A Night on Allan Water

Sunday/Monday June 21, 1993

I parked at Cromlix bridge and walked up to the top of the middle beat of the association water, where the Blackford Farms beat begins. The Allan here is generally slow flowing, meandering through a sandy flood plain, with some deep holding pools for sea trout linked by some nice streams and glides, giving enough flow to work a fly at night. I fished downstream from the beat marker catching a half pound brown trout on the way. Not long after I hooked a sea trout in shallow water but lost it after ten seconds or so. It felt a good fish. I was on the point of giving up about 1 am but decided to try a likely looking spot I had noted on the walk up. I later referred to this spot as “the Narrows”, where the tail of a long deep pool on a right hand bend of the river was funnelled into a narrow glide running beside a sandy peninsula, creating a slightly faster flow over a fine uneven gravel bed, and some nice lies for sea trout at night .

It was now very dark. I cast out hopefully over the pool tail and, to my surprise, immediately hooked a very lively sea trout of 2 1/2 lb which fought hard, coming out of the water two or three times. It gave great sport on the ten foot rod I had recently built on a Bruce and Walker “Light Line” blank, matched to a DT5F Aircel and 5 lb nylon cast. The lure was a size 10 longshank grey partridge hook, dressed with a grey squirrel wing, nylon line would over pearl lurex over yellow thread, and a ginger hackle. (I later dressed this fly with either a squirrel tail or Mallard wing and called it the Ginger Pearl).

Around 1.30 am I hooked another fish about the same size as the first in the run below the narrowing of the stream. This fish made long runs downstream, again coming out of the water several times, another very lively fish. I may have had more if I had fished on, as the wind dropped and it became milder with a bit more cloud cover, but I was well satisfied and there is always work next day!

An excellent introduction to Allan sea-trouting.