun 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
[This report was written when Size Matters was operating from Plymouth]
We are just steaming back to Plymouth after our second Guernsey trip of the year.
Heartcliffe Sea Anglers had the annual Guernsey trip booked with us.
On the way over I give the lads the option to fish the banks, but with only small Turbot and Brill being caught the previous week they decided to stick to the wrecks.
The lads only managed three days on the wrecks due to the very strong eastly winds.
They caught some cracking Ling, Cod, Pollack and Coalfish.
As always there was a few surprises Andy Cottle caught a 2lb plus Cuckoo Wrasse and when Craig Dumbleton caught the first double figure Cod of the trip it spat out a live Yarrells Blenny.
The lads really enjoyed the trip and went home with plenty of prime fish for the table.
One thing we have noticed this year is the amount of Gurnards on the wrecks some days we are seeing 20 to 30 a day, they are becoming like Pouting only they taste much better.
The fishing from Plymouth has been very patchy on the wrecks, it’s been a case of when you fish some fish stay on them.
We have also done our first Blue Shark trip of the year, the biggest was just over 60lb but in the coming weeks the big ones will turn up and if it’s anything like last year we are in for some screaming reels.
On a sad note when steaming back to Plymouth we came across a very large trawl net just floating on the surface, it weighed a tonne and was over 40ft long.
Me and the lads remove the net from the sea, it’s sad that boats are dumping nets like this at sea, it’s not only a hazard to wildlife it’s also a shipping hazard, the last thing any skipper needs is a net wrapped around the propeller.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Plymouth)
07999628511
#Shimano
#Mckiesfishingcharters
#Plymouth View Boats Page
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06/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jun 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
[This report was written when Size Matters was operating from Plymouth]
After a string of cancellations due to poor weather in Plymouth we managed to get our first Guernsey trip of the year on.
On the the way across the lads caught 70+ Pollack to 15lb, Ling to 10lb, Cod to 6lb and a single Coalfish.
Top rod on the way over was my old mate John Moore 76 from Liverpool, he caught a fish every drift and the biggest of the day.
The best part is he had not been fishing for over a year after having a sever stroke, but he has now made a full recovery and will be out with us a lot more from now on.
During our time in Guernsey we fished five different banks for Turbot and Brill, but sadly the fishing was very poor with just the odd small Turbot, Brill, Undulated Ray,
Red Gurnard and dreaded Dogfish to show for our efforts.
We did try for Bream for a few hours on one of the days catching them up to 2lb along with Tub Gurnard, Mackerel, Scad, Lance, Whiting, Pout, Poor Cod and Weaver,
On the way home the plan was to hit the same marks as on the way over but we knew the weather was closing in so we set off at 5.30am.
The fishing on the way home was ok at first catching Pollack to 13lb, but as the flood tide decreased and the SW wind increased the fishing went off, that’s Mother Nature for you!!
The weather is looking good for the next week so we will be out there every day doing our best for our anglers as alway.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Plymouth)
07999628511
#Shimano
#Mckiesfishingcharters
#Plymouth View Boats Page
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06/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jun 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
[This report was written when Size Matters was operating from Plymouth]
Size Matters has officially arrived back in Plymouth for the summer season.
If our first charter is anything to go by then this season is going to be incredible.
We managed to get the pot noodle boys from Kent out to JURASSIC PARK to feed our pet Six Gill Sharks.
The fishing was truly incredible, the three lads caught 12 Six Gill Sharks yes that’s right 12!!!
500lb, 410lb, 365lb, 320lb, 310lb, 260lb, 220lb, 220lb, 210lb, 205lb, 140lb, 135lb.
This is the most Six Gill Sharks caught on any charter boat in the UK.
We only boated a few of the Sharks, they never left the deck of the boat and the deck wash was used at all times.
To lift the Sharks onboard we used our Skate sling from Scottish National Heritage it was perfect for the job once we got the hang of it.
We did get bitten off using 900lb wire (there is always a bigger fish) and 3 of the Sharks had long line hooks in them that we removed.
The lads also managed a Porbeagle Shark, loads of Pollack to 9lb and Ling to 18lb.
If you are lucky enough to be booked on with us to fish JURASSIC PARK over the next two years then we will only be allowing one Shark per person to be put on the deck for photos, the rest will be filmed or photographed in the water.
