I moved up to Skye in April 2006 and before that I lived in Yorkshire.  I used to do a lot of fishing in England on rivers such as the Wharfe and Don and on various canals and lakes.  The fishing on Skye is much, much different and although I used to fish in some wonderful countryside in Yorkshire I think anywhere has its work cut out when compared to the untamed beauty of fishing in the Highlands of Scotland.

The fishing I do up here falls into three basic categories: game fishing, pike fishing and sea fishing.  On Skye the choice is easier as it consists of just game and sea fishing.  If I want to catch pike I have to cross the Skye Bridge back to the mainland as this fish does not live in any waters on Skye.

GAME FISHING

The game fishing on Skye is brilliant and the surroundings are breathtaking and ensure that even in the fairly rare event that you catch nothing it doesn't matter!  I am a member of Portree Angling Association who control the vast majority of fishing at the northern end of the island.  The main club water is the Storr Lochs which is actually two lochs, one called Leathen and the other Fada.  This hydro loch has lots of native brown trout, some of which grow to a very good size.  There are plenty of boats available to both members and non members and obviously there is bank fishing too.  Other stillwaters include the hill lochs on Trotternish (with a few exceptions) and there is also access to some other private lochs in the north end of the island.  For example, we can fish Loch Conon on the road between Struan and Portree and as of this season there is one boat available for hire.  All the club's lochs are strictly fly only and the season runs from the 2nd April - 30th Sept on the Storr Lochs and from the 15th March - 30th September on the hill lochs.  Personally, fly fishing is traditional loch style with a three fly cast - usually a nice bushy fly like a Loch Ordie or a Zulu on the bob and traditional flies like Black Pennel, Kate McLaren and Invicta on the point.  But as with all fishing experimentation is the key.

The club also have access to various rivers namely the North bank of the Lealt, Kilmartin, Brogaig, Kilmaluag, Varragil, Sligachan, Glenmore beat of Snizort, Amer and Ose.  Methods include fly, spinning and worm except on the Varragil where it's fly only.  All the rivers have runs of sea trout and salmon and obviously some have bigger runs than others!  They also contain many brown trout which are just waiting to take your flies.  Salmon and sea trout numbers are steadily on the increase and hopefully this will continue.  These rivers fish best in spate or just on a falling spate as fish will enter the rivers on a high tide in such conditions and also fish already in the river can move onward in their journey.  In my brief experience living here I have found that from August until the end of the season (season 15th Feb - 14th October) is the best time, although salmon and sea trout have been caught off the Snizort already this season (time of writing 11/4/07).  The Snizort is by far the most productive river and the first 8 miles is run by Three Esses Ltd - click here to see their web site.  Personally my most productive fly in terms of sea trout has been a Teal Blue and Silver wee double and I caught my first ever salmon last September from the Kilmartin River on a Red Shrimp fly.

If you are coming up to stay at Epona Cottage and enjoy fly fishing then I hope this gives you an idea of what's on offer.  I can help you to arrange tickets or boats for fishing and give you advise where possible.  I am not a Ghillie though!  Feel free to contact me before your visit.

SEA FISHING

Sea fishing is an area where I feel that I have most to learn, having said that, in all aspects of fishing you always still tend to have a lot to learn!  I bought a 14' Orkney Coastliner last year and this allows me to do a fair bit of inshore sea fishing on calm days.  I tend to fish the waters of Loch Snizort and round the Ascrib Islands from the boat.  Luckily there are at least two slip ways within 20 minutes - one at Stein (10 mins) and another at Greshornish (20 mins).  The latter slipway is private although launching on a weekend is possible as quite often it is used by the fish farmers through the week.  Both are easy slipways and with a 4x4 you can launch at any stage of the tide.  If you are bringing your own boat obviously great care should be taken and you should bring all the necessary equipment in the event that things go wrong.  Although I only have experience in these waters since last summer I have maps and I can help point out the places you should avoid!

From late May through until say October, mackerel are present in large numbers.  They are pretty easy to catch and many people fishing from boats favour using feathers and catching say three or five at a time.  Without wanting to get on my soap box I would say that even though they appear plentiful please don't take more than you need.  Just take ones you are definitely going to eat or use for bait.  A far more sporting method is to spin for them and catch them one at a time.  These fish fight really well and personally, if I don't need to catch many fast I will spin for them.  Looking for usual signs such as diving Gannets can help you find the fish.  There are lots of Pollock in these waters and usually if you can find rough ground or a reef then they won't be far away.  Again, you can catch these fish spinning, using feathers, bait fishing or trolling just to name a few.  I've caught Pollock up to 8lb from inshore reefs and my best results have come from trolling behind the boat with eddystone eels.  Other species I've caught (more by luck I think!) are Ling and they have come on mackerel baits on long flowing traces off paternoster rigs.  All these fish are lovely to eat especially Ling.  There are undoubtedly more species out there, such as dogfish and rays, but as I've said I'm still learning about sea fishing so maybe I will catch these some time in the future.

