To begin, this is my 20th year fishing guide in Scotland, and running a fly fishing company and tour operator business in Scotland. Looking back, I would definitely have approached everything differently at the beginning.
Alba was founded in 2004 and back then, the path forward was a little unclear. As a result, I made many mistakes and wasted time and money on fruitless ideas. Equally, many opportunities passed me by, as I didn’t have the vision or knowledge to identify them. However some times the only way to really learn is by making mistakes. At least, this is what I am always telling my 9 year old son.
It’s often said, “mistakes are a process of learning” and I guess this is true when you establish and run any small business. Perhaps when I retire, I’ll do some mentoring and share my experience with the next generation of fledgling business owners.
Winter 20204 – a trip to America to learn how to build a bamboo rod
Typically our fishing season doesn’t really get going till March. However I found myself in Georgia in January as a guest of a regular client and friend Hart and Dee. They are two of the nicest, kindest and warmest people I have met. Hart has a property in the North of Georgia in the town of Blue Ridge, a sleepy little railroad town. Conveniently, this is where Bill Oyster runs his superb “Bamboo fly rod making courses”. The course was a huge challenge and one of the best things I have ever done. You can read my story on it here
I have to say, most men or women in their 60″s rarely push themselves outside the comfort zone. They delegate instead or just avoid doing the thing that makes them uncomfortable. That’s why this course was so rewarding. I found it very difficult, probably because I am a perfectionist. But, after 60 hours of hard work over 6 days, I had a beautiful 8ft 5 weight bamboo fly rod, I was really proud of.
What does a fishing guide in Scotland do in February during the close season?
Having arrived back in Scotland from America, it was time to dedicate to my family and my son. In between all of that, I managed to sneak in some grayling fishing. However mainly, my focus was gearing up for the 2024 season, and the enquiries were coming in thick and fast. In addition the order book was filling up. Somewhere in between all of that, we had to find time to develop new products, research venues, bolster stock and freshen the website up.
We also had guests to look after both in January and February.
Our first trip on the Spey was at Tulchan on February 12th and we also hosted a rare Japanese guest. I picked Hiro up in Edinburgh and it made for an interesting day. Mostly chatting through Japanese culture and learning about his life in Japan.
We also had guests to look after both in January and February. Our first trip on the Spey was at Tulchan on February 12th and we also hosted a rare Japanese guest. I picked Hiro up in Edinburgh and it made for an interesting day chatting through Japanese culture and learning about his life in Japan. Understandably, fishing for pike in Scotland in February is cold, especially when dead baiting of pike. So, I had brought along a Solo Stove fire pit and plenty of hot drinks. As Hiros wasn’t driving I brought a very nice Balvenie malt whisky. If the fire wouldnt keep him warm, the dram would.
Solo Stoves, drams, dead baiting and not looking after your guests properly!
Understandably, fishing for pike in Scotland in February is cold, especially when dead baiting of pike. So, I had brought along a Solo Stove fire pit and plenty of hot drinks. Also, as Hiros wasn’t driving I brought a very nice Balvenie malt whisky. If the fire wouldn’t keep him warm, the dram would.
Hiro got more animated as the drams flowed and on the journey home he fell into what looked like a coma. When we arrived in Edinburgh I had to help him out of the car and across the street to the hotel. I felt a tad guilty and began to question just exactly how much whisky I had given him. It amounted to about three drams..
Meanwhile, Grayling fishing was slow in February. Unusually, the fish were harder to find, but when we did find them, they were good specimens. Despite this, many of our guests managed fish over the magic 3lb mark.
Usually, March is a time of year when the moon cycles bring big tides and with that, big runs of bigger springers. 2023 saw us take our best Springer to date at 27lb, but 2024 yielded no such monsters. Our guests did however land a number of decent fresh fish. In addition to these gifts of nature, we landed some excellent March trout, including many over the 3lb mark. Most of them falling to the excellent Davie McPhail CDC olive dun pattern, tied by Cuillin Rae.
Was 2024 our busiest April to date?
