On lochs or world-famous rivers, in Scotland adheres to the old while dipping a toe into the new. By Sarah Harrison Grigg Beyond Braveheart: in Scotland

photograph by sarah grigg t’s a long line of whispers that gets you The air alternates damp or windy, always on Loch Damph,” says Corin Smith carrying some watery pheromone, whether behind the wheel of his pickup. We’re salty or clear. Vikings may land at any moment. heading to the lake, its reddish-black The moors are to the Scottish psyche what Iwater held within the bounds of a private the biggest forests or sparest deserts are to the estate like a cup of choppy tea between mossy, North American mind—equally majestic and wind-swept mountains. One is free to walk terrifying, filled with howling winds, shifting across any parcel of soil in Scotland, private or mists, Neolithic stone structures, and photographs by sarah grigg no, but fly fishing requires permission. And thousands of lakes and rivers filled with truly don’t think for a minute the man holding the wild brown trout and Atlantic salmon. And key is an easy one to pin down. we hope to try our hand at each. Fortunately, Corin, owner of The Wild “Fly fishing connects you with the place in Rise Company, knows the gatekeeper. In a way few things do. You’re a tourist, but spite of the long-established system within connecting in a deep way,” says Corin as we which he operates, Corin’s approach bends pass centuries-old stone fences which climb tradition. Beyond tropes of tartan and impossibly steep mountainside pastures. tweed, fly fishing in Scotland today toes a “With most tourism, it’s external—you’re line somewhere between old and new, like standing and looking at something. With fly Whether stuck behind the whisky a well-worn book that just needs dusting off fishing, you’re immersed. That’s one of the wagon (yes, it’s spelled without and, perhaps, a new chapter. most extraordinary things about it.” an “e”), getting windblown in the We wind along a one-lane road cutting Scotland, the homeland of fly fishing, was Highlands (below), or crossing through the subarctic moor of the long the darling of angling travel for the same bridge used by the King Northwest Highlands, where the eldest Americans, offering an easy and somewhat of England to access his favorite hills in the world—3.1 billion years old— familiar destination. But several factors fishing spot (opposite), a sporting rise green and gun-metal gray from purple pushed it down the totem pole. First, the vacation in Scotland provides ample heather. This is a place quasi-inhabited, a introduction of commercial salmon farms culture and history set against place where it’s unclear if behind white- adversely impacted wild runs of Atlantic stunning landscapes. Below left: The washed cottage walls there is anyone under salmon and sea trout, in much the same way country’s long history of fly fishing the age of 60 stirring within, the young that fish farms, hatcheries and dams have carries on through sporting journals people having fled to work on oil rigs. decimated anadromous species in the U.S. handed down between generations. Sheep with blue brands slashed on bone- Second, with the 21st century white flanks loiter along the road. Sea lochs development of destination fisheries in the speckled with fishing villages carve steadfastly American West, Patagonia, the Caribbean, took a backseat, carrying on its ancient up massive swathes of hills and valleys for inland like arrows from the storm-lashed Central America, and other locales boasting traditions whether the world noticed or not. holiday shooting and fishing. Just about every coast, stopping just short of the country’s heart. monster fish of all breeds, Scotland quietly But Scotland seems to be creeping back. empty mountain, gorge, and stretch of rolling The popularity of shows like Outlander moor the eye can see is privately owned by have enticed travelers to return. And there some person in some place other than right are still plenty of curious anglers and wild here. While the English developed the formal Atlantic salmon to be found, driving a trappings of Victorian sporting culture, Scots growing £130 million angling industry. are saltier folk with their own quirks and For decades American sporting writers charms, and the way they fish shows it. generously covered the heritage and charms “We don’t have the pretension here. You of Scottish angling, but the story has don’t have to wear a tie or any of that changed as much as the fishery, and, in bollocks,” quips Corin. other ways, remained the same. Traditionally, estates with lochs or Mind you, we spent several glorious days stretches of river hired a ghillie, who looked in Fort William prior to fishing, indulging our after the boats and kept an eye on the Yank urge for kitsch and cliché. We sampled fishery, guiding the estate owner during a photograph by sarah grigg photograph by corin smith single malts, played golf, attended a cèilidh stay. Ghillies often served for decades on a party (complete with bagpipes), and stocked single estate. Scottish ghillies dress less up on woolen goods. But Corin aims for a formally than English anglers, but many still dimension of technical training and cultural adhere to a certain tweed standard. immersion beyond Braveheart quotes. Corin is both a guide and outfitter. He’s explored a variety of fisheries, secured ere in the northern reaches, not much access to them, and now takes clients to Hhas changed since the days of Queen whichever place is fishing best according to Victoria, when English industrialists bought the time of year. It’s an unusual approach

