Two Caithness gems
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 03 February 2008 05:27
- Written by Bruce Sandison
Loch Toftingall ies a few miles south from the village of Watten in Caithness. It was one of the first Caithness lochs that my wife, Ann, and I fished when we arrived in the county. It covers an area of some 150 acres and is shallow. Indeed, it is possible to wade from one side to the other without danger. The landscape has changed radically over the years due to conifer planting and the loch is now surrounded by commercial conifers.
But Toftingall rests on a gravel base and has a pH of approximately 7.5 so it hosts an excellent wild brown trout population of pink-fleshed, hard fighting fish that average 10oz in weight. On our first visit we tramped round the shore to the south end to gain shelter from the strong wind - wind is a not infrequent occurrence in these airts - and were rewarded with two splendid trout, each weighing over 2lb.
We used to visit Toftingall frequently, not only to fish, but to delight in the wide variety of bird life that called the loch home. During winter months, hundreds of grey-lag geese might roost on Toftingall. They come from the Arctic, to winter in Caithness, as do flights of whooper swans from Iceland. One year, in June, we found a pair of swans still at Toftingall. They should have flown north in March and the graceful pair brightened many a summer evening.
The moorlands also used to be a larder for great raptors: hen harrier and short-eared owl, quartering the heather in endless search of prey. I once watched an osprey fishing the loch. I had spent four hours catching nothing and he simply swooped down and lifted a trout of at least 2lb from under my nose. My only consolation was that, much to my astonishment, the bird dropped the fish. So I wasn't the only duffer around after all.
Another frequent visitor was black-throated diver. Unlike their more common cousins, red-throated diver, these birds require larger expanses of water upon which to take off and land, a clear flight path, but they are invariably curious and often drift close to the boat.
In windy conditions, Toftingall becomes impossible to fish because the bottom is churned up, clouding the water. A few days later things settle back to normal and sport is generally excellent. An average day sent us safely home with half a dozen good, modest sized trout, with the occasional larger fish of up to 3lb.
On a hot summer day, Toftingall is a super place for a splash and my golden retriever, Breac, the Gaelic name for trout, used to spend hours in the loch; unlike my wife Ann's Yorkshire terrier, who hated water. Sometimes, when the little dog had been sitting near the side of the boat, an ill-considered back cast could send him flying into the water and it was often a close run thing before I could get the landing net under his sodden frame. The last time, I just managed to catch a glimpse of his black eyes, going down for the third time, before I managed to net him.
The principal Caithness lochs have not been affected by forestry and visiting anglers will find splendid sport on outstanding waters such as Watten, St John's and Heilen, all readily available at modest cost. The pH of these excellent lochs is in the order of 8+ and trout are of exceptional quality.
My favourite is Heilen, near Castletown, an expert's loch if ever there was one. I can count the number of trout that I have taken from this lovely loch on the fingers of one hand and blank days are the rule, but I keep going back for more. Heilen is very shallow and weedy. Indeed, after July there are few weed-free areas and a good knowledge of the loch is required to find suitable areas to fish.
The average weight of Heilen trout is 2lb 8oz and to take fish of lesser weight is a crime. Specimen trout of up to and over 10lb have been caught in recent years and my best fish weighed 4lb 8oz. Heilen trout are, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful wild brown trout in Scotland and they fight more furiously than you can ever imagine. I preferred launching my attack from the bank, rather than from the boat and even in high winds, when most of the loch is churned up, clear patches of water may be found along the lee shore.
When angler friends visit, I always try to persuade them to fish Heilen, and, invariably, suffer in consequence: "Bruce, you are quite mad. There isn't a single trout in that loch. I swear it. We fished all day without seeing the smallest ripple, fin or splash." My credibility plummets. One wild evening, however, when the wind was howling and rain lashing, I persuaded a friend to join me on Loch Heilen. "Look at the weather," he complained, "couldn't we just go along to the pub and have a drink and talk about fishing?" he pleaded.
We assembled our rods in the shelter of the old boathouse and I strode purposefully to the loch, almost as a matter of principal. I estimated that perhaps fifteen minutes' fishing would salve my honour, and not expecting to catch anything, I let the wind flag my flies out over the surface.
The tail fly, a size 14 Silver Butcher grazed the surface and immediately the water erupted. A superb trout hooked itself and during a breathtaking few minutes gave a spectacular display and a wonderful fight. I landed the fish, which weighed 3lb, and turned to show it to my companion.
His place by the boathouse was empty. Twenty yards away, through the storm, I glimpsed his figure, furiously lashing away as though his last fishing moment had come. I wandered down. "I think that you are right, Peter, this is madness. Shall we head for the pub?" But of answer came there none.
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 Sandison 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.