Size Matters is fully kitted out with all the latest fishing tackle from our sponsors Shimano UK.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Plymouth)
07999628511
#Shimano
#Mckiesfishingcharters
#Plymouth View Boats Page
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06/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Jun 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Our time in Scotland has now come to an end, the last three months have been a great experience for both anglers and my self.
Firstly I would like to say a massive thanks to all the staff at Croabh Haven Marina, they have been amazing and could not do enough for me and my anglers.
Also all the staff at the lord of the Isles pub where excellent no matter what time we would get back from fishing, the staff would have a table ready for all the anglers for food and drinks. (The food here is excellent).
If you have never been to this part of Scotland then you should definitely check it out, not just for fishing but the views, food, drink and wildlife is amazing.
The biggest thank you goes to the 244 anglers who booked with us and made the long journey up here from all over the UK and Ireland.
Most of them stayed for three to five days
spending well over £120,000 on accommodation, food, drink, fuel, fishing, bait and in some cases flights and hire cars.
The Skate fishing was truly outstanding at times, we totalled 641 Skate for a total weight of 80617lb!!!
We averaged 9.1 Skate a day with the average weight of 125lb 8oz!!
442 Skate where female and 199 were male, we caught 44 over 200lb and 359 over 100lb!!
When we fished inside the marine protection zone the recapture rate was around 20%, when we fished out side the marine protection zone the recapture rate was less than 2%.
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.
Anglers kept telling me each day what an amazing experience it has been for them to catch big fish in UK waters.
If you have never had a fish in UK waters over 100lb then this part of Scotland is definitely the place to do it, you mite even get lucky and catch a Skate over 200lb!!
Only four anglers never caught a Skate with us and on another day after returning from an off shore trip the lads wanted a few hours on the skate, this was the only day we never caught a skate.
Sadly we only got chance to fish for Six Gill Sharks once over 80 miles out, the sea bed was alive with sea lice and big baits where lasting 25 mins max making the fishing very hard.
We went shark fishing on the drift twice but on both occasions we had very tough conditions, wind against tide and no wind at all.
We also tried a few gravel and sand banks but once the Spurdogs moved in nothing got a chance at the baits.
We did find some amazing Pollack fishing no monster fish but 5lb to 9.5lb, on the both days we went there the lads had 120 Pollack in 2 hours the first day then 90 Pollack in 2 hours the next day.
It was great to see massive shoals of fish on the sonar, most importantly the lads only took what they needed for the table and all stopped fishing when they had enough.
Last but by no means least there is no way we could of caught this amount of fish without the top quality fishing tackle from our sponsors Shimano UK, thank you for your continued support.
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511.
#Shimano
#Scotland
#mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
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05/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
May 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Our Skate fishing charters have now come to an end, we are now getting ready to fish for everything other than Skate.
Over the next three weeks we will be fishing way off shore to see what other true fishing potential the west coast of Scotland has to offer.
These trips are very weather dependent and we mite catch the odd Skate as a by-catch when targeting much bigger species.
During the last two weeks of Skate fishing we have had a few slow days with just 3 to 7 Skate a day, as well as amazing days with up to 27 Skate in a day.
A group of lads from the Wirral done very well with 45 Skate over two days there best day was 27 to 199lb with 14 over 100lb, the following day they had 18 Skate to 202lb!!
Bernie Foreshaw from Liverpool and Paul Simpkins from the Wirral both had the biggest Skate over the last two weeks cracking fish of 202lb each, Paul’s Skate was in a bad way with two very big white scars on its wings and a rope around its tail.
We removed the rope from its tail but sadly it was through to the bone and was ready to drop off.
Adam Loftus from the Wirral also had a cracking Skate of 201lb.
Allen Rimmer from the Wirral was the lucky angler to catch our 600th Skate of the season!!
We have also caught one skate with a bite out of its wing and was still bleeding on the deck and we also had a very big Skate (199lb) with a deformed spine and humped back (check out the photos).
There has been some very big Thornback rays caught on the Skate baits most are 12lb to 13lb but we did get a cracking one of 16lb 8oz (the photo doesn’t do it justice).
We have now caught a total of 641 Skate for the season so far with 44 over the magic 200lb mark!!!!
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511.
#Shimano
#Scotland
#mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
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05/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
May 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
During the last week the Skate fishing has been truly amazing.
