[nicolas valentin]

This week we decided to go scenic . starting from Arrochar , loch Long .
View attachment 1128789
It was a very cold start , eventually the sun came out .

I enjoyed catching the first fish , new species this year #29 from the kayak . A black Goby .

We then paddled and fished close in . The species kept coming .

The seal followed us .

Across the Loch .

And more species .Dab and gurnard .

All in we managed . Black Goby , cod ,pollock ,goldsinny wrasse ,rockcook wrasse , mackerel , dab ,poorcod . Another great day on the water , thanks for watching . tight lines all .

 

[flattiefanatic]

Well done, top report as always.

 

[FloatFisher99]

great report and pics there! it was freezing! fished at the caves on loch long on sunday, had pollock, cod and wrasse, was a decent day!

 

[jimbocatfish]

well done as usual Nicolas great video,love the way that it shows that with that many species we can still hold out some hope for the clyde.jim

 

[barmar99]

Great video - do you know what the huge white building is please?

 

[neptunes]

Think that’s the ardgarten hotel.

Great video - do you know what the huge white building is please?

 

[neptunes]

That’s another great adventure guys.
Plenty of species and stunning sights.
The dab are a great eating fish, pity they weren’t a bit bigger. They were always one of my late mums favourite. I remember her saying if I was going out on the boat, try and bring back some dab.

Thanks for sharing

Cheers willie

 

[clyderob]

That’s another great adventure guys.
Plenty of species and stunning sights.
The dab are a great eating fish, pity they weren’t a bit bigger. They were always one of my late mums favourite. I remember her saying if I was going out on the boat, try and bring back some dab.

Thanks for sharing

Cheers willie

Very true, remember looking forward to the Autumn dab fishing, 1 mile straight out from Sinclair street , Helensburgh. Great days, 50 - 60 good sized edible dabs were the norm., double headers regularly, couldn`t wait to get them home, filleted , breaded and a few fried up.

 

[flattiefanatic]

That’s another great adventure guys.
Plenty of species and stunning sights.
The dab are a great eating fish, pity they weren’t a bit bigger. They were always one of my late mums favourite. I remember her saying if I was going out on the boat, try and bring back some dab.

Thanks for sharing

Cheers willie

Last time I caught a pan sized dab was probably about 15 years ago off minard. Straight into the pan, lovely it was. Definitely the best eating flatfish.

 

[rover 75]

Hi, All is good and well catching tiny immature fish, sorry you disguise this by calling them species.
How many of these immature fish die when you handle, unhook, photo them, then decide to return or toss them back after you take your trophy pictures.

 

[Cod Ho]

Totally agree rover75,i would think that a great deal of these fish would fail to survive and just become seal/gull food.

 

[xflyman]

What do you do if you catch an undersize fish then? Burst into tears on the shore, beating your chest and grieving the loss of a poor little fish? If they're going out using small baits and hooks to deliberately catch different species then that's what they're doing. I haven't seen much evidence of smaller fish being washed up on shore after releasing although I have seen it in harbours with trawlers. I don't go out to catch smaller species but if that's what they want to do why do people want to pi$$ on their roses?

 

[LAVRAKI]

You can only catch what is there and virtually all the fish in the Clyde are small. If you have a gripe with the exponents of LRF then go onto that part of the forum and tell them.
I personally am very pleased that Nicholas and his friends are keeping us up to date with the fishing trends and an assessment of the stocks that are available to us. Long may it continue.

 

[jimbocatfish]

I agree,the way these guys are fishing these immature fish will in most cases be returned unharmed and stand a much better chance of surviving than if they had been dragged 100+yards across a rocky bottom with a 2/0 or3/0hook stuck in its throat by somebody using a beachcaster rigged up for bigger fish.keep up the reports nicolas and co.jim

 

[rover 75]

Totally disagree, been down south representing civil service in so called sea fishing boat comps. It is all about points for species.
Dead immature fish floating dead down tide.
But that's ok for N Valentin showing his trophy pics of immature fish that wont survive.
Do not handle them release them without taken them out of the water. You would not handle salmon or trout this way. So why do it to immature sea fish.

 

[xflyman]

What happens at the catch and release fisheries then? I've returned lots of trout myself and never seen or heard of dead ones floating around in a reservoir in over 30 years of fly fishing. As long as you try and wet your hands they have quite a good chance is my experience. I don't doubt that some fish will die, just not to the extent you seem to be inferring.

 

[mikesy]

There's a difference.
These young sea fish are hauled up from far greater depths than fresh water adult fish.
Immature fish are far more delicate than adult fish and the fact that they are hauled up from hundreds of feet down can leave some of them unable to recover for some time leaving them as easy pickings for the sea birds.
Some will have their swim bladder either coming out of their mouths ( unlikely to survive ) or they will have suffered some bladder damage where they might not survive for long .
Yes, we can all catch the odd one accidentally but targeting them for fun / sport ?
It's a bit like targeting fingerling trout and salmon which I don't hear of anyone doing.
( There must be a reason for that.)

 

[neptunes]

I’d imagine these fish are getting caught in depth between 20-30ft max. It looks as though the guys are taking their time reeling them in also.
They’re using lures the majority of the time and we can witness with the videos that the fish ain’t swallowing the hook. I’d say the majority of times their lip hooked.
The top 2 fish in the photos and possibly the gurnard look size to me.
Wetting hands or unhooking in the water are the best way I know of to release them.

This opens up a whole can of worms with the lrf guys also. To be fair they use lures too and majority are lip hooked. But lots of fish they catch also will be undersize, with the odd bigger one thrown in.

Interesting to hear their replies if you were to go into their section. I’m sure if your views are so strong, you’ll have already done that before now.

It’s great that folk are taking the time to post reports and keep the catch report section healthy.
Have you not seen all the videos where nicolas and his pals are catching size fish. Some doubles and rare fish too.

It would have been nice to read your comments there too.

Cheers willie

 

[jimbocatfish]

When fishing abroad i use light tackle and barbless as the majority of fish are on the small side i have caught hundreds and know that every last one has went back in perfectly good condition,its not what you catch its how you catch them thats important and in my opinion nicolas and the guys are fishing responsibly.jim

 

[mikesy]

Just making the point that juvenile fish and not small fish such as blennies etc are the fish that are vulnerable as they are not yet fully formed, fragile and and susceptible to shock which affects their immune system and can cause a slow lingering death.
I have bred many types of fish including koi carp and its the same for all these juvenile fish so I can only assume salt water fish are no different .
Mike