Seems like we are having a good year for Basking sharks. Saw up to 8 at a time yesterday with 4 working a very small patch which we drifted through. My son took the photo with a small ''point n shoot'' digital camera. The shark was only 2 meters away from the boat and clearly visible through the water, the white bit is the open mouth as it turned towards us. Hope you like the photo.
Has anyone else seen Basking shark this year or are we being lucky here.
Amazing photo! Can't say I have ever heard of a basking shark. Up to what length do they grow? Sharks here are a pain in the proverbial here, especially for when you are fishing. If there is a shark around you can't reel in the fish quick enough before the shark takes the best bit of it!
Basking sharks are the second biggets fish in the sea after Whale sharks and can grow up to 10m and weigh several tons. Thankfully they only eat plankton hence they spend a lot of time cruising at the surface with their huge dorsal fins showing (very disconcerting for those who have seen jaws)
It is a shame you are plagued with sharks when fishing, it will spoil the thrill of the fight, unless of course you are fishing for sharks !!!!
I'm not sure about Porbeagle. I have never heard of them being caught here although there is no reason why they shouldn't be. We get a fair run of Tope at certain times of the year too. Despite the potential of the area sea angling has not been seriously looked at since Brian Swinbanks sold Laurenca 2 some years ago. They held many Scottich records for years so given the lack of commercial netting and the recovery time it could be a good time to do some serious fishing. When I have more time I intend to do some prospecting and see what is available on some of the further off marks. I will keep you posted on how we get on.
Have you ever caught a porbeagle? Last time I was on www.highlandfishinhtackle.co.uk there was a good pic of a big fish that had been caught in the Pentland Firth, might be worth checking out.
I've caught a few, I used to fish off the Isle of Wight in the late 70s / early 80s. The season was short there, like July... and August was too late. I've fished out of Padstow a few times as well but I've never caught a huge porbeagle. Probably only up to about 200lbs. Had a couple of threshers as well up to 240lbs.
The trouble was; in the early 80s porbeagle became valuable at market and the commercial boys decimated them and they never seemed to recover.
I've heard tales of very big fish (400lbs +) off the west coast of Scotland in the winter and if I could get some reliable data as to where and when, I wouldn't mind dusting the old rods off.
Keep your ear to the ground for me and maybe send me a PM if you hear anything.
I will investigate the shark thing on the West coast. There are so few people interested in rod fishing round here that anything out of the ordinary gets totally overlooked. Islay which we can see from Mull has a Tope festival, here I bet no one has targeted them for years so the potential could be huge. For me it is just a matter of time to get out and try these things. Next year I will give up one of my other jobs and be able to do more prospecting for marks and alternative species.
If I come up with anything I will definately send you a message, sounds like you know what you are doing, your 240lb shark beats by biggest fish by 220lb!!!!!!!!!
Can you tell me exactly where you operate from and if I hear anything, I'll let you know.
That way you may soon be able to put a 3 or a 4 in front of the size of your biggest fish.
Weather permitting, I'm plannig on trying for sharks out close to mid channel on Saturday. Not feeling particularly hopeful but it will be worth a try.
Our mooring is in the Sound of Ulva on the West Coast of the Isle of Mull. Or fishing areas are from Iona to Ardnamurchan and out to Coll. If the weather was settled we could go further afield but just at the present it is windy every day at some time or other so we are staying inshore.
Going to try a few marks this weekend for Thornbacks which are here year round, might take a big rod for a skate as well although I have never caught one yet. It will be good to just get out again.
