I arrived at Balmaha on Saturday morning to find it a hive of activity with several fisher’s busying themselves getting ready for a day out on the Loch. I hadn’t seen the Bay so busy since the start of the season. Somebody must have mentioned fish! There were the usual well known faces present. Euan McGrandle tells me that he had his second fish of the season last week, an 11lb salmon, up past the Blue Rocks at the new jetty. He took it on a copper and silver toby. This was where I took the fish mentioned in the last update. The area round about Carrick Rock always seems to hold fish particularly at this time of year. I remember a few seasons ago taking Kenny McDonald out to show him some lies (lies?....nothing but the truth your honour!) and just as I was explaining Carrick Rock as a well known lie ….`but I had never had a fish there`……the inevitable happened and an 8lb grilse came to the poker. I don’t know if he was impressed but I certainly was!

Alec Bowie tells me that he had a 10lb salmon in mid May and Davy Irwin had a fish of 12lb recently too. Apparently this is his first season at Balmaha…a good start. I had a report during the week of a Balmaha boat, flying a saltire, with a fish. Anybody want to own up to it?

So it appears that there have been several early salmon brought back to the Bay and a few good sea trout too by all accounts. I’m told that about twenty fish have come in to VOLDAC so far and the Leven has produced a good number. So all in all not a bad start to the season. Within the next couple of weeks we should see the first of the grilse run and if last season is anything to go by should be in for some fun. Last July’s run lasted all month with good numbers taken throughout the Loch. I remember making my way back down after an overnighter passing five boats in a row at Rowchiosh. Each one had a fish. Most were taken south of Rowardennan. Of course by the time I got down they were gone. Probably passed by me on their way up!

Scott Sinclair e-mailed me to say that he caught a 7lb sea trout off the Fad on Saturday last. It took a handpainted orange tomic. Scott mentions that young Cammie, holding the fish in the attached photo, was more than just hooked for life when he sat on a rapala during the fight. The offending lure was extracted from his posterior with minimal injury. There’s nothing worse than getting a rapala stuck in your finger after some mad pike has snapped back at you using the infernal thing as a weapon or some crazy young sea trout does a sudden freedom dance as you try to unhook it but succeed in attaching both fish and lure to your hand instead………very sore!!.......as young Mr McDonald can testify to …….four times in two years…. carries his own personal scalpel…….needs a pair of welders gloves I think! Cheers!

Any info, reports, photos? Please E-Mail them to me at balmaha@lochlomondangling.com

regards Jim Raeburn