The Skipper's Log, 2004 Season
Okay, this is where we'll be posting our Skipper's Log 2004. Here we feature what was caught, when, by whom and with what kind of bait - Banana skins and Mackeral proving popular in recent years. Our first log for 2004 is the Skate Hunt. And Boy! Was this the best one yet or what??!! Before we get stuck into the season, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the regulars for their continued business during the previous seasons and this coming one. Bring us the weather and we will get you the fish!
May | June | July | August | September | October
The season got under way in April with a fantastic trip up to Loch Oban. (see page on website for details,) where we broke all our previous records with 96 Skate in just 20 days fishing. That will take some beating but we said that the year before.
The regular season got off to a bumper start in the first weekend of May with plenty of Pollack around the 6-7 pounds mark and a 10.5 pounder for a new angler (picture to follow) aboard Onyermarks Too. This double is a month earlier than usual and speaks well of our conservation policy (see index for our conservation page).
May passed fairly uneventfully as far as the fishing went. Most days produced a steady flow of Pollack to 6-7 pounds with the odd better fish. Mally on Onyer Marks Too produced the best 3 Pollack of the month, with Greg Whitehead catching a double figure Pollack on May 22nd. Towards the end of the month we started picking up a few Codling and Haddock but nothing startling. A nice bonus is the number of Plaice that are around. As of the end of May, the water temp. is well down on recent years, the big Pollack are full of Milk and have other things on their minds and the Mackerel have yet to show in any numbers, even the Wrasse are slow to come on the feed. Every thing should change in the next fortnight, with all the summer species following the Mackerel.
June got off to a good start. On June the first, I was out fishing with a pal. We had our first real hit on the Mackerel with constant full strings. We then had Pollack to 8 pounds, Plentiful Wrasse to 4 pounds. and ended up with our first 2 Tope of the season, followed by our first Thornback, giving a final total of 14 species on the day, Yabadabadoo, after a slow start the season has finally kicked off!
On June the 2nd I steamed with a pal John Simmonds from Poynton, Manchester to a reef I had fancied trying for Rays and Smooth Hounds, within 5 minutes we had our first of 34 Tope that day.
The following day the two of
us were joined by Hamilton Angler Colin Jamieson, We ended up with an
incredible 45 Tope, to 40 pounds. At 5 O'clock. I dropped Colin off and
picked my wife Christine up. She promptly helped herself to a further
8 Tope making a total of 53 on the day beating our old record by 11 fish.
Because there was very little tide and only fishing in 25 ft. of water it was
possible to fish with very light tackle. 23 of the fish came to my Pollacking
float Rod with a float set 6 ft. off the bottom. It was sheer madness for hours
as the fish were running like wild banshees in the shallow water. A lesson to be
learnt here is, as I didn't think the Tope arrived in any numbers until the
second week of June. A day to remember, which might never be repeated, but I
said that after our last PB!
The General fishing has come on with plenty of Haddock showing, including my
biggest ever Haddock of 4 pounds 2 oz. on June 6th - a day that produced
15 species. Chris Horne's party booked my boat for the first time on June
5th, Although it wasn't buzzing they all saw a few Tope and we also had the
first conger of the season. The other two boats were general fishing off Port
Logan.
June the 6th saw a complete change of fortunes. We have just gone from the worst days Pollacking I have known to the best trip so far this season, with over 100 Pollack between 5-9.5 pounds, for Cumbrians on Ian Jone's party. We also had a productive few hours in the afternoon drifting for Plaice, Haddock and codling. The Plaice fishing is the best it has been since the mid 80's. Lets hope they are allowed to flourish.
The week commencing June 7th was frustrating as the winds were blowing force 5 and 6 all week. We had charters for Tope but were unable to get to them. Simon from John Rowley's party had a Conger close to 30 pounds on the 9th. (See image below.)
The next few days were again marred by the weather, and we couldn't get out to the Tope. On June 9th I headed out to the Scares and failed to find them, but had 13 to 50 pounds on the 10th for borders regulars Phil Lowe and Steve (Billy) Dalglish. Phil also had a 14 pound Bull Huss. We had to head inshore after a few hours on the Tope on the 11th and went Pollacking and had a couple of Double figure Pollack including a seasons best of 11 lb 4 oz.
Last year, one of Dave Olney's party from Richmond had the biggest Tope of the year, and Dave might have done it again this year, aboard Go West , with a fantastic fish in the mid seventies. This is Spikes biggest ever Tope, so well done to him. (See image below.) They also had a male well into the fifties which gave a hell of a fight, and a few smaller fish. I chased all over trying to find a pack and failed miserably that day.
