Thanks - I don't think Etive will ever set the heather on fire with the quality of fishing, but it's a great loch to have a bit of fun and just chill out👍
@ Hi Doug, I used to fish Etive with my brother every month when I was younger, shore and boat, I totally agree with you, I always found night to be the best time for us, not sure if that’s the same with yourself? My brothers best spurrie was 15 pound in 2014 from the priory! Absolutely fantastic night that, I remember it so vividly, Etive is a place that holds so many good memories for me, and il be honest, watching your Etive sessions always gives me the itch to get back at somepoint! Have you ever had a conger at all from Etive Doug?
Hi - I've had quite a few doubles from Etive over the years, but nothing as big as 15lb. Most of the larger fish seem to come from between Taynuilt and the sea rather than from further up towards the head of the loch, but every now and again you seem to get an influx of larger spurries well up towards Barrs. The species list for Etive is huge but an awful lot seem to be caught in ones or twos - Blue Whiting for example. Conger (never had one on Etive) and skate (one juvenile) seem pretty rare but are fairly common in Leven, Sunart, etc. Equally, you'll rarely find spurdog on Leven. Each loch just seems to be different and it's not always obvious why. At least there's usually something to catch👍👍 Cheers, Doug
@ 100% Doug!! I absolutely love Sunart! If the weather hadn’t been as poor this week, this is where I would have taken the boat, typical winds however proved otherwise aha, anyways, looking forward to more of your uploads as always! If I remember correctly you had a skate on the line at Sunart a wee while back? I remember watching the upload the day you released it? 🎣
Funnily enough, I'm trying to finish editing a Sunart video just now🙂 I've not actually fished it properly for quite while so I think the skate you saw might have been on Linnhe? We've had loads this year, although they've been pretty small. The average has been 30-50lbs, although I plumbed a new low on my last trip, with 4 skate for just 65lbs🤣. They are actually quite good fun on reasonably light gear and you will get them over 100lbs despite the average being a lot lower.
Thanks for watching! I still need to watch your take on the great Northumbrian fishathon... don't make it look too good or you may get a 21st century style Scots invasion😁👍
Absolutely - it brings out the Aberdonian in me😁 It's really useful when you can't be bothered with the hassle of towing a boat, or where there's no usable slipway.
Hi Doug, great to see you out on the Avon R3.10 on Etive again. Some nice fish and a great looking steak dinner. The winter season begins and the hot tent is out. Quality armchair viewing with a glass of scotch in front of the fire. Five star video as usual. Thanks👍
Hi Paul, Judging by the temperature today, winter is certainly just around the corner. A perfect excuse for this camper to swap a summer Brewdog for a slug of something stronger in a mug of hot chocolate👍 Hot tents are fabulous on a damp night, especially if you can park alongside your fishing rods. And watching your clothes steam dry after emptying a gallon of water down your waders makes that stove just priceless...🤣🤣 Cheers, Doug
Some nice pollack this time Doug. Larger than any I've had from Etive. Your autumn/winter camping trips keep reminding me what I've missed in the past when my younger body might have been able to cope with the temperatures outside a hot tent. One thing I have to add is that the short time lapse on the videos beween the copious steak dinners and the bacon and egg rolls make me wonder about your constitution and digestive powers😉
Yup, I was pleased with the pollack as they're the best I've had from the loch, and I've never seen them hit the surface like that before. In my defence, it had been many hours between breakfast and that lovely chunk of venison, and quite a few more before the bacon came out. You've got to have a treat to look forward to when you're camping and bacon rolls fill the bill nicely. Muesli is never quite as motivating🤣🤣 Cheers, Doug
The Avon might outlast me, despite it being completely neglected😁😁 The Abu's are a bit more love/hate - these are OK but they also produced a few duds that just seemed to dissolve in saltwater. I should really give fixed spools more of a go but I find them a little big and awkward for shore work.
Another good watch Doug. I say it every time but I do wish I lived a bit closer to Etive so I could go a bit more often! 5.5 hour drive from Sunderland each way sadly. Great to see some nice pollock coming out of the loch, not something I’ve ever really associated with Etive I must admit so good to see.
