Over the last few days I had the chance of some fishing on Lewis. Again I appreciate this isn't hunting but I also know that some people enjoy a fishing report and that, even, some members on here are heading for the Hebrides this year and so have more than a passing interest in the sport.

I never do well with the early season trout fishing and although there are a few nearby lochs that do produce early on I decided to start my trout season on the loch where I ended it last year and so off I headed with tea, lunch, and even a fishing rod. If you look at my final trout report from last season there is an image somewhat similar to this one taken after I'd cut off the flies for the year. This image was taken after I'd tied them back on again though the day wasn't so nice, to say the least:



It was also my first run out with a new MSR Windburner stove which I've decided to try for tea and doing water for freeze dried meals. The honest truth is that I've been impressed with it, as was my girlfriend who was really taken with how quickly it boils a few cups of water and how easy it is to set up. Will it cope with real wind? Of course not, but it does OK if you are careful in picking a spot and don't ask too much of it:



I wandered along making tea and lunch and, pretty much as expected, completely failed to see or move or catch any fish. There are good brownies in here but it seems to only fish towards the end of the season, and even then it has a reputation as a dour loch. However, it was good to be out again and good to give the stove a wee test.

On the following day my girlfriend said she fancied a walk and we went, along with the Windburner, to look at some standing stones and glacial erratics plus it would be a shame not to take the rod in view of the proximity to a loch. Again this is a good loch but it is over 60 feet deep in places and although the spinner will sometimes get a fish at this time of year I have never had any success with the fly until later on. That is no excuse not to have some fun though.

This stone circle only has two stones remaining standing, though you can see where some of the others have fallen. I think I've posted photos of it before but although I go along to it now and again it is pretty much unvisited as, thankfully, there is a walk of maybe 3/4 mile from the car parking:







After the circles it was time for some stones that are even older, these ones have fallen off glaciers and are balanced on smaller stones. Again I know this isn't the most exciting stuff in the world but for me this is what fishing is about and I love to see stuff like this. I think I may have posted a photo of one of these on here before but it's been there 10,000 years so it is only natural for it to have had its photo taken a few times in that period:





I did some fishing on that day as well, the wind was cold and less than ideal and I neither saw nor caught a fish, but it was great to be out seeing such interesting stuff and the MSR stove performed well. Another success.

Sunday saw no fishing but some beaches. What can you say?







Despite the hanging about doing very little there was also some sheep related action, it will not be too long until we see some lambs now and now and again I have to go in and feed the girls:



The 1st of April sees the start of the River Creed salmon fishing, at least in theory. April Fool's Day might be a better name for it :-) A local angler and club member was out putting the pool name signs up and I chatted to him while managing the first cast of the year on the Creed. To be honest it almost stopped after the first cast as there wasn't much water and it looked cold, low, and empty. However I had a few casts in the Bend Pool and also in the Matheson Pool just to take the bad look off it:







Despite the Creed being low there had been some water a while back and the moor was also holding a lot of water and with the tides getting a little bigger I had a sort of plan for a cast on the following day. Off I set and arrived to find the water at a fantastic height for a cast though it was a little on the bright side:



As ever I managed to grab a really first class parking spot. I know that different anglers like different stuff and that, basically, I'm a trout angler who has the occasional cast for a salmon, but I think most people must admit that this must be up there among the great angling parking spots:



Having seized control of the parking from, errr, no competition at all I did some splashing about with my rod and my flies and had a very enjoyable time. There is a certain joy in spring salmon fishing on Lewis in the sense that you are absolutely free from any obligation to either fish, or to catch a fish, as there simply aren't any. I don't know exactly but the spring season runs for approx 4 months and only a handful of fish are caught, if that. So on a lovely, sunny, Spring morning there is no better place to be than on the river completely unconcerned about any of the complications that would come with actually catching a fish, or even actually having your flies swing over one.

