Beneath the Black Water

I’ve just been on a fantastic fishing trip but I didn’t leave the house. I was taken on this journey by Jon Berry’s wonderful book called “Beneath the Black Water”
The content of the book is basically all about Jon’s obsession with Ferox trout but it is actually much more than that. It’s actually a glimpse into the last thirteen years of Jon’s life.
Although I certainly do not have a passion for ferox trout nor do I ever intend to hunt for these mysterious creatures I really did find this book compulsive reading. His whole obsession and compulsion really struck a chord with me. I defy any passionate fisherman who reads this book not to deny that they see a bit of themselves within these pages. Jon captures the essence of fishing and in some part explains the theory that there really is more to fishing than catching fish. It’s about the journey, the landscapes, the planning, the anticipation, the people you fish with, the unknown and sheer escapism.
My only criticism of this book is that it wasn’t long enough; I never wanted the journey to end. To be honest I think Jon’s journey hasn’t really ended he has only paused to collect his thoughts.
As you may have guessed I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

The Clyde Sand Fly

There is a fly that may be encountered from the end of April to the end of May on the Clyde when the conditions are suitable
The fly in question is known on the Clyde as the Sand Fly, but referred to elsewhere as the gravel bed, since it appears on the surface of gravel or sand, before swarming onto the water.
It is a rather drab little creature, but according to Clyde fishers the response of trout to its appearance can be very spectacular.
The hatches take place in the slightly moist sand and gravel near the river edge during sunny days in May.
For some Clyde anglers the Sand Fly season is the absolute pinnacle of the trout season. The recommended areas on the Clyde for sand fly fishing are in the Lammington area and also the Bower Pool area another suggested stretch is the half moon flat between Thankerton and Carstairs. There are many other suitable stretches such as the Elvanfoot area but the hatches maybe later in this location due to it being higher and often more cooler.
There are several artificial flies which some tiers claim to be the must have sand fly patterns but in my opinion and that of many others the definitive Clyde Sand fly pattern has got to be the one included in the Bert Sharps wonderfully rare book, “ Lets Fish the Clyde” The dressing is tied with size 14 or 16 hooks, black thread, a body of very sparsely dubbed mole fur and a wing made from a small brown speckled partridge feather and then a black hen hackle is tied in front of the wing.

Hillend Ant!

I now have a swarm of ants lying on my tying desk. My tying of these has improved with each one I have tied. Like I said, a bit fiddly to start with but with each ant that falls from the vice they appear to be improving. I'll tie a few more then move onto more conventional patterns. Here is the latest to come from my vice.

The Dabbler's Ant

No, my latest blog post is not about one of my rarely seen relatives that I only ever meet at weddings and funerals it's my latest creation from the vice at Dabbler HQ. I have been talking to some folk who use these style of flies on Scottish Lochs and rivers would you believe? I think you will agree that it is a most unusual pattern and not the sort of fly you would use on Scottish Lochs which are normally the preserve of the Traditional Scottish wets but I have been reliably informed that wild brown trout of the Highlands cannot resist them.I can exclusively reveal that a double figure Scottish wild brown trout which is the anglers personal best was fooled by one these beasties.I must confess I have never used this style of fly before but I'm willing to give them a try next season based on the success stories that I have been hearing. I found them to be a wee bit fiddly to tie at first but soon got used to tying them. They are good fun to tie and with a bit of imagination I'm sure I could come up with many variations but the one above is the basic style. I think its the movement of the rubber rubber legs that is the trigger point for the trout. Go on give them a try they are fun to tie and I'm sure even better fun to fish with.

Hillend Zonker

With the trout season over I decided to have lazy weekend. Last night I had a few beers whilst watching the Scotland match on tv and this morning I gave my blog a long overdue freshen up by changing the header and footer and also changing some of the pics on my side bar. Let me know what you think of the changes. This afternoon rather than go for a bike ride up to Hillend as was my intention, I decided stay indoors because of the weather and decided to do a bit of reading and also spend some time at the vice. I had been reading recently on a forum I frequent about the use of big flies for big trout, personally I don't think the size of fly matters much its just down to luck whether you catch a whumper or not. This notion though gave me an idea to use up the zonker strips that have been lying in by tying chest for a number of years now. Therefore for a bit of fun I tied up a few of these Hillend Zonkers. To be honest I can actually see these being of great use at Hillend at the start of the season next year.

