A week on a "Wee Highland River". September 2021

September 2021
After suffering one of the driest Summer salmon seasons across Scotland for many many years we were all looking forwards to salvaging what was left of the 2021 Season and we were not disappointed.
Following all of the run up preparations, fly tying and general buzz and jokes the day finally arrived when we headed north, cars laden with gear, provisions and beverages.
All six of us had been studying the weather forecasts for days previously and one thing at least we were agreed upon was that rain was due mid week thankfully.
The six rods were ‘democratically’ divided into two teams, the “A Team” which included myself of course and the “B” team in order to ensure that we were well distributed across the 8 miles of water and of course to provide some ‘friendly’ competition.
Day one saw the “A Team” on the upper reaches where the initial small pools were formed within a series of gorges. The river was very low meaning that fishing may well be restricted to those pools that had sufficient holding water however with 8 miles and 35 named pools we figured that even in low water we should be able to find some good holding pools.
I had barely reached the bank or got setup when my friend Kevin was already tightening into his first fish! A bonny wee grilse of around 4lbs, a good omen of things to come. more....

[@miketracey9898]

Great video Colin love the music.

[@thedoggedangler]

Cheers Mike...something for these cold dark evenings to remind us

[@Fergiecfc07]

Great video Colin and well done 👏🏻🎣🎣👍🏼

[@thedoggedangler]

Thanks Scott

[@FinLineFly]

Loved it - thanks for sharing! Looks like a great week. Doesn't half put me the mood to chasing the salmo! Tight lines!

[@caorach3354]

It is great to see someone actually getting fish this year, well done. On Lewis we had the driest summer since 1880 and our fish died in the sea, though the general view is that it wasn't a great run anyhow. Most anglers didn't even see a salmon for the year and "good" days were almost none - I heard of one person managing a 5 fish day and another managing a 9 fish day - so I hope next year will be much better for us all. A great video and excellent memories, what more could you ask for?

[@thedoggedangler]

Thank you and yes its been a tough year across almost every system. My good Friend Kevin and fishing buddy is in the video and regularly fishes Lewis as he has family in Lewis also reported dire fishing on the Island this year. Thank you for your kind words and I equally always enjoy your video VLOGs which are excellent. Cheers Colin

[@caorach3354]

@@thedoggedangler Thank you Colin, we will keep our fingers crossed for a better Lewis season next year as it really was remarkable this year. I'm lucky as I'm as happy going to brown trout so it doesn't mess me up too much but it must have been awful for people who travelled to Lewis for salmon.

[@langholm11]

Looks great fishing, I gave up on salmon years ago, I live in Langholm on the border Esk where the great seatrout shoals of the past have long gone and Salmon so thin on the ground its not worth the effort. I've resorted to the Rainbows for my fun now. Also love the music, who is it ?

[@thedoggedangler]

Hi George, yes it was a really good week after what had been a miserable season due to drought and heat. The mighty Border, never fished this legendary water but yes sadly like so many systems now a shadow of its former self. Music is two bands - Belluga Lagoon and `Skipinnish" - see credits at end.

[@chrissfishingadventures]

Excellent video 👏What river is it?

[@thedoggedangler]

Thanks Chriss

[@jimbolger264]

@@thedoggedangler He asked you what river it is? Its sad to see Covetousness still exists in fishing, if an angler pays his way and is legit why not divulge the information.

[@thedoggedangler]

@@jimbolger264 it’s nothing whatsoever to do with “covetousness” if such a word exists. Withholding the name of the river on a public post is more to do with protection since I have sadly seen many cases of good waters and locations plundered, littered and overfished by less responsible “anglers” as a result of public posts. I normally ask the person to pm me and I share such information privately. If I have failed to do so in this case then my apologies to Chriss.

[@jimbolger264]

@@thedoggedangler Fair enough thanks for the reply 👍