Saturday 28th May– getting there – day one
Usual start, left Greenlaw at 6.15am met rest of company at Stair Arms Pathhead at 7am leaving behind, mist, rain and wind. This was the story all the way to Islay. Journey through was very easy, and we found Dougie and Mrs Barr, “Elizabeth” at Inverary both very well at this our usual stop. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast and catch up of news, said our goodbyes and left for Kennacraig. On arriving we were told there was a delay with the ferry, it transpired that someone on board had taken a heart attack and had to be air lifted off the ferry during the sailing to Kennacraig in addition to this, the keys for the car were with the person going to hospital, which meant the ferry crew had to break into the car, all adding to the confusion, lets hope the person involved makes a full recovery. On arriving at Port Askaig the weather was just the same. Mrs McDonald and Alistair welcomed us back and had wondered at us being so late on arrival. Then it was into the cottage and a sort out of rooms and fishing gear for the week ahead. Set out for an early meal and hopefully some fishing later on in the evening, this became out of the question, as if anything the weather worsened, so back to the cottage for an early night, hoping tomorrow improves. Jura was to be our destination for the Sunday.

Sunday 29th May – day two
Very early start to catch ferry for Jura at 8.30am. Breakfast over by 8am. Weather had improved greatly, steady wind from the south, broken cloud. Looked good for fishing and ferry crossing calm. Got news from Gordon the ferryman on how things were, it gets like this after a few years. Then it was on to the Market Loch, this is a fairly steep climb for about 45minutes. We took the path up the side of the wood which is starting to get overgrown now and the trees getting quite tall. Here we walked along the edge of a very spectacular gully with a beautiful waterfall at the top. Lots of wildlife – Goldcrests and Red Deer in particular with Buzzards, Eagles and Harriers too. All in all quite a special place. Arriving at the loch everything looked perfect for fishing and this proved to be the case with 19 trout caught and many more missed and dropped – all in the 1lb to 1lb 8oz class. The fish were lovely and we kept three for our barbeque which were most enjoyable. We ate well as we also had some of Charles’s steaks which we had brought on the trip from Greenlaw. This had been a great day. Packed up at 4.30pm to catch the last ferry back to Islay at 6pm. Waiting for the ferry we met and spoke with a lovely couple from Canada who had a passion for whisky. Stopped off for food at Ballygrant Inn – met again Ruby and David the owners. We visited the Ballygrant Inn a few times during the week, always a warm welcome and great food. The Inn was very busy with the Islay whisky and music festival taking place that week. The place was buzzing, grand after a days fishing. The Islay Whisky Club is centred here – well worth visiting. Our flies today were Kate (bushy), Bibio, Dunkeld, Kate (smaller type). Floating lines, near perfect conditions, really a truly wild hill loch. Two boats booked on Gorm tomorrow – can’t wait.

Monday 30th May – day three
Woke up this morning to clear blue skies, bright sunshine, and cool north westerly light breeze. Such conditions are not the best at Loch Gorm as we have learned over the years. When we arrived we found the loch coloured up with the wind that had predominated on Saturday. The loch is very shallow and has a sandy bottom which make it colour up quickly and takes about three days to settle and clear up depending on how severe the wind. Nevertheless off we set, only to find conditions even harder than we thought. With fishing difficult we had a long lunch break on the bank at the west side of Gorm. A lovely break when the fishing is dour. That said we ended the day with 22 trout, one at 1lb 8oz with the rest varying between 6” and 12”. These are the most beautiful golden trout you are ever likely to see on Islay. It was early evening and we went to Ballygrant Inn for tea with the intention of fishing somewhere small and intimate later in the evening. The day’s sun though had taken its toll so after a wee refreshment it was back to the cottage. We were not long in when Dodo from Kiells arrived with his customary whisky donation to the week’s proceedings. We enjoyed a long chat about the fishing and general Islay life etc. We had a close up sighting of the Hen Harrier today just by the boats on Gorm and nearly certain of a Golden Eagle. The Harrier really is a spectacular bird close up – there seems to be a few on the island this year. Tactics today were floating and intermediate lines with Bibio, Green Peter and Hare’s Ear Goldhead flies. The fish were down and proved reluctant to come up.

