Silver Invicta

 

Been tying a a couple of silver Invictas tonight which I have a reasonable amount of success with on highland lochs. Its a great pattern to use at Hillend when the sedge is on the water and it makes for a good fry pattern at the loch too. Once again these examples I tied are not tied to the exact original dressing. You can only use what you have at your disposal and anyway I dont believe Its that important if they are only fishing patterns as opposed to a fly tied for display.

The Hillend Dabbler Pattern

 

I cant believe I haven't tied a fly pattern yet and called it the Hillend Dabbler up until now that it is.I tied a few of these today. Lightly dressed dabblers which I know are reliable fish catchers. Before anyone gets their knickers in a twist about me calling this pattern the Hillend Dabbler and I know there a few people out there who will be untangling the elastic in their undergarments as I type. I have had complaints you know? please don't take this too serious as there is not much in flytying that is original these days. Its only a bit of fun. I give you the Hillend Dabbler!

Up the Clyde.

 

I was sitting reading this mornings papers and was deciding what to do today. Mrs Dabbler was hinting about the two of us taking a trip down the Clyde this afternoon only thing was she had Ikea and Braehead in mind. At about 2pm I decided I would go up the Clyde rather than doon. Car packed flask filled off I went.The weather was glorious. I used the trotting rod for about an hour then switched to the fly rod with weighted bugs. I didn't catch a grayling but I did manage a couple of small trout and also hooked a trout which I reckon was of about 3lb which after an initial thumb shot right out the water about two or three feet in the air came back down with an almighty splash and it was gone. I called it a day when the mist started appearing above the surface of the river. Great day to be by the river. Absolutely beautiful.

Practice Day on the Clyde!

Lets just say I had a great practice day on the Clyde yesterday! lol. Im a bit of a novice at the trotting lark. Conditions were far from ideal as the river was high and running fast but it was good to try and get a feel for this style of fishing again and give the floats a try that I got from George Lockhart who very kindly made them for me. You can see George's work and read about his fishing exploits here at http://traditionalfloats.blogspot.co.uk/ . Next time I would prefer to have an experienced float fisher with me as sometimes I was wondering if i had the line set too long or too short etc and also I havent a clue if it was worth fishing the river today in these condiions. I went with John T last November and his help was invaluable as he was always ready with advice, we both had a teriffic day so I think I will get in touch soon John about a day on the river eh?

The Five Month Wait Begins!

 

This being the sixth day of the tenth month of two thousand and twelve I decided to end the trout fishing season this afternoon by spending a few hours at my local Hillend Loch. Needless to say I didn't manage to fool any trout what so ever. Apart from the flytying and the occasional grayling outing to look forward too I will have to endure the dark nights of winter, Halloween, Guy Fox Night, Christmas and New Year before I can start thinking of the new fishing season on the fifteenth day of the third month of two thousand and thirteen.

Return to the Secret loch!

 

Today a desperate character demanded of me the location of the secret loch. Well Keeping true to the secret location reposed in me I answered that the location of this loch was known to only three men in the whole of Airdrie. namely Scott, Tam and myself and that without the co-operation and consent of the other two I neither could or would divulge the location. So I blindfolded wee wullie and drove him through the countryside until we got there lol!

Seriously! My old fiend Willie and I have climbed many mountains together but something we had not done together for many years was go fishing. So we decided to make a trip to the Secret Loch which may well be the last trout fishing I will do this year. On the way there I was telling Willie all about this little gem of a place.
When we arrived at the loch shore the wind was blowing right down the loch in a westerly direction but it was a bit strong. I gave Willie a couple of flies to tie on while I fished with a wet daddie on the point and a Kate on the dropper. On my second cast I hooked and landed a lovely trout which was fooled by the fly that was so successful on my recent stravaig, the wet daddie.  Willie must have thought we were going to be in for a trout bonanza but experience told me otherwise.I then told Willie where to concentrate his efforts while I made my way to the top of the loch and down the opposite shore fishing along the way. I saw a couple of trout leap from the water but never hooked anymore fish. I made my way back round to my friend and we had lunch which consisted of coffee and oatcakes with cheese. After lunch we fished on for about another hour or so amidst a couple of showers and then when the bad weather really started to move in we called it a day and retired to a South Lanarkshire village pub for a  welcome pint of beer.
This was a lovely way to end a mixed trout season for me in a wonderful location and will be a place I hope to visit more often next season.

Claret Kate McLaren

It was suggested to me on my recent fishing stravaig that a claret version of the very successful Kate McLaren can be a very effective pattern on Scottish lochs. I have tied a few variations of the Kate before but never a claret version . On this pattern the body and body hackle are claret. I hope to try this pattern out on Monday when I intend to revisit the secret loch which i featured on my blog a few weeks ago. I'll let you know how I get on.

Wet Daddies

Here's a pic of the pattern which caught most of my trout on my recent fishing trip to the Highlands. It was tied on a size ten B175 hook. Very easy to tie which is just as well as they do tend to get a bit bashed up once you have hooked a few trout with them. For the legs I used pre knotted pheasant tail fibres which are readily available from all good tying sources. I prefer just to purchase these as I'm useless at trying to form knots on these fibres. Anyway hope you like this pattern.

