Mixed Bag

I thought Summer was over but suddenly it is calm, blue skies and 23deg C. Despite that, the cod have arrived in exceptionally good numbers, with loads of reports of double figure numbers in the boat. What a change from the last few years where a catch of one or two was more common. Many of the fish are in the 6-8lb bracket like Wayne's on the left, but Arron had a 20 pounder which he made a point of phoning me about while I was under Salar painting on antifouling!

Before I forget, I came across a good tip for unhooking mackerel when spinning. As with feathering, you'll be in a hurry to get the lure back in the water but a thrashing fish and treble hooks doesn't make that easy. You can grip the fish by putting it tail-first into a cool box and gripping the head by holding the lid down on it. This makes it very steady for unhooking and when you are done it just drops back into the cooler. No mess either.

Finally, there is a new section on http://www.boat-angling.co.uk/ for Fishing Boats For sale. You get a full page, photos and all, and there is no charge although a donation to the RNLI would be nice. There is a tidy Orkney on there at the moment. If you have a boat for sale, just email me for details via the site .