Tuesday 31st May – day four
Woke and rose to a bright, sunny cloudless day with a very light breeze from the north east with a cool edge. Our old haunt Loch Ballygrant today fishing from the excellent boats which were a legacy of the 2003 European Fly Fishing Championships held on Islay. It proved to be another difficult day to catch trout and they never really came on all day. Still we managed a few fish although they were mostly on the small side. We kept a few around 12oz to take to our good friend Donald Fletcher and his family up at Persabus Pottery. On the way there we had a chat in the passing with Donald James from Dunlossit Estate. Donald James said that the fishing had not been easy with the recent weather conditions and fair amount of rain over the last few weeks. This we can vouch for as we found all of the lochs we visited this week full to the brim. We estimate Ballygrant to be at least 3ft up on its usual level at this time. Still it is a lovely place to fish and spend a day. We spotted a pair of cuckoos and buzzards today with the usual sundry birdlife. Had our customary barbeque in the boathouse with the fire going well by 3.30pm. This is a special place for us and I reckon anyone spending a day here should try this great facility – the trout taste great too. After this late lunch we spent a final few hours in the hope of catching one of Ballygrant’s larger specimens. Around 7pm with no great change on our results we decided to split into pairs and go for a cast on the nearby smaller venues of Loch Lossit and Loch Nan Cadhan. Keith and I went to Cadhan and Charles and Brian headed to Lossit. Such is the beauty of Ballygrant that you have these other varied options. It’s an easy five minute walk to Cadhan from Loch Ballygrant and there Keith and I found the trout rising freely. It was sheltered here from the cool breeze so on with the dry flies and we had a good nights sport with fish in the 8oz to 12oz range. There was a huge cannis hatch here but the trout were still taking our flies and there were midges having a bite on us! We left for a rendezvous at Ballygrant Kennels with Brian and Charles at 9.30pm. They had taken fish up to Donald at Persabus and then been around Loch Lossit in the boat for an hour or so catching numerous small trout. The cool wind was more evident there and they did not have the cannis hatch we experienced. The summary of the day was floating lines at all lochs. Flies – Kate Mclaren, Blackbird Fly and Black Pennel at Ballygrant and Dry fly CDC, Black hares ear and Black suspender buzzer at Cadhan. We kept around 14 fish and returned about 40 at Ballygrant and in the evening all 40 fish were returned.

Wednesday 1st June – day five
Woke this morning at 7am, heavy rain and wind – quite a wild morning. Back to bed till 8am! No one else on the move either today. Had a large breakfast late and stayed in the cottage until 11am. The forecast was for it to clear up by 2pm which in the event it actually did. Before then we went to see Donald at the Pottery. We had a long chat, coffee and soup laid on. As always he and the family are very generous with their hospitality. During our visit Iomhar and Arra both popped in as well as numerous visitors to the pottery. The family have some lovely items for sale and as Donald demonstrates they are unbreakable we recommend a visit to check this out. With the rain now stopped we came back to the cottage to get ready for fishing. It was now overcast and windy but good conditions for wild brown trout fishing. We decided on Loch Finlaggan a place steeped in history and also a very nice bank fishing loch. Brian and Charles went up the north/west bank and Keith and I set off along the south/east bank. We left the car at the visitors’ centre which is also worth a look in. We all had a great few hours sport with fish coming up through the wave to get at the flies – this was fishing at its best today. As our tea was booked tonight at the Lochside Hotel in Bowmore we had to be away reluctantly by 8pm. Today was a big change from yesterday’s sunshine. Finlaggan trout seem to be increasing in size 8oz to 12oz+ with a few at 1lb mark although there are still many small fish around too. They are lovely looking trout and plenty for everyone to catch. After tea we had a walk along to the Bowmore Distillery Ceilidh. There were pipes and Gaelic singing – all very good and entertaining. This is part of the Whisky Festival Week and there is something on at different distilleries all week. This made the island very busy with visitors from all corners of the world. At 11.30pm we settled down for the night. This had been an easy fishing day with only about 4 hours at the water edge but if the fish are on as they say it is long enough and a great days fishing for us all. As we went off to bed the forecast was for rain all day but we hoped that we would get fishing all the same. Tactics today had been on floating lines with Blue Zulu, Kate McLaren, Red tags, Soldier Palmer and Clan Chief. The fish were going for bushy flies on the top. Great sport – a few at 1lb, 12oz and many at 8oz and even more at less than this! Total catch today was in excess of 100 trout with many missed and dropped – all returned. Of course conditions today were perfect – dull, windy from the south which makes it a little bit easier. This is why we have come to Islay for over a decade to fish.

