Latest Fishing Reports: Argyll & Bute
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25/05/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
25 May 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
[This report was written when Size Matters was operating from Plymouth]
I have been getting lot’s of call’s and messages from anglers asking me why am I not doing regular reports.
To be honest I have not had a day off for 24 days and I am pretty much fully booked for 2018 from Plymouth.
The water temperature is rising perfectly, we have seen our first Sunfish and Blue Shark of the year while steaming to our fishing marks.
The inshore marks are producing plenty of Pollack to 10lb, Whiting to 4lb, Conger to 35lb and odd Ling to 15lb.
The off shore marks are producing
Conger to 72lb, Ling to 23lb, Pollack to 12lb, Cod to 8lb and the occasional John Dory to 6lb.
This time last year we where catching 50+ Conger to 80lb when we put the anchor down. So far this year there seems to be lots of May weed in the water and the Conger fishing has been a struggle at times.
I am not sure if the May weed effects the Conger’s or not but that’s all I can put it down to.
We only have a few individual places available for 2018.
PLYMOUTH.
June
Tuesday 5th Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 1 place available.
Thursday 28th Wrecking £75 pp 4 places available.
July
Sunday 8th 23 hour Wrecking trip £150pp
3 places available.
Thursday 12th Wrecking £75 pp 2 places available.
If you are interested in booking a trip with us in 2019 from Plymouth we only have 17 days available. In the next month or so 2019 will be pretty much fully booked.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters Plymouth.
07999628511.
mckiesfishingcharters@hotmail.com
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11/05/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
11 May 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
[This report was written when Size Matters was operating from Plymouth]
Size Matters is settling in to Plymouth for the summer season just nicely.
We have been catching
Ling to 23lb,
Pollack to 16lb 3oz,
Turbot to 15lb 2oz,
Cod to 13lb 8lb,
Whiting to 4lb 2oz,
Tub Gurnard to 4lb,
John Dory to 3lb.
We have had a few scratchy days this could be because the water temperature for this time of year is down and also anglers using the wrong type of lures.
As soon as I have got them to change there lure to one I recommend they catch.
The good news is the Cod are coming back in numbers this year, last year there was just odd ones about but this year we are catching they daily.
Guernsey is starting to fish for Turbot, I had a three day charter there and none of the lads onboard had caught a Turbot before.
After I explained to the lads how to fish for them it only took them a few hours to start catching them. Kevin Finnmore caught a cracking PB Turbot of 15lb 2oz!
This is a massive improvement on last year so roll on my next six multi day charters over there.
Dougie Henger done very well on one of the trips he landed PB Ling of 23lb and a PB Pollack of 16lb 3oz. He had never fished onboard
Size Matters before and it won’t be his last.
We only have a few individual places available for 2018 here is the full list.
PLYMOUTH 2018.
May
Tuesday 22nd Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 2 places available.
June
Thursday 28th Wrecking £75 pp 4 places available.
July
Wednesday 11th Wrecking £75 pp 1 place available.
Thursday 12th Wrecking £75 pp 2 places available.
August
Sunday 5th Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 10 places available.
Thursday 9th Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 2 places available.
Monday 20th Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 1 place available.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters Plymouth.
07999628511.
mckiesfishingcharters@hotmail.com View Boats Page
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05/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
May 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
[This report was written when Size Matters was operating from Plymouth]
Size Matters is now in Plymouth ready to kick the summer 2018 season off in style!
For the last four days Kevin and his three friends have been finding new marks to fish before his charters start on April 28th.
Some marks have held Porgies to over 300lb, along with massive shoals of Pollack to 13lb and Ling to 18lb.
One of the marks held a shoal of Pollack over 1500ft long and 40ft high!
It’s so good to still see big shoals of fish like this in UK waters.
2018 will be Size Matters biggest year ever as we will be fishing from three ports Plymouth, Liverpool and Scotland (Croabh Haven).
This is to give anglers the opportunity to experience top class UK fishing all year around onboard Size Matters!!
Here is a full list of available dates, all Prices include all tackle and hot drinks!
(Any tackle lost or damaged on our charters will be expected to be paid for)
PLYMOUTH 2018.
May
Monday 21st Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 1 place available.
Tuesday 22nd Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 2 places available.
June
Thursday 28th Wrecking £75 pp 3 places available.
July
Wednesday 11th Wrecking £75 pp 3 places available.
Thursday 12th Wrecking £75 pp 3 places available.
August
Wednesday 8th Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 1 place available.
Thursday 9th Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 3 places available.
September
Monday 10th Wrecking £75 pp 2 places available.
