... part the second .... (cos the board wouldn't let me post it as one message!)
Caladail is probably the loch that most anglers concentrate on. Other than one slightly deeper area near the dam, its about 8' deep throughout, has several substantial weedbeds, & a small island at the western end. Despite appearances, there's no bank fishing to speak of, but fishing is from the three boats. The relatively consistent depth means that, unlike Boralaidh, fish can pretty much be caught anywhere, although at any one time there do seem to be favoured areas. The relatively shallow water leads to an amazingly prolific population of bugs & beasties - I have never, ever, anywhere seen such intense buzzer & sedge hatches, particularly after dark. Fish probably average around 2lb, but there are undoubtedly larger fish present. My biggest is 4-3, & I know of fish of 6+ in recent years. In contrast to Boralaidh, these are brilliantly coloured fish, truly georgeous. Incidentally, I spoke to a chap a year or so back who'd had a 6lb fish the previous year. He had it scale-read - the fish was 5 years old!
A reasonable day on Caladail should see you with 4 or 5 fish, although it could easily be none! My best (IIRC) is around 12, but I had to work damned hard for that - this loch takes no prisoners!
The clear water has several consequences, Firstly, as you drift across Caladail you'll very rarely see a fish, even though you can quite clearly see bottom for some distance. This can be quite disconcerting as you get the sense of a 'fish-exclusion zone' around the boat. Obviously the fish have seen/sensed the boat & just moved off to the side. Secondly, your boat handling, casting & all movement must be as neat & quiet as possible - they don't take kindly to sloppy casting. Many anglers use electric outboards to keep disturbance to a minimum (you can take your own or the hotel will hire them)
Patterns: Trad patterns will work, sometimes very well. However, I tend to stick with a selection of buzzers & sedges & have had great results with Shipmans, CDC & Elk, Half-Hogs & similar. Daddies can often pull a fish up on dour days (& they can be frequent!) There's also reasonable olive hatches, so a few suitable patterns should be taken.
I generally use the first day or two to try out a variety of tactics, really to suss out what the fish are doing, where they are etc, so I'd alternate between subsurface pulling tactics, inch-retrieve nymphs (just keep pace with the drift) & top-water dries etc.
I've usually fished in July, when the amazing buzzer hatches are probably at their peak. This year I went in August with the intention of seeing the fish better-keyed on the sedge hatches - all worked to plan & I had the majority of my fish on CDC & Elk.
... to be continued
) ...