Before you begin to think you need a boat to enjoy some great sea fishing, fear not!  There are a number of good shore fishing locations on the north of the island and again great care should be taken and don't fish when the waves threaten to wash you out to sea (also make sure you know the tides)!  One of my favourite spots is to fish off the rocks at Neist Point Lighthouse.  It's a steep walk down, and even steeper back up with the fish, but well worth it and the path is very good.  The wildlife you see here is second to none, especially in summer.  Basking Sharks, whales, dolphins, you name it, just meters off the shore.  Then there's the sea birds and the sunset view over to the outer isles.  The fishing's not bad either, mackerel can be caught easily off the rocks and as it's deep water snagging is not too much of a problem so long as care is taken.  Spinning with Toby's and feathering both work, it depends on which you prefer.  There's some big pollock out there too.  There are some other good spots, the other one I have fished with any regularity is the pier near the Talisker Distillery.  Again, a great mackerel catching area on an incoming tide.  For the more experienced and adventurous sea fishers the shore fishing possibilities are endless and you hardly ever see anyone fishing off the shore so it's all there for you alone.  That isn't because it's no good, just because quite a few people have boats or head to the main mackerel marks such as those mentioned previously.  There are some sandy bays too (e.g Camas Ban beach near Portree), so I don't see why flatfish amongst other species cannot be caught.  If you are a competent beach caster/sea fisher then you might just be pleasantly surprised!  In recent times I've also heard of Bass being caught.....

Again, if you want guidance and advise on sea fishing if you've never tried it before just ask.

PIKE FISHING

Pike fishing is not available on Skye, with the closest water holding these fish being over an hours drive.  Pike fishing in the highlands is still very much untapped and in a way that's what makes it so magical.  Pike live in many lochs and some of these waters are simply huge and the pike in there can be, quite simply, huge!  On many waters though, boats are unavailable and by bank fishing you are not generally covering much water but still one day when the bite alarm goes you just may be bending into the fish of a lifetime.  Invariably you have a loch of many miles all to yourself!

The largest pike I have caught up here is 17lb 12oz and usually I fish for them over a number of days taking shelter in my bivvy.  I have fished over half a dozen waters in my first year up here and caught pike in all bar one of them, so the fish are definitely there if I catch them!  I tend to fish with sea deadbaits such as mackerel, sardines and herring.  I also use dead trout, lamprey, eels, smelt etc etc.  The methods I use are very similar to those I used in England such as running legers (usually with pop ups as it can be weedy/snaggy), float legering, and sunk float paternosters.  I also spin for pike at various times so the usual array of plugs and jerkbaits etc can work.  Fly fishing for them is gaining popularity although I have as yet to really try this. 

Obviously, pike have sharp teeth and, regardless of method, you should always use a wire trace of at least 18" and mainline of at least 15lb breaking strain when tackling these fish.  They will simply bite through or break anything else and invariably this will leave hooks in a fish and that will kill it slowly.  Rods need to be made for the job so 2.25-3.25lb test curve are the way forward.  If you are doing anything other than spinning or float fishing (assuming you watch your float at all times) you should always use a secondary form of bite indication and always strike as early as possible to avoid deep hooking (wait no longer than 5-10 seconds after initial indication of bite).  This usually consists of a drop off indicator and/or an audible alarm.  Contrary to the thinking of a minority of folk, this set up is not to look good while you are fishing or to dumb down angling so you can have a beer, it is for the welfare of the fish.  Speech over! Using a combination of both is highly recommended so that you can see fish running away from you as well as those that run towards you.  You should never fish for pike if you do not think you have enough experience to handle and unhook these fish alone.  If not, you should try to fish with someone who does and get them to show you.  It is essential that you have a large landing net (e.g. 40") and the following tools; medium and large forceps, wire cutters and a padded unhooking mat.  It isn't my intention to go into rigs etc in depth as this is not what is intended and I would direct people to the HPAC, PAC and PAAS web sites where more information can be found.

Tight lines!