Salmon, Sea Trout and Mackerel

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Last week Shetland was hit by gale force winds which lasted two days and prevented me from fishing. It wreaked havoc with my garden too so you could say I was not in a good frame of mind. As the storm subsided my whole demeanour altered and my mood changed. I could go fishing again! My friend, who was itching to try out a shooting head line I had made up for him, turned up at my door so I quickly gathered my fishing gear and we sped off both with hope in our hearts for a good afternoon’s sport. We tried the lower reaches of a stream which, for the last hundred yards or so is deep and canal like. John had barely taken a couple of casts when his rod arched over as he played a good sea trout of around a pound and a half. He was delighted with the fish which he returned after a quick photograph. Little was showing to my flies. I had a size ten Silver Stoat on the tail and a Tan coloured Daddy long legs on the dropper. No sign of anything as I approached the top pool. Something told me to change the tail fly so I tied on a size 10 Orange Foam Daddy and within a few casts I felt something hit my tail fly. I slowly lifted the rod and a nice grilse lept out of the water and then proceeded to run past me. After a spirited fight I netted a lovely wee grilse of about 3lbs. My first one of the season! Delighted with our half hour’s fishing we sped off to another venue to try a bit of salt water sea trout fishing. We became aware that there were sprats in the voe by the large numbers of arctic terns skimming the surface of the water and the odd splash of sea trout. Every now and then a shower of these little fish peppered the surface of the water as fish chased them. John fished his way further up the voe and was no longer in view. I changed my Orange Daddy for my White Sand Eel pattern and was soon connecting with sea trout up to about 2lbs. I moved further down the voe to a deep hole where fish usually go at low tide. There were mackerel here and I spent the next 15 minutes or so playing and landing about half a dozen mackerel which took a fancy to my Sand Eel. They were great fun on light tackle as every time I lifted the rod to try and net them they made off in darting runs.

I could see John coming towards me looking a bit down. Sitting down on the bank he told me he had just lost a lovely silvery salmon. It had taken a red soldier palmer I had tied for him and broke his cast after jumping several times before it severed his cast just before he tried to net it!
Well that’s fishing for you! Sometimes you are left with a haunting memory of what could have been.
All in all it was a memorable half day’s fishing with two salmon hooked one caught, countless sea trout up to 2lb 4oz and a few mackerel besides. I would dearly loved my friend to have caught his salmon. Never mind, another time perhaps. Fishing isn’t just about catching fish, it’s about fond memories and friendships too!

Another Estuary Trout

FISHING THE EBB

Trout are amazingly adaptable. They have learned how to survive in freshwater, salt water and in environments with varying degrees of salinity. For whatever reason some trout will remain where the tide ebbs and flows. The reason for this is that the tidal movement creates a flow of food items for the trout to feed on. Locating these areas where this movement is perhaps maximised will go a long way to how successful you are in targeting these fish. If you are fortunate enough to catch a trout in a marine environment, it’s colouration will give you an idea of where it has been predominately been feeding. If the locality is mainly sand the fish will be almost pure chrome in colouration and in areas where there is dense kelp and bladderwrack the fish will take on a more darker colouration to camouflage them from predators.

Like most other parts of the country Shetland “suffered” from a bit of a heatwave in June. Trout fishing in these conditions present a bit of a challenge and the best opportunity for success is to choose a day with a little cloud cover and a light breeze. The 26th June presented itself with none of these attributes but I decided to venture forth armed with polaroids , a baseball cap and plenty of sun blocker. For some reason I chose my 9.5 ft #4 Penn Gold Medal fly rod which I had bought on the recommendation of my longtime fishing friend David Pottinger as a lightweight rod for fishing nymphs and dries. The same rod caught me a 5 pound estuary trout which I described in my blog on “slob trout”. This time as there was an ebbing tide I decided to fish a tan coloured foam daddy on the dropper and an Orange Foam Daddy on the tail. I worked my way down to the point that you can see in the photograph above. Within a few casts I had some interest in the dropper fly which turned out to be a “piltock” which is the Shetland name for a small Coalfish. I tried a little further down with no success and decided to return to the point where I caught the piltock. As I lifted the rod a large fish seized the Orange Daddy on the tail. It took all my fly line off and a good proportion of the backing before it lept clear of the water. It jumped again before it ran off behind me into some seaweed. It completely encircled me before I was able to land it. What an amazing fight! The scales read 2 ounces short of 4 pounds. Definitely the best fight I had with a fish this year and landing it on such a light rod gave me such a thrill.

2022 A Difficult Season ?

Spiggie Beach Shetland

The weather in 2022 was much colder and wetter than usual throughout the spring and summer in Shetland. For me, fishing was not a top priority in 2022 as I found myself struggling with arthritis and many other things in my life prevented me from spending time pursuing trout in the lochs and voes of Shetland. I did however have some good days both with grilse, sea trout and brown trout in Shetland, the Isle of Skye and in other parts of Scotland.

