HIGHLAND TROUT FISHING – A PICNIC IN THE SUNSHINE
I travelled 450 miles to the far north of Scotland on 12th September and got a sun tan! The weather was glorious and the Highlands and Islands always look at their best in good weather. However, the weather was not so good for fishing. The river levels were down for the salmon anglers and the fish all stayed out in the bay. At £ 75 per rod per day on the Inver and Inverkirkcaig rivers this was bad news!
The lochs were so still and clear for the trout fishers that ultimate stealth was required when approaching the water but at a mere £ 5 per rod per day it was bearable. There are so many lochs from which to choose that, if one is proving dour, you progress to the next one and try your luck again.
By the time you are reading this the season will be over for trout fishing in Sutherland and other northerly areas. What I will do is present all the best locations, map references and directions on the web page in the middle of winter when we are making plans for next year and, if you fancy a holiday fishing in the most beautiful and challenging fishing territory, I’ll give you a list of waters and when and how to fish them.
A good walk over the lochans
When in Sutherland I like to select a route that will give me a good walk over the hills and take me past four or five fishable loch and lochans. During five fishing days I walked approximately 45 miles, ate like a king, drank like a lord and lost five pounds in weight. Healthy lifestyle or what?
It is a delight to approach a remote lochan, half hidden in the fold of a hillside and fed by a sparkling, bubbling stream (or burn). Chances are that no one has fished it for weeks or even months; no litter, cigarette ends or any of the other signs of civilisation. There is little cover so the approach to the water must be very quiet and must offer nothing to alarm the resident brownies. I tackle up long before I reach the water. On this holiday I used one of the Fulling Mill four piece, nine foot rods. They come in a very convenient carrying case that can be slung over a shoulder along with the ruck sack.
My rod takes a five weight double taper floating line to which I added a twelve foot leader tapering down to a tippet of two pound breaking strain. I cast from a good ten or twelve yards away from the water’s edge so that about six foot of leader only lands on the water with my fly, a size sixteen dry Greenwell’s. I discovered that many of the fish patrol the margins and to walk up to the water’s edge before casting only serves to spook the fish and, if that happens, you catch none at all.
An immediate take following a cautious approach
There was an immediate response and my fly was taken the split second it landed on the water. On light tackle an eight ounce highland brown trout with a buttery yellow belly can give a lively few minutes. I did not bother with a net and as soon as I released the fish I withdrew thirty yards from the edge and walked another thirty yards down the bank. From previous experiences I found that you rarely catch twice from the same spot once you have shown yourself to the fish.
I landed three fish from this lochan (or little loch) all in the same weight bracket and decided to move on about half a mile to where I could see another lochan glinting in the sunshine. The half mile proved to be three times as far due to a hidden fold in the hillside but that kind of thing often happens in wild countryside.
This lochan had a small island and a sheltered bay fringed by stunted trees. Again, the same tactics of a cautious approach and a cast when ten yards away from the reed fringed water’s edge. Fortunately, the same result with the fly being snapped up the instant it touched the water and another six ounce “broonie” on the hook. This lochan was bigger and deeper and I was able to get nearer the edge of the water partly obscured by a shrub. I dropped the fly just over half way between my shore and the island. A pause for two seconds and then a widening circle unfolded around the fly as it disappeared. This time the trout took line off the reel as it darted away towards the island so I knew that it was a step up from its six ounce brothers. The fish made several deep runs and maintained a dogged pressure on my line before it was landed and what a marvellous specimen it was. Just over a pound in weight and in supreme condition. It eyed me belligerently as I slipped the barbless hook out and was away like a torpedo the second I placed it in the water.
Lunch was salmon, venison, apples and plums – and two cans of Stella!
It was time for lunch. Two smoked salmon sandwiches and a healthy slab of venison terrine, two plums and a shining red apple eased down with two cans of Stella in the warm sunshine. Later, I came to with a start……… fancy nodding off during a fishing session! I thought that was the prerogative of the carp and pike lads!
I tried my luck in a couple more lochans during the afternoon but eight ounces was the best weight attained. All in all I walked nine miles over fairly rough terrain and fished five lochans in warm and sunny weather and landed fourteen fish for an aggregate of five and half pounds amidst the most glorious scenery of mountains like Quinnaig, Suilven and Canisp, lochs like Fionn and Assynt and many smaller ones with long Gaelic names. I did not see or speak to anyone else until I got back to the hotel bar which was filling up with fellow anglers back from their day on the water. Idyllic.
Tight Lines!
Eddie Caldwell
