Paying for it now

Regular readers of my blog will know I do suffer from “Aches and Pains” in general a bit more than is normal for my age. Last year I was grounded around this time, I spent most of the summer not moving much at all as it was too sore to do so, and my fishing was pretty limited. For reasons I don’t understand things have been a lot more tolerable since probably around November time, there have been a few sore days along the way but in general I am in a much better place than I was last year. My suspicion is it will be one of these things that will ebb and flow, times will be really bad others when I am about as close to normal as I can ever hope to be. At present I am towards the more normal end of the scale. So I have to take advantage of that while I can. I think a full day’s fishing would be out for me still, OK I could maybe push myself and get away with it as long as I take a lot of breaks but it wouldnt be hardcore full on. But 4 even 5 hours are achievable and this week I have , while off on a weeks holiday , tried to get out for some evening sessions.

You may already have read about Sunday and Monday at Pendreich and Millhall. I do like to go to places I haven’t been before and Millhall ticked that particular box.

Loch Coulter

Tuesday I thought would be a dead night up at Coulter and with the weather fairly settled I decided to pop up there around tea time to try get a boat for the evening. I was astonished to see the car park almost full! Don’t you people know there is a World Cup on- away and watch telly! There was though only one boat out and (incorrectly) two tied up on the jetty. Another angler and I think his son had turned up in front of me and had obviously spied the spare boat that meant not needing to maneuver boats around and he was getting geared up in a very hurried fashion obviously to grab the spare before I took one. I have to be honest and say that’s fair enough but any time I have been up and seen someone having to maneuver boats on their own I always offer to give them a hand even if its only to grab the rope while they bring it near the jetty. This wasn’t in this chaps mind at all clearly. Fair enough I guess he isn’t obliged to. Maybe just as well. As I was getting the outboard and battery and stuff out the boot of the car I noticed “water” lying in the boot. It took me a minute to twig what was going on then I realised the battery ( which I carry in a box) had tilted and it looked to have spilled a little acid out the breather hole into the boot! ARGHHHH No!

Fortunately the rubber boot mat I have saved me as its tolerant to such  spills but a bit did get on the carpet and burnt it a little. I spent the next half hour hurriedly getting some water from the loch and diluting all the spills and washing down the mat.

I was fortunate though as the one other boat out, came back in and this gave me a boat to use without hassle.

Once finally geared up, boat loaded and organised I was off and headed to North Bay, Sandy Bay and East bay.As I was casting off, another angler who had been there all day and had been fishless warned me “its dour”.

There were loads of fish moving in North Bay but I couldn’t tempt them with the various dries I tried, and even a couple of wets. They were rising all over but never seemed too near the boat so covering them was hard work. As the time wore on the wind dropped and the forecast and threatening rain vanished turning it into a stunning evening.

Out in the middle of the bays there were loads of fish moving now in the flat calm conditions. I was on 4lb leader, well degreased and with a single fly on but it wasn’t getting me any traction with the fish. I did eventually manage to rise one fish to a CDC bubble wing Sedge on the very edge of East Bay but it wasn’t setting the heather alight. Sedges were coming off in quite large numbers but the fish looked to be taking just sub surface, I suspect they were on the rising Caddis Pupa and I didn’t have any suitable patterns for this. I did try a shuttlecock buzzer ( again) and did eventually hook solidly into a decent fish of I would estimate somewhere between 1 and a half and 2 pounds. It certainly pulled back and leapt a few times, but I was confident I was Ok as it felt really solidly hooked.

Until it came off!

I think the screams of anguish were heard on Glasgow, or maybe that was just in my head. I hope so!

As the sun set in spectacular fashion the fish continued to mock my presence, they would rise in an area, I would gently move over to get near and they would vanish to rise elsewhere. It was like herding sheep with a crap sheepdog, the closer I wanted them the further they got away!

I gave up and headed back to the Jetty before it got too dark only to discover my “friend” who had taken a boat ahead of me and kindly left two boats moored on his return, leaving yours truly to have to once again maneuver boats to get a place to moor myself. Words will be exchanged if I see him again.

Carron Valley

On Wednesday I felt pretty good it has to be said, and was toying with some other options for that evening. I have never fished Carron Valley reservoir from a boat. I was lined up to go once but it was blown off, and my previous two outings here were from the  shore though I had some good success. Nice Rainbows the first time and a few nice Brownies the second.

I decided to go for it and headed there for an evening session. I arrived in the car park and seen Carron regular, Angling Active staff member and Carron masters Runner up Derek McAlpine was there. I think he practically lives there. No idea how he affords it, Martin must be paying him too much in AA! He said he had been there 4 nights on the trot this week! I often speak to Derek when he serves me in the shop, his main haunt in Carron and the Clyde for the ladies in Winter I beleive.

