Fly Fishing for Pollack has become one of the best sea fishing trips in Scotland you can experience. Pollack can be caught from the shore or fishing from a boat, ideally in a depth of 20-30 feet of water, close to the shore in a boat. We offer sea fishing close to Edinburgh Fly Fishing in The Highlands and Fly Fishing from a boat in Galloway, South West Scotland. The Pollack is a predator and is built accordingly. Huge eyes, assist the Pollack to spot prey in dark areas of the seabed or in amongst kelp (seaweed).
The Pollack prefers to hunt in areas with rock features and abundant kelp, that allow for cover from predators such as seals. This also gives them a perfect environment to attack baitfish and sand eels. When a Pollack takes a fly, its first instinct is to dive for cover back to the safety of the kelp. you need to be strong playing these fish and unlearn the techniques for playing a trout or a salmon. Pollack have to be bullied, or they will “kelp” you. In other words, drag you deep into the seaweed and try to shake the hook.
Fishing Tackle and techniques for Pollack
In some instances and depending on the shore fishing mark we fish, a 9ft 10 weight single hand rod with a line tray. The line tray is perfect for avoiding the running line (the line that you shoot on the forward cast) getting snagged on rocks, and seaweed. There are a few shore fishing marks, where the fish are bigger and single hand rods, do not work, as the length of cast required exceeds what a single had rod could deliver. In this situation, we use a 14ft or 15ft double hand rod, with a short scan head and fast sink tip. This is an ideal set up to spey cast a long line out, where there is a shelf or ridge under the water.
We use quality fishing tackle, even for saltwater shore fishing, we have a selection of Orvis Helios Rods for single hand casting. For double hand Spey Casting we use Mackenzie Perflex 14ft and 15ft rods, these are extremely durable and highly effective at casting long distances.
There’s been much written about the type of retrieve to entice a Pollock to take a fly. Often on a slow figure of eight retrieve, they will nip at the tail of the clouser. It pays here to go into a rapid retrieve followed by a sudden stop. In my experience, this is the one of the most effective fly fishing techniques for inducing a take from a Pollack.