Friday 21st Wrecking/Conger £75 pp 1 place available.
LIVERPOOL 2018/19 Winter Cod Season.
Mersey trips are £45 per person and duration is 9 to 10 hours depending on the lock times, bait is extra on the day if you need it.
Wrecking trips are £80 per person and duration is 11 to 12 hours.
23 hour Wrecking trips are £160 per person
Available dates.
October
Tuesday 23rd Mersey 11.30am sailing
11 places available.
Sunday 28th 23 hour Wrecking trip 1am sailing 5 places available. (Max 10)
Wednesday 31st 5am sailing Wrecking 10 places available.
November
Thursday 1st Wrecking 5am sailing 8 places available.
Saturday 10th 23 hour Wrecking trip 1.30am sailing 9 places available. (Max 10)
Sunday 11th Mersey 1.30pm sailing 8 places available.
Thursday 15th Mersey 5am sailing 11 places available.
Tuesday 20th Mersey 9.30am sailing
10 places available.
December
Sunday 2nd Mersey 7am sailing 4 places available.
Thursday 13th Mersey 3.30am sailing
11 places available.
Sunday 16th Mersey 5.30am sailing 8 places available.
Thursday 20th Mersey 9.30am sailing
8 places available.
Saturday 29th Mersey 5am sailing 10 places available.
Sunday 30th Mersey 5.30am sailing 8 places available.
January
Thursday 3rd Mersey 9.30am sailing 9 places available.
Thursday 17th Mersey 8am sailing 8 places available.
Saturday 19th Mersey 10am sailing 10 places available.
February
Sunday February 3rd Mersey 10.30am sailing 8 places available.
Thursday 14th Mersey 6am sailing 8 places available.
Saturday 16th Mersey 8.30am sailing
10 places available.
SCOTLAND 2019 Skate Fishing.
Most charters are for 10 to 12 hours and we fish a maximum of 6 on the boat for this type of fishing.
Available Dates.
April,
12th 3 places available £110 pp.
15th 3 places available £110pp.
May,
7th 4 places available £110pp.
8th 3 places available £110pp.
9th 3 places available £110pp.
Plymouth 2019 Diary Now Open.
June 15th to October 15th.
Don't forget on all our charters the price includes all tackle, hot drinks, fish filleted expertly by Kevin himself and iced to keep it in tip top condition.
Cheers
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Plymouth)
07999628511
mckiesfishingcharters@hotmail.com View Boats Page
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04/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Apr 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
If you are interested in fishing from the West Coast of Scotland, then this is well worth a read.
We have now finished our 16 day trip to Scotland for Giant Skate, it’s been one hell of a trip.
We managed 113 Common Skate to 220lb, total weight was 19361lb, with and average weight of 171lb 3oz.
11 of them where over 200lb and 91 of them over 100lb!
We caught Skate every day and out of 96 anglers who fished with us, only one angler never caught a Skate.
If that wasn’t good enough we also caught one White Skate estimated at 160lb!!!
More than twice the size of the UK record for this species of Skate!
This was one hell of an achievement considering Kevin had never caught a Common Skate or fished for them before this trip.
Some of the highlights of the trip was seeing the first ever Common Skate caught onboard Size Matters!
Seeing the first ever White Skate caught onboard Size Matters and at more than twice the size of the current UK record.
Watching Jon Pattern fight a monster Common Skate on a 20lb to 30lb class rod and reel in 477ft of water with only a 4/0 hook intended for a black mouth Dogfish!
Having Dave Lewis onboard doing an article for Sea Angler Magazine about this adventure!
Also seeing John Mcbride land our 100th Common Skate of the trip!
Most of the anglers had never caught a Skate before the trip and most of them landed there biggest fish ever!
Over the 16 days Kevin’s anglers spent over £6000 on accommodation, food, drink at the marina and local pub.
Kevin also spent £2400 on fuel and mooring fees, if this is not a good thing for a small Scottish village at this time of year I don’t know what is.
Please note all Skate where returned unharmed and treated with the up most respected.
Next year we are looking forward to working very closely with the Scottish Heritage to tag all skate for conservation.
In 2019 Kevin has already had over 60 whole boat bookings to do this trip again, he will be in Scotland from mid March till the end of May.
But if he gets enough interest he will offer Reefing, Wrecking and Sharking trips up to 60 miles out from Scotland through the Summer of 2019.
He would love nothing more than to anchor the off shore wrecks for Conger and Ling, just like he does from Plymouth with great susses.
He would also like to do week long charters out to the Island of Barra, to fish the continental shelf in over 1000ft of water 50 miles off the coast.
