Fishmorvern

2010-02-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know its been a very, very long time, suffice it to say illness and injuries have taken their toll over the past year.

Before I start my usual spiel, above is a picture of my old friend David Low who died recently and was laid to rest yesterday in Musselburgh at St Michaels's Church.

David was an old dear friend who had led what may be termed a colourful life, but above all else, he was a fisherman par excellence !. This picture shows him last year on Arienas with a nice fish taken by his favourite method 0 the Dap. No modern methods for David either - the rod was over 60 years old, the floss about the same, and the flies were like tube flies with a tiny treble attached.

More importantly, David will be remembered for his fishing on the Spey - and he could name every pool, every fish he caught, and what fly he used !. He was ill for some time, and after talking about it over a few drams I invited him as a guest. He could ruffle a few feathers, and yes, he probably did. He did however thoroughly enjoy himself, and his wife Risa even got into a nice fish, unfortunately only to lose it at the net. - but that's another story as my friend Mr Williams can confirm !

Anyway David - you will be sadly missed, and as promised I will tie up the pattern we discussed and name it after you - only for use on the Spey of course.

Otherwise, FISHMORVERN is back to fighting fit and getting ready for the new season. Also following popular request, esp from fishers from Devon and East Anglia look out for regular reports.

RODS AVAILABLE RIVER SPEY 1 TO 6 JUNE

2009-05-19T03:46:00.000-07:00

Urgent message to all you Salmon Fishers out there. Due to illness a couple of regulars have called off.There are therefore :-

2 Full rods available for the whole week.

It may be possible to do this on a daily basis, and if you are nice enough ( blond, buxom, can cook and preferrably female (sic) !!!! ), Accommodation may be available in our Cottage as part of the deal.

Cost of the fishing is £360 for week, or maybe £60 per day. As above, Accommodation can be thrown in.

If Interested, send mail to fishmorvern@aol.com or call me on :-

0774 3894199
01967421690

Not a lot to report from God's Country. Weather has been dreadful, water still very cold, and unfortunately not a lot of fish. ( In truth, not a lot of fishers, but maybe, like me everyone is tightening their belts ! )

Stalking wise, plenty of Deer about, and at the moment, we are concentrating on the Roe Bucks. - 6 so far, and hopefully a lot more to come.

"Camrach" now in the water after a major engine overhaul - off after Cod and Pollack this afternoon !!

We're Off !!

2009-03-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

16 march, and the trout season has started !

It was cold, wet, windy, and none too pleasant. Despite this Brian and I set off for Arienas for an afternoon on the first day. Water was very cold and fish were likely to be deep. Interestingly enough though, in sheltered bays away from the wind, there were significant hatches of Olives.

Brian put on a weighted Montana, whilst I, ever the optimist stuck with a traditional team of flies - though unusually for Arienas, on the small side - 14's and 16's.

Much flogging of the water later, Brian got into a fairly big fish which was lying deep in about 20ft of water. A bend of the rod, tightening of line followed by slackening of the line and a few curses, and the fish was off.

I had the chest waders on ( and about 15 layers underneath ) and was inching my way slowly down the bays on the south side of the loch. One or two touches kept the interest going, but with cold hands, and a new leak in the waders, was starting to get uncomfortable.

You know the old saying - "just a couple more casts" - well that's the way it was ( honest ). Anyway, with cold hands and shrinking bollocks, I was ready to call it a day when at last a fish. Definitely not the biggest, and once I got it in, definitely not the fattest. nevertheless, a welcome wee brownie of about 1lb, on a size 16 Greenwell Spider. - returned of course - we don't keep anything under 2lb here !

Some other news, one of my friends, a master craftsman, has started to make cane fly rods. These are state of the art, and for the purists a must. He will be making one up to my specifications, and I'll then post some pictures etc. Anyone interested in what will be a work of art, please let me know.

Off to the smoke on other business today, and when I get back time to get the boat sorted out and back in the water.

Oh - and I need a new camera !

NORMAL SERVICE IS NOW RESUMED

2009-02-25T03:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Campers

What can I say - health problems ( again ), Credit crunch, ( teach me to put all my savings in one basket !! ), poaching, and worse of all, a very, very poor season on the River Aline - all this have meant that I have not been at the keyboard for some considerable time. That said, its the start of the new season, and I am definitely back.

First - a review of last season - in a few words, the Spey was excellent and after talking to Willie the Ghillie recently, can only get better this year. The Aline - moderately crap I am afraid. The sum total of salmon landed was about 16, and if there were any sea trout of note landed, I did not hear about them. The lochs however were a different story - Arienas continues to produce some very , very big brownies ( biggest last year 12 lb ), and the hill lochs all fished very well throughout the season.

In Detail.

You will have read about the June week on the Spey which was one of my best ever. The week in July was not quite as spectacular, but good nevertheless. The party at various stages throughout the week consisted of myself, my son Cammy, Mr Williams from Welsh wales, my mate Sandy the inventor of the Sandy Special, James Turner who appears to be running the Bank of Scotland all on his own ( must find out how much of a bonus he got ! ), and for the first three days, Scott, Joe and Bob from Geordie land. 6 fish were landed in the week - not a great return, but then the temperatures were in the 80's and the river was very low. A couple of sea trout were also landed, and Bob and Joe got their first Spey salmon.

Cameron started his schooling in Spey casting, and here he is above with a nice wee grilse about 5lb that I took on a size 14 Tosh !! Oh - and the school - restricted to only 2 this year as I was somewhat immobile, but both left with a good level of expertise in Spey casting and salmon fly fishing.

As for the River Aline, what can I say - no rain from April through to August meant that none of the usual early big sea trout appeared - though the seals at the mouth were having a field day. A similar situation for the salmon - what ones there were before any rain just couldn't get up, and if it wasn't the seals, the low oxygen in the water killed quite a few off. The odd one was picked up here and there ( and sadly retained by some of the Estate guests ). Until October however the Fishmorvern total was Zilch !!

The last week in the season changed matters however as I got the chance to wet a line myself, and to our great pleasure, Cameron got his first salmon on the fly - nothing spectacular, but his smile said it all.

Yes, I know, not the cleanest of fish, but after the time it took him to land it it was all but a goner in any case - one for the smoker that we all enjoyed.

The lochs meanwhile provided most of my sport, and myself, Cameron and my mate Brian spent many an evening drifting down the south side of Arienas. Some flat calms put the fish off on occasion, but when the wind got up, the sport was excellent with either the Clan chief on the top, or the old favourite the silver invicta on the point taking the majority of the fish. We also had a couple of evenings on Doire na marst near the end of the season, and again, sport was great. My total for the season stood at about 35, all brownies, the biggest being about 7lb when I was out with another good friend Chris.

The end of the season saw us concentrating on the stalking - firstly a week by John the son in law and I with the chainsaws clearing the rides and finding clearings that we never knew existed, and then on to the Stags, followed by the hinds. A few guests got good beasts, but John and I got most of them. Total till the end of the hinds in Mid Feb was 5 stags and 13 hinds - funnily enough very few roes (4) , but I am sure they will be there somewhere. We also built a new larder, and have developed about 210 different ways of cooking and serving venison !!! Bad storms over the winter have brought down quite a few trees, so it will be out with the saws again soon, and then trying to find those elusive roes.

Now for this year :-

Only one rod left on the Spey - 1st week in June if anyone's interested.

I have decided not top take the lease on the River Aline this year for a variety of reasons - rods will still however be available through FISHMORVERN as I will book them as and when required.

I am still available as Ghillie or tutor and will still run fly fishing courses on the Aline and on the lochs.

I will be leasing rods on the lochs so service there as normal.

CAMRACH is being overhauled as we speak and will be back in the water for sea fishing by Easter

Stalking will hopefully be expanding this year, and I have put out feelers to get the shooting rights on more local land.

Oh, and something new - I have just acquired access to land south of Edinburgh, and with a nephew will be putting some pheasants down.

That's all for now folks, and whilst I must apologise for the long delay in updating matters, FISHMORVERN is still very much alive and we look forward to seeing friends old and new in the forthcoming year.

With my very best wishes to all

Rain at Last !!

2008-06-24T02:50:00.000-07:00

After what seemed like an eternity - well actually nearly 9 weeks, the rains have arrived in Morvern. The river is not quite in full spate, but as seen at the tail of the Middle Pool above, plenty of water to allow the fish to make their way up from the sea.

With this in mind, Sat evening seemed a good bet. Conditions were nearly perfect, but there was an East wind which tends to keep fish down. The water was still a bit warm, but at least it was not as hot as a bath as it sometimes is.

I hit the bank at about 2030, and as usual headed for the points on the South side of the loch, where the sea trout and salmon seem to like the sandy bays. Very quiet for the first hour though I did catch a couple of wee fish which I reckon were smolt, oh and a beautifully marked little Brownie.

As the sun dipped below the hills, and it got gloomier ( never really gets dark here at this time of year ) some activity , but fairly far out. As the evening progressed however you could almost track the fish as they headed inshore. - the occasional leap, but more often than not, a big "V" as the fish came in just below the surface.

On the top went a "stimulator", on the middle a black pennel, and on the point a silver stoat. The wind got up, and it was time to start stripping in fast to make the top fly work - and work it did as within 30 mins I had sea trout of 3 and 5lb. Hunger and tiredness got the better of me about 11pm, and time to go home.

This morning I walked along the bottom of the river with the dogs, just at high tide. I'm pleased to say that within the space of half an hour I counted about 2o fish going upstream from the sea pool. With luck this should now be happening with every tide, and after the desert recent conditions, we should at last be able to get some sport.

Things have also been busy with the sea fishing, and 2 parties last week filled the fish boxes with mackerel. More fun though was the booking I took at short notice from a father and son staying at Ardtornish. Plenty of mackerel again, but as we drifted over the slate wreck near Ardness Point, they started to get into the big Pollack. Young Mikey did best, and here he is with what he says is his biggest ever - estimated at about 6/7 lb.

Today I'm going out to the boat to give it a good clean - a bit like a crime scene at the moment after all these fish - tonight, the big pool at Claggan beckons I think - still to land my first salmon this year from the river !

Spey Delights

2008-06-08T12:20:00.001-07:00

Yes folks, the one doing the rather elegant pose holding a lovely fresh run salmon is yours truly and faithful pup Tara. ( Oh - about the mop - I'm going through a Bohemian period at the moment so am somewhat more hirsute than normal ) I am just back home after what has been my best ever week on the Spey, fishing with friends Kevin & Colin Franks, Peter MacGregor, Tom Fergusson, and for 2 days, Tom's son in law Gordon.

Spey weeks are always fun whether I'm holding the Salmon School, or as in this week, just fishin' and chillin' out with mates. With little opportunity to get on my local River, I was perhaps looking forward to it more than ever. This year however I decided to change the habits of a lifetime, and do the following :-

Fish as many hours of daylight as I was physically able to ( getting old after all )
Just put up one rod as opposed to my usual 2 each with different lines
stick to a floater with either an inter or sink tip
most revolutionary esp for me - use just one fly all week - in this case, a fly designed by my good mate Sandy from Aberdeen - the Sandy Special !

