West of Sunart

Sunart can be a hard place to fish and I’ve not subjected myself to it’s whims in a while. However, it seemed the best of my options weather-wise so I loaded up the Longliner for a boat camping session. Normally I fish inside the loch but I fancied a change and decided to focus on the area just west of Sunart and into the sea north of Mull.

After an uneventful journey, I slipped the Longliner into the quiet bay at Salen and loaded my glamping setup aboard. Large bell tent (complete with carpet) and a carp bed for a comfy night. Not exactly hardcore wild camping this time!!

Out on the loch it was a little blustery but a quite straightforward 10 mile run to my campsite on Loch na Droma Buidhe.

A Comfortable Glampsite(!)

I’ve used this little bay a couple of times before and it’s nicely sheltered from any southerly wind.

I loitered around after pitching my oversized tent, enjoying the warmth of May sunshine and a little reluctant to head out onto a fairly windy loch. That’s the problem with a comfortable carp bed – you want to have a snooze at any excuse.

Finally stirring myself into action, I clambered back into my boat and made ready. The bay is quite shallow though, and carpeted in seaweed, so you really need to pole your boat ashore. Ian and I discovered this on a cold winter night when we got hopelessly stuck just yards from shore. I came prepared this time!

Scrambling back aboard, I noticed these chaps lying around. Fortunately for them, I’m not that interested in oysters! Scallops would be less lucky but I didn’t see any lying about in the muddy sand.

I’d resurrected a couple of old collapsible pots I have and dropped these overboard in one of the deeper parts of the loch. I’ve never yet caught anything worthwhile in one, but there’s no harm trying.

Exploring the Coast

I headed out of my camping hidey-hole and explored along towards Auliston Point.

I spent a while exploring the coast and trying a few deep dropoffs, but without success. There is also the wreck of an old prawn boat just offshore which I found easily enough. However, it’s a small beast and didn’t seem worth the effort in the breeze.

Having only a lost pollack to show for my efforts I headed back into Loch na Droma Buidhe and anchored for a couple of hours bottom fishing. Completely dead! Not the slightest nibble or sign of interest in my baits, which came back untouched.

By around 7 my stomach was protesting and I’d had enough, so I edged back to my stony beach. This loch is a favourite of yachties, since it’s just a quick hop across the water from Tobermory, and it gets pretty crowded over the summer. Most were anchored up at the other end of the loch but I had to work around one anchored very close inshore and just off “my” beach.

The evening was mild and I’d no need of a warm campfire. However, I didn’t fancy raw chicken either, so set up a small cooking fire on the stony beach. I’ve acquired a new toy, in the shape of a cast iron dutch oven and this was my first attempt to use it.

To be honest, it’s probably just another way for me to produce barely edible meals, but the first attempt tasted better than it looked. The oven weighs a ton and is strictly for car or boat camping, but will no doubt appear from time to time.

Sitting back with a beer I watched sunset come and go, before finally hitting the sack at dusk. Free bonus tip: attempting to drink beer through a midge net will not have a happy ending 🙂

Up With The Sun

Next day I awoke with the sun, and to a perfectly still morning. My Orkney was still afloat too, which is always a welcome sight! The forecast was good until lunchtime and then turning increasingly naff, so I hit the water by 6.30.

I’d expected the midges to be out in force but, luckily for me, they were pretty subdued as I hauled the Longliner off her mooring.

All was calm as I edged out the loch and opened the throttle on a flat sea.

I finally reached my target, around 10 miles to the west of Sunart and halfway between Mull and Ardnamurchan. Helpfully marked on the chart as “Fishing Bank”, I’ve tried here before a couple of times. Whilst I caught fish on both occasions it was a close run thing, so I wasn’t overly confident.

This marks appears to be a large whaleback shaped ridge, rising to within 60 feet of the surface at it’s eastern end. I’ve found the eastern end to be a tackle killer on an easterly drift, but lost nothing this time around.

First Blood

Didn’t catch very much either, truth be told. I waited almost an hour for my initial victim – a little cuckoo wrasse, and my first for ages.

Fish number 2 was another oddity, in the shape of a short spined sea scorpian. Despite what is often said, they are not poisonous and even my filleting knife is sharper than their spines. I quite like catching them and this little guy was soon returned.

This area of the Highlands was popular this morning, and several ferries and small cruise ships ploughed past as I fished. Plenty yachts too, although there wasn’t much wind for sailing.

A codling later, and I felt a more solid pull on the rod tip. My little UglyStik 12lb class lifted in to something clearly bigger than a scorpian fish. I wasn’t surprised to see a spurdog breaking the surface, although a ling would be nice. Somewhere short of double figures, I reckoned this one was around 9lbs judging by it’s length.

My spinning rod had been quietly fishing a mackerel belly strip about 60 feet down, but with no interest whatsoever. Now I could see it bouncing quite energetically, although not pulling over in the way a pollack dive bombs for the seabed.

I could feel weight but no fight as I reeled in, the reason becoming obvious when the chomped remnants of a small pollack surfaced. Clearly a pack of spurs had intercepted my hungry pollack in midwater, resulting in a rather one-sided fight.

Dropping my hokkais back down to the seafloor, I didn’t have to wait long before the spurs came back for more. This was another female fish, slightly smaller than the first, but still very welcome.

A little later I added another to my tally, my biggest, but probably just under the 10lb mark.

Wet, Wet, Wet

Shortly after, the heavens opened and I was rapidly soaked before I could don my waders again. So much for the forecast sunshine!

Gradually steaming dry, I carried on fishing on a slow drift. Now it was the turn of ling to put in an appearance and add to my species count.

Only small stuff, but quite pretty fish that went back quite easily and swam strongly back down. I was glad to see this as I do hate fish sitting on the surface with a blown swim bladder.

The breeze had risen by now and the rain returned. This was pretty much as forecast, so I decided to call it quits and head back to my campsite.

I stopped off long enough to haul my pots before I forgot all about them (Anyone over the age of 50 probably knows I’m not joking either). Not that it would make any difference anyway, as my manky mackerel surfaced completely untouched, with not so much as a prawn’s whisker in the creels.

Once ashore, I debated whether to hang on for another night or just call it quits. I’d have been quite comfortable in my canvas home, but the forecast wind would probably spoil my plans to explore Loch Teacius, so there didn’t seem too much point in staying. Judging by the rain and wind I encountered on my drive home it was probably a sensible choice.

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