The sun was bright in a fairly clear sky when I got out of bed and judging that there was little or no wind too, I figured I had to go have a couple of hours at Pendreich, though with it having been so cold and windy I didn’t figure that catching fish would be likely. I got up the hill and ascended the dam embankment hoping there would be little wind to speak of. First impression as I stepped out the car, the weather seemed calm and even mild so I was hoping I wasn’t going to be blown off my feet as I topped the dam. I reached the top, not a breath, and the loch seemed….. Wait a minute? its frozen! The entire loch was a huge ice rink. But for a strip of about 20 feet up the north bank the rest was solid. I went to see if it was merely a thin veneer of ice, but no it was a good half to three-quarters of an inch thick. So that was that then.
So where to now?
Ice hadn’t even figured in my line of thought so where could I go? Orchil was likely to be frozen, as its high and prone to it in winter. Swanswater and Wellsfield have both got decent anti icing measures so I decided to head to Swanswater though bearing in mind its Easter weekend it might be busy.
Pendreich frozen over. I heard later that Menteith was frozen as was Gladhouse, a first for the time of year in about 40 years.
The car park was reassuringly ( for me if not the fishery owner Alastair) quiet, not indicative of it being especially busy and a few anglers were on the small ponds out front. I decided to get a 4 hour ticket though to be frank I didn’t think I would last that long. I ventured up to the main water, imagine my surprise when it seemed to be fairly busy. It seemed like a club was in or at least an awful lot of anglers who knew each other! The dam wall and east bank were full, they have been the hot spots recently I believe.
I headed round near the bridge with an intermediate line and a nymph/ Cormorant pair of flies. A few casts. Nothing, though it’s quite a shallow spot, so I decided to head for deeper water. A peg was free at the channel on the island so I headed there for the deeper water and hopefully some fish.
The idea I think was fine but there were no fish.
I swapped flies a few times, I tried a few small fly/ big lure combos and made sure I was getting right through the water column but never had a touch. A couple of the “club anglers” were having success to my right I think fishing dancers or big yellow damsels.
I gave a yellow dancer a swim much as I hate lure fishing but nothing touched. The weather had turned from still to windy to windy and snowing. Casting was at times tricky into the jaws of the sub-zero easterly that whipped in.
It was then I noticed that the roadside pegs, previously frozen, were now fishable. Time to escape the crowds.
Having got round there I changed flies yet again. I tried bloodworms, a few more lures and then decided a change of tack was called for. There were midges hatching off during a few brief interludes in the wind when the temperature tried to rise and the sky lifted a little. An Okey Dokey and a small olive epoxy. I fished this through right along the roadside bank but if there was anything there it wasn’t interested. The wind eased and the sun came out and the odd fish moved well out beyond a floating aereator, taking I presumed the hatching midges.
On the opposite side a trio of anglers, again seemingly with the club had a couple of fish. They were fishing lures and the tactic I heard one say, was take a fish and rest the swim for 20 minutes and then take another fish. Effective it seemed but a bit boring. I wondered how long before the water would fill up with fag butts rendering it unfishable with the number they were getting through. Why can’t smokers dispense with the effluent of their habit in the bin that’s provided for the purpose at each peg? They had bagged up and moved off. I fully expected others to fill the vacant pegs but they didn’t. Time to hobble round. By now I was two and a half hours in and hadn’t touched a fish.
Having moved round, I occupied the peg I refer to as Nan’s peg after the lady who fishes Swanswater regularly and has somewhat made it her own!
My first cast round here and I got a slight tug, tentative but definitely a fish. I had just done telling another angler who arrived beside me that I hadn’t had any interest all day. A few more casts still nothing no more interest, but maybe buzzers were the way with some adjustment tot he set up. My neighbour then had a fish on a yellow damsel that was him bagged up, he retired to the shelter to spectate and another chap took his place. So maybe a different buzzer and something that would stay at a more consistent depth? On with a 40+ floater, the leader was adjusted to fish three flies, a beaded red buzzer on point, a small black buzzer on mid dropper and a small black Cruncher on top. I fixed a tiny fish pimp to hold the whole team vertically. I couldn’t really see it but it was doing the job of a bung holding the buzzers at 18 inches, 6 feet and 10 feet in front of me.
First cast and I had some interest but it was so subtle I was late to strike. Next cast and the line shot off, fish on and a very decent lean, fully finned, long rainbow of 3lb was after a fight, netted. I don’t think it was a recent addition. It was never getting off it was solidly hooked on the black buzzer.
My new neighbour was into a fish too now, also it seemed on a buzzer. Next cast I missed another fish, next cast another knock. Cooking with gas now!
Soon enough number two was on, on the red buzzer. Not huge but strong fight. Again solidly hooked in the scissors.
Leader sorted out and more knocks before with 10 minutes left, number three came to the tiny black buzzer. It was wrecked by the fish`s teeth so just as well it was my bag limit!
Moving to find the fish had once again at Swanswater proven to be key. A number of anglers fished the roadside pegs and not a single fish was touched. The long reach of the 40+ line opened up a pocket holding fish that I suspect was barely touched by the other lure dragging anglers and giving the time for the buzzers to fish was critical.
Alastair at the lodge said I was the first angler in a while who was catching on buzzers, everyone was catching on lures. It’s good to be different.
