The Skye Experience!

After packing up the car at Applecross and heading off once more we were immediately greeted with more stunning sites for; on the campsite there were two Stags and three or four Doe in the field, such a sight I had never seen before, sure I had seen Deer before but never a Stag let alone two! I tried to get a good photo yet I just could not, the light was just not right and the deer were already "on the hoof", still what an awesome experience.

 Driving back down the pass we would see several more Deer and already the day was looking good.

We had a two hour drive ahead until we met with Dimitrios on the South of Skye and once again my eyes tried to process the awesome sights.

We arrived at the carpark in Elgol a little before Dimitrios, so Scott and I had a little dangle off of the harbour slip way whilst waiting for the Wizard to arrive.

Scott had hooked up on his first Launce of the year and whilst he was photographing his capture, I was quietly presenting a 1" Gulp fish fry on a 0.6g jighead to an unsuspecting flounder. Scott reckoned I was being sneaky but, I didn't want to say anything as the fish was giving me a bit of the run around and I didn't want to lose it!

A nice fish of circa one and a half pound was however landed.

Scott also caught a tiny Plaice before we followed Dimitrios onto the cliff tops and made our way to the mark.

Upon arriving we were met with quite challenging conditions, a stiff South Easterly was blowing right at us and creating a decent swell. 

Initially I was fishing with a heavy setup and casting 40g jigs in to the horizon and covering a good amount of ground, again I was hoping for a sizeable fish yet i only hooked up on small Coal fish.

After a while I gave in and used my light game setup and some 7g jigs, as did Scott. We bagged up on small Pollock when sods law came into play; I got a hook up on a decent fish!

I actually got the fish to the surface at one point and just when I thought I had it beat, the fish took a strong and unstoppable dive. There was nothing I could do as the fish stripped my line whilst Scott giggled in amusement of the fishes power, lodged under a ledge I know I stood little chance of getting it out and eventually pulled for a break.

With that Dimitrios had decided we needed the "Skye experience" and suggested that we head up North to Neist Point, sure enough we agreed.

After another trek and drive we arrived at Neist and were actually met with equally challenging conditions but stunning scenery.

At our first spot Dimitrios hooked into a decent fish but the swell and waves made landing the beast too difficult and thus we saw another fish lost, it was genuinely far too dangerous to persist here so we moved to the right of the headland.

This time it was my turn again to lose a decent fish, she threw my slow jig at the waters surface! Again though, I had no idea how I would've actually landed it being high up from the water, another short move and we had found a good pocket of fish.

Dimitrios was first in and landed a tidy fish of about seven and a half pound.

Well there is a reason I call him "the Wizard"; great angler, great fish!

Scott was next up with another tidy fish;

I was starting to get a bit desperate now and clipped on a 30g Apia Enryu Slow jig, cast it into the distance and freespooled it down to the deep sea bed. Working the jig on my less than ideal Hart Boushido, I got a wallop and leaned into a good fish.

I knew it was a decent fish but, after getting it about half way up I just had a feeling this wasn't a Pollock and as it reached the surface I saw the colour and thought it was a Cod. Scott corrected me as he shouted "Ling, You've got a Ling"!

Instantly my adrenaline turned to sheer glee as I lead the fish along the rocks and into Scotts grasp, the sea surged and fell away pulling the fish down into an abrasive crack, for a split second I thought my prize had been lost, but Scott had hold. Seconds later the fish was on the shore and what a fish she was; at 7.76lb it was a cracking shore ling by any measure, let alone lure caught.

The fish was released and fits of laughter and hugs all round ensued, what a moment!

I actually said as I changed my knackered 30lb leader "I dont give a shit if I don't catch another fish!", to which the guys smiled.

Of course I still had to get a Pollock and albeit quite small, a Pollock I caught nonetheless and a nice addition to the days tally.

The Skye experience indeed!

That night we hit Portree for food, drinks and a bit of celebration, I would say it was well deserved and well enjoyed too.

That was a day I will remember for life, I knew a decent shore ling would be possible on jig, I never thought I could pull it off though, amazing.