180 • SPORTING CLASSICS SPORTING CLASSICS• 181 leader—a point fly at the end and two I have my first brush with the Dreaded F system, the metronome of roll cast and strip, droppers tied on at eight-inch intervals, early in the game, barely lifting my flies roll cast and strip, the dip of the oars, consistent hanging from about four inches of tippet. from the water to ensure they aren’t fouled. no matter what the sky throws down on your When this formidable Cat o’ Three Tails A roaring gale catches the first two droppers, small boat drifting between towering catches the wind and gnarls into an orgy of then lifts the third from the water. I attempt mountains. Every ounce of harshness is flies, you have not a tangle on your hands, but to conceal and work out the monofilament matched with beauty in equal measure. rather a “fankle,” which sounds like a fated nest in the back of the boat, but much like You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting meeting of “f–ck” and “cankle.” A fitting word their American counterparts, you can’t hide a body of freshwater holding brown trout in for this unfortunate circumstance. much from a good Scottish guide. Scotland. The season begins in mid-March Combined with the trio of flies, an “I appreciate the optimism back there, and ends in early October. By the afternoon angler has to understand how to use the but just cut them off,” Corin instructs. He we’ve each caught and released a handful of wind to his or her advantage. A healthy ties on new droppers in moments, like a brownies, which take the flies wobbling gust to create surface chop is preferable, spider weaving a web. below the frothy crests. which means roll a lot and false I miss the take on my first fish, mistaking casting as little as possible. he weather is predictably moody, it for rigorous chop or the loch bottom, but “It’s quite benign today,” notes Corin as Tflowing through an endless cycle: the rod bends and I reel in with soaked the wind whips our lines across the water clouds creeping in, light and pelting rain, sun fingers. The trout emerges kicking from the and stray hairs batter my sunglasses. and wind. It all forms a tightly orchestrated inky water, a dull mustard-gold with blood- red spots, and Corin nets my catch, holding Take your pick between it up for me to examine. The brown trout in wild brown trout in these high lochs are distinct, living in Highland lochs (below) incredibly harsh conditions with a meager photograph by sarah grigg or Atlantic salmon on food base. They are thinner and scrappier civilized sporting estates than their sometimes-corpulent cousins (left). While there are transplanted across the ocean, every certain rules on the latter, centimeter of growth a small battle won. anglers of all ability are photograph by corin smith “Unlike most destination trout fisheries, welcome to give Spey these fish are wild in every sense of word,” casting and catching a go. says Corin. To bring a brown trout to hand is to reel in some serious history. These are truly endemic here, where sporting tradition is tradition. fishing-access laws, in which salmon and “I’m always thinking about how to have fish, enduring since the last ice age, arriving “My definition of a fly fishing guide is trout rights are privately held. These less gear,” says Corin. “You don’t need ten via migration through ice lakes and other someone who goes out into a blank canvas of regulations make it tough for a thriving spools of tippet. Focus on the fishing, not routes. Having made it 10,000 years, loch a fishery,” Corin says. “You’ve got the freedom outfitting industry to form, but have also kept spending endless hours looking for your trout are hardy, highly adaptable, and, in some to go where you want, and you have to figure rampant commercialization at bay. You’ll gear. The more gear you have, the more cases, living up to 10 years. Because they live it out to put your clients in the best location.” never run into ten other boats or be packed your head gets scattered around.” in such isolated populations, brown trout in He plays house music in his rig and shoulder to shoulder on a wading stretch, The approach to covering water here is some lakes are genetically distinct from other sometimes shows up barefoot or in flip especially on the lochs. The epic scenery is, simple: start on one end and allow the stocks, making them a national treasure. flops to the River Spey. “Sleep in your for the most part, as lonely as the wind. wind—and there will be wind—to push the Anglers may catch up to 20 fish in a day, truck again?” the ghillies inquire. We arrive to the northeast shore of Loch boat the length of the loch. The guide will depending on the weather and time of year. His philosophy is a reflection of his own Damph and load into the boat. Corin starts row into place, hugging the seam where the For those concerned with fish size, there trajectory. Raised on a Highland sheep farm, the motor and putters across the