ON HOLIDAY IN SCOTLAND
The far north of Scotland lives life at a different pace. Nothing is too much trouble, no one gives any hassle, everyone seems to enjoy themselves in a restrained, unobtrusive manner. At least that's how it seems to the visiting angler and some of it rubbed off on me. I don't know how long it will last and the redoubtable Mrs C claims that it's going already!
I made what has become an annual pilgrimage to Lochinver in Sutherland for a week at the excellent Inverlodge Hotel. Nicholas Gorton and his staff are very angling orientated and trout and salmon anglers are always made welcome. Permits for all local rivers and lochs are available at the hotel.
The purpose of my visit was general relaxation combined with some loch and river fishing for trout. I love to get an Assynt Angling Association or an Assynt Crofters Association ticket and for £5 I know I have a selection of over 50 lochs, most of which provide good brown trout fishing. If one loch is too exposed to the westerly wind or not fishing quickly enough or has largely inaccessible banks all you do is get back in the car and motor up the road a mile or so to the next loch. For the more vigorous fishermen some of the lochs, like Fionn Loch are an hour away from the car park over a hilly path.
“BARS OF SILVER”
I met an old angling friend in the bar on the second evening, a dedicated salmon angler. During our conversation he told me that the reports were not so good because the rivers had not enough water in them due to a dry September. This lack of sea-bound water does not encourage the salmon to leave the estuary. However, that evening it began to rain.
Two showery days later, I found myself on the banks of the Inver River which runs down the hillside from Loch Assynt to the estuary at Lochinver. I stood on the bank just above the fishing lodge past the first weir and surveyed the water. There was a good flow coming down the river from the loch and through the man-made weirs above the final series of falls before it enters the sea.
Suddenly, a salmon jumped out of the water about five yards away. A typical “bar of silver”, it looked to be about seven or eight pounds in weight. I remained where I was and watched the water and I was rewarded by salmon jumping up at the rate of almost one a minute for the next thirty minutes. Some were silvery and bright, other much more coloured and dark. The majority were in the range of 6-8 lbs as far as I could guess but one or two other were huge, nearer to 20 lbs. All but two of them broke the surface in the main current and some could be traced as they continued this pattern through the weirs on their way up stream.
I was fascinated by the evidence that contradicted the bar room chat of the previous evenings. The salmon were moving up the river in no uncertain manner. I was on the bank with a 9ft WF5 line on my way to fish for “wee broonies”! How I wished I had a bigger rod and line with me on the bank! Anyway, I've got the salmon bug now. I'm a believer in the maxim “If you can see them, you can catch them”. At least with trout. I hate not being able to cast to a rising fish and I had always regarded salmon fishing as a rather boring occupation, one in which the angler cast his line and fly into a river that may actually not contain any fish at all on that particular day. Seeing those salmon travelling so enthusiastically up the river has fired my imagination and I can't wait to get started.
THE TROUT
Nearly all the trout fishing is for brown trout that can run up to three or even four pounds but fish of this size are very much the exception. In reality most of the fish are between six and ten ounces and the best fish of the day will probably be just over the pound mark. Don't knock it! The environment is superb with big mountains as the backdrop and such a peaceful quietness for company. It's so quiet that another fishing friend was heard to remark quite insensitively that “you'd almost be glad of a bit of tinnitus to keep you company.” It's that quiet and peaceful! On light lines and tippets and either dry flies or tradition wet flies these relatively small brown trout give an excellent account of their fighting qualities and when you get them on the bank they have rich, butter yellow flanks, vivid red spots and fierce, defiant eyes.
On a good day I've hooked and landed twenty fish with two or three over the pound mark. It keeps me active, happy and still anticipating the larger fish. A pound sized wild brown trout is a very sporting adversary and a competitive match for a two pound tippet.
Go to the Tourist Information Centre and ask for information. Trout fishing is cheap with plenty of options and this applies in all northern villages. They're only too pleased to see you and if you have a good day on the bank side it means that you will come back. Salmon fishing on the spate rivers is a different matter and it is strictly controlled and quite expensive. On the Inver, Oykel and Kirkaig river at this time of the year you will have to stump up £75 for your day out. However, there is plenty of room, the rivers are well looked after and fishing platforms adorn the best pools on the Inver. The shrubbery and vegetation is discreetly cut back and, if there is some water in the rivers, the salmon are there to be hooked and netted. It's an experience that is hard to match.
Good dry flies: Greenwells, Black Spider, small Daddy from size 14 to 18 for all.
Good wet flies: Zulu, Kate McLaren, Invicta and again from size 14 to 18.
Tight Lines!
Eddie Caldwell
Ron Troversial Clay