Hi Liam, Just catching up after New Year, so sorry for a delayed reply. I've had a few pollack from Etive over the years but rarely of decent size, so there seem to be more about this year and I've targetted them a little more than before. I know what you mean about the drive though - whilst Etive is relatively easy for me to get to, some of the other lochs are more like 4-6 hours to reach. Hard to justify for such short winter days! Anyway, I've not been completely idle over New Year as I revisited that Etive trip a couple of days ago and managed a few more🙂 Mind you, I needed the tent stove as it was 🥶🥶 Cheers, Doug
Hope you had a great Xmas/new year bud. If it was as manic as mine then a day on the loch may well have been needed! The tent stove certainly looks like it makes life a bit more cozy. I’m heading up in May again I think when things should be decidedly less arctic. May even attempt to take the kayak up at some point
It's a lovely place, particularly the remote areas between Bonawe and the head of the loch. Go for the views and the camping and treat the fish as a bonus - whilst there are plenty of them, they tend to be on the small side.
Nice video Doug, i regularly fish the Scottish sea locks on my Sib, but mainly spinning for Pollock and sea trout, never been on loch etive and never had a spur dog yet, so here's hoping for a window in the weather and i will make a trip up.
It's a very pretty place on a fine day, although most of the spurries are on the small side. Sometimes loads of them, sometimes very hard to find! Drifting works OK on a flat calm day, but you'll need an anchor on most occasions - and a decent amount of rope😁 Cheers, Doug
Loved this adventure Doug. I’m thinking about getting a SIB, your garage must be toppers with gear🤣 the areas surrounding Etive are stunning. Looking forward to the next video buddy. Stay safe and tight lines
You're absolutely spot on about the garage🤣 I finally chucked the day job earlier this year and getting it into some sort of order is proving a bigger project than I thought! I love the simplicity and quietness of a kayak but the SIB is definitely a better fishing platform and can cover a lot more ground too. Personally, unless you're planning on fishing 2 aboard I'd stick to something reasonably small and light that will fit in the back of your car, coupled with a 5 or 6hp engine. Once you get into 10hp+ outboards then it gets a struggle to handle anything other than a proper slipway. A 5hp will give me 13mph on my 3.1m SIB, although this drops to displacement speed with 2 aboard - I reckon a 6hp would get 2 anglers planing. Anyway I see part 3 of Northumbria is now out👍👍 Cheers, Doug
@@PiscatorUK-Fishing Take a look at this man. He has a small folding RiB which fits in his car & can be manhandled top the water's edge. www.youtube.com/@donnywilcox
Cheers! I'm still defrosting my typing fingers after a trip out of St. Andrews yesterday🥶🥶 No video for that one though, and precious few fish for our efforts!
Glad you enjoyed it - there's a couple more in the pipeline. I think we've had better weather over the autumn than we had in July so I've been getting out a bit more👍
Lots of very scenic sea lochs to choose from up the west coast, although Etive feels much more remote than most because there is no road running round it. You either hike in or use a boat/kayak, both of which suit me just fine👍 Cheers, Doug
Hi Doug, some nice pollock there to be sure. Down here, it's dropped from +5C to -5C. Thanks to you, I've even looked a kayaks recently. Keep up the good work.
Hi Ash, Definitely into hot tent weather now I think! Our trip earlier in the year still easily holds the record for numbers of pollack - but these are the biggest (average) I've seen from Etive. You're welcome to have a test wobble on my kayak before committing any dosh to the real thing🙂. A December dip will probably put you off the idea for another year or two🤣🤣 Cheers, Doug
Great upload Doug! I now have itchy feet to get my sib upto etive been wanting to go year after year. need to find somewhere to launch mine first its too damn heavy & on a trailer 😂
Kelly's pier at Taynuilt is your best option on Etive. It's an easy launch at HW, but very shallow at LW - there's a couple more notes on this page - corkwing.co.uk/venues/fishing-loch-etive/ You generally find better fishing between Taynuilt and Connel and better camping between Taynuilt and Glen Etive. For this video I launched at the head of the loch but you won't be able to do this with a trailer (there is a private estate slip, but it's behind securely locked gates and along a separate track) Cheers, Doug
Some good Pollack there Doug. What strain mono were you using for your snoods to be safe of the spurdogs? I normally chuck a line of beads on mine but I feel it can affect presentation sometimes and lower the chances of getting rays etc.
