Solo wild camp and fishing on Loch Etive 

It's accessed from Glen Etive, but involves a hike of several miles/hours to reach it, a significant chunk of which is across bog. Even then it is quite difficult to actually find as it lies well away from any trail. You're right in thinking that it's on the other side of the loch from Ben Starav, but it's a good way down. Basically, I really wouldn't recommend it for a first visit to Etive unless you want to hike more than you fish. There are loads of marks that are easier to access from the Connel/Bonawe areas and there is virtually no chance of them being full. Personally I decide based on the forecasts, so that I find a spot with some shelter and the wind at my back (especially in February!). There have been loads of crabs/critters about recently, so check baits regularly, as it can be a waiting game. I spent 5 days over Christmas/New Year boat fishing on Etive and there were fish pretty much all over the loch although some individual marks seemed empty - pretty typical for the loch.

Doug K looks great

Ouch! That's a lot more hard core than I am about Etive. It's a wonderful place to be out and about but the fishing can be pretty hard going at times. At least the woods offer a bit of shelter whilst you wait!

Thanks! - that's one of my favourite spots for a winter camp, although you do need to get the right conditions to really enjoy it.

Just back from a fine weekend camping on the upper loch around Barrs, doing a bit of shore and a bit of boat fishing. Loads of spurs, literally a fish a cast from the shore, but ranging from small down to tiny. Biggest no more than 2.5lbs. There's more chance of bigger spurs down below Bonawe Narrows but they're much thinner on the ground. Etive has spurdog all year round, but the better ones can be hard to track down and a plague of mini-spurs can crowd them out (the novelty of baby spurdogs does wear off!). Generally I've found the New Year through to Easter tends to provide better fish from the upper loch, but the wee ones seem to be there all year round.

@@Corkwing-DougK ok thanks for info mate think al wait till the new year as iam 5 hrs drive away.ling way for a 2.5 lb fish

Hi - I've never fished anywhere near Peebles so I can't help you very much. The River Tweed is a major salmon river that runs through the town, but that's likely to cost megabucks for a permit. The season for brown trout will be finished by mid-October, but you may be able to fish for grayling. Apart from that, I know St Mary's loch holds decent pike, and there are lochs and reservoirs about that are stocked with rainbows and other trout.

@@Corkwing-DougK Thanks for the reply Doug

Hi Fiete,Glad you liked the video. I actually think that I need to be better organised - there are plenty of rocks around that site, which could be used to build a decent table. With all the fishing gear and bait I already carry too much stuff!Cheers, Doug

It's a fair way - around 4 miles or so.

Thanks - it's one of my favourite spots for an overnighter.

Etive is one of my favourite places to chill out, so it's just a question of getting the fish and the weather to co-operate!

Aye, I still think that was one of my best overnighters - a nice hike and camp, with a few fish thrown in, and nobody around for miles! Bug free at that time of year too :-)

Hi Craig, that's the one. It's not very big though, so I could see it filling up quite quickly at this time of year as quite a lot people camp alongside it. Personally I do tend to avoid the summer months partly because there are too many people about, and partly because the bug count goes through the roof.

Cheers for the info 👍 I’ve never fished Etive before but living in Inverness it’s a bit of a trek so hoping to do a solo overnight camp anywhere secluded really and make a couple of days out of it with a stop off at Linnhe on the way back. May wait till the season dies down a bit though

I love being out on Loch Etive and the fish are a bit of a bonus really. It's actually quite encouraging to see skate and spurdog stocks recovering a bit after conservation efforts have ramped up a bit. Still a long way to go though!

Hi Dave, Never had a cod off this mark, only the odd small whiting. There are some smallish codling in Etive generally, but most have quite a collection of parasites and I'd just put them back. The spot in the video is a long way from anywhere and over ground that gets pretty rough in places, but one upside is that I've rarely lost much gear fishing it.

I normally use a small coolbag, something like 9" x 6" x 6" with an ice pack top and bottom and a few mackerel fillets in between. The coolbag fits inside my rucksack easily enough, and I usually keep it in a larger coolbox when I'm in the car. At this time of year it's not difficult to keep bait cool, but it gets a lot harder in the warmer months. My coolbag is just a cheapie from an outdoor shop, but the "basecamp" coolbox for the car or boat is a high quality Igloo one which works really well. Needs a lot of space though!

