Reeling again
BY LOUIS FEROX THIS week sees some further relaxing of lockdown rules and we’ll all have snoods on to pull up as face coverings when we enter shops – but self-catering breaks and nationwide travel are back on.
I’m not rushing to get into a beer garden just yet but fishing is THE socially distanced sport and I can’t wait to start taking road trips around Scotland again.
It’s not so much the destination, or even the species, there’s a joy in getting up early with the car packed, listening to music and heading away while the world is still sleeping so you can avoid the inevitable delays on the A82 as you sweep past Loch Lomond heading north.
I can’t decide where to go and my friends and I have pored over a lot of trips in the last few months.
The limestone lochs in Caithness have huge Mayfly hatches spurring on the trout at the moment, tench will be active in the short Scottish summer, bass on either coast will be at their feisty best and a quick look down Fishpal’s river reports shows the number of salmon, grilse and sea trout that are running the rivers after the rains we’ve had.
Day tickets for non-locals are now available on the rivers and the summer migrations so it might just be the time to chase some silver.
Even before we lost the spring season, summer salmon fishing was becoming more popular in Scotland and it’s easy to see why.
The weather is often better and the days are longer so there is ample opportunity to fish from early dawn or well into the evenings when the fishing can be at its best.
In these low light conditions salmon often have the confidence to run upstream, especially if the water is low.
Grilse are the first salmon of any generation of smolts to return as adults, having spent one winter at sea, growing from a few ounces to small adults of several pounds weight. Fine tune your gear a little, especially if the water is low and clear, it will help you pick up some takes.
Try using fluorocarbon rather than of nylon as it’s less likely to spook the fish, particularly on smaller rivers.
When it comes to fly choices, everyone has their favourites but scaling down a little could get you a bonus fish or two.
Read the conditions and if the water has dropped and cleared, smaller dressed flies can often work best.
Usually flies which have a subtle appearance work well and for grilse, something like small-dressed stoat’s tails and silver stoats or micro tubes as the light fades.
Coloured water calls for a larger bolder fly such as Willie Gunn, Cascade or Ally’s Shrimp tied on tubes.