This type of trip would be ideal for a small group of anglers who want to catch something very special.
If there is one boat capable of doing trips like this it’s Size Matters, she can carry enough fuel for a 450 mile round trip, and is fully coded and insured for up to 23 hour charters.
Kevin can also help with booking self catering cottages at the marina, they are £125 per night, sleep 6 and are very nice.
If that hasn’t wet your appetite for the West Coast of Scotland in 2019 I don’t know what will.
Check out Kevin’s Facebook profile for all photos and videos from this trip to Scotland.
Roll on 2019 because,
SIZE REALLY DOES MATTER!!
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511
mckiesfishingcharters@hotmail.com View Boats Page
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04/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Apr 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Size Matters has just landed the holy grail of the Skate family, the White Skate!!!
They are the rarest of the Skate family in UK waters, you have more chance of winning the lottery without a ticket than catching one of these on rod and line.
It measured 82 inch long and 60 inch wing to wing, it was not as heavy as a Common Skate but I would say it was around 160lb!!
I have never even seen one before, it was an amazing creature, it had thorns under its nose.
Massive well done to Peter Hammersley on catching the White Skate, he also caught a Common Skate of 204lb on the same day!!
That’s Skate number 111 and we have one day left to go, this has been one hell of a trip!
Thanks
Kev
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511. View Boats Page
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04/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Apr 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
During the last three days I have had groups of individuals onboard, who had traveled from all over the UK.
They Managed to catch 22 Skate from 144lb to 212lb!!
All the lads caught new PB’s and have all rebooked for next year.
I have started taking bookings for next year because of the amount of interested I am getting about these charters.
We have caught 90 Skate in 12 days, I think we could be on for hitting the 100 mark very soon!!
As you can see Size Matters let’s the fishing do the talking and gets the anglers rebooking.
Thanks
Kev
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511. View Boats Page
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04/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Apr 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
For the last two days I have had Urmston Sea Anglers onboard, between 5 of them they landed 16 Skate, 198lb, 197lb, 196lb, 194lb, 191lb, 190lb, 190lb, 190lb, 190lb, 190lb, 186lb, 186lb, 174lb, 174lb, 170lb, 170lb.
None of the lads had ever caught Skate before and all caught there biggest fish ever.
They already want to book three days for this time next year!!
We have now got this Skate fishing down to a fine art, as you can tell from the sizes of the fish.
Check out our live videos or double and triple hook ups from today!
This now puts us on 68 Skate in nine days!!!
Thanks
Kev
Size Matters (Scotland).
07999628511. View Boats Page
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03/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Mar 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Over the last three days we have managed to catch 11 Skate 198lb, 196lb, 192lb, 191lb, 188lb, 182lb, 168lb, 161lb, 145lb, 141lb, 64lb.
We also pulled the hooks on 8 Skate and one of them was the best fish we have had on so far this trip.
On the spring tides it’s been much harder to hook the Skate and it’s vital to get a good hook hold because of the extra tide pushing on the fish.
One of the days I moved five times to try my best to stay out of the main flow of tide and keep my anglers on the Skate.
This is pretty similar to how I fish the Mersey on the bigger tides to get the results the anglers expect.
Learning about new marks, tides and tack ticks is what I enjoy about my job.
That puts us on 52 Skate over the last 7 days, we still have 8 days to go!!
It would be incredible if we hit the 100 mark before we leave.
Thanks
Kev
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511 View Boats Page
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03/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Mar 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Today the lads wanted an early finish because of the long drive home to Manchester.
They managed to catch 6 Skate to a massive 220lb, the rest where 170lb, 141lb, 76lb, 58lb, 38lb. It was good to see a few smaller Skate today, this shows the skate are thriving in the area.
Owan Cambell caught the biggest today and yesterday 204lb and 220lb!!
The photo of the 220lb skate does not do it justice it was 88 inch long, 71 inch wing span and was very fat.
Thanks
Kev
Size Matters (Scotland)
07999628511. View Boats Page
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03/2018
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Craobh Haven, Argyll & Bute)
Mar 2018 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
Day 3 on the giant skate and it just keeps getting better!!
All the lads onboard have never caught skate before until today, they landed 12 skate of 204lb, 199lb, 198lb, 190lb, 185lb, 182lb, 179lb, 171lb, 170lb, 144lb, 128lb, 90lb,
That’s our best day so far and all the lads caught there biggest fish ever!
If the fishing continues like this it will be incredible, before I came here I thought we would be lucky to catch a couple a day.
Roll on tomorrow!!
Thanks
Kev
07999628511 View Boats Page
