Sutherland Adventure Part Three: Rain, more rain ….and midgies, lots and lots of midgies

Back on to the cross country hiking to access fishing waters today taking full advantage of my current steroid assisted state. I was allocated a beat called White Rocks which is directly behind Loch Stack Lodge at the west end of Loch Stack and under the 720 metre heights of Ben Stack. The mountain was shrouded in low cloud all day so you couldn’t see it.

The “beat”, part of the Scourie Hotel controlled water, consists of I think 6 lochans. They seem to be largely unnamed though maybe the maps I have looked at don’t show enough detail but if you look on an OS map, Lochain na Creige Gile is one of this cluster.

I think to do all 6 in one day, solo and fishing each reasonably well, would be a bit ambitious unless it was mid June and you started early, so my hike today saw me visit three of them ( or four depending how you view the first lochan which is actually bigger than you initially think and has a 5 metre wide by 10 metre long “burn” connecting the two main sections. It is considered one lochan but seems more like two.

The walk up was not bad at all, you walk along the stalking track from the road to a point where some burns converge, maybe about 15-20 minutes in. Then turning off the track you follow the side of a small burn that runs down from the first lochan. The instructions I had show a side track veering off the main track and crossing the wee burn up a small glen but I could not find it probably because there have not been that many anglers up there of late, so I just detoured off the main track where I could see the burn come down the glen.

Though it was crossing rough ground it was much easier walking than the route into Gorm or Strathain and it only took about 15-20 minutes more to find myself on the bank of the lower lochan. The weather though was grim, incessant, all penetrating rain and a blustery though not overly strong breeze. I had taken the decision when setting out to put an extra thermal layer on under my Simms G4 Goretex shell wading jacket`and to don my Goretex hat I have for winter fishing and in the event I think this made the whole day much more manageable. I think even if you are wet, if you are warm you can function and enjoy the experience. Once cold eats into you its game over. Though by the end of the day all my gear was soaked through, to the skin, ( apart from my boots which were merely damp inside which is nothing short of astonishing).

My initial fly set up was a wet daddy on point, a Clan Chief on the middle and a heather fly snatcher on the top dropper.

No Green tailed Kate? The story goes, I lost my last bigger one at na Thull yesterday unfortunately, and though I have a few smaller variants in my box I rather stupidly left my reading glasses in the car and struggled to thread the smaller eyed fly onto my leader, so I gave up and tried the Clan Chief instead!

No drama though, I had a couple of very cautious pulls over my first four casts then after moving about 5 metres, hooked my first fish of the day, on the wet daddy.

I then moved on, you can’t fish every inch, as some of it is quite weedy and the wind simply made it impossible. At the next fishable area I had a wee bit better fish, about 9” and VERY fat, on the Clan Chief. As I fished I noticed a Highland stag on the crest of the hill opposite me stop to look down on me. I am sure it shouted down asking me how I was doing….. or was that just the voices in my head….they told me to do it…… Realising then the lochan was bigger than I initially thought I kept moving and fishing as best I could, and this took me into the second half which is  more like a second lochan due to this interconnecting “micro” burn that connects to it. Almost right away I lost a fish then a few more paces seen me net one. Again, nothing of any significant size, just typical wild loch brownies.

I then noticed a few fish rising further out and spotted some quite sizeable black midges. Based on yesterdays lessons at na Thull and “matching the hatch I had a rake in my dry fly box for something small and black. A Griffiths Gnat might have been ideal or a small CDC midge/ F-Fly, but most of them were in my river dry fly box…..back in the car, and even had I had them I doubt I could tie one on as my glasses were, back in the car!

The only smallish black fly I had was a Black Gnat, it would have to do. I simply chopped off the droppers on my leader and tied on the fly on the point. First cast, fish!

I had a second further along again. Some of the banks are again quite high so getting the fish out and back isn’t always that easy. I kept moving and reached a rather gorgeous looking spot where the burn from the lochan above enters. This had to be a good spot, first cast and a slightly better fish again. I kind of expected a few more here but nothing else showed an interest.

To get this far you do need to take your time as there is a steep drop above the loch that is only passable with care. It is worth putting the fly rod down and using walking poles to get some stability here.

On up the burn, it was still raining heavily but with the wind dropping the midges started to make their presence known. Stop for more than a couple of casts and they descended on you in clouds. I went to use my midgie spray, but guess what?

I left it in the car.

Not to worry I did have my buff on which is great for allowing you some protection against beasties. With it tucked in over my ears and under my hat. It didn’t help my hands though which were bitten mercilessly. The second lochan was very weedy for the first 2/3rds. S I walked up I noticed I was kicking up lots of daddy longlegs and so decided in my infinite wisdom to give the dry daddy one last go.

In one less weedy area I did, finally get a small fish on the daddy. I rose a few more and caught another but they were not that keen to take it. The third lochan was evidently up the line of another burn and after fishing the inflow unsuccessfully I headed to burn number three. Now not only was it raining, arguably a little lighter, I was now clearly in the cloud base. It was very wet like fishing in mist. And clouds of midges.

There were fish rising here no doubt taking the microscopic mites and after unsuccessfully trying the daddy again, I swapped back to the Black Gnat. Fly changing was a right chore with the midges biting but it did allow me to rise and hook one more fish though it came off as I brought it in. I had no idea how I might get it out anyway as the bank was about 6 feet high and being that I was by now, so totally sodden, I wasn’t that keen to try negotiate the bank the get down with wet clothes sticking to me.

I was still reasonably comfortable though, my feet seemed dry and most of all, I was warm. By now it was half three and I figured it wold take a good hour to walk out, more if I cast along the way. I had fancied fishing round the back of the first lochan on the way out but the micro burn was going pretty fast and was high enough that I decided against trying to cross it. I had a few casts along the way as much as I could tolerate the midges before having to move on.

In the event it took me about an hour from the third lochan to the stalking track on the way back. the ground seemed heavier going by then, likely due to the incessant rain.

Once I reached the track on the way out I flicked my Black Gnat into a pool on the wee burn at a likely looking spot and got an eighth (small) fish for the day.

The views up Loch Stack while grey and colourless were very moody and I stopped for one photo before reaching the car and setting about the dry off. I carry a “dry bag” in the car all the time in case I fall in when wading, so I have a change of clothes. Today was the first time I have needed to use it. Every layer was wet through, only my socks remaining merely damp.

For about 30 seconds I guess I was technically exposing myself in public as I had to change out of everything at the roadside! There was no one about so only the local wildlife would have been scared off. It was nice to be dry again after a enjoyable if wet and midgie bitten day.