Latest news with #LeanneTaylor
Scotsman
25-07-2025
- General
- Scotsman
Mackerel are definitely in the Forth
It is just after 8pm on a beautiful night with an almost flat calm sea and light breeze on the River Forth. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Six happy anglers celebrate as we pulled into the dockside. They say goodbye then lifted a crate, yes a crate, laden with mackerel, all taken in a two-hour trip. Two strong guys struggled to carry the container up the jetty and the fish were, they said, destined for a home-built smoker in one of their gardens. They showed us a picture, it was indeed sizeable. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One, a Romanian, fishing at the stern of the boat, was particularly adept. On four occasions, he hooked into five mackerel at one time on his rig, five silver dressed hooks. Leanne Taylor (right) with another successful angler, Graham Brazenall. Others on the well-appointed and spotlessly clean catamaran, operated by Forth Sea Safaris, were not so lucky, yet they were only a few paces away. Green and pink tinged hooks, some with beads and some without, were attached and they did attract, but not in the volume of our Romanian friend who left the boat with his clothes covered in fish scales. He was knackered with the effort, but smiles better having made the trip. He knew how to plunder the darting and surprisingly strong fish from the depths. No real science to it. Drop feathers overboard, don't cast as that is dangerous - gulls and gannets can attack the hook – and you need a weight strong enough to take the feathers through the water column. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Some fish were tempted on the drop, others near the bottom. Let the weight hit the deck and lift it around two turns on the reel then jig the feathers up and down. We all did it, but the tactic worked better for some than for others. The anglers who hooked into mackerel on board the Forth Sea Safaris boat out of Burntisland take a selfie It does make one jealous, however, when somebody close catches and you don't, but that's the joy, or not, of fishing. However, everybody went home with some and is no surprise the hard-fighting fish are so eagerly sought by local anglers. Locals shouted to us from the harbour wall as we came in asking how we had fared. They were struggling in their quest for the sliver scaled fish which are considered healthy and nutritious. Mackerel are, according to experts, packed with Omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and various vitamins and minerals. Regularly consuming mackerel, loved on the Continent, but once shunned by British shoppers, but not any more, has been linked with numerous health benefits, including improved heart health, brain function and reduced risk of chronic diseases. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, you either love mackerel or loathe them. I'm in the loathe camp, I'm afraid, even when converted to mackerel pate, smoked or unsmoked. Grilling or pan frying are popular methods which allegedly highlight the flavour. Our Romanian colleague said: 'My freezer had about 40 last year. This time, I'll keep about 20 and then give to friends and neighbours.' Then he departed. Forth Sea Safaris are based at the East Dock Harbour, only a two minute walk from Burntisland Station and many groups take the train, some from Edinburgh Waverley. The dock is a 20 minute drive from the Forth Road Bridge and parking is at the top of the jetty. The boat, which can be chartered for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, and has also been used for ashes scattering and a marriage proposal, is equipped with the latest navigation and safety equipment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The twin engine craft, with Stuart at the helm, welcomes youngsters aged 15 but they must be looked after by a parent or guardian. Leanne, no mean fisherman herself, is on hand to sort out issues, like tangles which do happen, particularly with inexperienced anglers using several hooks. A maximum of three is recommended. Equipment can be hired and Leanne confirmed: 'This is prime mackerel season and we have availability in the coming weeks, with trips every Friday night and Saturday morning.' Young people, she said, love the experience of landing a fish, particularly their first, and it is rare that anglers don't catch. Wearing appropriate clothing is advised as it can get cold out in the Forth which can also get choppy, and seasickness is unpleasant, to say the least. However, lets accentuate the positive, it can be great fun. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Elsewhere, there are three legs left of the ten-leg, summer series run by the Bass Rock Shore Angling League and Craig Ogilvie leads the race for the title with 34 points. The North Berwick-based angler is six ahead of Jimmy Green from Musselburgh with club chairman, Alan Brown (West Barns), third on 26 points. James Ogilvie (Haddington), the club secretary, is fourth with 20 points and Graham Meadows (St Boswells) fifth on 19 points. Brown won round seven with a rockling of 27cm, one centimetre ahead of new member Dave Ellis who was second on his debut. Fishing was 'dire' off the sea wall at Dunbar with only two cards being handed in. On to coarse angling and Colin McKerrell (Glasgow) had the stand out weight in the second round of the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling float only series at Strathclyde Park. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He totalled 775g but weed made life difficult for entrants who fished the far side of the boating pond at the south end of the loch. Robert Neill-Took (Glasgow) was second with 445g and Heather Lauriston (Cumbernauld), a member of the Edinburgh and Lothians Coarse Angling Club (ELCAC), third on 425g. Organiser Gus Brindle (Dunfermline) was fourth with 325g and James Dornom (Currie, Midlothian), a Scottish international, fifth with 230g. The third and final round is on Sunday, August 31 and pegs will be confirmed nearer the date. ELCAC host March 6 of their ten-leg summer series at Orchil near Auchterarder on Saturday (July 26).
Edinburgh Reporter
14-06-2025
- Edinburgh Reporter
Mackerel now a popular fish to catch and eat
Mackerel were, at one time, not on the menu for Scots who preferred staples like cod, haddock or salmon. Many fishmongers in the UK 50 years ago did not stock or display the fish. Fast forward to now and they are an extremely popular fish to eat and to catch. Why? They are considered a healthy fish to eat because they are a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids. They are closely related to tuna and are also a source of protein and other essential nutrients. What's more, they are now in the Forth area. Derek Anderson, boss of Aquamarine Charters out of Eyemouth, said anglers on his charters along the Berwickshire coast have landed 'huge' mackerel. Word has gone round and his regular trips on Sagittarius, a Blyth Workboat 33 catamaran, are popular with anglers from as far afield as Glasgow and Newcastle and, of course, the Lothians. He does half-day, full-day and evening trips. Leanne Taylor of Forth Sea Safaris based at Burntisland is now regularly dropping a line from her boat to monitor the situation. As yet, mackerel have not arrived around Burntisland, but you can book your spot on her wide-decked Pathfinder boat for a two-hour trip out of the Fife harbour. The trips are set to start in July, but, if the mackerel arrive then dates may change. Both charter bosses state that 7ft rods are required. Equipment can be hired. Further afield, anglers on the MV Rachel May off the North-East Coast are catching mackerel. The boat is run by Gordon Morrison and anglers on Misty Angling trips from Fraserburgh Harbour can also catch codling, haddock, ling and dab. Fishing note. Mackerel are normally easy to catch, just ask two young girls who were on the Misty trip recently. They using several feathers on a line with a weight and simply dropped that over the side of a boat. Bingo. They went home with a carrier bag full. Feathers can also be cast from a harbour or jetty and the fish also responds to a wide range of lures which are available in local tackle shops. MACKEREL FISHING: Anglers drop a line from the Forth Sea Safaris boat off the Fife coast. Picture Nigel Duncan Like this: Like Related