I actually screwed this up, as I forgot my pre-prepared rigs and just had mono with neither wire nor beads with me. The mono would have been either 80 or 100lb strain but spurs can bite through this unless you've added something like beads or wire. I've been using beads for a few years now but still find the odd fish can bite through, so I've switched more to wire. That's partly because of fishing for larger spurdogs around Sleat where there's a possibility of tope also turning up. I don't particularly like wire as it makes for rather clunky traces but I don't think the fish care particularly, especially in deep, dark sea lochs. Cheers, Doug
So the outboard in this video is a 3.5hp Mariner long shaft, but it's simply the auxiliary from my main boat and isn't ideal for the SIB. For this 3.1m boat the best choice is probably a 6hp short shaft as it's a decent compromise between weight and speed. I do have an old 5hp Tohatsu short shaft which I need to get back into running order - this will push the Avon along at around 13mph when lightly loaded, rather than maybe 5-6mph tops with the 3.5hp. However the 5hp won't get you on the plane with 2 anglers aboard, whilst a 6hp has a better chance. The 3.5hp is 18kg whilst the 4/5/6hp engine (usually the same engine block with different outputs) come in at 25kg. I wouldn't go heavier than this unless you always use a slipway. Cheers, Doug
@@Corkwing-DougK Thanks Doug. I'm new to this SiB game, have a 3.4 boat that I'm getting a used 3.5hp Tohatsu for. I can fit an upgraded carb and propeller for not much money (the outboard is cheap too, but runs great). I'm not planning on huge long distances in it, There's plenty good marks near where I live, but it's main use will be fly fishing for wild browns, you rarely see anyone using a sib for this, but I reckon they'll be ideal for it. It'll be coming to Orkney next summer too, though I may get a leccy motor for that, nice n quiet. Keep the adventures coming Doug, inspirational stuff. I've only just started my own channel, it's watching a few good guys like you that has pushed me on. Greg.
A 3.5hp should be fine for pushing the 3.4m along at displacement speeds and absolutely OK for inshore work. Don't rush to upgrade carb or prop (unless damaged) as you possibly won't notice much difference. I find that the difference in speed is minimal (
@@Corkwing-DougK Decided against that 3.5, and have gone for a 6hp, seems prudent to have the extra power if needed, and run at lower power most of the time. Thanks Doug.
Absolutely brilliant fishing Doug, 👏👏
Thanks - I don't think Etive will ever set the heather on fire with the quality of fishing, but it's a great loch to have a bit of fun and just chill out👍
@ Hi Doug, I used to fish Etive with my brother every month when I was younger, shore and boat, I totally agree with you, I always found night to be the best time for us, not sure if that’s the same with yourself? My brothers best spurrie was 15 pound in 2014 from the priory! Absolutely fantastic night that, I remember it so vividly, Etive is a place that holds so many good memories for me, and il be honest, watching your Etive sessions always gives me the itch to get back at somepoint! Have you ever had a conger at all from Etive Doug?
Hi - I've had quite a few doubles from Etive over the years, but nothing as big as 15lb. Most of the larger fish seem to come from between Taynuilt and the sea rather than from further up towards the head of the loch, but every now and again you seem to get an influx of larger spurries well up towards Barrs. The species list for Etive is huge but an awful lot seem to be caught in ones or twos - Blue Whiting for example. Conger (never had one on Etive) and skate (one juvenile) seem pretty rare but are fairly common in Leven, Sunart, etc. Equally, you'll rarely find spurdog on Leven. Each loch just seems to be different and it's not always obvious why. At least there's usually something to catch👍👍
Cheers, Doug
@ 100% Doug!! I absolutely love Sunart! If the weather hadn’t been as poor this week, this is where I would have taken the boat, typical winds however proved otherwise aha, anyways, looking forward to more of your uploads as always! If I remember correctly you had a skate on the line at Sunart a wee while back? I remember watching the upload the day you released it? 🎣
Funnily enough, I'm trying to finish editing a Sunart video just now🙂 I've not actually fished it properly for quite while so I think the skate you saw might have been on Linnhe? We've had loads this year, although they've been pretty small. The average has been 30-50lbs, although I plumbed a new low on my last trip, with 4 skate for just 65lbs🤣. They are actually quite good fun on reasonably light gear and you will get them over 100lbs despite the average being a lot lower.
Always a great watch. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching! I still need to watch your take on the great Northumbrian fishathon... don't make it look too good or you may get a 21st century style Scots invasion😁👍
Great watch Doug as always you certainly got value out of that SIB 😂😂😂
Absolutely - it brings out the Aberdonian in me😁 It's really useful when you can't be bothered with the hassle of towing a boat, or where there's no usable slipway.
Hi Doug, great to see you out on the Avon R3.10 on Etive again. Some nice fish and a great looking steak dinner. The winter season begins and the hot tent is out. Quality armchair viewing with a glass of scotch in front of the fire. Five star video as usual. Thanks👍
Hi Paul,
Judging by the temperature today, winter is certainly just around the corner. A perfect excuse for this camper to swap a summer Brewdog for a slug of something stronger in a mug of hot chocolate👍 Hot tents are fabulous on a damp night, especially if you can park alongside your fishing rods. And watching your clothes steam dry after emptying a gallon of water down your waders makes that stove just priceless...🤣🤣
Cheers, Doug
Some nice pollack this time Doug.
