I love football tournaments and big match days. For anglers like me the World Cup is a rare treat. I was gutted when Rangers were kicked out of the SPL, no more regular Rangers v Celtic matches, leaving fisheries bereft of anglers on a Sunday afternoon. All the more space for me! The world cup means I should be able to get out and find places to myself a lot of the time.
The sun shone all day yesterday and it would be criminal not be out on the water. I fancied getting my line pulled a bit harder than usual so decided to take a short run down the M80 for an evening session at Burnhouse. Burnhouse is one of my favourite small water fisheries, not because its in particularly delightful surroundings or because it has gin clear water, it hasn’t, quite the opposite, it always looks very dark and murky but it has to be one of the most welcoming fisheries out there and I usually get something. I have never though fished it on an evening session but have heard it can have some fine top of the water sport, and if you know me, I do like my dry fly fishing.
So with my “private session booked” ( I arrived and there wasn’t a soul there – Ok one angler was leaving and there was the guy in the lodge) I looked to be getting the place to myself.
There was a light left to right breeze and little showing on top. I hoped the fish might be near the top so I set up a three fly team with a blood worm on point and a couple of buzzer type patterns on the droppers ( A Coulter Midge and a Gary McClurg– well it is it’s home water so it would be rude not to!) on a floating line.
Casting at Burnhouse with the place to myself
Fishing from the platform over the deeper water near the lodge I never had anything make itself known though I seen a few fish move on the opposite side of the lochan. The big problem though seemed to be that the breeze I think was carrying pollen from the high grass on the other side in towards me and I started sneezing…. and couldn’t stop!
After 15 minutes of constant sneezing I decided to move to get the breeze at my back. I went round and took the liberty of a total fly change, I happened to have a hothead damsel on my fly patch so much as I hate lure fishing I thought, hang it, tie it on point and a couple of smaller nymphs on the droppers.
Nothing here either. I changed again ( I wasn’t half an hour into my session at this stage!) and tied on a pearly cormorant on point and a couple of pearly snatchers on droppers. First cast I got a very hard pull when I felt the point fly was quite deep. A few more casts got nothing but I felt I was onto something here.
Just a few Caenis were about!
I seen a few fish move to my right so moved down one platform and while I was at it swapped to an intermediate line, trying to keep the flies deeper longer. By now the Caenis were on the hatch and I was covered in them, all moulting on my jacket.
A very long 3lb Rainbow from Burnhouse that fell to a Pearly Snatcher fished deep
I cast into the deeper water and thump, into a fish. It was a nice 3lb rainbow that I let play itself out before bringing it in. We need fish as today ( Friday) is the day we get a new member of the household, Boston the Boxer.
Having caught my one fish “quota” I decided I would much rather fish dries even though all that was showing looked to be wee Brown Trout. I tried a wee emerger “Yellow Owl” first but nothing seemed interested in it, so I tied on a split wing CDC, I would cheekily refer to as a Caenis pattern, it is, but tied on a 14 hook its a bit big to be classed as a lifesize replica! A fish rose to my left right on the edge of the platform to my left and my cast landed the fly bang on the money first time. The fish rose and it was on. I was surprised at the fight I got from the fish and it took me a wee minute to get the very pretty wild Brown Trout of about 3/4lb to a 1lb in and unhooked. I was about to take a photo of the fish as it was beautifully marked but it managed to flick itself off the platform into the water as soon as I went to take the snap.
Not the best shot but this fine wee wild Brownie managed to elude the camera when i went to get a shot before returning him, he had his own ideas and got back into the water!
I fished on with the dry and managed to get one more offer that I missed as my eye’s were closed mid sneeze! Bloody hay fever!
