Latest Fishing Reports: Dumfries & Galloway
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16/08/2019
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
16 Aug 2019 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
This report covers period 19th july - 16th August
When the wind allows,we have been getting out and the fishing has been good with some days being great.I have lost track of how many spurdogs over the 20lb mark we have landed with the best at a whopping 23lb....these sharks are getting bigger each year and more prolific and I don't doubt that some will top 25lb next year!....the best tally for spurdogs in the reporting period is 38 landed with all being 12-17lb with a few bigger ones mixed in. we have had mixed results with the huss with the best going 18.5lb in the past month.The tope are more numerous this year and we have had 5 in a day twice last month which is well up on last year and we have lost a good few through biteoffs!...more common skate continue to show with the last 2 at 185lb and 188lb.The pollack fishing in the weeds has improved vastly with floatfished mackerel belly being very productive...there was also a good run of codling and haddock during the big spring tides where we were fishing closer in out of the tide run.
The mini mackerel have now arrived in plague proportions and strings and strings of them are possible....at less than 6" long they make great bait!
Species landed this month : cod ,haddock, whiting, pouting, pollack, coalfish, poorcod , ballan wrasse, cuckoo wrasse, common skate, tope, spurdog, huss, smoothound, LSD, mackerel, herring, launce, red/grey/tub gurnard, dab( 22 species)
bookings still being taken for this year but first available weekend date is sunday 13th October
the boat is staying afloat this winter so uptiding for cod is on the agenda
bookings now being taken for 2020 (mobile 07739231331)
photo is 188lb common skate
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07/2019
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
Jul 2019 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
This report covers the period 4/7/19- 21/7/19.....
As per last year,we are now starting to rack up the cancelled bookings due to strong winds and the consequent rough seas...
We are landing plenty of species when we find the clear water...the size and numbers of cod and haddock are increasing,whiting are plentiful(for flappers),mackerel, herring, launce, dab, grey & red &tub gurnard, spurs, huss, tope, pollack, pouting, coalfish, thornback ray and (finally!) common skate.
The larger of the skate had 4 hooks in it....the guy who landed it,richard had 2 hooks in it(from the same day) and an unknown hook ...it shows that they aren't put off feeding by being hooked and when feeding,they don't travel far away!
4th july….huss to 14lb / spurs to 16.5lb
5th july…..9 huss(16lb)
6th july….3 huss (15lb)
7th july …****JACKPOT DAY****….49 Spurs(all doubles) (best at 19.5lb/20/20.25/20.5/21/21lb) with 5 others lost and a 2x17lb spur hookup + 3 huss to 9lb
9th july….7 spurs to 16.5lb
14th july….2 common skate(171lb & 193lb) (8 hook-ups)
15th july...1 huss at 19.5lb(best yet!)
19th july...spurs to 16.5lb.small huss, thornback (4.5lb) 2 x 33lb tope View Boats Page
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01/07/2019
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
1 Jul 2019 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
This report covers mid April to end of june…..
It was a slow start to the year with the first mackerel showing up in early April and then not seeing any more for another fortnight! They were very much feast or famine with us catching hundreds or none but there was plenty of herring mixed in with some coalies and launce and as of June 8th,there has been mackerel everywhere in big numbers providing younfish in the clear water.
The pollack have been plentiful on the wrecks upto 10lb with most around the 4-6lb range.They are however,for whatever reason,scarce under the cliffs with the best fish at 5lb and only a few fish showing up over long drifts under the cliffs.....room for improvement here(but it will!)
We have now started to catch really good numbers of spurdogs and huss...early on,when we would expect to see the huss pushing up from the south,we had a couple with the best at 10lb and then nothing.tHe spurdogs were the same...noticeable by there absence but we did find good numbers of them upto 14.6lb on the deep rough ground north of the village(14th may 50 spurs upto 13.6lb and 15th may 32 spurs upto 14.6lb).
However,with the increase in Mackerel the amount of ground sharks and their size has rocketed!(with a good early run of tope):
20th June 30 huss(16lb)
21st june 10 huss (14lb) + 1 spur (14lb) + 1 tope (35.5lb)(2 others lost)
24th june 20 huss (13.8lb) + 10 spurs (17.6lb/16.8lb) + 1 tope (33.8lb)
25th june 16 huss(17.5lb) + 4 spurs(15lb)
26th june 31 huss (17.5lb) + 7 spurs(15lb) and in the evening 8 huss (12lb) + 3 spurs(12lb)
27th june 30 huss (10.5lb) + 11 spurs(16.5lb/15.8lb)
***JACKPOT DAY*** 29TH JUNE …...20 huss (18.5lb) + 17 spurs (21lb/21lb/20.5lb(unofficial Scottish records!) + 6 tope(33.5lb/26lb/24lb/22lb/8lb/8lb)
Species landed this year so far: cod,haddock,whiting,pouting,ling,pollack,coalfish,lsd,huss,spur,smoothound,tope,grey/red/tub gurnard,mackerel,herring,launce,cuckoo wrasse,spotted ray View Boats Page
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07/02/2019
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
7 Feb 2019 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
So the boat is now well and truly "chocked on the blocks" courtesy of Nobles boatyard at Girvan.The boat has had a really good industrial jetwash and when the weather improves,out will come the paintbrush! Nobles are undertaking the mechanical / electrical aspect of this winters refit and all being well, the boat will emerge at the end of march...bookings are being taken from April onwards.
