28^th June – 3^rd July 2026.

This trip for me was more about remembrance rather than serious fly fishing, which given the conditions, was somehow even more cathartic.

In terms of fishing, a cursory glance around the loch provided me with all the clues I needed to know that any kind of fly fishing was likely to be very tough going indeed. Bright, warm sunshine, combined with stiff and blustery winds, virtually no rising fish, the almost total absence of swallows and house martins feeding over the water, the aerator running during the day, profuse weed growth flowering above the water’s surface and spider webs full of dead Caenis from previous evening hatches, were all part of a rather down beat fishing jigsaw, but probably the most telling sight was seeing anglers fishing in T-shirts and shorts, or with bare feet and sandals which to me at least, suggested Costa del Sol rather than Coldingham Loch. A quick check of the returns book only confirmed my suspicions. Just about everyone was finding it hard going with entries in low single figures, plus a few nil returns to underline the situation. There were however a couple of noticeable exceptions that bucked the trend showing fish numbers going well into double figures which I understand was primarily brought about by anchoring in and around the aerator for most of the day. Speaking personally, I question whether such a tactic is in the true spirit of fly fishing. Surely the aerator is an essential way of helping the fish to survive and overcome the stresses of high water temperatures and low oxygen levels and as such, should not be considered a localised hotspot to be monopolised and exploited. As anglers, our primary concern should always be for the welfare of the fish, especially when water temperatures are nudging 20 degrees and at such times, we need to reassess our expectations and adjust our attitudes accordingly.

During this trip, my fishing was primarily limited to fishing from the bank for an hour or so each morning followed by an hour or two later in the evening, leaving me plenty of time to chat to friends and fellow anglers and to also photograph some wonderful landscapes and stunning sunsets. In terms of fly choice, whenever I’m faced with difficult conditions, I invariably start with a black flat daddy on the point and a yellow owl shuttlecock emerger on the dropper. Over the years, this combination has proved time and again to have an almost magical ability to conjure up takes from apparently barren water and to be honest, this reputation was only enhanced over the course of the week as the flies were seldom off my cast. Even on those evenings when the wind died completely and Caenis started hatching, they managed several hook ups but unfortunately none of the fish made it to the net. Annoyingly, one of those fish to throw the hook was a very big brown with a huge tail that left me shaking and wondering, “what if”? Even Gareth remarked on the size of its tail having seen the encounter through binoculars from the window of his house!

On Friday, with the sun still shining and a strong North Westerly wind gusting across the loch, I decided to round off the week by going afloat. I headed to the top of the North Arm and anchored close to the shore to find what little shelter there was from the wind, but the outlook didn’t look promising. I changed my standard yellow owl on the dropper for one with a longer CDC shuttlecock “wing” to act as a better sighter in the rough water and on my very first cast I found myself suddenly connected to an angry brown that took the flat daddy almost as soon as it hit the water. Over the next four hours both flies produced another seven fish with four others freeing themselves in the surrounding weed which was always going to be a problem when fishing multiple flies in such a weedy location. A short time later, the distinctive clatter of the “Coldingham Belle” with Captain Gareth at the helm, ably assisted by JJ, his “fork” man, trundled its way to the top of the North arm so I decided it was time to up anchor and get back to start the sad task of packing up ready for my long journey home in the morning.

A special mention must go to husband and wife team, Tony and Julie, whose only previous experience of fly fishing was attending a local “have a go at fly fishing” event. Having now purchased their own tackle, they had chosen Coldingham Loch for their very first experience of fly fishing from a boat – a daunting enough challenge at the best of times, but in these conditions, you just had to applaud their optimism. Needless to say, they had lots of questions that I did my best to answer and generally point them in the right direction, but when it came to what flies to use, they told me a friend had provided them with some flies to try and proudly produced a box full of four inch snake flies! I think I managed to persuade them that for two novice anglers, first time in a boat, hurling such large flies in very close proximity was fraught with danger and was not a good idea. Thankfully they agreed and accepted my offer of some flies to try and after a brief lesson in boat handling and boat safety from Gareth, they set off full of anticipation and ready to begin their journey into the wonderful world of fly fishing. Later that day, I was absolutely delighted to learn that both Tony and Julie had successfully landed several fish. However, it was the almost nonchalant revelation that one of Julie’s fish had been a 4lb. golden rainbow that I found truly amazing. What are the chances of a complete novice angler on their first ever outing in a boat, catching one of only 4 golden rainbows ever to have been stocked in the loch and as far as I’m aware, the first one to be caught this year? Well done, Julie. However, John also had a revelation to share, albeit on a slightly different scale. He had managed to land a 4 inch perch on a yellow owl shuttlecock emerger, which in its own way, was quite unusual and certainly worth a mention.