On arrival the River was about 8 below the summer zero mark. 4 fish had been caught the previous week, and with little rain forecast, we should have been fishing a slowly falling river. Apart from a few hours rain on the Tuesday, which brought the river up an inch or so, that is indeed how it worked out over the week.

Monday therefore brought great expectations. Alas however, all I seemed to be catching was smolt, though in amongst these I did get a sea trout of about 2lbs. Apart from that however - zilch ! Things did not improve, and indeed got worse as in the evening I got into a big fish ( honest !! ) on the Lower Slabs, fought it for 15 mins and was "broken" after it set of on what looked like a fairly gentle run - after a few blue words, inspection of the 15lb nylon showed some fraying, and I can only surmise that I had caught the bank at least once as I casted from the rocks on this pool. Needless to say for the rest of the week, I was inspecting the nylon with great frequency.

Tuesday saw me on the River at 0600 to try things before the fish had the sun fully on them, and on the Green bank Pool, I am pleased to say it worked - 2 salmon, each of about 10/11 lb taken by 0700, both from what is know locally as the "White Post" ( Actually a bench on the opposite bank that has collapsed and lies at a strange angle on the bank ). 1000 saw number 3.

I suppose I could now go on to wax lyrical as they say and give a blow by blow account of the rest of the fishing. I will not however, partly as my keyboard skills mean it will take me for ever, and partly because, on reading the "cartel" of fishing authors in some magazines that will remain unnamed I shall restrain myself( yes, indeed a closed shop - have you noticed how few writers there are who seem to appear everywhere, and if any of you have tried, how nearly impossible it is to get anything published unless you are a close associate of the chosen few ? )

Anyway, suffice it to say that my total for the week was 6 salmon, and the 1 sea trout. And - the experiment was a true success. - This will now be my policy for the future. It may not work every time, but it certainly paid off last week. Not so much luck for the others unfortunately though Colin did get a nice 12lb salmon - seem to be a few gaps in my fly box though after I think at least one "raid" by persons unknown !!

Time to sign off now - the joy of being away is that I come home to 2 acres of grass that badly needs cut - all done and now I'm knackered - time for bed

PS - Tara was excellent, and behaved herself at all times (thankfully ) - she was happy to just sit on the bank whilst I waded.

2008-05-28T02:39:00.000-07:00

Just for you doggie lovers out there, Tara is now 1 year old, and a real cracker - biddable, easy to train, quick as lightning, and follows her daddy everywhere. Just a wee bit of fine tuning to go on the training, and she should be ready for the birds this season.

Tara, myself and my mate Brian headed up to Loch Tearnait the other night. It was warm, sunny, and there was a brisk easterly breeze ( not the best ). After an initial flurry where she chased after some ducks on the horizon, on being brought back, she behaved herself and sat on the bank while I waded. ( no waders necessary up here if you are not afraid of a wee bit of cold water - you dry off on the walk down ). The fishing was a wee bit hard work until the sun dropped, and it started off as one of these days when you went through the contents of the fly box.

Eventually however a Loch Ordie on the top, and 2 black spiders below did the trick, and I landed 6. Always wanting to be in on the action however, just as I was releasing one, Tara grabbed it, and swallowed in one gulp ( not a big fish ). Suitable remonstrated, she didn't even attempt this with any of the others.

With no rain for about 6 weeks now, the River is perhaps the lowest I have ever seen it - so low in fact that I walked across it this morning and never got my feet wet. Fish are now piling up at the mouth, but thankfully Sammy Seal must be getting plenty of feeding out at sea. rain is forecast for later today and tomorrow, so with luck these fish can begin their journey upstream.

Sods law however ( well nearly ), it looks as if when the river will be full of fish, I will not be here. That said, I'm off to the Spey for a week, and really looking forward to it. Willie has told me that there are plenty of fish, and like the Tay this year, plenty of big fish. As we speak, my vice is red hot as I tie up a variety of my specials. ( yes I know - like some of you I probably have flies coming out of my ears, but you know what its like !! )

Not a lot else to report at the moment, though for the stalkers amongst you - the Roe bucks are doing nicely. The land where I shoot used to hold just a few, but after storms last winter brought down bits of fencing, there seems to have been a bit of an invasion. Omens look good also for the stags, and while out after the Bucks last week I saw again the big one that has eluded me for so long - I reckon he's a 14 pointer after the brief glimpse I have had. - I've already marked out the place above the fire for his head if I am lucky enough to get him.

That's all for now folks, and I'll be back in a week or so - hopefully with pics of lots of fish from the Spey.

Dog Days

2008-05-20T03:21:00.000-07:00

Phew!!! - its hot, humid, and not really the weather for fishing. Despite this, things are actually on the up. The River is very low, but sea trout are actually managing to get up - I saw one last night going through a riffle with only about 4 inches of water around it. Jed also saw it and made a move - I called him off though and he will have to wait till I get into a fish the proper way.

Arienas has been moderate, mainly due to the hot weather, but also, on occasion a complete lack of wind. The midges are also out in force, so if coming, look out the jungle formula, or whatever it is you use.

The big success story is however the hill lochs - Tearnait is at its best with baskets of over a dozen coming in regularly. Also, the Sula Lochs and the black lochs are producing fish of excellent quality, and some of them up to over 2lb. Small spiders seem to be doing the trick, but a mate of mine from California has done very well with big yuckers of nymphs, and also dry fly.

We have been out in "Camrach" a couple of times, and the mackerel have arrived in numbers - One or two decent Lithe also taken, mainly over some of the wrecks ( which can get expensive as you keep snagging tackle ), and while out with my youngest kids at the weekend, we were followed back by a school of Dolphins !! - and did I have the camera ??

No news from Mr Hardy on my broken rod, but hopefully it should not be too long I have been using a 10ft rod that Bruce and Walker made up for me, and this has been excellent - don't you find that you get attached to things though ?

Stalking has been a case of very early mornings ( on site at 0330 ) and very late nights. We have an old caravan up in the woods now though, so we have started staying overnight - no more grumbles from her indoors when the alarm goes off, and at that time in the morning, even the dogs say Sod Off !!

Places are still available on Morvern waters in the second half of June and in September, but the Spey school and fishing is now fully booked. I have the opportunity of another week on the Spey in August next year, and if any of you out there are interested, please get in touch.

Taking a party out sea fishing tomorrow morning, so I'm off to get everything ready on the boat.

See Y'All soon

PS - will be getting a new camera soon, so apologies that no pice meantime,

I'm Back !!!

2008-05-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

After a driech and cold winter and Spring, family and personal incapacities, sick dogs and generally not a very good time over the past couple of months, I'm back.

As I speak, the weather here is like St Tropez in the summer. The temperature thingy on my shed peaked at 25 this afternoon, and at 6.30 in the evening its still 21 in the shade - who needs foreign holidays !

Fishing wise, before this week, both air and water have been very very cold, with the result that the lochs were hard work. A couple of blanks have been recorded, but I am pleased to say that things have now picked up considerably. Water is warming up ( though after the past few days hopefully not too much ) fly life is abundant, and at long last the fish are coming up nicely to the fly. As a result, fish are now being caught in numbers.

Mr Johnston from Clydebank had 10 on the bank on Monday, Joseph from Tain had 7 the next day, and having managed to get out myself, I had 5 last night. The fish being caught at the moment are all brownies, and with this weather the river is low, meaning that there is a wee build up of fish at the mouth of the river. Some however managed through on the spate at the weekend, and several large sea trout and salmon have been doing their acrobatics in Arienas, and in the larger river pools.

One bad note to record though - I set off last night with my usual rod, a tried and trusted Hardy 10ft Ultralight. Tackled up at the car, waddled down to the loch in waders, and was just flexing into casts when - snap ! - the rod broke just below the spiggot. I've had the rod for a few years, but after talking to Mr Hardy its on its way down to them for repair.

Forgot to mention, I had a couple of days on the Spey in the first week in April - River high with snow melt, but plenty of fish coming through. Started on the fly and had 2 well mended Kelts, + a hen fish of about 9lb - all on the "Bourach". After a rise in the water, got the ironmongery out, and after 5 mins, went to cast my Blair Spoon when snap - the rod broke ! ( by the way, anyone know where I can get Blair Spoons ? can't seem to get them anywhere. )

Thankfully this was not an expensive piece of equipment, but I'll be hoping this year that it doesn't come in 3's !!

Tomorrow I'm off to Glasgow on my other business, but I'll be back Sat. - Now time to get the "Camrach" in the water.

Plenty of Roe Bucks about also, so with luck, I'll soon be able to say sorry dear I'm fishing/walking. sailing/stalking when her indoors starts wanting things done.

Finally - I look forward to seeing both my "regulars" and new faces this year.

Slainte

LOOKING FORWARD TO A GOOD 2008

2008-01-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

Hello friends old and new - after so far a very bleak, wet and miserable winter, FISHMORVERN is back in business and busily planning for the 2008.

Since I last spoke the only fishing done has been in the sea, mostly for Pollack, which given the right conditions have thankfully been plentiful. As the boat is still out of the water, most of this has been done from the shore, though I did hitch a ride on someone Else's boat one frosty morning. Spinning has been the order of the day on most occasions ( 18g Toby in silver/blue ), though on calm days, I have had the old battered fly rod that I use for sea fishing out. Both methods have been productive, and I beat my personal record on the fly rod this year with a lovely fish of over 8lb - great fun, and thankfully the old rod took all that was thrown at it.

Apart from the fishing, stalking has taken up most of my spare time, though with the wet and miserable weather I have taken a look outdoors some mornings and just gone straight back to bed ! - No point when it's wet and windy as they wont bother coming out of the trees.

Plans are now well under way for 2008 season. The web site has been updated ( check http://www.fishmorvern.co.uk/ ), Ads have been placed in the fishing press June and July, Some maintenance has been done on the banks of the River Aline, tackle is cleaned and lubricated, and for those that need extra lubrication, courtesy of Macallan, I will be awarding a bottle of 10 yr old malt for the heaviest Salmon, Sea Trout and Brownie this year.

Storms forecast for tomorrow so away to batten down the hatches !! - be back soon

Fame at Last

2007-10-19T04:02:00.001-07:00

Its taken a while, but at last I can say that FISHMORVERN is now internationally recognised !!! - well in Japan at least ! After a call from Visit Scotland, we hosted the above party who are making a film in the area, I think about rail journeys, with Fort Willam to Mallaig being used as the "Harry Potter" connection. As part of their documentary, amongst other things, they wanted to film some Salmon Fishing, and we were happy to oblige.

"Ken", the one in the waders, is the Commentator on the programme, and wanted to learn how to cast a fly. No problem, and after about 15 mins of practice, he was casting into the Big Pool at Claggan like a pro, well nearly. The River was looking good and one or two fish showed. Alas however, it was not to be and in the short period of time available to them, we did not touch anything. I hope that they enjoyed themselves, and that they got the footage they wanted - Cameron who was spectating however did say that they were most impressed with my "Snake Roll" cast - I suppose everybody has to be good at something. - I wouldn't mind practicing the cast on one of the rivers in Hokkaido, the Northern Island of Japan though - plenty of King, sockeye and Coho I hear, and if anyone out there knows anything about fishing in Japan, I would be glad to hear from them.

