Which are the best lochs for brown trout fishing in Scotland?

I think that it is generally agreed that the best rivers for brown trout fishing in Scotland are; Tweed, Spey, (parts of Tay), Annan and of course the Don. But which are the best lochs for wild brown trout?

In the past – perhaps 30 or 50 years ago – there were very good lochs throughout all parts of Scotland where you could expect to take many good trout with every visit. However, today most of the lochs in the central region of Scotland are populated almost exclusively with rainbow trout. Although I have had some great days on lakes like Menteith, Butterstone, Glencorse and Frandy, I am not a fan of rainbow trout. The fact that these fish are not indigenous to Scotland and that they are artificially fed in their developing years, detracts from their appeal. For me, I want to catch totally natural, wild fish - the size of the fish is not so important. It means much more to me to know that I have made a fly and put it onto the water with sufficient skill to deceive a naturally feeding wild fish.

So, today you must go north if you want to find the best still water fly fishing for wild brown trout. These are my recommendations;

Loch Leven

Loch Assynt and the lakes of limestone above Inchnadamph

The lakes of limestone in Cape Wrath – in particular; caladail and borralie

The lakes of Orkney – in particular; Harray, Boardhouse and Swanney

Certainly there are thousands of other lakes throughout Scotland where you can find very good sport, but in my opinion, if you want to find the best, you must be prepared to travel. Click here for more information.

Cooking Pike Recipe

Here’s a great recipe for baked stuffed pike. In my experience it seems to work best with a fish of about 3-5lbs.

1. clean and descale your fish, then remove the backbone but leave on the head and tail
2. cook about one cup of wild rice, then put it to one side to cool down
3. dice one large onion, 2 cloves of garlic and one medium sized skinned cucumber
4. salt the chopped cucumber and leave for about 15-20 minutes.
5. fry off the onion, garlic and cucumber in a couple of knobs of butter – take to translucent rather than brown
6. coarsely chop up 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs, some capers, some olives, curly parsley, chives and fresh thyme
7. combine the rice, fried onion mix and chopped ingredients, then add a couple of spoonfuls of crème fraiche and season with salt and plenty of pepper
8. stuff the cavity of the cleaned pike with the savoury stuffing mix and stitch or tie the fish closed
9. place the stuffed fish onto a lightly buttered baking dish and put into a preheated oven at 200ºC
10. after 5 minutes, turn the fish and put it back into the oven for another 5 minutes
11. add half a cup of water and half a cup of white wine and turn the oven down to 175ºC
12. cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the fish is firm, but not hard, to the touch

Enjoy!!!

Who would you like to fish with and who is banished to a peat bog?

I see that Silvio is up to his old tricks again – this time with an 18 year old belly dancer!

It does make me laugh when you compare the British reaction of indignation and outrage with the Italian response of male admiration and female resignation. Anyway, while musing on the strange experience it would be to spend some “quality” time with that great Italian icon, I got to thinking in whose company I would most like to spend a day on the river and, conversely who would I most like to see up to their waist in a Sutherland peat bog in winter wearing a T-shirt. Here are my selections…

Those I would love to fish with but probably never will…

Paul Young (Hooked on Fishing)       

knowledgeable, a good and experienced fisherman and seems like an all-round top chap

Gareth Edwards (Rugby Icon)          

comes across as a totally genuine character – see the October issue of Trout & Salmon

Gordon Brown

well-read and he really needs cheering up

Rob Brydon

would be a brilliant laugh in the hut at lunchtime

Kate Middleton

well connected for an invitation onto the Dee           

Those I would love to fish with but certainly never will…

Norman Stone

(legendary ghillie on the Kinchurdy beat of the River Spey)

good friend and best ghillie there ever was

Mr Crabtree               

the storybook character that fuelled my childhood inspiration to fish

Those I would like to see banished to the peat bog…

The heads of all UK banks

for institutionalising fraud, trickery, deceit, incompetence and greed

Robson Green

far too noisy

Simon Cowell

pointless

Harriet Harman

tells more lies than any fisherman I know

Vladimir Putin

downright scary

A Christmas Wish List

Just in case this blog is being followed by a mystery philanthropist dedicated to bringing great joy and perpetual happiness to all anglers, I thought it wise to set out my wish list now, in plenty of time for Christmas…

15’ and 14’ Sage z-axis salmon rods

The entire range of Eumer tube fly bodies                 http://www.eumertube.com/

Lamson Litespeed reels for 5, 6, 7 and 8 weight lines

Lexus RX300h (my “non-hybrid” is getting on a bit, so please buy this soon!) http://www.lexus.co.uk/

An all-expenses paid week fishing the Rio Grande for sea trout

Thank you very much in advance. Whoever you are, it really is very kind of you.

