Fishing Reports

Historically the third week of March used to herald the first springer taken off the system.  We thought we would give you a taster with this great article by llaia member Frank Donnelly. Frank fishes out from Balmaha on most Saturdays and his love of the loch is all too apparent.

 

 A dream spring day: Trolling the big loch

 

Spring Trolling.

 

It was my first day out with Rab that season. A Lomond Saturday in May, with the Ben and the surrounding hills covered by a late spring snow flurry. As they say, “It was cold, but not too cold “.

I had met Rab two years earlier when he was the late replacement for a “Call off “ on an April “Corrib “ trip. We fished together on that trip and got on well together. I caught a one and a quarter trout and Rab to his chagrin drew a blank, but then the conditions had not been clement.

Rab worked as a “Gateman “ at a factory in Glasgow. Slightly older than me, with a distinctive red beard, he was a more experienced angler. He fished mainly on lochs, from boats, trolling and fly fishing. He had worked at sea and could handle a boat competently. This gave me a tremendous confidence in him afloat, no matter what the conditions.

Being slightly porteous meant that he didn’t feel the cold like I did. Now that helps when you are “Spring “ trolling, like a day we had later on Loch Tay. The temperature was forecast to drop to minus ten Farenheight in the wind – chill factor. Even Rab felt cold that day. Luckily for me, by then I had realised that serious trolling for serious fish required serious clothing : moonboots, thermal underwear, woollens over, a shell suit over all and a lambswool tammy (with gloves or mittens optional).

Rab was a fishing enthusiast. He loved to fish and I learned a lot from him. With his job at the gatehouse, he worked rotating twelve hour day / night shifts. This arrangement gave him precious midweek days off: a real bonus on Association water like Lomond.

 

On the big Scottish lochs, Spring fishing means trolling, from a boat. Far from being boring, trolling is a game way to catch salmon. You have to fish artificial baits over the lies and make them look attractive and natural . The likely places for a fish are rocky points, shallow banks, gravely spits and burn mouths; all places where salmon love to lie. To fish these lures successfully, you have to have a good knowledge of the lochs underwater contours and a digital sounder / depth meter is a definite advantage.

Rab taught me how to troll in Spring. We fished three rods: two stiffish fourteen foot carbon fly rods for the port and starboard sides and a nine foot spinning rod, the “Poker” out the back, over the transom. This last rod fishes closest to the boat, in the very wake of the outboard motor. On the “ Outside “ and ” Inside “ rod, depending on the direction of the shore, we fished thirteen centimetre (5 ¼ inch ) Black and Gold Floating Rapalas and on the “ Poker” a thirteen centimetre Flourescent Orange and Gold. This arrangement worked in any conditions, even flat calm and bright sunshine, with the Orange and Gold coming into its own in dull conditions.

With regard to lengths of lines, we fished twenty one yards on the “ Poker “ and twenty four and twenty seven on the “ Inside “ and “ Outside “ respectively. When paying out the lures, adjust the boat speed until the lure swims and flutters attractively. Then peel off the line from he reel, one pull of your extended arm for every yard of line you pay out.

 

With the lure paid out, place the rod in the rod rest. The line from the reel is then placed under a “ Striker “. This is a lead of about one and three quarter pounds, which flies up when a fish takes, thereby setting the hook in the fish. The reels used are “ Mooching “ reels; large four and a half inch diameter centre – pins with adjustable drags, specifically designed for Trolling. Each one is capable of holding up to six hundred yards of thirty pounds test  “Braid “, with one hundred yards of 18 – 20 pounds nylon, replaced twice a season. These large diameter, free running reels are, for me, the only reels suitable for trolling and they are currently available in the shops new, or else second hand. In those early days before I fished out of my own boat, I was on a learning curve; watching and learning from Rab about the ways of the loch and boat handling. It is certainly a distinct advantage , not to mention personal safety, to fish with someone who knows a loch well, either a friend or a gillie, until you are familiar with the loch in its various moods.

 

On Lomond on that cold May day to which I am relating, my Fishing Diary tells me we left Balmaha bay at nine o’clock in the morning. We then turned left in order to fish the Endrick Bank. As it happens, on this Saturday, the Endrick Bank was silted up i.e. discoloured chocolate brown, by two days of midweek rain. This had washed silt and debris down to the Endrick delta where it had fanned out into the loch making the area around the rivermouth unfishable. And so we proceeded on down to Net Bay. Here the water was clear again, looking “Black” in the overcast conditions and very “Fishy”. In the Spring it is customary to fish the loch’s southern shore. From Balmaha proceed through  Net Bay, then along Claddich past the Stables, the Long Point, Boturich and finally to Balloch where the fish enter the loch from the departing River Leven. We were passing some rocky shallows just round the Long Point when suddenly the Poker lead lifted and the reel began to scream. “zz-zz—zzzzzz”, the tip of the rod in the rest now alive and wavering wildly. “We’re away” Rab says and points the boat towards the deeper water, where the fish can be played, clear of any underwater obstructions. He hands another of the rods to me to reel in, while he does the same with the third, all the while the fish thrashing and boring behind. With the two rods safely aboard, Rab picks up the Poker and stops the engine. He offers the rod to me but I decline. “No” I say, “It’s your fish, you play it”. And so he does.

 

After a determined but dour fight I slip the net under a thirteen and a quarter pound Lomond “Bar of Silver”, a beautiful sight for sure! Just then I am careful not to catch the outside of the net on the Rapala’s trailing trebles, not an uncommon way of loosing a good fish. Rab dispatches the fish and we see that it’s a cock fish. We shake hands gleefully, delighted with our prize on a cold spring day.

 

 Rab. A springer on the troll 13.25lbs of silver.

 

Because they swim about four feet under the surface well sunk, these Rapalas are ideal for cold day conditions. Meanwhile we run across to Inchmurrin for some shelter, a few photographs and a wee “Drum Up”  ; soup and tea. The day is made and the season on Lomond is off to a great start.

When trolling on Lomond, it is not unusual to troll for up to ten hours a day. I’ve done it many times, sometimes without stopping. You may cover twenty or more miles as particularly, later in the season a fish may be taken anywhere on the loch. And with all the while, the magnificent scenery to keep you entertained. Rab once said that if he caught a fish a month he was happy. And so it is, whereas two or three a day is not unheard of. At the Back End of the season, in September or October, it can pay to fish the fly. A backend fish on the fly is a special thrill. Most of late fish are put back now, by way of conservation.

 

On that May day, Rab and I fished to Balloch and back to Balmaha again. Late in the day upon returning past the “Stables”, almost unbelievably, the “Inside” rod sprung into life. Almost too good to be true, Rab offers me the rod and this time I accept. I play a beautiful fourteen pound hen fish to a standstill and Rab slips the net underneath it. A fish each and a dream Saturday out “Spring Trolling” on Lomond.

 

 

 Frank with his 14lbs springer, an absolute beauty.

 

Frank and Rab:Two very happy anglers.

 

 The ultimate prize for enduring a cold spring day

 

We will put this article on our fishing tips and tricks section and adjust the photo’s etc. For the time being though we hope you enjoy the article which gives encouragement to those who brave the elements and try for an early spring fish from Loch Lomond.

 

The Committee LLAIA

 

Article By Frank Donnelly All rights reserved.

 

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 1:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.