[Iain Cameron]

Edfish, Soundmixer and I enjoyed a very windy afloat with the tubes yesterday. Laden down - mostly with food - we yomped the 45 mins or so to the loch to be greeted with dancing white horses on the waves.

It stayed pretty lumpy all day with a strong SW wind pushing waves and us eastwards (hence the slightly disguised loch name).

Still, nothing ventured... so we launched the tubes, rode the waves, caught plenty of trouts, caught some cramp, enjoyed an excellent tiffin break (!) courtesy of Eddie's genius, supped some coffee laced with baileys (genius idea 2), and generally talked bull, fish and fly all day. Cracking.

couple of wee pics:

Waves. Not yer gentle rippling today


The rewards


Tiffin box lunch from Eddie, amazing


it's fair to say we lingered over lunch:



The problem with following the wind lanes is turning around, and realising it's a loooong way back!!

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Iain .... looks like a grand day out

Cheers
Mike

[Euan Innes]

I made the comment to Iain at one point that I knew folk that wouldn't go out in a wave like that in a clinker boat never mind a float tube.
It was very good fun though and worth the walk back from the far end of the loch.
An Osprey was working the loch as well and he must have been a season ticket holder. Two fish from three dives is a pretty good average.
As Iain has said, lunch was just genius. You da man Eddie! 

Troots still came short and the amount missed was a lot more than the troots caught. I did finish off with a bonny specimen of around 1.5 lbs. It might have been a bit less than that in all the excitement. but still a fat and happy trout and a fat and happy angler.

So would I take the tube again - probably not. The south bank can be waded quite nicely and you can go quite a bit out, and loads of troots can be caught from there. The walk in is enough without a tube and food is much more important than a tube. Some of the loch is quite shallow and my fins were getting stuck in the mud which made for some interesting maneuvering.

It was quite liberating wading out with only a couple of fly boxes, some nylon and some gink. No net, no waistcoat, just fishing in a wild place.
Once again the craik and the company was excellent. I can see a lot more visits next year!

 

[Hamish Young]

Excellent day out by the looks of it 

H

[Mark Zhang]

excellent day out. like your salad , but not the waves . Cheers.

Tight lines,

Mark

[Jim Eddie]

Well done for braving the conditions lads  and also for lugging in all that grub 

 

Jim

[Eddie Sinclair]

Guys,
I will put up a couple of pictures later, however great day out and we all caught trout which were in great nick and as Euan said earlier it was amazing to watch the Osprey fishing and getting mobbed by the gulls. Some school boy errors on my part though. 100 litre back pack full of grub and clothes and tackle plus fully inflated float tube makes the walk in quite interesting to say the least. Furthermore on a recent trip overseas I foolishly thought that I would try and gain a s0peed advantage on the loch by ordering the longest diving fins that I could find.

Arrive at loch put reel on rod to discover I have the wrong reel with me and the other one is in the car and I am not going back ( oh well at least I know now that a number 6 SLX can be used on a 4 weight Helios 2 in a howling gale)

Back to the long fins, Iain and Euan are on the loch and I think ok lets over take them with the Ferrari fins on. WRONG!!

they are so long and so stiff that my wee old legs are struggling to push them through the water, the wind is catching the back of the Shakey and is spinning me away from where I want to be and every time I try to fin with my left leg to position the tube for a cast I am sticking my left foot into my now submerged landing net AAARRRGGHHH!!. Meanwhile I can see Iain and Euan happily paddling around casting at fish and Euan has caught one on his first cast(twat)

Anyway I finally get my self sorted out and I am  now under control with a gentle flick of the right fin and make a cast across the Maelstrom and WTF my right calf goes solid with cramp and the pain is indescribable and I am in the middle of a hill loch in a wave with a howling gale and one serviceable leg which keeps getting stuck in the net (I love float tubing)

Drift to shore take off fins and start fishing from the bank. Caught some cracking trout up to a pound dranks coffee ate food shot the shit and generally had a great laugh.

