Rays of sunshine.

All of last week I couldn't decide where to go fishing on Sunday. The weather forecast locally wasn't great so I started  to look further afield. Trips to Lochaline or Killantringan were considered but in the end I decided to revisit Loch Leven to try again for thornback rays. With my girlfriend/ghillie Lillian joining me we made the scenic drive north west and arriving in Glencoe Village turned off the main road and headed along the southern side of Loch Leven to Kinlochleven to look for a spot to try. I stopped the car at a few parking places high above the water but couldn't really see how difficult access to the rocks below was so we headed to the top of the loch and back down the northern shore. As we drove I spotted two anglers fishing next to a lay-by and pulled in to talk to them. They had a few bait rods set up but told me things were slow with the only fish caught being a few small pollock on their spinning gear. The mark looked quite good however so I decided to give it a go anyway and quickly set up along the rocks from them.

A nice day with the sun making the odd appearance through the clouds and hardly any wind meant the loch was like a mirror.

Fishing two rods, one with a pulley rig to try for thornback rays and the other with a three hook flapper to see what else might be around I baited up my circle hooks with cocktails of mackerel, mussel and razorfish. 

We relaxed, trying to keep an eye on my rods whilst also enjoying the scenery, it was a lovely peaceful day but unfortunately my rod tips were rather peaceful too. As high water came and went I was starting to think I was going to blank for a second session in a row when I finally got a decent bite. Lifting the rod the culprit was hooked and I wound in quickly to get it up over the ledges in front of me and through the kelp and bladderwrack. 

It took about two hours to get a bite. This nice little thornback ray, my first from the venue, was worth the wait though.

They are very graceful swimmers. An elegant flap of their wings and they glide for a while. It's a real pleasure watching them go back.

Pulley rig rebaited and cast out again it wasn't on the bottom long when I noticed the line moving in a peculiar manner. Not enough to move the rod tip but I suspected something was hooked and reeled in to find a small and rather greedy dab had guzzled a fairly big mackerel and razorfish cocktail.

Dabs are almost transparent when held up in strong light. 

After that it went quiet again for an hour or so. As the tide ebbed its strength increased making holding bottom difficult to the point I was thinking about calling it a day but before I did my pulley rig rod tip suddenly arched over and sprang back again. Another fish on, the lack of fight gave away the identity of the shark on the end and my second Loch Leven thornback ray was soon landed. 

A larger specimen to end the session. 

Put back it sulked around in the weeds in front of me before heading through them and disappearing.

I had another couple of casts but the current in front of me was now pulling my gear around with relative ease. Lillian was also feeling hungry and as I hadn't needed her expert net handling skills was a bit bored too so I packed up. We headed home stopping at the charming 17th century King's House Hotel in Glencoe on the way for a tasty bit of grub in its public bar.

So, a fairly short session fishing wise but the drive was a real pleasure and we escaped the weather at home which was pretty miserable. It's always good to catch the target for the day, even if it's a species that the venue is renowned for producing. It was also good to find another mark for future visits. I have a feeling it may be a popular spot though given it's extremely easy to access. The ledges typical of many deep Scottish sea lochs were also not as much of a problem as the spots my mate Nick and I fished earlier this month. I think finding such marks where the ledges aren't such an obstacle to landing fish is the key to a successful day fishing such venues. I also think Loch Leven is perhaps a venue that's better fished afloat as this obviously takes rock ledges and weed out of the equation altogether. I also note from a few online reports that those who did so at the weekend enjoyed excellent fishing and caught dozens of thornbacks. Another reason to get myself a kayak and explore fishing sea lochs from it.

Tight lines, Scott.

Know your quarry.

When my mate Nick told me he had some free time in April I suggested we head off somewhere for a couple of days fishing. After considering a few options we settled on a trip to Ballachulish to fish for thornback rays from Loch Leven. On Tuesday morning he picked me up and we made the drive up through some lovely scenery.

As we drove up through Glencoe I did my part to ensure Buachaille Etive Mor remains one of the most photographed mountains in Scotland.

