Last year I had a week on Hope, this year due to unforeseen circumstances I couldn't book, then someone snaffled my week So it's the odd day when I'm allowed. Scanning the boat availability page showed middle bay booked, pretty much. South end holds no interest to me as it's 'old mannie' fishing. Far to easy. Interestingly having scoured the tinternet for info on North end, it seems that it's managed to get the label of '...not as prolific' . Now I'm fairly sure that ever fish in middle bay and south end at some stage has passed through north end. So boat booked for yesterday. Perfect cloud cover for most of the day, of the 7 fish taken, and far too many missed, 5 came between 9 and 12.30, then the wind disappeared and the last two taken 10 mins either side of 5pm. When the wind dropped at lunchtime there was an interesting spectacle of half a dozen salmon shoaling in the middle of northend. I spent a rather fruitless hour pounding them with everything I could think of, dapping might have taken one. Fishing finishes far too soon on the loch I'd like to see it extended to at least 9pm or even better 11pm! Of the seven the fellow below was the only one that didn't have net marks, makes you wonder what's going on out in the bay.

That's a strange statement, why do you say that. Enquiring minds.
Hope has been hard for a number of years & that includes South End.
Tight Lines

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"The Future's Bright The Future's Wet Fly"

Some interesting observations ..I doubt very much that dapping would have taken a salmon it is true that on occasion they will take a dry but it is a rare occasion..and a breeze is required for both wet and dapping..Flat calm conditions are usually a waste of time..however there is always the exception to the rule..and if your there then why not give it a go !
Fresh run salmon into a loch are more likely show their presence than resident fish that are are pre-settled into lyes...
After slipping over the lochs outlet and into open water leaving the narrow confines of the river behind it takes a good 24 hours for salmon to shoal within a loch.[Only once settled will they come on the take-after this initial 24 period]
Early season most fish will run from river to loch-take a breather then journey on to the head of the loch taking the best lyes ..as the season progresses fresh run fish begin to evenly distribute into lyes further down the loch side.
The particular lochs I fished/ghillied on saw salmon moving and congregating into the streamy water spilling out into the main loch from a stream that interconnected a series of 5 lochs.
Time between 4-5 pm ..Fished as a river across and down with 1/4 inch stoat tail tube and down to size 16 trebles we took fish in an otherwise flat calm.
Some of these fish moved through the stream at dusk others dropped well back into the main body of the loch....
We only picked fish off the outer margins of the shoal ..once the shoal is split it will disperse taking another 24 hours to re-group..
And of course any fish that are 'head and tailing' are a certainty to take a well presented fly...

Kindest regards
Tight Lines
JOHN

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Dapping is far and away the most successful method of taking salmon from a loch. I would think that the majority of salmon taking from Loch Naver and Hope are taken on the dap.

Think we should agree to disagree on that one ..But hey thats fishing !! different waters different methods different angling experiences !....I find it quite interesting ..
On the Grimersta lochs and loch Ba that I keepered and ghilled on it was my experience that nearly all the salmon came to the wet fly and sea trout to the dapp...Both systems fished One angler dapping from the bows of the boat the other fishing wet fly over the stern..I remember one salmon was caught dapping on a pool on the river...and I have taken salmon dibbling a Yellow Dolly dry tube pattern [Falkus]..in the head of a stream..
So I do not dispute their affinity on ocassion to take a dry.
If dapping is the predominant fishing method on your lochs then of course more salmon will be caught on the dapp..Likewise with my clientelle the first and foremost method is wet fly ..

Kindest regards
Tight lines
JOHN

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I have fished Hope ona few occasions. Went up for a week with mates for about four years I think, they still go. Paul Panchaud still had the Altnaharra hotel at the time, so it was a while ago.

What i can remeber though is that by far and away we had most success on the wet fly, for both salmon and sea trout. If the old memory serves me I think a couple of particular favourites were the Green Peter and Bibio.

O.K. break cover with this one!
On Stack, the best way to entice fresh salmon (not sea trout) in flat calm, is to pull a large muddler across the surface.
Has been a couple of articles written about it in T&S, for those interested.
regards
bert

I used to do a bit of ghillieing on stack and hope and different methods were definitely needed for the 2 lochs.
On Hope I would work the dapping rod in the middle of the boat while the guests fished wets either side, the dap would get the fish up and excited for the wets to be cast over them usually resulting in a take. We did catch more sea trout than salmon but i think that was down to the fact that there wer ****** all salmon about, any that did come would also usually come first to the dapped fly. Pulling the dapping fly away from a fish that wants it is a very hard thing to do though and you certainly earned your tips doing it, although one or two would inevitably "hook themselves" before I could pull the fly away.
On Stack the dap would rarely move anything and a well fished muddler in front of an irish shrimp or something else would outperform anything else most days, saying that though, blank days on Stack outnumbered catch days by about 3 to 1, thats a lot of rowing without much reward! My heart used to sink when the guests wanted to go to Stack.

Bw

My unreserved apologies bgw, but i like stripping the muddler!!
regards
bert

Whilst I agree that Salmon will take the Dap is is usually Sea Trout that features more in catches. I have a sneaking suspicion that it could be because Salmon unlike Sea Trout will lie really close in, whilst Sea Trout like a bit of water over & under them. Am old boatmam told me on Hope once that if you saw the wee Trouties rising you were too close in for Sea Trout.
Like all fly fishing nothing though is set in stone.
Tight Lines

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"The Future's Bright The Future's Wet Fly"