With staggering scenery and over 40 species to target Loch Etive can produce spectacular results. It can also frustrate and confound in equal measure. Joe Whyte explains the enigma of Etive
Situated 90 miles west of the central belt of Scotland, and about 15 miles from the coastal town of Oban, Loch Etive is rightly regarded as one of the most species-diverse, visually stunning and downright challenging lochs for sea anglers. Unlike most of the Scottish sea lochs, Etive has rarely been commercially fished due to a variety of factors, one being the Falls of Lora at Connel which makes access from the open sea quite difficult for boats. The loch itself is a bit of an enigma: some of its 30km length reaches insane depths, up to 150m in parts, and there is a top layer of fresh water from the many rivers and streams which flow in along its banks.
This is a beautiful spot with stunning scenery and incredible wildlife; there are sea eagles, otters and seals among other sights. Many Scottish spots have been blighted by litter, wild camping and hill fires. Please take your litter away with you or this will be another spot lost to carelessness and ignorance.
Most anglers who are familiar with Etive will tell you the same thing: it never fishes the same from one day to the next. You can have a bonanza of a day and 24 hours later, in exactly the same conditions, tide and weather, using the same tactics and bait, you’ll struggle to get a bite.
Fishermen with more experience than me will tell you the same thing – it’s an enigma and a mystery, but that’s what makes it such an attractive challenge and pulls anglers from across the globe to try and master its mystifying and inscrutable depths.
