holy loch

[brash1]

Can anyone on here remember fishing holy loch. was sitting thinking last night about the trips me dad used to go on when i was too small to go with him. He has unfortunately passed away now so cannot go over the stories with him, they used to hire small cabins from what i remember with a stove in the centre for warmth, he said they used to be some huge cod caught from up there and yhink i can remember him saying him and the lads cooking the roe on the stove for there suppers. sure he said they used to fish from a ferry landing, just curious to see if any one remebers these good times?
cheers justin

 

[Davey.B]

Holy loch

Holy loch

I never had the chance to fish it myself,but i know a lots of north east anglers did,lew marsden,John bohill to name a few,i am sure there will be a few on here fished it.Shame its no more,like most of the good old marks.

 

[john/r]

it was.nt just holy loch that produced big fish, also loch long and gareloch.

can remember first time fishing gareloch the rhu narrows, a low water shot ,just walking on to mark and a bloke who used to write in sea angler mag was just dragging a speckled 17lb cod in.

i only caught the back end of the great fishing up there, but i had cod to 14lb and thornbacks.

heard some great stories from people fishing up there.

 

[Charlton]

was up that way a few year ago in the caravan, so being nostalgic I popped over to see if anyone was fishing, not a sole fishing anywhere. Popped into the local tackle shop, he said hardly anybody fishes the marks now, all fished out by commercial trawlers. This was the place a guy used to go out in a row boat to fish a wreck and land cod of 40lb. Even though there is hardly any commercial activity now, it looks as if the place will never recover.

 

[codthumper]

holy loch

i remember it well,used to fish it with uwoods mining supplies club.yes we fished off the jetty where the ferries used to tie up for the winter,caught my biggest shore cod off(sound of sanda)11lb 8oz .total bag was around 60lb.the point was a good shot also.dont remember any huts ,but some times used to stay at the camp site at head of loch. we also used to go to loch long and stayed in the caravan site.those were the good old days,you could almost call it catching not fishing. (turn back time please)

 

[codonly]

i remember it well,used to fish it with uwoods mining supplies club.yes we fished off the jetty where the ferries used to tie up for the winter,caught my biggest shore cod off(sound of sanda)11lb 8oz .total bag was around 60lb.the point was a good shot also.dont remember any huts ,but some times used to stay at the camp site at head of loch. we also used to go to loch long and stayed in the caravan site.those were the good old days,you could almost call it catching not fishing. (turn back time please)

fished it loads of times in the late 70's early 80's
the kilmun hotel was the dogs doodahs for a refreshment or two then back out on the ferries(in the dark) to catch a load more quality cod.
there was a place further round called the mansion (i think) which was class as well.
am sure ive got some pics at me ma's from a bus trip we had from the satellite club.
im on a mission now lol

 

[YoursTruly]

Can anyone on here remember fishing holy loch. was sitting thinking last night about the trips me dad used to go on when i was too small to go with him. He has unfortunately passed away now so cannot go over the stories with him, they used to hire small cabins from what i remember with a stove in the centre for warmth, he said they used to be some huge cod caught from up there and yhink i can remember him saying him and the lads cooking the roe on the stove for there suppers. sure he said they used to fish from a ferry landing, just curious to see if any one remebers these good times?
cheers justin

The ferry landing was more than likely the Kilmun Jetty where the Campbelltown ferry used to moor every night.
The Small cabins could have been at the head of the loch a place called cot.

Steve mentions the mansion, we called it the Lairds garden.
Other marks round there included Strone Jetty, Blairmore Jetty and sand point.

I used to travel up there evry other weekend throughout the summer months in my teens, the fishing was fantastic, every time your rod went you simply just did not know what to expect.

 

[brash1]

Now you mention going out in a rowing boat that has brought back a memory too, me dad and uncle went out in one there but me dad got sea sick and spewed all over they had to come back in after that. Wish i had the chance to go up there with them!!

 

[brash1]

CODONLY do you know a Jimmy Sinnot or Peter Seymour, i am sure they were in the sattelite?

 

[waco]

holy loch

aye mate i remember it well and a would think any one who has fished it would do as well as it was brilliant fishing , the first time i fshed it was on a trip with the shields club in 1979 or 80 and wat a night it was, plenty of fish with double figures up 14 3/4lbs and over 600lb of fish taken between 50 anglers, when news of that got out i think nearly every angler in the shields area had at least 1 visit to holy loch that year, i had anthother five visits and there was always plenty of fish with anglers getting the odd double but the next year was the year it dropped off with next to no cod getting caught. but alas its all memories, but good ones

 

[canman]

I fished it a few times in the late 70's. Ragworm was the bait then, which we would dig at low tide in the Holy loch and they were plentiful. We used to stay at the Kilmun hotel which owned the jetty the ferries tied up to at night. You would scramble over the first two to fish on the end one, plop a big ragworm bait over and wait, often not very long then, bang, over the rod tip would go into a good cod. My best session was 9 cod, all under the 10lb mark, but who cares, the fishing was fantastic, but like Alan says, will probably never return in my lifetime. Great memories though.