Onto other matters, Ardtornish will be closing the River tomorrow, as they always do at the end of the stalking season for Stags. A week or so left on the main lochs ( salmon & sea trout only ), so its effectively the end of our season.

As its been the first full season of FISHMORVERN, I am glad to report that it has been successful. The totals for the season have been about 45 salmon, over 200 sea trout, and countless brown trout from River Loch and hill loch. Highlights have been the continuing run of large sea trout early in the year, with the best being over 12lb ( Mr Lapping from Irvine ), and most of all, the increased run of salmon into the Aline system. I hear reports that other West Coast fisheries may be struggling, but apparently, and hopefully, here we are starting to return to former glories. Whether this is the knock on effect of removing cages from the sea loch years ago, increased co-operation with the Fish farming Co's, or more likely the closure of the Irish Drift Nets ( well those that are legal anyway ), I don't know. More good news is that I understand that there is to be some form of stocking by the landlords, so we look forward to some form of hope for the future.

Its now the time of year when I have to sort out Accounts, Corporation tax and the dreaded VAT, and also sit down to make plans for the future. The Web site will be getting a re-vamp, advertising ( expensive but necessary ) put in place, and now that I have my Motor Vessel ticket, an expansion of the sea fishing activity on board "CAMRACH". So next year I will be offering fishing for Salmon, Trout & Sea Trout, and also sea fishing and sight seeing trips in the Sound of Mull - Whales, Dolphins, Sea Eagles etc abound round here, and in the winter we get the occasional visit from Killer Whales who seem to find the seals tasty ( good !!! ). Oh, and the boat will be coming out of the water this weekend, for a good clean and service.

Finally, I will also be offering Deer Stalking , by arrangement, and if it works out, wildlife photography expeditions. How will little me fit all this in you ask ? - Well, things are now good enough that I can consider taking on some help. Enquiries are welcome, but I will probably be looking to recruit a youngster to help - I am after all not getting any younger.

Most of all, as this will be the last big report, can I extend my thanks to all those who have visited this year. It has been a pleasure to introduce you to Morvern, and a great pleasure to enjoy the company of you all ( I'll try to get some new jokes for next year ). Thanks also to those who have mailed me in support, and to those that have commented on this my first attempt at a blog.

I'll give brief updates on the sea fishing in the next few months, and on the stalking which after tomorrow moves on to the hinds. Otherwise, thanks again, and I look forward to seeing some of you again next year.

Jm B

Winding Down

2007-10-01T03:21:00.000-07:00

Its been 2 weeks, but what a 2 weeks !!

The River has been at its real best with ( until this week ), regular rain to keep it at an excellent fishable level. As a result, fish have been seen and caught everywhere, including Arienas and Doire na Marst. This, as you will appreciate has kept me very busy as with one or two exceptions all of my fishers have tasted success.

The size of fish has averaged about 6/7 lb, and I did hear of a much larger cock fish of about 14lb landed by a customer of Ardtornish. Sea Trout have also been in evidence, though as it is late in the year, they have tended to be about "normal" size, and nothing like the very big fish we get in April/May. Overall catches are slightly up on last year, and the 8 fish in the past 2 weeks have been welcome.

Sea Fishing has also been good, but as the season advances into Autumn, fewer Mackerel are evident. This however gives us the incentive to go after the bigger Pollack, and Cod ( heard of a 17lb Cod taken off the point at Kullundine Castle last week which is excellent ).

Just for a wee change, I was happy to receive an invitation from the Fishing Club of a well known Bank to fish in one of their competitions on the Lake of Mentieth. My son Cammy and I attended, and although we had a good day. fish were found to be few and far between - a fate suffered by the rest I gather. I though it was us, and after trying all the flies and tactics ( I do hate this sunk line stuff though ! ), it only made us feel a little bit better when we were told that the previous day the Scottish Championships had been held there and oodles of fish taken, none of which had been replaced. Still, we did have a good time, weather was good, Cameron's repertoire of tactics improved, and he only caught me near the ear once in a whirling wind !

Otherwise, the Stalking is in full flow, and when not fishing I have been up the hill after Stags. The Rut has started a wee bit early this year ( harbinger of a hard Winter ? ), and the beasts are in excellent condition. 2 nice specimens so far, and hopefully more to come as the fishing winds down, and I spend more time up the hill.

It will soon be the end of my season, and next time, I will hopefully be giving a rundown of what has been a good year.

Speak soon

Cats and Dogs

2007-09-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

As I write, it has been raining heavily now for 4 days and nights - no emergency weather warnings here - we just put up with it !

With all that water, and the ground and hills now saturated, the only place for it to go is into the Rivers burns and Lochs. At this moment therefore, the River Aline is about 4-5 ft above normal, and fairly thundering down - not quite burst its banks fully, though it has done on the Top Beat. The result is that until things settle down, the river will be unfishable. Forecast is good though, with the rain expected to stop tonight I expect that by tomorrow afternoon/evening the River will be fishable again.

Conditions up to the rains have been variable and up until Thursday the river was fairly low. The rains picked things up a bit, and by Saturday I had reports of about 6 fish, all fresh taken from the River and one nice grilse of about 7lb from Arienas. Lochs have been fishing steadily, but with a variable wind direction, and flat calms on some days, it has sometimes been difficult. Fish have nevertheless been caught, though apart from the salmon mentioned, nothing of the size I would expect at this time of year.

With Stalking activity at its height on Ardtornish, not many have ventured up to the hill lochs. No reports of any catches therefore, and as I said last time, if fishing the hill lochs you must check with the Estate Office first to check for stalking activity !! If you do fish the hill lochs however, I would advise fishing the top end of each one, and sometimes the feeder burns where fish will now be starting to congregate.

A busy week next week, and I have booked 1 day for myself - lets hope the weather is kind !!

September Sport

2007-09-10T02:58:00.000-07:00

Its been mega busy the past few weeks, what with the River and Lochs practically fully booked up, people wanting to go sea fishing, and another kind invitation from Neville to fish the Spey. That's him above on the right, with his brother Brian in the mioddle and friend Fred on the left. Its a usual thing in April and September and thanks again to Neville for his generosity. Regrettably however O only managed a day and a half as my other half, the Secretary, organised the Community Council AGM on Thursday - I though I'd better turn up as I am Chairman ! - Anyway, the Spey at Up[per Easter Elchies was in perfect condition, showing minus 6" on the gauge. It being near the back end of the Spey season, there were fish everywhere both fresh, and residents, all of whom had one thing on their minds ie to get upstream to spawn. As a result, you had to be lucky enough to put a fly on the end of one of they're noses as they , on the whole did not seem to interested. nevertheless, a few were taken and on the Thursday morning I had a good sea-liced grilse. I put it at about 7lb, but on speaking to Willie the Ghillie, he did his usual and put it in the book at 6lb. - Interestingly enough, having gone through virtually all my flies, I finally opted for a size 12 Munro - and this did the trick as I netted the grilse and lost another.

Moving back to Morvern, sport has been thick and fast including a salmon reported to be over 15lb - but more of that later. The River has been at its best with regular rain keeping it topped up, and fresh fish running at each tide. Most productive pools have been the half Crown, the Junction, the Big Pool and Larches. Flies used have been fairly small, and because of some peat run off fairly bright with cascades a favourite on size 10 or 12. My guests have accounted for 6, all nice fresh grilse.

Loch Arienas, after its usual torpidity in high summer, has freshened up and come into its own. Good baskets of Brown and Sea Trout have been recorded ( I had 8 in one afternoon ) and though none caught, there have been quite a few fresh salmon seen as they jump out shaking off the sea lice.

Hill Lochs have also been productive, with double figure baskets the norm. This will however now die off as Ardtornish Estate have started stalking, and all fishers are advised to contact the Estate Office before they set off in case there is a clash of sporting activity.

Returning to the reported fish - allegedly, the factor was discussing fishing with a gentleman on the bridge at the junction pool. As he was doing so, someone using a bubble float, treble hook and a fist full of worms hoiked out a big fish, bundled it into his car and drove off - undetected !!
Very disappointing - especially for the factor I would think, but it demonstrates the need for all of us up here to be vigilant against such poachers ( not a great problem normally thank goodness ).

Mr Williams who fished earlier in the year is back fishing the river today, starting at the big pool. He is accompanied by his good lady who I think will be doing some walking. I hope that both have a good time.

Me - I am studying the Deer Stalking Manual as I am taking my DSC 1 later this week - strange how everything is regulated these days, but If I want to increase on my 20 or so years stalking experience, I have to have one - so its back to school for yours truly for a wee while.

August Update.

2007-08-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

Weather has been its usual wacky self - first no rain, then too much, then back to no rain. Temperatures have also been up and down like a yoyo, but then, that's just what it is like here.

The River was productive after the last rains, but things quietened down as the river fell. Today however it is raining big style so hopefully the river will be up again tomorrow. Lochs, especially Arienas have all been fishing well, though on the hotter days the best sport was to be had in the mornings and evenings. Thankfully the loch has cooled down now and the bigger fish have moved out of the "Glory hole" where they go deep for cooler water.

Mr Crowley from Orpington was with me yesterday, and took to fly fishing like a natural. An experienced coarse fisher, he fished first the river where he caught his first ever sea trout, and in the afternoon I took him out in a boat where between us we got 6, 2 sea trout, and four lovely browns.

Not the best of pics, but here he is.

Today I took him out in the boat in what was first lovely weather. About 2 however this soon changed as a strong westerly brought a big sea, and lots of rain. Round Ardtornish bay fish, even mackerel were scarce. The same went for Inninmore, and Ardtornish Point. He did however get a few mackerel, some coalies, and a wee saith. Things improved later as we went West of the "New" pier, and fished on to the slate wreck. More mackerel, but more importantly some lovely Pollack.

Pity about the weather, but I hope he had a good time - I did - good to be in the company of a real Gentleman.

Other fishers with me this week have been Mr & Mrs Steele Wilson. No joy on the river, which admittedly was a bit low. Loch Tearnait was however more successful with some nice brownies - not sure if they enjoyed the walk up there though. Still I hope they had a good time.

Tomorrow I am hopeful that Mr Porteus and son will do well on the river - more news soon.

And Even Wetter

2007-08-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

Usually up here in the Western Wilderness, you can ignore the weather forecasts, especially Heather the Weather on BBC. Maybe its cos we are so remote, I don't know - we just look West ( or wherever the wind is coming from ) and see what is about to hit us - that's the only way to be sure. This weekend however they got it right for once - heavy rain was forecast, and sure enough on Sat morning, heavy rain arrived, in abundance.