PS. If you could stretch the budget just a little further, Purdey have some rather tempting 12-bore over & unders (surely a second hand gun wouldn’t be too expensive???)

PPS. Please remember to post early to avoid (my) disappointment

www.purdey.com

Winter Grayling Fishing in Scotland

There are some things which I have never really understood. I just don’t know why we bother with setting our clocks forward and back in the autumn and spring (or is it the other way around?). For the life of me I can’t grasp why, as a nation, we haven’t staged a mass rebellion against the banks, rather than meekly submitting to their extortion, trickery and incompetence. Why on earth would anyone watch The X Factor…. And why do so many fishermen consider the grayling to be a lesser quarry than the trout???

With the rain over the weekend and today, there is no longer even a glimmer of hope that I will have one last day on the Tweed this season. So, now that I am resolved to that sobering fact, I can only start planning my first outing for that underrated, yet beautiful Lady of the Stream.

Fishing for grayling can be fantastic sport – different, but equally as enjoyable as fishing for brownies. The key is pick your water carefully, approach the water with stealth, use light tackle and never be tempted to cast long. Last February we had a couple of days on the Clyde, near Biggar and another day on the Tweed at Peebles. Each outing was hugely pleasurable, but not so productive. This year, I’m determined to improve on the productivity.

I’m thinking that my first trip will be to the stunning Kinkell beat on the River Earn. I fished this for the first time just a few weeks ago for salmon. Only one fish was taken that day (unfortunately not to my rod), but nevertheless it was a real joy to experience the beauty of that place. The ghillie, Sandy is one of the best in the business and strikes the perfect balance between optimism and realism. Over lunch, as it became apparent that the low water conditions were likely to render our best efforts futile, conversation shifted onto the subject of grayling. Sandy is both knowledgeable and credible, and when he says that the Kinkell beat has some of the best grayling water in Scotland, he is most certainly to be believed. In fact, in my experience, this is one of the only stretches of river where you need to book well in advance for winter grayling. It seems the fishing can be superb with numerous big fish being taken every year. Without a doubt, many of the salmon pools looked like they would be ideal for Czech nymph fishing.

Deciding where to fish for the grayling in Scotland is not too difficult a task as they are not generally found in any of the rivers north of Perthshire. Three other stretches which I’d recommend are the Tweed above Peebles or around Kelso (the Teviot is also very good), the Hoddom Castle water on the Annan and the Isla near Cupar Angus. Check out this page on our website for more info.

Next blog, I’ll present some top tips for successful grayling fishing.

Tight lines!

Welcome to my blog!

Now that the fishing season has all but passed for another year, all that's left is to talk about are the highs and lows of this year's experiences and to look forward to what next season might hold.

Its been a great season. Almost a year ago we had a couple of very cold, but very enjoyable days fishing upstream nymphs for grayling on the Clyde and the Tweed. Then as the long hard winter gave way to spring, I recall "kelt-bashing" on the Tweed and South Esk.

That day on Middle Kinnaird the South Esk was superb. We had had a bit of sport with a few kelts, then, just before lunch, I had a solid pull which suggested that there might just be the odd springer in the river. Restarting after lunch, in an uncharacteristic gesture of generosity, I suggested to my fishing pal Stuart, that he might want to put a fly through the same pool. Five minutes later his fly had been grabbed by a magnificent bright silver springer. The fight was the best I'd seen in years with this fabulous fish making amazing runs and leaps. Eventually Stuart landed and then returned the bonniest fish (about 10lbs) that I was to see all season.

Anyway, more memories of this passing season and discussion of things to come with my next blog.

All being well, I'll look to post twice a week during the winter, but then probably only once a week once the fishing starts again. Tight lines!