The weather most of the way was rather nice but as we neared our destination it slowly changed to match the forecast, overcast with light rain showers and breezy. Upon arrival we quickly checked out a few places along the shoreline before deciding on one to fish. A short walk down from the car we were both soon set up and baits were cast out. The water was very deep beyond a ledge in front of us and I decided to fish just the one rod whilst Nick opted to fish two.

A small stream flows into the loch.

More imposing mountains line the shore opposite our first mark.

A few hours and a few showers later with no interest shown in our baits we moved along the shore slightly and I decided to switch to a three hook flapper rig to see if I could tempt any other species. For a while this attracted no attention from the resident fish and the only action Nick and I saw was a few helicopters out on exercises flying quite low up out of Glencoe.

Something going on in the water would have been preferable.

A while later Nick was coming along to see if I fancied a move when I got my first bite of the session and lifted my rod to find something fairly small on the end. Reeling it in fairly quickly to get it up clear of the ledge a rather nice looking grey gurnard was soon guided through the floating bladderwrack in front of me and swung up to my hand.

Beautifully marked with lovely golden flecks down its flanks. I think fish from crystal clear water are the most vivid colouration wise.

Carefully put back I watched it swim off quickly through the seaweed. Getting off the mark had been very hard work but we were hopeful this would be the first of a few fish. Alas it was not and whilst my rod tip was gently rattled three more times over the next hour or so I only connected with one small whiting. Little reward for about five hours fishing. More action than Nick's rods had seen though so we agreed to head off, get something to eat and book into the hostel we were staying in before heading out again for a few hours in the evening.

Accomodation and hunger sorted out we headed down to another spot just before dark and found an area that offered us some protection from the wind leaving just the constant drizzle and a fishing platform of slippery slate fragments to contend with. The water was very deep but we'd soon discover that the downside was the numerous slate ledges in front of us which were very difficult to retrieve our gear over. Nick's first cast had barely settled when a cracking bite pulled his rod rest over. Picking up his rod he wound down and soon had a good bend in it. A descent fish but sadly we didn't find out what it was as he lost it trying to get it in over the ledges.

After Nick's first cast action I stand hoping something will pull my rod over too.

We soldiered on and tried a few different spots but retrieving gear was proving extremly problematic and as Nick had already discovered, landing a fish should we hook one would be even harder. After a few hours and thoroughly soaked we decided to call it a night and formulate a plan for the following day over a couple of hard earned alcoholic beverages back at the hostel. 

On Wednesday morning we headed west and checked out a few marks we'd picked out as potential fishing spots on Google Maps but with rain forecast all day and the wind blowing right up the loch we decided to head south to Loch Etive and seek shelter at Bonawe where the weather outlook was slightly better rain wise. It didn't take too long to get there and we were soon at the chosen spot and fishing. Hopeful of catching a shark I went with a pulley rig and fairly big baits. Large mackerel pieces and double sandeel wrapped in squid were my weapons of choice and these were cast out into the bay in front of us. Nick was obviously keen to catch any fish that would bite having blanked the previous day and dropped a two hook flapper down fairly close in. This saw him hook a fish almost straight away and a small cod was soon landed.

Nick's first fish of the trip. Small but most welcome.

After a while with no bites I decided to fish a flapper rig close in too and quickly replicated Nick's result with a small cod of my own. I then alternated between rigs each cast. No action at all on the pulley rig but I managed another two cod and two pollock from close range.

Slightly wet but this rather plump pollock cheered me up a bit. 

Having caught a few fish I then decided to focus again on trying to tempt a shark of some description. Sadly my efforts didn't produce one. Nick caught a few more small cod at close range but in the early evening he packed up and headed back to the car to warm up. I finished off the last of my bait without tempting anything else before joining him. When I got back to the car I found Nick fishing lures next to it and he had caught a few small pollock. Both pretty tired we packed our gear into the car and set off for home. Like my day afloat on Loch Etive the previous Sunday the weather over the two days was pretty miserable and the fishing was tough but it was still an enjoyable trip. I'd like to try Loch Leven again but in better weather. It was good to catch up with Nick again and I'm looking forward to going kayaking with him in not too distant future. He's keen to catch some wrasse on soft plastics too so no doubt we'll be meeting up to do a bit of that in summer as well and I'm sure we'll have some fun doing that down St Abbs Head when the weather is a lot nicer!

Tight lines, Scott.