Fly Fishing For Pollock

Image Above: Pollock on the fly

Image below: Ripple tail fly cut from washing-up gloves

Image Bottom: Fly fishing into evening

I once believed the fly fishing was about the most ridiculous and inefficient way to catch fish, like attempting to drive a car while locked in the boot. Despite owning a fly rod and using it regularly my opinion has changed little, I know there are endless books and magazines that extoll the almost religious nature of fly fishing but I am an atheist.

With all that said I ventured onto the island’s pier yesterday afternoon holding a fly rod loaded with sinking line, an eight pound tippet and homemade fly. As a full moon rose out of the mountains on Mull across the bay I landed a selection of pollock and saithe from the shoals of fish that move in from sound as darkness gathers. Few were of any size but it but I briefly found some kind of casting rhythm and fly fishing didn’t seem that much of a task after all.

I was most proud of the fly a true junk item made from copper wire stripped out of and appliance, a tail cut from a plastic bag, insulation tape and a bit of nail varnish. Beautiful it isn’t but deadly none the less.

Pendulum Casting

Image Above: Pollock on home made feathers

Sunset has made its way into the afternoon and an hour’s fishing before dinner has become a race against the light. Today I was trying distance casting from my favourite rocks at the northwest corner of the island. I hand been out in the boat a couple of days ago fishing over a reef which runs parallel to the shore about 90meters out and taken a mixed bag. Getting out beyond the reef from the shore would take a bit of doing with a lure so I opted for a string of home feathers and lead bomb. Having never really fished in places where long distances where required I thought I would try out pendulum casting. It took me a while to remember the stance and swing from a DVD I had found in a charity shop but it wasn’t long before I was completely emptying my spool which was carrying about a 120 meters of braid. Once in the deeper water over the reef I hit into a shoal of juvenile coal fish and Pollock. Getting them back over the kelp covered reef wasn`t easy but I think the cleanly tied rig helped.

I was hoping some larger fish would venture in from the sound as the light dropped but it wasn`t to be. I headed back to feed the cows before it got completely dark.