Waterproofs on, rods on the rod racks on the car, a lot of optimism, and Cammy and I set off for the Top Beat of the River. When we got there, it wasn't too bad, in fact the river was just about at a perfect height. Starting at the Half Crown pool, we worked our way down - after about his third cast, Cammy had a "thump", but sadly that was all. Over the next hour or so, we worked our way down through half Crown, into the Corner Pool. quickly through the Pump ( must take down a few alders on the bank here in the winter ), and into the lovely glide at the top of the Folly Pool. Result - absolutely Zilcho !. The only thing that did happen however was that in that hour, the river rose about 3 feet, and we watched as fish after fish swam through on the way to the Loch or upper river, at a fair rate of knots. Wet, cold, and with wellies full of water, nothing else to do but call it a day, and that's just what we did.

Sunday however was a different kettle of fish ( pun intended ! ). The sun was shining, there wasn't any wind to speak of, and the birds were singing ( honest ! ). Time for a family outing, and after lunch, we packed up the sea gear and headed for Carnach our boat - even Teresa came. With the tide quickly going out, getting in to the pier was a bit tricky, with the help of Davy "Catchalot" Holt however, we managed to tie up without too much trouble. ( Davy had just come in after taking that Hugh Fernleigh Whittingstall ( wonder if his friends call him Shuggie ? ) chap from TV ( River Cottage ?? ) out skate fishing, and they had caught and released three, all over 100 lb. - Incidentally, there must be something going on at the big house as other celebs are in Lochaline, including Monty Don from Gardeners World, and Sarah Raven ( daughter of the owner of Ardtornish ), also I think from Gardener's World.

Anyway, back to the plot - no such delights for us, as we chugged steadily round Ardtornish Point, to Ardtornish Bay, and set about catching dinner. The fish finder was going fairly crazy, and in places, the water started to "boil" as Mackerel chased schools of sprats or whatever. Cameron went first, and was soon into fish on the feathers, Rachel had a go, and with a little help, also got fish, then all this activity got Teresa all excited, and she grabbed my rod ( pun not intended ) and had a go herself.

Here she is with Rachel and a view of the Ardtornish castle ruins.

After catching enough for Tea, we started to put them back, then Cammy said "I think its something big Dad !" Expecting several large mackerel, we were all surprised when up came several mackerel, but also a lovely Pollack.

On the way back, Cammy wanted to tell the world - it was after all not his first, but definitely his biggest Lithe ( local name for pollack ). Rachel was however just a wee bit more excited as this was her first ever fishing trip, and, albeit only mackerel, her first ever fish.

Here she is, back home, proud as Punch !

Returning to Game fishing, prospects look good with the river now settled down, and we have a nice SW breeze. Rain is forecast about mid week ( we'll see if they are right again ! ), and hope is therefore high. I have plenty fishers on river and loch, but with a few spaces, and some luck I will manage out myself.

Wet and Wetterer

2007-08-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

Its been a few days, and very busy days at that. The River is holding a perfect height as its raining just about every day now. Also both the Rivers and main lochs are full of fresh salmon and sea trout. Quite a few fish are now being caught, and once I get the Ardtornish returns it is hoped that we may reach 15 for the week.

Meanwhile, up at Tearnait at the weekend, I took up a party of gentlefolk from Englandshire on a days outing to see how it was fishing. Above is Maisie ( note the wellies !! ) braving a force 7 westerly just prior to the heavens opening.

And this is her brother Ben - a picture of concentration as he retrieved his flies between the gusts. As you have probably guessed, it was a fairly wild day. Despite this, all had good fun, and the total basket for the few hours we fished was over 30. here's one basket, the biggest about 1.5lb

The biggest of these fish was not actually caught from Tearnait, but in the very small pool as the River Rannoch leaved the loch. Butchers and Soldier Palmers were the flies of the day, but Ben caught most of this basket on a red bodied mini muddler.

meanwhile, back to the River. Cameron and I went out on Sat to fish the Top beat. Quiet to start with, but once I worked out that the fish were in the margins due to relatively high water, we started to have some success. 2 lovely grilse for the afternoon - both returned quickly.

Here's Cameron at the top of Folly Pool casting well, but with no luck yet - wont be long though as he has fairly come on.

Finally, I took some of the party who were at Tearnait out sea fishing on Tuesday - great fun as they got plenty of mackerel, quite a few Pollock, some ling, and a few coalies. - More than enough for the fish pie they were planning to have on Wed. Tides, not quite right for the best fishing, but with over 60 fish in total, all had fun.

I have fishers on the River tonight, and on Arienas tomorrow. With luck I will manage out myself on Sat so will speak soon.

Fighting Midges.

2007-08-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from the River after taking 2 pleasant Gents from France fishing - Basson & John. The sun has been shining some of the time, there has not been a breath of wind, and when the sun went behind the clouds the dreaded Midges arrived. Normally I can just about cope, but today I must admit they even defeated me. Deet, Jungle Formula, Avon Skin So Soft, you name it, I tried it every6thing was just like a red rag to a bull !!

Never mind, at least the fishing was good. Today Basson and John fished Acharn beat, then Claggan. Acharn runs from the falls at Uillin all the way down to the Suspension Bridge Pool, some 2.5 miles making it the longest beat on the River. It is however on the upper part of the river, before Arienas empties, and it therefore fills up quickly, and also drains quickly. Even after the rain we have been having therefore, it was quite low, and any fish to be found were in the pools.

This is the Suspension Bridge Pool today, and if you consider that the water was up to the top of the far bank yesterday, you will appreciate how quickly it drops.

Despite never fishing for Salmon before, the lads quickly adapted their trout styles to suit the river, and soon had one or two "thumps". Low water meant small flies however, and a change to a size 12 Assassin quickly brought results for Basson, seen here with a nice wee grilse , maybe not the freshest of fish, but a good fighter on the 6 weight rod that he was using.

As is the policy here, the fish was returned to fight another day.

After Acharn, we moved down to Claggan Beat, part of which is the famous Big Pool. This is on the main part of the river benefiting from the run off from Arienas, and as a result had plenty of water. With fish jumping all over the place, it also held plenty of fish. A couple of hours later however, after one or two knocks, nothing had been hooked, and the midges were f#####g murder !. The lads had had enough, and frankly so had I !!

Good news however, talking with Simon the Estate Stalker, I learnt that there had been quite a few fish, mostly fresh, netted in the past couple of days. With my 2 on Saturday, the total is at least 8 in 4 days fishing. News from elsewhere on the West Coast is also good with most rivers reporting excellent runs of Grilse - hopefully this is the start of the return to what things were.

Finally - heard today that a Brown Trout of 11lb has come off Arienas - from Big Fish Bay on a Loch Ordie in a slight breeze. This is the biggest this year so far, and if I was a betting man, I would say that amongst all the big Brownies in the loch, there has to be one over 20lb.!

Fresh fish are now coming into the system with every tide, and with luck ( if I'm not dragged shopping ) I'll be getting out again soon - watch this space.

Double Whammy

2007-08-08T03:22:00.000-07:00

Just checked and the one I did on Sunday has appeared mysteriously !

Just off to take some Gents on the River - more later

Happy days are here again

2007-08-07T04:24:00.000-07:00

Don't know what happened to the update I did on Sunday - must be lost in the ether somewhere I guess so I'd better repeat.

Since last published note, it has rained and rained. As a result the river is high. On Saturday however it was just perfect and I managed to get the rods out myself for a change. Top beat first ( my favourite as it has everything, holding pools, fast glides, and very fishy water throughout ). Water was a bit coloured, and on went the "Sandy Special" - designed and tied by my mate Sandy Davidson from Aberdeen as seen on the Spey recently. Starting at the Half Crown pool near the mouth of Arienas, I had one or two thumps, and netted a nice sea trout of about 3lb. Nothing on the first run down to the Pump, then Folly, so back up to the top I went.

This time I took off the fast sinking leader and put on an intermediate. Obviously did the trick as at the rock near the top of the Half Crown pool, just as the fly was starting to swing round nicely a nice grilse took very hard. Didn't seem too big, but once it got into the current, it felt much bigger. 5 mins and about 40 yards later, I managed to net it at the tail of the pool - only about 5lb, but a real bar of silver with sea lice on its flanks.

Working my way down the rest of the beat I got into another, about a similar size near the head of Folly pool. Much calmer water here, and the fight was not too long. Result a similar size fish of about 5/6lb. This time though I was surprised to see that it was a bit off colour - must have spent some time in the brackish water waiting for the rain that has now arrived.

Evening saw me on the middle beat, and not so lucky as I guess the tide was not right ( only about 1mile from sea loch ). Managed to get a few finnock though, and a very nice sea trout of about 4lb from larches pool.

As I write its still raining, and as I walked the dogs this morning, the river was very very high - Rain due to stop later today and with luck I will hit the river tomorrow.

Grilse Arrival

2007-08-05T08:36:00.001-07:00

Well - its still raining, and as I speak the River is holding a good height and is eminently fishable. To some it looks to be in full spate, but with the vagaries of the river system, whilst the top of the River ( White and Black Rivers) are thundering down about 4 ft above what they have been for some time, with Loch Arienas acting as a header tank ( did I tell you that the White & Black Rivers combined actually flow backwards into Arienas when in full spate ), the lower river where the best pools are to be found, reaches a level and more or less stays there.

Anyway, I braved firstly a foul upstream wind, then midges then rain and fished the River yesterday afternoon on the Top Beat, then on the Middle Beat in the evening. As stated, the River was at a perfect height, a tad coloured, but eminently fishable. I had the 13ft double hander rigged up ( with regret as in the wind the single hander would have been less cumbersome) and fished all day with a fly designed and tied by my mate Sandy Davidson from Aberdeen - the Sandy Special - a yellow/black fox fur creation with a silver body ( bit like a bloody butcher with yellow in ).

I wont bore you with poetic prose or wax lyrical about the esoteric qualities of casting and fly presentation though - suffice it to say that the fish are now indeed in the river in numbers, and I netted two lovely grilse, peas in a pod about 5/6 lb. Both were taken on the top Beat in Half Crown and Corner pools respectively. Also as is usual in fairly high water, both were taken in the margins as they were hugging the nearside bank.

A couple of hours in the evening on Middle beat produced a couple of nice sea trout, but sadly no salmon. I think the reason for this is that being only a mile from the sea, the fish had passed through this beat as it was low tide at the time. Nice sea trout though - here's the one I kept about 3lb

Moving backwards a bit - I took the kids/grand kids ( definitely a bad move for my sanity and my wallet !! ) and my son in law John to the Moy show on Friday. I was so looking forward to this as I had missed the Scone show whilst in hospital, and was a wee bit disappointed. There appeared to be fewer trade stands than normal, certainly fewer gun and fishing stands, and I therefore did not get the things I wanted ( new scope for stalking rifle and decent bipod for same ). Ran into some old friends though - Mr Bennet from Scottish field ( remember his mate with the 9lb sea trout ), Ken who used to be the local Policeman and who is now suffering from culture shock near Inverness where he is based, Peter Anderson who never seems to age and one or two old worthies that I come across either on the bank, up the hill or at the shows.

We had a reasonable time, Kids drained the wallet etc - I was though was sadly disappointed when I picked up a sea reel at one of the stands - The owner said worth £160 give it to you for £130 - no sale as I have seen this reel for sale in a reputable dealers for £65 !!! You get some bargains at the shows. Unfortunately you also get some rip off merchants.

