Success and Frustration in Equal Measure

The Week in Short

A genuinely mixed week, in the honest sense of the phrase. The water is sitting at a near-perfect 13.5°C, the loch is gin clear, and the fish are in superb condition and fighting like they mean it. Some anglers had red-letter sessions, Ryan Clarke landing his best ever, a few had to graft, and one or two watched fish show without unlocking them. That is proper stillwater fishing.

The flies that mattered: size 16 CDC Grunters and Yellow Owls on top in the calm windows, a FAB and Diawl Bach washing line when fish were high but fussy, and pink or olive mini snakes and a size 14 grub under the bung for the deeper fish. The week ahead is changeable and breezy, so bring a wind plan and a calm-spell dry plan, and you will not go far wrong. Book a day or evening rod online.

Weekly Summary

Early June has Wormit in fine order, but it is making anglers earn it, which is exactly how the fishing should be. Water temperature is holding at 13.5°C, bang in the sweet spot for the trout, the loch is clear, and the natural margins are alive. With more than 17 hours of daylight now on the table, the long evenings have become a serious part of the week.

The word that keeps coming back across the returns is hard-fighting, and that tells you more than any sales line ever could. When trout pull like this, the water is right, the food chain is working, and the fish are not merely surviving, they are thriving. Not everyone filled their boots, and that is the point worth making. Wormit is not a stock pond where you lob anything vaguely fluffy in and wait for applause. Watch the water, read the wind, and fish what is in front of you.

Catch Highlights

It was a week of genuine contrasts, so here is the honest spread, top to bottom.

• Ryan Clarke had his best fly-fishing session to date, landing 12 to the net and losing 4. Pink and olive mini snakes did most of the damage, with more fish coming under the bung on a size 14 grub imitation.
• Stephen Ross finished with 9, all good, hard-fighting trout, with FABs and beetles doing the business.
• David Anderson had an excellent day, 8 to the net, including an absolute unit just under 8lb, also on FABs and beetles.
• Scott Fraser put together a solid 7 to 8 fish on a range of tactics.
• I managed a short evening session myself, 7 in a few hours, all on dries, with size 16 CDC Grunters doing the work.
• Gerald King landed 5, dropped 5, snapped twice and missed plenty on a size 16 Yellow Owl. His best method was a floating line with a size 14 red flashback beaded Diawl Bach. His verdict: fish in superb condition and pulling like they were on Red Bull. The tea and can of juice, he reckoned, did more work than some of his fly changes.
• Darren Reid fished 5pm to 10pm in a strong wind. It was hard going until around 7pm, then he landed 5 and dropped about the same, all on dries, including a good lump around 7lb.
• David Ramsey earned 2 cracking rainbows around 5 to 6lb the hard way, on a buzzer and FAB fished on the washing line in a difficult blow.
• Gordon Tate had a cracking Friday evening from 7pm to 10.30pm, 2 landed, one lost and plenty of takes, on Yellow Owl CDCs and small black and white Klinkhammers.
• Andy B and his partner had the honest flip side, one rainbow around 2 to 3lb between them in a relentless wind with no evening rise. They still had a great day, with room to move and a hot coffee, and that is a real and valuable return.
• Eddie Scallan had one of those sessions where fish moved and jumped but would not commit. It happens. Showing fish are not always feeding fish.

The message is simple: the fish are there, they are fit, and they are catchable, but you have to get the layer and the method right.

Quite a few rods didn’t report this week so remember, it you want a mention, send your report in.

Best Tactics and Flies

The week broke down into three clear methods, with the wind deciding which one earned its keep on any given hour.

Dry fly, for the calm windows

When the surface oils over in the evening lull or on a still morning, the fish are looking up and a dry fly is deadly. Size 16 CDC Grunters and Yellow Owls have been the bankers, with small black and white Klinkhammers for fish sipping in the film. Fish a long, degreased fluorocarbon leader of 12 to 15 feet, a single dry or a team of two, and let the fly sit dead drift. Resist striking on the splash and wait for the fish to turn down on it. On fish this fit, the takes can be savage, so a slightly softer tip protects fine tippet.

Washing line and sub-surface, for fish high but fussy

When fish are showing but will not take the dry, the washing line is the answer. A buoyant FAB on the point with one or two Diawl Bachs or buzzers on droppers, fished on a floating or midge-tip line with a slow figure of eight, keeps the team up in the productive top two or three feet and lets the fish find the nymphs. David Ramsey’s pair of 5 to 6lb rainbows came exactly this way in a strong wind.

Attractor and bung, for the deeper fish

Ryan Clarke’s red-letter 12 came on pink and olive mini snakes pulled through the top, with more added under the bung on a size 14 grub imitation. After a band of rain the margins can take on a touch of colour and push fish a little deeper, where a bung set at the right depth, or a slowly pulled mini snake, comes into its own. Gerald King’s floating-line size 14 red flashback beaded Diawl Bach is a classic search pattern when you are looking for them.

