Loch Leven

After fishing Loch Linnhe the night before with the big rods I decided to fish the old slate barge moorings behind Loch Leven hotel on the way home next morning with the LFR gear. In contrast with the night before there wasn't a breath of wind and the sky was mostly blue. Lovely you think well the little Scottish vampires were out in force and I look like I have measles this morning with all the bites, especially my wrists for some reason.

Still in for a penny and all that, I spent a few hours winkling out some micros. Lots of Poor Cod falling to isome.

And the best fish of this session a small codling falling to a pink HTO Knight Worm. Though I was going to lose it as it went like stink on the small rod.

I was hoping for some wrasse, pollock or trout but none showed themselves before I beat retreat due to the midgies.

Solway Trip: a week with Malky

Well I'm just back from a week down staying with Malky Udderman. That is one man who likes to fish hard.  The plan was to fish a couple of marks per day and hopefully to get me a smooth hound.

Day 1

Now I am no slim jim and not the fittest person in the world so I was not looking forward to the marching to and from marks as I knew most of the paces Malky likes to fish are at the end of a bit of a yomp. Malky said a short flat walk to start the week, cut to me a sweaty mess after a 2-3 mile wander through the countryside. Still it was a nice looking mark (sorry but I don't really know where I was most of the time just following the chief) a big flat slab of rock into reasonably deep water. Smoothies and rays were what we hoped to get. But it was not to be and after a few hours and an ever increasing wind with only one bite between us (Malky landing his favoured doggie) we retreated to a nearby mark that was out of the worse of the wind. Bites came thick and fast here but as the tide was small it seemed that the fish were just playing with their food as dozens of bites only resulted in one doggie to me and a further two to Malky as well as a small  but fairly rare Solway codling. It was still a bit of a despondent trudge back to the car when we packed in.

Day 2 

Awoke to a howling gale and down pour. Neither of us had a lot of get up and go due to the previous days dissappointment. Malky suggested a local trip to dig lug and then off to Carsethorn for some flounders. Lug dug (by Malky:)) and another frustrating day with lots of obvious flounder bites but absolutely nothing hooking up left us both blankers after three hours in the rain.

 Day 3 

By day three I realised that the trips to the bait shop were as much about 'wee blondie' as they were to get bait, each to their own lol. Today's first mark was a 'wee flat walk'. Hmmm as it started gentle up hill and go slowly steeper I politely enquired if Malky knew the meaning of flat! Over a fence then through a fairly enclosed wood to the shore which was a really broken array of sharp rocks which were not so easy to cross to the fishing point. This turned into another blanker with not a bite. I think I got a bit of heat stroke which wasn't helped by trying to find a short cut back that didn't really work.

That evening we were to meet up with Callum and fish a mark that was a bit further walk, but Malky seeing the physical wreck I was decided we would change and fish another mark nearby. This really just turned into a banter session (always flying about when Malky and Callum are together) as there were few bites and all three of us retreated blankers.

Day 4

A bit of a trip out of Malky's immediate area to the Isle of Whithorn to fish the late evening high tide and ebb was the plan. A mark neither of us knew so after some clambering about we had decided on a stance of rocks to the East of the point beyond the white tower. It was obvious we would get stranded for about an hour over high but after checking the forecast and the surroundings we decided that it was a safe place to do that. Lots of bites and lots of doggies for both of us from the off as well as a feisty wee pollock for Malky. An odd current started to swing very strongly against the tide about two hours prior to high tide and was starting to get us all tangled up and dragging us into snags. We decided that we weren't going to be able fish that mark any longer and decided to move onto the point itself before we got stuck where we were. After some more scrambling around it was obvious that all the fishable stances were occupied and we had to call it a day. Probably the most frustrating day of the trip as the whole of that area looks really fishy and we would have loved to have fished well into the night as planned to see what was about. Hopefully next trip down.