Teresa is taking the kids away for a couple of days - now what shall I do with myself ? - no guesses necessary !

Perfect Conditions

2007-08-02T01:53:00.000-07:00

Weather here has been superb - in otherwords, lots of RAIN !!!. River is now at its perfect height, and fish are arriving in numbers.

Yesterday I was out in the boat just as the tide was coming in and the fish finder was going crazy - looking into the water at the mouth of the sea loch I could see salmon in numbers making their way towards the river. More rain is forecast, and as soon as I get rid of other business, I will be hitting the river. Shoukld manage with the 11 ft rod, but will take 13ft double hander just in case.

Suggested flies :_

Munro Killer
Willie Gun
Thunder & Lightning
Yellow Torrish
Orang, Yellow and Copper Allies
Silver & Thunder Stoats

No reports of fish from Ardtornish guests yet as factor is away. River and main lochs will however have a good head of fresh fish. Some spaces available on River next week, but going fast !!

Spey School

2007-07-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

Well, what a week it was - started badly, got worse, improved, then ended up excellent. First bad news was that all the rain down south resulted in 6 cancellations for the school - disappointing, but when some of them said they had no insurance ( something about not being able to get it cos of where they live ), what could I say. Anyway, we were left with 4 for the school, but the bonus was that I was able to fish myself full time for the Thu through to the Sat.

The first day started well enough, though the river was a bit on the high side ( showing a foot on the gauge ). Joe and Bob, both from Felling Flyfishers, started fishing as I and as I helped Robert and Sandi tackle up, and one after another they both got into fish. Sadly both were lost, and I think after this Joe will be reviewing his knots !. As seen above, Sandi was eager to get in the water - Robert and Joe are posing on the bank.

Sandi and Bob were excellent students, and all was going well until I heard the words - "Jim - I think we need a disgorger". The picture speaks for itself as Sandi after trying to get to grips with the single Spey looped the wrong way and this is the result.

Both hooks on the tight double went in well past the barb on the tip of a lovely nose. - and then it was straight up to the hospital !. Sandi took it very well, and despite what must have been a lot of pain kept smiling. The Doctor In Elgin did a grand job however and there will be no lasting marks left. - Sandi intends to frame the fly and the picture I think.

Back to fishing, after this unfortunate incident, all the tuition went very well. Robert mastered the Single Spey, and progressed to the Double, covering all the different parts of the long Macallan Beat. Sandi meanwhile was most impressive - patient, attentive, and at the end of the day technically proficient on the Single Spey. Joe and Bob meanwhile, both of whom had a fair amount of experience already, did equally well, though unfortunately, no fish for their efforts after the two near misses.

Here's Sandi showing excellent poise on a graceful delivery.

Putting effort in against a strong downstream wind

Robert in full flow

And Sandi working her way gracefully down the Tunnel pool.

Disappointing though the cancellations were, the school was a success, and I am please that all enjoyed themselves. All present were good company, and I thank them for this. Particular thanks must go to Sandi however - certainly for her company, but most of all for being so brave and smiling in the face of adversity.

I will be running the school again next year, and will then be able to offer all inclusive packages including accommodation at the excellent Dowans Hotel in Aberlour. - Check this and the web site for details - I will also have rods available for fishing on the Upper Easter Elchies Beat throughout the next season.

With the school shortened, I fished on for the rest of the week with Sandy Davidson from Aberdeen, and guest appearances by Donald and Kevin from the Dowans Hotel. We were, as always, ably assisted by Willie the Ghillie - one of life's gentlemen, and a fountain of knowledge in all thinks salmonoid, and quite a few interesting stories to boot ( Write them down Willie !!! ).

To start with the river was looking good, then the rains came. Sandy picked up one or two. I managed to get a suicide Jockey of a grilse ( hens both so returned ) . I netted a lovely sea liced 8lb hen fish for Sandy, then the rains came. Fly purists that we are, I am afraid that the ironmongery came out as the fly was just not on in the conditions. Enough bantering - I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

Above is Sandy with a nice wee grilsie taken on one of his own flies a Sandy Special

Sandy with a nice 10lb fish from the Tunnel pool

And - just to cap it off - yours truly with a cracking sea liced 16lb'er.

Total for the three days was 11 - all beautiful fresh run fish ( incl a couple of nice sea trout).

All in all - a great week !!

Returning back home - it seems that the only place in the British Isles escaping weather is Lochaline ! I am told that we had some rain, but this only really affected the white and black rivers, and as a result only barely raised the level in Arienas. This means that although the main river has risen, it has not done so by very much - rain dances still therefore needed as the fish are piling up at the top of Loch Aline. - Will write soon with catch reports when I get them.

Been Busy

2007-07-22T03:25:00.000-07:00

Been a few days folks, but boy - has it been busy. This is ( sorry a not very good ) pic of the new boat Camrach, the purchase of which has left me broke and taken up most of my time this week. Getting her ready for the sea, sorting out engines, laying a mooring, finding a tender, and most important of all, getting her ready for the fishing competition on sat 23 July - all of this has kept me busy for the week.

Back to more important matters however, rain was forecast for this week, but again it has failed to materialise. As a result the river is again on its bones. Loads of fish are milling about in the Sea Loch waiting to get up, but Sammy Seal has appeared again, and if we dont get rain soon, matters will not look good for this run. On the good side however, rain is again forecast, so we wait in hope.

With the warm dry weather, the main lochs have been a bit torpid, and those fishers who have gone out have only done so either late at night, overnight, or very early in the morning. I have had reports of a few nice fish being taken particularly from Arienas, but not many. Hill Lochs, which offer the best sport in these conditions, continue to produce fish in numbers, and baskets of over 10 are common.

Otherwise, with this being the Morvern games and gala Week, it has been a time of festivities, and more than a few hangovers. My lad Cammy won a trophy for best junior on the Sports day, Rachel, my youngest won her race ( but with her little legs only by a neck ahead of a 2 year old !! ), lots of activities through the week, and the fishing competition yesterday.

Cammy and I went out with Son in Law John and Grandsons Arran & Euan, and had a good day - loads of Mackerel, a couple of Ling, but no Pollack this year. Davy Holt on the "Catchalot" won heaviest fish, heaviest basket, and most species ( 12 I think ), but he is a serious sea fisher whilst we only play at it - well done Davy.

Her indoors still has the camera in her car as she is away for the day, and hopefully get some pics soon.

After this, I am packing up for a week on the Spey - 3 days doing the fly fishing school, and 3 days fishing - really looking forward to it, and the " Students" also.

Be back in a week or so unless I can get onto a machine somewhere. in the meantime, if anybody needs to speak, or anyone needs fishing call me on 0774 3894199.

I'll be back !!!

CAMRACH

2007-07-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

A week since I last wrote, and its been busy as I collect the new boat "CAMRACH", and get it ready for the sea. Tiring work as I had to collect the boat in Middlesborough, and drive it all the way up here - max speed 50mph, and not much fun especially with the two youngest kids in the back constantly saying "Are we there yet ". Journey took a total of 9 hours, but its well worth it.
Son in law John and I launched the boat tonight, and did a few hours sea trials - impressive, and FISHMORVERN will now be taking people out sea fishing, in addition to hopefully some wildlife ( dolphins, sea eagles, whales etc ) trips - just get in touch to book.

On the freshwater front, it has been a fairly quiet week. The River is holding level, but still needs a good foot of water to be at its best - in otherwords, we need a couple of days of concentrated rain, ie the right sort of rain. The Lochs continue to be productive, and Arienas in particular is yielding a fair amount of fish - over 80 this week, some up to 4lb - most returned thankfully. Awaiting news from the parties who went up to the hill lochs, but they will always produce nice fish.

The Morvern Games and Gala Week commences tomorrow, and the whole peninsula has a week of fun with Highland Games tomorrow, Clay pigeon shoots, Bingo nights, Bowls competitions for Adults and Juniors, Shinty matches and lots of Celeidhs at Hotel, Social Club, and in the Marquee up in Knock Park ( site of the proposed Golf Course). In addition and of particular interest to this blog, there is a sea fishing competition next saturday (21 July) which I will be running for the Committee. - Great fun, and lots of prizes for serious and leisure anglers - starts at 0800 so if you are in the area. come along and join in.

Although I want rain - I hope that we get none tomorrow for the games - her indoors is away at a re-union thingy so I will be looking after the kids !!

Will be trying to get out myself this week if I have time - will speak soon with hopefully a pic of the new boat.

Dog Days

2007-07-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

Its been a few days since I've been near this machine. In the last wee while, I have been in hospital, bought a boat, managed to get a free return flight to New York ( no I didn't buy a hoover, but let's hope that this goes smoothly ), got the all clear on the puppy Tara, and never even managed a minutes fishing myself. Otherwise, it has been busy, with 2 parties fishing the river and the loch now very busy as it is fishing at near its best.

Weatherwise it has been a pain - rain to begin with which brought the river up to fishable level, then fairly frequent showers that have maintained the level, but only just. The result is that whilst there are still fish making their way up the river from the sea, the now vast majority are waiting at the river mouth for a real spate - I reckon there are at least 50 waiting for a spate, and only then, when they taste a lot of freshwater coming into the sea pool, will a real run be on. So if there is a God up there, please please, give us at least 24hrs of real rain to keep us all happy.

Above is Mr Williams from Welsh Wales who is having a couple of days on the river. He has seen some fish, but alas no luck on either of his flies ( he fishes with a dropper ! ). He is on the bottom beat this evening, and should catch the tide, and hopefully one of the fish that are coming through individually in this height of water.

No news from the other party on the River as yet ( Mrs Shapland & friends ). Meanwhile on the lochs, the news is far better. This week on Arienas, to date, 39 brown trout have been netted, the largest about 4lb. A few nice sea trout have also been taken - 13 at the last count, with the biggest about 5 lb I am told. As I write, Dr Pollock from Devon is out on one of the boats with his dapping rod ( a little used but very successful and exciting method esp for sea trout ), and Mr McNeill and his son are fishing from the bank. They are shown above, having a close look at what is not the biggest of fish, but a nice wee brownie that came to a small muddler on about the 10th cast of the day.

Finally, this was taken this morning as I walked the river with the mutts ( Tara still on the lead so not included ) - Jed & Becky doing a bit of synchronised shaking after a swim.

Not really had time to get my own rods out, but with luck tomorrow will be the day - saw a decent fish in half crown pool this afternoon - If no joy on the river - up to the loch in the evening I think. - Sunday I am off to collect the boat, and if I have time will pop in to see the Felling lads in Northumberland.

Finally finally, many thanks to Mr McNeill for the book - please send address and I will return once read.

Near Perfect Conditions

2007-06-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

At last !! - I have been away for a couple of days on other business, and watching the news, I was beginning to think that it was no longer the West Coast of Scotland that was famous for rain. Feel sorry for those in Sheffield etc, but we really have been crying out for rain here - even had to water the lawn last week ! On my return last night from Glasgow I was pleased to see that there was at last water in the main river which is now eminently fishable.

better than that, I walked the dogs by the lower river ( Bottom Beat ) this morning, and was very pleased to see a fair head of Grilse awaiting the tide at the river mouth. Very few have been fishing the river as it has been so low. I heard through the grapevine however that a good Grilse of about 6lb was taken out of larches on Thursday night by a guest on Ardtornish. - Still awaiting reports from when I was away but will advise as soon as.

