F is for Fun with mini species and Frustrating brown trout.

On the way home from Ullapool last week Jake and I popped into the Tackle shop in Inverness and picked up a couple of Ron Thompson Ice Fishing outfits. Only £17 for rod and reel we just couldn't resist!

The "Beast Tamer"!

I grabbed mine this afternoon and headed up the water of Leith today to try and replicate Jake's brown trout success of yesterday. I walked up the path that runs along side the river looking for signs of feeding trout. As I passed one pool I heard a splash and cast towards it. I say cast but with the tiny rod it's just a flick of the wrist! As I worked the lure back I could see a nice brown trout following but he turned away. I recast to the same spot and started retrieving again adding a few twitches. A smaller trout darted out and had a go at the lure but just nipped the tail and shot off again. I continued to fish this pool working my way upstream. Two more trout followed the lure but turned away at the last moment. I decided to rest this pool and headed off to the next one.

Started fishing at a bend in the river and noticed a load of smaller fish chasing the lure and nipping at the end of it and then I had an idea. The other day at Ullapool I had missed out on a sand goby because I didn't have any hooks small enough to hook one. Using my forceps I crushed and reshaped a Decoy Rocket jighead so that the hook gape was smaller. I also bent it upward a bit. I then cut a sliver of pink Power Isome and flicked it out again. Again a little shoal of small fish followed it as I jigged it back but I still couldn't hook one. Then Jake rang me to say he could join me for an hour or two and he suggested the tail of a Gulp! Fish Fry would also make a perfect small lure to use. I carefully threaded one onto my makeshift jighead and a couple of flicks later caught this rather big and plump 3 spined stickleback.

My first lure caught 3 spined stickleback. A new PB!

I then made my way upstream to meet Jake. On the way I saw a fellow angler wading on the far side.

I wasn't the only one fishing!

I met up with Jake and we headed a bit further upstream. We saw a few more fish rising but had no luck catching them. Then we heard a big splash a bit further downstream just under an overhanging willow tree. Jake had a couple of casts towards it and on the second hooked his second Water of Leith brown trout.

Jake's second brown trout from the Water of Leith.

 Another nice brown trout. The river seems to have a thriving population of them.

Freedom!

We then headed back downstream and saw a few more trout. We both had a couple of takes but no hook ups. We found a nice pool under a tree on the far bank and I flicked my Gulp! Minnow over. Big flash in the water as a trout had a go at it but again no hook up! A few more attempts produced no interest and Jake had to get home at this point so we walked upstream again. We said goodbye and  I headed back downstream again thinking that I could maybe have another go under the tree on the far bank. On the way I spotted and eel which disappeared into some rocks and also noticed a few small flounders on a sandy patch which was very surprising as I was quite far from the docks that the river runs into. Anyway, when I finally got back down there and had a few flicks there was no sign of any trout lurking under the tree. I did notice some more smaller fish again though and assumed it was more sticklebacks. I thought I'd try and catch another just to prove to myself that the first wasn't a fluke. Tied on my modified jighead again and went with a Cultiva Pin Worm this time. On the first retrieve I paused and let it drop onto a large flat rock and let the fish attack it. A quick tug and I'd hooked one! Lifting it up I realised it was a minnow. Second new species on a lure in one day.

Another new species for me on a lure and another new PB!

I rigged up a Gulp! 1" Minnow again and had half and hour working my way downstream again towards home. Just before I left I had one last trout flashing as it attacked my lure.

Then as I was leaving I saw a kingfisher flying up the river. I've never seen one before and was amazed by how quickly they fly. I just saw it streaking past and caught a flash of it's bright blue plumage. Today has really changed my perception of the Water of Leith. In places it is disgusting with all sorts of rubbish littering it but the fish and other wildlife don't seem to mind! Also catching the stickleback and minnow on a tiny lure has again pushed back the boundaries of what is possible a little bit further! Finally, the little rod is great fun and it's great for flicking your lures in tight spaces. I found the brown trout very frustrating today but there seems to be plenty of them in there so it's only a matter of time before I catch one!

Tight lines, Hutch.

Street Style : Upstream Fry Fishing.

