» Welcome To Sea Angling Scotland

Welcome to Sea Angling Scotland. This site was created in the hope of sharing information, pictures and some enjoyable reading which may be of use to you. I hope to update pictures and reports on a monthly basis. Please do look around, and let me know what you think. Below is a general report of what sport is to be had where, and what is expected in the next month.

Scotland

In Scotland we are blessed with many things (definitely not the weather). We have some of the most breathtaking scenery around the British isles, and the highland area is one of the largest and most spectacular in the UK. The highlands harbour a wide range of wildlife, from deer and pine martins, to the most spectacular in my opinion, the white tailed Sea Eagle.

 Sea angling opportunities are aplenty from east to west. Nowadays the east coast is famed for its cod fishing from shore and boat. Although commercial pressure has wiped out a large population of the north sea Cod, there are still plenty to be  caught. In the right conditions during winter anglers can expect anything up to 50lb bags of fish with the odd double figured specimen. The Clyde in the west used to be the place for cod in Scotland until they were all but wiped out by the commercials.

The west coast has lots of opportunities for sea angling with its many fjord like sea lochs and peninsulas giving extremely deep water very close to shore. A trip to Scotland would really be made special with a boat trip from Oban or the Sound of mull where  they frequently catch skate in excess of 200lbs. A tag and release policy has been put in place. Davy Holt is the man for skate in the sound of mull and has a very informative website.

The deep sea lochs such as Loch Etive, Sunart and Fyne to name a couple hold a variety of species with Spurdogs, Dogfish, Rays, Pollack, Congers, Haddock...The list could go on and on. The water is extremely deep in places with 200 foot within casting range possible in some places.

The south western point of at the mull of Galloway gives way to endless amounts of species, Maybe the most available in mainland Scotland. With nearly all species possible, Its most famous for Pollack, wrasse and conger from shore, and boat anglers here catch good numbers of tope and bass each season in Luce bay. It wouldnt be possible to name every location to fish in Scotland, because quite simply, there are thousands. Its often a case of just fishing where you think looks best that produces the best catches. Particularly if you can find some deeper water with alittle of tidal movement.

Recent News And What's To Come

The Cod fishing in November looked very promising around the deeper rock marks near Aberdeen at times with bags of 10-15 fish not uncommon in calmer spells. Most fish in the 3-5lb bracket with the odd bigger 8lb plus fish showing. Further south the more popular marks on the Arbroath coast such as Usan giving some good catches with a few double figured cod coming ashore. When the waters been calm and clear these shallower marks have been poor though.

 It seems some of the best sport his month has come from the shallower marks around Loch Etive on the west  with several Spurdogs to 12lbs being reported at night. Good numbers of Thornback Rays averaging 4lb are a good bet also with a few specimens of over 8lb being caught. Seeking out the Spurdog packs has been all important as they follow on closely behind the whiting shoals. A tide 3 hours either side of low water during darkness has been a key factor in bringing results. Large squid/mackerel cocktails have been deadly.

We can only hope that January produces better bags of Cod than December have. Best bet would probably be the deeper marks near Aberdeen such as Findon should produce good bags of fish with a possibility of a double especially if the water is calm and clear and there is a frost. Arbroath marks such as the Harbour and Ballis may pick up also if there is a good easterly blow giving dirty water. Loch Etive may slow down as the new year comes with fewer Spurdogs and Rays then have been about lately. February usually sees a good amount of thornback rays between 1-5lb congregating close to shore on the the northern bank of Loch Leven.

Tight Lines

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