I went to a site provided by George Ross who was my ghillie in Scotland and found my photo and one of Edward, much to my surprise and delight.

This is the link :  http://feeds.feedburner.com/http/wwwoykelsalmonfliesandtacklecom/category/theriver

On our recent trip to the U.K. we went to Scotland and I fished for salmon on the Oykel River, courtesy of son in law Edward. The guys drove up from London and the girls rode the overnight train to Inverness where they hired a car for the ride North to the Oykel Bridge Hotel. The drive was a good bit of the length of the country and took around 12 hours. We went fishing as soon as we got our gear stowed away. I used a 16 foot fly rod, as long as my boat at home, and Edward’s father’s Hardy perfect fly reel. The reel is around 100 years old and works perfectly. We were so far North and the days were so long, we could fish a long time after dinner. This photo was taken at 11:00 p.m.

The next photo is of our arsenal of flies.

The Oykel is set in a beautiful part of Scotland where the misty rain came often, but a waxed cotton coat kept it at bay, and due to the temperature, felt mighty good. The next two photos are of Edward, one at a steep walled part of the river just behind the hotel, and the other where the bank is flatter with a salmon on.

Rick, Edward’s friend who went with us, struck first, and then I caught one (the next photo) and then Edward caught two. They all were about the same size but we saw some biggies jumping at the falls trying to make it upstream to spawn. I was alone when I caught the fish so I could not take a presentation photo. The one I did get was hurried as I wanted to return the fish quickly to the water. You might notice my foot next to the fish to give some perspective of the size. The second photo is of a sea trout that I caught.

 

We went to an old cemetery not too far from the river. As you can see from the photos, Scotland was beautiful and lichen was growing on everything.

 

 

The food at the Oykel Bridge Hotel was superb. Some in London was also. Among some of the goodies for me were smoked eel and a smoked Isle of Man kipper that I had for breakfast. The kipper is in the photo. Note the “Sylvester the Cat” effect on the right side of the photo.

Needless to say, the trip was outstanding fun. Much of that was due to Edward’s heroic efforts.

On Lake Chicot today I got to try out a neck gaiter and some fingerless gloves that limit your exposure to the sun. I have an appointment with the dermatologist next week that made me think about trying to do something about exposure. It may be a little late. I should have started in about 1960. Although the ads said they were cool, I figured they would increase your temperature some. I was wrong. They were really cooler than nothing as the sun didn’t hit your skin and heat it up. The best part was after I came off of the lake, I didn’t feel all burned up by the sun. The only downside is you look like a Martian.

Now to fishing.  Last time on Chicot I had 12 by 7 a.m. but today it was 3 on a Booyah. Had problems to start but I put on a tailspinner and managed to catch a few more. Being observant helped today, as I looked down the bank and saw some bass bustin’ shad about 300 yards away. After motoring down there it was one every cast on a red eye shad for a while. It was 9:45 when they started and they quit promptly at 10:30. Had a hard time after that except for a few on a Senko with some fuzz on the front that made the shaky head look like a jig head with a skirt. It also had a swimming tail that I dipped in the red garlic scent.

I ended up with 19 at noon and the FOD’s were right at 3 pounds.

It seems like it was a tough tournament on Ferguson for the BFL guys. Of the boaters, only 42 caught fish and of the non-boaters only 37 caught fish. A respectable  bag of  20-07 was first but weights quickly deteriorated to the 6-13 that  captured 10th place. Locals Bates and Jones caught fish with Bates 14th and in the money with 3 fish and 5-03 lbs. Local non-boater Gibson was 19th , only one place out of the money, with 2-08. There were more zeros than fish catchers. Only 6 boaters and 1 non-boater caught a limit of 5 keepers. This info is from the BFL website. Aside from some locals I know about, there were some semi-professionals and people that guide in other places that didn’t do very well. All good fishermen. In the last year fishing has really declined in Lake Ferguson. The BFL website is at: http://www.flwoutdoors.com/bassfishing/bfl/tournament/2013/7063/lake-ferguson-boater-results/