Trout season ends.... Flytying Nights Begin!

Well that's another trout fishing season over.I went upto the loch today for the last time but I didn't even leave my car as it was blowing a gale today with heavy rain. I decided that it wouldn't be worth the effort even though it was the last couple of hours of the season I just sat in the warmth of the car with the rain battering the windows and read a book. It was a season of mixed fortunes for me. I didn't do too well at Hillend this year but that could be down to a number of reasons. maybe I didn't fish Hillend as often as I have done in the past , A lot of my visits were just for an hour or so, I spent quite a bit of time just walking around taking photos etc. I was mostly fishing on my own at Hillend this year too which is fine but I do prefer to have company when fishing. Of course it could be that I 'm just a crap angler. I had better days and more enjoyment away from Hillend this year but once again I didn't get as many away days in as I would have liked to.Highlight of my fishing season was of course catching my first, losing my second and catching my third salmon wow! what a memory. There were so many lochs that I intended to visit but didn't find time to fit them in ach! well there's always next year.Only 160 days until the start of the season.

Back at the Vice!

You may have noticed in these pages over the last couple of months that I haven't been flytying much but that is all about to change with the end of the fishing season imminent and the dark nights really starting to kick in. I've recently lost by enthusiasm for watching the football so this afternoon instead of dragging myself along to New Broomfield to watch the Diamonds I switched on my radio to listen to Radio Scotland's football coverage, Open all Mics, and pulled up a chair at my tying desk and stuck some fur and feather onto some hooks. The fly on display here is a variation of Watson's Bumble , a great Loch style pattern, which will undoubtedly be the first of many that I will tye over the dark winter nights. Oh aye! My team had an emphatic victory today, which is just typical whenever I'm not in attendance.

Head of the Glen

I know that you will be visiting this these pages because it is a fly-fishing and flytying blog but when I first set up my blog my intention was to also include my other outdoor interest which is hillwalking.
I used to be a regular climbing munros and the like but dodgy knees have somewhat curtailed that for sometime and fly-fishing gradually became my number one pursuit. Now and again I still get away for a walk but nothing too strenuous these days because of the old knees. Anyway I digress here is a short report of a walk I enjoyed yesterday with two friends.
Yesterday morning It seemed strange not to include my fishing rod whilst loading my rucksack and boots etc into the back of my friend Alex’s car. We were soon on our travels picking up Willie from East Kilbride and then heading for Galloway that sometimes forgotten southwest corner of Scotland.
We parked in a lay-by at the Galloway Forest Park a few miles outside the village of New Galloway and decided to walk a five-mile route through bog, burns, hill, forestry, by lochs and waterfalls, strange eerie sculptures and monuments.
It was good to be out on the hill even though it was wet and misty and for a along section of the walk we were shin deep in bog. High lights of the walk were standing above the waterfalls, and the big cylindrical sculpture by the black loch but best of all was when we emerged down from the forest and came across numerous heads carved into the drystane dyke. They looked very eerie in the low-lying mist. We were thoroughly soaked and tired when we finished our circular walk and after a quick change of clothes we headed for the village of St Johns town of Dalry for a few pints and a bite to eat before making the journey back to Lanarkshire.

