A Cracking Start for Fly Fish Islay

Blimey! What a busy start to the summer. The weather has been terrible in the Staffordshire Moorlands, so it is with great fortune that Glen and I found ourselves spending much of the early summer enjoying the fine weather on the magical Isle of Islay with 3 separate groups of guests, all determined to enjoy themselves through catching a few wee broon troots and enjoying a wee dram or two...

We were joined on our Fly Fish Islay trips buy 3 groups of smashing ladies and gents from all over Europe. Some new to Islay, some new to fishing, some experienced anglers, all up for a good laugh.

I haven't had time to write blog posts after each of the trips, excepting the first in April but here follows a selection of pics....(There are many more on the Fly Fish Islay page on Facebook).....

Loch Gorm proved to be a favourite of many of our guests. Fished from boat with an outboard so as to cover as much of this vast machir loch as possible, Richie enjoyed 2 days on the loch and enjoyed some spectacular sport.....

A first for Fly Fish Islay was an outing to 3 hill lochs by way of Islay Estates' Argocat. Guests were guided by head game keeper Scott Brown. One of the lads had never fly fished before our May trip but he still managed to land a couple of stunners to around 2lb from these remote hill lochs.

Popular as ever as a fishing venue was the beautiful Loch Finlaggan, not least because Finlaggan House was our base during the May trip. On the last day we held a small comp....the winner would be the angler who landed the most fish in 4 hours. Kev Pollard came out tops and went away with a nice couple of drams and some cracking fishy memories.

A month later and another set of guests arrived. Glen had his eye on the sea fishing, he new that come June there would be more fish near the shore on the sea lochs. This our base was at Octovullin by Loch Skerrols.

Sean Ruffell carefully selects his weapon...a 28g Dexter Wedge.




















We arranged a clay pigeon shoot for the guests at Octovullin House. It was hilarious watching Pointon firing at clays with a semi automatic shot gun. Scott the keeper couldn't keep up with loading shells as Glen was firing it like a machine gun and still managing to miss.....

Plentiful brown trout were had from all of the lochs that our guests fished throughout the 3 trips, and all were amazed at the differences that could clearly be seen between the different strains of fish from each loch.

On the final day of the last trip we bumped into Justin Ruthven-Tyers at Islay Studios. Both Glen and I had recently finished reading his new book 'Phoenix From the Ashes' which is a belting read.......Justin lives on Islay with his wife Linda and their boat 'Caol Ila' can often be seen moored in Lagavulin Bay.

Justin was never really a joiner / carpenter before his house burned down and he decided to build a new one....oh, and he also decided to build a beautiful boat...'Caol Ila'...the book tells all and is an incredibly enjoyable read.....

The most memorable moment of all the trips this year has to be Glen catching a 2.5lb sea trout. I am proud to have shared the moment with him...read all about it on his blog....www.glenpointon.blogspot.com

I hope to update this blog on a more regular basis, but may just post pics and a few words from now on. Expect many more pics from Islay because as of this Saturday, I'll be living there....:-) :-) :-)

Slainte

Woody

Fly Fish Islay Packages 2012

I've been fishing since I was 7 years old when my Grandad used to take me fishing with a quill float for sticklebacks and small perch on the river Churnet in the heart of the Staffordshire Moorlands. I fell in love with the sport and the beautiful parts of the country that it took me to. I've fished for all kinds of species of fish throughout the UK but it wasn't until my work buying and selling whisky took me to the magical Isle of Islay that I began to truly appreciate what wonderful places that angling for wild brown trout can take you to. I still fish the pools and lakes for carp, perch, roach and all manner of fish but most of all I like to fish for wild brown trout and for grayling.

Islay is a small island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides with a population of around 2000 people. It is famous for the eight distilleries that it is home to, which produce some of the finest single malt whiskies in the world, and for its incredibly diverse flora and fauna. The island has many remote lochs and lochans full of angry wild wee brown trout that will give any angler good sport and there is also the famous spate river, the Laggan that has a very good run of salmon and sea trout.