 

[john/r]

tony taylor used to take mini bus full of youngsters up there whit week weekend think john dixon was there also.

i could not believe my eyes the cod and thornies they pulled in cod to 22lb top of loch long arrochar. rhu narrows and top end of gareloch.

if anyone bumps into tony they want to ask him about catches they had up there.

was very good of him and john dixon taking younguns up there every whit weekend.

you just had to see it to believe what they pulled in. tony was also a very good caster and he had the youguns doing same cast as he.

 

[canman]

tony taylor used to take mini bus full of youngsters up there whit week weekend think john dixon was there also.

i could not believe my eyes the cod and thornies they pulled in cod to 22lb top of loch long arrochar. rhu narrows and top end of gareloch.

if anyone bumps into tony they want to ask him about catches they had up there.

was very good of him and john dixon taking younguns up there every whit weekend.

you just had to see it to believe what they pulled in. tony was also a very good caster and he had the youguns doing same cast as he.

I was one of the seniors from Whitley club who took them up in 3 crew buses John Nixon (Plant Hire) for the week at whit,John himself didn't go, staying in the static caravans at loch long. The fishing was out of this world, casting into a smooth calm loch at 6am. The line would go down and down till it hit the bottom with always slack line from the rod tip. Left in the rod spike, (know one used tripods those days) the bights were indicated by the line lifting in the water heading out into the loch, then the rod tip would pull down, and keep on going down, hang on a sec (while I pull myself together) just re-living the moment, strike, the rod would be over with a hellova bend, then you'd feel through the line the weight of what was often a large double figure fish. Magic! Some days were spent at the Rhu narrows fishing from Rosneath while small boats would be drifting through using rippers etc; getting some amazing bags of fish. I feel like weeping at what's been lost.

I could go on and on about the place, it was paradise.

 

[john/r]

I was one of the seniors from Whitley club who took them up in 3 crew buses John Nixon (Plant Hire) for the week at whit,John himself didn't go, staying in the static caravans at loch long. The fishing was out of this world, casting into a smooth calm loch at 6am. The line would go down and down till it hit the bottom with always slack line from the rod tip. Left in the rod spike, (know one used tripods those days) the bights were indicated by the line lifting in the water heading out into the loch, then the rod tip would pull down, and keep on going down, hang on a sec (while I pull myself together) just re-living the moment, strike, the rod would be over with a hellova bend, then you'd feel through the line the weight of what was often a large double figure fish. Magic! Some days were spent at the Rhu narrows fishing from Rosneath while small boats would be drifting through using rippers etc; getting some amazing bags of fish. I feel like weeping at what's been lost.

I could go on and on about the place, it was paradise.

small world we used to stop there for the full week whit week,i used to have some photos but not now.

it was very good of yourself and tony to help and look after the juniors,

think it was about 1976 or there abouts when i used to go there.

 

[boblydon]

I was fortunate enough to be one of the youngsters you talk about, if i remember correctly we went up for four years and allways stayed at the arrochar caravan park, still have a photograph of me about 13 years old with a cod of 13lb taken from the flat rock.

At the time a great guy called Jack Fairbain had loads of pictures and even a cine film, remember one year it ****ed down for the whole 4 days, at least it drowned the bloody midges though

 

[john/r]

I was fortunate enough to be one of the youngsters you talk about, if i remember correctly we went up for four years and allways stayed at the arrochar caravan park, still have a photograph of me about 13 years old with a cod of 13lb taken from the flat rock.

At the time a great guy called Jack Fairbain had loads of pictures and even a cine film, remember one year it ****ed down for the whole 4 days, at least it drowned the bloody midges though

what it suprised me was first light the fish came on but after a few hrs daylight it used to go quite.

we used to collect peeler from loch long turning the weed over this was an experience with the midgies.

 

[brash1]

Thanks for all the replies guys, sounds like it was a magical place can still remember me dad coming home with sacks of huge fish, dont know if the fish were big or it was just because i would of only been about 6 or 7 at the time. Wish it was still like that now !!!!!!!!

 

[john/r]

i know of some lads who used to fish the gantocks they said the shor fishing used to be brilliant over there also.

anyone else on here who has fished there yrs ago ???

 

[EddieS]

Some other good shots

Some other good shots

Other good spots were at Greenock and Whemys Bay also Rahan opposite the nuclear submarine base - helensbrough used to be canny for bait, Good old days eh

 

[canman]

Other good spots were at Greenock and Whemys Bay also Rahan opposite the nuclear submarine base - helensbrough used to be canny for bait, Good old days eh

Helensburgh, remind me of the time myself and a few lads from the shire moor club had just finished our deep fried pizza and chips from the Lido chippy, when some-one suggested a bit of a crabbing session down by the jetty. So waders on we charged down onto the for shore crabbing away,when there was this almighty scream of horror, Frankie Oldham had his arm right at the back of a 40 gallon drum half submerged in the sand when a large rat ran up his arm and over his shoulder. Well me, Alec Harvey, Bob Gasgoine, and a few others just fell about laughing at Frankie, who had turned into a gibbering wreck. Yougotolaugh.