Wild Fishing on Rannoch Moor

For what would be my last fishing trip of the season to the Scottish Highlands I decided I wanted to go somewhere wild, desolate but beautiful, I chose to fish a wee lochan on the edge of Rannoch Moor with an overnight camp by the banks of the infant River Etive.
Scott and I arrived at the Kingshouse in complete darkness early on Saturday morning. While waiting for the sun to rise we had some coffee and a bit to eat in preparation for the four-mile hike into our desired lochan.
This was my second visit to this loch which lies in a col between two hills at a height of 1,276 feet but the last time I was there I didn’t own a mobile phone, a pc, a GPS, oh and I didn’t carry so much weight back then either, it was actually about twenty years ago.
My memories of this lochan were that I had caught numerous small very dark trout but peculiarly I also caught a good wee half pounder that was bright and golden in colour, very different from all the rest of the trout I caught that day. I remember being puzzled at the time, as it was not the sort of trout you normally find in peaty moorland lochans. I suspected that the local estate perhaps stocked this lochan occasionally for guests, as there was a wee boatshed with a boat moored at the south shore.
Therefore I was curious and excited to find out if this wee lochan was just how I remembered it.
The walk in took us about an hour and a half with numerous stops to take photos of the surrounding mountain and moorland landscape. On arrival at the lochan we noticed that there was indeed just as I had remembered a wee boat shed complete with boat. It appeared to be quite new though with no signs of weathering or rust.
We sat by the loch for a while taking in the wild landscape then decided to get our rods stringed and have a wander round the loch in search of trout. The weather was ideal as it was cloudy with a light breeze and the odd wee drizzle of rain now and again.
It didn’t take long to make contact with the inhabitants of the loch as they were soon splashing on the surface, chasing my flies and getting captured on both my point fly and dropper. I have to admit that these fish were quite small but the takes were quite aggressive and they were fun to catch. We encountered fish all round the loch and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, taking a break every now and again to take in the vastness of the area and also take many photos. Curiously though we never came across any bright golden trout like the one I caught all those years ago. We came to the conclusion that there must be decent sized trout in this loch somewhere, as someone wouldn’t go to all the trouble of putting a boat on this loch for the purpose of catching dark bandy trout.
After five or six very enjoyable hours of bandy catching we called it a day and walked out from the loch. As we hiked back to the Kingshouse we were wondering where we would camp for the night as the area around the Kingy was a bit grubby and busy.
It had been a long day and we were feeling a bit weary as we trudged along the track. Then unbelievably we had a wonderful stroke of luck that would solve the mystery of the golden trout and also a solution to out camp for the night.
We met a man from the estate who was repairing the track. We stopped and chatted for a while. He asked us if we had caught much and where we had been. I told him about the fish I had caught from the loch all those years ago. He was very pleasant and told us that we actually should have arranged to fish the loch through the estate. We apologised but he told us not to worry. He then explained that the estate stocked the loch in the past but not reently and that the boat belonged to them. He was a really friendly chap and also told us he was a member of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue team and was also a keen fisherman He told us all about the deer stalking etc. It was all very interesting. He then very kindly told us that if we were looking for a place to camp that we could bring the car into the estate road and pitch our tents next to the river. We thanked him and he told us that the next time we fancied fishing in the area that we should call him and he would give us some pointers on where to go.
It started to rain so we said our goodbyes and were soon off again. By the time we reached the car we were soaked so headed into the Kingy Climber’s bar to dry off and down a few welcome pints of Black Gold Ale. With the permission of the Keeper we then drove back up the track we had just walked down and set up camp at the river with the Buachaille dominating the downstream view. We ended our day with a meal of Noodles, Soup, Whisky and Beer. It was late when we decided to bed down for the night. As I lay in my tent, I reflected on a very satisfying and interesting day and felt safe in the knowledge that the Big Etive Shepherd was watching over me as I slipped off into the land of nod.

