While they were on their rich task trip to the Orkney Mainland, the Sanday pupils and staff took the chance of casting a fly on the Loch of Kirbister which has seen a lot of action lately!
Most had never handled a fly rod before and one has always to bear in mind that spinning and fly-fishing are two very different angling techniques: in spinning, the weight of the bait or lure helps you cast and pulls the light nylon line out of the reel while in fly-fishing, it’s the weight of the big diameter fly-line which is used to gain distance.
The wind forecast was supposed to be light easterly winds but turned out to be due north… This meant having to change location after a quick picnic and a visit of the hatchery building; there, the pupils were able to see where the trout eggs they hatched at school over the winter came from.
Unfortunately, after fishing hard and persevering, no Kirbister trout was fooled by the youngsters’ flies… The Kirbister Loch is “usually” a reliable venue but when it comes to fishing, there is no such thing as guarantee…
It was good though, to see how the new anglers had progressed through the day: by mid-afternoon, at the north end, Bob and Molly had pretty much mastered the art of roll-casting and would have been able to reach the fish, had they been active. Further down the shore, with Mr. Erskine, Rosa, Lewis and Chloe were learning how to spin with a torpedo float and a fly, a technique which is usually very successful on that loch, but apart from Chloe who hooked a fish and lost it, the afternoon was to remain fishless… It was nice to see the Sanday staff joining in, and Mrs. Newton and Mrs. Thomson showed their usual perseverance and enthusiasm even though the trout had decided not to play ball…
However, later in the day, when the Sanday contingent settled at the Stromness hostel, there was trout for tea as Mr. Erskine had brought with him some fish that “he’d caught earlier”! The delicious meal was even more enjoyed as everybody had realised by then how hard it can be to harvest a couple of wild trout!
Mr. P
