After an almost totally still end to the day yesterday and much the same but with heavy showers, early morning today, I think we all got lulled into thinking the worst of the recent weather had passed the island of Islay. By the time we hit the wee loch ( I don’t know the real name of this wild loch on the Lossit Estate) there was builing, a very blustery wind.

Some nice light and rain passing over the house at Lossit Estate

The guys in our party here with Fly Fish Islay who were faster at getting organised and out, than I am – I cannot tell a lie I am a bit of a faff when it comes to getting ready, say that for the first ten minutes or so it was really quite pleasant. But by the time I was on the bank it was clear the conditions were not going to be easy.

On the wee loch with Shaun and the Paps of Jura behind

I went to the end of the bay I had had a bit of success on here, last year and had a fish first cast, on the same fly that did me so weall las year the green tag Kate.

I just worked my way down the bank and again like last year the further you could cast out square to the bank the better and more sure you would be of a decent fish. My second  fish was my best of this particular session on the wee Loch and while not long was chunky and fat.  By the time I had fished out this bank I had had eight or nine fish and lost and missed a few too.

Post Fishing Dram

This evening’s post fishing nip was Strathisla 12 year old Single malt,a whisky from Speyside despite any connotations of island roots the name might suggest, This whisky is from near Keith.
Tasting Notes from David Wood of Distilled Events and Fly Fish Islay

On the nose cut grass, summer meadows and on the palate fresh fruit and citrusy, and on the finish lengthy with the faintest waft of peat smoke.Very fruity on the nose, particularly woodland fruit.

On the palate, strawberries and blackberries and cinnamon and a long “Christmas Day” in a bottle finish.

I wandered round the bank to where Shaun was and then was getting ready to have a go further up the bank when Dougie the guid shouted that everyone was gone as the wind was too hard to deal with and that conditions were ideal back at Lossit.

I was happy to keep going but we decided to head back with everyone else. Back at Lossit the wind was much more benign and Dougie had got the boats ready for fishing. Myself and Shaun opted to use a boat, I hadn’t fished from a boat at Lossit on this trip so thought why not. By the time we had geared up and motored out on a near perfect gentle ripple and lined the boat up for our firt drift the wind had changed. In the blink of an eye the wind switched 90 degrees and became a blustery chop in a less than idea direction.

Best fish of the day for me on Lossit

I very rapidly changed the drift and we started fishing into the reedy bay near the top corner of the loch. After picking up a few fish here between us, we moved around to the far side of the island and picked up a few more. My last fish was another decent long fish though this time without the rudder that was on my last fish yesterday. By the end of play I had had twelve or thirteen Brown Trout and had lost or dropped a fair few more. Good fun, but I decided to save myself for another closing hour before sunset when the big boys came out last night but as I write, the wind hasn’t really relented and so a night in front of a roaring fire and a fe wee drams beckons.