Firstly April saw the start of the tours and the fishing days combined. Subsequently, my time away from home started. Our first tour in early April with an experienced lady fly angler in here 80’s was a challenge. The rivers were in spate for most of her week.
It was only the skill of our guide Cuillin that rescued the trip and he still managed to catch her fish every day despite the adversity. Unfortunately her focus was catching browns on dries, so with rivers in full spate, we had to resort to some “dark art” tactics instead.
Unbelievably, despite all of this, she rebooked another tour for the same time in 2025.
While Cuillin was weaving his magic on the Tweed, I was in Speyside and the Highlands on a tour and Scott was knee deep in clients on the Dee. In addition to all of this we had Andy, David and Mark looking after guests on Tay days.
April was a month when we delivered over 50 gigs. This being a record month for Alba.
May and June – busy months for a fishing guide in Scotland
To begin with, let’s be clear, it’s bloody tough being away from home. However what makes it special is the beauty of Scotland. Also being able to re-live the experience vicariously through the eyes of our clients.
I delivered 4 tours over this period, which were all well received and enjoyed by our guests. Deny and Shannon returned for a 2nd tour and this time we focused on the Spey and the Ness. Shannon lost a couple of great fish on the Spey, before landing a lovely springer at the Dochfour Weir on the Ness on his last day.
In addition, we delivered another part of a tour on the stunning Island of Iona. This was a special few days. Our guests were into hiking and after climbing into the Hidden Valley in Glencoe, we were able to walk around Iona to some stunning beaches. In fact, over the years, the touring aspect of our business has gotten stronger. It’s a unique faction being able to combine fishing and touring for couples that have mixed interests.
Moreover with a provider that can deliver both of these experiences with real skill and experience. The photo below gives good example of this. I was with Jim and Jo and we hiked out to this beach and then I sent our drone up to capture this photo.
Mixed fishing and touring vacations in the summer and busy fishing days for the guides
Of course with summer in full swing, the bespoke tours were coming thick and fast. Despite running these for 20 years, I always think of ways to improve. I would never want to be accused of complacency and nervous energy forces me to strive to keep improving.
As well as the itinerary, there are all the little unexpected additions that can really spice things up and sometimes these are impromptu additions and other times driven by adverse weather and the necessity to change plans. Ultimately the aim is for a memorable experience for the clients. As an example, if we are in the Newtonmore area, we will surprise guests with an impromptu bagpipe session before breakfast with the inimitable “Spud the Piper”
Spud is a real characted, he is authentic and funny. Great stories to tell as well as wow factor with pipes in tuning locations.
Gigs, Gigs, Gigs and more gigs
By the time August had arrived, we had delivered over 300 days. Most of them day trips with small groups of guests. Furthermore, enquiries were still coming in between 10-15 daily. I guess this is why we have taken on more staff for 2025, because turning away business is really hard to swallow. When I had the dream back in 2004 to become a fishing guide in Scotland, I had no idea it would grow to this level.
We had our share of memorable guests this year and it’s always so rewarding meeting such interesting people from all over the world.
One of the challenging for a fishing guide in Scotland, yet the most rewarding was when a lovely young lady called Darine, who is blind and unable to see anything but faint shadows. This prompted us to write a risk assessment before taking her out on the River Whiteadder and Im pleased to say, she and her friend had a blast and caught fish. Cuillin and I looked after them both and we both learned a lot from that day.
One of the most rewarding aspects of guiding is without doubt helping clients to have memorable days and teaching techniques to overcome adverse conditions. Finally here is a selection of images from guests enjoying freedom, space, scenery and fantastic fishing on Scottish rivers:
Fishing Guide in Scotland and looking forward to 2025
As I write this, it’s late December 2024. The new season is weeks away and we are all working extremely hard to gear up for the year ahead. We have taken more guides on and recruited one of Scotland’s best anglers/ guides into our team. An official release will reveal who that is in the Spring.
The guides who have been working so hard are having well deserved down time and Cuillin ad his wife Soraya are having a baby and he is off for the month of January to spend time with the new arrival.
Here’s to all of our clients, past, present and future. A huge thank you form all of us here at Alba Game Fishing
Salmon Fishing huts in Scotland – 2024
