Love all your videos,I fish mainly the big reservoirs, Grafham,Pitsford,Rutland and the River Frome in Dorset. But seeing the wild areas your fishing is really encouraging. Tight lines🎣
Thank you Terry, I've been away a while hence the late reply. I love the really wild areas of the country and am more than willing to walk, even if the trout will only be tiny, just for the day out. It isn't for everyone however and I understand that as well! Over 40 years ago I did fish Siblyback and maybe Colliford as well and it was good fishing but not quite as wild as what eventually became my preferred option. I do recall catching a large "goldfish" from one of them! We'd had a blank day and were walking back when we spotted a group of some sort of ornamental carp type fish, basically goldfish, of maybe 2lb. Jokingly I said to my mate I'd have a cast for one and I tied on the biggest and stupidest dry fly I had and one of the goldfish took it first cast! It was the only fish either of us had for that day :-)
Great videos I love every one you’ve made and brings back a lot of memories when I and some work colleagues used to have a weeks fishing every year. It reminds me that there’s more to fishing than catching fish.
I'm so pleased you like the videos, though they are really only my "holiday snaps" as I'm too busy fishing to invest much time in making good quality video. You are right that there is more to it than catching fish and in my particular case that's just as well as I don't suffer from an over abundance of talent in that area!
Great you are enjoying them, they can be quite similar :-) However with the lockdown I've been enjoying watching them to keep the spirits up so I'm glad I made them and I hope they help keep other anglers positive at this difficult time.
I have to get there, before it's too late! It must be nice to fish rivers where the back-cast doesn't get stuck in trees, or else you end up the day covered in nettle stings!
Trees don't pose a significant problem but I'd be a liar if I said that I never get caught in the heather especially if there are rising banks behind me. However, although there are no trees we can have a lot of wind so it is often the most significant factor in our fishing.
Thank you Tom, I'm so pleased that you enjoy them as they are really just my holiday snaps and I didn't think for one minute that anyone would watch them, especially when I rarely catch anything :-) Hopefully I will get to do a few more over the next month or so if this virus thing doesn't close down our travel.
Hi Philip, briiliant videos, I am trying to watch them all to get some tips on where to fish when I visit for a week in Sept, I am told the rivers are quite dry at the moment, so may need to stick to fishing the lochs, can you offer any advice on flies for the lochs please it would be very much appreciated.
Hi Jack, usually September is the best month for sport in my view but this year has been really weird and there might not have been a year like it since about 1982. There hasn't been any "real" rain since mid-May and on a goodly number of rivers the fish simply haven't run and people are still seeing them in the sea, the problem is the dolphins, seals, birds, and so on are also seeing them in the sea. Even if we get a big flood, and there's none in the forecast for the next fortnight, it will probably take a few days of high water to wash all the "junk" out of the rivers and to get fish into the lies etc. I'd guess the first few days of flood will just be weed and vegetation coming down. It is worth considering that if you hit it just right with your timing, the water has to come sometime, then you could be in for a remarkable few days. Assuming no water then if your visit coincides with decent tides a cast on the Gress saltings might put you in with the chance of a sea trout or even a salmon but it might be the only easily accessible real chance just now. In terms of flies on the trout lochs then to be honest it is really a matter of picking what you have confidence in. I know that sounds like a cop out but in the past I was a dark fly person and would have been fishing a Zulu, Blue Zulu, Black Pennell, Connemara Black and similar. These days I've moved to brighter patterns and am often on a Donegal Blue, Goats Toe, Soldier Palmer etc. I can't really explain why the change but I'm still catching fish :-) Many people also like sedgehog type patterns and would tend to fish in the surface but recently I've gone to an intermediate tip and am taking the flies down an inch. In one of my videos you can see that on a calm September evening I've also tried daddy longlegs type patterns with success in moving the fish, but a distinct lack of success in hooking them. I usually fish a 2 fly cast, in the past 3 flies were more common but the 2 fly cast doesn't seem to be any disadvantage and you get less tangles in a tricky wind. You may also have noticed that I have started some messing about with big "lure" type flies and my plan is to try and give them a run out for trout in September as an experiment. My experiences are too limited to offer any comment other than if you have them you might want to try them for a laugh. So sorry this isn't just a list of good flies but really the bottom line is that most of the common loch flies work well and most trout are caught on them so you won't go wrong with what you have confidence in. For sea trout then you want a Soldier Palmer and a Donegal Blue or Silver Stoat and for salmon you want an Orange Muddler on the top and a Stoat's Tail or Silver Stoat on the point. Those are never a bad choice of fly and after that you can chop and change to suit your personal taste.
