A few weekends ago, we packed our rods and walking boots to make our way up to the nearby lochs. It was a truly spectacular Highland summer day with a light breeze and we were hoping to catch a shoal of brown trout for our dinner.
Wild brown trout or commonly nicknamed brownies (Salmo Trutta) can be found all over Scotland, using various different environments from small rivers and hill lochs to larger bodies of fresh water. The season runs from 15th of March to 6th of October every year in Scotland. Brown trout's conservation status is of 'least concern' meaning the fish is not considered to be anyway near endangered. There is a healthy population near us, particularly in the harder to reach lochs and small rivers up in the hills.
We prepare our rods, we're currently using claret bumble and black pennell flys with a floating line for brown trout. Jamie casts over near the weeds in calm water. Cover is important for trout as it means that the fish can avoid predators.
After a few quick casts and shuffling along the loch, we began to get a few takes and trout putting up a good fight. We caught a fair few between us, the largest one weighing roughly a quarter of a pound. I packed the fish from the nets into our backpack, ready to prepare for dinner that night. After an hour or two casting and catching fish, we headed back to the truck to go home.

When we got home, Jamie gutted the fish and vacuum packed the excess fish for our next fish tea.
I baked the trout in soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, fresh dill and chopped up fresh lime for twenty minutes at 200 degrees in the oven. Alongside the fish we had homemade tartar sauce, honey baked butternut squash and greens from the garden. It was the perfect end to the day. With each bite of fresh fish, a sense of gratitude is felt towards each fish and where it's come from.