As I went along my blissful existence suffered something of a setback. As my flies swung around I heard a little noise and in some very disturbed water thought I'd maybe moved a fish. I spent some time covering the spot a few times and wondering if I could tell everyone that I'd actually moved a spring fish. On reflection I wasn't sure enough to make such a remarkable claim and so I gave the idea a pass:



I then worked my way down to the Sea Pool for a quick few casts, and a few wee finnock. Once I'd finished down there it seemed like a worthwhile use of my time to cover the fish that I didn't move, or at least had decided I probably didn't move, once more. So on the way past I stripped some line off the reel and dropped the fly in the same spot and hooked a salmon. I've no clear idea how it all came about, I'd no real feeling it was going to happen, I still wasn't sure I'd seen one move, but there I was attached to this thing that seemed displeased.

It was a strong fish, and clearly had some weight, and you need to remember that I was using exactly the same gear as I had out for trout on the previous days so I wasn't attached to it with a huge rod and a heavy line. I'd got a sort of situation with a fresh run spring salmon on a trout rod. This situation filled maybe the next 15 minutes or so with much concern as to how I might get it in. Luckily the water was high enough to cover some of the grass banks and so once it was played out I was actually able to beach it, in a sort of manner of speaking, and so my rather inadequate looking net was not pressed into action:





First fish of the year for myself and also, I believe, for the Hebrides, and hopefully my reports of success will encourage a few more people to get out and about as I believe there has been more rain today so the River Creed might get reasonable water, and might just produce the next fish.

Word travels fast, I didn't have a lot of time and so had to quit just after lunch but as I was heading for home I passed the keeper of the neighbouring river on the road. I stopped to say a quick hello to be met with the traditional Hebridean Gaelic greeting for someone who has just caught a Spring salmon: "You jammy b*****d" he shouted. Not only was this a traditional Gaelic greeting but it was also dead right: sometimes it's better to be lucky rather than good.

Very nice report and pictures; thanks for taking the time to write that up. I love the manner in which you summarized: "It's better to be lucky rather than good." When it comes to her hunting, my wife routinely makes the same claim!

Awesome that! Thanks for the report. Just returned from an inner Hebrides holiday. With similar conviction as yours, I searched every whisky cask I could find for that elusive first fish. Alas, it was not meant to be, but the distilleries caught ME hook, line, and sinker!

Thanks for the report! And congratulations on the salmon!

Thanks. That was a very well told and illustrated story.

Great report.

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Great report.

Thank you for sharing. Enjoyed that very much! Just out of curiosity, can any fish in that area, be they out of lochs or rivers, ever be kept to enjoy on a plate? If so, what kinds of restrictions are there? Size and daily limits? I'm a savage, I know, but I do love eating some of the fish I catch...

Thanks for the great report, always enjoy them!

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Just out of curiosity, can any fish in that area, be they out of lochs or rivers, ever be kept to enjoy on a plate?

Glad that everyone enjoyed it, it is an amazing place so it's easy to file a good report :-)

I think it is perfectly reasonable to keep a few now and again. In Scotland the situation is a little complex as some rivers are, for want of a better description, mandated as catch and release by the government. Clearly on those rivers you must return everything caught. However, on most of the rivers in the Hebrides you can keep a salmon should you wish though, again, this will somewhat depend on the conservation policy of the river or loch you are fishing. Sea Trout may also be kept, though some rivers and lochs have a local policy about returning them. That I know of all brown trout can be kept and with thousands of lochs there appears to be no conservation issue there.

The salmon in my report is a spring fish and, as I've detailed, they are a very rare thing indeed so they are all returned as a conservation measure. I suspect this is a fishery requirement but to be honest I can't imagine anyone keeping one regardless, the season opens on 11th February and my fish is still the only one for the season to put some perspective on their rarity.

Size and daily limits vary by water but most are aimed at allowing the angler to keep an occasional fish for the pot - so you might be encouraged to keep your first salmon but to return all others or something similar and most waters like to see the big multi-sea-winter fish go back as well. My experience is that most of the ghillies and keepers are flexible - if some teenager has just caught his first ever salmon then no one is going to make him put it back for example.

So, yes you can keep salmon and sea trout for the most part but there are a few restrictions in some places that are, mostly, common sense and probably reflect what you'd do yourself even if there weren't formal guidelines. There are no restrictions on brown trout but most anglers apply similar common sense and the vast majority of big ones get returned but it is not uncommon to keep a few "pan sized" ones.

Totally understand the need for conservation and thanks for the response.