Loch St John’s
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 26 October 2010 18:55
- Written by Bruce Sandison
We drifted silently across Loch St John’s in a gently breeze. A great skua winged by, pirating the shores in search of prey. Curlew called hauntingly. A golden finger of sunlight suddenly sparkled through the clouds sending myriad colours, reds and blues, shimmering over the smooth waters. I looked at my watch. Nearly midnight, but still time for a few more casts. Midsummer in Caithness is like that. Always time for a few more casts.
It may be a long way north to the land of John O' Groats, but every mile is a mile nearer to some of the finest game fishing in Scotland. Sea-liced salmon, fresh from their ice-cold Greenland feeding grounds, in Thurso, Forss and Wick rivers. Sparkling, acrobatic sea-trout and a vast abundance of wonderful, pink-fleshed, hard-fighting wild brown trout from such famous lochs as Watten, Heilen, St John’s and Calder, all waiting for your well presented fly.
Loch St John’s is a very special place, not only for anglers but also for those who appreciate its remarkable variety of wildlife: roe deer, fox and otter and a wide range of birds, including curlew, oystercatcher, snipe and occasional visits from one of nature’s most successful anglers, graceful osprey. The surrounding moors and fields are rich in wildflowers, including, on the cliff tops, bright blue spring squill, sea pink and wild thyme, and that most iconic of all Caithness flowers, Primula scotica, the unique, deep blue, Scottish primrose.
It is also the most northerly trout loch on mainland Britain and for hundreds of years its waters have been known to have curative powers. In days gone by, invalids were carried to the loch to drink the water. St John's is also supposed to be able to cure anyone who is feeling depressed or sad in spirit: walk once round the loch and then leave, without looking back, and all cares instantly vanish.
But above all, the loch is one of Scotland’s most exciting and best managed trout fisheries. It is in the care of the Loch St John’s Improvement Association, founded in the 1960’s and as vibrant today as when it was first formed. The association stock the loch with native fish reared in their own hatchery. These are introduced when they reach a few ounces in weight, however, because of the quality of feeding in the loch, by the following year these little fish have grown to 12oz.
More years ago than I care to admit, when we lived in Caithness, your correspondent was a committee member of the association and as I enjoyed a cup of coffee with Neil Macdonald, the current association Secretary, we talked, as anglers do, about the ones that got away and the few that didn’t, about favourite flies, memorable days in the hills, and about absent friends now fishing that great trout loch in the sky.
St John’s covers and area of approximately 175 acres and has an average depth of 6ft. Consequently, trout may be caught from the margins to the middle. They are of exceptional quality and average 1lb in weight with fish of up to an over 3lb taken most seasons. The water is crystal clear and best results come from boat fishing, although bank fishing can be just as productive. Apart from a small area at the north east corner of the loch, the rest of the shoreline is open to anglers. So, when the wind blows hard, don’t hesitate to bank fish.
Loch St John’s also has the UK’s the most northerly mayfly hatch, which peaks in June. This is when specimen trout can be taken, although the loch fishes equally well from opening day on 1st April right through to the end of the season in September. Find the loch on OS Map 12, Thurso, Wick and the surrounding area, Scale 1:50,000 at Gd ref; 225725. The boat-mooring bay is at Gd ref: 222718, to the north of the village Dunnet. Visitors are most welcome and the association has excellent lochside facilities. A road has been built down to the mooring bay, with plenty of space for parking cars. The harbour is first class and it is possible to step almost straight from the car and into your boat. Even better, and most unusual for a Highland loch, it is possible to get afloat without bursting a blood vessel in heaving the boat over rocky shallows.
As always, the choice of flies is very much a matter of personal preference. Most anglers fish a team of three wet flies in the traditional fashion, in front of the drifting boat, short line, and quick recovery. However, and particularly during the mayfly hatch and on calm evenings, dry fly patterns can be very effective, and, when the wind blows hard, dapping will also produce the desired results. My choice of wet fly patterns would include the following old friends: Ke-He, Soldier Palmer, Black Pennell, March Brown, Greenwell’s Glory, Grouse & Claret, Silver Butcher, Dunkeld, Silver Invicta.
Further information about the loch can be had from Neil MacDonald (tel: 01847 896956). Neil is also an expert fly-tyer so do ask about his favourite patterns for the loch. Visitor permits can be obtained at Dunnett Bay Caravan Site (tel: 01847 821319), just outside the village of Dunnett on the main road to Thurso. If you intend to fish the mayfly hatch in June, early booking is advised.
Bruce Sandison is a writer and journalist and author of nine books, including the definite anglers' guide, 'The Rivers and Lochs of Scotland' which is being revised and updated prior to republishing.
He contributed to 'Trout & Salmon' for 25 years and was angling correspondent for 'The Scotsman' for 20 years. Sandison writes for the magazine 'Fly Fishing and Fly Tying' and provides a weekly angling column in the 'Aberdeen Press & Journal'.
His work, on angling, Scottish history and environmental subjects, has appeared in most UK national papers, including 'The Sunday Times', 'The Telegraph', 'The Daily Mail', 'The Herald', 'Private Eye', 'The Field' and in a number of USA publications.
Sandison has worked extensively on BBC Radio. His series 'Tales of the Loch' ran for 5 years on Radio Scotland and was also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC World Service. His series, 'The Sporting Gentleman's Gentleman' and his programme 'The River of a Thousand Tears', about Strathnaver, established his reputation as a broadcaster.
Sandison has had extensive coverage on television. He wrote and presented two series for the BBC TV Landward programme and has given a number of interviews over the years on factory-forestry, peat extraction, wild fish conservation and fish farming.
Sandison is founding chairman of 'The Salmon Farm Protest Group', an organisation that campaigns for the removal of fish farms from Scottish coastal and freshwater lochs where disease and pollution from these farms is driving wild salmonid populations to extinction.
Bruce won 'Feature Writer of the Year' in the Highlands and Islands Press Awards in 2000 and in 2002, and was highly commended in 2005. Bruce lives near Tongue in Sutherland with his wife Ann.