Archive for the ‘Uncategorised’ Category

The Fishing around the Area has been good when the constant winds subside and let us get to the Marks that we want to be on . The Rock Marks around The Mull of Galloway have produced a good amount of Tope up to and over the 40lbs ,also Marks at The Crow,s Nest have thrown up a few Tope as well as some Bullhuss. There has also been a Tope caught from The Cheese Rock at Portpatrick which also is a good mark for Bullhuss,Conger and many other species. From this month on there is a good chance of a Tope from The Yellow Isle just north of Portpatrick. The Small Boats have also been catching a few Fish when the weather has allowed them to get out, Tope,Bullhuss,Thornback Ray,Common Skate,Spurdog and lots of other species

Business Opportunity . We have ran The Sports Shop,Stranraer successfully for 34 years and it is with a touch of sadness that we intend to retire later this year. This however creates an opening for someone to rent the Shop and carry on this established Business. Any Stock we have would be available for Purchase from us , also all other equipment such as Fridges , Freezers etc. The Shop has played an important part in the community of Stranraer for 58 years when Mr Mc Diarmid started the Shop, then we took it over 24years later and carried the Business on till now. It is important to us to get this opportunity out there to as many people as we can in the hope that this business will carry on ,as it will be sadly missed by the community.

For Further Information on the business above we may be contacted on 01776702705 9.00am -5.00pm or by Email thesportsshop@btinternet.com

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The First Match of The Sports Shop and ACPC Winter League was Fished at Terrally Bay on Sat.18th December. There was a bit more wind from the East than all the Anglers expected,but the Evening was stayed Dry. Fish landed included Whiting,Coalfish,Pollack,Rockling and Dogfish,and unfortunately for Alec Bell a large Fish had engulfed a Whiting and peeled off all his line to then straighten his Hook. results as follows Zone A -1st Alec Bell 2nd Andy Everett Zone B 1st Brian Maxwell 2nd Eric Mc Lean Longest Fish was won by Brian Maxwell with a Coalfish. The Next Leg is at Sandhead Beach on 8th Jan 22 Reg 1400-14.30 Fish 15.00-19.00.

We would like to wish everyone a Merry Xmas and a Good New Year Tight lines Eric

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Recently we visited Antigua in the Carribean,where we had a few Day,s Flyfishing with Nick Williams ( Antigua Fly Fish and Light tackle Charters). Nick really is a nice Guy and tries extremely hard to get you on the Fish. It was quite windy all the time when we fished with Nick and we encountered a bit of rough water, his skiff is very professionally set up to make your day as comfy as possible. I caught my first Snook with Nick and lifted my fly away to cast again as another Snook arose out of the murky depths to try and eat my fly,so close but not to be.I also caught a Pufferfish on a green Flexo-Crab,but the Permit were not so easily fooled,allthough I had a few follow and show interest before turning away in that manner that say,s not this time M8. We had some fun with Tarpon in some of the Bay,s and Harbours, they were not easy to control in the Harbour Areas as there are loads of obstacles about,but just getting the hook-ups was exiciting enough.

We also had a Day out with Capt Rivee on Pacific Marlin from Jolly Harbour They had to work hard to get us on the Fish and as there was a lot of Floating weed around they were kept busy re-setting the Lures all the time. We landed 2 decent Wahoo,2 Dorado.3 Baracuda and a Scierra Mackerel . I would recommend any of these Guys if you are in Antigua ,they both will try and get you on the Fish

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Firstly I must apologise as I have not written anything since July .The summer months have been busy and I have spent more hours on the laptop trying to source product than time out Fishing. There has been many nice Fish caught during the Summer Season and even the other Week ,Lucky Dip II Charters from Portpatrick (but now in Stranraer for the Winter) landed a nice Common Skate of over 200lbs. There has also still been a few Spurdog,Pollack and Coalfish as well as many other species still around. The Rock Marks around Portpatrick such as Yellow Isle,Killantringan and Cheese Rock all worth a visit. There are also still Pollack being caught from marks around The Mull of Galloway, Beaches such as Portlogan and The Backshore Ardwell Bay also worth a try.

On the 29th August I entered my Boat “Rosie M” into the Mogsaf 3 Species Comp which was ran from Portlogan Bay.Allan Mc Lelland was my Boat Partner for this Event. We had to wing it at this event as we both had been too busy to get out and try different areas,but as the Tide was dropping we decided to try and get a Cod first. We achieved this as Allan hooked a Codling ,not the biggest but still a counter. Next to try for a Haddock,lots of tiny Haddock and then finally one that we could measure but still not big,only 31cm on the measure. Now off we went to try for a Pollack,decided to try and cover a bit of ground using Lures, travelling slowly along the coastline ,hooked a few Pollack but the biggest was probably about 21/2lbs,so we sped off to try a Mark with Bait,I just got the Boat set up for a drift and before I got my gear ready Allan was into a decent Fish,a Pollack of 73cm,no point in trying to get a bigger one so we set sail again to try and improve on the Cod ans Haddock sizes. Eventually I hooked a 48cm Cod and also got a slightly bigger Haddock of 35cm. Our total of the 3 Species was enough for us to Win this Event, no mean feat as there are always Top Anglers Entered into the Mogsaf Comps.

