Trout Fishing in Ross-shire

One cannot but enjoy the delights of trout fishing in the highlands of Scotland which I have done for some fifty years; recently I travelled north to sample the delights of wild brown trout fishing in the lochs and rivers of Ross and Cromarty just north of Inverness. My first port of call was Roger Dowsett of Troutquest in the village of Evanton in Ross-shire. Roger is qualified to teach both trout and salmon fishing, holding a Salmon & Trout Association National Instructor Certificate for trout, and Game Angling Instructor Certificate for salmon. He has an impressive website www.troutquest.com With lots of good up to date information.

As a visitor you will find delightful countryside with virtually no litter or graffiti, where you can enjoy fishing on beautiful lochs, those in the family that don’t fish can enjoy some delightful walking. With excellent bird watching, Red kites, Osprey, Peregrine falcon and Merlin to name a few. Around the Moray Firth area you can easily view populations of bottle nosed dolphins, common and grey seals, and roe, red and sika deer. You may also be fortunate and see some of our other more elusive mammals including otter, red squirrel, pine marten, and wildcat.

During my stay on the Black Isle I fished Loch Eye, about fifteen miles away, between Cromarty and Dornoch Firth, Roger has a boat on the Loch, though he can usually arrange additional boats. I was told Loch Eye is Eastern Ross's finest wild brown trout fishery. And one of the top lochs in the Highlands. Its setting and character are similar to Caithness lochs where I have enjoyed some delightful fishing for char and brown trout, also excellent rabbit shooting over the past forty odd years. Though the countryside around loch Eye is rolling farmland.
It’s a relatively large, shallow loch. Just 15m above sea level, about 400 acres in size, an average depth of just 1 to 2m. Bank fishing is not permitted, neither is the use of petrol or electric motors. With an east-west length of about one and a half miles where you can enjoy some good drifts, but expect a good workout as you row back to base at the end of the day.
The loch is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in winter it acts as an important roosting site for internationally important numbers of waterfowl. During summer visiting ospreys are seen regularly throughout the day, and the occasional otter and Roe deer.
It has extensive subsurface and partial marginal aquatic vegetation which reaches its maximum coverage in mid-summer. In periods of prolonged sunny & hot weather, the loch can be affected by algae, hence the very best fishing is from April through to July, but this loch is well worth a visit at any time. The fishing season is from the first Monday in April until 30th September and.
Remember there is no fishing on Sundays.

The shallow weedy conditions are ideal for insect life with huge hatches of important aquatic insect groups throughout the season: buzzer and olives all season, and sedges from late June onwards. Brown trout are present in large numbers, and the rises that accompany the big fly hatches can be spectacular. While there are preferred drifts trout can be caught just about anywhere. During the day you should catch several fish between 1 and 2 lbs, occasionally fish to 4lbs are caught. Boat hire including up: to 2 permits is £32/day. On my second visit as I was putting together my equipment for the days fishing at the waters edge, I heard a splash then I watched as a big brown swirled n the surface, which I reckon would be 4lb plus hammering into the sticklebacks in just a foot of gin clear water. Five minutes later I watched another big trout attacking the stickleback shoals. For fifteen minutes or more Roger and I stood in awe at the sight of not one, but two big trout feeding in a foot of water. To catch one of those fish would be a dream come true. These are not those stocked fish of still waters, but wild brown trout with spots the size of half a crown. Magnificent creatures. Despite the tough conditions during my visit Roger and I caught some beautifully marked trout with the best at about 3lbs which I took on a wet Greenwell’s.

Roger made up a floating outfit using a nine foot six weight rod, while I chose to have two rods, a nine foot 6 weight Thomas and Thomas rod with a Ghost tip line, fifteen foot leader with a 4lb tippet, On the advice of Roger I fished a greased up size 12 Loch Ordie on the top dropper’s known as the bob fly. On the second dropper I tied a size 14 wet Greenwell’s, my point fly was a size 14 Black Pennel which Roger said imitated the Black buzzer. My other outfit was a ten foot six weight Thomas and Thomas with a floating line with a fifteen foot leader to a 4lb tippet, My bob fly was a size 12 Loch Ordie well greased up with gink, on the second dropper was a size 14 wet Greenwell’s with a size 14 Gold ribbed Hare’s Ear on the point. I chose the ten foot rod as I feel when there is a good wave on I can get a better presentation when I dibble the bob fly on the surface. A suggested selection of flies to have in your box are Kate McLaren, Zulu, Greenwell’s both wet and dry, some Daddy long legs, a selection of buzzers, sedges and Damsel fly nymphs. During our days fishing we caught some lovely fish lost a few and watched some giants. I can highly recommend the area for a family holiday with all its outdoor attractions and best of all the excellent wild brown trout fishing. Further details contact Roger Dowsett TroutQuest Dalgheal Evanton Ross-shire IV16 9XH United Kingdom Tel/Fax: +44 (0)1349 830606 Mobile: +44 (0)7714 983100 E-mail: [email protected]