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 .

Mackerel and DIY

The mackerel are here in force, which is great news because they are a fantastic bait, taste great in all sorts of guises, and with light spinning tackle can be very sporting. We have been catching them around the Forts, at the harbour entrances and also over the fishing marks too. When you are using strings of feathers I am sure you will have found that after only an hour or so, the feathers or tinsel can be stripped leaving a perfectly good set of line and hooks. Recognise this?

Although they are cheap there is no need to throw them away. You can buy mini squids from some tackle shops which make ideal replacements - just slide then over the hooks and fix in place with superglue.

The downside is that the squids probably cost the same as a new set of feathers! Here is a much cheaper alternative. Rummage through your gift-wrap box and find a length of tinsel cord - the sort that is made up of braided tinsel around a core of string. Silver, gold and colours all work.

Pull the string out, cut off a 5cm length and thread it onto the hook like a worm. Tease out the tail with a needle, fix the head in place with superglue and your feathers are ready for action again.

If you want a lot more sport with mackerel than feathering, try spinning with a light rod, fixed spool reel and a small heavy lure like one of these:

If mackerel are near the surface, the seabirds will give the game away by wheeling and diving. When this happens, take your boat upwind or uptide, kill the engine and drift down onto the feeding zone. Make some long casts into the shoal, let the lure sink a few feet then strip it back fairly fast. Takes will be aggressive - you could hook a mackerel, scad, garfish or bass and any of them will give you a good run for your money on light tackle. My favourite spots for this type of fishing are between the Blocks and Langstone Harbour entrance, and even up to the East Winner if the wind is not too strong. Enjoy!