THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

and error, Ian has demonstrated that a count to six when the ratchet is sounding out then putting the
drag lever up to strike pressure usually does the trick.
I mentioned in the introduction to the cartilaginous fishes the need for careful handling, cradled lifting,
covering of the eyes and the like. All of this was devised and revised aboard 'Onyermarks' over the
years. So too was the use of flattened down hook barbs with small pieces of wide rubber band pushed
over the bump after baiting up to keep the offering in place.
This is a particularly good trick when uptiding with squashed down barbs, as impact with the water can
otherwise knock the bait off leaving you fishing an empty hook for ages without realising it.
Slider float fishing suspending the bait a foot or so off the bottom to take advantage of any remaining
movement from an otherwise dying tide towards slack water in an attempt to eke out a few extra fish
was another successful Burrett experiment.
With a couple of ounces of lead above the trace swivel to
take it down and cock the float, and the reel out of gear as
you pay out line trotting it away from the boat, this can be
one of the most exciting ways of catching tope, which yet
again can be viewed on YouTube.
Two other things Ian has always been big on are mackerel
live-baits when you can catch them to order, and rubby
dubby. A nice long chum slick filled with blood, juices,
and fish particles is just what the doctor ordered for all
cartilaginous apex predators, and with that in mind, Ian's
technique has always been to cut up and mash enough
mackerel to fill a mesh bag, which he would then attach to
the anchor before sending it down.
Rubby Dubby
Great when the boat is lying nicely in the tide with the baits
spread out in the slick. Not so great when you get a breeze
across the tide as it slackens taking you slightly off line.
The trail still keeps working drawing fish up towards the
anchor, but not necessarily under the boat, causing them
to by-pass the baits.
Far better to my mind to put a well weighted bag down
over the stern which moves with the boat as or if it swings about, and can be topped up. On the other
hand, with some of the tides they have in Luce Bay, lateral drifting may not be much of a problem, and
getting the bag to stay down at the bottom might be. It could however be a worthwhile consideration
for less tidal situations elsewhere.
Ironically, and sadly, as I hinted earlier, those heady days around the turn of the century have given way
to much leaner times in and around Luce Bay, despite SSACN driving the conservation agenda, and
south west Scotland once having been one of the UK's most prized tope assets.
Effective and administered legislation, certainly in the UK, may well be in place, but not across the
remainder of Europe, which for a fish showing such strong migratory urges and carrying a set of fins
with such a high commercial value on the Chinese market, looks increasingly unlikely to be enough.
Associated audio interview numbers: 1 and 131
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