Orchill Trout Fishery looking towards the Hut.
Stocking at Orchill.
I had made arrangements with my brother Derek to travel up to Orchill Fishery today but wasn’t too hopeful about the weather, as the past few weeks have been dire with a biting cold easterly wind and temperatures hovering around freezing point. Thankfully when I awoke at 6:00am the weather was overcast with very little wind and after throwing the gear in the car and a quick breakfast we left at 7:30am and arrived at Orchill Fishery 8:10am to find it fairly busy, due to the Easter Holiday, which we had forgotten about. We paid £16 for a four hour, two fish ticket then catch and release and made our way to the far bank where a number of fish were rising, despite the temperature only being just above freezing. Looking around an in the water, I could see no sign of insect life.
Derek, who caught three suicidal Rainbow Trout.
I started off with a Beaded Bloodworm on the point and a PTN on the dropper, which I fished for about an hour, trying various depths and rates of retrieve and only had one half hearted tug on the line. There was around thirty anglers fishing and I only saw one fish being taken in that time. My brother then broke his duck by tempting a Rainbow of around two pounds with a Hot-Head Damsel fished just under the surface. I was still having no luck despite trying a variety of flies fished at different rates of retrieve and depths, which was frustrating, as the fish were rolling in the surface all over the loch but I didn’t feel too bad as not many fish were being caught. The bank of the loch we were fishing had several Pine trees and some shrubs growing close to the water and my brother’s flies eventually succumbed to them and much to my amusement he lost his leader and flies. Derek had the last laugh when he put on a new leader and flies and quickly caught another two Rainbows, the last one he returned as he had reached his limit. I was still blank and had stopped for a short break to watch the loch being stocked with Rainbows. I had only changed my flies twice as my back was playing up and it was getting really difficult bending down. Derek then told me that what he really wanted was to catch a Brown Trout as he had never caught one before and shortly after him telling me, I had hooked a fish on the PTN dropper and to my surprise it was a lovely Brown Trout of around a pound in weight which was quickly released to fight another day.
I really enjoyed my day at Orchill despite the cold and the easterly wind which only got stronger as the day wore on. The fishery is in a lovely setting, very easy to get to and is friendly and well run with a twice weekly stocking policy. In the cabin, which was warm and offered free tea or coffee, we got talking to an angler who had fished Orchill for over 25 years and this had been his first ever blank. So Derek’s three Rainbows and my Brown Trout were a fair return for our first time at this fishery. I will definitely be back but when the weather is a bit warmer.
Fly Fishing Old Fart 