22 September: Fishing at Raemoir Trout Fishery

Our French friends had invited us to go fishing with them, which I thought was an excellent idea. My boys are fond of fishing but we don't go very often. I'm not really patient enough to enjoy fishing, which is one of the reasons our boys haven't gone very often. I feel I should take them fishing a lot more, it's one of those things you do with your kids isn't it? It's all about giving them great childhood memories.

The Fishery

Sunday morning we followed our friends to the Raemoir Trout Fishery, which is less than 30 minutes by car from our house. I'm used to fishing in lakes or in the sea, or angling for mackerel from our boat, so the concept of a 'fishery' was new to me. 

Going fishing in a fishery is extremely effortless. Instead of walking for hours or driving your boat to get to where the fish are, you just park your car in the car park just outside the fishery. 

No need for sturdy walking boots and backpacks full of clothes, food, drinks and bait. You can bring your food in a basket and wear high heeled shoes if you like. And no need to worry about bait - you get that at the fishery and then just stroll over to your allocated pond. You can be in nature in an 'urban way'.

Easy for the fishermen - and for the tag-along

The fishery we went to has three small ponds/lochs with lots of fish. Two of the lochs are for fly fishing, the last one is for regular fishing (or whatever it's called - I don't know much about fishing).
Around the ponds there are a number of small, timber platforms you can fish from if you like, or you can just stand at the edge of the grass and fish. Behind the narrow area where the fishermen (and -women) stand is a lawn, where you can relax if you don't want to go fishing. There are also benches and tables where you can sit down to eat your food.

 As a visitor, all you have to do is to bring your fishing gear, pay to fish and off you go. Extremely simple and straightforward. We didn't have our fishing equipment here in Scotland, so we rented rods and went over to the pond allocated for regular fishing.  
 

Indian Summer

 










We had a FANTASTIC day! The sun was shining all day and it was more than 20 degrees the whole day - it felt like it was July, not the end of September. 

The boys were quick to start fishing and they were all very eager and concentrated. They had been given sweet corn as bait, which I've never tried before. The boys didn't catch anything, though we did see others catching a few fish.

The feast

After the first excitement had worn off a bit, the boys were hungry. Our friends put their picnic blanket on the ground and then we put all the lovely food and drinks in the middle - it was a true feast.

After we'd had our sandwiches, fruit and vegetables, out came the cakes. 

 

The boys and I had baked cupcakes before we went fishing. We had decorated the cakes with icing, but we didn't have any sprinkles at home. 

On our way to meet our friends, we bought sprinkles. When it was time for cake, everyone decorated their own cupcakes. This was a great success - the boys loved it!

A full day of fishing and playing

When the boys were full they went back to fishing again. None of the boys caught anything and they were a bit annoyed that one of the newcomers caught a fish withing 15 minutes of arrival, but what can you do? He was probably a better fisherman than any of us.

After a while the boys grew tired of fishing and went to play around the fishery while we relaxed on the picnic rug. It was so nice and warm, I almost fell asleep on that rug.

Better luck with worms

While we were relaxing, one of the men working at the fishery came around and offered us worms as bait instead of the sweet corn. He said the fish tend to get sick and tired of sweet corn after a while.

Our friends' youngest boy was the only child around at the time, but he was keen to have a go with one of the worms. In less than five minutes he had caught a nice trout and he was extremely happy. 

After the fish had been brought out of the water and had been beaten around the head with a small hammer, we sent the boy off to notify the others. We expected the boys to come running immediately, but by that time the others were too busy playing to be bothered to go back to fishing, even if it was with worms. 
 
It took them quite a while to come back, and when they finally came it seemed the 'worm effect' had worn off. However, my oldest son  did manage to catch a trout too - it's the smallest catch I've ever seen, see photo. 

No need to end the party yet

We were at the fishery for 5 hours and we only left because it was time for dinner. The weather was still fantastic and the boys had been fishing and playing all day. My boys wanted to stay longer, but the other two boys had had enough. 

The children didn't want to part quite yet, so in the end they were all chatting happily away in my car as we drove to our friends' house. We had a lovely salmon dinner together and it was quite late before we called it a day and went home to bed. What a fantastic day!