On June 12th the wind was blowing yet again so the lads decided to have a species hunt between the three boats, The winners on the day had 16 species. All boats had plenty of Pollack to 8 pounds and a serious amount of kelped fish. At last we had a break in the weather on June 13th and all boats set out to the Scares. Every angler on three boats had Tope with Pete Thornton from Big Norm's party having the best day with 6 of the 19 to 42 pounds, caught on Onyer Marks.
The weather forecast for the
14th was for force sixes. We sat inshore in a gentle breeze for 3 hours and
Spike and I decided to go for it. Spike on Go West ended up
top boat with 14 Tope for Essex boys Paul Maris and Dave Hawkeswood.
One of my anglers had a Tope on and was really struggling to do anything with
the fish. I assumed after 5 minutes that the fish had rolled up the trace and
was coming up backwards. Eventually we got the 40 pound male Tope to the side
and was shocked to find huge fresh teeth marks with a 10 inch gape along the
side of the fish. Something, and I can only assume a Porbeagle Shark,
had attacked the fish whilst the angler was playing it. The fishing died for us
after that, as the shark must have been cruising around, but I will certainly be
taking some Shark gear out with me next time I am at the Scares.
On the same day Onyer
Marks Too had our first Bream this year with a brace for Yorkshire
angler Trevor Armitage.
June 15th was a windy day again and the boats were stuck inshore Pollacking.
Fish of the day was a 10.5 Pollack for Chris with Trevor Armitage's
party aboard Onyer Marks Too.
On the 16th all three boats
headed out to the Scares. By 2 O'clock things were looking a bit grim, I had
tried 3 marks with the Wirral boys and was blanking. Spike on
Go West had 1 Tope with the Essex boys on board and a few
dropped runs. Mally, with Trevor Armitage's party on Onyer
Marks had had 2 Tope. And then the dinner bell went!!!!
There was 10 rods in the water and all rods screamed off within a minute period.
even though the boats were a mile apart. It went ballistic for 2 hours and we
ended up more or less sharing the honours with a total of 63 fish. The
majority being 35-40 pound males, with the odd bigger fish.
Trevor Armitage had a
double figure Pollack on the 17th on Onyer Marks Too and not to be
outdone his son John landed one on the 18th. So all three lads had a
double figure Pollack and a load of Tope, in their 5 day charter. Well done
Mally.
We were stuck inshore for a few days after that but I managed a morning at the
scares on the 21st with Jim Lyndsey's party from Lesmahago. It wasn't
buzzing but we had 7 Tope and then went on the Pollack. Spike on Go
West had three the same day with Adrian Baker's party.
There are birds feeding on the surface
everywhere as the mackerel are chasing them to the surface. We have been
picking up a few conger to 30 pounds. Malcolm on Onyermarks Too
had the Oates Family out again. for three days. Harrison aged 5 and
Charlie aged 8 did really well in the horrible wet conditions and had
Pollack to 7 pounds. Dad Jonathon had a 20 pound conger and Mum
Jane, not to be out done, had their best fish with a Pollack a fraction
under 10 pounds.
The last two weeks in June
saw near gales every day, We were jammed in East Tarbert bay for nearly a
fortnight and didn't get offshore to the Tope once, although Spike on
Go West kept picking up the odd fish inshore. When we were able to get
on the Pollack marks the fishing was poor as the water is all stirred up, and
the area is full of 5 inch long sandeel.
The beginning of July was no better, weather wise, and I can honestly say that the weekend of July the 3rd and 4th was the worst fishing I have had since I started in 1988.
July 5th I finally got a break in the weather and fished Port Logan. We had a steady morning on the Pollack with plenty of fish but nothing special, and had a great afternoon with plenty of Plaice to 3 pounds, Haddock to 3.5 pounds and codling to 5 pounds for Tony Brook's party from Cumbria.
July the 6th saw a complete change of fortunes. We have just gone from the worst days Pollacking I have known to the best trip so far this season, with over 100 Pollack between 5-9.5 pounds, for Cumbrians on Ian Jone's party. We also had a productive few hours in the afternoon drifting for Plaice, Haddock and codling. The Plaice fishing is the best it has been since the mid 80's. Lets hope they are allowed to flourish.
