Wrassling at St. Andrews

Beautifully coloured Ballan Wrasse from St. Andrews

I was debating what to last weekend when Ian dropped me an email suggesting a trip out of St. Andrews with Trevor. The forecast was for a fine sunny day but with a stiff westerly breeze – not perfect, but much easier than an east wind. We duly met up on the harbour pontoons, after… Continue reading Wrassling at St. Andrews

Spring Codling on the East Coast

Short Spined Sea Scorpian

St. Andrews appeared a bit more cheerful than the last time I visited, away back in the early winter. Ian had caught decent numbers of codling over the previous week, and they were our main goal for this afternoon/evening session. I haven’t seen a cod all winter so was looking forward to some tasty spring… Continue reading Spring Codling on the East Coast

Starting Back…

Fine little cod

Like everyone, I’ve had lots of plans cancelled due to Covid house arrest over the last few months. And, after all these disappointments, it’s good to finally get back on the saddle. My first trip out was at Skateraw, with the SIB for company. I’ve not used the old Avon for a couple of years… Continue reading Starting Back…

East Coast Round-up

A ridiculously mis-matched fish and lure

I’ve been very remiss in reporting this year’s events on the Scottish east coast boat fishing scene. Maybe there’s not been much to write about, but I have fallen way behind. A mid-November trip out of St Andrews may be my last trip afloat on the east coast this year (hopefully not!) so kind of… Continue reading East Coast Round-up

A Wee Playabout off Dunbar

Pollack take no prisoners when they engulf a bait

Sunday looked to be a nice day so the target was to be Dunbar pollack, codling and ling again. Boat and gear were sorted and I set the alarm to give me a fighting chance of hitting the slip before boats started to stack up. As a result a rather bleary-eyed angler edged his boat… Continue reading A Wee Playabout off Dunbar

Codling Galore at St. Andrews

Ian with a ballan wrasse

After an hour trundling along at 40mph in a pensioner rally I arrived at St. Andrews to find plenty of water in the harbour. Far too much water in fact, as the harbour gates were closed with Ian’s boat on the wrong side 🙁 Getting them opened again involved a tense race against time to allow the water… Continue reading Codling Galore at St. Andrews

Ice and Fog (and a few cod) at St Andrews

Ian plays a small codling

Ice and fog pretty much sums up this morning, from scraping ice off the Raider’s windows (inside and out) to setting out into uncomfortably thick fog and a light but freezing NW wind. We were both chilling down rapidly by the end of our first drift, as the conditions cut to the bone despite our layers of… Continue reading Ice and Fog (and a few cod) at St Andrews