Home     Search    Get a Reminder   Links    Feedback Forum   Click Here For The All New Fish Wild!   
 
August 2007
Contents

Features
Bobbing Through the Highlands Allan Liddle's passion for wild water float tubing

Etchachan a Loch Too Far A tale of pain, exhaustion, losses and gains, ups and downs, near misses, good company and wild brown trout

Is that Wupert? Bruce Sandison takes a wry look at the sporting scene

Loch Hopping In Shetland Malcolm Prescott wanders with fly rod in the far north

Loch Profile Allan Hutton visits Loch Lundarva, a very accessible Highland water

Ye Gods!! A religious experience, too much whisky or just plain daft? – John Cargill ponders the ultimate question

Short Lines
New to fly fishing? George Houston on what the books don’t tell you.

First Casts
Float fishing revisited Part 2 of Richard Maurins guide to float fishing

Fly Tying
Step by Step with Dennis Shaw The Peacock Montana

Book Reviews
Standing in a River, Waving a Stick Swithun Mason revisits this John Gierach book first published 1999

Equipment Reviews
Fishpond Laurel Run Fly Boxes Allan Liddle checks out these new fly boxes

Last Call
Quantum Physics Bob Graham's leader entangled in photons


Bobbing Through the Highlands
Allan Liddle's passion for wild water float tubing
(click any thumbnail image for a larger version)

Float tubes are the new black and the must have accessory for the wild trout angler, or at least that’s what we thought way back some 12 to 14 or so years ago when they first started to appear.

Not that they were a new piece of kit even then, with a picture of one appearing in a very old journal I came across somewhere depicting just this very thing, albeit a kind of "all in one waders" attached to a large rubber ring that it appears you stood rather than sat in. I suppose you just kept wading and I couldn’t see any form of fins so I’m not sure how you were supposed to manoeuvre, but a kind of float tube it was none the less, and, if the piece was to be believed, it came from Scotland. A pity I didn’t keep that piece, however I can direct you to the Shetland Library and point out a photo of a Mr Peterson’s fishing device which dates from the early 1900’s. More a pontoon boat than a float tube, however the concept’s the same, an easily portable fishing platform to get out on remote or non-boat lochs in search of elusive fish so yes there is evidence that all is not entirely new in the Scottish float tube world.

Now the float tube’s undergoing something of a new renaissance and it’s definitely heading ‘back in’ again. ‘Does my bum look big in this?’ Yes but who cares when it’s the best and safest piece of kit to get you amongst those far off fish, portable, light and easy to use, akin to fishing in a big comfy armchair albeit your legs and bum are in the water which is something you don’t usually get unless you live in a flood zone.

But before you make the big splash, or not I hope, a couple of wee warning words. Easy it is but you still need a modicum of fitness, a big chunk of common sense, proper fins, lifejacket a must, decent waders either 5mm neoprene with lighter neoprene’s and good quality breathables worked with a layered clothing system; actually a better option as it offers (in my opinion) more comfort and manoeuvrability. Finally, and often overlooked, permission to use the thing in the first place. No, that keeper's not chasing midges on the far shore he’s waving his arms at you!

That all sorted then where to go? Well, Scotland, and particularly the Highlands and Islands are your oyster and I’m going to list a few of the places where I’ve ‘bobbed about’ over the past decade and a bit.

Way Up North:

Orkney and Shetland are, without doubt, a float tubers paradise and if you tried to play God and come up with the perfect place to float about in an oversized nylon covered rubber ring with a fishing rod in your hands then it would probably look something like our two most Northern collection of islands.

Shetland has more both in terms of numbers as well as variation and is a sort of cross between rugged Northwest Sutherland and Caithness. Few trees, loads of scattered lochs, a couple of burns and fish everywhere. Spiggie in the South to Cliff in the North it’s a case of have tube will travel, and if I could get away with it I’d probably take a month up here every year.

Orkney, on the other hand, has a more fertile feel and its principle waters are that bit bigger. Access is very easy and it’s on the mainland that you’ll find my ultimate favourite loch of all time, Harray. Broken shallows, weed beds, surface sport, cracking troot it has it all and backed up by a load of other quality fishing, some well known and some not, I’d live here permanently if I could get away with this as well.

Good point to note for both Orkney and Shetland is the fact that under Udal (old Norse) Law the fishing’s actually free but visitors and locals alike are encouraged to join the relative Associations to help ensure quality fishing in these parts for future visits and generations through their conservation and restocking measures which is all done with local native fish to maintain the native strain. At around £20 which covers a year it’s a small price to pay and it’s only the ignorant that don’t.

South from here and back across the great Pentland Firth divide you come to some of the most under-rated wild trout fishing Scotland has to offer, Caithness. From the cultivated North East corner between Thurso and Wick to the wilds of the famous Flow Country there is quality angling in abundance with some famous waters intermixed with some not so well known ones. And to get the best out of most, the tube offers that fantastic opportunity to ‘open them right up’. Access to most of these loch is really easy as well with some literally a step out of the car and many of them grouped together under the one permit such as the Thrumster Estate which has five on offer from the stiff walked access of Warehouse to the ‘cast out the car window’ of Marl and Yarrows. Local tackle dealer Hugo Ross in Wick is the destination of choice for all things fishy in these parts with a wealth of information and those all important permits available from here as well as those local ‘killers’ to tie on to your cast.

