Ruan Ruarie, Garry (7 June 2014)

My endless trawling of the Fishpal website in search of the perfect fishing trip had left me intrigued to fish the Garry, months before the opportunity arose early this month. My new friend Russell Lugton, who - as mentioned in a prior blog - is also a Fairnilee rod, expressed an interest and I took little persuasion from there. After a little discussion, we booked in for 7 June, one of the earliest fishable Saturdays of the Garry's season.

The beat received some heavy rain during the Thursday of the week leading up to our day on the river and so a rise to 1' 7" on the Friday left us optimistic about our prospects. We agreed to meet early (very early) to optimise our chances and managed to be on the water and fishing by just before 6am; not bad considering I set off from Carlops, in the Scottish Borders!

The first pool to be targeted (at least by me) was the Grilse Pool. We had heard that this was a likely holding spot and so the precious, early, pre-sun period was reserved exclusively for this. It can't be left unsaid that to get to this pool requires the angler to be ready to risk death for the chance of a catch; I don't know how many of you carry carabiners in your tackle bags but, if you're planning a visit to this particular pool on your visit to Ruan Ruarie, it could be wise!

Pictured: Grilse Pool; a slightly awkward cast, but clearly full of fish.

Russell very kindly offered for me to fish this pool first and set off for Run Below Viaduct, Pan Handle and Frying Pan, with the Viaduct Pool itself too low for the fly. While I was tackling up, a medium-sized fish leapt, centre pool, and so I knew that there was a good chance right from the first cast. A further three leaps were witnessed - one in each of the two necks of the pool and another in its centre - while fishing down it with a small Cascade and then a small Tosh. As the sun made it over the side of the glen, behind me, I had a go with a Sunray Shadow before leaving the pool to rest.

Pictured: 6am in the Grilse Pool and fish were showing at the end of the streamy water.

After Grilse Pool, I manoeuvred my way downstream to Run Below Viaduct, where Russell had seen a fish, and fished all the way down the long stretch with a size 10 Gold Munro, to match the peat-stained river. My first cast was from the tail of Viaduct Pool proper, so as to cover the very neck of the run. This approach was validated when a fish of around 6 or 8lbs leapt in the textbook inside 'corner' or back-eddy lie at the very top of the neck. This was a very nice stretch to fish which gave the impression that it would be a good place for a take; something like a mini version of Middle Pavilion's The Whirls (for Tweed regulars) or a very mini version of Dalmarnock's Fernie Haugh (for Tay counterparts). The idea seemed to be to cast out into the fast flowing water, get your fly down a bit, mend the line and hope for a take in the more sheltered glide on the inside of the current. It felt wise to stand back from the water, as wading wasn't necessary, but none of these aspects of approaching the pool produced a catch to justify them, unfortunately. Still, a very nice pool to fish, with many good-looking lies.

Pictured: Run Below Viaduct, with its nice 'inside' water.

By this stage, the sun was really getting into gear and the fishing conditions were therefore becoming less than ideal. I fished on down through Pan Handle and Frying Pan, the neck and dub of what are really one extended pool. Russell went up to fish Grilse Pool, before we met for lunch and a comparison of notes at the cars.

Pictured: The top of Frying Pan, with the aptly-named run, Pan Handle, in the middle distance and the very tail of Run Below Viaduct in the background.

After lunch, we relocated to the lowest of the three lay-bys on the beat map (you could probably save some time by fishing straight down from the pools at the middle car park) to explore the downstream pools. Russell tried Pulpit - a streamy section, flowing into a gorge and ultimately along the bottom of a cliff - while I tried Pier - a very deep holding pool with a shallow, gravel tail. Pier surprisingly had an 'empty pool' feel to it, while in Pulpit there was a fish showing in a back-eddy along the face of the aforementioned cliff. Again, no takers in the sun.

Pictured: A good lie behind a rock at the tail of Pier.

Pictured: Russell working his was down Pulpit, which provided some welcome sheltered spots in the otherwise sunny conditions.

Between us, we managed to cover the remaining named pools on the lower section of the beat (bar Lower Bridge, which is really spinning territory) before heading to the top car park for a look at the pools up there. By this stage, the glorius sunshine had been replaced with hostile-looking clouds and the occasional rumble of thunder from distant lightening. While examining the Station and Cauldron pools from the upper bridge, the weather broke and it became increasingly apparent that fishing was over for the day.

Pictured: The top of the beat, as the rain began to really set in.

No fish, but we left feeling that we had found a real 'hidden gem' of a beat. Ruan Ruarie is less than 2 hours from home for me and is a remarkably beautiful and secluded stretch of river, its pools set away from the road and passers-by. The greenery of late-Spring/early-Summer contributed to this impression, but equally I'll be ensuring that I have a go here in the Autumn also. A few of the main pools had a 'better for spinning' feel about them, but in-between these was an abundance of interesting fly water with plenty opportunity to develop and exercise knowledge and skills in reading the river.

Tight lines

Calum