Reimagining the Loch Ordie

While reviewing my blog stats to see which posts have been popular in the last month, I noticed an article I published  about Loch Ordies from a few years ago, during the COVID lockdown. The post featured some variants I had tied.

I then realized that I couldnt recall  fishing these patterns as I had planned.

One variant that caught my eye was the leggy Half Ordie.

Although Im a big fan of standard Ordies I cant believe I never utilised this variant, as it has everything needed to fool trout. Reflecting on the variants I tied perhaps I might have gone a bit heavy with the head hackle.

Inspired by this blogpost, I tied a new version of the Half Ordie this morning before going fishing in the afternoon.

This example is a lot more sparse, which I believe will allow for plenty of movement in the water. I'm really pleased with the result and can see its potential. I'll be tying more of these over the next few days, anticipating success with this pattern when I visit Caithness next month.

Im pleased and enthused to report that this pattern placed on the top dropper of my cast and fished from the boat  caught me two trout this afternnoon at Cobbinshaw! 

The Simplest of Pleasures!

On Sunday afternoon I found my myself driving to West Lothian listening to the end of season fortunes and misfortunes of various football clubs on the radio.

The  juxtaposition of the lively football commentary and the quiet setting of Cobbinshaw Reservoir in the West Lothian countryside felt peculiar, as late afternoon seamlessly transitioned into early evening.

By the time that  I arrived at Cobbie and got my boat ready, the Saints had just secured their Premier League status, while County faced the disheartening reality of dropping to the playoffs

As I motored the boat up to the north East corner of the reservoir  I was surprised to see that there was only a couple of other boats out taking advantage of the very pleasant early evening weather. 

I didnt have to wait too long to net my first fish as i located a fair bit of  trout activity at the peat hag shore of the reservoir.

It was great fun to have a good nunber of trout interested and rising to my flies.

Throughout the evening, I managed to net three vigorous trout, lose  a couple, and witnessed several others making splashy rises to my flies, only to come up short. 

The fly patterns that proved most successful were a leggy green-tailed Kate and a pearly palmer.

The sun still had a few hours to shine before setting in the west, and the breeze continued to blow gently as I motored back down the reservoir to the boat moorings. I felt a great sense of contentment and success as I tied up the boat, gathered my gear, and loaded everything into my car.

On the drive home, I learned that City had won the League again and I thought of all the multi  millions of pounds that was required just to achieve that success and happiness.

This day had been a perfect blend of tranquility and excitement, a reminder that some of life’s greatest joys come from the simplest of experiences without the need for extravagance.

Up @ Daft O'Clock

It had been a busy old weekend so the last thing I needed was to be up at daft o' clock on Monday morning just to go fishing! However thats what I did My friends arranged to pick me up in the pitch dark just so we could arrive at the loch for first light. However their idea of leaving Airdrie at the ungodly hour of 4.OO am proved to be daft Indeed.

Just as dawn was breaking on our arrival at the loch its waters were flat calm and motionless. 

We never gained any advantage by the early start as no troot action started until a breeze picked up after nine o clock. 

A good day was had by all though and the forecast of rain all day didnt materialise. I managed to fool a good number of trout but netteed five with patterns such as The Wingless Wickhams and the Watten Warrior. 

I think 17 trout were caught between the four of us.