Back tae mah roots

[adamski]

Alrighty folks!

A while back I posted asking for advice about a fly outfit I could use to get some practice in before a 3-week trip back to Scotland, during which I was going to spend a week fishing up around the Highlands. In the end I didn't bother buying anything here in Australia and picked up a cheap rod and reel when I got back. So here's a wee report of how it all went down (WARNING: pic spam and wall of text ahead!)

The day after I got back, I nipped up to the local tackle store and grabbed a 3 piece 5 weight, 9 foot fly rod and a reel with floating line, as well as my dad's box of flies topped up with a few extra suggestions, then spent the first week getting over the jetlag, practising shooting line, catching up with the family and getting some extra advice from my cousin, Mark. After getting tangled in pretty much everything my back garden and the nearby park could throw at me, and finally just about being able to hit a bucket maybe once in every ten casts from a distance of about 5 yards, Mark decided it was time to test out my new-found skills on the water.

We headed to a local trout fishery called the Goldenloch in Fife. Mark had fished this once, but had blanked- not exactly confidence-filling for a fly fishing novice. We arrived about 7 in the evening with the sun starting to set and a moderate breeze creating a ripple on the surface. Guys in boats were catching the odd rainbow and fish were beginning to rise- good signs. I tied on, following advice from the loch owner, a suspending buzzer- a fly designed to sit just under the surface- and felt hopeful...

Despite the supposedly perfect conditions, however, it was incredibly difficult going for me. Even with the practice, I could barely shoot line any distance, still releasing the line too early or late. Fishing into the wind was almost impossible and unfortunately most of the decent casting spots from the bank faced directly into the breeze. The thing with fly fishing as well is that it isn't just the technique of shooting line, it's also what you do with the line once it's retrieved (or "stripped"- no jokes!). It has a horrible tendency to get tangled in anything lying on the bank, so I was trying to strip into my net, but it was still going all over the place and getting caught in any little twig or bunch of heather on the bank.

By 9 pm the sun was starting to set (late in Scotland) and I was ready to chuck in the towel, but the loch owner came round again and told us to keep at it and try dry flies for the rise that would happen when the sun went down. Sure enough, at about 10 pm or so, the surface really started to boil, fish were rising everywhere, it was like a Jacuzzi! I stuck on a big dark bushy dry fly and finally felt the week of practice start to pay off- I could get some distance and the grassy patch on the bank I'd found had no annoying impediments. After 10 minutes or so, I heard a yelp a few metres along the bank- Mark, who'd changed to a similar patterned dry fly, was on! Unfortunately, after a bit of back and forth, the fish managed to unhook itself literally a metre or so from the bank. Okay, we thought, but at least we know this works. Then, 5 minutes later, it was finally my turn. Initially I thought I'd missed the hit- I saw the fish rise next to my fly, but hadn't struck in time. Luckily though, it came back for a second attempt and this time, as it went back down through the surface of the water, I knew I was on. The fish took off immediately and I was struck by how different it is fighting on a fly outfit- controlling the release of the line with the left hand and using that to keep tension until the fish was on the reel. The fish took a couple of dives for a weed bed further along the bank and I was sure I was going to lose it, but with a bit of muscle I was able to pull it out and then let it run into the middle of the loch, where it began to tire. Eventually I managed to get it into the bank where Mark netted. I was stoked, I didn't care if it was a "stocky" (a stocked rainbow trout), first fish on a fly baby! A just-under 2 lb rainbow and on the dry fly too! Mark, not to be out-gunned, promptly got two in 5 minutes! These were slightly bigger fish at just over 2 lbs each. We then each missed two more fish- me because I struck too early on both occasions, Mark because a bigger fish bust him off on the leader.

We finished fishing at about 11 pm after an epic last hour and 3 fish for the table. As he dropped me off, Mark's parting shot was "Aye, they were awright, but ye'll be wantin' extra practice for the Highlands. The place we're goin' tae is fly-only and has fish at 10 poond an' heavier!"

And so to the following week. Me, Mark and my brother, Nick, on a trip round the Highlands, where we'd be fishing for everything from pike, to pollack to trout. We were booked in to stay at Lagg fishery up on the north west coast on the second night and had arranged two day's fishing on the loch, but not before we unsuccessfully tried our hand at pike on a resevoir on the way up. Nick had caught one last year in the area and I was keen to see if the SPs I'd been raving to the guys about would have any luck in Scotland (they didn't!) On the way up to the fishery we stopped by some of the best salmon fishing rivers in the UK, including the Spey, but as beat prices were anything from £100-£400 a day, we thought we'd save our money and spend it on beer.

