fishing self-catering scotland

Scottish Fishing Cottage - (sleeps 6 + 2)

I enjoy fishing in this area of Scotland, The river Nith is a particular favourite as its a great Salmon fishing river, But here I am in early March water lapping at the top of my waders, my eldest son has returned from Dundee where he is studying, the sun is at such a low angle it is bouncing off the surface of the water and the chill of the morning air is cleansing my lungs from the exhaust fumes and city stench of normal life. This river does not close at the end of the salmon season as many of the beats stay open for grayling fishing. The river is very quiet at this time of year and I have several miles of riverbank all to mymself. Most fish are to be caught on deeply fished nymphs and long trotting but even on the coldest of days there may well be some fly life on the surface providing an opportunity to try and capture one of these superb fish on the dry fly.

The last time I fished here was in the biting cold of winter on a grey November day. The autumn months of September through November are the prime months for salmon on the Nith, with runs of the famous greyback salmon running up the river in numbers. The Nith is a river of good volume and in time of rain can flood quickly and dramatically. The floods tend to be opaque and whilst this is good for the angler wishing to spin or worm fish, it does allow good numbers of fish to enter the river which makes for fine sport for the fly fishing as the river begins to fine down and clear. The watchword when autumn fishing on the Nith is to carry both a spinning rod and a fly rod to get the best out of the river.

So here I am, the water is high so I am using a weighted tube fly I am working the fly whilst it is in the water, getting the dressing pulsing as I wade closer to the edge and bang, the rod dips and the line stretches the reel is puuled and I have to slow it down as it reels out. It takes a short while to reel the fish in as the line gets caught around a branch at the side of the water and I see my catch , its about 2 lb and its a beauty. These are lovely fish and my son helps me net it. What a great feeling, we are soon back and its not long before my son catches another, sligytly smaller than nime although he feels his is bigger. That was dinner sorted then.

My wife had been shopping in Thornhill and was pleased with a top she had bought from a small boutique, together in this lovely new kitchen which had all the latest ovens and kitchen gadgets, we baked the fish with butter, lemon juice and a dash of cream, some potatoes and carrots and we had a very tasty candle lit dinner sitting in the lovely dining room just beside the kitchen. "It really doesn't get better than this" my son said as we relaxed on the comfortable leather sofas in the living room watching the long evening shadows laying on surrounding fields with a whisky in our hands and a smile on our faces.