Trust
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 02 December 2007 14:26
- Written by John Watson
Who do you fish with and where do you fish? For me, the first is easy: anyone I feel will be pleasant company and wants a day out; the second is a bit harder to answer.
On any given day I could be fishing a large well known and regularly reported loch such as Rannoch, Lochy, Arkaig, Awe, etc. At other times it may be an easily accessible hill loch: Sloy, Avich, Glashan etc. The problem I am often faced with is how to match my fishing partner to the fishing location. Quite often I'll fish with someone I feel is trustworthy enough to introduce to a more secret unspoilt loch, but tend to hold back these days as I've been let down in the past.
I'll give a couple of examples.
A good number of years ago, before the introduction of permits, on loch Awe in Argyll a friend and I used to fish an area we called the wee bays. To reach the bays you had to drive from Kilchrennan towards Ardanaseig hotel, this was marked as a 'no through road' which in itself deterred many people. A good bit along this road was a tiny parking space next to a forestry plantation. To reach the water you had to do some minor route finding, scale a seven foot deer fence then crash through chest high heather and ferns, but it was all worth it as the fishing was superb. A fishing acquaintance asked for a day out and I took him to the wee bays with strict instructions to keep it to himself. Imagine my dismay a month or so later when arriving at the bays with my usual fishing partner and finding my 'trusted acquaintance' and 3 of his buddies. Probably not the end of the world as we know it but for me a real kick in the teeth and the start of the decline of the wee bays.
Another disappointment was taking another "angler " to a secluded hill loch only for him to set up 2 rods; one on the sinker and worm; one on the bubble and maggot. Then for him to produce a 2 litre bottle of cider and settle down for the day. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm all for each to his own, but why make an extra effort to reach a sparkling oasis in a massive forest or moor to just sit and get sizzled?
I now have a self-imposed rule; that I always ensure I have fished with a person a good few times before introducing them to any waters I deem a bit special. This has got me the reputation of being antisocial and a bit 'crabbit' but I can live with that.
Come to think of it it's not only fishing companions who think of me like that. There are a few other well hidden lochs I fish that I will probably never take anyone to. I think of those as "my" lochs and intend to keep them that way.