Fishing Sprats on Loch Lomond (Page 4).

Dyeing the Sprats

The sprats are now ready to be dyed whatever colour you want. The common colours used on Loch Lomond are golden yellow, red and orange, although various other colour combinations have been tried in the past. Its up to you what you choose.
I use "Dylon" cold water dyes as the temperatures required for the hot water dyes would partially cook the sprat and reduce it's effectiveness and it's ability to be kept for several years.

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Again I would emphasise the need for gloves during the dyeing stage, (this comes from personal experience when on one occasion I forgot, and had hands which would do a 60 a day smoker proud, for months).
The dye is prepared according to manufacturer's instructions and a tablespoonful of salt is added as a fixative. I use a glass bowl to dye the sprats as glass can be washed effectively.
The sprats are then added in small batches (about 10 or so at a time).


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The dye penetrates immediately, and you can actually watch the colour intensify through time.


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I generally check the shade after two or three minutes. In order to get a good indication of the final colour, take one of the sprats out of the dye and clean the excess dye under cold running water.


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If the shade is what you want then remove all the sprats from the dye and wash under cold water, if you want a more intense colour, then put it back in the dye until the desired shade is achieved.


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Carry out the above step for all your sprats and you're almost there.


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