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The Weather has been fantastic of late,Really Warm and Calm ,good for Swimming and Beach activities but just too good for Angling from the Beaches. There are a few more Mackerel around the area now and some are being caught from beaches such as Terrally Bay,near Drummore. Lochryan has also been worth a try for Mackerel from Lefnol Beach,Lighthouse Point in Cairnryan and Finnarts Bay.Portlogan and Portpatrick Areas have had a few Mackerel around but not in usual numbers lately,allthough there seems to be an abundance of other baitfish around.The Boats from Logan and Portpatrick have started getting a few Tope,Spurdog and Bullhuss with a few Common Skate appearing as well,Gurnards,Codling,Small Haddock,Small Whiting and lots of other species around on the bottom. From Rock Marks around this side there has been a few Smoothhounds caught,Pollack,Wrasse,Dogfish,Bullhuss and lots of other species,places to try are Yellow Isle,Killintringan,Cheeserock,Lairds Point ,Mullhill,Portgill etc. There has been some cracking sized Tope caught from the shore this season,and allthough lately it has been a bit quiet,they are strating to move around Lucebay again so there will be a few more caught soon. The Boats have also had a cracking season so far as the weather has been favourable to get out and about, Tope,Bullhuss,Thornback Ray,Spurdog,Common Skate and lots of other species .

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Finally I think the Summer Fish are here in Numbers,possibly everything is about 3 weeks behind this year possibly due to the late Frost and Cold Winds we had in April and May. Last week alone has seen a massive increase in Tope,Spurdog ,Smooothhound and Bullhuss as well as Mackerel and many other species. There have been a large number of really good sized Tope from the Rock and Beachmarks around the area,and a good few Anglers have blew away their PB,s .

I had a run out with Alan McLelland and Two of my Grandson,s on weekend of June 6th . Mackerel were hard to find on the Drop Off from Drummore . With only 5 Mackerel and a couple of Launce we set sail for Monrieth to try for a Tope for the Lads ,but alas it wasn,t to be . A Thornback and numerous Dogfish we headed of to another mark,but same again Dogs galore, However it was still an enjoyable Day out and both the Lads had a Ray which they had not caught before.

Last weekend was the MOGSAF Tope Festival on 12th and 13th June which was run from Drummore. Clashwannon Caravan Park was the Headquarters for the Event where all the 51 Boat Skippers picked up their Packages for the week-ends Event. The Festival ran like a well oiled machine,so a Big Thankyou to all the MOGSAF Committee for their Hard Work and to the Staff and Owners of the ” Clash” as we locals know it and to everyone else involved in making the Festival a success. Stuart Fitzimmons and Kevin Hamilton on “Moonshine ” won the Event ,no mean feat considering the standard of Top Anglers that Fished the week-end. The Full Results can be Seen on the MOGSAF Facebook Page and also on South West Scotland Sea Anglers Page. I fished with Alec Bell on my Boat “Rosie M” and managed a 6th place. I am not rambling on any further ,here are a few Pics some poached from other Competitors Photo,s,so I hope you all enjoy

Stuart Atkinson with a Tope on Solway Venture

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There are a few Fish turning up around the Area now. The Charter Boats and some of the small Boats have been landing a few Tope,Bullhuss,Ray,s and Smoothhound as well as a few other species. Mackerel are still pretty scarce but have been caught from Mull of Galloway and Lochryan. From the Rock Marks North and South of Portpatrick there has been a few Bullhuss,Dogfish,Smoothhound ,Plaice and a few other smaller species caught. The Beaches around the Area have been throwing up some Flounder,Coalfish,and the occasional small Bass as well as lots of Dogfish. Roll on some warmer weather as it has still been really cold for the time of year,and constant winds have not made it easy for Boating or Shorefishing

