Trout Fishing

[JVRTENNENTS]

Yes, it does sound like BGA. I fished the loch today from the boat, we had 10 trout all lovely & red fleshed, great eating.

There is some signs algae in the water but its harmless & only attains the BGA status when it dies off. Just be sensible & don't drink it it get it on your skin.

 

Cheers for that, yea I got 3, the biggest one was a pound and a half excellent to eat

[clanchief]

This is an interesting site that provides details of the depths of various lochs in Shetland

 

http://www.nls.uk/maps/early/bathymetric/bathymetrical_basin_order.html

[peterliam]

i was fishin in asta loch yesterday, i got three nice borwnies, but only one size.

 

(** mod edit - merged **)

[peterliam]

anyone fished maggie blacks recently????

[Medziotojas]

Alas, I haven't had an opportunity to go to the troots for nearly four years now, which also means I don't have to be secretive about it any more.

 

Ah yes, well I remember the lies and deception surrounding competitions and where various anglers had landed their fish when they'd actually been seen going off in another direction.

 

The closest thing I get to it now is fishing for carp with worms, which doesn't really have the same appeal.

 

A favourite loch of mine was always the Sand Water between Mossbank and Toft. I remember coming home with a basket of five nice brownies ranging from 1.1/2 to 2.1/2lbs out of there. I also lost a good 'un, around the 3 or 4lb mark the same day (honest).

 

This was a few years ago now. Has anybody been there recently?

[peterliam]

i fished it not llong ago

[Medziotojas]

...and? Anything doing?

 

I'm planning to be in Shetland for a week or two next year around midsummer (or perhaps August). I'll probably be staying in the Nesting area so Benston's a must, and Girlsta's always worth a swaap at da back o' da isle.

 

Apart from the obvious ones - Tingwall, Spiggie, etc., any recommendations based on this year's experience?

[peterliam]

from this years experiance, i would reccomend that you dont try benston loch... very bad this year.... but a good loch to try would be spiggie or clickimin loch? both have had very god baskets this year... i know a guy that has had 30 over the size trout out of each in a single day!!!

where are you going to be staying in nesting? where my grans house is there is a good view of benston loch... but again its not worth the bother..

[Skyumpi]

Aah well, I guess that’s the broonie season over for another year. Maybe we can all relax now and actually speak about what we’ve caught and where we’ve been this year!

I’ve sort of taken up the troots again after a lay off of about a dozen or so years and re-discovered what a great pastime it is and, now that sun is a bit farther waast, made me realise what a beautiful place we are so lucky to live in. It doesn’t take much effort to end up someplace where there’s no sign of modern human habitation and make you feel like you could be completely alone in the world. I’ve had some good fishing, occasional great fishing and even a few blank nights – though not many. I’ve mostly worked round Westside and Nortaboot lochs with the odd trip to Girlsta/Tingwall/Nesting thrown in and have mainly been spinning but also been trying to teach myself a spot of fly fishing with mixed results (useless AND rubbish, that is ) I’ve had to stick to secluded locations, away from proper anglers who may have done themselves an injury laughing at my efforts, but it’s coming ahead slowly. Who knows, maybe next year I’ll be able to catch fish with my clockspring line trap…

Has anybody who’s been at the troots more regularly noticed if the relatively cold summer has had an effect on them? It was hellish cold for a while there at the start of the season and there haven’t really been too many scorchers to warm up the lochs - although I was lucky enough to spend one of the best days of the summer working my way around 11 of the hill lochs between Nibon and Mangaster, picking up a 2lb fish in Soolmisvird near the end of the day to finish on a high but I’d be interested to know how this compares to previous years.

There have been loads of lochs that I’ve thought should hold fish yet I haven’t seen a tail – Stubba Water, Smirnadale, Helia Water, Kellister, Sulma Water and Griesta to name a few. (Well, maybe not Griesta, I did see a decent fish there but never hooked it) Anybody had any luck with these lochs or is their “fishiness†just wishful thinking on my part?

[Wheesht]

.Girlsta's always worth a swaap at da back o' da isle.

 

Wi an otter board it certainly is.

[Skyumpi]

.Girlsta's always worth a swaap at da back o' da isle.

 

Wi an otter board it certainly is.

 

Does anybody think that otterboard fishing is over-rated?

 

I suppose it's a good way of getting a lot of fish quickly and if that's your goal then it's certainly the most effective method. You do end up with a lot o' sma hellery though and if you do hook a proper fish, chances are you'll lose it before you get it ashore.

 

I suspect that the biggest enjoyment of going out with a board is knowing that your thumbing your nose at the law and maybe upsetting a few members of the angling community into the bargain. It's not exactly the weapon of mass destruction that some would have you believe - I'd bet an awful lot of money that anglers take many times more fish out of the lochs every year than otterboarders do.

[Medziotojas]

I'd bet an awful lot of money that anglers take many times more fish out of the lochs every year than otterboarders do.

 

This may be true over the course of a year, but they also conduct restocking programs.

[penfold]

So what part of Scots law applies to the Fly only fishing rules in benston and Spiggie lochs?

[Medziotojas]

I was under the impression (maybe wrongly so), that one reason for fly fishing only in Spiggie is to do with the amount of nylon line used by other methods of fishing, and the potential harm this could cause to the surrounding wildlife, namely, birds getting tangled up. I also believe that outboard motors are not allowed in this loch, unless they're electric.

 

I don't know about Benston, and I'm not sure if "fly only" is an actual law, or just a recommendation. Perhaps somebody else can clarify this?

[Skyumpi]

I'd bet an awful lot of money that anglers take many times more fish out of the lochs every year than otterboarders do.

 

This may be true over the course of a year, but they also conduct restocking programs.

 

Hmmm, that's right, I never thought of that. I'd still be surprised if the amount of fish taken these days by otterboard represents much of a threat to stock levels. (I could be wrong though, it is after all a fairly clandestine activity so there may be more of it going on than I think.)

 

I think the SAA might have an ongoing restocking program and there are quite a few other groups and individuals who carry out more unofficial restocking of certain lochs. The SAA's website isn't up to much at the moment but I heard that they were going to relaunch it for next year with a lot more information, including restocking programs. This would be a good thing as it would maybe show the sceptics the good work they're doing and encourage people to join up.

 

As far as the litter aspect goes, my experience this year has been that it's the spinfishers and bubblefloaters who are the biggest culprits. I've carted home hundreds of yards of line, several floats and loads of plastic blister packs for spinners.

I can't say I've seen anything that could be directly attributed to the flyfishers (although I know I've left a few flies stuck in hedder cows at one loch. I might have caught more fish if I'd noticed sooner ) but if everyone tried to take home some bit of rubbish they find it must make a difference over the year. A nice little campaign for the SAA, perhaps?

Since I've started whinging, why can't the people who lift all the rocks at the waters edge looking for worms turn them back over again? There'll be more chance of finding worms there again the next time you're back if you do.