The Stravaig

 

 

It started up in Caithness on Tuesday on loch Sarcalet in decent fishing conditions you know the kind of thing not too bright and a nice wee ripple on the surface however my stravaig didn’t get off to the best of starts as I didn’t raise or hook a fish on this loch.

After a couple of hours we moved over to loch of Yarrows but it was blowing a hooly so we never wet a line there and decided to bank fish Watten but it proved difficult as I only managed a couple of small trout for several hours of trying.
Next day I gave Watten a go from the boat. I was out for a couple of hours in the morning and after some lunch had another couple of hours. However I never got anything from the boat but did manage three from the shore which were again quite small.
I was surprised by the amount of colour in Wattens water it had a green tinge to it which I believe is the result of the phosphates from the fields on the loch shores and which builds up as the season progresses. This is a tad worrying as it will eventually ruin the fishing completely. I must point out that it wasn’t all bad as John had a couple of decent fish and Paul had a nice trout too.
Thursday arrived and Paul recommended we have try on Loch of Wester which is about 12k south of John o Groats and also that there was a chance of a sea trout as this is the prime time for them making the short journey of 2k from the sea into the loch.
John was the only one to get sea trout infect he managed two and a few browns too. Paul and I managed about ten brown trout each. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on this loch and would like to go back there next season.
After a good day on this east coast loch we made the long journey over to the west coast of the country to Wester Ross.
I arrived at the hostel near Dundonnell on Thursday night along with John and Paul after a very pleasant couple of days in Caithness. We were warmly welcomed by the other staravaigers and settled down to a few drinks and a blether before turning in for the night.
In the morning Alan, John Ewan and I fished a couple of lochs north west of Laide. The fish were numerous but nothing spectacular size wise but it was a great day among some lovely scenery and good company.
In the evening John made the most wonderful chilli which everyone enjoyed. This was followed by various alcoholic drinks and chatter.
I had a lazy day on Saturday of fly-tying then having a walk down to the wee coffee shop and a walk along the shore of little loch broom where I met Alan and Malcolm who were sea fishing. Later I watched the dolphins doing their thing in the loch before I returned to the hostel and awaited the others returning from the hills with their fish tales. In the evening Fred’s lovely curry was enjoyed by everyone then much beer, wine and whisky was consumed by all accompanied by Billy’s selection of cheese and meats and all sorts of nick nacks.
Sunday morning arrived we split into two groups I was with the group which went up to Loch na h Airde. I caught numerous trout and had a wee wander around taking pics and generally loafing about lapping up the company and the scenery.
We then returned back to the hostel and as usual we were well fed and watered.
Sadly Monday arrived and the staravaig was over.
Before I finish I thought I would mention the flies that caught fish for me. The fly which was most successful was the wet daddies other flies which caught were small muddlers, Kates and olive spiders.
I certainly thoroughly enjoyed my first ever stravaig. It has to be said that it just wasn’t all about the fishing it was absolutely wonderful just to be there in such a beautifularea with like-minded anglers. I hope I got that the right way round lol.

I've been flytying again

Over the last few months I haven't been tying at all but as I have a forthcoming stravaig to Highlands to look forward to before the season ends I thought I would stock up on some patterns that I was short of. The flies above are Kate McLarens which are tied on a Kamasan hook B160 size 14. Its actually a short shank size 14 and the spiders are tied on straightforward kamasan B175 size 14. I'm off to Caithness on Tuesday so the Kates will come in handy for Watten and Sarclet. Then on Thursday we cross country and head for Wester Ross where I will be fishing lochs and lochans I am unfamiliar with which is all part of the fun.

A Secret Hill Loch.

 

All I can say about the location of my day out fishing today is that I went South. Scott and I set off this morning but got caught in heavy traffic as we tried to get out of town. So later than anticipated we managed to escape the rush of people going to work and doing the school run etc. It was pleasing to watch the urban sprawl turn to winding roads, green fields and purple and brown hills as we travelled onwards.
It was about ten o'clock when we arrived at out secret hill loch. This location is a real gem of a place and would hate to see it get popular . I know it might be a bit snobbish trying to keep this place to myself. Don't get me wrong others do fish it but not many and its better that it stays that way.
I set up with a muddler and a Kate McLaren and got a few offers but nothing stuck. I changed several point flies and put on a pink tailed Loch Ordie on the dropper. The change of dropper worked on its first cast as I caught a nice 1/2 pound brown trout. I soon hooked into another fish which looked bigger but it eventually won the fight as it threw the hook. Then it all went quiet for a while. The wind got stronger as the day progressed and it became difficult fishing my way down the shore.
I decided to head back up to the top of the loch again and changed over to a team of spiders. The change worked a treat as I hooked and landed another two trout. I then worked my way back down the loch rising another couple of trout but no further trout were caught. Now it was time to head home as Scott was going on night shift so we reluctantly broke down our rods and shouldered out rucksacks then headed out the hills back to the car for the drive back to the bricks and mortar of our hometown.