Tightlines Eric

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The Tope seem to be in larger numbers around the Area than in previous years. I have not posted earlier so that I was not encouraging Anglers to break the Rules that the Scottish Government had set in place ,it was just good to get out and throw a line in the water. Some of the small Boats that have managed out in LuceBay have had up to and over 30 Tope in a Day ,these have ranged in size from 4lbs -50lbs, there has also been lots of Smoothhound around also from 2lbs-over 15lbs,Thornback ray ,Bullhuss and lots of other Species have been hooked as well. On Marks from Logan and Portpatrick ,some nice Spurdog over 20lbs have been caught as well as some Common Skate ,Tope,Bullhuss etc . The Charter Boats from Portpatrick,Lucky Dip II and Optimist skippered by Steve Stringer and Dominic Wilson are also now taking Parties out and Ian Burrett and Bradley that charter as On Yer Marks are also now starting Trips,all can be found on Facebook. Please try and Support all the Charters from the Area as we either use or loose them. The Shore and Rock Marks around the Peninsula have been producing some Decent Fish ,places to try Mull of Galloway,Killantringan,Finnarts Bay,Terrally Beach etc. We are back to our normal Hours in Shop 9.00am -5.00pm but only allowing 2 People in at once. We are not allowing people to wander around the Shop so that touching stuff is at a mininum,,so please try and make a list of what you need before you come to the Shop so that we can serve you quickly and keep Queing to the least possible. There is an Automatic sanitiser at the Door and Social Distancing Signs in Place,this is for Customers safety as well as our own. From this week the Scottish Government is enforcing everyone visting small shops to use Face Coverings as well.We have Live Baits in most of the Time both for Freshwater and Sea but message or phone us before just in case we run short. Also we have up -dated thesportsshopstranraer Facebook Page where we will try and update some new items and special offers that we have in the Shop. Not boring you all any further just Stay Safe and Tight Lines to you all. Here are a few Pics from the Area

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There seems to be a good variety of Sea Fish around the Area at the Moment, some of the Lads from our local club have been out over the week-end since the Lock-Down has eased a little. They have landed Thornback,Smoothhound,Gurnard,Dogfish,Pollack,Bass,Bullhuss,Mackerel ,Plaice,Flounder and Dab etc. We are only Open for collections from the Shop on limited Hours at the moment until we get the green light to open up fully. Please go to our Facebook page where we will try to update things weekly as we progress through this difficult time. Our hours are Tues ,Wed ,Thurs and Sat 9-11.00am and Frid4-6.00pm ,but please phone me on my mobile or message me on Facebook for anything that you need first, before coming to Shop , this is to both safeguard yourselves and us but also so that the street does not get over-crowded on the pavement.

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Sorry Everyone that I haven,t updated my Blog for a while,but with everything that has happened with this Pandemic,and the Business having to close due to the Covid 19 outbreak etc,etc there hasn,t really been anything to write about. I just hope that all of you are keeping safe during this traumatic time and that we can have a catch-up after this is all over. Our restrictions are relaxing a bit next week,Fishing is allowed within a 5 mile radius,so at least most of the local Anglers on the Peninsula here should be able to wet a line. We haven,t been given the Green light to Open our Business yet as we are classed as Non-Essential Retail,but we will endeavour to keep everyone posted as to what we can do for Bait Supply etc after the Fishing Starts. It seems an age since our Trip to Sri Lanka at end of Feb.where I was accompanied by Paul Delooze and Allan Mc Lelland for a few Days Fishing with Nicolas Jamin ( Sportsfishing Lanka). Popping and Jigging was our main type of Fishing on this Trip targeting Giant Trevally. However the trevally proved to be a bit elusive and Nicolas had to Travel many Kilometres trying different structure to get us the chances of a Bite. The main formula for this type of Fishing is to Cast,Cast again,then again ,and keep going until it hurts,and then until it hurts even more then you might get the chance to set the Hook and land one of these so much sought after hard -fighting Fish. Most Days that we were out with Nicolas we Hooked and also Missed Trevally as well as a few other Species,we did a bit of Jigging when Tides and wind allowed,and also had a few troll,s for Sailfish in between moves which gave us a well earned rest from casting. Our Base was in Panadura ,where we stayed in the Cinnamon Appartments. Iranthy and Family looked after us really well,driving our Spouses about during the day,ferrying us to restaurants in the evening,arranging a Tuk Tuk to take us to and from the fishing,and also arranging sight-seeing Trips for us where we visited various Temples,A Turtle Sanctuary,Museums,A Moonstone Mine,The world Heritage Site of Sigirya,Indian Elephants in the Wild and many other Areas of Interest including the Area where the Tsunami caused so much devastation in 2004 claiming over 36000 lives. The Sri lankan people have erected a Statue which is the height of the waves that caused so much destruction and took so many lives,so so sad . However just down the coast a few miles we visited a Turtle sanctuary ,where we went back to in the Dark to release some Baby Turtles into the Sea which created a Happy Memory. we also had 2 day,s Fishing on Bolgoda lake where we caught a few Mangrove Jack and some small Trevally,but the Baramundi were elusive. Guide Shakti tried really hard covering miles of the river to try and get us a Baramundi but it wasn,t to be ,so much more to write about ,but I am not going to Bore you ,so have put some Pic,s of the trip on Stay safe Eric

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