Highland lochs - 2021

[James Laraway]

better photo from my other camera...gives a better idea of the thickness ( looked pretty skinny from the phone photos..)

[Steven Kidd]

That's a cracker James, look how dark coloured, love the variations in Brownies.

Steven

[Terry Coging]

What a beauty James! 

The Seaguar 8.8lb does seem like overkill for trout but at 0.205mm it is only the same thickness of many 6lb lines. When 'wafting' I use 11.6lb for the butt/top dropper due to it's stiffness and even that is only 0.235mm.

[James Laraway]

One on the 'infamous' pink tailed grouse ordie tonight...measured 45 cms long and in excellent condition

Not the best photo but a clunker of a wild brownie....and well chuffed to get my first fish on the pink tailed  grouse ordie

[Steven Kidd]

James,

Do you live in heaven?



Steven

[Terry Coging]

James,

Do you live in heaven?



Steven

I was just thinking the same!!

[James Laraway]

A fishing pal often says I've 'done a deal with the devil'

I think it goes back to a day on Loch Lee  at the head of glen esk.

First we were catching lots of small brownies. It was my first trip there, my pal had been before. I was using one of those clips that lets you change flies  on the dropper without tying a knot (thereby preserving the length of the dropper). I landed one and it wasn't even hooked - I'd hooked it on the clip rather than on the fly 

The I proceeded to catch a lovely red bellied char which none of the group had ever manged on their previous trips. Better to be lucky than skilled...

On a more serious note there are sooooo many lochs up here to choose from - it's a lovely part of the country.  Aberdeenshire was great for the rivers (Don, Deveron etc) but there aren't really that many lochs. Up here is the opposite - lots of loch but not really good brownie rivers.

Luckily I prefer fishing lochs - and there a LOT more for me to try believe me...

James,

Do you live in heaven?



Steven

[Allan Liddle]

Cracking troots from Lochindorb James and great to see a few still there.
Sadly the trout fishing is a mere shadow of its former self and whilst you can catch a few large ones, the days of loads of sport to free rising fish are long gone.

Pike are not native in this country and i can't find an example of a water that gives excellent trout fishing as well as holds pike unless it is heavily managed / stocked, as pike are one of the very few apex predators that can all but wipe out a prey species then survive / thrive on itself.
Just to be clear i love pike, but always very saddened when they are illegally placed into wild trout lochs.