WITH the close of the sea trout and salmon season on us and a distinct lack of anything fishy in the Sandison freezer, I arranged a final outing to one of my favourite waters, Loch Hope in north Sutherland.

I wish I could say my fishing season has been a succession of trout-filled days. But that would be a lie and, as everybody knows, we anglers always tell the truth.

THE majority of Scotland’s rivers are more noted for their salmon than they are for their brown trout.