Orkney is one of the most famous Common Skate grounds in the UK, with the standing British Record of 227lbs (103kg) been held from Orcadian waters. Common Skate regularly weigh over 150lbs to 200lbs (68kg – 90.72kg) with commercial captures topping 400lbs (181.44kg)! This is one of the biggest fish likely to be caught in UK waters and is a must for any big game angler!

Common Skate can be caught all year round, although the autumn period from August through October offers a slightly better chance of catching the bigger fish. Commons like gravel and shingle sea beds and are also found on sand and mud. The largest fish are usually found in mixed ground and lay in the sandy or muddy patches in between rough ground. Weather conditions have little effect on feeding and Common Skate will be caught in any weather you are likely to be fishing in.

When fishing for Common Skate it is best to anchor over suitable ground and simply downtide your baits off the stern. Anchoring will greatly increase your chances of catching a Common as the fish will be able to hunt out your bait from a scent trail.

Tackle
Tackling up for Common Skate should be kept simple. Although 30lbs class gear is acceptable for the experienced big fish angler it is best to up your tackle to 50lbs class in order to maximise you chances of landing these huge fish. Reels should be loaded with 45 to 50lb line (20.412kg – 22.68kg).

Rigs should also be kept simple. Its best to tackle up with a small sliding boom with link attachment sliding this onto your mainline followed by another bead, now tie in a large 5/0 sized rolling swivel. Because Common Skate have crushing jaws with tiny abrasive teeth, there is no need for wire and commercial grade monofilament of 250lbs (113.4kg) is more suitable. This needs crimping to the swivel and hook, knotting is often too difficult in most stiff commercial grade mono. A trace length of around 3-feet (92cm) is preferable and will give the Skate room to cover the bait without obstructing its wing movements. All Orkney fish will be tagged and released and as such we would encourage you to use 10/0 bronzed hooks of the Mustad O’Shaughnessy type pattern. This will mean any hooks which cannot be successfully removed will rust out within a few days with no permanent damage to the fish.

Baits
A variety of baits can be used although the best is a whole Coalfish of around 1lb to 2lbs (0.45kg – (0.90kg) with one fillet cut free but left attached to the head, this produces a large amount of blood and scent trail for a Common Skate to follow. Large fresh Mackerel baits are also effective with one whole Mackerel either as a flapper bait or with one fillet cut off and an additional fillet on the hook point. Other baits include Dogfish and Pollack.

The Fight
Usually Skate bites will be a series of nods on the rod tip, this is the Skate shuffling its wings over the bait. A short pause will follow as the bait is taken in and the Skate will slowly move away. If you let the fish run a few yards under thumb tension whilst the reel is in free spool and then slowly click the reel into gear and let the rod tip pull over against the weight of the fish to set the hook. Make sure you have a firm foothold before the strike as the initial hook up can overbalance you. Once the hook is set it is essential to use a butt pad and in some cases a harness will be a good idea for some anglers.

The Skate rarely fights by making a series of tiring runs, but they will tend to use their massive wings and the tides to suction down on the seabed. Once the Skate has done this it will need considerable effort on the anglers part to lift the fish. The rod needs to be fully bent with as much force applied constantly as both the angler and tackle can stand. It can take up to 30 minutes to get a Common to move off the seabed, and once it does you need to pump the rod hard to regain line and keep the fish off balance. Failure to do this will result in the fish reaching the seabed again and the whole moving procedure starting all over!

Once the Skate has surfaced the skipper will take over and the fish will be lightly gaffed in both wings and lifted aboard for pictures and for a specialist tag to be placed in it. All Orkney fish will then be returned alive. A fish is too good to be caught only once.

Scottish Record Boat Record – 227lbs (103kg approx)