Tope Trip
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Weather conditions were
perfect for Luce Bay, with clear blue skies and only a slight occasional breeze.
The offer was made by the
skipper to take our party of 9 Silver Lure members and 2 guests, either Codling,
Whiting and Gurnard fishing in the bay, Pollock fishing round the west side of
The Mull, wreck fishing over the Swallow or out to The Scars in search of a
couple of Tope. The latter was decided upon, since seldom do we get the chance
to take advantage of such settled weather.
Mackerel for bait was the first target, however, after having spent over an hour jigging lures at 3 or 4 marks it was decided that we should head out to The Scars with the precious few Mackerel we had caught, in the hope that we could supplement our requirement out there. Indeed, while searching for our elusive bait supply there was probably more Codling, Whiting and Gurnards caught than Mackerel.
Upon reaching the southern end of The Scars (two distinct lumps of rock which stick up in the middle of Luce Bay), the anchor was set and the boat promptly swung round in the ebb tide.
Although it was a neap tide, there was still a considerable strength in the ebb for a couple of hours until it approached slack water.
Difficulty was being experienced in holding bottom, by
those anglers fishing the forward positions on the boat, while the anglers at
the stern positions had the luxury of dropping their weight size down to trot
their mackerel baits some distance behind the boat. This tactic paid dividends
for Tommy Campbell, who not only caught his first Tope but also added a further
4 to his tally and improved on his own personal best heaviest fish. Some of the
others who landed Tope also added this species to their catch record and in
doing so also bested their heaviest fish to date.
Although it was disappointing that not all the anglers present were able to land a Tope, it still must rank as one of the best Tope outings the Silver Lure has ever had, although in hindsight, 11 on the boat for Tope was bound to cause a few problems.