April - neither Winter nor Spring, or Winter still, or early Spring, or both. If a rapidly ageing aficionado of the Highland outdoors can’t even sort out this conundrum then what hope of him ever being a fly fisherman? Never a truer word, spoken in etc etc etc.
Leaving our fourth outing of the year to later in the month makes it sound like we had a choice but reality shows brownie points are week end specific during the Easter period. We hoped for warmer weather but weren’t wildly optimistic, just not Baltic conditions like the last three outings. Rothiemurchus did us proud with only light but cool winds, overcast but no rain and wonderful visibility to the mountains.
The fishery has been there a long time and attracts may tourists but today, being between holidays was relatively quiet although, when we arrived at 10.00am there were a few already out. One, we learned from the catch book later, had caught 25 fish in the first two hours. A spacious shop with a stack of hire gear and a tray or two of flies was manned by a pair of younger guys who were quick to make us welcome and have a chat. As so often in the “outdoors circles” we found common aquaintainanqes, one had stalked on a neighbouring estate to where I trod the hill for 25 years and came from north of us in Gairloch but at a place I knew a few people. We were offered a wide selection of fishing options and we chose the 6 hour one which was still very reasonable. The hint of the day for flies was anything quite big with a bit of green in it so with that sure fire insider information we geared up and headed out to cast.
A long slim loch meets you once over the bridge, not immaculate, but natural with ample room and plenty of vantage points to fish from. At the far (north?) end it widens out and changes shape to form a larger area of water, well sheltered and catching most of the available sun. There were many bundles of cut branches and heaps of dead undergrowth awaiting collection but perhaps we had caught them before the season really starts, who knows? Although, Day Release did hear from someone fishing, the business was just under new management so we can but speculate! We saw signs of fish!!!!!! Not just the odd one but lots of fish, if not feeding then at least their fins breaking the surface and causing ripples as they shot off again. Intermediate line still seemed the best plan though - the others already out were all using it - and as that was what we’d both rigged we set to with a willing. After a while Day Release decided to wander round a bit but by then I had attracted an audience of four or five fish. All I knew, just desperate to grab my fly as I temptingly eased it through mid water.
After three blank outings I was quietly confident this was to be the BIG day. Earlier in the week I had to spend nearly all day in Inverness so I’d taken a walk up to Grahams on Castle Street and convinced them they could assist in my future happiness if only they could sell me the correct flies to catch torpid Rainbow trout. Much discussion had ensued, Pointing and pondering, banter and questions until a collection of attractor flies were laid before me at a very reasonable price with the final word on the subject. “We’re saying these can catch you fish sir but we’re no guaranteeing they will catch you fish”!
By lunch I was sooooooooo close to catching, they were all there watching me, a flick of the fin or a ripple of water as I tried different flies and with the weather warming I changed to an intermediate line with fish being more plentiful at the surface. I was only slightly put off when Day Release wandered up casually and asked how I was getting on. Rhetorical question! He’d caught a 4lb rainbow and a couple of medium brownies - all with photo evidence. Ah well, time for us to eat.
With all that wonderful scenery around us we ended up sitting in the car as there were no tables or chairs scattered around the ample grounds and that was a bit of a disappointment. I hope they’ll rectify that before long so the views can be maximised. Not only had Day Release been catching fish, he’d had time to talk to some of the others and confirmed my move to floating line was right and that after the first hour or so the fish were playing hard to get. Whether it was his well timed pep talk or my very tasty chicken wrap washed down with fresh columbian blend coffee matter not - I was ready to try again.
I spent the first half of the afternoon exploring the water, having a few casts, walking further, watching others then having another go but all the time I wanted to go back to where I’d been in the morning, I was just SO sure one of these trout was mine! To my relief all the fish were still much as I’d left them and there was another gent fishing on the next point who also had fish rising. In the following hour or so I took my next big step to being a fly fisherman - I felt frustrated!!!!!!! No matter what I offered, how I offered it or how often I tried they were just all there for the entertainment. I began to imagine the word getting round underwater - hey guys - come and see this - Absolute Beginner is here to entertain us. My only saviour was the obviously experienced gent next to me who, with a disgruntled humpf stowed his gear and gave me a wave, saying, “I’ve covered at least fifty of them and they don’t want to play.”
I saw this as my excuse to end my fourth consecutive fishless run with a modicum of dignity so I drank more columbian as I awaited Day Release who also returned no more fish for the day. It was still a very enjoyable day and I am proud to be a better absolute beginner as now I can truly saw I nearly caught something! Roll on May - and stupid fish.
