Fished there with my dad 65 years ago. I used a hazel stick, some gut, a hook and worms from a local dung heap. I caught several trout and was allowed to keep a couple for my tea. Made my holiday.
I used to walk along the Brothock from Arbroath to St. Vigeans every night about 6o years ago with my sister and Auntie Liz. Great memories. It was always full of wee brownies but as "a loon" I have to admit I used to fish for them with a worm. Cheers.
First place I fished as a kid and the first place my kids have fished! We still go along here with a mepps spinner and a float rod never tried to fly fish it though
@@wildfisher after watching this I had to go there again and landed a salmon parr and seen a eel heading upstream both at the flood zone it’s made me wonder what other species are in there? Was amazed to find a salmon parr for a nice photo!
So very beautiful small river and weather -> what a lovely Day for fly fishing 😂 Tight lines and have a nice christmas and winter time ! Hope that spring will come soon again 😇🙃 Markus from germany
Just found your channel Fred. (shakes hands) I'm on your forum under another nom de plume, So nice to see a wee local burn being explored. We have one too but the only fish left by the bloody mink are bandies and very, very few of those. It used to be stocked annually when we had our town council so that's long passed to wild progeny only. I wonder if your wee water there might harbour a wee run of finnock through the summer into the back end of the season? Maybe so. Anyway wishing you plenty of years yet to explore these fun wee waters. Tight lines to you.
Oddly enough I have never seen a finnock in this burn yet the even smaller one at the south end of the town is known for them! Thanks for posting. By the way the forum is no more, closed just last week. 😊
My Grandfather taught me to fish on Arbirlot Burn some 40 or so years ago so have very fond memories of this area and he gave me a hobby I have remained obsessed about to this day. I have a funny recollection that he told me he used to catch trout in this Burn in his lunchbreak when he worked at Fraser and Giddings in Arbroath (or somewhere that sounded like that!) as I think the Burn was near there.
Yes the Brothock flowed under the Gidding & Lewis Fraser factories and held some big trout. I too used to fish The Elliot Burn at Arbirlot. Lovely spot. 😊
It's always good to go back to your roots and fish the wee burns you learned on. I'm planning a trip to my first water later in the spring, to fish the pools that were out of reach, or out of bounds, when I was a kid. There's a lot of history along it's length, from tragic drownings to roman forts, so it will be good to revisit the place with new eyes. And a better rod.
It felt a bit odd being back there after so long. The pools looked familiar but different at the same time. I think early season is the time to go before the banks get too hard going.
@@wildfisher Aye. I know that nobody has fished where I'm going for at least a decade, maybe longer. The paths have all disappeared and the banks are so overgrown that I likely won't be able to fish most of the burn if I leave it too long. I might have to go earlier than planned when I think about it.
Great little video Fred and so good to have you and Chris Mathews back on the videos with the new trout season. Real trout fishing in a difficult environment so well done getting any let alone three. As Chris says in his comment some “tree” trout as well. Please continue as you and Chris are great encouragement for us all to do some wild fishing. I’ve joined a local club with a couple of small rivers so will be out trying my luck as soon as I can. Thanks again and look forward to the next one
Great video Fred, sorry to be late to the party but I was away. It is great to see you going back to these places and enjoying a day out with the bonus of a fish as well! Keep up the good work.
Thanks Philip. I had a walk down the burn yesterday and I was surprised how much the water had dropped in just a few days. I might still go back though!
@@wildfisher It is amazing how fast the wee burns can drop back. I fished in the east of Scotland for a while many years back and was amazed at how fast the Nairn could come up. It went quiet as it started to rise and all of a sudden you looked around and it had come up 6 inches in a few seconds. There are also some very impressive videos of the Findhorn coming up, it is even more dramatic than the Nairn and is frightening.
Delightful video Fred. Thanks for sharing . I'm same age bracket as you and took time recently to revisit several streams I fished as a young boy. What struck me was how tiny they look now compared to back then. Sadly very few places are as good as they used to be, and many very overgrown and/or inaccessible now. I think our generation perhaps had the best of it. Thanks again 👍
Yes Richard we really did have the best of it in many ways. Locally we had next to sod all in the materialistic sense, but were wealthy in outdoor opportunities. Isn't it odd though that so many of the places we used to fish are so overgrown now and have a feeling of abandonment about them?