Yesterday while I was out walking with my son I found something very exiting. 400 Meters from my house in Edinburgh lies the Water of Leith and as we crossed over the bridge to St Marks Park we paused to look into the river. This particular stretch is festooned with shopping trolleys, traffic cones, an Ikea table and (I kid you not) a dilapidated blow up doll. As we surveyed the scene I noticed a good sized trout rising just upstream of the bridge! We finished our walk and I decided to head back down to see if I could catch him. I grabbed my LRF kit and 5 minutes later I was under the bridge.

Under the bridge down town.

I rigged up with a 6lb leader, 1/32oz #10 Shirasu Fine jighead and a red Gulp! 1" Fish Fry. Before I approached the swim I had a couple of casts down stream to wet the line as braid casts a bit smoother when wet. I crouched low and made my way upstream until I was in range of the happily rising trout. 1st cast fell short as did the second but 3rd was a charm and fell 6 foot beyond the fish. I slowly retrieved the lure, gently bouncing it along the bottom and it trundled into the fishes line of sight. He seized the lure, turned, shook his head and was off in an instant! Gutted! I knew he wouldn't take again for a while as he had felt the hook so vowed to come back later.

Today I had half an hour to spare so I popped back down to see if he was up for round 2! The weather was gloriously warm and as I approached the swim I could see at least 2 fish rising. This time I rigged up a Berkley Gulp! 1" Minnow in watermelon-pearl on a 1.4g #10 Shirasu Fine jighead. I rigged the minnow with a slight curve to it as this adds a bit more of a flutter when you impart little twitches to the lure.

Berkley Gulp! 1" Minnow in watermelon-pearl on a 1.4g #10 Shirasu Fine jighead.

Note the slight curve to the plastic to give it a nice action when twitched.

The fish were rising 10ft beyond an overhanging willow and after a couple of casts down stream (to wet the line) I crept into position below the fish. I cast upstream beyond the rising fish and started gently twitching the lure back towards me. The take was instant and savage! Yet again he did his headshake and threw the hook! First cast as well and I had lost him again! I decided to let him rest and headed down stream to below the bridge to what I refer to as the "Ikea Swim". A couple of casts later and I was into a coffee table! Now any doubts I had about my new Graphiteleader Corto EX rods strength were quickly quashed as I landed the said table after a spirited fight in the current. It was promptly released back to the water.

The Table after release!
Having been beaten by my new Graphiteleader Corto EX Rod.

I decided it was time to revisit the willow tree pool again in the hope the fish had forgotten their last experience with me. Again I approached from downstream keeping low and back from the edge. On the 4th cast just as the lure came past the willow tree I felt a sudden bite and a flick of the wrist set the hook! Fish on! The rod cushioned the trouts lunges beautifully and she was quickly and calmly brought to my hand!

A lovely wild urban brownie!

Just nudging 1lb and in lovely condition.

I quickly unhooked her and took another couple of snaps before she slunk away up stream.

My first Water of Leith brown trout. The first of many hopefully!

Back to fight another day. Soon!

I was very pleased, she was a great looking fish in fabulous condition and caught from the Water of Leith! As I sat back to contemplate the fish a pair of king fishers flew past in an electric blue moment. I noticed as well that there was still a fish rising in the same spot so I thought I'd leave this one for Hutch to catch! Which will hopefully be very soon indeed.

Tight lines, Schogsky.

Ullapool : Between a rock mark and a freshwater place.

Jake had a job delivering two large terracotta urns to a lovely lady in Inverness and has some friends who live near Ullapool so when he was given clearance to stay overnight this presented a great opportunity to do a spot of fishing and we rarely miss those! We planned to head up to Rhue lighthouse to the west of Ullapool to target pollock and also do a spot of LRF in the harbour in Ullapool itself to hopefully pick up a few new species for this years count. We set off at 8am on Thurs morning and after a 5hr drive up through some lovely scenery we arrived at the rock mark. The lovely weather we had been having in Edinburgh for the last few days was left behind though and it was quite windy with grey clouds and the odd light shower.

Rhue Lighthouse on a cold and misty March afternoon.

We made the short walk down to the rocks in front of the lighthouse and setup our gear.

Another shot of the lighthouse.

The tide was ebbing and we began fishing. I started off with a Savage Gear Sandeel Slug in Sandeel fished on a weedless hook 3ft behind a 1/1oz bullet lead and Jake opted for a Baby Slug-Go in Arkansas Shiner on a 10g jighead. Fishing was slow for the first hour or so and I changed over to a Berkley Firetail Jellyworm in classic black body, red tail whilst Jake soldiered on with the Slug-Go. His persistence would soon pay off. As he worked the lure around the edges of a large submerged rock he missed a bite and then recasting to the same spot soon had a fish on that took his lure on the drop and put a nice bend in his rod. After a brief fight he landed his first fish of the day, a 3lb pollock, that had swallowed the entire lure. 