This morning when the alarm went off, I laid in bed another 25 minutes, not because I was tired, but it was like if you had to get up and then take a whipping. The way fishing has been for me lately, that has gotten in between my ears.  I got up after thinking each bad day makes it another day closer to a good one. I went to Lake Chicot and by the time the clock on the courthouse chimed 7:00 I had caught 10 bank bass on a Booyah. By 8:00 there were only 2 more and by 9:00 only 1 more. Then those lily pads in Chicot drew me like iron filings to a magnet. Nothing there for me however. Most of the bank bass had been on chunk rock banks so I started to look for the rocks and just fish them. By 10:00 there were 6 more bass.  I had been saving the spot  where Jackson and I caught the 102 a couple of years back so I went there.  We had caught them on a Yozuri, a red eye shad and a rattle trap. I had on a brand new 1/4 oz. red eye shad. I caught a few but it seemed they were hesitant to bite it as they were hitting close to the boat. Maybe they were following it out, or as the light bulb came on, maybe I was sitting right on top of them. I backed out a little where the water was deeper, and sure enough they started to bite better. Then I got the idea to put on something that went a little deeper, a DT-6 perhaps, since the water was 6 to 7 feet deep. The DT-6 was the ticket and started catching them, once coming up with a double.  I also put on an Alabama rig and caught one on it  before the line snapped on it  in the process of making a cast. The bass were out deeper than when Jackson and I fished there but were also more spread out. I believe you could troll along with a rattletrap  and find more good spots like that one. May have to do that next time because I went down the bank some just before I left and a boat pulled in to the exact spot and fished it hard to no avail because I had done a thorough job. I ended up with 43. FOD 3 1/4. A lot better than it has been.

To get to the private hole this morning I had to call out the 4 wheeler due to our roads being closed to anything but ATV’s.

I hauled the boat down there yesterday with it.  You can see the boat back in the bushes just over the white ice chest. The water is good and high as the ATV is parked at the top of the ramp. In time it will really help the fishing. The water is very clear with a brown, tannic tint. I went right to work with a Ribbit since there is so much moss and duckweed. There is also an area of flooded coffeebeans where the tops are just sticking out. In addition, the moss and cottonwood seed are floating on the water and the wind blows them up in a raft. All perfect frog spots but the bass didn’t get the memo, nothing. I tried a spoon, a swimbait, a DT-6, a DC-13 and a shaky head, all no no avail. Mickey gave me a popper with a rattle he picked up on a bargain table at the BPS. It’s a pretty bait and has good hooks, so I put it on.  I figured the frog might be a little too fast and they might want something in their face a little longer. Sure enough, it wasn’t too long before I had, as Sandy Ingram used to say, a “solid three pounder”.  A couple more fish blew up on it but were not serious. How a fish can hit that bait, take it down and not get hooked , I don’t know. The banks in the private hole drop straight down. The only way to get the bait to the bank in some cases is to skip it under bushes. I became able to, not adept at, skipping the popper with a bait caster under the overhanging bushes. I caught four more including the 3-14 FOD that airballed it and then came back for more on the next cast.  I’m glad to see the fresh water but a few things worried me today. The first thing, I did not see one small  this years bass. With new water like this they are usually cruising in packs.  I did not see a bream. In these conditions they are usually out “floating” in droves. I am hoping the water clarity has all the fish deep or in the shade. Maybe things will improve if we can get an algae bloom and cut down on some of the visibility and light penetration. The deepest depth I saw today was 36 feet but I didn’t go hunting for the deepest spot. I think I remember the deepest was 22 before the rise.

Mickey and I went to Lake Ferguson at 4:00 Friday afternoon with a few places in mind where we might catch some fish. The place we had the highest expectations for was a bust, only a few stripes and a foul hooked skipjack. We then went to some other places we had in mind, one was too shallow, and another was so thick with bushes we were snookered and had to crank the motor to power out to open water. After all of these exercises, we had caught only one fat, small bass on a Booyah spinnerbait. On the way back to the landing we tried the first place again but we caught even less, nothing. I have heard stupidity defined as trying the same thing over and over expecting a different result. There was still light left, so as we were going in another place came to mind and we decided to give it a try. Mickey had on a Yozuri and I had on a Johnson’s sprite with a little larger sharper hook installed. Mickey started catching stripes and I couldn’t get a bite so I changed to a DT-6.  Willie wanted some fish so we were keeping the stripes and were glad to see them because we didn’t have a “mess” yet. The DT-6 caught stripes but also came out with a largemouth or two. Expecting a stripe, and not guarding for a jump, of course I let the largest one of the day jump and throw the bait which came almost all the way back to the boat. Dark came and we had to leave. Willie met us at the landing to retrieve his box of fish.