I have been taking groups of people to Islay for a number of years now, whether they be anglers, whisky enthusiasts, or a mixture of the two, they've all enjoyed the experience immensely and many of them return year after year. I'm often asked what is included in the trips so I thought I would put together a list of what is included for those interested in joining us on one of our future trips.

In May 2012, we are taking a group of anglers to Islay, some of whom have enjoyed previous trips with us and are returning with extra guests. Here is what the cost of their holiday includes:-


Quality accommodation for 7 nights at Finlaggan House on the shore of Loch Finlaggan. 
Finlaggan is one of the most important historical sites in Scotland from there, the whole of the Scottish West coast was ruled by the Lord of the Isles. All towels and bed linen provided and a comprehensive range of facilities for the comfort of all guests. Accommodation for future trips will depend upon the size of the group.


Complimentary Islay malt whisky tasting. 
No visit to Islay is complete without nosing and tasting all 8 of the single malt whiskies that are distilled and matured there. For those who would like to take their interest a little further, visits to distilleries can be arranged.


Complimentary casting Lesson. 
For those new to fly fishing there is the opportunity to attend a complimentary casting lesson before the trip commences, hosted by Peter Arfield of the Bakewell Fly Fishing Shop. This gives guests a head start on the loch and means that they are able to spend more time catching fish than trying to master the art of casting. Guests will have the opportunity to stock up on any consumables that they may wish to purchase prior to the trip.


Fishing Guides
Whether guests are experienced anglers or new to the sport, one of our guides will be on hand to give help and advice and to locate the fish. Each trip will have one guide for up to 6 guests and two guides where there are 7 guests or more. Guides will carry extra consumables such as flys, tippet, leaders and floatant.


Equipment
We appreciate that for some guests this may be the first time they have ever been fishing, and others may have fished before but not for trout. Rods, reels and line will be available for those who wish to borrow them and consumables such as flys and tippet will be available to purchase from your guide.

For those wishing to sea fish from the rocks, there will be a number of spinning rod and reel outfits for guests to borrow. Consumables such as lures and spinners will be available to purchase from your guide.


Wild Brown Trout Fishing
Fishing for wild brown trout on a number of lochs will be included in the cost of the trip. For those wishing to venture further afield, or who wish to fish from a boat or fly fish for salmon, permits can be arranged. There will be the opportunity to take a brace of fish from the loch.


Other Activities
Other activities can be arranged for guests some of which will attract extra cost.

Stalking
Salmon Fishing
Wildlife excursions and sea safari
VIP distillery tours
Shooting





If you are interested in joining us on a fly fishing trip to the magical Isle of Islay, or you would like to discuss the trips further, please don't hesitate to contact me on 07875 405 980. There are more pics and info on our Facebook page, search for 'Fly Fish Islay' and click like to subscribe. If you would like to contact me by email my address is david@rarecask.com.

It would be great to see you on one of our trips.

Slainte

David

A Few More Islay Trip Pics.......

Just a few more pics to wet the appetite of those anglers joining me on our next trip to Islay. This time the pics have been very kindly donated by Mark Williams.

The pic above was taken on the last day on Islay as some of the lads decided they'd fished enough and wanted to see a bit of Islay. This particular bit of Islay is the still house at Laphroaig distillery.

The second day's fishing on Islay took place on Loch Gorm. I've fished it with some success from the bank a few times but this time we had booked boats and I have to say that I didn't enjoy being restricted by the boat and felt the urge to climb out and start wading. My head dropped very quickly and my fishing was never going to be any good as my confidence was low and I was getting more and more frustrated by the many tangles that I was finding myself in. Anyhow, whilst I was throwing all of my toys out of the pram. Peter "Pollock" was simply chilling and catching one or two lovely wee Gorm brownies all of which had the buttery colours that are typical of the fish caught in this huge machir loch.

I'll be bank fishing it next time. You can keep your boats.