Its still raining, though not too much at the moment. Further rain is forecast for the rest of the week, so unlike Tony Blair's lot - things really can only get better !!!

Now fairly well booked up for July, though there are still days available - bring your waterproofs though - thankfully I think you will need them.

Evening Rises

2007-06-23T03:40:00.000-07:00

The rains finally arrived yesterday, well, in a manner of speaking - it was hot as hell till about mid-day, then the thunder started, and the heavens opened. Not for long, but enough to freshen up the atmosphere. I took a trip down the coast to Fuinary, and had an hour's fun with the Pollack and mackerel. - about 6 of each, but I'm afraid to say, I took the little spinning rod with me. Still good fun though on fine tackle.

The evening saw the weather settle down so I packed the dogs and a rod into the back of the pick up, and headed off to Tearnait. 45 minutes after leaving Ardtornish Estate yard, and I was there, hot, sweaty, bitten by midges and clegs, but it was worth it.

The sun was beginning to fall behind the hills, there was a gentle breeze, and fish were showing everywhere. I set up the little 5 weight smuggler rod, put on tiny Butcher, Black Pennel, and Soldier Palmer, and started to work my way round the loch. Big fish were showing in the middle, but as I was fishing the banks, I had to make do with lots of the smaller ones. Near 2300, and over 20 fish later ( biggest just over 1lb ), and the wind dropped - midge time big style.

Time to give up and walk home, but on the way I stopped at the bottom of the Loch to meet with Justin Livesey and friends who are walking and fishing, using the Bothy at Tearnait as a base. They had only just started fishing and no luck so far and I left them to the midges as I just had to keep moving to keep them at bay.

On the way back, I stopped at Ivy Bridge just around midnight. The River has come up a wee bit, and I watched one or two fish make their way up to the first pool. No sign of seals thankfully - long may this continue.

Time for the shades !

2007-06-21T04:21:00.000-07:00

As I watch the weather forecast for the UK, and even the one for here recently, can you really trust these Met guys ? Everywhere else in the UK and Europe has had oodles of rain, and even here when I was 20 miles away at Strontian, it was raining. Here ? - forget going to the Med for a holiday and tan, just come to Lochaline.

Needless to say this has had a bad effect on particularly the river, and although they have tried, Mr Tullet's party have had to battle against low water, brilliant sun and the ubiquitous midges. Even on Arienas, no wind, and warm water have made things difficult as the fish have gone deeper ( a lot now probably in the "Glory Hole" where the depth is up to 100 ft+ ). Despite this a reasonable sea trout was caught along with about 20 Brownies.

The hikes up to the hill lochs have fared much better, and you can almost guarantee having a wing up there. The tally for the part for Tearnait was over 50 brown trout. At least the lads touched fish.

I'll try the loch myself tomorrow tonight, but as usual at this time of year - very late - I will get on the water about 10pm and take it from there - although lying deep, the fish should come up at night to feed on the abundant fly life.

Still a few rod days available on the Spey in week beginning 23 July - normal price £85 per rod day - special offer for Internet bookings of £70 per rod/day - just send me a mail, or go on the the comments part of this if interested.

Me - I'm off down the coast to one of my favourite marks for pollack

Sat Update

2007-06-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well its Saturday, and guess what I slept in !! - a big sorry to Doug Masson + friend who turned up at the house and caught me unawares. As I write they are fishing the river. Unfortunately however the expected rain has not materialised, and the River is on its bones . With luck they may tempt something in the bigger holding pools, esp Larches which they were due to fish this afternoon.

Mr Strachan ( spelt it right this time ) had a good day on thursday - 8 brownies ( nothing too big ), and a sea trout of over 2lb. I hope he had a good journey home today.

Mr Tulloch and party are fishing all of the rivers and lochs next week, and as I asked them to, I hope they have done a couple of rain dances. It keeps threatening to rain, but only a few drops so far. There are fish waiting to come in, but the bad news is that Sammy Seal has shown his ugly face again - lets hope the fish are quicker than he is. Ho Hum, at least there will be fish in the lochs.

It was the wife's birthday a couple of days ago, and I'm still in the bad books, not for forgetting, but for ordering the pressies too late - looks like I'm cooking again tonight - she's sure to get fed up of spag bol sometime !

Sunny Days

2007-06-14T06:39:00.000-07:00

Left Mr Starchan this morning is he chugged away into the horizon of Arienas. Its a sunny day, but there is a good breeze, today from the East. The loch has dropped to what is about its normal height after a brief flurry of rain. This means however that the main part of the river will also start dropping. Forecast is for heavy rain tomorrow, which if it arrives should help.

My walk with the dogs this morning along the river showed about 15 fish milling round the river mouth, some of them quite sizeable - bring on the rain !

Bad news on the Puppy front - Cameron accidentally trod on Tara and the vet says she has a tiny fracture - the bandages ( 3 so far ) lasted about two days each so its now total rest, and only out for the necessary - never mind I am sure once she mends she will be back to being a Whirling Dervish !!

I'm now about to surf and look for a new boat.

Back Home

2007-06-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

Fishing the Green bank Pool
Now back after what was a fairly good week on the Spey. The River was very high when we arrived, dropped a little, then rose again after rain. Fishing good, and apres fish with BBQ's outside the hut enjoyable. The stretch of river produced over 20 fish for the week, and a couple were over 20lb - all fresh run sea liced fish. A couple of grilse were also netted, and as last year they were very small - one hardly reaching 3lb !. This seems to be a trend on the Spey which can only be indicative of falling food levels when these lovely fish are at sea.

Now looking forward to July. - 2 places still left on the school and one or two days fishing still available if anyone interested.

While I have been away, Son in law John has been looking after things. Dr Hardy and friend had a good week here but were hampered by the weather later in the week. The sun came out, the River dropped, and there was little or no wind. They caught a few nioce trout, mainly in Arienas and the Hill Lochs.

On the River meantime, although levels were falling, a few grilse were showing themselves, and a salmon of over 10lb was active in larches pool. Rob, one of our guesta had a nice sea troput of just under 3lb from the Corner pool on the Top Beat.

Now waiting for rain again as the fish are starting to pile up at the river mouth.

My Quality Time

2007-06-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

Its Sat 2 June, its raining outside, and believe it or not I am praying that it stops, not so much here, but on the East Coast. Upper Easter Elchies on the Spey was, when I checked with the Ghillie on Friday, running at about 3ft above level. This is not good news, especially for someone who hates to spin. With luck however it will drop to a more fishable height before too long.

Not a lot of activity here, and a couple of hot bright days have kept the fish down. The River is also down ( but will certainly be up by Monday if the forecast of rain and more rain is correct ). I cast a fly for an hour or so on Wed, and in the middle of a mayfly hatch ( yes its started ), changed to dry fly and picked up a couple about 1lb. I gave up however when the wind dropped completely.

Off to start packing all the salmon gear - will speak in about 10 days or so - hopefully with tales of fish from the Spey.

Finally - the Whirling Dervish that is Tara the Pup is getting bigger and faster - she has also taken a liking to the Wife's bedding plants !! - not a good idea !

Bar of Silver

2007-05-30T04:41:00.001-07:00

Just received the above from Andy Grant who was fishing with Roy Thomson on Friday/Saturday last. A nice fresh run fish about 3.5lb caught on a Black Pennel in Arienas. I'm busy now tying flies, greasing reels etc - Monday can't come soon enough !

Hot and Sweaty

2007-05-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

I suppose its my fault - I sent Messrs Lapping and Whyte up to Tearnait and the other hill lochs this morning, and forgot to tell them that they would probably be best not taking waders. Its been a warm day, and they arrived at my house a short while ago more than a few pounds lighter - All that way in Neoprenes - Sorry lads !

They had a good day though, and landed 10 fish, nothing big as is usual in the hill lochs, but all good fighters. They are now heading swiftly to the the local social club for some much needed re-hydration !

Yours truly will be away for a few days in Glasgow and Edinburgh so it will be a wee while before there are any more updates - getting ready for the River Spey week after next though, and have just heard that there has been a call off. 2 rod days therefore available if anyone interested ( 8 & 9 July ) - Cost is £65 per day.

Smiles all round

2007-05-25T10:50:00.001-07:00

After several days of "not the right sort of rain", the heavens finally opened on Wed night. Messrs Lapping and Whyte arrived from Ayrshire, booked in with Dot and Alastair at "Kyle", and had one of the excellent homely meals at the Lochaline Hotel. 9am on Thursday, I collected them for a day on the River. First up was Middle beat which was looking good, though as this part of the river rises last, it could probably have done with another few inches of water. Despite the continual downpour, I think the lads enjoyed themselves, despite few fish being seen. Mr Lapping lost a good sea trout of over 3lb, which he had on for a while, until it burrowed itself under the bank, and the fly came free. ( Stoats Tail). Apert from one salmon "porpoising" at the head of the Bend pool, nothing further was unfortunately seen or touched.

The afternoon saw us on the highest beat on the river Uillin, which with rain, rises very quickly. Above is Mr Lapping , braving the elements on Goodisons pool where the water was starting to roar past on it way to the Falls nearby. Both Mr Whyte and Mr Goodison had several brown trout, I think however that the bigger fish had not yet made their way up the falls after the recent rain.

Today the gentlemen have had a day on Arienas. I saw them off at the jetty about half past nine, and at about 6pm got a call at the house which sent me out with the camera

Smiles all round as the lads had a great day. Mr Lapping caught the sea trout, which I estimate at over 10lb about lunchtime, in what he says was dreadful weather. It took a Bloody Butcher on the point, and gave him a good fight of well over 10 mins before he got it to the net. Shortly after this fish, he was broken by another of about the same size and unfortunately it took his Butcher.

Mr Whyte got the lovely Brownie which is about 3lb. Both gentlemen had switched to intermediate lines, and both fish were caught in the aptly named "Big Fish Bay". In addittion to those shown, 8 smaller brown trout were caught and released. Most pleasing of all however, Mr Whyte, as Mr Lapping was struggling with his monster sea trout, caught a lovely Arctic Char of about 1lb. This was also released.- These lovely fish are seldom seen in the loch, and usually only appear about June and July when I am told they spawn in the shallows. I have caught a few over the years, all in the deep water as I have started the drift to Big Fish Bay.

Mr Lapping and Mr Whyte are on the river tomorrow, and on the Hill Lochs on Sunday - lets hope they can keep up their average. meanwhile, Mr Thomson is due to arrive shortly to night fish for sea trout. Hopefully more smiles soon !!!

