The plan was to use the narrow, winding and un-gritted road into Glen Etive to access the headwaters of Loch Etive and drop the inflatable in where the river reaches the sea – then head off for an overnight camp, fish and stargaze. Things went just fine to start with, until I stepped ashore and… Continue reading Assault on Glen Etive
Category: West Coast
Anything relating to Scottish west coast and sea lochs, and exploring and fishing them. This is a catch-all category for posts that don’t fall neatly into one of my usual fishing grounds. For example, posts about Loch Etive are shown in a category of that name. For SW Scotland have a look at Galloway.
Shorefishing on Loch Leven
Well, the original plan had been a session from Ian’s boat, chasing St. Andrews cod and Pollack, but the virtual closure of the Forth Bridge put the brakes on that. It’s been a good while since I was last shorefishing on Loch Leven so a hasty rethink saw the rods packed in the car and… Continue reading Shorefishing on Loch Leven
Re-visiting Etive
It’s been weeks since I was last out, and it’s been frustrating watching a shedload of wet and windy weather blasting through on any available free time. However a calm sunny day was forecast for the Etive area so I decided to combine that with an over-nighter boat camping well up the loch. Launching in… Continue reading Re-visiting Etive
Back to Oban for more Skate Fishing
It was a bit of a toss up whether to head to Etive or carry on a bit and try fishing for skate off Oban, but a combination of small tides and calm weather tempted Ian and I into a spot of skate fishing from Gallanach. My reservations about skate hunting were further overcome when the sun… Continue reading Back to Oban for more Skate Fishing
A Pilgrimage to Sandwood Bay
Very remote, often stormy, and always stunning, Sandwood is a broad sandy bay guarded on either end by sandstone cliffs hundreds of feet high which sits in the extreme and rather inaccessible NW corner of the Scottish mainland. Over the years it has acquired an almost mystical reputation as a place to visit, complete with the ghosts of drowned… Continue reading A Pilgrimage to Sandwood Bay
Oars out on Loch Leven
… or a trip cut short. I’d another crack at Loch Leven with the Avon a couple of weeks ago as Ian was otherwise occupied and it seemed a waste to take the bigger boat across when the forecast was for fine, sunny weather. Well the forecast was spot on, and it was almost too… Continue reading Oars out on Loch Leven
Struggling on Etive
I haven’t been back to Etive since my Xmas camping trip with Trevor, so it was first choice for a daytrip – and besides I still needed a spurdog for my 2015 species count and Etive is the most reliable place I know for them. Ian was otherwise tied up so I press-ganged the dog into… Continue reading Struggling on Etive
More codling from Loch Leven
Took a use it or lose it day’s leave today and decided to go for quantity rather than quality with a few hours trying for codling on Loch Leven. The forecast suggested the wind would rise in the early afternoon so I set the alarm for a silly time and packed the SIB in the… Continue reading More codling from Loch Leven
SIBing the Avalanche Shelter at Loch Carron
It’s been four years since my last visit to Loch Carron, mainly because it’s over 200 miles and 4+ hours away, and because the fishing is OK rather than good. However it’s a fine place to visit and I could do with a change from the standard winter choices of Etive or Leven, so the… Continue reading SIBing the Avalanche Shelter at Loch Carron
A Trickle of Thornbacks
A lovely sunrise over Rannoch Moor had turned into a somewhat greyer and rawer day at Ballachulish, but it was still and calm as Ian and I launched and headed over to the fish farm and anchored up in search of thornbacks. First fish came a few minutes later when my little spinning rod bent over to the unmistakeable struggle of… Continue reading A Trickle of Thornbacks