Larger than any I've had from Etive.
Your autumn/winter camping trips keep reminding me what I've missed in the past when my younger body might have been able to cope with the temperatures outside a hot tent.
One thing I have to add is that the short time lapse on the videos beween the copious steak dinners and the bacon and egg rolls make me wonder about your constitution and digestive powers😉
Yup, I was pleased with the pollack as they're the best I've had from the loch, and I've never seen them hit the surface like that before.
In my defence, it had been many hours between breakfast and that lovely chunk of venison, and quite a few more before the bacon came out. You've got to have a treat to look forward to when you're camping and bacon rolls fill the bill nicely. Muesli is never quite as motivating🤣🤣
Cheers,
Doug
Great to see reels that were made to last and Dingys
The Avon might outlast me, despite it being completely neglected😁😁 The Abu's are a bit more love/hate - these are OK but they also produced a few duds that just seemed to dissolve in saltwater. I should really give fixed spools more of a go but I find them a little big and awkward for shore work.
Another good watch Doug. I say it every time but I do wish I lived a bit closer to Etive so I could go a bit more often! 5.5 hour drive from Sunderland each way sadly.
Great to see some nice pollock coming out of the loch, not something I’ve ever really associated with Etive I must admit so good to see.
Hi Liam, Just catching up after New Year, so sorry for a delayed reply. I've had a few pollack from Etive over the years but rarely of decent size, so there seem to be more about this year and I've targetted them a little more than before. I know what you mean about the drive though - whilst Etive is relatively easy for me to get to, some of the other lochs are more like 4-6 hours to reach. Hard to justify for such short winter days! Anyway, I've not been completely idle over New Year as I revisited that Etive trip a couple of days ago and managed a few more🙂 Mind you, I needed the tent stove as it was 🥶🥶
Cheers, Doug
Hope you had a great Xmas/new year bud. If it was as manic as mine then a day on the loch may well have been needed!
The tent stove certainly looks like it makes life a bit more cozy. I’m heading up in May again I think when things should be decidedly less arctic. May even attempt to take the kayak up at some point
Outstanding video.. subbed
Thanks for the sub! There should be more of the same in a little while🙂
great video, will have to visit Loch Etive, soon
It's a lovely place, particularly the remote areas between Bonawe and the head of the loch. Go for the views and the camping and treat the fish as a bonus - whilst there are plenty of them, they tend to be on the small side.
thanks for the reply, will give it a go cheers
Nice video Doug, i regularly fish the Scottish sea locks on my Sib, but mainly spinning for Pollock and sea trout, never been on loch etive and never had a spur dog yet, so here's hoping for a window in the weather and i will make a trip up.
It's a very pretty place on a fine day, although most of the spurries are on the small side. Sometimes loads of them, sometimes very hard to find! Drifting works OK on a flat calm day, but you'll need an anchor on most occasions - and a decent amount of rope😁
Cheers, Doug
Good to see you out on the water from one Douglas to the other 👍
Thanks 👍 I always enjoy a trip to Etive - but then again I'm able to sidestep the many wet and windy days that can plague it for weeks on end🙂
Loved this adventure Doug. I’m thinking about getting a SIB, your garage must be toppers with gear🤣 the areas surrounding Etive are stunning. Looking forward to the next video buddy. Stay safe and tight lines
You're absolutely spot on about the garage🤣 I finally chucked the day job earlier this year and getting it into some sort of order is proving a bigger project than I thought! I love the simplicity and quietness of a kayak but the SIB is definitely a better fishing platform and can cover a lot more ground too. Personally, unless you're planning on fishing 2 aboard I'd stick to something reasonably small and light that will fit in the back of your car, coupled with a 5 or 6hp engine. Once you get into 10hp+ outboards then it gets a struggle to handle anything other than a proper slipway. A 5hp will give me 13mph on my 3.1m SIB, although this drops to displacement speed with 2 aboard - I reckon a 6hp would get 2 anglers planing. Anyway I see part 3 of Northumbria is now out👍👍
Cheers, Doug
@ thanks for the advice on the SIB, always appreciated. Good luck with the garage project. Tight lines
@@PiscatorUK-Fishing Take a look at this man. He has a small folding RiB which fits in his car & can be manhandled top the water's edge. www.youtube.com/@donnywilcox
good stuff doug
Cheers! I'm still defrosting my typing fingers after a trip out of St. Andrews yesterday🥶🥶 No video for that one though, and precious few fish for our efforts!
