12th June 2012: Jetty at St Catherines on Loch Fyne

The stone jetty at St Catherines, Loch Fyne

St Catherines is a tiny hamlet on the south shore of Loch Fyne. It is almost straight across the loch from Inveraray. Although I have fished Loch Fyne countless times over a period of many years, this particular destination was a new experience. The photo above shows the idyllic scene which greeted us on arrival, with the stone jetty seeming to afford easy access (particularly for spinning) to deeper water. We quickly unpacked the car and set off to wet some lines.

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The shoreline to either side of the jetty is rocky and weedy

It has to be said that the fishing experience at St Catherines started badly - very badly. The midges were out in a force that I honestly don't remember ever experiencing before and in no time at all, we were beyond discomfort as we were ravaged and bitten. With not a bite of the fish type in sight during that first hour and a bit, calling it a day had more than crossed my mind!

Inveraray is straight across Loch Fyne from St Catherines

Fortunately, everything soon changed. A gentle breeze blew up and instantly, the midges were gone. Low water came about just after that and with the turn of the tide, the fishing fortunes followed suit. Mackerel aplenty. Just about every cast out from the end of the jetty produced two or three writhing mackerel. We were catching them on hokai style lures of different types, unbaited. It was one of those mackerel catching experiences, however, where you got the impression that bare hooks alone would have taken the fish. In a frantic half hour or so, we had more than enough mackerel for the pot and to be frozen as bait for an upcoming boat trip. Dogfish were also caught with mackerel baits.

Parts of the jetty are in a shocking state of repair

It is important to point out the crumbling state of parts of the jetty at St Catherines. Several large holes like the one above can be seen and there are parts of the jetty around these holes where the stone surface precariously stands atop fresh air. We fished this jetty at the lower stages of the tide but given that it looks as though the jetty is at least partially submerged at high water, fishing it at higher stages of the tide could be even riskier than may first appear. A broken leg or worse could easily result. Bear this in mind if you are considering fishing at St Catherines.

Mackerel started getting caught thick and fast after the low water mark