It was early June 2017, we are on our annual trip to the far
north of Scotland in search of Big Trout and we are already on the fourth day.
What had become apparent over the first few days was the realisation that the
north east area “Wick, Thurso and Dunnet Head” could have kept us amused for
several days. There is so much great fishing to be discovered and engaged with
despite the occasional windy day.
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| 1st Big Fish of 2017 a Heilan small'ish trout |
We had great success with the mayfly hatches,
+
Michel the Big Fish specialist caught this 5lb trout off Heilan
&
All the pubs of Wick had been frequented.
However, we had booked eight months in advance into the Ben
Loyal Hotel in Tongue for a nights break from camping. After a cosy night and venison
steaks washed down with assorted ales and red wine we awoke to a wet Tongue morning.
The forecast did not look good the south western British Isles were
experiencing hurricane conditions and it was on the way north in a milder
format. Despite this weather forecast we marched to one of our favourite Tongue
lochs. Our Belgium Big Fish specialist decided not to risk wild camping and
would make it a day trip there and back. He had an offer of a day salmon and
sea trouting the following day and had took notice of the inclement weather on
its way.
Even with our camping packs the walk took just over the hour
mark. Two tents were erected in a strong wind before fishing commenced. As we
started fishing the rain arrived, any sensible fish was not ‘looking up’ but
hunkered down weathering the storm. After two hours one solitary small fish had
been caught by Graham and the Belgium contingent said ‘au revoir’, and who
could blame him?
After a full circular navigation of the loch I joined Graham
in his one-man tent, or at least some of my body did whilst my legs were
exposed to the downpour. We took solace by having a wee dram or two
occasionally noting that ‘it might be clearing to the north’.
It never did. At
least not until the following morning. My water-proof leggings did not live up
to their description and once in my sleeping bag I could not get warm and
shivered through the night. It had been too wet to cook so the liquid diet had
sent the pair of us to sleep with a brief respite around 7pm for a few songs
and a couple more drams before surviving a night of wind, rain and troubled
sleep.
The morning was a drier affair but our spirits had sunk
during the previous hours of deluge. We fished halfheartedly for two hours
still wet and cold in a wind that still blew strongly. A change of clothes and
a hot drink just an hour away was too much temptation away from a loch that did
not look like it held any fish.
The small stream which we crossed on the way up was
impassable with a torrent of tea coloured water pouring down the side of the
hill. The campervan was a welcome sight and dry socks were a tonic. As we drove
west and arrived at the small river where our friends were fishing, the day was
pleasantly calm and fish were moving with the fresh water that ran down the
many streams and ditches.
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| Warming up at Sango Sands campsite |
We spent the rest of the day recovering from our
ordeal of the previous night and arrived at the Durness camp site mid-afternoon.
Are we getting too
old for wild camping? Yes and no. We had planned three “on the hill”
camping trips for this holiday and had an awful experience on our first, and
,as it turned out, our last. The idea of wild camping is to be loch side when
‘it’ happens and fish throughout the night to insure you are ready for the ‘it’.
We had seen this the previous year and had cashed in on being at the right
place at the right time.
Predicting the weather forecast can be very hit and
miss in the far north but the storm we camped through was not local but hit a
large area so we should have aborted the idea earlier. So more like another ‘School
Boy’ error by the Williams boys isn’t our first and won’t be our last!
I am ready to camp again when conditions suit as I have got
over the trauma of 2017. Furthermore, I have still yet to use my jet boil which
is already two years old!!