Fishing the wind, the week’s defining factor

The wind has been the story, and it will be again this week. In a south-westerly, the windward bank is where the food and the fish stack up, so do not be shy of fishing into or across the breeze. Use a slightly heavier point fly or a faster tip to punch a tidy line, and keep contact as the wave bellies your fly line. Darren Reid’s five came once the evening settled. Andy B’s hard day in a relentless blow is the honest reminder that a perfect fly delivered in a heap catches nothing.

Playing the day

On the bright, breezy days, start with the washing line or a pulled team, keep an eye on the surface through the evening, and have a single dry ready the moment fish start to rise. On the wetter, calmer windows, go straight to the dry and make the most of it.

Water Management

Lake Shadow is doing its job. Where Canadian pondweed and lesser pondweed were trying to run away with the loch, the growth has been checked and stunned, and it is now sitting down in the depths rather than fouling your flies. With the problem growth under control, the natural marginal plants are returning, and that is a good thing. You will notice some curled pondweed in the margins, the finer plant with narrow, slightly crinkled leaves, which your flies pull straight through and which all but disappears once you are a rod length out. There is some common hornwort showing too.

This marginal life is valuable. It holds invertebrates, supports the wildlife, and feeds the trout, which is precisely why the fish are in this condition and the water is so clear. The aim is a clear, healthy, fishable loch with the right balance of life in it, not a sterile swimming pool with trout in it. The boreholes have been running and, with the recent rain, water levels are up, so please take care around the lower bank areas where the water is sitting close to the edge.

Angler Reminders

• Room to move, and the rotation. Wormit has no fixed pegs, so follow the wind and fish showing water, but keep moving and give other anglers proper space. The etiquette is simple and non-negotiable: after 6 fish or 90 minutes, move on and leave the next spot for the next angler.
• Discarded nylon. Take every scrap of leader and tippet home with you. Even a short length left on the bank can be lethal for birds and wildlife.
• Litter. Take it home or use the car park bin. Keeping the fishery spotless is everyone’s responsibility.
• Fish care. Barbless or de-barbed hooks only. Keep fish wet, unhook quickly, photograph in the net where you can, and release gently. Only rainbow trout may be retained, and only on a fish-option ticket.
• High water. Take extra care on the lower banks while levels remain up.
• Want featured? Send your catches, flies, tactics and a line about your day to fishery@salmoscotland.co.uk or text 07727 360428.

Weather Forecast

A changeable, breezy week, with Atlantic fronts crossing and no settled high taking charge. Pressure stays low and unsettled throughout, slowly trying to build at times but never quite winning. Temperatures are mild for fishing, in the mid to upper teens by day. The wind is the real story: it freshens through midweek, with gusts touching 30mph by Saturday, so the quiet windows are the ones to plan around.

That gives more than 17 hours of daylight to play with, growing to around 17 hours 30 minutes by Sunday. The best windows are likely to be the early mornings before the wind builds, and the long evenings once it eases away, when the surface can settle and the dries come into their own. Friday is the brightest but also breezy, so keep your flies down and your line tidy. Sunday looks the most comfortable bet for a full day on the water.

Advice

• Carry proper dries. Size 16 CDC Grunters, Yellow Owls and small black and white Klinkhammers have all produced. Degrease a long leader and let the fly sit. Presentation beats pattern worship every single time.
• Have a washing line ready. A FAB on the point with buzzers or Diawl Bachs is the sensible answer when fish are high but not fully committed, as David Ramsey’s pair proved in a blow.
• Use the bung when the depth is obvious. Ryan’s fish on the size 14 grub show it still works a treat when it is fished properly and set at the right depth.
• Respect the wind. In a south-westerly, the windward bank is where the food and the fish pile up. Fish into or across it, keep contact, and accept that no medals are handed out for flailing.
• Rotate properly. 6 fish or 90 minutes, then move. The fishery fishes best when everyone works with the system.

Bookings

Day rods are deliberately capped at 12, with no fixed pegs, so there is real room to move and follow the fish rather than being crowded onto one bank. Peak-season day rods are from £32.50 catch and release, dawn to dusk. Evening rods are £25 catch and release, 5pm to dusk, on selected dates and subject to overall rod numbers. All fishing is booked online and in advance, which keeps the numbers controlled and the water calm.

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Prefer to talk it through, or new to fly fishing? Phone 07727 360428, email fishery@salmoscotland.co.uk, or take a look at our hosted experience days. Booking confirms acceptance of the fishery rules and etiquette.

Tight lines,
Greig, Wormit Trout Fishery