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IMPORTANT
SITE UPDATE:
Visit the relaunched
Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
A Survivor's
Guide to Trout Fishing in Scotland
Our March 2000 contribution from Lesley Crawford
Like a freshet of water smacking into the back of my waders, the thought
suddenly came to me I had fished around Scotland for over 40 years now.
I've enjoyed wild trout in the Outer Isles, in the midst of a city and
up in remote hill country. There's been trout in tiny burns or mighty
rivers, on commercial fisheries or in vast wild lochs and I've savoured
the lot with considerable glee. Without a doubt, my trouting experiences
have been a curious mix of heady drama and occasional frustration punctuated
by both periods of elation and moments of simple silent contentment (even
when not catching anything!).
Despite
the turning of a century, wild trout fishing in Scotland has retained
much of its rural charm, it may not have the sophistication of say bonefishing
in the Bahamas, but there is a huge intriguing history attached to it.
Many waters you fish now first saw angling 200 years ago, sometimes even
earlier. This sense of place coupled with a considerable number of available
populations of wild fish to tempt the rod, make Scotland unique in terms
of quality trout angling. However, fishing for trout here is not without
some pitfalls; the weather can be volatile, the fish may play hard to
get, how you gain proper access to the water may be unclear and reaching
remote waters might take a lot longer than expected. - Digging into my
often hard won experiences, I've come up with a `Survivors Guide' to help
you get the most out of your wild trout angling in Scotland.
TRAVEL
Getting to Scotland to trout fish is today a relatively simple affair.
By Air - If coming from abroad you can fly into any of the main Glasgow,
Edinburgh or Aberdeen airports and then obtain car hire from there. If
you want to get yourself quickly into the heart of wild trout country,
you can fly on direct to Inverness from Gatwick or Luton. You can even
fly up (by tiny box planes) to the Shetland Isles, Wick in Caithness,
Kirkwall on Orkney or Stornoway on Lewis. These little planes are great
fun but costly so allow a fair bit in the travel budget for them. NB.
Always use a metal/plastic tube to transport your rods.
By Car - Because of the amount of clobber fishermen tend to cart around,
many will choose to tour around Scotland by car. Road systems are good,
though do not expect motorways in remote areas. Distances are relative,
you can travel from one end of Scotland to the other comfortably in a
day, about 7 hours driving should see you from Reay on the north coast
to the Scottish Border. However, on minor and single track roads do allow
extra time and let faster local traffic overtake.
By
Train or Bus - Train services are reasonable near main centres of population
but become infrequent the further north you travel. I have had hardy souls
bring a push bike up on the train (prebooking essential) and then bike
and hike round northern lochs. I only recommend this for the fit and fearless.
- Bus services are cheap but slow and infrequent.
Ferries to the islands - Taking a car on the ferry can be expensive, going
as a foot passenger is not. Unfortunately car hire is costly on the islands
so it's a no win situation. Allow extra in the budget if you can, virtually
all the Scottish island trout fishing is superb.
ACCOMMODATION
I recommend using Tourist Board affiliated and crown rated accommodation.
As a much travelled family of 4 we have had mixed results with residences
not part of the local tourist boards, sometimes OK sometimes a complete
disaster. Accommodation for anglers ranges from hotels, self-catering,
B&B to camping. Things to look out for are meals at flexible (fishing)
times, drying room, twin or single rooms, provision of packed lunches,
nearest shop for provisions and petrol, and the proximity and availability
of local fishing.
NECESSITIES TO BRING
Obviously rods (normally 10ft), reels, lines (floating and intermediate) and suitable loch and/or river flies in dry, wet and nymph patterns. Remember if bank fishing some wading may be required so bring light studded waders you can walk a fair distance in. Bring comfortable waterproofs, a waistcoat with plenty of pockets, a hat which does not blow off, sunglasses, slim line lifejacket for either the boat or when wading the river and a drogue and landing net if boat fishing (both are essential items). Remember the map and compass, these are vital in remoter areas. Also necessary is a good midge repellent, sunblock, lip balm, scarf or neckerchief to stop rain and draughts, torch and whistle, a fish bass, some extra food and a portable flask for a hot drink.
SEVEN
STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL ANGLING
(or what the brochures don`t tell you!)
-
Access to river trout angling can be a tricky business. In the far north access to trout fish on salmon rivers is very limited. Even when trout tickets are advertised as on sale, permit outlets can be difficult to find. On rivers (and lochs) governed by Protection Orders eg Tay, Tweed, Tummel, Spey etc it is essential by law that you obtain a trout permit. You risk prosecution if you do not.
-
When booking your holiday check what is included in the package and what is not. Fishing day tickets are sometimes included particularly with hotels, but sometimes the local accommodation providers have scant knowledge of the angling around them and you can waste precious fishing time trying to find out who does what.
-
You do not always gain great advantage by bothering to hire a boat, even on very big lochs. Boats can be impossible to launch in a gale, will leak, engines can break down, arguments can break out on whose hired what boat on what day etc but the principal reason is often that the trout are lying close in to the shore!
-
Fishing brochures will often tell you truthfully that May and June are the most popular months for their angling, however April (it its warm), July and September can be equally good. August can produce fine trout if Bibio hatches are profuse and you can stand the midge attacks!
-
Occasionally businesses with their own particular fishing interest (be that providing food and accommodation, tackle or boat permits) will be reluctant to furnish information on other nearby angling businesses which they see as competitors. Thus, the big angling picture can be difficult to obtain. Use reputable guidebooks and use more than one source to help plan your fishing holiday.
-
If fishing in remote areas always take a good OS map and a compass and allow plenty of extra time to cross over rough terrain. Even OS maps do not show how hard the going is underfoot so go well equipped, see above.
-
Beware of owners/fishery managers of wild trout angling who cannot answer basic questions like current taking patterns, productive areas, range of size of trout in the water (not the `average' size or the biggest taken), where the trout spawn and so on. These are fundamentals any caring manager will know, if there are no responses it could be they have not been near their fishery for the purposes of trout management for years, if at all!
Scotland has much to offer in terms of top quality wild trout angling.
Go with an open mind, be selective and travel wisely and you should be
rewarded with an exciting and memorable angling holiday
About Lesley Crawford
Lesley has fished for brown trout and sea trout from a very early age
and her enthusiasm for these beautiful Scottish fish shows no signs of
diminishing. She is well known as a leading angling writer and photographer
with prodigious articles in a wide range of publications including Salmon
Trout & Sea Trout and the Scotsman.
Lesley is a REFFIS qualified fishing guide and arranges bespoke wild
trout angling holidays in the Northern Highlands. Her first major book
`Fishing for Wild Trout in Scottish
Lochs' (Swan Hill 1996) was a runaway success and the long awaited
follow up `Scotlands Classic Wild Trout Waters' (Swan Hill) will be published
in May 2000. Order your copy now.
Read more about Lesleyat www.wildtroutfisher.co.uk
Also within Fish & Fly...
February 2000: Lesley Crawford takes a seasoned look at various tactics employed by past masters in Scottish trout fishing and ponders how best we can apply old skills in the new millennium. Out with the old and in with the new.
January 2000: Visiting the Highlands of Scotland for the first time you might be forgiven for thinking you have arrived in loch fishing paradise. An introduction to fishing for trout in Highland lochs from Lesley Crawford.