Familiar snags
GIVEN half a chance, I’ll wax lyrical about fishing in Scotland – there are plenty of social interactions that descend into fishing chat, swapping recommendations of where to go or what to fish for.
There are a few iconic symbols of Scotland that can suck the joy out of a fishing trip, however.
Midges are a perennial menace, and it would appear that thistle and heather have evolved to snag errant fly lines.
I’ve been out on the river for a few short trips this week taking advantage of the rise in water levels catching some little trout and grayling.
The last trip I just took my wellies for a quick trek, hoping to catch some rising fish, a nice easy trip until I was too far to turn back and had found some better fish lazily rising under some cover.
The edge was a bit deep to get into a better position wearing wellies, so I was trying to get my fly over the fish from the edge, which translated into me untangling line from the bankside thistle.
It’s apparently been a good growing season and I drove myself up the wall getting one cast out of three out smoothly, while swearing at the undergrowth.
Taking a hint – and before I chucked my rod in the river – I went back up the bank looking for a better break.
Quick climb up a different bit of the banking, a slip into a gully I didn’t spot in the scrub and wee bit of water up over the top of my boots left me sat in a cloud of midges regretting my clumsiness.
The first time I bought myself a pair of waders I’d been fishing hill lochs outside Lochgilphead.
I’d done a couple of hours walk on the first day only to realise that there was heather all the way to the steep rocky shore that meant I spent far longer fiddling about with loops of line than with flies on the water.
It’s been a few decades and I’m a slightly better angler but still easily frustrated.
I trudged off the hillside that day and bought myself some John Wilson-style thigh waders in the tackle shop along with my ticket next morning.
I clearly remember the joyful difference of taking one step beyond the grabbing bonnie heather to make a clean cast most of the day.
You never really need to wade far, in hill lochs or rivers plenty of Brownies hang out close to shore picking off the terrestrials that love overhanging vegetation.
Creep into the water and try not to scare the fish in the margins or pick a point and get yourself set up in a good position then wait for the pool to settle.
Patience is always a requirement for anglers but it comes much easier when you’re not pulling flies out of trees overhead and plants underfoot.