End of March and it’s been bitterly cold and snowy for the last 2 or 3 weeks, with a stiff easterly breeze dampening any enthusiasm at all for fishing. Unfortunately Trevor had a week’s holiday booked and wanted a bit of company for at least one day’s fishing so I rather reluctantly booked a day… Continue reading Oban Skate Double (just not for me)
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.
Ice Fishing on Etive
Well, yesterday was one of these days that reminds you why you bother to go fishing in mid-winter. It started before 5 when I left Edinburgh in the midst of a mini-snowstorm, which fortunately petered out quickly as I drove inland, and by the time Alcatraz hit the water in Etive it was a lovely… Continue reading Ice Fishing on Etive
Lifting the Gloom on Etive
Went up to Taynuilt yesterday to get the boat wet for the first time since early December, and fish Etive properly for the first time in many months. It was a nice calm morning, but full of the dank, misty gloom that the Scottish Highlands do so well, with no glimpse of the mountain tops… Continue reading Lifting the Gloom on Etive
Opening shot for 2013 – Leven, Sunday 6 January
I’m unashamedly a fair weather fisherman and will do my best to avoid the windier and wetter days, but I was starting to climb the walls after too much Christmas cheer and needed to get out for a few hours. Fortunately Sunday morning looked to have a decent weather window, so I chucked a couple of… Continue reading Opening shot for 2013 – Leven, Sunday 6 January
Shivering on Sunart
This is the tale of a trip to the wilder parts of Scotland in mid-December, and one that came together quite wonderfully well given the preceding forecasts and work getting in the way of the participants. Of course, trailing a boat across to Ardnamurchan for 3 days fishing hardly counts as a great adventure but… Continue reading Shivering on Sunart
An Icy day at Etive
Occasionally, but increasing frequently, I find myself going on trips where the fishing is less important than simply soaking up the wild beauty that Scotland can still offer if you take a little time to find it. Today was one such day – the forecast was for a few hours of cold, clear weather overnight… Continue reading An Icy day at Etive
Leven Thornbacks
November 11, Ballachulish I’d gone across to Leven with a view to launching at the bridge only to find the slipway is now effectively blocked off by the RIB used by the sea school at Ballachulish, so I ended up slipping Alcatraz at the slate slip alongside the Isles of Glencoe Hotel. Easy enough to… Continue reading Leven Thornbacks
Etive Fireworks
20 October 2012 – Loch Etive Literally! I was sitting in the boat off Barrs last night when suddenly, after an hour of stargazing, the sky was lit up with great flashes of light as a firework display suddenly started up from behind the old lodge on the north shore. Although the spectacle didn’t last… Continue reading Etive Fireworks
Solo Skating off Oban
October 7th 2012 – Oban It’s been a couple of years since I last fished out of Oban, but the forecast was good and the tides small enough to have a reasonable stab at the skate grounds. Also it gave a chance to meet up with an old friend who I hadn’t seen for almost… Continue reading Solo Skating off Oban
25 March – Loch Leven
After a couple of decent trips to Loch Leven and catching some decent rays, it was a fairly easy choice to make to head back that way for a lazy day’s fishing. The hour had just changed so I took pity on Ian and arranged to meet at Lochearnhead at 7.30, with a view to… Continue reading 25 March – Loch Leven