Well done Fred you are now off the mark and size doesn't matter , no fishing here in wales as our rivers are all in spate and it rains almost every day , keep the videos coming. Mike
Fred it’s great to see you getting back out on the streams. I really missed you uploads over the winter. Our winter here was tame by New England standards, perhaps a way of making up for the severe drought of the past summer? I’ve been out a few times and have 4 small fish to hand, really just practice for next month’s warmer temps.
Thanks Dean and great to hear you have been out and had some fish. It's a great time of year that hold out so much promise of better things to come. 😊😊
I still fish my little burn that I started on back in my youth. Hope I’m still able to at your age too. Very cool! What’s your thoughts on the wee glass rod? I’ve pondered over it a few times. Not overly fond of the bright orange but it does intrigue me as I’ve never used a glass one
well done Fred catching troot there. like yourself i used to fish the wee streams round about Carnoustie 30 odd years ago, hardly see any fish now when am out walking the dog. look forward to the next video, wherever that may be.
Looks lovely Fred, just like our overgrown Devon streams you get plenty of "tree" trout. I bet you had many happy hours there growing up, something alot of the current generation are missing out on sadly.
So true Chris. When I was a kid we had endless fishing opportunities. Wee burns like this, flooded quarries full of perch, lochs with pike. Most now are either private or closed due to H&S. So sad, no wonder angling is dying out.
Thanks. Funny you should ask that because my leader set up today was a total screw up. I must have had a brainstorm when setting it up. I had a 7 ½ foot rod yet started with 7 feet of tapered leader and 4 feet of tippet. I could barely get a line out. Chopped it down to 6 feet which is enough for a wee burn like that. If I go back I’ll use a 3 foot thread furled leader and 4 feet of tippet if fishing 2 nymphs or 3 feet of tippet if fishing a single dry. I’ll also fish unweighted nymphs on a drop shot rig to cut down on the snags. See Kelly Galloup’s excellent YT vid on drop shotting.
Just a Ferris indicator Douglas. Sometimes also called a New Zealand indicator. A tuft of wool and a tiny bit of plastic tubing. More on it here www.fishwild.org.uk/vol/fishwild002.pdf
Fished there with my dad 65 years ago. I used a hazel stick, some gut, a hook and worms from a local dung heap. I caught several trout and was allowed to keep a couple for my tea. Made my holiday.
I hope the video brought back some memories for you Donald. 😊
I used to walk along the Brothock from Arbroath to St. Vigeans every night about 6o years ago with my sister and Auntie Liz. Great memories. It was always full of wee brownies but as "a loon" I have to admit I used to fish for them with a worm. Cheers.
We all fished with the worm back then John and the wee broonies are still there! 😊😊
First place I fished as a kid and the first place my kids have fished! We still go along here with a mepps spinner and a float rod never tried to fly fish it though
Lots of us started our fishing journey there. Upstream worm was my method of choice! Great these places still survive. 😊😊
@@wildfisher after watching this I had to go there again and landed a salmon parr and seen a eel heading upstream both at the flood zone it’s made me wonder what other species are in there? Was amazed to find a salmon parr for a nice photo!
So very beautiful small river and weather -> what a lovely Day for fly fishing 😂
Tight lines and have a nice christmas and winter time !
Hope that spring will come soon again 😇🙃
Markus from germany
Thanks for your kind comment Markus. 😊
A change is always good, you did well to pick up a couple there👍
It was odd. 3 fish hooked in a few minutes then nothing at all in much better water. Early season randomness. No flies hatching and not a single rise.
Just found your channel Fred. (shakes hands) I'm on your forum under another nom de plume, So nice to see a wee local burn being explored. We have one too but the only fish left by the bloody mink are bandies and very, very few of those. It used to be stocked annually when we had our town council so that's long passed to wild progeny only. I wonder if your wee water there might harbour a wee run of finnock through the summer into the back end of the season? Maybe so. Anyway wishing you plenty of years yet to explore these fun wee waters. Tight lines to you.
