I was born in 1970 and grew up on the outskirts of Brechin, in the Angus area of Scotland.
I started fishing in 1982, aged 12.
Caravan life
I left school aged 16, and hitch-hiked 50 miles from Brechin, south west to a small village in rual Perthshire called Almondbank. I had secured a job at College Mill Trout Farm and was placed on a Government Youth Training Scheme (YTS). I moved into an onsite residential caravan, which was perched on the banks of the River Almond. I had trout, dippers and otters as neighbours, during my 3 and a half year stay there. Bliss.
College Mill Trout Farm had previously operated as a rainbow trout hatchery, but in the mid 80’s, started to buy in rainbow trout as fingerlings and we grew them on, first in circular tanks and then in earth ponds. They were grown to ‘table’ size for the restaurant market, or bigger for supplying the many sport fisheries in the area. We stocked our own fishery, called Sandyknowes, which was located in Bridge of Earn. Tuesdays and Thursdays were spent gutting and cleaning trout, often smoking them in chipped up whisky barrels, and then packing and delivering them around fishmongers and local hotels in the Tayside area, in particular Pitlochry and Dunkeld.
Throughout 1987, I attended several training blocks at Barony College of Agriculture, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. I learnt aquaculture and fish husbandry, electro-fishing, brick laying and even how to drive a tractor.
Busman’s holiday
I still enjoyed fishing during these years, but not as much as I had. I regularly fished for pike with friends, but it was all starting to feel like a busman’s holiday.
In 1989, I applied to Sparsholt College, Hampshire in England where I was interviewed for a place on their degree course in Fish Farming and Fishery Management. I was successful, but later turned it down – I couldn’t apply myself at school, so couldn’t visualise thriving at University.
In 1990, I moved to the Aberdeen area for work and lived around Inverurie. I bought myself a season permit for the Inverurie Burgh water – 2 miles of the River Don and 4 miles of the River Ury. I fished it alot!
In the following few years, I had many opportunities to fish some exclusive Scottish waters – the Rivers Dee, Spey and Deveron for salmon and sea trout. I always went through the motions for an hour on so, and caught some lovely fish, but would always revert to my trout rod, whenever the hatch started. River brown trout fishing was clearly my main passion.
I had a long break from fishing due to family and work commitments, but I never stopped watching for rising trout when I was near water.
In 2018, I moved to the Netherlands for work, and being surrounded by a network of canals and polders, I started ‘Street Fishing’ for Pike, Perch and Zander. It scratched an itch for a while, but I wanted moving water. I wanted Trout.
Retirement – full time fisherman!
I retired in 2021, remaining in the Netherlands until 2022. I returned to Inverurie, but it wasn’t until 2023 that I started fly fishing again. I had taken almost 20 years off, but when I picked up a rod again, my obsession was still present. In fact it had become stronger than ever.
I taught myself how to Euronymph in 2023 and really enjoy this specialist technique, having had significant success on rivers throughout the country.
I just recently built myself a Euronymphing rod, 10’6″ for a 2 weight and have my sights set on a bamboo rod restoration and a glass dry fly rod build.
I have also started sea fishing during the close season, which I am enjoying just to keep myself ticking over.
So here we are, please enjoy my website and YouTube channel – my digital Diary of a Trout Fisherman.