Last night I was thinking of a place to fish without the Memorial Day traffic.  Cane Creek came to mind because it has the most stumps of anyplace I know. No water skiers or pleasure riders there. You can’t go faster than a low idle if you like the lower unit on your motor.  I was the first at the landing. In the past Cane Creek has been frustrating, in that, the bass will hit a Ribbit but hookups are low. First thing this morning. 3 pounder caught on first bite.  Life is good. After  that, however, the fish fell back into their old ways of hit and miss. I finally gave up on the Ribbit and put on a Booyah. It caught one right off the bat too, but I was suspicious that it was the “old Indian trick”. It was. I was still glad to see the fish. The way this year is going I’m glad to see each one. Finally a rain storm built up on the other end of the lake. I was across the lake from the ramp and not too worried as there was no thunder. That changed and I started for the ramp but at the aforementioned low idle speed. The rain was light and the thunder subsided.  Thank goodness. Getting wet after a bad day would have added insult to injury.

When I reached my first intended place to fish on Lake Whittington this morning, the lake had apparently started to fall, as the flotsam was flowing out. I thought things were just right until my trolling motor hit bottom. It was a little too shallow for that place and the water was kind of funkified. It was not muddy but was certainly not clear and the gars were in abundance. There were many spots on my mind so I left for greener pastures and hopefully better water. Bar Lake was where I stopped next and tried three places, all with different scenarios. One was next to a steep bank where two roads go down to what is a dam at lower water stages. Another was in the East end of the lake where the wind was blowing flotsam into a large drift. In the past I’ve caught fish there but the lake probably needs to fall more to concentrate the fish there. The last was in water where there was a shallow flat and then fell out to 15 feet. The bottom was covered with smartweed.  Nothing in any of those places, not even a bite. I had fished with a Ribbit, a Booyah , and a swimbait. Next I went into the middle ground and fished in 24+ feet of water around the log drifts with alternating baits. Some places it was ribbit only because it was so many sticks and logs. Something finally made a move toward my bait but I figured it was a gar. At that time I was desperate, so I threw back in the same spot, and lo and behold, a feisty 1 1/2 pound tighteye came out and ate my bait. I retained my composure and hesitated before I set the hook. The only fish of the day was in hand. After thrashing the logjams more with no luck, I ventured to Game Warden Lake, where I resorted to a fluke around some large logs in 20 feet of water back in the willows. I got one peck and it did not take the bait. That good garlic dye was on it too. Another bad day but it’s going to get better as the water falls.

This morning as I drove to the ramp on Lake Chicot, I noticed the egrets posted every 40 yards or so along the bank. Looking further, I noticed movement in the water of small bait fish along bank.  After Jackson and I launched, we saw what was going on. The shad were spawning, laying eggs on the rocks, the seawalls and anything else in the shallower water. The birds were feeding on them but we saw no bass crashing into them. Of course we had to try but to no avail. We left the spot where we heard the bass were concentrated and went to the end where the lily pads are. The gar were in there spawning and the water was not very clear. Jackson only caught one bass there on a frog. One guy had some limb lines tied out and almost each one had a small catfish on it. We left and went to a bank where in the past we’ve done well. There we only caught one. That fish was relatively small but showed us what was happening. The fish was a little football, so full of shad I don’t know why it hit my Booyah. The bass must have fed all night and were gorged with 2 inch shad. They were full and wanted no more.  We did see some schooling in one place and they would not hit a Yozuri or other normal schooling fish baits. Finally we enticed them to bite a Johnson’s Sprite for a few minutes and then they quit completely. Even the stripes and the two gaspergous we caught had bulging stomachs . Five bass were all we caught . While turkey hunting I thought a lot about fishing but I planned on catching more than five.