Following success at the end of May, Ian and I were tempted north again in early July. There were fewer haddock on offer, but they would potentially be larger, fatter and tastier specimens. Yum!!
My only problem was that the tides meant I’d be up before four in the morning – again. I’d literally just returned after returning from kayaking along Morvern the day before. I’m an early riser but I do like some sleep…
Nevertheless, I kicked Ian’s door down at the agreed time and slumped in his car for a snooze. Ian obligingly chauffeured us up past Aberdeen to meet Trevor a little before eight.
The weather was kind again and we headed out on an almost flat North Sea. Mackerel played hard to get initially but we soon acquired more than enough as we tried the skipper’s inshore marks.
We started drifting for our target species a little further out over sandy ground. Haddock had definitely thinned out but still seemed keen to have a nibble. Definitely plumper than a few weeks before, but the larger fish were unfortunately absent.
We had a slow drift for much of the day and definitely did better when things speeded up a little.
Smaller species also appeared – little codling, dabs, ling and so forth. Ian took the opportunity to fill a bucket with mackerel for winter bait.
Overall we picked up over 100 haddock, so a really good haul by any objective standard – just a bit down on 100+ each a few weeks back.
And Dunbar Round 2
I don’t think this one merits a separate post, but I collected my own winter bait a few days later when I visited Dunbar. It wasn’t the plan, but mackerel were around in numbers and I just kept catching them…
In fact, I actually got bumped from Dunbar itself as it was their gala day and the slip was closed. Fortunately the slip at Skateraw has now been repaired and the Longliner seems to slip under the entrance road barrier with room to spare. It’s been quite a while since I’ve dropped a boat in the water there, but it was easy enough as long as you avoid the many holes in the beach.
Anyway, after saving myself the £15 launch fee, by early afternoon I’d 60+ mackerel for the freezer and another 3 or 4 codling for dinner. Codling were perhaps crowded out by mackerel and I only had around a dozen in total, plus a couple of small pollack. Hardly a red letter day, but good fun nonetheless.
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I have recently moved to Dunbar and follow your blog with interest! I have an Orkney 520 – so very similar to your boat (I think). We have had many days when getting through mackerel to cod, ling or pollack as been tough – but we have managed. Following some of your trips, we fished close in by the cement works and had (for me) the fish of a lifetime, just over 10lb pollock on light gear – cracking fun!
Thanks for all your writing and keep it up!
Hi Fraser,
I don’t fish Dunbar anything like as much as I used to, but it’s still a great place to fish from. Even better if it’s on your doorstep! That’s a cracking pollack too – I’ve had several double figure ling over the years, but never a 10lb pollack or cod from Dunbar. If you’re local and can pick your conditions then it’s worth remembering that the area will fish through to New Year. More sporadically than during the summer, but you’ll still find fish in numbers at times, including good pollack.