SCOTTISH SKATE SAFARI

In these cash-strapped times getting a few days away fishing with mates has become that little bit more difficult for most of us. But if you fancy a short break with big fish over 100lb, and potentially lots of them, then the short hop north over the Scottish border for a common skate safari is a quick and affordable option.

With just this in mind, father and son Sandy and Adam Riach, along with fishing buddy Keith Kinnear, headed south from Inverness, while Mike Jr and I left Anglesey, picking up Tom Wain from Sandbach on the way. We met up as a group in Oban on a Wednesday night with two days ahead of us targeting common skate with skipper Leigh Taylor aboard the Laura Dawn 11. The boat, an Offshore 105, is still owned by Ronnie Campbell, a skipper I’ve fished with a couple of times previously. Even the weather was playing ball with a forecast for light to moderate, occasionally fresh, east to northeast winds, and sunny.

Sandy, Keith and Tom were all skate virgins, so the rest of us designated the first three fish to them then we’d all take it in turn from there on in. There was a fresh wind blowing