The first day at Lagg was difficult going to say the least- we arrived early afternoon to find the conditions incredibly un-Scottish: bright sunshine, temperatures of 25 degrees and almost no ripple on the water- a fly fisherman's nightmare. We met the fishery owner, an old English guy called Tom, who told us all about how he stocks the 2 lochs, as well as the typical feeding patterns and diet of the fish. He told us there probably weren't any 10 pounders in there at the time, but that we might get fish anywhere from the 2-8 lb mark. We set up with sinking damsels and were encouraged to fish deep and strip the lures slowly to tempt a bite. After nearly 3 hours and no bites, however, we were frustrated. A slight ripple on the surface and I decided to change tactics, I figured my first fish the previous week had come on the dry fly, might as well stick on another and see if I could get a second, so I stuck on a classic small red tag. Sure enough, after about 15 minutes of casting there was a splash at my fly, I waited half a second and struck into some good weight. This fish was heavier than the one the previous week and took a few good runs before Mark did netting honours again. He estimated the fish at just over 3 lbs a new PB. All our fish at Lagg were C&R, so after a couple of quick snaps we released the fish without too much trauma.

Hungry and a bit sunburnt, we called it a day shortly afterwards and went for a meal and a few beers in Lochinver, the local village. On the drive back we saw a beautiful sight: the beach around the corner from the fishery was rippling with sea trout. Ever the optimists, we'd packed a couple of spin rods in the boot, so we pulled up and grabbed them. Mark and Nick tore off down the beach and I rigged up with an SP, determined to show these guys that they would catch. Lo and behold, in the time I spent rigging up, Mark was already on and had landed a beautiful sea trout of about 2 lb, such a gorgeous fish!

The next day we were back at the fishery first thing, with conditions the same as the day before: bright, sunny, calm and hot. Not good. We set to slow stripping with the damsels on the bottom loch again and by the end of the morning we'd each managed a rainbow and Mark also had a little wild brownie to boot- nice!

In the afternoon the decision was made to hit the top loch, which contained less fish, but apparently at a better size. Nick, who isn't that fussed about fly fishing, volunteered to row so we borrowed the boat and set about slowly stripping the banks, Mark with a damsel and I switched to a yellow dancer. First onto a fish was Mark, with a solid brownie this time round, which fought hard and unfortunately busted him off on the leader at the boat. Five minutes later and I was stripping the deep along the side of a bay when I felt a solid thump on the line and felt a good heavy weight. The fish stayed deep and headed left behind me (first time fishing from a rowing boat) so I had to twist and turn, it then changed direction and screamed along the bottom right into the corner of the bay, then changing again and coming towards me before another blistering run that had me just 3 or 4 winds from the backing. The fight began to get a little easier thereafter, although I managed to catch my flyline in one of the rod eyes as I got to the very end of the fight and thought the fish might bust me off at the last moment. Fortunately, Nick came to the rescue and managed to get the fish into the net before any mishap. We didn't have a brag mat or a set of scales, but Mark estimated it at around 6 lb, I was more conservative and put it at 5 lb. After a fair bit of reviving, she swum away to fight another day. My PB rainbow!

After another beer and whiskey-fuelled night in Lochinver, it was time to hit the road back down towards Inverness the following day. We stopped at one of the local beaches where Mark and Nick spun and I had a couple of casts with the SPs, but again no touches or hook-ups. The following day we were at our last stop on the Journey home, Pitlochry. The small town has a hydroelectric dam and a salmon ladder, so we stopped in to see if we could spot any fish. Nothing in the first viewing chamber, but then in the second window we saw a hen and a buck together and they both looked healthy. Then we looked up and saw an enormous fish which must have been coming up for about a metre in length. Scarred along its head and flanks, it looked like it had seen its fair share of battles, what a beast!

We left Pitlochry and headed for home, happy with our catch this year. I left all of my tackle at Mark's (I didn't know how Aussie immigration would react to me trying to bring tackle into the country), disinfected my hiking boots and we made resolutions to come back to the same area next year and target the more difficult wild brownies and possibly even a salmon. All in all it was an epic holiday with great company and I couldn't believe I'd finally caught my first few fish on the fly!

Mark's promised to send me a few of his pics too, so I'll try to add them in when I get them.

Thanks for reading and sorry again for such a big wall of text, it was just an amazing holiday that I had to share with you guys.