Oddly enough I have never seen a finnock in this burn yet the even smaller one at the south end of the town is known for them! Thanks for posting. By the way the forum is no more, closed just last week. 😊
My Grandfather taught me to fish on Arbirlot Burn some 40 or so years ago so have very fond memories of this area and he gave me a hobby I have remained obsessed about to this day. I have a funny recollection that he told me he used to catch trout in this Burn in his lunchbreak when he worked at Fraser and Giddings in Arbroath (or somewhere that sounded like that!) as I think the Burn was near there.
Yes the Brothock flowed under the Gidding & Lewis Fraser factories and held some big trout. I too used to fish The Elliot Burn at Arbirlot. Lovely spot. 😊
It's always good to go back to your roots and fish the wee burns you learned on. I'm planning a trip to my first water later in the spring, to fish the pools that were out of reach, or out of bounds, when I was a kid. There's a lot of history along it's length, from tragic drownings to roman forts, so it will be good to revisit the place with new eyes. And a better rod.
It felt a bit odd being back there after so long. The pools looked familiar but different at the same time. I think early season is the time to go before the banks get too hard going.
@@wildfisher Aye. I know that nobody has fished where I'm going for at least a decade, maybe longer. The paths have all disappeared and the banks are so overgrown that I likely won't be able to fish most of the burn if I leave it too long. I might have to go earlier than planned when I think about it.
Great little video Fred and so good to have you and Chris Mathews back on the videos with the new trout season. Real trout fishing in a difficult environment so well done getting any let alone three. As Chris says in his comment some “tree” trout as well. Please continue as you and Chris are great encouragement for us all to do some wild fishing. I’ve joined a local club with a couple of small rivers so will be out trying my luck as soon as I can. Thanks again and look forward to the next one
Many thanks for your kind comments. Knowing the wee videos are appreciated and enjoyed is great encouragement to shoot more of them. 😊😊
Such a good video Fred, lovely to see the small burns and Trout.
Numbers don't matter, I hope you do a return visit in late Spring.
Thanks Peter I may well do. 😊
Great video Fred, sorry to be late to the party but I was away. It is great to see you going back to these places and enjoying a day out with the bonus of a fish as well! Keep up the good work.
Thanks Philip. I had a walk down the burn yesterday and I was surprised how much the water had dropped in just a few days. I might still go back though!
@@wildfisher It is amazing how fast the wee burns can drop back. I fished in the east of Scotland for a while many years back and was amazed at how fast the Nairn could come up. It went quiet as it started to rise and all of a sudden you looked around and it had come up 6 inches in a few seconds. There are also some very impressive videos of the Findhorn coming up, it is even more dramatic than the Nairn and is frightening.
Delightful video Fred. Thanks for sharing . I'm same age bracket as you and took time recently to revisit several streams I fished as a young boy. What struck me was how tiny they look now compared to back then. Sadly very few places are as good as they used to be, and many very overgrown and/or inaccessible now. I think our generation perhaps had the best of it. Thanks again 👍
Yes Richard we really did have the best of it in many ways. Locally we had next to sod all in the materialistic sense, but were wealthy in outdoor opportunities. Isn't it odd though that so many of the places we used to fish are so overgrown now and have a feeling of abandonment about them?
@@wildfisher absolutely 👍
Well done Fred you are now off the mark and size doesn't matter , no fishing here in wales as our rivers are all in spate and it rains almost every day , keep the videos coming. Mike
Thanks Mike. 😊😊
Beautiful stream. I definitely would like to fish it.
t was great to be back. 😊
nice to see you back fred
Thanks Archie. 😊😊
good luck in the rest of season!
Thank you. 🙂
Fred it’s great to see you getting back out on the streams. I really missed you uploads over the winter. Our winter here was tame by New England standards, perhaps a way of making up for the severe drought of the past summer? I’ve been out a few times and have 4 small fish to hand, really just practice for next month’s warmer temps.
