Hillend Dabbler

Tuesday the 26th Sept I headed up North to the Spey Dam for the second time this season, on which will probably be my last outing of the season. On this occasion my mate Scott came along with me. Once we had uplifted our permits and oars etc from the hotel  we made the short drive up to the loch. On arrival at the banks side boat moorings there was a brisk easterly wind blowing down the loch and the surrounding hills were covered in low lying mist. The loch was extremely high, in fact it's the highest we have ever seen it.  As we were getting ready a big jeep pulled over, We thought it might be the gamekeeper or the warden but it turned out he was the Dam manager and he explained that a survey was being conducted on the loch and that the height of the loch had been deliberately raised over the last couple of days  to enable them to do their work and told us that various objects had been placed in the west of the loch and if we encountered any , to give them a wide berth

Last weekend my son and I went away for a weekend camping trip in Glencoe. As the trout season is fast approaching I asked my son if he didn't mind us stopping off at Lochan an H Achalaise for an hour or so on route to our destination. He's not a fisher you understand but he didn't mind and sat patiently in the car for just over an hour as I  had few casts at this scenic Lochan situated at the edge of Rannoch Moor. As expected I caught a few small trout, infact they were embarrassingly small to photograph, I'll be honest , they were tiddlers. However size isn't everything, it's all about the take which is always a thrill. The scenic location of mountainous and moorland views, more than made up for the lack of  quality trout!

Situated south of the village of Caldercruix lies the famous "Old Man of Cruix" figure which was carved many years ago into the windswept sandstone rocks which are prominent along the North Shore of the Lily Loch.  Legend has it that a young apprentice from the nearby quarry produced the sculpture with great skill and perseverance and was eventually completed in 1314. The magnificence of the work has been somewhat eroded over the years by the weather, however the distorted, weather beaten face of the Old Man of Cruix or as he is more commonly known The Cruixman, can still be seen to this day, if you know where to look! The Cruixman is said to depict the face of and Old fisherman from the village as he looks out over the loch, laughing and mocking the anglers on the loch as they pack up and trudge away off home, Piscatorially challenged. Many anglers have reported that the mocking laughter of the Cruixman can often be heard, carried in the wind as they head up over th