I’ve just bought a new toy, a little 3.5hp Mariner outboard. It’s a longshaft, intended to be an auxiliary for the Orkney, but is equally happy to sit on the back of my old Avon SIB. It needed running in and I haven’t really used the Avon for almost two years, so I decided take… Continue reading A Mariner on Leven
Category: Boat fishing
Anything to do with fishing from a boat
A Slow Day Chasing Oban Skate
Tiny tides and light winds meant this little Easter bunny finally dug his skate gear out. After pouring a couple of ingots worth of diesel into my Czech tow truck I met up with Ian at Lochearnhead before heading over to Oban. We’ve had some very good days chasing skate in recent years, so my… Continue reading A Slow Day Chasing Oban Skate
Kayak Camping on Etive
No fishing in the title, and little in reality, but I’d a superb weekend kayak camping on Etive earlier in March. Sunshine over snow capped mountains, sea ice on the lochs and perfect kayaking conditions. Fishing can happily take a back seat at times! I popped the yak in amongst the mini ice-floes surrounding Glen… Continue reading Kayak Camping on Etive
Four Years with my Orkney Longliner 2
I’ve owned an Orkney Longliner 2 boat for over 4 years now and this is my take on her. I don’t normally write reviews and I’m not getting a backhander from anyone for writing this. However, I struggled to find information on the Longliner before I bought her and there’s not much out there even… Continue reading Four Years with my Orkney Longliner 2
Fishless and Frozen at St. Andrews
An exaggeration on both counts, but it was a tough day afloat when I paid a visit to Ian last week… – and a short report! The numbers of fish around St. Andrews dwindle as winter sets in but their quality normally tends to improve. Therefore, when Ian suggested a cod hunting session in the… Continue reading Fishless and Frozen at St. Andrews
Peace and Quiet on Etive
I’m often across at Etive over the winter months, both on my boat and from the shore. Whilst the fishing is unspectacular, it is one of the most sheltered places to sea fish in a very windy country. If, like me, you enjoy scenery, solitude and the smoke of a campfire, then Etive is also… Continue reading Peace and Quiet on Etive
Etive Spurdog – and a Hot Tent Overnight Camp
What with lockdowns and life generally, it’s over a year since I was afloat on Etive. I finally remedied that last month with an overnight trip with Ian. The local swans hassled for a payout as we launched at Taynuilt and headed out into a calm loch. We planned to camp well up the loch… Continue reading Etive Spurdog – and a Hot Tent Overnight Camp
A Corkwing for Corkwing (finally)
The early part of October saw me out on Ian’s Raider, fishing out of St. Andrews. The pollack and cod played a little hard to get so we ended up spending 2 or 3 hours chasing wrasse. Ian’s hard-dug rag proved highly successful and a rapid succession of small to middling ballans appeared alongside the… Continue reading A Corkwing for Corkwing (finally)
A Couple of Late St. Andrews Reports
I’m way behind in writing up my fishing reports, so the next couple are a pair of late summer/early autumn sessions out of St. Andrews. I’ve still got another three or four to catch up on! Mackerel “Mackerel – no problem, there’s tons around!” I exaggerate Ian’s words slightly but you have no doubt already… Continue reading A Couple of Late St. Andrews Reports
Exploring Rum, Eigg and Skye
The Small Isles – Rum & Eigg When the wind and sea allow, I like to take a longer trip in the boat. Normally I potter around doing a little fishing, a little fossicking about and quite a lot of general chilling. Generally that means somewhere up the west coast of Scotland, usually exploring one… Continue reading Exploring Rum, Eigg and Skye