The tactics he told me to use were not a million miles off my own regular tactics anyway. I usually give the shuttlecock buzzers a go early on and sedges later, and he said that’s what he was using but usually only on a single fly cast. To be fair he did tell me some of the areas to try but as I don’t know the names of bays and it all looks very big and different once you are out there in a boat, I have to be honest and say it washed over me a bit. I tried to take it in but it didn’t stick, a bit like last nights fish!

The water I was told was very low and I was to take care not to get too close to the sides and watch not start or run the motor in the shallows. After motoring out I realised it was surprisingly breezy and there was a fair wave on the water. Not “rough” but more than a ripple. I headed for a couple of bays on the far side ( I was told to keep over that side to avoid too many shallow skerries and reefs that I might ground on. I have to say I often don’t bother with a life-preserver when out on lochs in a boat, especially smaller waters, but I was happy to wear my own one out here tonight. I seen a few fish move to my left as I drifted down the bays but it meant casting into the wind to cover them and my fly always seemed to land down wind of the fish if it was anywhere near and the boat was carrying me down quite quickly. Add to this I notices the shallow patches of drying weed and I was having to row the boat out to avoid grounding, it was all quite hard work.

I needed to move. While I was fishing I thought I had seen Derek and his boat partner ( Martin the boss of AA) go by, so I decided to see if I could see where they were headed. Out on Carron Valley there is an awful lot of water and I genuinely felt like a total beginner, its a huge place and you feel very small out there in a boat. I seen what i thought was them up ear the island out in the middle. I headed near by but then quickly realised it wasn’t them and not having seen any other boats pass I thought maybe I was mistaken. I decided to fish down one of the wind lanes that had formed in the quite choppy water, my dry-fly was well treated and was easy to see as long as I did not cast too far ahead of the boat. Nothing was moving out there though so I decided to make another move over to one of the bays on the road side of the reservoir. As I neared I could see fish rising so maybe this was a good move. My first drift down the bay wasn’t too bad, though I was a bit far out, and al the fish seemed to be on my left side so second time I slowly edged in as close to shore as I dare and tried a second drift. It was still hard to target fish but they were here, though i wasn’t sure if they were maybe mainly small Brownies. I noticed a few sedges so decided to tie on a Sedgehog and As I flicked it out over the side of the boat ready for a proper cast a fish came up and took it. I couldn’t get tension on it quick enough and it flailed around on surface leaving me bemused as to what it actually was. It was silver but not big enough to be a typical 2lb rainbow. Maybe only about a 1lb in size. I later found out from the lodge keeper that they do stock 8″ fish to grow on for the next year so that’s probably the explanation.

Then the west wind dropped and a huge buzzer hatch began. Fish were moving everywhere. I had a two fly cast of Sedgehog and shuttlecock buzzer and twice fish rose to both flies at the same time and twice I missed both of them. I say missed, I did lift they just weren’t attached!

Fly fishing really is a sport of gentlemen until this happens, two missed double hookups!
Then the wind came up again but 180 degrees opposite, it was now an East wind. Around now I seen Derek motor by in his boat with Martin, Derek waved and I waved back and shouted across to see if they were getting anything but they clearly couldn’t hear me. I could hear them clear as day, discussing….”thats some bloke who comes in the shop but I dinnae know his name….” Martin replied….   ” you don’t know who he is but you’re waving at him..?…“. Nice to know after all these years you have made an impression. 🙂

I decided to follow on down the lock, if anyone knows where to fish here its Derek so where he was there should be fish. They moved into the area of the Dam Wall, they were over near the moorings for the boats so I stayed over the other side. It was flat calm and a few fish were rising. I tied on a CDC Sedge after turning the boat. The boat was still drifting a little from the momentum of the motor running when I cast out my line to cover a fish at middle distance. It took the fly instantly but the boat movement had put a bow in my line and lift as I might and recover line I couldn’t get the slack in quick enough and the fish got free! Dam!

The next half hour got fe offers on sedges so for the last ten minutes I tried a wee black parachute fly. First cast with this I connected with a fish, it pulled back very hard but in the light I think I probably struck a little too late and it was off. It really wasn’t my night. It was getting darker and I decided to call it a night, I was feeling a bit sore, physically and metaphorically.

As I moored I seen Derek hook into a fish, ” He has been catching all night”, Cameron, the lad at the jetty said. That made me feel miles better.

I could hardly move on Thursday morning I was so stiff and sore. Definitely too much fishing, paying for it all now.

I will be back!