Contact Information For Onyer Marks Sea Angling Charters
* Ian Burrett, The Old Mull Hall, Drummore, Stranraer, DG9 9HW Tel: (+44) 01776 840346 *
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Onyer Marks Sea Angling Charters operate out of the Mull of Galloway and have launch sites on both the east and west side of the Mull. Early in the year we head up to Oban for our annual Skate Hunt, and then head into Luce Bay and the Irish Sea for the rest of the year until October.
If you would like to charter any of our boats: 'Onyer Marks', 'Onyer Marks Too', 'Go West' or 'Riptide' please contact us for available dates. (We get fully booked very quickly!) All of our skippers are experienced hands who know the decent marks.
We specialise in light line Tope and Pollack fishing. An average day will produce 10-15 species but we have had up too 27 species in one day in a species hunt. An average day will produce well over 100 Pollack for just four anglers, with some fish usually close to double figures.
With the right conditions we will catch Tope from the end of May right through to the end of October, The end of May to August usually produces the most fish but September and October usually produces the bigger females. We have tagged and released three Tope larger than the British record and have returned many Scottish records including Pollack, Wrasse and Conger.
All three of our boats have 70HP outboard motors and auxiliary back up and are capable of 25 knots. They are equipped with GPS navigators, fish finders VHF and CB radios and carry £2,000,000 public liability insurance. The boats are licensed for four anglers with the MCA Code 5 for Four Anglers. Experienced, local, skippers with 18 years of chartering in these waters.
Unless it is a specialised Toping trip then our typical day starts with feathering for a few dozen Mackerel/Herring which is normally a five minute operation. We then move a few miles to a mark where we feather for the Launce (Greater Sandeel) using either shrimp rigs or Sabiki's (mini Mackerel feathers) These are kept alive and used on the Inshore Pollack grounds which are only a few minutes away. The normal depth is between 30 and 40 ft so the fish return undamaged.
The Launce are either fished with a float or free-lined with a small drilled bullet and definitely sorts out the bigger Pollack. An average day will produce between 100-200 Pollack with a few fish around the 10 lb. mark. It is not essential to bring a light Carp/spinning rod for the Pollack but it certainly adds to the enjoyment. A growth area for us is Pollack on the fly and we broke 3 world IGFA records in 2006, in just one afternoon in the presence of a Boat Angler Journalist.
The Pollack tend to go off the feed on the bright afternoons, so the attention turns to other species. Conger Coalie and 4 species of Wrasse (We have returned Scottish records on Conger and three species of Wrasse) and are abundant on the same Inshore reefs. We will often move a mile offshore and have a mini species hunt which usually produces, Cod, Haddock, LSD's. 3 types of Gurnard, Plaice, Dabs, with the occasional Huss, Smoothound, Bream, and Rays. We can also troll redgills/rapalas and pick up the odd Bass. An average day will produce 10-15 species. The Tope fishing varies depending on the time of year. It starts at the end of May fishing in just 30 ft of water with very little tide, here the fish go like wild banshees, often breeching during the fight. We tend to move further off shore during the middle of June to August to target the huge shoals of predominantly male fish. 53 tope is our best day, but 10-20 Tope is normal with the right weather conditions. In September/October we are fishing inshore again. A good day will produce up to six Tope but the fish tend to be the bigger females. We have tagged and returned two fish that would have broken the British record.
Ian's Thoughts
"When I started fishing this area 17 years ago the supply of Pollack seemed endless with double figure Pollack expected every day. I encouraged anglers to take fish and "tell all their mates. After about 6 years it became noticeable that the Pollack returns were dropping and that marks like inshore wrecks were not filling up with big fish. Pollack are far more territorial than was once believed and it is easy to fish a mark out. We have a patch of coastline that is virtually exclusive to ourselves, so 7 years ago we imposed a self-ban on fish being taken off certain of our marks and we leave designated areas untouched each year. The results have been staggering. In the last few years we have seen 4 of the biggest Pollack (17 pounders) ever caught on our boats and more double figure Pollack than in the previous years. Bear in mind that all these fish were caught in approximately 30 ft of water and on light tackle. One of the 17 pounders was caught and released on a fly rod. We are, fortunately, in a situation that we don't need any individual party, so if you really need to take bags of fish home then look elsewhere. Having said that, we can fish offshore for the migrant Cod, Haddock and Whiting if you want a few fish to take home. I really believe that with declining fish stocks, sea anglers should adopt the attitude of the fresh water angler and fish for the sport and not the pot." ~ Ian Burrett, Skipper, 'Onyer Marks'.