The season started quite well for me with sea trout up to 3.5lbs or so. The one with a piece of its tail missing was caught in early March so it is a little bit on the lean side. The top fly was a dark brown foam daddy which accounted for many sea trout and in August and September, 4 out of the five grilse I caught in 2022 were on foam daddies.

The small grilse on the right of the middle row fell to a dark brown daddy long legs fished completely static in the sea pool. First time I can honestly say I have caught a salmon on a dry fly. It came out of the water like a polaris missile. All I had to do was hold the rod up and it hooked itself!
By the start of September some salmon still had not run. They could be seen jumping at the head of the tide but for reasons best known to themselves had decided not to run up the burn even although there was plenty water for them.
Salmon are so unpredictable. Whilst in the sea they will generally ignore a fly then for some unknown reason they will follow and take a fly. One day in particular I had tried a few casts over some coloured fish with no response whatsoever. Another angler had been trying further down the voe with a spinner and was packing up his rod when I went down to have a chat with him. He had found the same story not one had shown the slightest bit of interest. As we were talking, a coloured grilse of around 4 to 4.5 lbs lept within range of us. I suggested to him that he should have a go but he had taken his rod down and was heading for the car. He knew about my success with foam daddy long legs and admitted to being a little sceptical of how good they were. Half jokingly I said to him “watch this Peter!” I gently cast out my team of two daddies and the fish responded immediately to engulf my tan coloured foam daddy on the top dropper. After a spirited fight I slipped the net under him, released the fly from his jaw, quickly took a photo and carefully returned the fish. I think Peter was astonished that a fish would take such a drab coloured fly on a difficult day. With salmon you just never know when the conditions are going to be right. That’s what makes fishing so exciting.

Slob Trout/Sea Trout-the debate goes on

Last Saturday I spent an hour at one of my favourite salt water venues in the search for a late run salmon or an elusive sea trout. Before I ventured out something prompted me to spend half an hour at the fly vice to tie up a few flies that might work in the salt water on a bright day with little cloud covering and barely a breath of wind. I thought I would tie up some tan coloured foam daddies in size 12 instead of my usual size 10and use them as a static dry fly rather than retrieving them.

If you look back to my previous blogs on salt water salmon fishing you will see I had great success using a foam daddy particularly in tan and indeed I have had success again this year with a few grilse. Although there have been some prolific runs of grilse in Shetland the unprecedented dry conditions have made it extremely difficult to catch them. My friend and I have caught 5 grilse between us on this fly from two different salt water venues this season. Even up here in the extreme north of Britain there has been little or no rain to encourage migratory fish to return to the rivers of their birth. However nature being nature, the runs of small salmon have been exceptional in some locations but the dry conditions has resulted in gin clear water at the head of the sea water voes.

The weather on Saturday was not particularly good with light winds and crystal clear water so I armed myself with a light 4 weight rod and a single size 12 tan coloured foam daddy I had tied up in the morning. Fishing it on a long leader and static I fished an area where the fish sometimes drop back to on an ebbing tide. Not expecting anything I searched along the edge of the sea weed where fish might seek cover and within a few casts I hooked a sea trout of around 3lbs. It jumped clean in the air and I was dismayed to see my fly come loose. “Oh well you never know there might be more here”, I thought. After five minutes or so there was a swirl at my fly again and a fish of about 5lbs leapt in the air and ran me down into my backing before jumping clean in the air again. “A grilse ” I thought as I retrieved my line. With the water being so clear I was able to see that the fish had too many spots on its flank to be a grilse and after a spirited fight I netted what proved to be my biggest sea trout for a number of years. The fish was quite coloured and certainly not a bar of silver. Here is a photograph – 25 inches long, yellow in the belly but no red spots. A “slob trout” perhaps?

5lb Sea run Brown Trout caught on 4th September 2021

 When I shared the picture with a friend the prospect of it not being a sea trout came up.  The colour of the fish seemed different from a true sea trout and his opinion was that it was a brown trout that had adapted to living in an estuary environment.

After a bit of reading I learned that the term slob trout had originally come from fish caught in the brackish waters of the Wexford Slobs many years ago. They can however also be found in the many inlets and creeks around our coast for example in Loch of Stenness in Orkney. You can find a lengthy debate on this subject in the Flyfishing forum. I am not sure where I stand in this debate but from the thousands of trout I have caught in the sea throughout Scotland, I believe that there is only one species – brown trout, some of which remain in fresh water, some leave freshwater and feed in brackish estuaries and sea lochs where the salinity varies according to the amount of rain and the state of the tides, and there are other examples of fish that will travel out to the open sea proper and feed in sandy bays on sand eel and shrimp. There are even examples of fish that roam around the coastline of the UK and even across the North Sea to Denmark.

