Loch Ba

Well for many years now nearly forty I've been passing Loch Ba on my way to the North West Highlands but never fished it.



Today as the weather was favourable, I loaded up the canadian and headed north through Callander then Lix Toll, Crianlarich, Tyndrum, Bridge of Orchy and eventually found myself on the Black Mount / Rannoch Moor, home of Loch Ba.



I got the Van parked a bit up from the Loch on the East side of the road and unloaded the Canadian. I got my new fly gear sorted - some of which was recently stolen from the house - loaded it into the boat and headed for the water. It was about a two hundred meter slog to get there but it was a cracking evening and trout were slurping at emerger's so it was looking good.



Sorted out the rod and my gear and launched in the river which runs below the road from the west loch to the east. I made my first cast with three flies Bushy Bob, Black spider and JC snatcher with no luck. Another two casts and I was into my first fish, a lovely wee Broonie too small to keep but a great fighter all the same.



So it continued as I paddled my way around the loch like one of the Voyageurs of Old Canada trout after trout all too small to keep.

As I made my way further into the wilderness the trout began to rise freely and some of them were obviously a bit bigger than the standard so in desperate times, desperate measures must be employed. I reached into my Rucksack found my Orvis no rust dry fly box and extracted a size 14 Black-Don.

A couple of casts later and a reasonable trout rose in front of the canoe - what could I do. I picked the flies from the water estimated the distance and plopped my cast right on it's nose. Bang - fish on and what a fight for such a wee wild troot. It was all over the place and trying it's hardest to strip line. At one point it even jumped about a foot out of the water.

Well the troot finally came to the net and here's a wee picture before it went back.



Paddled back up the river disembarked and disengaged - cracking September's outing.



Loaded up the canoe and was back in Cumbernauld in about 1 and 1/2 hours. There might be monster's in Loch Ba but the wee Troot give a monster fight and all for free - except the £30 diesel to get there.

Cracking, The Black-Don rides again.

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