It has been a while that I have actually fished anywhere new or unknown, especially because the place was so close really.
I found myself at a weird loose end mid morning, the family were staying home and I was allowed a free pass to head out fishing. I considered heading to the estuary after the sea trout, however I put a call out in a whatsapp group to see if anyone was free. Alex replied to my call to arms – he had been up at 0400 to fish in his kayak on the east coast however the conditions were not right. We discussed suitable venues and came up with this one – a river we had threatened to try a few times, it just so happened to be roughly equidistant to where we both live, or maybe just as equally difficult a drive.
Anyway, I bolted up the A82 next to Lomond and regretted not taking the other road – the traffic was certainly moving however you could tell they were day trippers. Alex said he had never seen so many camper vans on the road coming in from his direction.
The river itself was interesting – nestled between two lochs, fast and streamy at the top and slow and canal like at the bottom. We had actually tubed the bottom hundred or so yards a couple of years ago for Pike and then we found out there was no Pike in the loch. We fished the streamy stuff and from the off we wondered if there were any trout in this river. Our flies drifted down undisturbed and our nymphs remained unplucked.
A good sized trout had a bash at my dragging fly however other than that nowt. Alex is one of those people that can usually pull out a two pounder in a ditch so when he was struggling I reckoned something was up.
It was only when we turned around and started meandering back up the river that we spotted a couple of good sized trout being spooked in a crystal clear pool. We then wondered if this was one of those rivers that hold bigger trout and fewer of them than lots of smaller trout with some big ones. It sure looked like big trout water with lots of features with sunken logs and deep holes.
Soon enough we were back at the car and Aex suggested a cast on the loch – I did not really fancy it with my 4 weight so ended the afternoon session on a nice vibe wanting a little more with a plan for the future – tubing that loch.
Something that I learned was to actually ensure I tie up some suitable flies – I need some klinks and small nymphs.
See you at the vice