What a cracking day Saturday turned out to be, no wind and warm in the afternoon sunshine. I am having problems with standing/walking just now but it really was too good not to be out so with a few pills popped, I eased the aching body into the car and headed for somewhere I haven’t been for a surprising amount of time, Orchill Loch near Braco.
It wasn’t especially busy, there were a few guys who are probably a small club, on on the North Bank but there was plenty of space and the trout were rising pretty well everywhere, but were very noticeable near the lodge end.
Orchil looking gorgeous in Autumn sunshine
I set up with a tapered leader, 6lb flurocarbon on point and crossed the outflow to fish of the first peg on the far side. The fish were rising within feet of the casting platform but it wasn’t clear to what, as I think they were taking just below the surface. The only obvious flies were tiny midges so I tied on a size 16 black spider pattern, one of Will’s so called Curmudgeons.
First fish on the dry daddy, a good 3lb’s
Within a few minutes despite the less than shy fish, and one slight bulge that was obviously a fish looking but refusing, I still didn’t have anything and was thinking the fly was wrong. One of the anglers on the far bank had clearly changed tactics and his first cast with a dry netted him a fish. So I felt I was on the right tactic just needed to find the fly. I changed patterns maybe 3-4 times and had a few swirls but nothing really taking. I had worked through different styles of dries, emergers and surface flies then as I was looking at my fly patch came across a rather unrealistically bushy dry detached daddy long-legs. It was one I had tied myself, there was no doubt it would float but it was a bit of a mess, not helped by having been left in my fly patch for a week or two. I spruced it up and treated it to some dry shake, and cast out. First time a fish rose and took it confidently. A short fight ensued and I was soon netting a surprisingly large Rainbow, of at least 3lb’s. I say surprising as it fought but not really strongly. But it was a big deep fish. I unhooked it from the barbless fly in the net while still in the water, and supported it while it got its breath back and it swam off none the worse.
I stayed with the Daddy despite the tendency to twist the tippet which needed to be changed a few times, and though it turned a few more fish they weren’t totally convinced.
It was really nice to be out though, the sun was shining brightly, fish were showing everywhere and it was very pleasant indeed. But time for a change. I usually fish a three fly cast in good conditions when fishing subsurface but I decided to stick to two today. I felt keeping the flies relatively near the surface would be good. On point I put a olive holo, epoxy buzzer and a very natural looking nymph on the top dropper with about 6 feet between.
The buzzer was just nicked in the top lip, you can tell how the fish manage to not get hooked.
There were tons of fish rising in front of the lodge, 4 or 5 at a time, but suicidal they were not.
I had also moved up to show some different fish my flies. Within a few casts I had a number of plucks and strong pulls at the point fly. before one finally took, and jumped really high from the water managing to get itself free from the barbless fly. I then lost another fish at range which took the fly hard and steamed off in that difficult to eal with directly away from you fashion that see’s the tip of your rod bounce violently as you try to slow it, again the fly didn’t stay in and I fished it back to have a look at the gape. It was a normal buzzer hook and wasn’t at all bent or widened but I felt it wise to just give it a wee nip with the pliers to close the gape a little more. Just in case.
Within a few dozen more cast having had at least one more pull, I was finally into a fish, and this one was fighting hard. It took me a good while to net it but you can see why you don’t hook all these fish when you look how near the tip of the mouth the fly was hooked, literally just nipped in the top lip. Again the hook released, the fish went back easily, and another decent fish of at least 3lbs and probably a good bit more.
It quietened down after this and though I tried a few more spots up this bank I never got much more interest. One disconcerting thing was seeing a Thingumybobber swim by and stop and go back the way it came, clearly a fish had managed to break some unfortunate angler and was swimming round with the fly and the indicator still attached. I seen the fish, a rainbow of about 2lb swim up the burn then it swam back out into the loch.
I decided to head back to near the lodge, the fishery only had about three anglers on the bank now and two in a boat, so was very quiet, but my phone was flat and I didn’t know the time as the sun started to dip towards the trees.
Ready to swim back
It was about 17:20 so still 40 minutes to go or so but the feet were really hurting now so I was keen to cast out sit down and fish back slowly. There were tons of fish rising in front of the lodge, 4 or 5 at a time, but suicidal they were not. In the midst of the rising fish I spotted my wee friend with the indicator following it around. It shows the fish don’t stick in any particular area and moving round is a wise thing to do. I downsized to a tiny buzzer and a tiny Shipmans, and after one pull, did eventually hook and net number three, a much smaller fish of about a pound and a half at best, but it put up a reasonable fight so was good sport.
All in all a nice way to spend an afternoon and great to be out.
Fine day mate .. well done