On 28th July 1980 I started work at what was called the Scottish Telecommunications Board of the Post Office Telephones…. and which became the BT we all know and love today.
(no snarky comments please!).
I was a scrawny 16 year old right out of 4th year in High School and around the table of “Youth’s in Training” was Alan, who was almost to the day a year older than me.
Alan and I got to know each other over the next 3 years of our Apprenticeship and became very good friends, probably as much as anything through our mutual love of motorbikes. Alan was a confirmed Pike Angler and though maybe not as hardcore these days, still has an outing or two for Esox lucius each year. At the time Alan and I knocked about together, I was not really fishing that much though still had the odd outing with my dad on rivers and reservoirs, but I do recall a few outings on the canal at Fountainbridge in Edinburgh for Jacks with Al and a rather dreich and hungover few days in a Caravan in Pitlochry where we went up Faskally for “proper” Pike. I caught my first and still my biggest ever that day- I think it was around 6-8lb, though to be fair it was Alan who set up all the gear and prepared the baits etc. I didn’t have a clue!
I don’t recall fishing together since then and in fact, though in touch with Alan fairly frequently on fB, we haven’t met up in some years. Alan has retired from now ( lucky sod!) and last week suggested we get together for a wee bit trout fishing. While not a frequent Fly angler Alan does have all the gear as his Dad ( who sadly passed away some years ago) was a fly angler and fly tier, and Al still makes use of his rod and reels ( which considering their age were in quite remarkable state!). Alan had told me about catching a double-figure Rainbow at Swanswater some years ago, on an outing I think with his Dad, and suggested we maybe go along there it being near at hand. However last night as I was browsing some fishing groups on fB I noticed a video posted by Kinross Trout Fishery showing some absolute monster Rainbows getting stocked. That looked a bit of a laugh and I suggested to Alan we maybe meet up at Kinross, arguably less of a trip for Alan and only 20 odd miles for me- so seemed fair, and that was the plan and I rocked up to the car park bang on 9 as arranged to meet my old chum.
[amazon_link asins=’B077BWS64S’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’halleynet-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’06d99a2b-b0a0-11e8-9ecb-ef6e41971e0f’]The fishery which I will post a review page on shortly ( maybe by the time you read this) is I think a flooded quarry, and formed of 4 pools that looked to be interlinked though in angling terms as discrete. Each has a “name”, Baxter and Charlie being the larger fly ponds, one at 3 acres the other at 5, and Dougray and Ross, being smaller Bait ponds. Being as I say, a former quarry it should be no surprise to understand that though the surrounding area is very lush and green betraying no hint of its former purpose, the water is very deep even close in to the edge.
Angler, Derek letting a 15lb Rainbow back into the pond called Baxter
With rods set up and having been told by the owner just to go on and he would catch us later for permit fees, we set off for 4 hours catch and release. The Owner, Garry, told us to take his nets as they were much bigger than my fairly standard stillwater net, and would be needed if we snared a lump! No sooner had we picked up the nets and started to saunter to the fly ponds than we heard a shout, and an angler was into a collosal Rainbow at the very first peg on the bigger of the two ponds which I think is called Baxter. Garry wanted to be informed if you caught a big fish but had gone away a message so we went over to lend assistance to the lad who was struggling with the mammoth fish. I saw his net which would have been fine for a 2lb rainbow, at a push but was definitely a bit small for such a leviathan.
“I think you need a bigger net” I quipped, thinking of that oldie quote from Jaws.
I stepped forward while he tried to contain the lunges of the lump of a ‘bow. It was fairly subdued until Derek tried to get its head up and then it went mental thrashing around.
Al enjoying the shelter and sunshine at the top platform
After a few tense minutes I was able to quickly scoop under the fish and it was safely netted, weighed a quick snap and released. It weighed a whapping 15lbs in the net and to be honest the net weighed next to nothing. It swam off pretty strongly and we left the lad shaking a bit with all the excitement, while we looked for somewhere to fish. There was a very blustery wind and two pegs on the Charlie Pond seemed OK to start with the wind behind us casting to a floating island. We fished for maybe 15 minutes both of us I think with pulling patterns on floating lines, I never had so much as a touch though the odd fish topped in front of me but Alan had a couple of splashes near his flies and I think had one good pull. I decided as it was pretty bright at times in the sun, to change tactics and tied on a second dropper and put a couple of small buzzers under a dry. I had only fish like this a few minutes when my Klinkhammer dipped under and I lifted into my first Rainbow of the day, a fish around one and three-quarter pounds on the red buzzer fished about 5 feet subsurface.
About 10 minutes later I had a second slightly bigger fish that jumped and leapt all over the place in front of me and took me a fair while to contain even with the drag on the reel.
We decided on a move and as there seemed to be little to no space to fish left on this pond we wandered over to the other which was much quieter. We found some space near the top end but I never saw or touched a fish. I decided to change to an intermediate as the depth seemed to drop away steeply ahead of me. After a while it was time to move and I took a wander along the steep tree-lined bank on what I think would be the west side. I found a space to fish from but to be honest while the high bank on its own might have been something you could adapt to, this in combination with some big trees made casting any distance, even 30 feet, really very hard indeed. It was doubly frustrating as every time the sun disappeared behind the clouds fish would rise maybe 35 feet out and I simply could not reach them. I did get a couple of stiff pulls on a Cats Whiskers Zonker fished about 5 feet down, and one follow right in from what looked to be a fish about 3lb or so but no takes. Alan though did hook into a fish and got it to the net. I have to say for someone who doesn’t fly fish much his casting was pretty good and his 20-year-old fly line went out straight as a die!
Alan’s second fish, I think a Blue/Rainbow hybrid maybe
He joined me on the tree-lined bank and first cast there hooked into a second fish which looked to be a bit of a Rainbow/Blue Hybrid, a wee bit smaller but no less welcome, on a small Cats Whiskers. I moved further down and for the last hour fished in what appeared to be some very deep water in the corner. Nothing seemed interested in my flies, I had by now reverted to a floater with a dry for a while as fish had been rising in front of me earlier but didn’t seem interested in my offering, and for my last while I went back to a three fly cast with a pink blob on top dropper and a couple of buzzers the red one on point again.
Blue trout, fish number three all on the red buzzer.
After fishing with not so much as a sniff for maybe 15 minutes I turned to Alan and said ” I don’t think there are any fish in this corner”. The words were still echoing from the high bank when I had a pull and was into a better Blue Trout which was getting on for two and three quarter to three pounds ( at a push). One again on the red buzzer! No sooner had I released it when I had just cast out and was letting the flies drop when there was another pull, on the drop and I lifted into resistance that suddenly slackened and I saw the flanks of a HUGE fish just turn subsurface. I am pretty sure it was a double figure fish and it had gone for the blob but it never hooked up. ( I have blobs tied with these heavyweight Partridge Barbless Blob Hooks, they are pretty heavyweight hooks. ( Have you had any issues hooking up fish with these as they seem pretty thick gauge metal? let me know in the comments) .
No sooner had it escaped my clutches than Alan too hooked into a big fish, he said he felt the line just totally lock up for about 3 seconds and he could feel it was something “proper” but again it released and was off.
And that was pretty much our excitement for the day. It was great fun meeting up with my old mate and spending some time fishing and chewing the fat and hopefully, it won’t be so long until the next time!.