As sea trout approach spawning they lose their silvery camouflaged colouring and their spots seem to enlarge and sometimes merge. Scientists say that a brown trout and a sea trout are in fact the same species (Salmo Trutta). This fish had around 10 sea lice on it indicating that it had been spending most of its time feeding in salt water. I am no scientist so my take on the debate is that any trout caught in salt water whether brackish or pure salt water are sea run brown trout. Their colouration reflects their habitat.

Double hook-up. Contrast in colouration of fish from the same shoal

So my conclusion is that if I catch a trout in brackish water or in the open sea, I call it a sea run brown trout. Sea lochs, semi enclosed inlets and estuaries will have varying degrees of salinity and the trout’s tolerance to this allows them to enjoy a wider and more varied habitat. If they are feeding or waiting to run they seem to take on a camouflage colouration to match their habitat and as spawning time approaches their colouration intensifies darkens and their spots seem to grow. Here is an example of one I caught recently where the spots have clearly grown.

Sea Trout over 3lbs caught in October

Golden Trout

What I love about wild brown trout is the variety of colours they take on according to their natural environment. Dark peaty waters produce trout which are sometimes so black that you can barely make out their spots. Lochs that are tinged with peat can produce some of the most beautiful coloured trout. Those that have clear water tend to produce silvery light coloured fish. Shetland has such a diversity of lochs producing an amazing variety of fish and I am fortunate enough to have enjoyed catching some incredibly coloured brown trout. My favourite fish it has to be said are those with a beautiful golden tinge to them. In the forty or more years I have lived up here in the northern isles I have found only a few of these lochs in my travels so you will I am sure forgive me if I don’t reveal their locations.

Clear water lochs tend to be quite alkaline in nature, have fairly rich feeding and as a result the fish tend to grow well.

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  A 2.75lb Brown Trout caught on a buzzer

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  Two pound brown trout from a hill loch

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  A Two Pounder caught on a Suspender Buzzer

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  Peacock Herl Suspender Buzzer Size 10

About a pound and a half caught on a suspender buzzer in bright sun 3rd June 2021

A Small Bass

2020 has been an unusual season with the promising first few weeks being superseded by the Covid 19 Lockdown. In some ways the lockdown has I think been beneficial to the fishing and certainly up here in Shetland the fishing even on the most popular lochs has been the best for years. Every year is different and the highlights have been quite diverse.

Whilst fishing a saltwater hot spot for sea trout last week I managed to lose a fairly silver sea trout of around 3lbs at the net. It gave me an exciting fight as it went off on two explosive runs but as I reached for the net the fly came loose and it was gone! Oh well I thought if we caught them all fishing would become too predictable and not the challenge that it is! The tide was starting to ebb fast so I waded down to a holding pool that has produced well for me in the past. The fish seem to linger there on an ebbing tide before they move out to the open sea. Something picked up my sand eel fly that felt quite different and after a spirited fight I netted a small sea bass!

Shetland lies at around 60 degrees north and in the 40 years I have lived here I have never heard of sea bass being caught before so it was a complete surprise to me and to most of the other Shetland fishermen I know. Perhaps global warming has increased the feeding areas of these fish. I have heard of them being caught in areas such as the Kyles of Durness and Tongue on the northern coast of the Scottish Mainland so here’s hoping that they establish themselves in Shetland.

This more than made up for the loss of a decent sea trout.

Red Letter Monday

Last Monday’s fishing trip to one of my favourite saltwater venues turned out to be very much a short and sweet experience. Weather conditions and tides looked to be just about right with a mild south westerly breeze and the tide at about half ebb. There had been some quite heavy rain on Saturday night so there was a bit of colour to the water but hopefully not enough to make the fish run the stream at the head of the voe. Perhaps there might even be a few fresh grilse in to liven things up!

I had arranged to meet my friend Davy near the head of the voe as Covid-19 had put paid to sharing transport. Over the years I have known him he has taught me an incredible amount about catching large brown trout and fishing in saltwater for both salmon and sea trout. His enthusiasm and optimistic outlook has turned many an unsuccessful day into a day to remember.

Arriving at the voe at around 8:30am I only had a couple of hours before I had to be back home to look after our ageing golden labrador. “Plenty time to catch a few” Davy said. We made for a deeper area where fish sometimes hold up on a receding tide. My set up comprised a 9ft 6″ Greys 6 piece #7 Travel fly rod, a home made shooting head floater and a two fly cast with foam daddy on the tail and a size 8 golden Wickhams Fancy on the dropper. A salmon of around 5lbs jumped over Davy’s line but didn’t seem to be interested in his flies. I cast out into the deeper water where there was a splash at my tail fly. I lifted the rod and was into a beautiful silvery grilse which jumped and stripped off my fly line and a good length of backing too. After a while I got it back around my feet and it ran off again even further than the first run. It jumped again before it finally began to tire and I slipped the net under a lovely fresh run grilse of around 4lbs. “What a great way to start the day” Davy said.

