October Kayak Adventure pt 2, Loch Crinan, Scotland, 16/26-10-11

Here is the second in my three part story. We are fishing for Common Skate in over 400 ft of water. Do you need to be mad to attempt such a thing? ... I will let you decide
WARNING! there is some swearing in some of the videos...but its all in a strong Welsh accent, so you probably wouldn't understand it anyway

Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides: above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumbered and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages and will lie
Battening upon huge sea-worms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.

The Kraken by Alfred, Lord Tennyson




The trip up from Lowerstoft was uneventful. Steve leaving 3 hours before me, going, home and dropping off Niki and picking up the bait and no doubt lots more, arrived at castle Loz only 10 minutes after me. Steve was billeted with Alan and Jason in 'Stag cottage' and myself with Wal, Gareth and Loz in 'Castle Loz' [ castle cottage ] Talk was of weather, tackle, prospects for the week and Wal's Skate the previous day, all washed down with beer.



The next morning we headed off to Loch Etive and launched in steady cold rain. It was the coldest, most miserable day of the week and the snow that dusted the tops of the mountains as we fished, melted as temperatures rose throughout the rest of our stay. Wal, a fish magnet as it turns out ! was holding up a Cod as we paddled over; things were looking up.






I tried baited hokies and ended up tied up to a buoy that was tethering some fish cages. I managed a small Thornback. a Gurnard and a Dogfish. Loz tracked down some Spurdog, our target species. It was cold and rainy all day and, after stocking up on beer in tesco's, the warmth of a mug of tea and some fish and chips in Oban, was very welcome. The drive back to Crinan was hairy, with hairpin bends, torrential rain and roads slippery with hail to negotiate. But we all made it back safely and the fire was soon lit back at the cottage.

Gareth and Wal look on in stunned silence, as Steve and Loz get their wallets out!


Again the forecast was poor, so plans were made to fish Loch Awe. Loch Awe has a reputation for Pike and Ferox Trout and we were keen to give it a go. It is a big and beautiful water, long and narrow, dotted with islands and surrounded by high forested hills. We found a spot to launch near a nearly completed watersports centre. We trolled lures and fished deadbaits in an attempt to get a take. The weather was squally with downpours of heavy rain and gusty winds. But between the showers the sun would come out and rainbows could be seen. Wal, Steve and myself did not have a lot of success, but Loz managed 3, including a double.
Back at the cottage Gareth had been resting his shoulder and doing some cooking we had chicken fajitas ... no chips. :





Wednesdays forecast looked a little more promising and we convinced ourselves it was do-able. Gareth and myself were last to launch by which time the others were heading back. Obviously it was too rough to get out in the Sound. So we fished the Loch in front of the cottage, catching Whiting and Dogfish, having a paddle and a sail, and having a look up the Crinan river. The forecast for Thursday morning looked much more promising and a plan was hatched for an early start.

Sam Mendes and crew scouting locations for the new Bond movie















We were up and on the water before the sun was up and out in the Sound anchoring up in the dawn light. Steve and Loz were on one buoy Wal, Gareth and myself on the other.
Gareth was first one to hook up, his rod bent double into a fish that would not come up off the bottom. Wal and Gareth released themselves and drifted off to do battle with the leviathan that refused to come up and have its picture taken. I was left on the buoy. I lashed an Octopus ( the going bait ) to my 14'O O'shaunassy lowered it to the bottom and waited patiently. 50 minutes later Gareth and Wal came back and told me the fish had been lost. The lads tied up in front of me again and it was not long before Wal announced he was in. Again they released from me and did battle with another fish. This time the Skate, a smaller one of around 40 lb, came up for a photo and tagging by the fishery team that were out on the water. When they got back it was decided to put me on point, so after a shuffle round we were fishing again. I put on a whole Trout as my Octopus had been gutted by zoo creatures. Unfortunately the forecast deterioration in the weather had arrived and we had to make a run for shelter. It was an exhilarating paddle/sail back in the worsening sea. So despite only being on the water for a morning, two takes were had and one fish landed. I thought this was pretty impressive and shows the potential of the venue.















Gareth's parted leader






Friday and the weather had closed in again. Steve and myself were still keen to go fishing! If there is a cure for this madness please do not tell me of it. We had been given, from a reliable source, a hot tip on were some Pike could be found. After a scenic drive down the West shore we found the mark just as the heavens opened. It was unrelenting but then that was what dry suits are for. In Scotland you put them on before you leave the house. Unfortunately Steve and my self clashed rods on the way down and it broke my rod holder and damaged Steve's Spinning rod. We made running repairs and launched. The fishing was tricky and to be honest I am not well clued up on fishing big lochs and this one was 25 miles long and over half a mile wide. Steve managed a pike of about 5 lb. I loved fishing the place and would like to connect with one of the biggun's that inhabit the mighty Loch Awe. On the way back we stopped at a shop/post office/restaurant in a small lochside village and had some fish and chips; lovely. The evening was spent in the company of Loz, Gareth, Wal, Steve, Alan and Jason. Beer was drunk.











The stand out thing in my week long stay at Castle Loz was the the relaxed and easy going atmosphere. There were a lot of laughs and in lesser company the weather may have started getting people down, but not this lot, we just laughed it off and launched anyway.
Saturday and it was time to pack and leave the cottage, every one said there goodbyes and we vowed to return again in the spring. And once again try to land the Kraken that live in the 'Sound of Jura'.


Everybody headed South. But I went North and there starts part 3 of my October Kayak Adventure.


Here are a couple of photo's of Wal's Skate, the first one around 90 lb the second about 40 lb.




 

I'm sure trying to land a big skate like that must have been a load of fun. Thanks for sharing TM.

Jedmo

awesome report as always!

Beautiful scenery and nice fish report.

Thanks for another fantastic report! I'm always fascinated by the scenery there, along with the fishing of course 

Great report!!!

-FF

You have quite a knack for writing an excellent report. I felt like having a good introduction to some of your fish species.
Very good camaraderie and excellent spirit from you guys.
Thanks for sharing.