@@caorach3354 Hi Philip, I thought I had already sent this message but is it possible to email you? I am a bit of a newby to fly fishing but not new to fishing as I stayed for quite a few years down in Devon and Dorset, I was mostly concentrating on catching sea bass and had many over 10lb but I have never caught a salmon or a sea trout ever! I am very interested in the saltings that you mention, would I need to wade and would I maybe be able to use some of my sea bass kit there? I can give you my email if you are okay with that? Let me know. Jack
@@Magicjack335 If you want to drop me your email I will try to give you as much info as I can but as you are already aware conditions are pretty dire for a salmon or sea trout at this point with drought conditions since May.
Hi -only coming to the videos late but think they are excellent. Are you still on Lewis still in terms of a base .Forgive me if this is known . I would love to grab a cup of tea with you one day when we move up there and maybe go fishing.
Glad you enjoy the videos. I'm current away for work, I sort of come and go a bit. I tend to publish the videos some time after they were shot, the trout season is over now for example and I've just started into some 2023 trout videos.
Got you mate. We’ll keep them up,as they are fab and very relaxed watching. We are up there from Sat looking at property and hopefully will be residents(once the work will beb done on whichever house we get plus I’ll be working back and forwards too.but I’ll keep I’m touch for when it’s a new season @@caorach3354
Lovely places to fish, thank you for taking us with you. A description of the tackle used, fly size and weight of fly line would be nice too, it would add to an otherwise almost perfect video!
I'm really very lucky to get to fish in the Hebrides, and to be out so much in a year but I try to make the videos "real" in the sense that I don't always catch stuff, or sometimes what I do get is tiny. The gear thing is tricky in part because my gear is so simple as I basically use the same setup for everything - an 11 foot 7 weight with a Rio Versitip line so I can have everything from a floater to a fast sink tip. I had a 32 inch Spring salmon on this setup in April, and have also been using it for 4 inch brown trout. My setup will not suit everyone and most people know what they like so in a sense there's no need for me to tell them what I do as they generally already have a setup that works for them. However, you have a very good point and maybe I should do a "what gear I use" video :-) It would give me something to talk about in the winter as my fishing is done for the year (at sika just now) so there will be no new video material until maybe May.
@@caorach3354 I'm similar because I can't carry much tackle, due to my outings consisting of several days requiring camping gear, food, etc. Just a 9'6" 6-wt 6-section rod (in foam tube) with a 5-wt line on a lightweight clicker reel and your system of exchangeable tips (poly leaders in my case). Small foam box of flies, small spool of 5lb tippet, pod with a drop of floatant, and a tiny plier/scissor combined tool. The whole lot comes in at under 300g. All you need!
@@davids9549 I do camp on some occasions, but can't say I'm a regular at it, and clearly keeping things simple from the outset makes the camping simple as well as I basically just carry my normal fishing gear. There is a certain appeal in keeping things simple and keeping the amount of gear to a minimum.
Seems desolate but the second your line hits the water somebody comes out of nowhere and asks you if you have a permit. That country isn’t very hospitable to anglers, I say that as someone who has been there many times, love the place just wish it was more open, maybe I’m doing something wrong, or going to wrong places
You seem to have been uniquely unfortunate in that the Hebrides even have an angling promotion officer to help people enjoy their trip and to assist them getting fishing. I don't think there is anywhere in the UK that offers more free and freely accessible fishing. I've never been asked for a permit but do have permits for the angling club salmon rivers. I can't conceive what you might have done wrong, or where you could have been.
Is this the Loch Droma on the road to Ullapool? It always looks weedy and shallow but I've seen fish rising on it so often wondered about it. Tricky one to fish with the weeds I'd think.
@@caorach3354 thats the one, over the years it's got worse but if you go by the dam end in today's time by the loch you'll get a few half pounders works well even for lures, as by the car park area it was OK in 2004 to 2013 after that it's gotten very shallow just like it's neighbor glashcarnoch the doorest loch in highlands they say but yet I hold a dear soft spot it's where I caught my 1st fish lol! Yeah the water level dropped so much can now see the village that was under water for years in glashcarnoch
@@scotlandssherlockpiper551 Interesting as I had no idea what was in it or even if anyone fished it. I'd heard that Glascarnoch was full of pike and wasn't worth fishing for trout but I know that lochs with pike often hold few trout, but they can be very big. If you are up that far then you should just go to Ullapool and get on the ferry for Lewis, all the trout fishing you could ever want. Just look at the Google Earth pictures and maps to see how many lochs
@@caorach3354 it's on the cards wife wants to go to Spain for holiday I'm treating her instead to isle of Lewis I'm sure she be so happy in her bikini getting the run rays while I fish hehe
![GEEK TIMË [OFFICIAL AUDIO]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ry-6RvkH880/mqdefault.jpg)
Love all your videos,I fish mainly the big reservoirs, Grafham,Pitsford,Rutland and the River Frome in Dorset. But seeing the wild areas your fishing is really encouraging. Tight lines🎣
Thank you Terry, I've been away a while hence the late reply. I love the really wild areas of the country and am more than willing to walk, even if the trout will only be tiny, just for the day out. It isn't for everyone however and I understand that as well! Over 40 years ago I did fish Siblyback and maybe Colliford as well and it was good fishing but not quite as wild as what eventually became my preferred option. I do recall catching a large "goldfish" from one of them! We'd had a blank day and were walking back when we spotted a group of some sort of ornamental carp type fish, basically goldfish, of maybe 2lb. Jokingly I said to my mate I'd have a cast for one and I tied on the biggest and stupidest dry fly I had and one of the goldfish took it first cast! It was the only fish either of us had for that day :-)
Brilliant video.. scenery is just mind blowing
Great videos I love every one you’ve made and brings back a lot of memories when I and some work colleagues used to have a weeks fishing every year.
