Memories from my Scottish fishing years - part 2 - the boats

[Steve Arnold]

When you live in a part of the UK surrounded by the sea, as an angler you really must have a boat! I had several over my few decades there, all on trailers and ranging from just 9' length to a hefty Vimar 504 that was a wonderful sea boat with a good turn of speed when needed.

A little With 10' boat did for the calm days on sea lochs and freshwater fishing, easily launched almost anywhere....

I owned a couple of Seahog boats, the Seahog Seajeep was my favourite. Light enough to use on my own and did not need a braked trailer.....

That photo taken on freshwater Loch Lomond. Famous for big pike but it proved a hard water for me though I eventually got some doubles and a mid-twenty.

On a trip to Loch Torriden with that boat I took six common skate to over 200lbs (measured, not weighed!) over three days. On my own and had a camera set up in a clamp and wireless remote. Only skate in the boat was the smallest, like the picture but I do look a little strained!...

Get that huge circle hook bottom right, three mackerel bait "hair-rigged" with gardening wire. I was so pleased with my creation as it hooked every skate centre of the bottom jaw - easy release as the barb was crushed!

 

[Steve Arnold]

cont.....

That trip brought enough common skate to put me off skate fishing for a few years, bloody hard work!

I took my friend from Alligen out one afternoon and he had his first skate, just a baby fortunately as Colin has arthritic hands.

Only spent about three hours each day on the skate mark, the rest of the time was more entertaining with some decent pollack on spinning tackle and small feathers....

Colin had his skate on the last day. It was getting dark and he was worried his free ranging chickens would panic as they were used to being fed at dusk. Now Colin could not see how we could get the anchor up from the 300' depths in time, he could see us taking it in turns lifting it by hand! To this day the memory makes me laugh, his concerns lifted as quickly as the large buoy attached to the rope by an Alderney ring. It had the anchor on the surface within a few minutes. Outboard power is much better than arm muscle!

Oh, the chickens! They spotted us when we were still a few hundred yards outside the harbour. We could see them running across the common green to greet Colin .....with a chorus of nagging clucks!

 

[Steve Arnold]

cont....

Loch Torriden was a special place for me, typical of the Scottish West Coast but my old friend Colin had made it his home. He had been deputy headmaster of a high school but taken early retirement and moved north, living in a tiny caravan for many years. How he coped with the winters I can barely imagine, but he shared the caravan with two dogs. When I visited I got to stay in the community cabin (no room in his caravan thank goodness!) He moved into a nice little two bedroom bungalow eventually, quite civilised when I stopped there. Good wine rack and he cooked a fine cod supper!

What a spot to keep your boat! The cabin was a few yards away....

Back to boats....My Vimar 504 was a great sea boat! For its relatively short length it was a safe platform and I only sold it for something smaller as I had another bad turn of health.

My next boat was a little Orkney Coastliner. Handy and light, cheap to keep and run and I had a couple of outings to Portpatrick and then Loch Sunart.

Then fate dealt me a low blow.....on a charter boat out from Shetland I was unhooking a decent cod. My hand was in its mouth when a large wave hit the boat. The cod spun around my hand and it's teeth raked my knuckles ....it bled a lot!

Anyway, a few days later I am driving to SW Scotland and my hand is hurting. Hospital for me ....sepsis! Two years on antibiotics and an operation to clean infection from my wrist. Would you believe I nearly lost my arm to a deep sea bacteria!!!!

Sold the little Coastliner and that was the end of my boat ownership in Scotland. But I still have the arm, wrist not great but I can still fish. Be grateful for small mercies, says I!

 

[tigger]

Enjoyed that Pelamid .

I had a pike clamp down on my finger last year, didn't even think they could put pressure on like that! Anyhow, I think it's permanently damaged the nerve in my finger now.....no wonder they get thrown up the bank lol.

What made you move to France?

Oh, those boats look great!

 

[Steve Arnold]

Yes, a Lomond pike did the same to my hand, the boat deck was covered in my blood. Three fingers down to the bone and the pike was unhooked and quite roughly chucked back! That was the "mid-twenty" and it was not weighed!!!

My second wife is a wonderful, adventurous woman! I had told her of my plan to get in the car and just head south through Europe about the same time I got sepsis.

She stuck with me through that period and wanted to return to France. Although born 'n bred in Scotland she had worked in Italy and France in her early adult life. As she still had friends in Gourdon, France we went there on holiday. I remembered reading fishing articles in the 70s about the river Lot and we had a couple of day trips there looking at gites to rent.

Over the next year back in Scotland we got married and made plans to move. Sold the house and most of our gear, bought a Peugeot Partner, a roof box and decent trailer and we were off. Clothes, kitchen stuff, two folding electric bikes and about forty fishing rods.....priorities!!!

It was a thousand mile drive south and the car suspension was pretty well grounded.

That was three years ago and no regrets from either of us. We have had the best of Scotland and now have the best of France!

 

[mikench]

I really enjoyed reading your posts and experiences Pelamid. My little exploits are puny by comparison and the worst I've suffered is bream slime oh and wet jeans when standing in deep water with Tigger practicing Wallis casting.

If you ever go to Gourdon let me know and I'll treat you to coq au vin at the cafe next to the church near Place Victoria . It's a beautiful little place with stunning views. I can see the hill top from the apartment in Nice.

Keep up the posts. I had a boat( 7 metres with a cuddy cabin and sterndrive)) in North Wales and caught a skate ( i didn't see it) but after an epic struggle and having the boat towed from the stern despite the anchor, I was glad it shed the hook. I'm better with mackerel.

 

[Steve Arnold]

[QUOTE="mikench, post: 1539796, member: 107832"
If you ever go to Gourdon let me know and I'll treat you to coq au vin at the cafe next to the church near Place Victoria . It's a beautiful little place with stunning views. I can see the hill top from the apartment in Nice.
[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the offer Mike, are we talking of the same Gourdon? Our friends live in the Gourdon (Lot) near the Dordogne.

Somehow this Gourdon hilltop will not be seen from Nice!

In the Irish Sea there can be a lot of shark species. The deep North Channel can have some surprises, at least one NI charter boat has had some monsters. I wonder if it was a common skate you hooked - or something else?