Hi,since last weeks diary, this week has followed in a similar fashion. The information my spies on the loch are reporting is that they`re all seeing a lot of fish sloshing all over the place, but hooking them seems to be a problem.

I understand that Young Eric Donnaghy, don`t be fooled by the `Young`, he`s about 35yrs of age, whilst his father, yes, Old Eric is in his 70`s and still fishing. Anyway, Young Eric landed a beauty of 11lbs trolling along the road shore up near the Loch Sloy Power Station, and got another one later in the week.

Jimmy Richardson caught a 14lbs fish which I understand was slightly tinged in colour trolling just south of Eagle Beach.

I have it on good authority from some of the old timers on the Loch, that when the water is low, the fish will seek the cooler water of the Tap End. However, in the past few years the water level has been fairly high during June and into July, and in the case of last year was so high that all the summer marks were covered. SAo far this year my marker, `The Lucky Chucky`, that big boulder just past Toll Point, thats the nice shingle shore point between Ptarmigan and Rowchoish, is still covered so it may be that the fish are not so desperate to seek the cooler waters of the Tap End and are fairly well spread throughout the Loch.

On the subject of old timers it`s nice to see Geordie Malloch and Davie King back out trolling and sleeping under the stars after last years illnesses. Geordie has been fishing the loch for near on 60years and has been camping up at the Tap End for the past 35years.

The other week both Geordie and Ernie East pulled their boats up at our camp and began to reel us in with their stories of some of their catches.

Ernie began telling us, he had set off one morning from their camp, which was just south of Eagle Beach. In bright sunshine he landed five Grilse and lost a couple before lunch time, with a grin on him the size of the Clyde Tunnel he met up with Geordie for lunch and asked him how he`d got on, only to find out hat Geordie had four. Let me tell you that it wasn`t 40 years ago either, it was only in the late 80`s.

Around about the same time Willie McGrandle was staying up at Ernie`s camp and decided one evening to fish the fly along the shore past their camp towards Eagle Beach. He hooked and landed five Sea Trout all between 5lbs and 8lbs, so don`t be put off by the weather or anything else, if you fancy a drift with the fly then give it a go, you just never know.

This week John Brice and Denis McLaughlin are keeping the Balmaha camp fire lit whilst Eric Donnaghy and his mates are camping in the bay just a couple of 100yds north of the Balmaha Camp.

Now I know we`re living in he 21st century and with all the free spirit around both spiritually and in liquid form I should really move with the times, but on one night there were 6 boats pulled up on the shore where Eric has set up camp, but there were only two small two man tents erected.

Back to the fishing, the Southport connection, alias Bob Forshaw and Dave Weatherby came up on Thursday night, they trolled up to the Balmaha camp on the Friday catching and returning a dirty looking 4lb Sea Trout, and on the Saturday they headed back down the Loch to fish the fly aroung the Islands. Bob fishing the wet fly hooked and landed a cracking fresh run 3lb Sea Trout on a Claret Bumble on the `bob` whilst Dave rose fish to the Dap.

I hope to get up the Loch this week for a couple of days fishing, so till the next Diary entry Tight Lines.