It reminds me that there’s more to fishing than catching fish.
I'm so pleased you like the videos, though they are really only my "holiday snaps" as I'm too busy fishing to invest much time in making good quality video. You are right that there is more to it than catching fish and in my particular case that's just as well as I don't suffer from an over abundance of talent in that area!
Catching up on a few I must have missed Philip. Always a great watch
Great you are enjoying them, they can be quite similar :-) However with the lockdown I've been enjoying watching them to keep the spirits up so I'm glad I made them and I hope they help keep other anglers positive at this difficult time.
I have to get there, before it's too late! It must be nice to fish rivers where the back-cast doesn't get stuck in trees, or else you end up the day covered in nettle stings!
Trees don't pose a significant problem but I'd be a liar if I said that I never get caught in the heather especially if there are rising banks behind me. However, although there are no trees we can have a lot of wind so it is often the most significant factor in our fishing.
I'm really enjoying your videos! Keep up the good work (:
Thank you Tom, I'm so pleased that you enjoy them as they are really just my holiday snaps and I didn't think for one minute that anyone would watch them, especially when I rarely catch anything :-) Hopefully I will get to do a few more over the next month or so if this virus thing doesn't close down our travel.
Hi Philip, briiliant videos, I am trying to watch them all to get some tips on where to fish when I visit for a week in Sept, I am told the rivers are quite dry at the moment, so may need to stick to fishing the lochs, can you offer any advice on flies for the lochs please it would be very much appreciated.
Hi Jack, usually September is the best month for sport in my view but this year has been really weird and there might not have been a year like it since about 1982. There hasn't been any "real" rain since mid-May and on a goodly number of rivers the fish simply haven't run and people are still seeing them in the sea, the problem is the dolphins, seals, birds, and so on are also seeing them in the sea. Even if we get a big flood, and there's none in the forecast for the next fortnight, it will probably take a few days of high water to wash all the "junk" out of the rivers and to get fish into the lies etc. I'd guess the first few days of flood will just be weed and vegetation coming down. It is worth considering that if you hit it just right with your timing, the water has to come sometime, then you could be in for a remarkable few days. Assuming no water then if your visit coincides with decent tides a cast on the Gress saltings might put you in with the chance of a sea trout or even a salmon but it might be the only easily accessible real chance just now. In terms of flies on the trout lochs then to be honest it is really a matter of picking what you have confidence in. I know that sounds like a cop out but in the past I was a dark fly person and would have been fishing a Zulu, Blue Zulu, Black Pennell, Connemara Black and similar. These days I've moved to brighter patterns and am often on a Donegal Blue, Goats Toe, Soldier Palmer etc. I can't really explain why the change but I'm still catching fish :-) Many people also like sedgehog type patterns and would tend to fish in the surface but recently I've gone to an intermediate tip and am taking the flies down an inch. In one of my videos you can see that on a calm September evening I've also tried daddy longlegs type patterns with success in moving the fish, but a distinct lack of success in hooking them. I usually fish a 2 fly cast, in the past 3 flies were more common but the 2 fly cast doesn't seem to be any disadvantage and you get less tangles in a tricky wind. You may also have noticed that I have started some messing about with big "lure" type flies and my plan is to try and give them a run out for trout in September as an experiment. My experiences are too limited to offer any comment other than if you have them you might want to try them for a laugh. So sorry this isn't just a list of good flies but really the bottom line is that most of the common loch flies work well and most trout are caught on them so you won't go wrong with what you have confidence in. For sea trout then you want a Soldier Palmer and a Donegal Blue or Silver Stoat and for salmon you want an Orange Muddler on the top and a Stoat's Tail or Silver Stoat on the point. Those are never a bad choice of fly and after that you can chop and change to suit your personal taste.