Davy waded across the shallows to fish some hot spots on the east side of the voe. He had barely got 50 yards when I let out a shout that I was hooked up to another grilse. After a spirited fight where the fish ran me down to the backing twice, I was able to slip the net under another fresh run fish of around the 4lb mark.

With less than an hour to go before i was due home I covered a few more areas where I have hooked up before carefully fishing every area where the water was darker. After having a little nip at the flies I cast again and my rod arched over and I was into another strong fish. There was no feeling of head shaking associated with salmon and after a spirited fight I returned a lovely sea trout of well over 2lbs. What an amazing couple of hours fishing! Time to head off home before Davy kicked me out of the water!

Both salmon fell to my tan coloured Foam Daddy Longlegs and the sea trout to a size 8 Golden Wickham’s Fancy.

I fished at the same location twice since and blanked both times! It just goes to show that there is a strong element of good fortune involved when it comes to fishing. That’s what makes fishing so exciting. The unpredictability of it all!

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Time for a Grilse

I have written before about fishing for salmon in the sea and how it is possible to catch them in tidal locations as they wait to run up the rivers and streams in the late autumn to spawn. My preference is to catch them when they are fresh in from their feeding grounds. Bars of silver and fighting fit. It is difficult to locate them in the first instance as they don’t always give their presence away by jumping. Locating them is mainly through experience and finding a taking fish is mainly down to an understanding of their behaviour. Where they rest and intercepting them is key to success.

Yesterday was the 27th June 2020, a day of bright sun but with a little wind coming off the hills. I decided to go and try the hill lochs for some wild brown trout however something was niggling at the back of my mind – could there be some salmon edging up to the head of a Shetland voe (sea loch) this early in the season? Last year a large shoal came into a sea loch not too far away from where I live in late June and I had great sport with them before they finally ran upstream to spawn. Could they run this early again? I decided to abandon the idea of chasing brown trout in the many lochs we have in Shetland in favour of the off chance of connecting with a salmon in the sea.

Arriving at one of my favourite locations, the wind was not particularly favourable as it was fanning across the deeps and then changing direction. However I decided to wade across the shallow part of the voe and walk up to the deeper water to fish across the darker areas where the fish might hold. I started off by fishing two flies – a Fluorescent Red Soldier palmer on the bob and a white sand eel imitation on the tail. . The sun was perhaps a little too bright and after half an hour or so had passed, there was no sign of anything. Not a touch or a follow. Time for a change but what flies? I remembered fishing successfully last year with a foam Daddy Longlegs and I had already had some success with a sedge pattern such as a March Brown on a dropper so I changed over to a Foam Daddy on the Tail and the March Brown on the dropper. About half way across I got a definite touch possibly on the March Brown. Not a very big fish I thought – perhaps a small sea trout. I continued for a while but got no further response and was beginning to think of returning to the car when there was a splash at the Foam Daddy on the tail. I lifted the rod slowly and felt some resistance. Initially I thought it was a good sea trout of around the 2lb mark when I felt that familiar dig, dig, dig and the fish suddenly decided to empty my fly reel of the remainder of my fly line and about half my backing. I got it in around my feet when it suddenly decided to take off again stripping the whole fly line again and most of my backing. The fish then decided to jump clear of the water revealing it to be a lovely fresh-run bar of silver. It took me a further 5 minutes to subdue the fish and net it. Following a quick photograph I returned it to the water. Another grilse to the foam Daddy Longlegs.

Fresh From The Sea – A Grilse about 4lbs on a Foam Daddy 27th June 2020

Buzzer Time Again

A Typical Clear Water Hill Loch in Shetland

May and June to me are the months associated with hatching midges or as we anglers like to call them “buzzers”. Wild trout love these catching them on patterns such as suspender buzzers on light rods, floating lines and light leaders is a lot of fun. As Shetland is so far north, the growing season is somewhat short and in the early months things take a while to get going. Buzzer hatches tend to occur as much as a month later than most of the Scottish mainland.

The hills at this time of year are alive with wild flowers and nesting birds. Moorland flowers such as tormentil , buttercup, lady’s smock and common butterwort add some much needed colour to the surroundings. The moorland terrain supports many nesting birds such as Red Throated Divers, Great Arctic Skuas, Red Grouse, Skylark, Geese, Mallard, Curlew, Merlin and many more besides. As a fisherman, great care must be taken so as not to disturb nesting birds especially along the shores of the lochs where rarities such as Red Throated Divers lay their eggs. Their wailing calls are a giveaway alerting you to their presence. If the eggs have hatched the adults will escort their young away from you and you can perhaps spend a little time fishing the loch. If their eggs have not hatched you are best to leave the loch alone and fish somewhere else for fear of chilling the eggs.

I prefer fishing the clearwater lochs as they tend to give rise to brighter bigger and prettier fish.

