THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

I was in the larger second batch, which, with the extra weight, as you might expect, put the little
displacement boat further down in the water to the point where it shipped a few bits of swell in over the
back wetting whoever was sat there, and as you do, we all laughed.
That was until more than a little bit of swell suddenly swirled in over the transom, and very quickly, the
boat went down, which with me as a none swimmer, and nobody wearing life-jackets, made for a
particularly memorable day, though for all the wrong reasons.
Thankfully, with toes just about touching the bottom at shoulder depth, and with everybody holding on
to each other in the tide, working as a huddle, we eventually all made it safely back to shore crab fashion,
cold and wet, but very relieved.
That incident had a profound effect on me and what would ultimately become my future as a life-long
small boat angler. But there were more immediate considerations here, because our next trip was to
Loch Ryan fishing with a man that would ultimately become my mentor.
This was with Davy Agnew, who chartered out of Lady Bay aboard a sixteen foot clinker built Mackay
Viking powered by twin four hp Seagull outboards, and throughout that trip, flashbacks of the water
swirling in over the transom at Morecambe haunted me to the point that I almost decided I couldn't do
it anymore and should look for a safer hobby.
Almost, but not completely. For Davy took me under his wing and eventually helped me not only rebuild
my confidence, but ultimately become a small boat fishing enthusiast, and for that I will forever
be in his debt.
I would think that Davy must have been in his seventies
even back then. A bald headed, thick set, mild
mannered Scot, who was very measured, very calm, and
very deliberate in everything he did. That was until the
day he had a fourteen pound turbot up at the side of the
boat on his own rod and could no longer contain
himself.
At the first rushed gaffing attempt he completely missed
the fish, and with the second wild swipe, he somehow
managed to part the trace. Fortunately, the fish lay
momentarily stunned on the surface, and seconds later,
at the third attempt, it was in the boat.
That day I also caught quite a sizeable tub gurnard at
four pounds four ounces, so Davy had me take the two
fish down to Don McDiarmids tackle shop in Stranraer
for official weighing where the Gurnard went on to take
the Scottish record, beating the previous best by
something like three ounces if my memory is correct.
As I hinted previously, in those very early days, as
records go, I could quite easily have settled for that.
Except that the following September, again out from
My angling hero & mentor, Davy Agnew Lady Bay with Davy, mixed in amongst a batch of
thornback rays came a spotted ray, which because it
was a club first, was weighed and witnessed in a way that most of the other fish we caught usually
weren't.
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