Still moving downwards the next location I’d like to mention is probably the most popular amongst holidaying float tube anglers namely the scattered rugged broken hills of Assynt. Yes I know I’ve skipped a big chunk and yes I know there’s a lifetime of inflatable bag angling on offer but hey I’ve got to keep something back for my next script!

Assynt as I’ve said is very popular amongst ‘tubers’ for all the same reasons as before. Incredible access to more water than you could ever shake a carbon stick at in one life, huge diversity between a lot of the lochs, the choice of easy access to ‘expedition’ hikes but with the added bonus of that incredible backdrop of the Assynt hills, Cul Mor, Cul Beag, Canisp, Quineag, Ben More, Stac Polly and my favourite Sulvien. That’s if the weather’s good enough for you to see them.

Despite all these intimate little lochs I actually prefer the upper Kirkaig system and the ‘big five’ of Borrallan, Urigill, Cama, Veyatie and Fionn, often using the boat for access on the last three and then the tube to get right into those little ‘nooks and crannies’ or even those tiny, hardly ever visited, satellite waters that are scattered all around them.

Borrallan is actually a cracking wee water often overlooked due to its roadside location but with plenty interesting features and the added bonus of a wee pub to ‘dry out’ when the weather gets tough. Urigill is it’s ‘big sister’ just over the hill and is a cracking tube location with its’ big weed beds that you can hold yourself off as you work those flies right along the edge. Cama next, at one time the principle water for this area way back in the 1930’s when the area was very much one of the in vogue places to visit. A bit like the open, shallow Urigill at one end with a long, very deep scar like Veyatie joined on the bit I call ‘round the corner’. Dropping to over 150 feet it’s not too hard to imagine the best of the fishing’s near the edges once you’re round in this area.
Veyatie, as I’ve already hinted, is every bit that long, narrow, deep, rugged scar of a water you might imagine. Windswept and brutally beautiful with a backdrop to die for, it’s easy to see why this is my favourite. Add the bonus of Loch a Mhadial which is actually classed as another water but in reality is an extension of Veyatie separated by the narrowest of sand bars and easily accessible in higher water levels. Ditch the boat and head into the hill with that tube around the bottom end of here for some real adventure wilderness stuff as these small satellite waters are fantastic. Or you might fancy a wee foray at the joining river that flows between Veyatie and the last of the Upper Kirkaig waters, and arguably the most well known, Fionn. Softer than its predecessor it’s a real anglers water with fish usually pretty responsive all round the shoreline and a little beyond especially over the shallower ‘top end’. Dominated by Sulvien which stands like a sentinel over these parts it’s hard to keep your eyes on the water sometimes which is usually exactly when the fish of the day decides to roll over your flies only for you to catch a glimpse of another chance lost. A tough walk in from the Inver Kirkaig end but well worth the effort, however I prefer to motor the length of Veyatie and walk in the old drovers way as it offers so much more in the way of fishing and isn’t too arduous a task with that big inflatable strapped to your back.

As you might gather I could go on for ever about the opportunities of tubing in these rugged parts but before I finish I just want to whisk you away to two final destinations over towards my now home area of Morayshire, two waters that couldn’t be more different if they tried Lochindorb and Park.

Those who know me will know I’m no stranger to what can only be described as the epitome of Scottish wild hill loch fishing. Mountains for a backdrop, a castle in the middle, rolling waves, hard fighting half pound brownies, grouse on the moors, red deer in the hills and birds of prey overhead. Lochindorb couldn’t be more Scottish even if it did have a resident piper, distillery and shortbread factory. Lightening fast fish that love a dibbled fly and (just now at least) free to float tubers this is a cracking location for bobbing about fans. All that the estate really asks is a little call before setting out just to err on the side of safety and so they know who’s out on the water. A small price to ask is it not?

Loch Park by complete contrast is a man made (over 100 years ago) tree lined fertile water some forty miles East of Lochindorb with a rather weedy complexion and slightly bigger trout. Nothing like the aforementioned at all really but a demanding and rewarding water nonetheless where you really do stand a very good chance of connecting with a real heavyweight. Not free though but not overly dear either and at a mile long plenty big enough to keep you amused for at least a little while.

So there you have it, a whistle stop tour of just a fraction of the waters and areas to look out for if you are a lover of the float tube and looking for somewhere out the ordinary to explore. I’m sorry if I’ve missed out a favourite or two but as I’ve already said you don’t expect me to give away all my secrets do you? Besides I need to keep a little back for the next time.

Contact details :

Please refer to the following web pages for more details of the waters / areas mentioned above.

Shetland
Orkney
Caithness
Assynt Angling Association
Assynt Crofter's Trust
Loch Park
Lochindorb
Profile
Allan Liddle is a SGAIC qualified instructor and a quite simply a mad-keen wild trout fisher. Based in Morayshire, Allan regularly travels to every corner of Scotland in search of good trout fishing and is equally at home on vast lochs, the biggest rivers, tiny lochans or small burns. Allan has been a regular and imaginative contributor to the UK's premier angling publication, "Fly Fishing and Fly Tying" magazine for over six years and previously featured in every edition of the much missed "Scottish Angler". Allan is seldom short of a story or two, all based on down to earth, real world angling experiences. Allan Liddle lives near Elgin with his wife Dorothy and young son Archie.

Click here to write an article for Fish Wild!
Write an article for Fish Wild!
 
Return To Top Of The Page
© All the contents of this site are copyright. Nothing must be used or reproduced without written permission