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
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.
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
4 March 2012 – Loch Leven
I’d had a good session from the boat on Leven about three weeks ago, but hadn’t been out since. The forecast was OK, but with the probability of snow and also moderate winds in the afternoon, so I decided to leave the boat at home and take the shore rods to try a couple of… Continue reading 4 March 2012 – Loch Leven
12 Feb 2012 – Rays galore at Loch Leven
Weather:Calm, or light WNW wind. Dry and cloudy. Cold Sea:Calm Time:0845-1715 – 8.5 hours Tides:HW0920/LW1530 Given two less than fantastic trips to Loch Etive this year I thought I’d revisit a loch that I’ve not fished for several years – Loch Leven. I snuck the boat in at the old ferry slip under the bridge… Continue reading 12 Feb 2012 – Rays galore at Loch Leven
5 February 2012 – Etive (yet) again!
Weather: Cold – but calm. A few showers and a little sun, but mainly overcast Sea: The usual Etive millpond. Surface water temperature up over 2 degrees in past 3 weeks – 6.5, up from 4.3 degrees last trip. Time: 0830 – 1930 – 11 hours Tides: HW 0605 (1.5m) LW 1325 (0.4m) HW 1840… Continue reading 5 February 2012 – Etive (yet) again!
15 Jan 2012 – Etive Fails to Shine
Weather: Cold! – but little wind. A little sun but mainly overcast Sea: The usual Etive millpond, with a few ripples. Temperature down to 4.3 degrees now Time: 0900-1700 – 8 hours Tides: HW 1100 – smallish tide An overdue chance to blow a few cobwebs away saw me leaving home at about 5.30 a.m.… Continue reading 15 Jan 2012 – Etive Fails to Shine
30 December 2011 – Loch Sunart
Weather: Pretty poor, getting very wet and windy. At least it wasn’t completely frigid! Sea: Nothing too horrible, but some impressive whitecaps in the squalls Time: Launched around 7.30 and returned back of 4 p.m. Tides: HW around 0900 and a largish tide. A combination of fishing starvation and post-Xmas doldrums led to an end… Continue reading 30 December 2011 – Loch Sunart