ooarr_not_a_maggot

I use a couple of cheap ABU rods for my light lure work. A 6'6" Conolon and a 5' Enticer - not sure of the exact weight ratings but I'd say 8-15g and 2-10g respectively. Both will easily cast an Ondex 25+ yds, with a light reel line. Both are American imports but I bought them brand new, on eBay UK. £35ish for the pair. They've now had 3-4 years hard use and are still going strong. Best value trout/perch rods I've ever owned! The Conolon also gets some use when I'm sight fishing for jacks in the margins.

Rock fishing it is then

Spinning in Orkney, in February........now there's something you don't hear about everyday and with good reason Coarse fish are non existent. The brown trout season will be closed and if there are any pike to be had, they're going to be frozen to the bottom and reluctant to chase lures. Rock fishing is your best bet. Grab yourself some cheap kosters/slim jims/toby's/jelly worms etc and see if you can catch some pollack. Just be careful! The swells up there can be hellish at that time of year.

I hate to echo all the other replies but they're spot on and should be taken on-board.....quite literally I've no experience of the mentioned waters but have fished on similar sized Scottish lochs, and bigger, all my life and the same rules apply. Large expanses of water + small amounts of wind = big waves. The conditions will change in an instant and you will, as Emma says, see 4 seasons in one day. Stick to 12ft as a bare minimum but the bigger the better. I still find myself bouncing along in a 16ft longliner, on choppy days, with clenched bum cheeks! And get yourself a good reliable outboard. There's nothing worse than losing power on a big water, then having to row home. Scrap the buoyancy aid and go with a life jacket, for reasons already mentioned.

Starlings have been on the DEFRA's list of "not to shoot", for a few years now. They're in decline and can only be "controlled" under special circumstances, with the appropriate licence. Did the cat apply for said licence? As for slow worms? Well I'm afraid my strimming accounts for more deaths, in my folks garden, than their cat ever does. It's unavoidable and even waiting till the cool of the evening, I still hit 5-6 each year. Ban strimmers?

I've been involved in shooting and fishing ever since I was old enough to walk. Rules, responsibility and respect were drilled into me from that young age and have served me well throughout both disciplines. I have no issues with people taking "one for the pot" or culling, where necessary, so long as it's done responsibly, humanely and within the law. That applies to both shooting and fishing. I start to have issues when people break the law and have no clue about legal quarry or suitable calibre. Sadly there are a few of you on this forum that fall into this category. And by my way of thinking, if you don't follow the rules whilst out shooting, what rules do you follow whilst out fishing? Please just stop, think and grow up! All you're doing is fuelling the antis, who in turn tar us all with the same brush.

Congratulations on your first 20lb'er. Between yourself and Andy Macfarlane, there were some pretty impressive fish landed over the weekend. It must be a good time of year to fish in a loch, filled with water, somewhere in Scotland under some clouds. Although I struggled to break double figures yesterday, I caught 14 fish, between 4-10lb, in under 2hrs. My best session so far this season and all on lures.

Spinning for brownies, at the back end of the season, has always been far more successful for me than baits. Why? I don't know.... It might be because the trout are more aggressive/territorial near spawning time? Or maybe instincts telling them to put on weight for winter - ie going for the bigger bait?

Google is your friend - In England the brown trout season runs from the 22nd of March through to the 30th of September, however some fisheries may go on for another week in October. Check locally to be absolutely certain. Why? So they have a chance to spawn without being disturbed. Do people still fish? Yes but for coarse fish only! For natural course fishing waters the close season is 15th March to 15th June each year.

THIS may be of help. I've never boated tidal water but used to have a similar sized dingy with a 5hp engine. It pushed two big blokes and gear up-river quite nicely.

You're absolutely right. The majority of highland rivers are either owned or partially owned, by an elite few and have been for the past 200+yrs. They decided what "tradition" is.

This wasn't really a catch, more a foul hooking incident..... I was wading around some weedy margins, harassing pike with lures, when I spotted what appeared to be a small treasure chest. Being the curious fellow that I am, I proceeded to hook and pull it to the surface for closer inspection. Upon doing so, the lid popped off said "treasure chest" to reveal some pebbles and a little plastic bag full of sludge - which was causing a shiny oil slick on top of the water, around my bare legs. The little brass plaque on the lid was scribed "Mary MacDonald 19XX - 1993" Feeling somewhat guilty after disturbing someones final resting place and disgusted at being covered in dead person slick, I quickly put the urn back together and re-sunk it. I don't fish there anymore.....

On the local rivers that I have salmon fishing on, yes. These are traditional highland rivers which cater for traditional highland fishermen - ie well to do, non locals. The vast majority of which will stand there all week, in their plus fours and tweeds, lashing the water to death with flies and catching nothing. Only to scoff and moan at my techniques, which catch fish. It's mostly in jest and probably partly down to jealousy but there's still an elitist element of Salmon fly anglers who can't stand plebs and their spinning rods

If you really have to go down the cheaper reel route, at least buy something from the UK. Then when it turns up and you're not happy for whatever reason, you can still return it. There are plenty of usable reels on eBay (located in the UK) that are within your price range.

Take up lure fishing?