Regular borders anglers had a great weekends fishing aboard Onyer Marks on July 10th and 11th. Billy (Stephen) Dalglish had a unique double figure Cod and Pollack on the Saturday and a fair share of the 10 Tope on the Sunday.
July 13th saw Mark Fennick catch a fine 50 pound Tope with Dave Olney's party..
As of middle of July the Tope have entered their breeding cycle. This happens every year and makes the fishing difficult for about 7-10 days, as food is the last thing on their minds. It results in 10 half-hearted runs a day and dropped baits. On a good day we might hook four or five fish. Loan angler Dave Wilson chartered Go West on July 15th and was rewarded with 6 Tope and Pollack to 8 Pounds.
I took my 4 year old lad Bradley out for a few hours and he did brilliantly with his "special new rod". He had Pollack to 5 pounds and 4 gurnards on a 5 hook trace!
Young Alex McMillan from Hexham was up to his old tricks on the 17th by out-fishing his dad again with a female Tope in the low 50's. Ruben's party from Carisle had a great weekend's general fishing on the 16th and 17th aboard Onyer Marks Too. They had a load of Pollack to 9 pounds, 70 Cod to 7 pounds, Haddock to 3.5 pounds and a 2.5 pounds Plaice.
Andy McKay's party of four from Glasgow booked Onyer Marks for the first time on July 21st. and all had a Tope each to 35 pounds, before having to run for cover.
Newton Sea Anglers arrived on July 24th for their annually weekly bash. They enjoy the Tope fishing but basically my remit is get them as many species as possible. We had 9 Tope on one of the days, Pollack to 11.5 pounds, Haddock to 4.5 pounds and total of 23 species. We had Plaice on most days and Tony Parr eventually managed one after years of trying. Tony is a very good angler and has caught most things that swim in British waters and was more pleased with his Plaice than with a 35 pound Tope.
Dave Armstrong helped himself to a double figure Pollack aboard Onyer Marks Too on the 29th July with a fish close to 11 pounds. To sum up July, Spike on Go West was definitely the top skipper on the Tope throughout July in what was a difficult time for us with Bad weather and un-co-operative Tope. We had Tope most days but not in the numbers we have come to expect. The Pollack proved very consistent throughout the month with plenty of fish to 8-9 pounds, with a fair smattering of double figure fish. Perhaps the most pleasing thing at the moment is the Conger fishing which has been very poor in recent years, although we are not getting particularly big ones we are getting odd days with 10 Conger up to the mid 20's
August got off to great start with the biggest Pollack of the season so far. Local anglers from Howden's Joinery fished on Onyer Marks Too for the first trip with us and Bill Sloan had a 13.75 pound Pollack.
I had 6 Tope to 40 pounds on the 1st with regular Graham Boardman's party
from Baildon, Bradford, and Spike had 7 fish with Jay Goulding's
party from Morecombe.
A group from the Isle of Bute booked 2 boats for the first time on August 2nd for three days. The first day was spent hiding but August 3rd produced my best Tope of the season so far, and came with a double hook-up. Ritchie Whitelaw had a female of 74 pounds and Neil Hendrie had a low fifties fish at the same time.
Chris Guise's party of 8 from Mid Wales arrived on August 9th for their annual 5 day bash. They had two boats and had a good solid week's fishing. with plenty of Pollack, Coalie, Haddock, Cod and finished the week with a 11 pound Pollack for organiser Chris and the fish of the year so far with our first ever John Dory aboard Onyer Marks Too. There isn't even a Scottish record for this species, so it could be the first ever caught in Scottish waters.
I had double figure Pollack on the 20th with Cumbrian Richard McKnight's party and again on the 23rd with Harry Burgesse's party.
Graham Monteith's party from Edinburgh chartered 2 boats for three days from the 20th - the 22nd and had a mixed bag with Tope and Pollack. Best fish of the trip was a 11 pound Pollack for Edwin on Onyer Marks Too.
My oldest customers from Leeds, Dennis Swales's party, had 7 Tope on the 21st with many more being lost, and had 17 species on the Sunday with a good bag of Plaice to 3 pounds. Considering the weather we have had in the last few weeks I think we have done very well as many bigger boats have been tied up.
August the 25th brought a new challenge, We had angling journalist Phil Williams from Boat Fishing Monthly, out with me for a feature on an attempted world record for Pollack on the fly. Alan Everington had landed and lost quite a few big Pollack in previous trips, so we knew it was possible. We ended up with 3 world records with the best being a 7lb 12oz Pollack on a 6 lb Tippet (trace in sea-fishing-talk). Alan also got smashed up twice on 12 lb Tippet, so who knows how big these fish were. The records will not stand for anything, as all fish were returned, but we followed the IGFA ruling to the full. Well done to Alan for a remarkable day. At one stage the Fly was out-fishing the other boats fishing with baits, both in numbers and size.