Day 5

Pressure on last session of the trip. I got up early doors to have a nice long session and found Malky missing lol. He'd got up at milking time and had been away crabbing and arrived back with 50 odd fresh peelers to go with the ones he had frozen down. Good man that Malky. We were off back to the second mark we fished on the first day in Balcary Bay. Best day off the trip, not a cloud in the sky, just a light wind to cool you down and most of my casts going further than normal. We knew the tide would get up so set up a few rocks apart to avoid tangles.

Lots and lots of doggies again from the off and another wee codling, for me this time. No fish playing with bait this time they were feeding hard from the off. After about an hour I hear Malky hollering from his stance for some help as he's into a smoothie and needs help landing it. A hop skip and jump later and one smiling Malky with a smoothie of about 6lbs or so.

Well they were about and thankfully I didn't have long to wait for one of my own. It led me a merry dance and tangled Malky and my line but after a bit of jiggery pokery it was landed and I had a smile like the proverbial cheshire cat and my main target for the week landed.

We then had another three in reasonable quick succession 2 to Malky and another one to me but Malky's was a belter around the 10lb mark though the picture doesn't do it justice.

When the hounds stopped biting Malky annouced, 'Ah aff crabbin mun' thinking about his further trips over his fortnight off and disappeared to scour the shore over lowtide.

And with that all the bites stopped and my trip down came to an end. I bumped into Jonner on Friday night as he was taking my place at Malky's for a few day, hopefully successfully.

A huge thanks to Malky for putting me up (putting up with me) for a few days and all the great banter. I've already booked to go back next year lol.

Lots of driving, lots of midgies and a few fish

Well the plan was a nice leisurely rive over to Lochaline to fish the West Pier overnight on Friday night and then stop somewhere on the way back on Saturday. Beautiful day for a drive in the countryside through Perthshire and Glen Coe. Bit of a hold up going through Glen Coe for an accident (nobody hurt badly thankfully) but let me to get a couple of nice pics of the scenery. When I got to the Corran Ferry it dawned on me that it was the first time this year I'd been across on it. It's a strange wee ferry to cross a small spanse of water, always makes me think that a bridge would make more sense, but I'd be pretty sad if a bridge did get put up. Funny how small things like that can give you a feeling of well being, it like the gateway to the wilderness. Unfortunately on getting over to Lochaline I found half of it filled with logs and the other half filled with anglers with the same idea. I had a chat with them and they's only had a doggie and a small conger for the 6 odd hours they'd been fishing between the 8 odd of them. They said they'd make room but with me meeting Sharpie and Nikki I didn't think that there was nearly enough room for another 3 of us. Next thought was the Sheepshed but it had a family of Dutch ensconced in a camper van so no room at the inn again. Two hours and 60 miles later I passed the Corran Ferry again with the rods never leaving the car. So where to go, my banker in the area is Camasnagaul Ferry Landing so that's where I decided, phoned Sharpie to arrange to meet there.

That night turned out to be a doggie-a-thon and all tiny as well. Fort William seemed like it was jumping shrieking, hollering, loud dance music and sirens. Funny how different things can look at a bit of distance as the photo I took that night makes it look so serene. After about three hours we packed it in as there was nothing moving bar the doggies and planned to get up early to fish the tide down on daylight.

After a fairly fitful sleep in the motor I was up the back of six and back out with the rods. That's when I realised it was still calm and was hit with a wave of midgies. Honestly in all the summers I've spent in the west I have never ever experienced anything like that. Clouds and clouds of the wee scottish vampires.  I am glad to report that Skin so Soft works wonders as the midgies were out in full force and I only got bitten 6 six times even though I was surrounded by 1000's. Sharpie and Nikki were more sensible than me staying in their tent till the wind pick up and blew them away.

Still fishingwise I had a reasonable thornie of 4lb odd and a couple more doggies to add the the bulk load the night previously. But sharpie when he venured out had a wee species hunt landing a Grey Gurnard (my target unfulfilled for the weekend) then a doggie, dab double hit followed by a codling and a wee thornie. So 5-2 in Sharpies favour species wise but I had the bulk of numbers in all the doggies from Friday. Would rather have had the Grey Gurnard though. Will be back to get one :)

Got a few nice shots of the local swans as well.