GAC Open weekend 2011

I would just like to say that I have no connection with Glasgow Angling Centre or anyone employed by them. The reason I am mentioning their Open weekend is quite simply that it is a fantastic event with angling and flytying celebrities in attendance.
I have been to a few in the past which I mentioned way back when I first started this almost two years ago. It's worth a visit to see the wonderfully talented Davie McPhail tying flys and also have a look around the Cookshill Flytying stall.Last time I attended one of these events I sat in the flytying area all afternoon watching Davie tying while others wandered around getting their photos taken with Paul Young, Hywel Morgan and Matt Hayes and the like. Apparently they have good deals on tackle etc over the weekend but that side of the weekend doesn't appeal to me I was only really interested in the flytying side of things. like I say its a great event which is free.I have been to a couple of fly tying fairs and this event at GAC is every bit as good if not better than them and has the advantage for me of being local too. There is one drawback this year,unfortunately I am going to miss out on this weekend this year and I 'm really disappointed but I shouldn't be as I'm off this weekend on a camping and fishing trip to the Highlands, details of which will appear on this blog next week.So if you are not fishing this weekend and are in the area get along to this event, I'm sure you would enjoy it.

Scottish Grayling.

With the trout season fast coming to an end my thoughts have been turning to the Lady of the Stream; The Grayling. My success at Grayling fishing has been limited to say the least. My best grayling was taken from the River Clyde at the Mauldslie Estate a few years ago, it was all of half a pound. This year I intend to try and better that. A few years ago I was given the following information from a friend. I have no idea where he aquired this but it gives a great insight into the introduction of Grayling in Scotland...
Some would argue that the Grayling is not truly Scottish, as its only 156 years since it was imported from the Midlands of England. Indeed many fishermen, from south of the border have complained bitterly about the introduction of the Lady of the Stream in Scotland.
Be that as it may, the grayling gives excellent autumn and winter sport in a number of rivers north of the border.
The full story of the spread of the grayling in Scottish rivers has not been recorded in recent years at least. Despite the fact that parts of the story are not known in detail, the information that is available is worth telling, partly because of it’s historical value and partly because it tells of a degree of success that is surprising considering the then current knowledge of fish culture.
The first of the immigrant grayling received special treatment and an impressive welcome. On the 5th of December 1855 the mail train made an arranged stop to allow the fish to be unloaded in the Lanarkshire village of Abington on the banks of the River Clyde. The welcoming committee included prominent Glasgow businessmen, one of whom, George Anderson, was later to become MP for Glasgow.
Victorian Glasgow was a hive of entrepreneurial activity which spilled over into the affairs of associations such as the West of Scotland Angling Club of which George Anderson was a member. In fact as member in charge of the “Grayling Experiment” he arranged for three dozen healthy 1 ½ year old grayling to be transported from Rowsley, near Derby to Abington on Clyde. Only three of the fish did not survive the journey and the others were introduced to the River Clyde.
The fate of these fish and the success of that part of the experiment are not known. There were reports of a few grayling being caught in the next few years, including one story which claimed that a grayling of 3 ½ lb had been captured, but we shall probably never know whether the introduced fish spawned successfully since any effect that they had was probably swamped by the second phase of the experiment.
A second delivery of Grayling were transported to Abington and despite the set back of a number of fish escaping from the zinc screen tanks into the river this phase of the experiment was considered a success as some of the 160 fish were retained in a pond as brooding stock. A few of the grayling were forwarded to the vicinity of one of the upper Tay tributaries with the intention of stocking a whole system of streams including the noble Tay. The remaining fish were released into the Daer, the main tributary in the upper area of the Clyde. Concerns were expressed about the survival of grayling when introduced with the large indigenous trout in this area.
Despite such misgivings the venture did succeed and the grayling did indeed spread throughout much of the Clyde system. It was ironic that very few grayling seem to have been caught by those responsible for their introduction. The West of Scotland Angling association showed commendable restraint and did not hold their first grayling competition until 1863. On that occasion the total catch was two grayling weighing 9oz and 13oz. Subsequent competitions did not appear to have a higher catch rate, despite the fact that good catches were being made elsewhere by others not involved in competitions.
Anglers in other areas were impressed by the success of the Clyde grayling experiment and as a result stock were sent elsewhere. In a letter to the field in 1861 George Anderson offered to supply grayling to other areas and requests came as far a field as County Cork in Ireland. History might have been different if that request had been followed through; as to this day there are no grayling to be found in Ireland. Unfortunately the remainder of the story was not so well documented and firm evidence has proved hard to find.