Returning A Golden Coloured 1.5lb Brown Trout

Light winds seem to be best for this type of fishing as the flies remain suspended in the surface film ready for hatching. I normally fish two suspender buzzers on 6lb fluorocarbon leaders. This allows for a more delicate presentation.

25 or 30 years ago, an Englishman called Brian Leadbetter introduced a very simple to tie suspender buzzer made from dyed seals fur ribbed with either silver oval tinsel or a medium pearl Mylar. The head was composed of dyed Ethafoam strip tied in to form a floating ball at the head. This had the effect of allowing the fly to float in the surface film suspending it like a midge pupae would do before hatching. He used this fly to great effect on Loch Leven in one of the Fly Fishing Internationals. Since then I have used this pattern to great effect in many different locations throughout the UK and especially up here in Shetland. The tying for this pattern is given in my blog on Greista Loch. I have tied many variations of this fly and my all-time favourite is the simplest one with a peacock herl body ribbed with peal Mylar and a black/grey Ethafoam head. I had success with this fly in Loch Leven one evening when I caught fish to over 4lbs.

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  1.75lbs Hill Loch Trout

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  Red Tag Buzzer

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  Peacock Herl Suspender Buzzer Size 10

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  2lb hill loch Trout

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  Returned to the loch

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  Jamie Cheyne’s Loch

A Perfect Day in the Hills

Saltwater Daddies

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  Foam Daddy

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  A well-used Foam Daddy

Foam Daddy longlegs Size 10

Trying to catch salmon and grilse in saltwater can be, at the best of times, extremely frustrating. Some anglers wouldn’t even consider having a go at them as the fish will either totally ignore the fly or to give half-hearted chase only to turn away at the last moment. There are however times when, for some unknown reason, an angler stands a fairly good chance of hooking a salmon in saltwater.

In my last blog I described a few occasions in July 2019 when I had caught some fresh-run grilse in saltwater. However the fish have since run up the burn and the few that have remained have become stale and extremely hard to tempt. Despite some periods of really heavy rain a few grilse have decided to remain behind and they rarely display their usual aerial acrobatics. Last Wednesday the rain during the night had been relentless. The head of the voe the next day was awash with peaty water an the burn a raging torrent. What could I use to tempt a few stale grilse? There was a strong south easterly wind blowing up the voe which would mean wading deep and fishing areas that were little more than waste to knee deep. The waves made me wonder if a Muddler would work so I tried a gold muddler and a Wickham’s Fancy on the tail with no response. Returning to my car I swapped my rod for my 9.5ft #4 Penn fly rod which I had been using for loch brown trout. I had a light cast (5lb breaking strain) with a size 10 daddy longlegs on the top dropper, a size 12 Wickham’s Fancy on the middle and a size 10 Blue Jay on the tail. Not the type of set-up for catching grilse but I thought I might get a sea trout . Fishing a few holding places for grilse on the way across resulted in nothing but as I approached the far side of the voe I saw a small sea trout jump and quickly covered it. It took the Blue Jay on the tail and after a spirited fight I returned it and carried on casting first in deeper water, then in mid depth and again in the shallows. Each cast I lifted the Daddy Longlegs up onto the wave and suddenly a decent fish head and tailed on the Daddy. I thought at first I had hooked a Sea Trout as it ran and jumped twice before making for a patch of seaweed near the edge. After another spirited run it began to tire and I was able to net it. “A grilse”! I couldn’t believe it! Only about 3lbs and beginning to colour but welcome catch nevertheless.

Buoyed up by my visit on Thursday I returned on Friday for an hour or so. I rearranged my cast putting a newly tied Daddy Longlegs on the top dropper, the successful size 10 Daddy (featured above) on the middle dropper and a size 10 Wickham’s Fancy on the tail. I was taking a risk using only 5lb breaking strain fluoro carbon when there were grilse around but something told me to fish light. I settled in to my favourite hot spot and after a dozen or so casts I saw a swirl at my middle dropper and I was connected to a strong fish that made off to the middle of the voe and jumped clear of the water. I immediately thought “grilse” but the strength of the fish quickly made me realise that this was a very good sea trout. It took a while to subdue and it brought the scales down to a shade over 3lbs. I did not have time to fish for very long as I had to drive into Lerwick for our weekly shopping. The fish had taken the same daddy that I had caught the grilse on the day before. Daddy Longlegs in the sea! I must continue with this madness in future. It works!

I managed to resist the temptation of fishing on Saturday and of course there is no fishing allowed on a Sunday in Scotland so it wasn’t until Monday that I returned to see if I could tempt another fish to the daddy longlegs. On Monday it was blowing a force 4 from the southeast. Ideal conditions for fishing in the sea I thought. The tide seemed much higher when I arrived but I had a feeling that there was a chance of another grilse in the hot spot where I had caught the sea trout the week before. I had been fishing for about ten minutes when a fish savagely took my flies and attempted to go for cover in the seaweed. Carefully I applied enough pressure to coax the fish out into open water and the fly line zipped past me with the reel singing. It was another grilse of around 3lbs and yes, you’ve guessed it, it took the same daddy longlegs! As you can see from the picture of the fly at the start of this blog, there is little left of the original six legs!

