Finlay Wilson discovers a slice of Heaven in the Flow Country
IFIRST HAPPENED ACROSS Thrumster House in early June 2017, after spending a week in the Forsinard area with two mates, chasing trout in the wilds of the Flow Country. I’d left an extra day to tick off another Caithness water that had been on my radar — Loch Sarclet — and discovered that Thrumster Estate controlled the fishing, as well as that on several other good lochs.
Access to the House, where tickets are obtained, is down a long drive directly off the A99 Wick Road, and I vividly remember how taken I was by the place. Indigenous woodland and wildflowers suddenly surround you and then Thrumster House appears; charming and quirky.
I was met by a friendly lady who sold me a day-ticket and gave me a leaflet about the fishing and accommodation on the estate, then off I went with a spring in my step to check out Sarclet, while making a mental note to investigate Thrumster more thoroughly further down the line.
I was camping nearby at Dunbeath and had old Harris the spaniel with me, still sorely missed. It was early afternoon, warm and sunny, so we walked to the loch for a daytime recce. Sarclet didn’t disappoint. It’s surrounded by lush grass and wildflowers and like so many Caithness lochs, it feels gentle and calming. Harris and I got comfortable by the water’s edge and ended up dozing in the sun. Heaven!
It wasn’t until mid-evening that fish started to show — sporadically, but enough to warrant a dry-fly. Straight away, I got into a trout of around 1lb, fat and incredibly strong. This was going to be good. The next fish I hooked felt considerably bigger but immediately tore into a weedbed and came off. All went quiet after that glimpse of what might be. Then, as the light started to fade, I noticed fish moving again and realised they were working the wind lanes, feeding beneath the surface. There were countless shucks on the water, and it dawned on me that Sarclet was a midge factory. I changed tactics and began figure-of-eighting a team of Diawl Bachs, spending the next hour picking away at fish, the best around 1½lb, which fought ferociously. Meanwhile, the occasional slab of a trout splashed in the middle of the loch, far beyond reach. The light dimmed, the temperature dipped, and Sarclet fell silent. I’ve wanted to go back ever since.
Fast forward six years to early June and I finally returned, this time with Euan Myles. We’d booked a week at one of the estate’s self-catering options, Keeper’s Cottage, with a view to giving Sarclet the attention it deserves, as well as checking out the estate’s other waters: Loch of Yarrows, Marl, Hempriggs and Warehouse.
The driveway to the house was even prettier than I recalled and once again a warm welcome awaited, this time from Catherine McLeod, who looks after bookings and the general running of the place alongs