This pollock swallowed the entire Slug-Go.

Destined for the table.

The eye of a hunter.

Two casts later he hooked another, much smaller, pollock that again had engulfed the entire lure. Needless to say I quickly changed to a Slug-Go! We both thought this would be the start of a busy period but unfortunately it wasn't. After a short while with no further takes we both began to explore a bit. I headed in one direction and Jake in the other.

I took the high road.

Jake took the low road.

I found a nice looking bay area with lots of nice big boulders and kelp beds close in covered by 3-4ft of water and a nice deep drop off on the other side. After deciding where I wanted to fish and working out how to clamber down I also decided to switch from a Carolina to a Texas rig.  I began casting to my left and worked my way clockwise and after covering the area with the Slug-Go I changed back to the black/red Berkley Firetail Jellyworm. After a few casts I felt everything go solid. Fish on! I had hooked it just as I started to retrieve and as I was reeling it in I was conscious of the boulders and kelp. My drag was set fairly tight so I managed to keep him from going to ground a couple of times but just as I got it close in it made one final surge and managed to get round the back of one of the boulders! Ping! My braid had gone on the rock. I was pretty annoyed with myself. I quickly tied on a new leader, bullet lead and tried a couple of lures then abandoned the Texas rig and switched to a 23g Savagear Sandeel in pearl white but didn't get any further interest. At this point I went back along to where Jake was and he was doing a spot of LRF in the rockpools and fissures in the rocks. A spider crab and a few sea anemones had tried to eat his Power Isome but there was no sign of any fish so we decided to head along to Ullapool harbour.

A short drive later we were at the harbour. Jake dropped his Gulp! Fish Fry down the harbour wall and straight away we could see some small fish attacking it. After a bit of jigging he managed to hook one. A closer inspection and a bit of discussion and we concluded it was a darkly coloured sand goby and he had been quite lucky to catch it!

Their tiny mouths make them very hard to hook.
Jake had foul hooked this sand goby in the chin.
They all count though!

Pectoral fins on sand gobies are fused together forming a suction cup.

After spending a short time trying to catch another and them stealing the tiny chunks of Power Isome in the process without us managing to hook any more we decided to try investigating the rest of the harbour. We moved around the edges jigging away down the sides. Whilst the tide was almost fully out at this point there was still a reasonable depth of water but we were fishing from quite a height which, combined with the wind, made staying in contact with our lures difficult. After a while I decided to go back and try for a goby whilst Jake continued to explore the harbour. Whilst there were a couple of gobies there and they were biting at the lure I just couldn't hook one on my #10 Decoy Rocket jighead and didn't have any smaller hooks with me. Very frustrating as I really hate blanking and it's even worse when you know that fish are there!

We then decided to head to Jake's friends Alison and Aaron's house just outside Ullapool. They had very kindly agreed to put us up for the night and shortly after arriving they made us a lovely meal which provided us with some much needed sustenance! After dinner Aaron showed us some underwater footage he had filmed using a mini remote operated vehicle. Fascinating stuff with lots of great footage of pollock and small wrasse swimming around the remains of kelp beds that had been partially destroyed following a storm. Quite a few crabs too scurrying around on the bottom or with claws up in defensive mode as the R.O.V. approached them. Most impressive was some slow motion footage of sandeels appearing from sandbanks and also being chased and eaten by mackerel. Awesome stuff. We were then shown a photograph of a large salmon that had been caught from the nearby river by their son Eli. He offered to take us down to the river to see if there were any brown trout around. After a short walk we were on the bank next to a nice looking pool and before long a few trout were seen rising. We spent a few hours fishing various small paddletail grubs with our LRF gear. Jake hooked a fish first cast but wasn't expecting it so it got off! I missed a couple of bites too. Eli hooked two fish but they both threw the hook when they jumped out of the water. Pretty soon it was dark and we made our way back to the house. With the offer of a warm welcome, a place to stay and with some better fishing to be had in the sea in the summer when a few more fish are around not to mention access to some superb trout and salmon fishing later in the year, it's safe to say we may well be visiting the area again!

Tight lines, Hutch.