Loch Fyne from Cairndow War Memorial: 24th June 2012

The War Memorial at Cairndow is a low tide fishing venue

The War Memorial at Cairndow has very much become a bit of an enigma for me as a beachcasting venue. I have heard from a number of totally reliable sources about the good bags of mackerel, dogfish and thornback rays in particular that are regularly taken from this beach. Why, I can't help but wonder, have I therefore blanked on all three of my visits over a period of more than a year? Not only that, I have yet to see evidence with my own eyes of these even half decent catches. On this trip, there were eight of us fishing, with a variety of baits, lures and tackle, yet other than two decent mackerel, a scant few small doggies and probably the smallest thornback ray I have ever seen, we collectively caught not a lot... I'm seriously starting to consider the possibility that I'm a jinx!


View Larger Map

Weed thickly covers the rocky beach at Cairndow

There is actually very little beach to fish from at Cairndow at high water and at low water, you can easily see what you are casting out on to at higher stages of the tide. The aim therefore is to cast out to the deeper channel in the hope of snagging the fish rather than the weeds. We fished the last hour of the ebbing tide and the first three hours of the flood on this occasion.

Looking towards Inveraray (unseen) from the beach at the War Memorial at Cairndow

It wasn't until the tide had turned that the fish slowly started to appear. Both the mackerel taken were of a decent size and were bagged for tea by their respective takers but we were surprised and disappointed that they didn't signify the presence of a shoal in the area and the start of an even brief mackerel frenzy that would at least have seen us all fed that night!

A small dogfish taken on mackerel bait at Cairndow War Memorial

The few dogfish taken were all fairly small but the one thornback ray was almost certainly the smallest I have ever seen caught anywhere.

Cairndow at least let me see probably the smallest thornback ray I have ever encountered

As time wore on and the predictable pattern of my previous visits to Cairndow established itself, my thoughts were turning to the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar just a mile or so away and the delights it may afford for an alternative dinner.

The Loch Fyne Oyster Bar in the distance is looking the best bet for obtaining a fish supper on this occasion

In the end, we called it a day a good couple of hours earlier than we had intended and made a brief but welcome stopover at Cairndow's Stagecoach Inn - just along the road - for what was a very welcome pint!

Enough line wetting - time for some throat wetting!

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.

View Larger Map

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