Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Noel Kelly

Loch Park report
« on: 21/05/2010 at 22:49 »
Made a deal with the devil to get today off in return for working sunday :z6 so I could tube Loch Park while the conditions were (hopefully) good.
On the water for about 8.30, flat calm and a good few trout rising in the margins.
First response took a while but it was worth the wait a lovely brownie weighing 1.2lb :grin
Got the camera out to discover it was wet as was more important stuff like ciggy papers :shock

Back to car to dry camera, ditch sodden waistcoat life vest and restock the smokes department. Had my collar type lifejacket in the car so got that on and confidently back into the fray.

For those who know the loch I started from the carpark end. Their were trout moving all along by the railway shore with the occasional rise out in the loch.
Its weeding up as always but still possible to push through at the moment.
There was a big hatch of midge which was turning into a massive hatch by the minute with increasing fish activity.
I noticed a lot of rising fish out in open water so headed that way.
Guys I have never seen anything like it :shock
The water was boiling all around me, but could I get a touch...not a one.
I spent the next 3 hrs chasing pods of rising fish flinging everything and anything at them without any response...

Its hard to leave boiling fish rises but I eventually moved back close to the shore and back into a fish on a hares ear nymph this time.
Told ye I was trying everything :z4
Started to get a good few pulls and hookups but only landing about 1 out of every 7/8 takes. That was fun for a while but started getting a bit frustrating after a few hrs...
Few pics





Had forgotten sunblock so had nicely fried arms at this stage but that was about to change, feckin thunder in the distance and ominous clouds gathering.
By now I had travelled down the loch to where it opens out and deepens a bit so I was contemplating setting up with three wets. It had all been single fly up until now because the water is very weedy.
The rain arrived, gentle at first so fished away, first 10 or so casts with the wets got a rise or 2 each time but still they weren't hitting the fly like you would hope.
Then heard what I can only describe as a wall of water coming up the loch, I thought it was hailstones with the noise and splashes but thankfully it was rain. Cold torrential rain.
Fish were still taking in this so I plugged on but after 20 mins or so I was frozen, bank time.
I was bloody soaked, sunburnt and getting well pissed off with the lack of fish to hand for what must have been a 100 takes. Ciggy papers were wet again too...
But the fish were still rising.. Had a mooch about the bank and noticed a few sedges scuttling about so new line of attack. Red arsed green peter on the bob, Bibio in the middle and a sunburst picris dabbler on the point and back at it.
They liked it :grin well sorta, still getting hit after hit but not sticking, most of them anyway.
Then I struck into a big fish and It felt like a 2/3lbr, struck splash pull and gone, with my flies :oops :mad

I had seriously had enough now and it was time I should be going but the fish just kept rising so how could I leave.
Set back up with a similar set up and things seemed to improve for the next 2 hrs or so til I got broken again :oops and called it a day.
Sunburnt, soaking wet and minus several of my favourite flies but happy as could be :grin
Reckon I landed about 15 or so, weighed a few at little over 3/4lb and had a few down to half lb.
Bonny fish from a great loch. Get up there before it chokes up with weed.

 

 

 





A trout rising in the background in this one :cool:


Barry Robertson

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #1 on: 21/05/2010 at 23:58 »
Nice read Noel and some great photos,  :z16
Did you pull anything deep or through the rising fish?? And i mean pull pull  :?
Looks like a cracking water anyway and i presume its browns only.
Only 2 weeks to go and i will be back in amongst them again  :z6

Mike Barrio

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #2 on: 22/05/2010 at 00:21 »
Hi Noel
Thanks for the great report and photos! :z16

Loch Park is a lovely place to fish and it holds some cracking brownies :cool:

Cheers
Mike

Noel Kelly

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #3 on: 22/05/2010 at 00:30 »
Nice read Noel and some great photos,  :z16
Did you pull anything deep or through the rising fish?? And i mean pull pull  :?
Looks like a cracking water anyway and i presume its browns only.
Only 2 weeks to go and i will be back in amongst them again  :z6

Nothing deep but fast enough strips. Its very shallow and weed almost everywhere which will make most of the loch un fish-able  soon.
Wild brownies they claim but I have heard some say that its stocked. Its very rich, the water was alive today, whole loch was like soup.

Jim Eddie

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #4 on: 22/05/2010 at 17:50 »
Looks like you had a grand day Noel  :z16

 :z18

Jim

Iain Goolager

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #5 on: 22/05/2010 at 19:44 »
 :z16

Now that's what I call fishing Noel. Ok so the return rate was frustrating but just being in the thick of it is exciting enough.

Brings back memories right enough.

Iain

Paul Rankine

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #6 on: 23/05/2010 at 20:47 »
HI Noel,
              Great report .I wonder if they were on the smuts to begin with. Anyway, must get up there soon !
Nice read .

Paul.

Noel Kelly

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #7 on: 23/05/2010 at 21:27 »
Hi Paul, what are smuts exactly ??? I tried amongst others a very small griffith's gnat mainly for something that would stand up on the water like the midge were but they didn't like it.
If you intend in going up I would make it soon if I was you. Its gonna be weed central soon.    
There were some small beetles on the water two which I couldn't imitate but as I said earlier it was like insect soup even seen the balling buzzer several times. 

Paul Rankine

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #8 on: 24/05/2010 at 17:50 »
Hi Noel,
              Been planning for this weekend but the wife tells me it's wedding anniversary weekend . I thought it was one day ?  :roll Maybe take a day off out of the madhouse.

Aye, "smuts" is short for reed smuts , Simulium sp. to get Latin. A generic term meaning any small black gnat or midgie , usually pretty small , 20-26 type beasties. The fish can get preoccupied with them when they are around in usually large quantities - laws of minimum energy expenditure and all that. The funny thing is that trout often will switch for no apparent reason from them ,on to say Olives , and then equally inexplicably switch back on to the smuts again. They can be right frustrating at this time ...........

The weed . I don't know why the guy doesn't just get the weed cut or pulled out I,m sure it would be worth it financially in the long run as it would extend the shortened fishing season there Eh ? :cry

Paul.

Paul Rankine

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #9 on: 24/05/2010 at 18:30 »
Noel,
         Here is pic of a small smut pattern wot I tied last season
It's green one but you get the idea , as in minimalist.  Think rat shit .



That's a penny and a size 12 for comparison.

You don't need them so small as that one you can tie them on 18's but leave the shank undressed.

Paul.  :wink



Noel Kelly

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #10 on: 24/05/2010 at 19:50 »
Hi Paul, thanks for that. I wouldn't fancy trying to fish something that small which would necessitate going very light with all the weed.
Its often a case of hookup and haul em in as if they go down they are as good as lost.
I like the weed :shock its kinda fun to fish in the gaps and it holds a load of the better fish. First time I have had stiff legs after tubing though from battling through it for about 5 hrs :z4 

Paul Rankine

Re: Loch Park report
« Reply #11 on: 24/05/2010 at 21:32 »
Hi Noel,
              Yeah, the weed is a curse to us and a blessing for the fish in lots of ways  :z4

Know what you mean about battling through it , anyone who thinks we are exagerrating should try and kick a tube through 100 yards of weed . It's knackering !! , as i found out last year trying to create the North West Passage down the middle of the Loch.

Your'e so right about fishing the pockets in the weed beds .  :wink

Paul.

 




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