Thursday 2nd June – day six
Got up at 7am, raining, made breakfast – double helping today just to use up our supplies, not that any of us were hungry. The rain went off at 8.30am and we set off for the day at 9am. It looked alright for fishing – overcast, slight wind. Set of for Loch Leathann (Broad Loch) – about a mile easy walking from the Mulindry Road. Fished here for about 4 hours but it turned out to be very dour. A few trout to hand, few dropped and some missed. The trout seemed reluctant to have a proper go at the flies on offer. Charles and Keith set off on the short walk over the hill to the nearby Long Loch (Loch Fada). Brian followed not long after leaving me to continue with the challenge on the Broad Loch. Loch Fada is full of rushes and lilies so you have to fish in the gaps. Here you will find an abundance of small fish which are very pretty with really large red spots and light markings on their fins. I made the short walk across the hill from the Broad Loch to the car to see the others making their way back from the Long Loch. It had been raining heavily for a good hour and a half so we were all pretty wet. This was the first time this week we got drenched so as we were already wet it was decided to try Loch Bharradail another nearby loch on the other side of the Mulindry Road where the car was parked. This loch too is a relatively short walk over the hill and like the Long Loch is heavily covered in rushes and lilies. It was even more difficult here to find a clear area to fish but when you were able to get your flies on the water they were immediately taken by the numerous small pretty little trout. After an hour casting to and catching many fish which were keen to take the flies we decided to leave and trek the mile or so back to the car. This was probably the first and last time we shall visit Loch Bharradail but at least it is another Islay Loch under our belt. We returned to the cottage by 5pm for a major drying session and to get ready for tomorrow, our last days fishing on Islay. Venison meal was supplied and made by Charles tonight and this was followed by Cloutie dumpling which we had purchased for a modest cost from Donald at the Persabus Pottery. The Cloutie made by his mother was very nice as was Charles’s Borders venison. What a great tea – everyone was rather full by the time it was all eaten. After this we had a drive round to see the condition of Loch Gorm as there had been a lot of wind and rain today. Gorm was hopefully to be our final cast on Islay tomorrow. Today tactics had been floating lines with wet flies (Kate McLaren, Bibio and Clan Chief) all fished just below the surface. With the heavy rain there was no option as the flies just disappeared under the surface! Lots of fish caught today – all small with only a few at 12oz from Broad Loch. Broad Loch is a nice looking place and does fish well in good conditions and is a fine bank fishing loch reached in an easy walk. It can also contain Sea Trout in the right conditions. Broad Loch 9 fish, Loch Fada 50+ and Loch Bharradail 50+ - all fish returned today.

Friday 3rd June – day seven
Up at 7am, breakfast all done by 8am, set off for boats keys and permit from Jack Adamson for Islay Estate boats at Loch Gorm . Weather was not certain, but forecast said it would clear up today sometime. By the time we reached Gorm, the rain had started again, had to stay in the car till it faired up. After this it turned into a good looking fishing day – overcast until afternoon then cloud and sunshine till evening, this made for an enjoyable days fishing on Gorm. Everyone had great sport on floating lines, small flies, free rising trout – all text book stuff - there is something special when you can see your fish coming to the fly - exciting sport. We fished on to 6.30pm then it was off to Ballygrant Inn for our tea for the last time, we treated ourselves to some Islay malt whisky (although not the Black Bowmore at £175 a nip!) then back to cottage to pack and clean up as tomorrow we are off home, catching ferry at 10am from Port Ellen. Tactics today: Floating lines, Blue Zulu, Clan Chief, Doobrie, Soldier Palmer. 80 plus fish today all brown trout between ½ lb to 1 lb. This was fishing from the boat at its very best. Kept a few for various friends, but most returned. Loch Gorm is a wonderful loch on its day.

Saturday June 4th - day of return – day eight
Up at 7am to a very light breakfast. Dodo called in to see how the week had gone, gathering as much information as possible for his own fishing trips. Left cottage after saying our goodbyes to Mr & Mrs McDonald at 8.40am. We had to be at Port Ellen at 9am for the sail to the mainland at 10am. Smooth crossing, left Kennacraig at 12.10pm for car journey home. Roads very busy and we came to a hold up just before Lochgilphead caused by an accident two miles further up the road, nothing to do but sit and wait – about an hours delay. Stopped at Loch Fyne Seafood restaurant but it was very busy. After a few food purchases we carried on to Balloch where we had something to eat at the Balloch Hotel. Very good food here and it is just a short distance from Loch Lomond shores. After our lunch we set off for Peebles and had a straightforward journey dropping Brian off at the Hillend Ski Slope in the Pentlands where Margaret was waiting to pick him up to return home to Haddington. Keith, Charles and I arrived at Peebles about 6pm. The weather had been pleasant from Loch Lomond. After a final clear out of Keith’s car Charles and I loaded gear into his car for the final drive to Greenlaw. Irene drove us home from Peebles where we arrived tired but happy at Greenlaw around 8.30pm. As drew up there was an almighty thunder storm with torrential rain so we got a final soaking unloading the car at the house. It was of course good to get home at last and to tell the tales of the latest and another superb fishing trip to the wonderful Isle of Islay.