Sea trout fishing in the dark has always been my favorite fishing...... warm summer nights, moonlight rippling on the water, bats flying overhead, the occasional otter swimming through the pool, the splash of sea trout rising and the anticipation of a good fighting trout on the fly. For me, there is no better fishing! When I was invited to fish an all night session on a trout fishery I jumped at the chance to see if it could compare to a night fishing for sea trout. Lochter Trout Fishery, 20 minutes drive from Aberdeen on the Colpy road was the venue. I arrived there at 7.00 p.m. and although it was the first day of July it was dull with a chilly breeze but as I got out of my car I could smell the wood smoke from the stove in the cabin, a good thing if it got too cold and there was also the on site bar and nice refreshment area with free coffee and tea with sandwiches and other food and drink for sale.
With
two lochs and a third opening soon, a minimum stock size of 3lbs, I was looking
forward to some good sport. When I
entered the fishing shop the first person I met was Eddie Cummings.
Eddie and I have fished here often
and we usually have a friendly competition and some banter – “Its hard going
today”, Eddie said which didn’t bode well as Eddie can usually catch a good
bag - still he had 11 not too bad for a days fishing.
Next, John the Manager came over to speak to me
- a friendly chap full of help and information and after a pleasant chat
about what was catching and what was happening, I stepped out
and tackled up. Floating line and a small orange lure
on a 10 foot leader with a buzzer on the dropper was my choice.
I still had 4 hours till darkness. As
I started fishing I looked around and noticed nobody was playing fish.
I had a few casts off the disabled jetty and had a good pull but nothing
else so I moved round the loch a bit and after a few casts the line tightened
and I was into a good fighting fish. Unfortunately,
I lost it but five minutes later I was into another fish that ran a full 20
yards off my reel. I managed to get that one into the side and return it. Eddie
joined me and our friendly competition began.
Off came my lure and on went a brown buzzer!
I had a good nights fishing there a week before taking nine fish in an
hour on the brown buzzer.......no such luck tonight!
Eddie
took one on a lure but I was still having no luck.
Off came the buzzer and on went a black diffick.
Two fish fell to it and Eddie took another on his lure
By now it was getting colder and time for a coffee and a change of
leader. John came and had a chat
while I had my coffee - not many people had big catches lately
however there had been a few bags of around the eight or nine pound mark
with a few double figure fish. Lochter
has been open for almost a year now and has gained a good reputation as a
fishery for big hard fighting fish which will only get better when their stew
ponds are finished and they start bringing their own fish on, which will be
soon. Coffee finished and a new 10
foot leader with a brown buzzer on the point and a red one on the dropper and
off I went again. By now it was 10
o’clock, the time the buzzer usually starts working.
The fish were rising freely
now and I took a two more fish as I worked my way up to where Eddie was fishing.
Eddie had another one on the line while I had my coffee.
Then minutes later, I lost one (much to Eddies’ delight), then I took
three in quick succession. Eddie
took another then gave up as it was too dark to sort out the tangle he was in
and tie on another fly. I got a
good thump but no fish and another thump and hooked it.
On checking my leader my point fly was gone probably from the first take.
It was now dark and a fine mist turned the lights from Oldmeldrum village into
an orange glow and guess what...... I didn’t bring a torch!
However, a kind angler held his torch for me while I extended my leader
and tied on an olive fritz lure. It was now time to see if I could take fish in
the dark. I started casting and tried a quick retrieve.... nothing.
A very slow figure of eight produced
nothing. Somewhere between the two,
they started tail nipping but eventually I get one on.
It
fought hard but I managed to land it, and soon after I landed another.
The takes were plentiful but not positive enough to hook fish.
It was time to go home and now 12.30. I’d have another cup of coffee and a chat with John and some of the other anglers. All had taken fish in the dark, one angler had ten. I had twelve but only two in the dark. I had really enjoyed myself and would definitely do it again but it can’t compete with the heart stopping moments when a good sea trout takes your fly on rivers like the Spey or the Dee.