How far would you travel to catch the trout of your dreams? New Zealand? Alaska? Finlay Wilson discovered that perfection swims closer to home, in the Orkneys
THERE ARE A fair few trophy trout lochs around Scotland that have taken up an unhealthy amount of my time. But then there isn’t a wild trout obsessive I know who doesn’t spend a sizeable chunk of their life contemplating their brownie Shangri-La. The machair waters of the Hebrides often feature in my mind’s eye, enveloped in warm westerlies and overcast skies, and where beautiful fish engulf my cunningly selected flies. As they do at other hidden oases, such as the fertile waters in Caithness, Sutherland and Wester Ross, some of which will appear on these pages in the months ahead.
One loch that’s taken up far too much head space over the years is Bea on Sanday, one of the North Isles. Bea has been on my mental map for decades due to the size and quality of its fish, but it wasn’t until recently, despite several previous trips to Orkney mainland, that I managed to make the pilgrimage that bit further north.
After my friends and former Borders neighbours Gwyd and Jayne moved to Harray on the mainland, it was only a matter of time before I hit Sanday. In May 2015 Gwyd and Jayne considerately booked self-catering there, just five minutes from Bea. Finally, the loch was there to behold in the flesh.
Bowl-shaped, about 70 acres, in a dip, a field or so beyond the sand dunes, Bea is just a few hundred yards from the turquoise sea. At first sight it doesn’t exactly grab you with obvious features or starting points, other than a telltale colour change in the water, which is common on machair lochs and denotes a drop-off or the cover of weed.
Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Trout & Salmon.
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Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Trout & Salmon.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Mr Goldhead And The Grayling
Lawrence Catlow fishes the rapidly recovering River Irfon in Powys.
Moody Beasts
Stan Headley searches for the elusive sea-trout of Loch Ailsh in the northwest Highlands.
Alone On The River
Cliff Hatton encounters a mighty Wye salmon.
Hop To It
Richard Donkin has a no-nonsense approach to tackle and amphibians.
River Blackwater
THE BLACKWATER rises in the boglands of County Kerry, and although the peaty tinge it carries gives rise to its name it also flows through limestone and that helps it to support a diverse range of fly-life which provides plenty of sustenance for salmon parr and trout. The river is one of Ireland’s most productive salmon fisheries, along with the River Moy.
Hampshire Avon
THERE CAN be few places in fishing more famous than the Royalty Fishery on the Hampshire Avon, even Mr Crabtree has fished its illustrious waters. Two seasons ago an enormous salmon of 40lb was caught in the spring at the Royalty and big salmon are regularly caught in the early months of the season.
A Strange Kind Of Magic
Charles van straubenzee introduces a salmon fly that combines the most unlikely colours and materials to deadly effect.
A Deep-Water Experiment
Stan Headley hatches a plan to catch three species of fish in one day at Loch Calder in Caithness.
Rutland's Old Warriors
James Beeson enjoys supercharged surface sport with Rutland Water’s fry-feeders.
Plucked From The Jaws
Looking for affordable back-end sport? Andrew Flitcroft recommends the challenging Chollerton beat on the North Tyne.