First 2007 Salmon

2007-05-22T03:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I headed for the river, and gave it all I had, and just about every fly in the box. All I had to show for it was a sea trout of about 3lb. I saw plenty of fish, particularly on the Acharn beat where after the usual quick drop in level in this part of the river, a fair few were holding in the Suspension Bridge Pool. Throwing everything at them did not work however, though through the polaroids, I did see one or two take a quick look. ( thats my story and I'm sticking to it !! )

Leaving the River I moved up to the Loch about 8.30 pm - change of tackle and change of tactics. The weather was foul, and the wind was swirling, changing from westerley to easterley and back again about every 15 minutes it seemed. I lost count of the times I started to cast with the wind, only to find that as I finished the false casting and tried to put the line on the water, it blew back in my face. A few birds nests, and even more expletives later, I opted to just cast in one direction, basically North where it seemed to be safest.

Things didn't start off to good on the fish front either - seeing one or two fresh fish coming out of the water, I put on a cast of Connemara Black on the top, Black Pennel on the bob, and a Teal Blue and Silver double ( size 10 salmon iron ) on the bottom. Parr seemed to be all that were interested, and usually on the Teal Blue and Silver which was almost as big as some of them ! As the wind steadied down a bit, I concentrated on my favourite bay about half way up the loch, but as the light was beginning to fade, I was beginning to lose heart. At almost exactly 930 pm, my persistence paid off. I cast a long line, worked a fairly fast retrieve, and saw a hump appear on the surface as something was chasing the flies. For what seemed like an eternity I kept up the retrieve, and about 3 rod lengths away from me, the fish took the Connemara Black. There was no mistaking it - at last a salmon. It kept fairly deep, and took quite a lot of line, before I finally got it under control and about 7 or so minutes later I brought it to the net, and got it ashore. It was a hen fish of about 9 lbs, and one that I think had been in the water for more than a wee while. Bar of silver it was not, but at least it was a fish. ( tried a pic on the phone, but not enough light I am afraid - just came out a blur )

Back it went to fight another day, and as I looked across the loch and saw a mini water spout forming, I decided it was time to go home to she who must be obeyed ( well some of the time ), and the mutts. Oh - by the way, Tara the new pup is a wee star - not a wet floor in sight, and hopefully that is the messy bit over with. Mind you, Becky my Retriever bitch has nearly taken her head off a few times - but then she is your typical grumpy old woman.

Lots of guests in the next few days so hopefully I will have lots to report next time.

Fish Running

2007-05-21T05:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie as I'm off to the River having seen lots of activity at Ivy Bridge just before high tide this morning. Plenty of water, and now it looks like plenty of fish. ( also a seal hanging about, but hopefully not too much damage done ! )

Jim McCurdie and his partner are on Arienas today - yesterday they took the hike up to Tearnait and netted 11 trout.

Stormy Weather

2007-05-19T01:18:00.000-07:00

Its Saturday morning, and overnight it was time to batten down the hatches. Strong winds and blustery showers prevail, and in the garden, 3 nests have been blown out of the trees. Surprisingly the big Jackdaw nest about 50ft at the top of one of the larches has survived, though it looks as if the builder has failed to find a mate.

The River has risen, and is looking good which will bring more fish up on the tides. At this height the sea trout will probably run through to the Lochs. Foul weather, but usually this is the best weather for Arienas. Suggested cast would be Teal Blue & Silver on bottom, Black Pennel on dropper, and Soldier Palmer on bob. With the wind as strong as it is, a fast retrieve is recommended, and casts as far in to the wind as one can manage will probably yield the best chance of a take.

I'll be going out myself today on Arienas first where I'll concentrate on the points on the South side of the Loch, and probably have a hike over to Big Fish Bay ( though as its a westerley, the wind will be in my face so I may not bother ). A few hours at this, then I'll be heading for the River. - For the past 4 years I have taken a salmon from the loch in May, and hopefully I can keep up this average.

Rogues Gallery + Others

2007-05-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Boy, am I knackered - remind me to think twice about another pup, but more about that later.

Lots of guests recently, including these three suspicious characters by the boat, one of whom netted that lovely sea trout last weeek. Hope you had a good time guys ( Alister, David, and the one from Wandsworth who is in Printing - sorry cant recall his name, but he's the "Hoodie" on the right. ) In the foreground is Jed - gundog extraordinaire, now retired, and sometimes now known as N0-nads ! ( work it out ).

Next pic is Joe Salt, all round good chap and leader of the Felling Lads who left saturday. Here he is either in full flow casting on Arienas, or as is highly likely as they are back big style - flaying at the midges. I think the lads enjoyed their stay, and I look forward to getting down to see them , perhaps in August. Unfortunately there was not enough time to fish for the Morvern Quaich, but I will take it down to Northumberland with me, and defend it on foreign soil. - remember lads I am hopeless at these rainbows, so if you want to win at last you know what to do. Anyway - if they are reading this, thanks for your company, thanks for the meal, and also the rest.

In case anyone is wondering what the fuzzy pic is, I have labelled this "Strange Occurrence No 23 ". Walking the river with Mr Aspin this afternoon, I noted some nylon hanging from a tree within reach of George's Bridge. Being a cheapskate, and never one to throw away a fly, I grabbed the end, only to find something furry on the end. This is a Bat, and unfortunately one that was more dead then alive. The fly by the way was a Blue Charm.

Catches since my last post have been moderate. Mr Thomson missed one on saturday, and he had several smaller sea trout earlier today, some of them on an olive "thingy " as he called it. Mr Aspin was unsuccesful on Arienas this morning, but it was warm and very bright. - Oh and to the two lads who insisted that they had caught fish on the fly, when I had seen them trawling with spinning gear ( which they tried to hide under their coats when I was close ) - Fly only here, and this behaviour just spoils it for everyone else. Also if you want to be a fishmonger - go to the fish counter @ Tesco's - dont come here !!

Prospects look fairly good for the rest of this week, with more rain expected - the river could now do with it though there are fish holding in the bigger pools. If all goes well, I may manage to get my own rod out as well.

Final pic is of the new puppy Tara who really is working out quite well, though it is very early days. Tara is being held by Cameron who has his hood up cos he doesn't like his new haircut !

Fishy Conditions

2007-05-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

Its been a fairly busy couple of days, and the conditions have improved dramatically. The River is up, and fish are coming in fairly regularly now - mainly sea trout, but also the odd salmon. The Loch, as it usually does, has also filled up, which will extend the fishing on the main river as it acts as a reservoir.

The Felling lads arrived on Wed, and headed straight for Arienas. A light SE breeze made the water look good, but the fish at first were fairly quiet. Things livened up later though and 6 fish were netted, the biggest about 1.5lb. Sinve then the lads have spread themselves about. fishing the Hill Lochs, the River and also trying the sea for Pollack. Fortunes were mixed, and there were one or two near misses. Joe Salt got into a good sea trout on the river ( about 5-6lb ), but after a short fight, his line went at the knot. So I'll be looking for a fish chewing a Stoat's Tail ! He was using that flourocarbon stuff, which I have always found unreliable. I have switched him to maxima which is always dependable.

Last night, whilst with Joe and Scott on the River, I got a call on the mobile. David Barrie who was fishing the loch with a couple of friends was shall we say - excited. He had landed a sea trout, and wanted scales. Up to the Loch I sped, and on arrival at first could only see three big grins. Nearby however was a lovely Sea Trout which weighed in at just over 9lb. Not a fresh fish, but a cracker nevertheless. I listed patiently as he described how it took his size 10 Black Pennel on the point near Big Fish Bay, and was surprised that he had been using a small weight 5 rod ! Coungratulations David, it must have been a great fight. Anyway, above are the pics, and by now he is probably still smiling !

The River is still looking good this morning, and Mr Thomson from Glasgow should have a reasonable chance of getting into a fish. No fishing for me today though as I have to collect a new puppy - a Springer Bitch who will be called Tara. My big dog Jed has now retired, and hopefully she will be just as good when trained up. - Now off to get lots of newspaper and disinfectant for the expected little presents till house trained.

2007-05-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

Bottom Beat 1000hrs this morning - not perfect, but enough water to bring fish up from the sea.

Lookin' Good

2007-05-09T00:34:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie - Not quite the "Right sort of rain", but it has brought the river up. It's at a reasonable height at the moment, and if showers continue, this should hold. Wouldn't say no to yet more rain though.

Will be out today with the lads from Felling Flyfishing Club, and hopefully get some pics.

Rain Again

2007-05-06T02:10:00.000-07:00

What is it with this weather we get these days ? yet again, we have had an extended ( well for more than 3 days its unusual here ) period of blazing sunshine. No point going near the river, and you could comfortable have a bath in some of the lochs. Worst still, fish are torpid, and its only really worth having a go early mornings or in the evenings. That's how it has been for the past week, and its been hard work. It didn't help mind you when I unpacked the car to find that I had an 8 weight rod, and had thrown in a reel with a 6 weight line !

The fish have been there though, and apart from my evening stroll to Tearnait, I have been keeping an eye on the main Loch. It was not as good as it should be at this time of year what with the heat, sunshine, little or no wind, and horror of horrors the midges have arrived ! Fish were caught though, and a few clients braved the conditions, balmed up with sun cream, donned the shades and gave it a go. Not an impressive catch, but considering the loch was only fished by 3 for one day, it doesn't look too bad. Final tally was 6, mostly browns I am told, and nothing really of note. Considering the conditions it is however good to see one or two netted. The fish were caught on :-Black Pennel/Silver Invicta/Blue Zulu/Soldier Palmer/Bibio, all on a floating line, and for 2, the fisher used an intermediate tip.

As the evening cooled, and the sun dipped behind the hills, the bigger fish started to show - mostly sea trout, but also salmon.

Last night, the rains and a mild wind arrived ( 30mph they reckon, and that is mile for here ). As I write, its still raining, and I am about to say my prayers in the hope that it continues. I have a few clients this week, and now that its cooling down, conditions, and catches, should get back to normal. I also have friends from Felling Flyfishing Club in Northumberland arriving so I'll be keeping the fingers crossed.

Oh, and no mayflies - I think I was hoping for too much with the hot weather - I expect them sometime later this month or in June which is normal. Plenty of Hawthorn flies about though, and the fish are coming up to those in the evenings.

Moonlight over Tearnait

2007-05-03T03:27:00.000-07:00

What with lots of ear-ache from she who must be obeyed, and the hell that is putting up new bathroom cabinets ( when the little bubble is in the centre it means its level dearest ! ), I finally escaped late in the afternoon. Not a cloud in the sky, and not a whiff of wind, but I trudged up the hill regardless.

Lots of Red deer about, and wild flowers staring to come into their own, it was a pleasant amble, and about 45 mins later, I was at Tearnait.

There was a fair breeze when I got there, and it continued throughout the evening. Still coming from the SE though which is most unusual. Still, it meant that the best bit, the shallows at the top end would be a bit easier to fish, and I would have the wind with me for a change. No need for waders as the water was not too cold - I waded out towards the Crannog till I was about knee deep, and cast black spider, bloody butcher, and soldier palmer out with a slow to moderate retrieve.

To cut to the chase, 5 fish netted up to about 1.5 lb, and as it got dark, I made my way in the moonlight home. As I descended however I stopped at the bit of the River Rannoch above the Hydro scheme to have a look. Here the river flows steadily on a basalt bed, and it resembles a chalk stream. Not much activity and I resisted the temptation to tackle up again when I saw a rise or two - save this for next time.