I'm more at home, and more confident on Loch Finlaggan and on future trips, especially if we are based at Finlaggan House, I'll be creating an itinerary that includes at least a couple of day's fishing on this large, wild and beautiful loch. The fishing can be quite rewarding. Fishing the Northern end of the loch, particularly on the visitor centre shore, many small fish of less than 1/2 lb can be caught in a couple of ours on small sedges and F flies. For those that decide to invest the time in walking all the way down either shore, the fish tend to get bigger, they're angrier and generally much more fun to catch. If it's a lunker you want, get yourself down to the reeds at the southern end of the lock where the river Sorn makes it's way out towards Bridgend. The odd Sea Trout makes it's way up this wee river into Loch Finlaggan.

Jase Snape's Pics from our Sept 2010 Islay Trip

My good pal Jason Snape has kindly made some fab pics available for me to be able to pinch and post on Angling and Dramming. They were all taken during our recent trip to Islay and I hope that they are enough to persuade one or two of my fishing buddies to join us on one of our trips in 2011. Those of you who are booked on our trip in May 2011 have this fantastic scenery to look forward to.

The pic above is taken from the west shore of Loch Finlaggan looking towards the Paps of Jura. Finlaggan House which, since the closure of the Bunnahabhain Cottages, is now Angling and Dramming's preferred retreat, is just off the left of the picture.

Ian Gould (of Errwood) and I sit on a Wade Bridge on our way to the ferry to Islay....the reason we don't look too happy is that we're not yet on Islay.

Ian and I were desperate to tackle up when we spotted this lovely burn.....

Jase started to get all arty farty on the ferry and took this lovely pic over the sea to Islay.

Me on Calmac's Isle of Arran.

Our home for 5 days, Finlaggan House.

Ian of Errwood wades into the depths of Loch Finlaggan for the very first time. Neoprene waders were his wise choice, due to the cool conditions.

I have the craic with Ian whilst making our way to some of my favourite swims on Loch Finlaggan.

Fishing the east shore of the loch.

David Morris turns up to show us how it's done.

Ian tries to convince David Morris and I that he's just dropped a 6lb wild brownie.

Views over Loch Finlaggan.....not bad eh?

Fancy joining us next year....get in touch ASAP!

David

Best Finlaggan Brownie of the Week

Not big fish but beautiful in colour and markings. This one came to a large red-tailed muddler twitched gently through the Finlaggan ripple.

David Morris, Ian Gould and Me @ Finlaggan

Nice pic of Ian Gould trying to convince David and I that he'd just dropped a 6lb wild brownie @ Finaggan....
David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com

A Tad of Frost @ Finlaggan and The Prospect of a Great Day's Fishing on Loch Gorm.

What a day our first full one on Islay turned out to be. Our journey to this beautiful island was a nightmare. An overturned lorry at Lochgair on the A83 not far from Lochgilphead meant that the road was closed and we had to turn around and make our way North to Oban before arriving at the ferry in the desperate hope that, having missed the 1pm ferry, that there would be space for us on the 6pm Calmac.

We're staying at Finlaggan House and all that I can say is that it is simply stunning in terms of the quality of the accomodation, and it's amazing location..I cannot recommend it enough.

On Friday night, Peter, Mark, Barny, Jason and Ian of Errwood and I tucked into the 2 barrells of beer kindly delivered to the house by Islay Brewery. One cask of Saligo Ale and one of Black Rock Ale. Plans for the fishing were made, tales were told and one or two wee drams were enjoyed before we retired after our mammoth 18 hour journey.

Yesterday the fishing began and Ian, David Morris and I fished Loch Finlaggan. Conditions were bright and breezy but the troots were eager to come to our muddlers, black pennels and snatchers and I managed my best day on the loch yet with 18 fish.

Today we have boats waiting for us on Loch Gorm. The weather is glorious and we're not sure whether this is a good or bad thing in terms of the fishing but either way, I'm looking forward to steadily drifting accross the loch and having the craic with the lads.
David Wood, The Wine Shop, Leek 01538 382408. Mob 07875 405 980. www.wineshopclub.blogspot.com