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  Grilse 3lbs

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  Sea Trout 3lbs

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  Grilse 3lbs

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  Grilse 4lbs June 2020

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  4lb Grilse from a Shetland Voe – Size 10 Daddy Longlegs July 2019

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  Grilse caught on a Daddy Longlegs August 2017

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  A 3lb grilse caught in salt water on a Wickhams Fancy

Against the Odds

A Typical Shetland Voe

The end of June/beginning of July sometimes heralds the return of salmon and grilse here in Shetland. In some years the runs have been quite promising although last year and the year before very few salmon and grilse returned. The reasons are probably many fold – global warming, exploitation at sea, illegal netting and sea lice infestation from local salmon farms. Recently there has been a lot of adverse publicity concerning salmon farms and despite damning reports and statistics the Scottish Government has done little to improve the situation.

Salmon however are born survivors and in areas such as Shetland where the spawning is limited due to the size of the streams they still manage to hang on against all the odds . In their efforts to improve the runs of wild salmon, the Scottish Government has restricted fishing for salmon in Shetland to catch and release only. This means all wild salmon here have to be returned which will give the fish a fighting chance to spawn in the few suitable streams that are available. The fish are not very large in Shetland running from 2lbs up to around 12lbs or so. Fish can be located in the sea itself where they wait for suitable conditions to run the burn. I prefer to try for them in the salt or brackish water as they tend to be fresh and in good condition. Catching them is extremely difficult and it can be very frustrating casting over a fish which doesn’t respond. Taking times are few and far between in salt water but patience can pay off if you are stealthy enough and the fish are not moving around too much.

In early July this year there were one or two salmon that came into a voe which is the Shetland name for a narrow sea loch. Fine bright silvery fish that moved around a lot with the tide occasionally jumping to reveal their presence. I knew that there might be a chance to connect with one of these fish when they rested. When they arrive fresh from their feeding grounds they are restless and move around a lot seeking out the fresh water where they were born. The place where I fish for them is very sandy and the fish seem to rest up in the deeper areas waiting for the tide to allow them to continue on their way upstream to the spawning grounds.

A small grilse caught at a saltwater location in Shetland – July 2019

I thought I would risk fishing a three fly cast and tied on a Wickham’s Fancy size 8 on the top, a Blue Jay Variant size 10 on the middle dropper and an Orange Jay size 10 on the tail. The tide had only just begun to ebb so I did not rate my chances very high. The fish moved around a lot as the tide began to rise as they gauged whether or not they could run over the shallow sands into the burn. I tried where I thought a fish might rest and noticed a boil in front of me. Had I disturbed the fish? “Probably” I thought. I waded across the head of the voe fishing my flies carefully and paying particular attention to where the water deepened. There was no sign of anything so I sat down in the heather for a rest. I started to fish over the ledge where the low water mark was. The water deepens there and any fish that run the burn wait there until the high tide. I thought I had passed the lie where I had disturbed a fish on my way across but my middle fly was suddenly grabbed by a lovely fresh run grilse which ran about 25 yards before leaping clear of the water. Fortunately the hook held and the fish ran onto the shallow sand behind me and jumped again. After another few nerve racking minutes the fish ran back into the deeper water where it jumped using its tail to apply as much pressure as it could to free itself. Fortunately I was able to get its head up and with much relief I slid the landing net under it. After a quick photo, I returned it and watched it swim away back to the deeper water. What a strong fight for a small grilse which I estimated to be around 3.5lbs. Compared with previous years this fish was in far better condition than the ones I caught in previous years. Clearly they have found better feeding grounds and have managed to evade the sea lice blooms from the nearby salmon cages.

A return visit on 11 July this year saw the tide at low ebb and conditions hopeful. I carefully worked my flies through a deep pool on the edge of the seaweed. A small Grilse had revealed its presence by following my Daddy Longlegs on the dropper. I could see that it was interested when its dorsal fin appeared within a foot of the fly. No offer though. I cast again and there was a savage pull and the fish was on! After a strong run of 20 yards or so the fish turned around and headed for me. I was forced to strip the line to keep in contact and the fish headed into the shallow water where I was able to net it. Around 4lbs and a beautiful silvery colour. It was amazing to catch a fish on a Daddy Longlegs in salt water!

On Tuesday 16th July the fish were not in a taking mood as the tide was almost fully in. I thought I would walk up to the burn mouth in case any fish had decided to swim up through the shallow water to the sea pool of the burn. Apart from the odd small sea trout showing there was no evidence of any salmon. I was beginning to lose heart and walk back to the car when all of a sudden a lovely silvery grilse jumped at the head of the sea pool . A quick cast resulted in a gentle pluck to my Blue Jay on the tail. Two more casts resulted in nothing before another cast resulted in a savage take and the fish leapt clear from the water. The fish made a long run back towards the sea before I was able to bring it back under control and eventually into the net. Another grilse on the Blue Jay! I was pleased to say the least. Hopefully this run of fish wont be a “one off” and we can enjoy fishing for salmon well into the future .

