I HAVE recently re-read Ian Wood's wondeful little book, Out From Balmaha.
This title was used by The Herald to give weekly reports of salmon caught on Loch Lomond (Letters, June 29). Most were caught on the fly on the Endrick Bank. Some days there could be more than 30 boats, some without engines, fly fishing from Balmaha to Ross Priory by drifting with the wind or tacking. Beautiful fresh-run silver salmon were often caught in these good old days. Ian Wood once held the record of six salmon on the one day – the following week he broke that record by catching seven on the fly in Millarachy Bay. Nowadays you are more likely to hook a jet ski than a salmon in Millarachy Bay.
Fish farms were a disaster for sea-trout runs in the west coast rivers of Scotland. I recall two major disasters which affected sea trout. I have fished Loch Lomond and the River Endrick from the age of 12. I am now 82. The causes of the two disasters were UDN (a disease which devastated salmon and sea trout and other fish), and the introduction of fish farms.
The uneaten food fed to the caged fish would attract wild sea trout as they made their way to spawn. Unlike the caged fish, they could not be treated to avoid diseases. The caged salmon were fed small fish such as elvers. These were caught in huge quantities. This deprived sea trout (and puffins) of their main food supply. The sea trout fishing in Loch Lomond and the rivers running into the loch has never recovered. The sea trout runs in virtually every west coast river in Scotland were devastated. This has a seriously detrimental effect on our tourist industry.
Angling in Scotland could be a major tourist attraction.We could have the best wild trout, sea trout and salmon fishing in the world. Offshore fish pens are one solution that would help. They help to provide the world with a rich supply of much-needed protein and also help to boost our tourist industry and allow anglers to enjoy the wonderful and exciting sport of fly fishing for salmon and sea trout.
Ian Watson,
4 Kirkland Avenue, Blanefield.
What a disappointment when I opened Saturday’s Herald Magazine to read Alan Taylor’s article on fly fishing, especially when I looked at the main picture, which, despite its caption, showed him not fly fishing but wielding a spinning rod and fixed spool reel more suited to salmon angling (“Lord of the flies”, July 2). The only fly he would be using with that outfit would be the Blackbird’s Fancy, as anglers call a bunch of garden worms.
His eventual prize looks as though it is hanging from a spinning lure known as a Flying Condom.
Charles Duncan,
28 Kelvin Court, Glasgow.
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