Legendary angler Lionel Main has left a roadmap to success as young Highland anglers pick up the baton to embrace the outdoor sport.
Mr Main devoted his life to fishing, serving as head ghillie at Castle Grant on the River Spey for more than 35 years.
His love for the sport started from a young age as he watched both his father and brother serve as ghillies at Delfur.
After a brief stint as a joiner, he returned to the banks of the river at the age of 23, to ghillie alongside them.
In 1987, he took up his post at Castle Grant, near Grantown-on -Spey, serving more than three decades at the helm prior to his death in January 2022.
‘He moulded Castle Grant in his own image’
Simon Crozier, senior ghillie at Castle Grant fishing’s, which forms part of Seafield Estates, said Mr Main was something of a “perfectionist.”
He said it was thanks to him he got his lucky break, which sparked a 29-year career.
He said: “When I was 21, Lionel gave me a chance. To be honest, a 21-year-old never got a chance to be a single-handed ghillie on the Spey or any other river. He saw the need to get some new young blood in, so he took a chance on me and trained me up.
“Now here we are 29 years later, and I am passing on the knowledge he handed to me onto these youngsters.”
Mr Crozier added: “He was a perfectionist. He moulded Castle Grant in his own image.
“As he was such a fine joiner, he built huts, maintained things, he created benches and furniture. He just took the beats up to a different level in terms of the way they were presented and that rubbed off on us all.
“He went the extra mile and we try to do the same. He was a perfectionist.
“The estate and the fishing consumed him. It was his life and he put everything into it.”
Encouraging young blood into fishing on the River Spey
In memory of the devoted angler, Seafield Estates hosted a week-long fishing experience for young anglers eager to make their first cast.
A total of five Highland lads between the ages of 13 and 18 gained firsthand experience from local anglers and teachers from Countryside Learning Scotland and Windward Education.
The training course, funded purely by donations from the local fishermen, earned them an SVQ qualification and a season ticket on the Spey until October.
14-year-old Inverness lad James Stewart also walked away with the Lionel Main Award, awarded by Lionel’s late wife Judy.
The award was presented to the angler who was most improved.
Mr Crozier is hopeful they can provide more experiences like this in the future to help make the sport more accessible to the young people of today.
Reflecting on the week’s events, he said it was a fitting tribute to a man who gave so much.
“Fishing and field sports are very important in the Highlands,” Mr Crozier said.
“It used to be that ghilling, like Lionel did, use to go from father to son – you were born into it – but now that’s not happening any more.
“There is an opportunity now for youngsters.
“Lionel had been toying with the idea of getting youths involved for a long time but, like so many things, he never got around to it.
“I think it was a fitting tribute to Lionel because he would have liked nothing more than to see loons, as he would have called them, walking about the banks of Castle Grant fishing and enjoying themselves.
“It’s a fitting legacy and I hope it does continue.”