Good trip Doug …thoroughly enjoyable 👍
Glad you enjoyed it - there's a couple more in the pipeline. I think we've had better weather over the autumn than we had in July so I've been getting out a bit more👍
Looks beautiful there, never fished Etive myself . I have a SIB too; might look into taking it up the West Coast next year...
Lots of very scenic sea lochs to choose from up the west coast, although Etive feels much more remote than most because there is no road running round it. You either hike in or use a boat/kayak, both of which suit me just fine👍
Cheers, Doug
Hi Doug, some nice pollock there to be sure. Down here, it's dropped from +5C to -5C. Thanks to you, I've even looked a kayaks recently. Keep up the good work.
Hi Ash,
Definitely into hot tent weather now I think! Our trip earlier in the year still easily holds the record for numbers of pollack - but these are the biggest (average) I've seen from Etive. You're welcome to have a test wobble on my kayak before committing any dosh to the real thing🙂. A December dip will probably put you off the idea for another year or two🤣🤣
Cheers,
Doug
👏🏻👏🏻
Great upload Doug! I now have itchy feet to get my sib upto etive been wanting to go year after year. need to find somewhere to launch mine first its too damn heavy & on a trailer 😂
Kelly's pier at Taynuilt is your best option on Etive. It's an easy launch at HW, but very shallow at LW - there's a couple more notes on this page - corkwing.co.uk/venues/fishing-loch-etive/ You generally find better fishing between Taynuilt and Connel and better camping between Taynuilt and Glen Etive. For this video I launched at the head of the loch but you won't be able to do this with a trailer (there is a private estate slip, but it's behind securely locked gates and along a separate track)
Cheers, Doug
Some good Pollack there Doug.
What strain mono were you using for your snoods to be safe of the spurdogs? I normally chuck a line of beads on mine but I feel it can affect presentation sometimes and lower the chances of getting rays etc.
I actually screwed this up, as I forgot my pre-prepared rigs and just had mono with neither wire nor beads with me. The mono would have been either 80 or 100lb strain but spurs can bite through this unless you've added something like beads or wire. I've been using beads for a few years now but still find the odd fish can bite through, so I've switched more to wire. That's partly because of fishing for larger spurdogs around Sleat where there's a possibility of tope also turning up. I don't particularly like wire as it makes for rather clunky traces but I don't think the fish care particularly, especially in deep, dark sea lochs.
Cheers, Doug
Fantastic sir, and dinner looked cracking too!. Out of interest, what HP is your outboard Doug?.
So the outboard in this video is a 3.5hp Mariner long shaft, but it's simply the auxiliary from my main boat and isn't ideal for the SIB. For this 3.1m boat the best choice is probably a 6hp short shaft as it's a decent compromise between weight and speed. I do have an old 5hp Tohatsu short shaft which I need to get back into running order - this will push the Avon along at around 13mph when lightly loaded, rather than maybe 5-6mph tops with the 3.5hp. However the 5hp won't get you on the plane with 2 anglers aboard, whilst a 6hp has a better chance. The 3.5hp is 18kg whilst the 4/5/6hp engine (usually the same engine block with different outputs) come in at 25kg. I wouldn't go heavier than this unless you always use a slipway.
Cheers, Doug
@@Corkwing-DougK Thanks Doug. I'm new to this SiB game, have a 3.4 boat that I'm getting a used 3.5hp Tohatsu for. I can fit an upgraded carb and propeller for not much money (the outboard is cheap too, but runs great).
I'm not planning on huge long distances in it, There's plenty good marks near where I live, but it's main use will be fly fishing for wild browns, you rarely see anyone using a sib for this, but I reckon they'll be ideal for it.
It'll be coming to Orkney next summer too, though I may get a leccy motor for that, nice n quiet.
Keep the adventures coming Doug, inspirational stuff. I've only just started my own channel, it's watching a few good guys like you that has pushed me on.
Greg.
A 3.5hp should be fine for pushing the 3.4m along at displacement speeds and absolutely OK for inshore work. Don't rush to upgrade carb or prop (unless damaged) as you possibly won't notice much difference. I find that the difference in speed is minimal (
@@Corkwing-DougK Decided against that 3.5, and have gone for a 6hp, seems prudent to have the extra power if needed, and run at lower power most of the time. Thanks Doug.
Probably a good choice - it'll widen the range of marks open to you, and a SIB on the plane is great fun when conditions allow👍