Orkneys 4 & 5

[BigBadCol]

Early morning Barriers No.s 3, 2, 1.

Today’s efforts were only going to be a quick 3 sessions on each of the 3 barriers. With mackerel being my main target. We’re stopping in St Margarets Hope, so the 1st barrier is No.3 with the West side being more favourable as there is a wreck about 50 yards off the barrier. So armed with some tinsel and my trusts 10’ Shakespeare agility spinning rod. First chuck resulted in a triple shot of coalie, not what I was after really.



I just couldn’t get through the coalies for anything else, I gave it the allotted hour I had decided and all I had was about 20 coalies and nothing else.
Barrier No.2 East & West
I’ve fished No.2 a few times now and never really had anything off here despite there being a huge wreck on the East and a bit of depth to the West, so my hopes weren’t too high. I wasn’t disappointed as after a fruitless 1/2hr I packed up and moved to No.1.

Barrier No.1 West side.

Having had a good afternoon/evening yesterday I was hoping things would turn better here. I wasn’t disappointed my 1st chuck resulted in another little codling.





I had a steady run again of these little cods until a wee Pollack turned up.



I then dropped one in about 30 yards and was hit straight away by a couple of my target of mackerel. There’s only so much tinsel chucking I can do so I stopped after a few more chucks as I just couldn’t find them in numbers. I then changed tactics and stuck the old float on. Immediately I was rewarded with another ballan wrasse.



My allocated hour was a bout up so I packed up and went home for a full Scottish breakfast of haggis, black & white pudding, sausage, bacon, tattie cakes, beans and a couple of fried eggs, enough to keep me going for a few hours.

Day 5, another crack at Hoxa.

I thought today with the wind being SSE I might have got away with Hoxa head, WRONG! Where I was fishing was just in the wind and I say just in the wind light heartedly as I couldn’t bloody stand up in it, it was howling through. Undeterred I hid behind an outcrop and fished anyway, or attempted too. I couldn’t get my bait far enough out due to not being able to stand up in the wind and cast without losing my balance. So I only managed 50 yards n I needed 70 to get in the hole I found the other day. Besides all the odds against me I hit 2 big fish which managed to get off in the kelp on the wind in. unlike the other day lost 3 bits of kit and decided enough was enough and called it a day. I am determined to give this mark my fullest attention IF the weather is kind, (it doesn’t look like it at the moment though)

[grumpyppops1]

Haggis and tattie scones,stuff the fishing .you're making me hungry and homesick

[craggers]

top fishing col

[mac]

Another good report Col plenty of variety again , love tinsel chucking but if the maccy aint there , well !!...can be hard to get past the black but at least you're catching and its good sport .
Haggis and tattie scones grumps , proper breakie .

[BigBadCol]

Thank you for your kind replies guys

[pros]

Great report, well fished Col.

[rob f]

a good variety of caught , Col well done