chop. The shore tapers into a steep shelf drop-off. are monster brown trout to be found in the swept up in a corporate career that took him rowboats used for loch fishing little resemble “The ghillies used to keep a boat on each lake, to be certain. Don’t expect one every from the pastoral greenery of Perthshire to the pimped-out drift boats of the American end of the loch. They’d ride a pony to the other cast, but they’re in there. And if you London and then to Asia and Australia, he West or the sleek saltwater skiffs of the end with the boat, jump in, and then drift cast where told, you might hook into one. burned out by age 30 and reinvented Florida Keys. These fiberglass rowboats are back to where they started,” Corin relates, There are also sea trout and ferox trout—a himself through what he loved most: fly intended for the big, open water found in settling into the center thwart and running piscivorous variety of brown trout—to be fishing. He became a guide in the far-flung Ireland and Scotland, sitting low and stable the oars through the rowlocks. “They’d use caught. We manage to haul out and release photograph by sarah grigg Seychelles under the tutelage of South in the waves. Plain wooden slats for seats. a pony to drag the boat back to the beginning back a few of each. African angling legend Arno Matthee. In No fancy compartments for stowage. A end while the guests had elevenses. It was I glance over whilst stripping in line to 2009 he returned home and decided he’d motor, oars, and a bailing bucket are the pretty genteel back in those days.” see Corin dip the bailing bucket into the do fly fishing his way, as an outfitter, whether primary accessories. Scots keep it simple The approach to loch fishing is quite tannin loch. He drinks from it. it followed rigorous convention or not. across the board when it comes to fishing. unique and technical, developed over “I’ve never seen anything like that in my Now, at 40, he’s combined all he learned as You’ll not see fancy coolers or piles of gear. hundreds of years. Scots, renowned for their life,” I observe. an international guide with the seasonal A few bottles of water are all we’ve brought exquisite contributions to fly design, rig up “What?” he asks, tipping back the bucket. patterns of local rivers and quirks of Scottish to hold us until lunch. with a “cast of flies.” Three flies are tied to the “No ‘Beaver Fever’? No parasites?”

182 • SPORTING CLASSICS SPORTING CLASSICS• 183 “I drink it all the time. It’s good, clean water.” Conservation Scotland, an incredibly unsexy You might not have a twenty-fish day on the While the water is apparently clean charity which fights for wild fisheries.” Spey, but it’s a consistent river. You’re going enough to drink, the broader environs of There are still excellent runs of salmon in to catch a salmon if you put in the work. Loch Damph reveal an ecological tale other locales. We seek to find them. After a We’re a bit in a halfway house today. If we common to most of the country. As we few days on Ol’ Damph, we roll Southeast to were to get a flush of water, a small summer drive to the lake each morning, we pass the foot of the Highlands to try our hand at flood, that would move the fish around.” evidence of an evolving landscape. Atlantic salmon on the famed River Spey. When the river starts to fall away again, The proper Scottish sheep, the Blackface, Razor mountain edges and the snarl of the fish find their spots and aggressively take has been supplanted in many places by heather soften out here, giving way to flies. That’s when good salmon fishing occurs. Chiveats—smaller, hardier buggers from lusciously grassy foothills woven with some of And even then, much like steelheading, plan the Lowlands with impressive reproductive the most famous salmon rivers in the world. on fishing for a week. We’ve got a single day rates and greater yields of meat and wool. The epic spring run of big, fresh salmon— booked to land The Fish of 1,000 Casts. Native Caledonian forest once covered rarely under ten pounds and sometimes over We’re going to at least give it a try. And, as we much of the land, but was chopped down 30—takes place in April and May. We’re will be fishing on the River Spey, we’ll use long ago and further crushed by an explosion here in September, spawning time, making it spey rods for two-handed casting. of red deer. The deer run rampant due to tricky to land a salmon. Fifty years ago you couldn’t access the lack of apex predators. A stone on the “The salmon fishing in Scotland is Spey unless you were the king, literally. It was outskirts of the village of Killiecrankie marks genuinely world class,” says Corin. “On some King Edward VIII’s favorite fishing ground, the fateful spot where the last wolf in of the rivers, you might catch twenty fish and we pass his warming hut along the way Scotland was slain in 1680. between a few anglers during certain times. to Tulchan Sporting Estate, a 26,000-acre Corin recognizes contemporary truths and points them out along the way, refusing to let visitors walk away blissfully duped by the charm of a sheep flock blocking the road or endless hills of green. At the core of his passion for guiding is a desire to educate anglers on the historic and present fishery, and where it might go in the future.

