weather a real killer

Well ive been ob the river a few times since my last post and to tell the truth it has been rained of for me,as i am not one for the cold chilled rain that comes along with the stiff wind in march in Scotland.
i however have been watching the river and have been noticing that their are more cormorants than their were this time last year, so what can be done about them as they must be causing havoc with the young Parr etc!! .
the river has its usual pea green tinge and at the moment their is very few days that the trout seem to be right on the feed so its really a game of ,watching the weather looking at the local forecast and taking the chance ,as you just never know at this time of year ,as it could be another cold drab day ,or a day when everything seems alive and the trout are boiling at the surface ready to be presented with a well proportioned fly and if your lucky an obliging fish.
well really that's all i can add at the moment ,no sign of any fresh run spring fish of yet on the river and not even any Kelt's have been caught which is quite unusual as i usually hear of one or two so i wonder whats going on..

Rotten day at the vet school

Well made my way up to the vet school today and met willie the bailiff who was telling me he has caught allot of people on the river without a permit ,but hat off to him for pursuing these people and removing them from the river as it a disgrace when you think of the very low price of a permit for the river.
i also asked about the others that were taking the bailiff places and he said their were others but he didn't seem to happy about doing the bottom end at the sea pool etc! as i think he had a little bother their the other day which i can imagine was a little heated ,but good luck to yourself wullie and the rest of the bailiffs on the water and keep up the good work we are all behind you just remember that.
anyway back to the trip today ,i did take my double hander with me and a 7 and a half foot shakie rod which belongs to my son ,but didn't get around to using as no later had i left the house and it started to spit ,which i thought would not come to anything, silly me!!!!! it teamed down and after only 20 minutes in the water throwing a very stiff 9 weight line i decided to give up and make my way home as the water was just about freezing temp and their was just no sign of life anywhere.

I took this pic while i was leaving the vet school.



I am looking forward to a little bit of more settled weather and i will be on the river as much as i can and will pass on any thing i find is working for me or others on the river .

4 fish on the klinkhammer

I had a great day on the river today ,and had 4 fish all of around the half pound mark and all on the dry fly ,which makes it all the more special for me as i love taking fish on the dry fly ,theirs nothing that quite stands up to it if you ask me.
i arrived around 12 o'clock and no i didn't make it to the science park as i went for a hair cut and decided to try the lower river which I'm glad i did, as i got to the river i armed myself up with the usual for me at this time of year ,the good old gold head nymph and spider duo.
i then started to notice that their were fly's coming of the water and they were dark in colour so thought i would get the box back out and change tactics,which i did by tying on a size 14 dark dun klinkhammer which within 3 casts i was into my first fish and within another hour i had another 3 as well so a great day indeed it was, the first from the sea pool at Yorkhill and the others just above the bride at the art gallery's .
i had a great day and intend getting myself back on the water tomorrow ,but i will be going to the science park as i feel i may have missed something special up their today and i may have just lost out on one or 2 good fish too, which is bothering me so i hope the weather is much the same and i can get a good day up the science park also ,it would be great to see any of you guys up their so sorry i did not make it today but if you are their tomorrow ill see you OK.

pic added later of one of the fish..

Looking forward to tomorow

Well i was up at the science park on Saturday with my 2 boys in the hope that i would be able to have the space the help encourage my boys to practice their fly casting which i soon realised was not going to happen due to the rather large numbers of fly fisherman in the immediate area, its great to see although it did resemble an English chalk stream packed to the gunnel's with an angler every 30 yards or so and not a fish in site,which was a little of putting .
i did manage to get a few casts myself and touched nothing during the 15 minutes i spent on the stretch before i decided to head for the open grass lawn and to the task of showing the boys the mechanical steps needed to throw out a line which my oldest understands quite well and my youngest seems to still be using all he knows on casting a dead weight from a fixed spool and cant seem to let go of it ,but he will pick it up too I'm sure .
i love watching the boys getting that line out and straight the look on their face is everything as their proud of themselves and they also know that you are thrilled too,i feel my oldest is more into pleasing me with his progress than what he really wants ,this is an issue i will need to talk over as i would not want him out their if he isn't enjoying the process and the task at hand , but that will be on another day when I'm on my own with him i think.
i will be up at the science park from around 12 o'clock tomorrow and i think i will take my 8 half ft 4-5 weight and also my double handed salmon rod ,12.9ft scierra sweep, which i have been trying my best to get to grips with, and I'm doing OK, but feel i could do with a few pointers ,,so the stretch up at the science park is quite wide ,and will give me the opportunity to try new things ,,so anyone going up i will see you their OK.

Also a wee poem for the guys who lost their lives on loch Awe.


The days were long and the nights some of the best
with your rods in hand you did make your rest
and now that the your line is forever on the water
and your day always to bring the perfect wave
and with eyes cast apon the shore
im sure you will be with your families once more
so throw that line the way you always wished
and may those fish forever be on the take
and with lines tight and fins braking the wave
i wish you all a peacefull sleep
and from your fellow anglers in thought so deep
we say goodnight.
Rest our fellow men.