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  4 Pound Grilse 16th July 2019 – Blue Jay size 10

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  4lb Grilse from a Shetland Voe – Size 10 Daddy Longlegs July 2019

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  Daddy Longlegs Size 10

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  Blue Jay Size 10

Three on the Buzzer

Jamie Cheyne’s Loch near Scalloway

If you heeded the wisdom of some of our angling experts, fishing on a cloudless day with light winds would be unlikely to bring much in the way of success. However last Friday was just such a day but I decided to take a walk up to some hill lochs near my house anyway. So with relentless sunshine and what little wind there was from the south I set off up the hill expecting just to get a good work out and enjoy the views. “Well I might as well take a rod just for the way of it” I said to myself trying to justify my madness and I did have a new homemade shooting head floating line I wanted to try out.

After a stiff climb and many stops on the way to “admire the view”, I arrived at the first loch disturbing a couple of red throated divers as I descended towards the shoreline. Fishing here would have to be curtailed as their young would not be hatched out yet. Spotting two eggs on the shoreline I made a sharp retreat allowing the adults to return to their nest before the eggs became chilled. I did manage a few casts on the far side of the loch catching two small brown trout on buzzers without spooking the divers again. I headed westward to a small loch called Jamie Cheyne’s Loch which has a reputation for holding large fish. Thankfully there were no red throated divers in sight so I fished the northern shoreline into a slight ripple that formed about half way across the loch in the merest whisper of a breeze. Just enough to straighten my leader I hoped. I tied on a lighter 5lb cast and degrease it. Tying on two suspender buzzers one with a peacock herl body ribbed with medium pearl mylar and the other with a red holograph rib I made a few hesitant casts where the ripple started to form. The sun continued to beat down and what little hope I had of catching anything quickly diminished. My shooting head line was well balanced and I made a long cast into the shallow water at the edge of the loch. There was a swirl at the tail fly and I connected with a large fish that ran into the deeper water and lept clean in the air. Totally unexpected I quickly retrieved my slack line and played it on my reel. It jumped at least another three times and ran across to the far side of the loch until I was half way through my backing. Eventually I netted it took a quick photograph and gently released it in the shallows. I made two further casts and connected with another cracking brownie of at least 2lbs which I released. That one took the buzzer ribbed with red holograph. A third one of around 1.25 lbs took the tail fly. Three fish in the space of 20 minutes in conditions you would expect to blank! What an afternoon! The colours of these fish are amazing don’t you think?

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  The smallest of 3 caught on a suspender buzzer

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  A Two Pounder caught on a Suspender Buzzer

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  Brown Trout 3lbs Caught on a Suspender Buzzer

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  Peacock Herl Suspender Buzzer Size 10

A Return to Old Haunts

A View of Asta Loch on the Way Up the Hill

As this season enters it’s Autumn phase I look back at it and draw from it that fishing is far from predictable. Each season has its highlights as well as the things you would like to forget. As for most of us in the UK months on end of relentless blue skies and sunshine have meant fishing has been far from easy. The cold lingering winter meant that the fish were slow to recover from the rigors of spawning and the scarcity of food in the early spring meant that the fish were lean and harder to catch. Fishing has always been a challenge and those of us who are quick enough to respond to the difficulties that are presented to us will reap the benefits at the end of the day. At the start of the season many days came and went without me bothering to venture outside with a fly rod and when I did my fishing excursions lasted a few hours only. Finally thihngs improved and by mid May the fish responded to the increase in temperatures. My enthusiasm increased and my thoughts turned to older haunts that I frequented  in the past. In a previous blog, I mentioned there are a series of a dozen hill lochs to the south of my house in Whiteness which are approachable either from the Scalloway or the Whiteness ends. I was keen to return to Maggie Black ‘s and Jamie Cheyne’s lochs which involve a fairly strenuous walk across the moor whichever starting point you choose.  I chose to go from Asta Golf Course and followed the small valley past the Mill Loch of Garth which contains brown trout to 3lbs or more. There are fish in all the lochs but the jewels in the crown, Maggie Black’s and Jamie Cheyne’s lochs, contain the biggest fish. They are however very difficult to tempt and if you are fortunate enough to hook any of the real big ones they will make for the weeds. By mid June the weed beds are well developed particularly in Maggie Black’s loch so you need a strong leader if you are going to stand any chance of landing one! I chose a bright day for my visit but there was some cloud covering which raised my hopes. I struggled for a while with the usual  standard traditional flies in size 10s and 12s but to no avail. After a fruitless time on Maggie Black’s Loch I walked the two hundred yards or so through heather and peat bog to Jamie Cheyne’s Loch. After scratching around my fly box I finally spotted a size 10 Murrough  – a fly I had tied up over 30 years ago to imitate a Cinnamon or Great Red Sedge which hatch off the lochs from June onwards. The fly seems to attract the bigger fish when all else fails and became known locally as “Mike’s Murrough”. In the days before Hedgehogs and Sedgehogs it got some attention on the Scottish Mainland and even caught me pike and rainbow trout. Within about ten minutes of tying one on I hooked and landed a lovely wild brownie of 2lb 4oz.

