A Canadian species hunter in Scotland.

Back in July I received an email from a Canadian species hunter named Brad. He told me he was coming to Scotland in September, asked if I could help him out with some advice and also if I would like to meet up with him, if I was free. He wanted to focus on freshwater fish, so I told him that I’d be happy to give him some info on places to fish for a few different species, but sadly I’d only be able to meet up with him for one short evening session, as I’d be flying off to Crete shortly after he arrived here.

We met up on the Sunday evening before I went on holiday, just as light was about to begin fading. Our targets from the Water of Leith were minnow and bullhead. I arrived a little while before Brad did and caught a minnow almost straight away.

Bingo! A small piece of a maggot on a tanago hook fished simply with a single split shot proving to be an effective combination.

Once Brad arrived he quickly set up his rod, we fished away and chatted about fishing, in particular species hunting, something we’re both passionate about. It didn’t take Brad too long to catch his first ever minnow, so we headed downstream to my top secret bullhead spot, the one I take everyone to. Once it got dark they began appearing from out underneath their rocky hiding places in good numbers. They find maggots right in front of their faces pretty irresistible, and we had both caught quite a few of them in no time at all. I mentioned it was possible to catch the same fish a few times if you watched where it went when you returned it. This challenge was quickly accepted, and Brad managed to catch the same fish four times. Each time he released the ravenous little fish, it just swam down onto the nearest small rock right at our feet and sat still. Dropped his maggot in front of it again, it gobbled it again. Four times!

The bullhead certainly isn't the brightest of fish, or maybe they just have a very short memory!

I enjoyed our brief session together and the next day Brad popped into my work to get some fishing tackle before heading off to continue his Scottish adventure. It would have been nice to have fished with him again, but he had left Scotland before I returned from Crete. Whilst I was away, and he was species hunting around Scotland, we kept in touch and exchanged updates about the species we had both been catching. Some of the information I gave played a part in some of his successes and that was pleasing. I think Brad is maybe the fourth person who I’ve successfully taken minnow and bullhead fishing this year. I like helping out other anglers regardless of the target. Perhaps I should start advertising my services as a multi species guide!?

Tight lines, Scott.