n many coastal regions, the once epic runs Iof wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout spread that hosts limited numbers of guests Atlantic salmon breach in gleeful belly flops thought I would “get a hand up,” so to speak, are deleteriously impacted by lice-infested each year. Here, the water is divided into from bank to bank. Their airborne sides give by asking an experienced two-handed salmon aquaculture operations, introduced beats, to which anglers are assigned. We have away their breeding status, the hens’ flanks angler for a lesson prior to Scotland. Proud to sea lochs in the 1970s. Sea lochs are photographs by sarah grigg a prompt reservation at 9 a.m. to fish C. Beat. having turned from spring-silver to red- of my small progressions, I decided to unveil long, narrow ocean arms that reach inland “You know you’re going to fish in a brown, and the hook-jawed males all I had learned here on the Holiest of Holy and meet with rivers, the capillaries to specific mile and a half. And these rivers displaying bright tartan fighting shades. Spey-Casting Rivers, the River Spey. which anadromous fish return each year to have been fished for centuries. The salmon Lawrence directs, “That quieter water, Standing on river left, I got into position, spawn. Scotland’s edges are a fringe of sea are in the same place, sitting behind the there. Get the fly just coming out a couple of left hand on the butt of the rod, right hand lochs. Where salmon aquaculture has been same stones for 200 years,” Corin explains. meters from the boils, not quite to the tail. above. I let the current carry my line taut completely contained or moved onto land, “Hence, this isn’t so much about guiding as We’ve been so low and clear, the temptation is and prepared to form an anchor. wild salmon and sea trout populations it is about hosting you for the afternoon to creep out and creep out, but you’re not “What’s this cack-handed nonsense?” have recovered. Here on the Northwest and teaching .” doing yourself any favors. They’ll see you.” Corin asked before I could even lift the rod. coast, aquaculture persists, and as a We meet with Lawrence DeRosa, a ghillie I ask him how long it takes him to mow “I’m going to attempt a Double Spey,” I primary employer in this sparsely Scottish hospitality is second-to- with 32 years of experience, 18 of those at the endless ribbons of walking paths that defended. populated region, it can’t merely be none. Try your hand at malts, Tulchan. If Corin represents an emerging line the river. Compared to the gnarl of “Not like that you aren’t.” reformed or removed overnight, in spite snooker (above), or a traditional angling culture, Lawrence represents custom. sagebrush and tall grasses that I’m Sent back to Square One, I spent the bulk of pressure from the European Union. cèilidh party, complete with “How’s your score this year, Lawrence?” accustomed to, the mowed paths practically of the morning learning a proper Scottish “There’s no reason other than salmon bagpipes (left). Best book a Corin asks as we hop out. Lawrence is invite skipping, something I never thought two-handed cast—with the left hand above, farms that the rivers and lochs of the week on the River Spey, but be wearing “plus fours,” the traditional tweed possible in wading boots. right hand below when standing on river Northwest aren’t really good spots for fishing ready to wait (right); they don’t pants worn by ghillies which hang four “I’ve got it down to about four hours with left, and vice versa on river right. for salmon and sea trout,” Corin explains. call Atlantic salmon “The Fish of inches below the knee. the tractor. That’s driving like a Formula Rules for salmon fishing are drawn hard “That’s what I want to see restored on this 1,000 Casts” for nothing. The ghillie’s role has changed over the One racer,” he says with a grin. and fast. You’re not allowed to fish for coast. The only way to accomplish that is to years, but much remains the same. Part of The Spey runs clear, lined with slick, salmon on a Sunday. Anglers may not kill make anglers aware, prove to politicians Lawrence’s job is to manage guests’ days on round stones. It’s a tough river to wade hen fish. If you kill a cock fish, it should be a that the economics of a recreational fishery the river and maintain the grounds along without studs in your boots, but with the table fish for eating, and a big one at that. make just as much sense as salmon farms. All the water. He accompanies us along mowed lure of salmon, the temptation to creep out And you must break for lunch. When the of our guide fees go to Salmon and Trout paths to C. Beat on the River Spey, where fat certainly sets in. As a novice spey caster, I Continued on page 194