Hiked back with the heavy pack on and woke up this morning like a buckled wheel aching all over, it is a bitch when you have to concede that you are getting old. So finally thanks gain guys for a great day out in good company but I will concur with Euan. Would I take the tube up there again?

Not a f*****g chance

[Euan Innes]

and Euan has caught one on his first cast(twat)

Guilty as charged sir 

Hiked back with the heavy pack on and woke up this morning like a buckled wheel aching all over, it is a bitch when you have to concede that you are getting old.

Agreed. Couldn't understand why I had sore shoulders this morning, then I looked out the back window and saw all the stuff on the drier and it all came flooding back.
Still great times though. Season ticket next year me thinks.

 

[Iain Cameron]

So would I take the tube again - probably not.

I would take the tube in again; there's a couple of sub surface features mid-loch that make it worthwhile, and I like the idea of drifting along the north bank in a more suitable (ie, not 25mph) wind.

my best drift of the day was post-lunch, where I was spotting, covering & hooking troots even in the crashing waves out in the middle.

i think we just took too much gear.

[Iain Goolager]

It's seems like an age since I've fished for Loch Browns - nice report  venue seems great.
need to try and get out on one soon.

Iain

[Marc Fauvet]

(I love float tubing)

    

[Euan Innes]

A season ticket is £35!
Three trips and you are in freebie land 
Next year is so far away.....

 

[Eddie Sinclair]

Euan,
I am in. do we have to call and let the mannie know we are coming when we have the ticket or can we just rock up anytime?

That has got to be some of the best value in our part of the world. I could take the tubing stuff up and leave it in the boat house and transport in a new bbq for next season.

Excellent 

[Jim Eddie]

Euan,
I am in. do we have to call and let the mannie know we are coming when we have the ticket or can we just rock up anytime?

That has got to be some of the best value in our part of the world. I could take the tubing stuff up and leave it in the boat house and transport in a new bbq for next season.

Excellent 

I used to fish it quite often so may also be up for the Season ticket

 

Jim 

[Derek Roxborough]

was bank fishing a local (W Ross) in the same wind wading , the wind was pushing the waves up my back ( chest waders) but we got a few fish my best was 3/4lb and My pal had one of a lb, we had 11 between us and missed the same again, it was hard work keeping in contact with the flies, a long walk back made a hard days fishing , well done carrying that gear in +float tubes, it was bad enough walking in LW waders,  easgach1

[Euan Innes]

Euan,
I am in. do we have to call and let the mannie know we are coming when we have the ticket or can we just rock up anytime?

That has got to be some of the best value in our part of the world. I could take the tubing stuff up and leave it in the boat house and transport in a new bbq for next season.

Excellent 

As far as I know you still have to book the loch but that's ok with me 
Even with the fuel it still works out less than Loch Saugh at, wait for it, £20 for a wee loch that lots of folk fish.
I like the sound of a new bbq too. Might even get on first name terms with the Osprey!

I used to fish it quite often so may also be up for the Season ticket

You are always more than welcome Jim, as is anyone else that fancies a walk on the wild side 

 

[Eddie Sinclair]

Euan,
I don't mind phoning in advance. It is close enough to nip down for an evening in June.

Looking forward to next season should be a blast, maybe we will even see it without brilliant sunshine or howling gales. Mind you it fished pretty well despite the conditions.

Maybe see you there as well Jim and maybe Goolager as well.

Eddie.

[Jim Eddie]

Let me know the next time your heading down guys and I'll tag along if I can.

 

Jim

[Iain Cameron]

... well done carrying that gear in +float tubes,

the walk in was backed by the wind - the caddis navigator has a large surface area, which caught the wind  and fairly pushed me up the hill!

it's 40-50 mins walk, not too hard going, and a pleasantly remote feel once you arrive. great for a forum day out for sure

iain

[Derek Roxborough]

Aye Ian ,but at my age walking into the wind across very boggie ground ( almost flow country) it gets no easier, just carrying tackle and a wee stove for a brew,  I had to have tuesday to recover     easgach 1