… 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
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.
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
A few hours SIB’ing on Leven
Ballachulish looked pretty dismal when I arrived just before nine, with low, dark cloud and a bitter wind driving light rain across my windscreen. Not exactly perfect conditions to be out in a little inflatable… I headed up the loch to see if conditions were any better inland and was rewarded by a lighter breeze… Continue reading A few hours SIB’ing on Leven
Boat camping in December
Being firmly towards the “bah humbug” end of the spectrum regarding Christmas I was already thinking of a trip west when Trevor phoned with pretty much the same idea – a couple of days boat fishing together combined with a bracing overnighter in a tent. I’ve never camped in the UK in December before so that would… Continue reading Boat camping in December
Shore rays
I didn’t fancy the hassle of a boat today, so just chucked the shore rods in the car and headed west. The idea was to split the day, with a few hours fishing at Loch Leven and then spend the afternoon having a bash at Loch Creran, which I’ve never tried before. Leven was both… Continue reading Shore rays
More Leven Thornbacks
My last visit to Loch Leven was back in early March and the only thing I caught was an ambulance ride to hospital with a broken leg, so I was rather hoping to avoid a repeat performance when dropped the inflatable into the water at Ballachulish. The intended target was thornbacks, but I was conscious… Continue reading More Leven Thornbacks
Oban
I’m always a bit wary of Oban – there’s some big fish around but it can be pretty hit or miss with a lot of waiting around between any excitement. And hauling up a large skate in over 500 feet of water is a taste I’ve never really acquired, all of which perhaps explains why… Continue reading Oban