 

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Sea Trout

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  One on a white sand eel

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  An angler tries for a fish at low tide

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  2lb and 1.5lb from a sea pool

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  A burnmouth location at low tide

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  A 3lb grilse caught in salt water on a Wickhams Fancy

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  A brace from a sea pool

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  Caught on a White Sand Eel April 2018

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  4 pounder caught in saltwater Isle of Skye August 2018

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  2.75lbs Isle of Skye August 2018

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  4lb Sea Trout caught on an ebbing tide

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  3lb Sea Trout Caught on a Wickhams Fancy

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  Double hook up

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Hunting for sea trout in salt water has long been a passion of mine and with this season fast approaching I have tied up some sea trout patterns which will hopefully catch a few in the bays and inlets around Shetland. There is a page on the Shetland Anglers Association website that will give you a few pointers as to where you can try at http://www.shetlandtrout.co.uk/sea-trout-fishing.html We are spoiled for choice up here as there are approximately 1,600 miles of coastline if you add on all the islands however it takes many years to find the real hot spots and I am still looking for them! Sea trout have a habit of disappearing as quickly as when they first came. The well-known locations will been well covered within the first few weeks of the season so the secret is to find somewhere that has been forgotten about over the years. The burn mouths tend to be the place to find the fish that have spawned and are eager to regain their condition so be gentle with these fish and exercise restraint to preserve the dwindling stocks of these beautiful fish. I catch and release around 95% these days and by doing so you not only help to preserve the stocks for the future, if you are a fish lover you will enjoy eating them all the more if you don’t have them too often.

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  Proppen (Barry Orde Clarke)

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  Blue and Silver

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  Cinnamon and Gold

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  Silver Cardinal

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  Blue Jay Matuka

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  Fluo Red Soldier Palmer

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  Davy’s Blue Jay

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  Wickham’s Fancy Sizes 8 to 10

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  Mike’s Eel

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  Coral Muddler

Sea trout can be fussy about what fly works best and it is often down to your own confidence in what fly will work best on a given day. My “go to” cast would almost always be a Wickham’s Fancy on a single dropper with my White Sand Eel on the tail. It is hard to say that a fly you have fashioned from a variety of materials is your own design but the White Sand Eel came to me more than 20 years ago when most of us were using traditional sea trout patterns. it is not unlike a Clouser Minnow which appeared around 2006, I designed this one to imitate the common sand eel which frequents the sandy bays and voes around Shetland around 2004. It lay in my box for years before I finally decided to try it out one day as a last resort when I failed to catch when it was obvious that sea trout were feeding in the area. There was no tentative half-hearted follow when I tried it out. All takes were positive and I ended up with 5 fish up to 2lbs before the shoal moved on.  Over the years I have tied up many variations of this pattern and all seem to work as well. The old fashioned epoxy resin and rotary driers have given way to fast setting UV resin and UV torches. My original version didn’t even have eyes and were very crude to say the least. The latest ones have realistic eyes and are tied in less than ten minutes. Last year I caught in excess of 200 sea trout on this pattern with 2 over 3lbs and many in the 2lb plus range. If you catch a sea trout in excess of 4lbs in Shetland you are doing extremely well!

In the summer months salmon and grilse can turn up in the voes and bays around Shetland. Sometimes their visits are fleeting as they make their way from the feeding grounds back to the rivers or streams of their birth. I have encountered shoals of large salmon as the tide advances on a Shetland voe. With fish leaping and nosing their way into the burn mouths to smell the fresh water they quickly disappear on the ebbing tide. In those situations you rarely get any interest from them as they are on the move the whole time. Their minds are focused on locating the streams and rivers of their birth. If you are fortunate enough to hook one of these fish they can empty your reel in a matter of seconds so be prepared by having plenty of backing. It is difficult to offer any advice about catching a salmon in salt water because the opportunities are few and far between. Those fish that I have hooked over the years have tended to be on smallish flies when I have been targeting sea trout. Of all the flies I have used in the sea it is perhaps the Wickham’s Fancy that I have been most successful with. Perhaps it is the shrimp-like appearance of the fly that triggers a response from the fish.

The start of the 2018 season unfortunately coincided with some very snowy weather throughout the United Kingdom. As I write this blog on 6th March there is still much snow around so any fishing will have to be curtailed until things warm up a bit.