This trip was a mini addition to a necessary trip to the UK to attend a wedding for our mutual mate Marty. Following a crazy Bucks weekend in Germany and a great wedding in Bathe in England we decided it would be perfect to have a try at some trout in Scotland. The 5 days up in the Scottish highland based in Fort William were an eye opener for both of us.
September 13
An hour after departing our EasyJet flight from Bathe we arrived in Sunny (Not) Edinburgh. We picked up our hire car (a wee hatch-back) and drove off to Fort William without a detailed map. It is more fun that way right?
We arrived in Fort William that afternoon after a 3 hour car trip through the Scottish highlands. We had not booked any accommodation prior to embarking on the trip but lucky for us every third house adjacent to the main road was a bed and breakfast. We found a ripper bed and breakfast and based ourselves for the entire stay in Scotland. After unpacking our kit in our base we hopped into the car and went for a evening session on the nearby Loch Lochy. The rain was quite heavy and the wind was equally troublesome. We welded the wands for a few hours before the conditions and lack of interest from the fish sent us packing.
Chriso - First taste of Scottish lake fishing with the wand
September 14
Local knowledge is invaluable for any travelling angler who intends to have some success in new water. After a solid sleep (playing catch up after a busy week leading up) we awoke to a cooked breaky as part of the Bed and Breakfast package - We dropped into the Rod & Gun shop in the centre of town to obtain some maps, (gordy) flies and some much needed tips of areas to try our luck.
Good local fellas and accents to boot!
Armed with supplies and information including a 1 pound local fishing guide book we made our way for Loch Lundavra. We ended up fishing the entire day on this Loch. The weather up in this hill loch was wet and very cold due to its altitude! We persisted and relished the breaks of sun that poked through the dark rain clouds periodically.
This picturesque high country hill loch is name dropped in Shakespeare literature and provided us with our first wild Scotland brown trout.
The first fish in new water is always ground breaking. These fish were all smallish but very fiesty, aggressive and full of fight. Chriso took honours for the day with 6 of these beautiful marked hill loch fish and I had 3 to my name. The size of these fish were roughly the same 1/2 a pound to a pound a peice.
My first scottie Brown.
September 16
After a tradional hearty Scottish breakfast consisting of oat biscuits, eggs and bacon we decided to drop by the Rod & Gun shop to thank them for the productive advice and ask for some more. After we told of our success the guys in the shop were gob smacked at us wet wading! they said we were crazy!
They mentioned if we wanted to catch bigger fish we needed to fish the lochs by a boat. A few Lochs were pointed out to us including sections and off we went. We called up in advance and booked a power boat for the arvo.
We arrived at Loch Morar after a plesant 2 hour car drive via Loch Ness - think chriso saw Nessy in the distance. We later foudn out Loch Morar itself is deeper than Loch Ness and is thought to habour a similar beast to Nessy in its depths.
We fished a variety of fishing locations on the Loch including the stretch recommended to us by the tackle shop dudes. 3 hours of no bites and my mobile phone rungand i answered the phone (I should point out i never feild phone calls on a fishing trip however i was resting and a little frustrated). Chriso continued to keep his line in the water as was chatting to a mate. No sooner had i told my mate over the phone that the fish werent biting Chriso's rod bent over. I quickly hung up and observed what we thought to be a much bigger fish judging by the fight!. Unfortunately this fish was not as big as we hoped. It fought like Chriso had hooked a stream train! Never the less it was the only reasonable fish caught for the day using a different style. Hat goes off to Chriso for his 1/2 pound brown! We hooked a few tiddlers each on small drys when we returned the boat but the midges got the better of us and we set off home.
Well played Sir.
Another shot of Chriso's fish.
With all the wet and windy weather we had endured to this point Chris had developed a cold that prevented him from tasting his grub. With this in mind my good mate decided he wanted us to try a scottish delicacy for dinner that night to celebrate. Haggus and Taties was ordered for 2 and we began the banquet (Big serve each). Chris finished the offering in double quick time. I on the other hand was struggling. This dish for those you are unaware of what Haggis is this is the best description i could find. It is a kind of savoury pudding containing sheeps ''pluck'' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Now you can understand why i was struggling and no doubt Chriso would have struggled if he could actually taste it also!
Yeah I Finished In The End.
September 17
Summing up the weather Chriso and I woke to our usual B&B spread for breakfast. Over breakfast it was decided that we would try some river fishing for the last day of the trip and hit the lake on the evening.
As so often is the case in Scotland we had to make arrangements and paid for the consent to fish the River.
Wealth Here & They Own The Right To Fish The River!
We arrived at the Garry River. We made our way up it Chriso hooked a handful of tiddlers in the fast water.
Me Fishing The Faster Water
Chris Fishing Waterfall Pool
I was not catching anything. I was getting a bit toey and was hoping to get a tight line. We finally came to a nice pool below a mini waterfall. There were fish rising. Chriso hooked a lovely coloured brown 3rd cast.
Nice Markings Chris's Fish
I then broke the shackles and landed two lovely browns on the dry. They were not big but definately good fun catching.
On The Dry Fly
Nice Markings!
We made our way home and on teh way stopped for a flick at the top of the lake. We wondered down the medow and wet waded the stream and Chris came across a large Pike. Unfortunately after numerous attempts we spooked it. We had no further success and returned to town for some tucker and bed.
September 18
We had a flight to catch and after some interesting rally cross country style driving by Chriso made it to the airport in good time. We dropped off the hire car. Chris had an incident with a Nettle that was very funny :) and that was the trip over and out.