Glue yourself to the forecast and it's surprising how often you can get a decent weather window - time after time the Etive/Linnhe/Leven area shows up as having the calmest winter weather anywhere in Scotland. The trick is to get it dry and calm, but even that is a lot more common than you'd think. But Etive is amazing, and not very hard to get to from the central belt - good and bad sides to that, obviously!

Thanks - it's quite an old video now but still one of my favourites!

@@Corkwing-DougK yeah Etive is a personal favourite of mine too.Had an incredible fishing trip last summer in terms of varied species caught.Off to Skye this weekend to chase pollock

I did enjoy that trip - a fine couple of days out. Hard work, but worth it!

Thanks for the comment - it's certainly appreciated. If you want deer, then just take a run down Glen Etive as it's stuffed with them (a bit of a cheat, as the estate feeds them alongside the road). I'd love to take Bonnie, my manic spaniel, out for the night, but the thought of sharing a small tent with a wet, cold, dog really doesn't appeal! If you walk a mile or more from the carpark at Glen Etive then you'll hit decent camping territory, although the fish are likely to be on the small/very small side unless you keep going.

how long odes it take you to hike in Doug? Gonna hike in and look for this spot in the next couple of months i think before the midge take over

I'd say a little less than 2 hours non-stop, but it helps knowing the way there. From the carpark at the head of Loch Etive follow the side of the loch for a few hundred yards past the pier and then through two separate deer fence gates. Just after the second gate head up the hill a little way and you'll find the start of the track. Windy and with some tedious ups and downs, but you just follow this for 3 miles or so. The tricky bit is working out where to come off this track but you'll see a large area of open tussocky boggy grassland to your left flanked by Scots pine and you need to work your way down there and then through the woods for several hundred yards. You won't see the mark until you're almost right on top of it! Google Earth or the OS site will help - the houses at Barrs are the next landmark if you overshoot. Ironically, given the sodden ground, there is no water at the mark so fill up before you drop off the main track (the dog will probably be OK, but I'm a little fussier!). It's not snaggy ground but grip leads make sense, and you don't need a long cast - maybe 80-90 yards. Cheers,Doug

Much appreciated Doug will definitely be up there in the coming months. Just wait for the temp to climb a little so it makes it worthwhile bringing the tent. Might give you a nudge - may well bump into you one of these days! Cheers again.

Thanks Mark - if only it wasn't so difficult to get all these required elements to line up I might experience more brilliant sessions! Although I guess being rare does make these days all the more memorable (said with my motivational speaker/bullshit hat on)

In Scotland I guess you've got to grab your opportunities whilst you can. Tides, weather, seasons and time off all combined very nicely this time around, and I'd a great time out!

Thanks for watching - Etive's a beautiful spot, and very quiet at that time of year.

Thanks Stephen, it's not so different to the area past the quarry - heavily wooded, steep shores and fairly deep water - but it is a lot quieter. There's a few spots along the track from the quarry that you could probably do something similar, although I've never camped there myself.

yeah your right doug you can camp past the quarry ,up until about 8 years ago you could drive your car ,up to these marks ,but the quarry now lock there gates.i fish a place called the hanging tree and the fishing is really good and worth the long walk to this mark.you good easley camp there

Hi Stephen, I've fished along that way a few times, although not recently - you can hit something like 330 feet deep within casting distance of the Flat Rock, as measured on my sonar. Once took a bike along the track there, and I reckon that's one option to reach a few marks without spending hours hiking to them! Also there's always the bothy at Cadderlie as an alternative to the tent, although I've never stayed there myself.

Hi Robert - It's on the quarry side, but a very long walk from it though.

@@Corkwing-DougK thanks so walk through the quarry and just keep walking basically mate

For many miles! I'm not going to give out the co-ordinates, but it's actually easier to come down from Glen Etive. Whichever way you try, it's well off the track in some pretty hard country.