Thanks Dean and great to hear you have been out and had some fish. It's a great time of year that hold out so much promise of better things to come. 😊😊
I still fish my little burn that I started on back in my youth. Hope I’m still able to at your age too. Very cool! What’s your thoughts on the wee glass rod? I’ve pondered over it a few times. Not overly fond of the bright orange but it does intrigue me as I’ve never used a glass one
The glass rod is OK, but you can get a similar self-loading effect by overlining a mid-action carbon rod, say using a #4 line on a #3 rod.
well done Fred catching troot there. like yourself i used to fish the wee streams round about Carnoustie 30 odd years ago, hardly see any fish now when am out walking the dog. look forward to the next video, wherever that may be.
James I used to occasionally fish the wee burn that runs into the sea just north of Carnoustie - Craigmill Burn?
@@wildfisher Yeah Fred thats the one, I remember catching flat fish at the wee waterfall in the den.
Looks lovely Fred, just like our overgrown Devon streams you get plenty of "tree" trout. I bet you had many happy hours there growing up, something alot of the current generation are missing out on sadly.
So true Chris. When I was a kid we had endless fishing opportunities. Wee burns like this, flooded quarries full of perch, lochs with pike. Most now are either private or closed due to H&S. So sad, no wonder angling is dying out.
Where rollcasting is a way-of-life……👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣
For sure! 👍👍
I was at the dammy having a look at some spots to try but will wait for some better weather to have a try
Back in the day the dammy even had trout and the burn beside the old Shanks works held some crackers.
@@wildfisher would be good to trot a stick float down too as well as a dry fly or two
@@stewartthefishwhisperer Upstream worm was THE method on these burns back in the day.
@@wildfisher I didn't know that Fred every day is a school day I have a lovely 7ft rod and a reel with 4lb line would be ideal to try that
Hi I wonder if the fish stay close to a route to deeper pools while awaiting the summer trickle.
Enjoyed the UL as usual
ATB
I think they might. On the other local burn (The Elliot) I've seen big shoals in the deeper pools during prolonged dry weather.
It reminds me of the Hamilton Burn Fred. No, not the one in NZ. The one in Lanarkshire🙂
😆
Total respect from Australia but I’ve no idea what your saying 😁🎣🎣🎣🙏
And I subbed 🥳
😅 Thanks for the comment. That's an Arbroath accent by the way. 😊
Cracking wee river and wild brownies Fred...what a lovely day out...BTW, did you take your video camera with you on your recent NZ trip? all the best
No video from NZ TK, too much to carry on these rough banks for an old man like me. 😄😄
Always a pleasure watching your videos what’s your leader set up 🎣👍
Thanks. Funny you should ask that because my leader set up today was a total screw up. I must have had a brainstorm when setting it up. I had a 7 ½ foot rod yet started with 7 feet of tapered leader and 4 feet of tippet. I could barely get a line out. Chopped it down to 6 feet which is enough for a wee burn like that. If I go back I’ll use a 3 foot thread furled leader and 4 feet of tippet if fishing 2 nymphs or 3 feet of tippet if fishing a single dry. I’ll also fish unweighted nymphs on a drop shot rig to cut down on the snags. See Kelly Galloup’s excellent YT vid on drop shotting.
@@wildfisher cheers Fred look forward too the next video tight lines ma friend
Lovely little video, just my cup of tea on the small stream. If you don’t mind me asking, what was the strike indicator that you were using?
Just a Ferris indicator Douglas. Sometimes also called a New Zealand indicator. A tuft of wool and a tiny bit of plastic tubing. More on it here www.fishwild.org.uk/vol/fishwild002.pdf
@@wildfisher thanks for reply and information👍
Great videos, but please, please, please, reduce the music volume so we can hear and understand your words.
Thanks for your feedback. 👍
Where do you get the permit from?
Historically there was never a permit required on this burn and as far as I'm aware this has not changed.
@@wildfisher Awesome thanks. I am new to the sport
Musics to loud and completely covers your voice