As a last hurrah for our week in Assynt, we decided to walk out from the road above Glencanisp Lodge and cover about half the valley on the path before dropping down the river and fishing back down.
The first and best trout of the day (c 10") came almost immediately, from a deep, good-looking churn pool on a peach muddler: from then on, the fish were frequent, but seemed to get smaller and smaller the further I worked downstream!
Even so, this was a wonderful day in an awe-inspiring landscape that could easily have doubled for Rohan in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Rocks, bracken and grass turning red-gold under the autumn gale (perhaps my yellow-polarised fish-spotters also lent enchantment to the view), and Suilven always peering over my shoulder, wreathed in clouds like a biblical holy mountain.
End result: at least 20 brown trout from 6" - 10", all caught and released on a black-hackled red tag, reddish Wyatt-pattern deer hair sedge or peach muddler.
Just one word of warning: once you're over the far side of the river, with relatively high water conditions it can be hard to find a suitable crossing point before the lowest bridge, and it's easy miscalculate your timings over that roughly glaciated ground. Get it wrong, and it can be quite a scramble to work your way back, even when you know exactly where you are!
Theo
Replies for "Glencanisp river and lochans: 25 September 2009"
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