Davy Holt

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Davy Holt

• A guide to catching
• Common Skate

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Background Info

• The Common Skate are one of the few species of
  fish where local populations can suffer as badly
  from poor angling practices as from commercial
  fishing pressure.
• The once prolific grounds off the Northern
  Western Coast's of Scotland were wiped out in the
  1970's. This is mainly due to the now frowned
  upon practice of anglers bringing Skate ashore to
  be weighed and photographed.
• Afterwards their carcases were ignominiously
  dumped off the end of the local pier!

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Present Day

• Thankfully times have changed
• and now
• Skate anglers practice
• catch and release
• with a few even taking part in the Tagging
  Programme.

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Location

• You have to find an area with a population of
  Commons before you can catch them, the easiest
  way and the most commonly followed route in
  Scotland is to do what everyone else does, fish
  off Oban.
• This gives you access to Skate angling 12 months
  of the year, as the Skate are residents of the
  areas they are found. There are a few other
  places to catch them, such as the west Coast of
  Ireland and a few areas further North from Oban,
  however these areas tend to be very weather
  dependant thus restricting the chances of getting
  out after the Skate.

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Depths

• In the Late summer months Skate can be found
  right in shallow water, even as little as 30
  feet.
• Then as the water cools, they move out of the
  shallower water back in to the deeper areas. By
  deeper I mean 200 feet is plenty depth to be able
  to catch commons all year round.
• If your fishing in deeper water, say 400 feet,
  then the Skate are there ALL year round, despite
  what has been said they don't move out to deeper
  water. To almost everyone 400 feet passes off as
  deep water.

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Tides

• Contrary to what has been said, tide strengths do
  not have a lot of effect on catches, the only
  real effect that the tide has is in the amount of
  weight you have to use.
• That being said the state of the tide does have
  an effect, but you will find out most marks fish
  at different states of the tide.

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Tackle

• When angling for Skate use appropriate tackle
  IGFA 30lb Class gear should be regarded as the
  absolute minimum to use.
• Ideally 50-80lb Class should be used. This is as
  much to combat the 'inhospitable' conditions in
  the areas where Skate are targeted. i.e. deep
  water, strong tides.
• The use of heavier gear allows the Skate to be
  landed more quickly and not exhausted, allowing
  it to be released in better condition.

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Tackle

• You can land Skate on lighter gear but you are
  not doing yourself or more importantly the fish
  any favours.
• Personally when targeting Skate I don't use
  anything less than 50lb class, with 80lb being
  the norm.
• This way when I hook a fish I know the odds are
  on my side and the fish will be boated with the
  minimal chance of a hook being left in the fish

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Terminal Tackle

• Terminal tackle needs to be strong and is best
  kept simple.
• A single 12/0 bronzed hook (e.g. Mustad 3406),
  preferably with the barb crushed down is best.

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Terminal Tackle

• Never use stainless or plated hooks as these will
  not biodegrade if they have to be left in a
  skate.
• Keep hook links to a maximum of 24"/60cm. Short
  hook links are necessary to minimise the chances
  of deep hooking your Skate.

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The Trace

• This should be made up of 150lb (minimum)
  breaking strain monofilament. Crimped to a
  quality 200lb rated swivel.
• THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED FOR WIRE

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Terminal Tackle

• This hook link should then be attached to an 8
  foot(2.4m) rubbing or 'wind on leader, made of
  150lb breaking strain monofilament.
• This is to protect the mainline from the sharp
  thorns on the Skate's tail. This leader also
  helps when bringing the Skate to the side of the
  boat.

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Weight Boom

• The weight boom runs on the heavy mono of the
  rubbing/wind on leader.
• The main reason for this is to avoid it damaging
  the mainline and also to assist in keeping the
  mainline well away from the Skate's sharp tail
  thorns.

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Bait

• Common Skate are not fussy eaters and have a very
  varied menu.
• This covers most shellfish and fish species.
• As an apex predator, Common Skate are deceivably
  agile when it comes to hunting and can easily
  catch fast swimming species like Herring and
  Mackerel.

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Sustenance

• Common fodder fish species are
• Spurdog
• Rays
• Dogfish
• Whiting
• Herring
• Shellfish fodder species are
• Edible Crabs
• Prawns
• Squat Lobsters
• Scallops

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The Favourite

• The most commonly used baits are Mackerel and
  Coalfish around the 1lb to 1.5lb mark

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Striking a Take

• Always 'hit' a take as quickly as possible -
  never wait for a run to develop as this will
  almost always result in a deep-hooked fish.
• Don't worry about missing a bite Skate can and
  do, swallow very big baits in seconds and if you
  do miss one, they almost always come back for a
  second, third or even fourth attempt at a bait.

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The Fight

• A lot has been said about the
• LACK OF
• fight from Common Skate, this usually comes from
  people that have either never caught one or have
  been using mono rather than braid as a main line.

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Mono V Braid

• With mono the stretch takes most of the fight out
  of the encounter, giving the angler very little
  feel as to what is happening at the other end
  of his line.
• However with braid you are in full contact with
  the fish at all times, making the fight rather
  more interesting.

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Skate Handling

• When a Skate is brought to the side of the boat
  it can be held quite easily by holding the trace
  and then getting a firm handhold at the cheek
  area of the Skate.
• Large specimens may require to be gaffed to aid
  holding the fish. This needs to be done with
  great care.

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Gaffing

• The gaff should be used ONLY in the area outside
  the halfway point of the leading edge of the wing
  and no more than 3" in from the leading edge.
• This gives a secure hold and poses no danger to
  internal organs.

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Watch Out!!!!

• Danger Areas
• The large thorns on the tail are razor sharp and
  the Skate have a habit of putting the tail where
  you don't want it to be.
• Another danger area is only found on male Skate,
  it's a rough patch or razor sharp thorns on the
  leading outer edge of the wings.
• Lastly is the mouth, a Common can easily crush a
  wayward hand to a pulp, so it pays to be very
  careful when unhooking the fish.

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PLEASE!!!!

• If the Skate is deep hooked, DO NOT attempt to
  remove the bronzed hook.
• Simply cut the hook link as near to the hook as
  possible and release the fish. You can do more
  damage by trying to retrieve the hook and a
  living Skate returned is worth more than the cost
  of a hook!
• Deep hooking can and does cause fatal injuries
  to skate. TRY TO AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS!!!!

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Handling cont

• If you can, try to avoid bringing the Skate into
  the boat, they can be measured and the tag (if
  any) checked at the side of the boat.
• If the Skate has to be brought onboard, for
  whatever reason, have everything to hand before
  doing so in order to release the fish back into
  the water as quickly as possible.

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Healthy Skate
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Skate beginning to stress
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Measuring

• Measure the wingspan and the length, the weight
  charts can be obtained from Glasgow Museums.
• Always remember to weigh your fish against the
  correct chart, until you are used to the charts,
  it can be very easy to measure the wrong sex of
  fish against the wrong chart.

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Tagging Data

• If you catch a tagged Common Skate, please take a
  note of the following
• Tag number
• Sex
• Wingspan
• length
• Date
• Time
• Location
• Captor
• Condition of the fish i.e. any leaches or
  parasites
• And anything else you may feel is relevant

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Send Information to

• Richard Sutcliffe
• Art Gallery and Museum
• Kelvingrove
• Glasgow
• G3 8AG
• Or
• you can report a recapture online on the
• Forum of www.catchalot.co.uk

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And Finally

• Enjoy the pleasure of watching your Common Skate
  swim back to the bottom
• Get a bait back in the water

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Tight Lines
Any Questions ?