I have spent a lot of time looking at maps for new rivers to fish or even new spots on old rivers. I am ware that this season I will have a lot of added responsibilities which will drastically reduce my time on the water so waters reasonably close at hand have had to be sourced. I love looking at maps and tracing the blue lines to see if there are any that go reasonably close to anywhere that I may travel. For example, sometimes I travel a good hour and a half away from my home due to traffic to attend meetings at a rehabilitation unit (being careful not to give too much away here), if the meeting is at the end of the day then I can get caught in very heavy traffic coming back through the city centre. A better idea is to stop and have a fish for an hour or so meaning I will probably get back home at the same time however missing out all the traffic.
Anyway, to cut a long story short I have found the above likely looking wee spot, and in this day and age of satellite photography I can even see what it looks like – some nice wee pools, riffles, bends – probably stuffed full of fat untouched trout ripe for taking a dry fly in spring.
Looking forward to distant meetings already!
See you there…..added responsibilitiesville that is
I wonder Alistair if this is part of the stream that you once told me you had , since a boy, always wanted to fish ??!! I have decided that due to increasing pressures on my time that i will no longer be persuing trout ( except perhaps the odd evening session on the K, and even then that will be once in a blue moon). Firstly, as you will find out, the pressures of family life means that my fishing will, generally, be planned and booked in advance. Secondly, and more importantly, i don’t want to fish for a fish where conditions, hatches etc are so crucial to succes and thirdly i want to fish for something that really does ” pull my string”
Is there a prize if we guess the river .( Answers in a sealed envelope please) ..lol
Campbell – however when our prodigy’s are born we shall have the fun of picnics next to rivers together. And I know the perfect place on the Tay for lunch where the women folk can go and gossip about unicorn rides or whatever it is women talk about!
Alan – hang on – you are swapping the unpredictability of trout for Salmon?
Stuart – Hmmm, think of your best sweet spot – that could be it!! – If you mail it to me I will honestly answer if it is or not 😉
well it’s not the Kelvin or the Glazert!!! 😎
And I think the Avon ( Lanarks) can be discounted .
The clocks an hour ahead .It’s only 02.44 Hrs
hope you have a wee 1 like we got no problems.iv no got a clue were that water is
Alistair, the difference between salmon and trout fishing is that as long as there are salmon in the river they can and will be caught and some point during the day and my experience on the rivers i fish means i rarely come away without a fish. A non feeding trout will very rarely be caught and, unfortunately, i just don’t have the will to fish for them anymore. I remember you saying that Alberto just fishes for salmon now, ask him why? My guess for the mystery stream is the *******, perhaps just upstream of Glasgow Zoo??
Whhooooaaaaaa – lets not turn this into a spot the ball competition firing possible rivers around – I can just see it now -I will be casting at the spot I reckon is secret when I will see Alan Atkins casting for a salmon, Jockayethenoo taking photographs, Andy C smokin’ a fat one and Stuart B guiding some clients who arrived on a bus.
😉
🙂 I just don’t get what all this cloak and dagger stuff is about anyway not disclosing where pics were taken or where someone caught a nice fish . It’s all just ridiculous.It’s not as if it’s being printed on the front page of The Herald
Stuart B
Let’s face it who wants a shit load of people showing up at various spots. Look what Paul Proctor’s article did for the Clyde. Kiss and tell articles can be a dangerous way to messing up a great fishing location.
Alistair has put in the work to find some water, why bother inviting everyone?
I can fully understand keeping places under your hat. Im quite happy to talk about well known places that already see plenty of attention but theres a handful of places i wont tell anyone about, maybe with the exception of a few close pals that i can trust.
Its amazing how quickly a place can go downhill if the diddies find out about it!
I hear you Scott, how did you get the cool red monster?
Sorry Alistair!! I totally agree with keeping favoiurite locations a secret. As Campbell has rightly pointed out, we often spend much time and energy locating a new spot and then exploring the water and unpicking it secrets. So, i can understand the need for discretion. So , apologies if i guessed correctly, but it did look very familiar, especially as the view that i usually have of the river is from an elevated position. Anyway, no need to worry about me fishing it as my days stumbling about in overgrown streams and rivers are definately a thing of the past. In the past few seasons i have discovered a few gems,. some off my own bat and some that have been passed on from more experienced fishers. Whatever kind of fishing that we indulge in, i suggest we fish for the same reasons – a love of nature, the thrill of the hunt and the search for a wee piece of solitude away from the stresses and strains of everyday life and as family life puts more and more pressure on our lives , then so any oasis of solitude found becomes increasingly more prescious.
Probably best way to keep things secret is to tell absolutely nobody and not even allude to it anywhere at all although you can bet that wherever you go someone is likely to have been there before you 🙂
Stuart – Maybe not on the front page of the Herald however considering the amount of people that receive the posts by email, my feed subscriber numbers and the actual visits that hit this page, certainly not somewhere you want to broadcast somewhere that you have spent several hours pouring over maps to find. Information should not be so easily gained when it has been hard researched. I suppose that begs the question why do I do it – maybe to inspire others to do the same :-), to meet new people and to link up like minded anglers!
Campbell – aye, it was a busy year on the Clyde right enough – part of the reason I want to hunt out other neglected places.
Scott – that reminds me, we are due to fish together at some point 😉
Alan – You were half right – and that is close enough! You may be thinking of the Sea Beasts right now however the wee troot will soon attract you on summer nights!
considering the amount of people that receive the posts by email, my feed subscriber numbers and the actual visits that hit this page, certainly not somewhere you want to ……..
All these lurkers ..LOL
Damn right Stuart – although they come out the woodwork now and again – all you have to do is look at the forum – really only a few folk post however it has over a hundred members !
A lot of people mail me regulary who never comment – some people like to and some people do not – whatever, as long as they enjoy as far as I am concerned.
However, it does make my day when people comment (like yourself) and write in the forum 🙂
We’ll get a day out whenever you like alistair, give it another month and pike fishing will seem attractive again, what with the prospect of actually catching something!
We’ll need to make a point of going after the roach on the canal this summer aswell.
Campbell, my red monster kicks ass. He’s got a nice barnet too. Ive no idea how i got him though haha
Alistair, you’re probably right and if my sea trout river has as slow a june as last year, i may find myself chasing the browns again, who knows. The ” new stretch” of the other river that you and Alex kindly showed me last year certainly intrigued me and i have a day booked on Bolfracks in late April and you know what fun i had there with the trout last time when it was too bright for the salmon, so never say never , i suppose.
I still get upset when I see someone else fishing in my usual spots, human nature I suppose. Still, as fly fishers we are a long way off from peg numbers painted on the bank and wooden jetties reaching out into the water. It’s good to share your favourite or special places but always keep a little back for yourself.
The walkway visible on the far side give’s the location away. Also an excellant Grayling spot just downstream!!
JoeB Your eyesight must be better than mine .What walkway on the far side ?
The very light coloured thin line running through the dark patch in the top left of the pic.