@@caorach3354 Hi Philip, I thought I had already sent this message but is it possible to email you? I am a bit of a newby to fly fishing but not new to fishing as I stayed for quite a few years down in Devon and Dorset, I was mostly concentrating on catching sea bass and had many over 10lb but I have never caught a salmon or a sea trout ever! I am very interested in the saltings that you mention, would I need to wade and would I maybe be able to use some of my sea bass kit there? I can give you my email if you are okay with that? Let me know. Jack
@@Magicjack335 If you want to drop me your email I will try to give you as much info as I can but as you are already aware conditions are pretty dire for a salmon or sea trout at this point with drought conditions since May.
@@caorach3354 I also forgot to say, any help you can offer will be very much appreciated!
@@Magicjack335 No problem if you drop me your email address I will send you some info and just maybe it will help.
Hi -only coming to the videos late but think they are excellent. Are you still on Lewis still in terms of a base .Forgive me if this is known . I would love to grab a cup of tea with you one day when we move up there and maybe go fishing.
Glad you enjoy the videos. I'm current away for work, I sort of come and go a bit. I tend to publish the videos some time after they were shot, the trout season is over now for example and I've just started into some 2023 trout videos.
Got you mate. We’ll keep them up,as they are fab and very relaxed watching. We are up there from Sat looking at property and hopefully will be residents(once the work will beb done on whichever house we get plus I’ll be working back and forwards too.but I’ll keep I’m touch for when it’s a new season @@caorach3354
Lovely places to fish, thank you for taking us with you. A description of the tackle used, fly size and weight of fly line would be nice too, it would add to an otherwise almost perfect video!
I'm really very lucky to get to fish in the Hebrides, and to be out so much in a year but I try to make the videos "real" in the sense that I don't always catch stuff, or sometimes what I do get is tiny. The gear thing is tricky in part because my gear is so simple as I basically use the same setup for everything - an 11 foot 7 weight with a Rio Versitip line so I can have everything from a floater to a fast sink tip. I had a 32 inch Spring salmon on this setup in April, and have also been using it for 4 inch brown trout. My setup will not suit everyone and most people know what they like so in a sense there's no need for me to tell them what I do as they generally already have a setup that works for them. However, you have a very good point and maybe I should do a "what gear I use" video :-) It would give me something to talk about in the winter as my fishing is done for the year (at sika just now) so there will be no new video material until maybe May.
@@caorach3354 Ah,a one rod man,excellent not to be overburdened with brand name gear and festooned with needless accessories.
@@caorach3354 I'm similar because I can't carry much tackle, due to my outings consisting of several days requiring camping gear, food, etc. Just a 9'6" 6-wt 6-section rod (in foam tube) with a 5-wt line on a lightweight clicker reel and your system of exchangeable tips (poly leaders in my case). Small foam box of flies, small spool of 5lb tippet, pod with a drop of floatant, and a tiny plier/scissor combined tool. The whole lot comes in at under 300g. All you need!
@@davids9549 I do camp on some occasions, but can't say I'm a regular at it, and clearly keeping things simple from the outset makes the camping simple as well as I basically just carry my normal fishing gear. There is a certain appeal in keeping things simple and keeping the amount of gear to a minimum.
Seems desolate but the second your line hits the water somebody comes out of nowhere and asks you if you have a permit. That country isn’t very hospitable to anglers, I say that as someone who has been there many times, love the place just wish it was more open, maybe I’m doing something wrong, or going to wrong places
You seem to have been uniquely unfortunate in that the Hebrides even have an angling promotion officer to help people enjoy their trip and to assist them getting fishing. I don't think there is anywhere in the UK that offers more free and freely accessible fishing. I've never been asked for a permit but do have permits for the angling club salmon rivers. I can't conceive what you might have done wrong, or where you could have been.
Where I fish at loch droma plenty divers to be seen too
Is this the Loch Droma on the road to Ullapool? It always looks weedy and shallow but I've seen fish rising on it so often wondered about it. Tricky one to fish with the weeds I'd think.
@@caorach3354 thats the one, over the years it's got worse but if you go by the dam end in today's time by the loch you'll get a few half pounders works well even for lures, as by the car park area it was OK in 2004 to 2013 after that it's gotten very shallow just like it's neighbor glashcarnoch the doorest loch in highlands they say but yet I hold a dear soft spot it's where I caught my 1st fish lol! Yeah the water level dropped so much can now see the village that was under water for years in glashcarnoch
@@caorach3354 half pounders?.. oops meant quarter pounders lol
@@scotlandssherlockpiper551 Interesting as I had no idea what was in it or even if anyone fished it. I'd heard that Glascarnoch was full of pike and wasn't worth fishing for trout but I know that lochs with pike often hold few trout, but they can be very big. If you are up that far then you should just go to Ullapool and get on the ferry for Lewis, all the trout fishing you could ever want. Just look at the Google Earth pictures and maps to see how many lochs
@@caorach3354 it's on the cards wife wants to go to Spain for holiday I'm treating her instead to isle of Lewis I'm sure she be so happy in her bikini getting the run rays while I fish hehe