Jim Clohessy of topfisher.eu couldn’t let the first month of 2023 pass without a trip offshore aboard Skua to stretch his fishing legs and blow away the slow-season cobwebs.
Jim had had a couple of goes inshore already in January, but with calm conditions and a 10°C reading on the thermometer, it was time to test the throttle and venture further afield in search of pollack and codling. There is always the ‘fear’ that something won’t work on a boat after the winter break and the only way to make sure that things are functioning is to put them to the test; thankfully, Skua got a clean bill of health.
In terms of the fishing – a fairly slow start gave way to a steady flow of pollack, big wrasse and even a few codling for Jim and crew – all taken on soft plastic lures and 60g jig heads. They had to work to find the fish, with only bits and pieces showing up on the sounder, but work they did and it paid off in the end.
All told, a January day well spent and great to get into some fish so early in the year!