184 • SPORTING CLASSICS SPORTING CLASSICS• 185 A Place Out Of time Continued from page 133 ghillie takes a lunch break, everyone fishing spey cast on the opposite side of the river. the Spey, one final fish flashing its russet flank on the estate takes a break. He estimates that 80 percent of anglers in a farewell leap and plunge. We walk back “The idea here is not to fish as hard as you here wear tweed of some fashion. to the truck upon the grass paths below can. It goes back to tradition. It would be “We try to keep tradition; hence why we watchful hills, perhaps taking the same route ungentlemanly to put in too much effort,” have tweed suits,” he says. “We avoid what walked by the King and perhaps making the says Corin. “Flogging the water as hard as you you see on some of the beats where they’re all same promises to ourselves. We’ll be back. can is not what we do. We rest the pools. decked out like Scandinavian anglers. I’m not After all, we’ve salmon to catch. Besides, normally you would be here a week. saying that’s a bad thing. I’m not putting That’s plenty of time to fish.” Scandinavians down by any means. They’re After a morning of casting without landing very good anglers. We just want to keep our The House of Bruar a fish, but with what I would like to think name, if you like, keep our name.” In the Highlands gateway community of was vast improvement to my spey cast, we “Am I dressed like a Scandinavian?” I ask, Pitlochry sits the House of Bruar, an outlet dutifully take our mandatory break. already having a good idea of the answer. housing one of the few fly shops in the country, “This is like taking you to a fried-chicken Lawrence looks over my fleece jacket and as well as exceptionally chic establishments joint,” says Corin. baseball hat as he rolls a cigarette, bits of featuring Scottish country clothing, It’s a small bakery in a nearby town, clean tobacco flaking to the river, and says, “Well . . . handcrafted goods, and dining. The fly shop and small with a variety of meat pies as the you look like a very contemporary angler.” offers all the tackle and gear an angler could primary offering. I’ve heard nothing but We swing away the afternoon, sweeping possibly desire, from Simms to tweed horror stories about Scottish cuisine for years, the rods diligently, intermittently succeeding hats to salmon flies. The space is also an art often summarized as an offering of fried in unfolding the line and flailing the next, gallery and museum of sorts. Any seasoned candy bars and gag-inducing haggis. But I’m but getting some respectable swings over fisherman will appreciate the impressive surprised that, meal after meal, I love the salmon. We know they see our flies; they display of antique Hardy reels and flies everything on my plate, from the simple jump out of the water in a territorial protest collected by the shop’s owner. servings of succulent garlic-butter scallops to after a drift overhead. Not even Corin can The fly shop staff acts as a knowledge hub. cooked peas to sticky toffee pudding. The coax one to bite. It’s a tease to see such a Shop manager Michael Ross explains: serving sizes are rational and the presentation massive fish challenge your fly but refuse to “Ghillies from across Scotland call in fishing simple. We order Scotch pie—a meat-filled take it. In spite of our lack of salmon, we reports. This is the place to stop and get advice pastry—and tea. Always tea. can’t complain. before heading north. We’ve got a good mix “Fly fishing in Scotland isn’t just a caricature of wild fishing—pristine wild fishing. Many e return to the Spey after lunch, of a bygone era. We offer modern fly fishing places in Scotland only get fished once or WLawrence escorting us across a experiences equivalent to the very best twice a year. And we keep a pulse on it all.” bridge and down a path to the next beat. international lodges, while also offering Although the Atlantic salmon season is Anglers in Scotland may wear whatever attire heritage and culture by the truck load,” says long in Scotland, with fishing available from they please in most places, especially when Corin. “Most importantly, we can show that January through November, the effective loch fishing in inclement weather. But some it’s possible to run a successful and sustainable peak season for fly fishing is from mid- scrap of tweed is the norm on the Spey. rural industry that doesn’t involve ruthlessly March until the end of August, with further Lawrence stands behind me in the water, exploiting natural resources.” seasons within this season varying by offering pointers as I attempt to master my With dinner approaching, we give up on region. For those wishing to try traditional loch style fishing for brown trout in the far north of Scotland, plan a trip between May and September. The Wild Rise Company offers a full line of rods, reels, waders, flies, leaders, and terminal tackle available for client use. However, a full tackle list is available if you

photograph by corin smith wish to bring your own. Most major U.S. airports offer affordable, direct flights to Glasgow and Edinburgh, both of which are terrific options for this trip. The Wild Rise Company is happy to arrange an airport shuttle. Renting a car is also incredibly easy. Meals, lodging, and other non-fishing elements can also be arranged as part of The Wild Rise Company packages. For additional “Wild” in every sense of the word, the Highlands boast the oldest hills and have the details, visit www.thewildrisecompany.com. n honor of being the place where brown trout originated.

186 • SPORTING CLASSICS SPORTING CLASSICS• 187