[Chimira]

Epic ... A novel but epic none the less .. Great report [emoji106]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[adamski]

Epic ... A novel but epic none the less .. Great report [emoji106]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheers dude! Sorry for the extreme length of the report, it was just a lot of fun to get a fish on a new technique for a change!

[sam bros]

A very well written report and well worth the read, (Even if it was longer than a harry potter novel)

Sounds like an epic trip on a new style of fishing.

I have been meaning to try fly fishing for a while now and this has motivated me

Well done

[Ryder]

Fantastic report Adam.

I had to recharge my iPad. Haha

Roamin in the gloaming on the bonny banks.......

I want my rod back.!!

[mrsswordfisherman]

Adam what a great report. I always love reading overseas experiences and the pics bring it to life.

Lucky you had such a great guide

Thanks for taking the time to post for us all.

[big Neil]

Adam what a great report mate. Memories there that you will never forget. Catching up with family, fishing pbs, new techniques and traditional drinking habits. Soft plastics don't seem to have taken off in the UK for some reason...certainly the fishing there is harder going than it is here. Fairly expensive hobby too (over there). We don't know how lucky we are here, do we? Many thanks for sharing your experience with us. Cheers.

[adamski]

A very well written report and well worth the read, (Even if it was longer than a harry potter novel)

Sounds like an epic trip on a new style of fishing.

I have been meaning to try fly fishing for a while now and this has motivated me

Well done

Cheers Sam Bros! I think in the end it was probably longer than all the Harry Potter books combined I'd definitely give the fly ago!

Fantastic report Adam.

I had to recharge my iPad. Haha

Roamin in the gloaming on the bonny banks.......

I want my rod back.!!

Haha! Thanks man, I had to plug my computer in a few times when I was writing. My next purchase over here is going to be a fly reel and some tying equipment.

Adam what a great report. I always love reading overseas experiences and the pics bring it to life.

Lucky you had such a great guide

Thanks for taking the time to post for us all.

Thanks Donna!

Adam what a great report mate. Memories there that you will never forget. Catching up with family, fishing pbs, new techniques and traditional drinking habits. Soft plastics don't seem to have taken off in the UK for some reason...certainly the fishing there is harder going than it is here. Fairly expensive hobby too (over there). We don't know how lucky we are here, do we? Many thanks for sharing your experience with us. Cheers.

Thanks Neil, yeah I was surprised by the lack of SP options when I was buying fishing tackle in the UK. Couldn't find a single jighead below a 1/4 and apart from a few sandeel-style lures there, nothing looked particularly realistic. Certainly no Zmans or Squidgies!

[nbdshroom]

Awesome stuff Adam. I think that report captured all our imaginations.

[Mike89]

Great report there, really enjoyed reading this as I do with most of the reports from overseas locations!

Some real solid looking trout in the pics, sounds like a fantastic time.

So is fly fishing as difficult as it seems?

My brother bought me some lessons for my birthday that I'm yet to take up. This report has gotten me pretty keen on giving it a go.

Cheers for the read.

[Guest hawkesbass]

Well done.

Great return home with great fishing.

Thanks for sharing.

[adamski]

Awesome stuff Adam. I think that report captured all our imaginations.

Thanks Pete.

Great report there, really enjoyed reading this as I do with most of the reports from overseas locations!

Some real solid looking trout in the pics, sounds like a fantastic time.

So is fly fishing as difficult as it seems?

My brother bought me some lessons for my birthday that I'm yet to take up. This report has gotten me pretty keen on giving it a go.

Cheers for the read.

Hi Mike, it's definitely the trickiest method I've tried. I spent a week practising casting before I went on the water, but I'd only really watched youtube vids and got a bit of advice from my cousin so it was very difficult first time round. I reckon getting lessons with someone who knows what they're doing is a good idea as at least they'll be able to teach you the right techniques quickly.

Well done.

Great return home with great fishing.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers Hawkesbass!

[Yowie]

Great report, and some excellent fishing over there.

When I saw the title, I thought you had to be a bloody Scotsman ( I am but from a some generations back now - the Armstrong clan)

[adamski]

Great report, and some excellent fishing over there.

When I saw the title, I thought you had to be a bloody Scotsman ( I am but from a some generations back now - the Armstrong clan)

Haha! Cheers Yowie, yup I'm from Dundee but most of my family live around Glenrothes (or Glenrotten as we call it).

[papafish]

where did you go to catch these adam!!?? amzing mate

[srxwat4]

Sounds like that first day was " a braw bricht moonlit nicht tanicht,yae alright yae ken""