May Day

2007-05-01T02:09:00.000-07:00

Well its the forst of May, and the sun is shining. River is now dropping fast, but Lochs are still looking good with a steady breeze, and as yet no midges ( late this year, but no doubt they will arrive in their hordes soon ).

Mr Wilkinson has been fishing for the past 2 days, and had had 3 brown trout, including one from the river which he said tasted lovely for breakfast. He also rose a salmon on Arienas, but alas after a good run at the fly, and a boil, it was not hooked.

With this weather, I expect the small hatch of mayflies on the wooded side of Arienas to appear any day now so I'll be keeping my eyes open as I walk the mutts each morning.

Otherwise, the spaces on the Spey Salmon Fly Fishing course in July are filling up. - still some spaces if anyone is interested, and als0 still 1, maybe 2 rod/weeks available for fishing on this wonderful beat. Reports from the Ghillie are good, and after the sad week a wee while ago, the fish are now coming through in numbers, and catches are moving up quickly.

Have set aside tomorrow for an afternoon/evening on the hill lochs - watch this space !

Not too difficult

2007-04-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Worked it out at last - here's the sea trout that decided to swallow my silver invicta recently. Hopefully now lots more pics on the blog now that I know how to download from phone.

High Pressure

2007-04-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

As the weather warms up, yet again, River is about to fall . Still fishable for about maybe 3 days, but as level drops, any fish will be concentrated in the major pools, Claggan, Larches, George's, Snag and Junction. Loch is now coming into its own and as I drove past with Mr Wilkinson this afternoon, it looked good, with a steady breeze. Hill oochs now definitely worth a try, and will try myself one day this week. For some reason, over the past couple of years, the prevailing wind has moved from SW to SE - any meteorologists out there explain why ?

Mr Wilkinson from Clitheroe is fishing here all week, and with luck should have good sport. I expect the weather to change again Wed/Thu, so hopefully more rain, and more fresh fish.

Must try to work out how to get pics from my camera onto this.

Something different

2007-04-27T02:44:00.000-07:00

No fishing yesterday, but got a call from a friend offering a bit of shooting. Shot one deer, but that's the boring part. It turns out that he really wanted me to help move his boat from a shed to his house. No problem until he decided to drop the tow hitch ( + trailer + boat ) on my foot - a few expletives later and I have a foot like a baloon, but no major damage. Once he had finished laughing, and I had taken my hands off his throat, we eventually got trailer + boat hitched up to the pick-up.

All goes smoothly as we head up the glen, and slowly up the mountain track. A bit slow, but we eventually get to the top where there is a sharp left. Now going downhill at a steep gradient, ever so carefully then wham - a big bang and the boat overtakes us going down the hill !!

So if anyone is travelling from Strontian to Pollock, and they see a boat, on its own with no trailer sitting at the top of the mountain, Noah's little brother hasn't been found, nor is it something to appear in the Sunday Sport, its just my friend who forgot to tie a knot properly.

Getting him a copy of Rod Stewart singing "We are sailing" !!

River update

2007-04-26T03:39:00.000-07:00

Just a quicky - now stopped raining, and the river is now falling steadily. One sea trout caught yesterday - about 2lb. Prospects look excellent for next week. - unless Sammy Seal shows his face !

Sea Trout have arrived

2007-04-24T02:45:00.000-07:00

After 3 days rain and sometimes fairly strong easterly winds, it didn't look hopeful. The river is in full spate, so much so that its probably unfishable ( unless you want to catch the odd tree swept down). At 1600 things were still not looking good, but having set today to spend a few hours fishing alone, I wrapped up and decided to brave the elements.

Driving past the big pool at Claggan, my suspicions were confirmed as the water was fairly thundering down. I continued up over the hill to Arienas, and was surprised to find hardly any wind at all. What there was though still came from the East, so I was not hopeful. Reaching my usual parking place about halfway up the loch, I kitted up ( Chest waders today ), and on reaching the shores, found the loch to be about 8 ft above normal which meant little if any wading.

Boy was the fishing hard work - gusty easterly which caused more than a tangle or two, deep water just off shore, and more and more rain. Endevour to persevere as someone said ( guess the film ), and that I did. About 7pm, the wind changed to a gentle westerly, the rain eased off, and I could see one or two patches of blue in the sky. More importantly, the fish came on.

For the next 2 hours or so, I had a great time. A rise came on, and I started to get the odd brownie on the bob fly - not many though and not that big, but then the big fish are probably scouring the edges looking for goodies on the now flooded shore . Then, about half past 7, wham ! - and a sea trout took my silver invicta. Not the biggest of fish, but as it was my first sea trout of the year, it was just good to be "back home". It came in, went back out, and was up out of the water at least 6 times. Got it eventually to the net, and as always with sea trout was surprised that it was only about 2 lb - what a fight !.

I gave it another hour and a half before her indoors phoned told me my dinner was about to go in the dog. ( why do they always phone at the best bits ? ) Final tally - 3 brownies up to 1lb. 4 sea trout - biggest just short of 5lb, and a roll from what I am sure was a salmon ( but then as the fly had just hit the water about 35 yds away - could have been anything.). Apart from a sea trout of about 3lb which had decided to swallow the fly, all fish went back.

Well, thats me started my season here in earnest - roll on May when things should really start to hot up, especially in the evenings.

Looking a lot better

2007-04-21T09:55:00.001-07:00

Its now the 21st April, and thank God its raining. The last rain did not amount to much, but now its coming down in earnest. A party from Skye have had good sport on the lochs, finding Arienas a bit dour ( as it sometimes can be ) but having good sport on the hill lochs. Another party from Oban fished later in the week and I await results.

This morning, I walked the dogs at the mouth of the River Aline - high tide, and fish waiting to get up - nice salmon, all bars of silver. Hopefully river will be up by this evening, and they can safely get up into the main river. If not - Sammy Seal awaits, and there will again be much wailing and gnashing of teeth !

I'm now accepting bookings for my Salmon Fly Fishing School on the River Spey, and have confirmed accommodation arrangements with the famous Dowans Hotel in Aberlour. Spaces still available for some rods if anyone interested. Rods to fish will also be available.

Still stuck in the house putting finishing touches to new bathroom - roll on Minday and with luck I'll hit the water myself.

Looking a lot better

2007-04-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

Rain at last.

2007-04-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

Anyone out there old enough to remember George raft in Beau Geste ? Well there is a scene in the film where they all go ga ga when rain arrives at last - thats just what I feel like now. A I write it is raining, and long may it continue. Lochs have been like stagnant mill ponds, and River, apart from one day was very very dry. Even saw seals at the mouth of the river today - a sure sign that fish are waiting to come up. - hopefully the rain will continue and they can.

Fairly quite at the moment and due to the lack of rain, have not even bothered going out myself. Decided to go after Roe Bucks last evening. As luck would have it, plenty of Red Deer about, but alas no Roe. A big dog fox was however unlucky enough to put its head up though -Result - Jim 1 Fox 0 - hopefully this will save one or two lambs which are just about to hatch !!

Good casting practice

2007-04-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

I've been away for a few days on the Spey, sadly not alone, but with the boor that is Kevin ( 3 days and apart from the winges I think he fished for an hour. Weather was good and River was at a near perfect height. Result - Zilch. Apparently the whole river was extremely quiet which only made me feel a little better. Still - first time I've had the big rods out this year, and the casting practice was worthwhile !!

Back home, the river is very low and will now need about 3/4 days of heavy rain to bring it up. Some guests fished anyway, but with no result. Mr Williamson from Glasgow fished the Loch, and I have been told he and his friend caught 4 - waiting for update. Otherwise - after making many arrangements for one particular customer, he was a no show - why do people do this. I always rely on the goodwill of others and all it would have taken was a call or a mail - may have to start charging in advance now, but hope not.

Tuition tomorrow on the river - raining now and hopefully it will continue to do so overnight.

Too Much Sun

2007-04-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well - its been nearly 10 days now of uninterupted sunshine. River is as low as it gets so no point fishing. Lochs are however a different story. Mr Anderson has returned with his wee caravan on a visit, and fished Mon & Tue. I walked the dogs this morning and went to see him - 1000 and only getting up - must be having too much fun. He has had a couple of trout of reasonable size, both about 3/4 to 1 lb. He lost one he estimates at 4 lb + however having broken on one of the droppers. We had a conversation about leaders, and I maintained my view that Flurocarbon is over rated, and not flexible enough, esp if you fish light. It also always seems to go at the knot as happened to Mr Anderson. My vote goes for maxima every time !!

If visiting here, I always recommend 6lb BS, and even higher. There are some very big trout in the Loch, and always the chance of a salmon.

I'm now off to the Spey for 3 or 4 days - Willie the Ghillie says its showing +12 inches at the moment, but dropping steadily - keep the fingers crossed for Thursday as I hate to spin - so boring.

Spring Sunshine

2007-04-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

Its been a few days, and to the delight of some, there has not been a cloud in the sly for nearly 2 weeks. This has been good for the Lochs where at last the trout are coming out of their winter torpor and now coming up readily to the surface to feed. For the river its a completely different story, and as the saying goes, the river is on its bones !!.

Cameron and I had a few hours on Arienas last week - Dad blanked ( but then I was more interested in watching him ), but Cammy got a lovely brown trout of about 3/4 lb - a bit lean and dark, but it was retirned to fight another day.

Otherwise, very quiet, though I have just heard that a sea trout has been caught in the river - not big, but welcome. - this is about a month early - surely not more global warming.

I'm now getting ready for 3 days on the Spey - peace at last !

Spring Snow

2007-03-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

19 march, and its freezing outside ! - for once the forecast is correct, and the kids are all excited getting their sleds out. Today though I think it is a day for staying in the house, and catching up with paperwork, or perhaps I'll tie up some flies.

The trout season started last week, and wimp that I am, I have takenm one look outside, and decided to wait for better weather. Brian the plumber risked it on thursday though, and walked up the hills to the black lochs. Apparently tadpole flies were the order of the day, and he get a couple about 3/4 pound. He didn't last long however and the winds of up to 60mph + soon sent him running for cover.

The River Aline was however at a perfect height, and having seen one or two salmon earlier in the week, felt that my clients should have a chance of a fish. They arrived full of enthusiasm on Wed, and fished with great effort the lower parts of the river. Unfortunately however the tides were wrong and what fish there were appear to have run through. Thursday brought the chance of fairer weather, and as they started off on the Bend pool we all had high hopes. Nick who has a nice Spey cast gave it all he had, and got in touch with a salmon. Unfortunately however he did what trout fishermen do, and struck into it. Result - no salmon. That was it for the day, and although fish were about, no further luck.

I am looking forward to a good season this year, and have now accepted the invitation to run a Salmon Fly Fishing school on the Spey in July - will it work ? - I dont really know, but I think its worth a try to pass on some of the experience I have gained fishing for Salmon all over the world.

New rods have just arrived for customer use so I'll have to unpack. Clients on the river later this week, so hopefully not too much snow till then.

Muct plan hols for later - anyone out there thinking of a house exchange ( with some fishing available ) ?