Dapping on Loch Lomond (Page 1).

Introduction.

I had been fishing for a couple of hours but had moved nothing. It was a warm day with the sun glinting on the water from a cloudless sky and I found I was going through the motions. I find you only occasionally rise sea trout to the dap in such sunny conditions. I had experienced taking an odd salmon on the dap when the sun was out, however that was later in the season and in shallow water about four to eight feet. This was mid July and I was after sea trout lying in deeper water of ideally ten to sixteen feet at this time of year. I pondered to myself, a beginner out on the loch would be wondering if there were any sea-trout in, you only occasionally see one jump to clear itself of sea lice, or lampreys that can attach themselves to these migratory fish, perhaps doubts would be creeping into his mind, was he fishing at the right depth and in the right places, it is a big loch. All of these thoughts I and my friends went through as we learnt the loch over the years and that learning process continues today. However I was quietly confident, the forecast was for cloud to build later and there was a steady ten mile an hour wind from the West.

Confidence is everything, I knew I would be in with a shout when conditions improved. I had faith in my knowledge of the sea trout lies, depths, my setup, my flies and method of fishing.

As forecast the cloud gradually arrived covering the sun, this was high overcast cloud giving good light filtering through, but removing glare from the lochs surface. As I drifted in on the island of Creeinch I watched the fly with growing confidence. As the vast majority of these sea trout have stopped actively seeking food in freshwater, I believe it is usually the hunting instinct of chasing, when conditions are right and these fish become active, that gives us our best chance of catching these moody magnificent creatures.

Then suddenly it happened, nothing but nothing in fishing the big loch does it more for me than seeing the water part with a large head appearing through the wave followed by a thickset black arched back and silver flank, in this case cutting so smoothly and silently along the surface to intercept my dapping fly two to three feet away.

I am of course totally focused on that fly as it traverses across the waves, everything is so visual, awaiting the inevitable homing in of the fish onto the fly. This time the take is so confident and the fly disappears from view leaving the wake of another sea trout with it's intended prey, my dapping fly, heading down.

The big fifteen foot rod smartly lifts high in the air at a rate of knots, no "God save the Queen" here before I strike, I have to take up the slack bow in the dapping floss caused by the wind, this is maybe anything from twelve to eighteen metres away from the boat and tighten before the sea trout realises its mistake and ejects my artificial fly.

Suddenly everything goes tight as the hook finds its hold and the water erupts as the sea trout's dive is abruptly halted, all hell now breaks loose as the fish thrashes about in the wave, shaking its head and flanks from side to side, its large spade of a tail spraying water in all directions as it realises it has been deceived, the hunter has now become the hunted. This has all happened in a matter of seconds and I know I will relive this take and many others in my minds eye in slow motion when I'm back home on winter nights to come, when some boring TV program is on. After giving a great account of itself, running hard and jumping clear of the water many times before crashing down into the wave I slip the salmon net under this now exhausted ten pound fresh run Lomond sea trout and shout Y...E...S!!!, to the heavens. In an embarrassed kind of a way I hope no one is looking or listening, but not really caring too much what anyone might be thinking, this was a sea trout I had sought for a long time, one that was into double figures on a fly. This fish had stopped at its temporary lie on the underwater bank at the south west side of the island of Creeinch and was going no further.

So what had I learnt before taking my first ten pounder on the dap, I will try to summarise some points that may assist anyone dapping for the first time to take a shortcut or two, to take up or try this wonderful, oh so visual side of angling on our big loch.

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