Sunart can be a hard place to fish and I’ve not subjected myself to it’s whims in a while. However, it seemed the best of my options weather-wise so I loaded up the Longliner for a boat camping session. Normally I fish inside the loch but I fancied a change and decided to focus on… Continue reading West of Sunart
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.
A Mariner on Leven
I’ve just bought a new toy, a little 3.5hp Mariner outboard. It’s a longshaft, intended to be an auxiliary for the Orkney, but is equally happy to sit on the back of my old Avon SIB. It needed running in and I haven’t really used the Avon for almost two years, so I decided take… Continue reading A Mariner on Leven
A Slow Day Chasing Oban Skate
Tiny tides and light winds meant this little Easter bunny finally dug his skate gear out. After pouring a couple of ingots worth of diesel into my Czech tow truck I met up with Ian at Lochearnhead before heading over to Oban. We’ve had some very good days chasing skate in recent years, so my… Continue reading A Slow Day Chasing Oban Skate
Kayak Camping on Etive
No fishing in the title, and little in reality, but I’d a superb weekend kayak camping on Etive earlier in March. Sunshine over snow capped mountains, sea ice on the lochs and perfect kayaking conditions. Fishing can happily take a back seat at times! I popped the yak in amongst the mini ice-floes surrounding Glen… Continue reading Kayak Camping on Etive
Overnighter on Etive
As any reader of my blog already knows, I’m partial to the odd overnighter on Etive. Even in February. At least there is more daylight now, even if the full drabness of winter has beaten all colour from the mountains. My hike was its usual soggy self, with a good bit of wind helping blow… Continue reading Overnighter on Etive
A Trek along Etive
My dad would describe the trek along Etive as character building. Very scenic but not easy at the best of times. Today, the mass of thick mud and boulders in front of me was even less appealing as I was laden down with more gear than usual. Up close, the damage was impressive. A huge… Continue reading A Trek along Etive
Peace and Quiet on Etive
I’m often across at Etive over the winter months, both on my boat and from the shore. Whilst the fishing is unspectacular, it is one of the most sheltered places to sea fish in a very windy country. If, like me, you enjoy scenery, solitude and the smoke of a campfire, then Etive is also… Continue reading Peace and Quiet on Etive
Etive Spurdog – and a Hot Tent Overnight Camp
What with lockdowns and life generally, it’s over a year since I was afloat on Etive. I finally remedied that last month with an overnight trip with Ian. The local swans hassled for a payout as we launched at Taynuilt and headed out into a calm loch. We planned to camp well up the loch… Continue reading Etive Spurdog – and a Hot Tent Overnight Camp
Exploring Rum, Eigg and Skye
The Small Isles – Rum & Eigg When the wind and sea allow, I like to take a longer trip in the boat. Normally I potter around doing a little fishing, a little fossicking about and quite a lot of general chilling. Generally that means somewhere up the west coast of Scotland, usually exploring one… Continue reading Exploring Rum, Eigg and Skye
Rannoch Trout – an Overnight Catch and Cook
I’ve been fairly busy since lockdown ended but I haven’t been camping for 6 months now. Even longer since the kayak got wet, so it was definitely time to do something about that! Rannoch Moor is a wide expanse of heather and bog, covered with small pools and shallow lochs. The main road to Fort… Continue reading Rannoch Trout – an Overnight Catch and Cook