The best day was when Garry Streeter brought his lads up for just one day all the way from Swansea.
They caught a record breaking 37 Skate in one day with the biggest going 198lb, them lads worked there socks off well deserved!!
Biggest Skate this week was caught by Mark Granger with a cracking Skate of 213lb, his lads from South Wales landed 45 Skate over two days with the best day seeing 30 landed!!
Matthew Hart caught a cracking Skate of 210lb with his lads from London, Essex, South Wales, Bristol and Durham, they landed 53 Skate over two days with there best day seeing 28 landed.
I must say a massive thanks to the lads who have been willing to try for much bigger fish than Skate when we have had good weather.
Its only a matter of time before all the hard work pays off and the fishing in Scotland gets a very welcome surprise.
We have now caught a total of 518 Skate for the season so far with 41 over the magic 200lb mark!
To be honest I thought we would be lucky to catch more than 350 in the 3 months we are here, but we still have over a month to go so hopefully the fishing continues to be good.
Please note if you are booked on with us over the next month make sure you bring a minimum of 30kg of bait per day, or if you are booked as individuals you need a minimum of 5kg per day, we have had a few days where we have nearly ran out of bait!!
Sadly we are fully booked but if you want to get in on the action give Buoy Alba Charters a call on 07854 888293 and Davie will put you on the Skate.
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511.
#Shimano
#Scotland
#mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
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04/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Apr 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
The fishing this week has been extremely good and extremely bad.
On one of the days we managed to catch 32 Skate to 208lb! With 2 over 200lb, 13 over 100lb, total weight was 3219lb with an average weight of over 100lb!!!
On that day we had our first quadruple skate hook up and three triple skate hook ups, it could possibly be the most Common Skate caught in one day ever!!!
Louis Cooper from Kent had the biggest Skate of 208lb, followed by Nigel Mclouchlin from Reading with a Skate of 205lb, this was Nigel’s first ever Skate!
Then when the weather has not been in our favour we have had to fish sheltered marks catching only one to four Skate per trip.
On another day the weather was much better so we went back to our honey hole and we managed 19 Skate to 202lb, 1 over 200lb and 9 over 100lb.
The biggest Skate went to Dan Dixson from Manchester with a 202lb Skate that was his first ever Skate.
At the moment putting the miles in and finding new marks is paying off big time.
As we move into May we will start to target the off shore wrecks, reefs, banks and deep holes.
There are some very keen lads booked on with us who are hoping to get good weather, so they can get the chance to target even bigger things than Skate.
This takes our total to 351 Skate for the season so far with 39 over the magic 200lb mark!
We have still managed to have no blank days but sadly after catching 300 Skate we had four lads who never managed to catch Skate on the days they where fishing with us.
Sadly we are fully booked but if you want to get in on the action give Buoy Alba Charters a call on 07854 888293 and Davie will put you on the Skate.
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511.
#Shimano
#Scotland
#mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
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04/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Apr 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
It’s been great to have sometime off with the family lately, even got chance to let Indie-Rose have ago of the boat for the first time, she is a natural Skipper ha ha.
The fishing continues to be good, catching up to 12 Skate per day, biggest has been 213lb caught by Damian Owens from the Wirral.
Top rod goes to 84 year old Malcolme Metcalfe from Preston he caught three Skate the biggest 182lb in 640ft of water!
His biggest fish before the skate was a 70lb blues shark he caught 30 years ago, I hope I am still fishing at his age well done Malcolme.
This just goes to show how good Shimano fishing tackle is and top quality black magic harnesses.
On some days lads have wanted to catch just one Skate each then target Blackmouth Dogfish and Spurs for different species hunts they are involved in on Facebook.
With the weather being so good we have been out trying new marks again, some of these marks have produced lots of male Skate, sometimes up to 8 males a day, we normally only get the odd male Skate here and there so it’s a very welcoming sign.
This takes our total to 294 Skate for the season so far with 36 over the magic 200lb mark!
We have still managed to have no blank days and everyone has caught Skate, not sure how much longer this will last but we are feeling very lucky so far.
Sadly we are fully booked but if you want to get in on the action give Buoy Alba Charters a call on 07854 888293 and Davie will put you on the Skate.
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511.
#Shimano
#Scotland
#mckiesfishingcharters View Boats Page