The month of September was the worst spell of weather we have ever had. We actually lost more days in September than in the previous three years. We had Southerly gales nearly 5 days out of 7. Yet we still managed to produce some memorial fishing days, considering we were jammed into a small patch in East Tarbert bay all month.
Martin McCauley booked Onyer Marks on Sept 3rd with 4 Tope Virgins, all lost that record within two hours. Tony Brooke helped himself to a fine Tope on September 6th.
Lone angler Winston from Cheshire booked Onyer Marks on Sept 15th and was rewarded with 7 Tope to himself - all good fighting males between 30 and 40 pounds. On 17 September Billy Dart, who had seen many Tope caught but never actually had one himself, finally broke his duck with a cracking 65 pound female and had a further three of the 7 caught that day.
Cedric and fellow regulars from Hexham had a good day on the 18th, with 6 Tope, and Dave Dillon and party from Dumfries had 4 Tope on the 19th aboard Go West. Reg Baxter, alias William Hague, (THE Willy Hague? ~ webmaster) had his annual trip on the 22nd September with girlfriend Jane and had 6 Tope all good sized males to 45 pounds.
Regular border anglers Phil Lowe and party had some great Pollack fishing on the weekend of the 25th and 26th with two doubles and on the Sunday we lost one of the biggest Tope I have ever seen at the side of the boat. It had to be 80 plus!
Simon Gore and his mates had 4 Tope on the 27th. A Regular angler - who prefers to remain anonymous (?) had 4 tope aboard Onyer Marks Too on the 30th. All these fish through September were caught less than half a mile offshore, as the swell was just too big even on the less windy days.
October was a month that produced nothing out the ordinary, yet the offshore fishing was fantastic. We had the odd day with good Tope fishing, particularly Chris Tower’s party from Nottingham. All had a fish apiece. The Haddock fishing seems to have stepped up another gear with bags of 30-40 fish to 4.5 pounds not uncommon, with a few decent Cod to 8 pounds in amongst them. And the excellent Plaice fishing continued right through to the end of the season with the odd three pounder being caught. The Pollack fishing was steady all month with plenty of fish to 8-9 pounds with the odd better fish coming along.
To sum up the 2004 season.
It was not one of our better years regards the Tope fishing, apart from the start which produced some memorial days with 2 anglers catching 53 Tope in one day. Spike on Go West deserves a special mention as he had his biggest ever Tope with a fine female of 75-ish pounds and was top boat on quite a few occasions. The poorer than usual Tope fishing was solely down to the weather, which blew right through the year. We rely on getting 6-8 miles offshore in June, July and August to be in amongst the Tope but unfortunately this didn’t happen often enough. Mally, aboard Onyer Marks Too was his usual brilliant self on the Pollack, particularly the beginning of the year when he was producing doubles out off thin air. The Pollack fishing remained brilliant with plenty of Pollack on most days, and a few more decent wrasse showed with quite a few Ballans to 5 pounds. The general fishing was steady with the Haddock and Plaice being our saving grace, with all boats getting their biggest ever Haddock. Some of the Plaice were the biggest I have seen since 1988. The Cod fishing was good early in the summer but died a little as the summer rolled on. The Ling seemed to come on as the Cod left. It was certainly our best year on the Conger for ten years, not so much in there size, but numbers were definitely up on previous years. Best day on the species produced 22 in one day for Big Norm’s regular party from Leeds, and perhaps the fish of the year was a 2.5 pound John Dory caught aboard Onyer Marks Too. This is our first and there isn’t even a Scottish rod caught record for it. I had more anglers wanting to fish Pollack on the fly and Alan Everington lead the way with a remarkable days fishing on Sept 25th when he broke three world records in an afternoon! Well done Alan!
Mally, Spike, Christine and I would like to thank all our regulars for the custom in 2004 and we would like to wish you all a Merry X-Mas and a Happy New Year. See you all in 2005 ~ cheers Ian
Howard Royle. It is with deep regret that we announce the death of one of our regular clients, Howard Royle. One of the 'Wirral Lads', Howard was a regular with Onyer Marks, and his enthusiasm and humour will be missed by everyone. Our condolences to Howard's family and friends.