Loch Fyne

[Grooveski]

A few pics from last week. Scott was already at camp, Stuart69 and I paddled out together then we all came back four days later. It was dreary a good chunk of the time and downright wet on a few occassions but it didn't stop anyone having a lovely time.

She gets around. This week with it being a still day we could hear the paddles slapping before she'd even appeared round the headland.

Scott already had a bunch of mackerel over the fire by the time we got there then a couple of days later popped out for twenty minutes and hauled in a bunch more. I didn't even put a rod together. It's funny, you wait all spring for the mackies to arrive then they go and trash the fishing by being so plentiful. He'd have been back in five minutes if he hadn't changed from feathers to a spinner to stretch out the session a bit.

The pots done well. A couple of bigges about 7" across...

...and a bunch of little ones that went back in.

We had a calm paddle both ways for a change. Even a wee tailbreeze on the way home.

Cheers to Stuart for sharpening everything in camp during one of the rainier spells while Scott wiled away the time buried in field guides and thatching books and I twisted up some string.
Made a couple of foot about half the diameter(about a mill and a half) to the usual that I've been making, there are less time consuming ways of making thin binding but I've developed a taste for sitting twisting string up and wasn't caring how long it took.

Click pic for bigger version and yeah, it was every bit as wet as it looks.




Josh

 

[Gailainne]

Sorry I missed it, the oven looks amazing btw Now those look like crabs worth eating, rather than the babies we were getting. That day we saw the Waverley on Loch Goil she was also up at Tayvallich later on the same day, she really does get about a bit, I wouldn't want to be the one stoking her tho destroyer speed
Is that Stuart in the second boat? if it is, he looks like hes got his J stroke down pat, very nice.

 

[Barn Owl]

Nice grub at least guys,if not weather.

I used to do a commentary on the Waverley from Ayr and around Ailsa Craig,with some coastal history and mainly bird,cetacean life.

 

[Humpback]

Josh, I was considering LF last week but went to Loch Etive. Can I ask where you put in? when looking at LF I noticed roads on both sides but from your photos they don't seem to intrusive.
Alan

 

[gsfgaz]

nice foto's , great catch ... good dinner for the nite ...

 

[Grooveski]

Aye Stephen, we had a burst of common sense and decided to try the pots much farther out - out in line with the local creelers(you can see one of his in the waverly photo). Looks like the guy who's worked this stretch for years knows where to to put them, who'd 'ave thunk it?
They're probably his pots, washed up sometime during winter a few years ago.

...and it is indeed Stuart looking very relaxed and proficient.
Oh man, you wouldn't believe what I done to his nice fresh wee pack. I'll tell you about it when I see you - can't face owning up in public to being such a plonker.

Josh, I was considering LF last week but went to Loch Etive. Can I ask where you put in? when looking at LF I noticed roads on both sides but from your photos they don't seem to intrusive.
Alan

We go in at Tarbert where there are no roads.
There is however forty-odd miles of open water staring you in face. Southerlies through easterlies can get nasty and sometimes there's no way you can paddle out. Plan on getting stuck there for a day or two if you venture that far out the loch.

Mind Loch Sween as well - it's gorgeous.
Hmmm, I must be about due another visit there too come to think of it.

 

[hanzo]

Nicely done. It looks like you had a great time. Eating good always helps too.

 

[Grooveski]

I used to do a commentary on the Waverley from Ayr and around Ailsa Craig,with some coastal history and mainly bird,cetacean life.

Have to say that's a good sounding gig.

Was eyeing up Ailsa Craig just the other night with a mind to maybe paddling over someday. Doubt it'll ever happen though, think it's a mid-life crisis.

 

[Ironside]

Great pics, and a legend with a rod and reel

 

[Mistwalker]

Nice photos, looks like you all ate well

 

[Shewie]

Looks like a good one Josh, sorry to have missed it.

Oh man, you wouldn't believe what I done to his nice fresh wee pack. I'll tell you about it when I see you - can't face owning up in public to being such a plonker.

Err .... PM now please

 

[Stuart69]

I'll let Josh tell you Rich, it's still too painful for me to talk about

I think he did it on purpose because my Pack is shinier than his

 

[Shewie]

Did it involve copious amounts of alcohol and a tumble in the dark ?

Or was he at ramming speed in ye beauty and took out your starboard side with a direct hit ? If it was then it was probably intentional, I've seen it happen many times to new boats

 

[Gailainne]

I still have the streaks on my Ivory MR Reflection to prove it, you wouldn't believe my boat is less than a year old. Get used to it Stuart, after the first big dent, and long scrape it does get less painful.

 

[Stuart69]

It's not bothered me at all, I've done more damage to it myself since I got it

Josh was just really concerned about what he'd done and I had great fun at Loch Fyne winding him up about it

 

[Grooveski]

OK, the tide was most of the way in and we were landing at camp among the big smooth rounded rocks. The ones with barnacles were well underwater so it was just a case of sliding up among them then finding a stepping stone. I came in first then when Stuart did I thought I'd give him a wee drag up(as you do).
Didn't even haul it far out, just enough so that it would be stable for him to step out of. Everybody does it, it's one of those wee common courtesy things that you just do without thinking of.

So, pulled the nose up onto the rocks and sat it down....
.....straight onto a limpit. Between the weeks worth of gear, Stuart still being in the boat and knowing fine well how thin packs are - with hindsight it was a damn fool thing to do.
(Not that I'd seen the little bas')

The noise was horrible.

The crack is semicircular, about four inches in diameter and a couple of days later we were hard pushed to see it. It's not right through, It's just like the one's I've got in this pack.
Hardly the point though. I chose to do the dumb things that cracked mine.

Bloody annoying. I coined a phrase for the week along the lines of "Never help anyone - ever!"

The only other time anyone helped Stuart with his boat was Andy E on Wallaby Island. Wouldn't be surprised if he developed a phobia.

 

[Shewie]

Ooh nasty, probably not as bad as it sounds though.

It's easily done I suppose, are we landing and launching on our own now then ?