It is of note that the North channel has produced nearly 40 species of fish to the boat with still more to find....
wrecking trips,at anchor fishing,shallow water pollacking,common skate targetted,drift fishing for plaice and turbot,deepwater shark fishing.......the options are many and varied View Boats Page
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28/01/2019
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
28 Jan 2019 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
So Winter has set in and its bitterly cold afloat with very few weather windows and those that do open are at very short notice and close just as quick.......with that in mind,and needing a few minor jobs doing,I took the boat to Nobles boatyard at Girvan and there she will sit until the end of March.
Bookings are being taken for 2019,starting first week of April and hopefully the weather and more importantly the wind,will be kind to us this year.
Last year saw us land a lot of good spurdogs with the majority being over 15lb,Huss were prolific with the majority being over 13lb,we saw no smoothhounds some ray and some nice Pollack.The common skate were scarce and the biggest last year was only 139lb.We saw more tope last year than the year previous but didn't get anything over 40lb,the best being 35lb.
I will be running a competition this year from April 1st til Oct 30th and it will be £2 entry fee on top of the day rate. The £2 per rod will initially cover the outlay for the prize(£94 - until paid off),which is a Penn Regiment all roller 50-80lb class rod with a corduba travel tube and the rest will go to the RNLI.
The Rules are really simple....pay your £2 at the start of the trip and leave an email address. The winner is the person who, by Oct 30th has caught the heaviest COMMON SKATE. This competition is for common skate ONLY and all weights will be determined by using the "Orkney Skate Trust" graphs for males/females.
Some anglers fish 2 rods onboard and each rod will command a £2 entry fee for those entering. Entry into the skate competition is purely voluntary.
I look forward to fishing with old hands and new faces in 2019
Tight Lines..............Dominic View Boats Page
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28/12/2018
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
28 Dec 2018 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
Period 28/12 - 4/1/19.......
Finally the winds eased and we have managed 3 days fishing and some nice fish were landed.We had a common skate (30lb) several huss(12lb) loads of mini spurdogs (12" long!) which I have never seen,loads of tiny dogfish,plenty of whiting,some small haddock and one solitary spurdog of 7lb.
Below are the largest fish of the year,captors name in brackets:
common skate 139lb (sandy)
tope 35lb (dominic / dave)
huss 18lb (dominic)
spurdog 22lb (willie) (unofficial scottish record)
pollack 8.8lb (john from blackpool)
ballan wrasse 2.5lb (scott)
blonde ray 12lb (chris)
thornback ray 12lb (lawther jr)
and the rarest of the year was a 3oz poor cod
**** From April 1st til October 30th 2019 I will be running a competition for the largest COMMON SKATE of the year.Entry will be £2 and once the cost of the rod has been covered( £100) ,then all other proceeds will go to the lifeboat(RNLI). The rod is a 50lb class all roller Pen Regiment rod with a corduba rod tube which will be held on board.All you need to do is make your intention to enter clear before we sail, pay £2 and leave your address/email with me and once the terminal date is reached,if youve won,Ill contact you.***** View Boats Page
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28/10/2018
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
28 Oct 2018 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
Finally managed to get out on the last sunday in October with Matt White and his boys and we had 11 species...we had Tope(23lb),spurdog(8lb),bullhuss(13lb)pollack and coalies from the harbour entrance(3.5lb),cod haddock,whiting,doggies,pouting and a very rare (and after much discussion!) a poor cod of 3oz! whiting were noticeable by their absence but those that landed whiting and fished them as flappers caught the better sharks. It is proven that whiting definitely outfishes mackerel for the bottom sharks and the common skate are quite partial to it also!
A date for the lift out at Girvan has yet to be agreed and so,the fishing continues with bookings being taken upto mid/late December providing the wind will let us! Looking at going uptiding for cod this year if anyone fancies their hand....some gear held onboard View Boats Page
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05/10/2018
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
5 Oct 2018 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
covers period 5/6 october.....
the wind as always(it seems) has hampered the fishing and coloured the water.That said,we got out with Glenn Craggs' boys on the friday and caught loads of whiting some small codling/haddock,2 mackerel and the sharks decided to show up....
we caught 1 tope at 35lb,6 huss all around the 15lb mark and we hooked into and lost 3 common skate...one skate even snapped an 8/0 bronzed O'shaunessy hook!
pictured is the 35lb tope View Boats Page
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28/09/2018
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
28 Sep 2018 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
The wind finally eased for the first time in weeks and we sneaked out to see what was on offer.....we caught a few mackerel and whiting for bait wit a sprinkling of grey gurnards and then it was decided to anchor up.First fish on board was a 60lb common skate which would be followed by 2 more at 139lb and 15lb(smallest onboard so far).we also caught several huss upto 15lb and about 60 spurdogs in the 3-7lb range....fishing was hectic but good for the boys.Pictured is Sandy with his 139lb common skate
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08/09/2018
Fishing Report by dominic wilson
on Dawn Venture (Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway)
8 Sep 2018 by dominic wilson
Report on-board Dawn Venture
the wind continues to blow and we have managed 2 days at sea this month so far! managed to get the Preston boys out on saturday and all the usual summer suspects showed up.The "over the moon" trophy was up for grabs and Jonathon swept the board with over a dozen pollack to mackerel belly,the best being 7lb out of the harbour entrance and he caught the only huss at 11lb on whiting flapper....well done pal
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