Successful MacNab video

[caorach]

There was some mention of MacNabs on another thread and just by accident I spotted this video and thought to post a link as I'm sure some on here will enjoy it. It is in German and appears to be a sort of "promo" for Blaser where they try to achieve a MacNab with some weird Blaser rifle. There are English subtitles for those interested in what is being said. It is a nice little video and the chap manages to get his MacNab. The estate is Garynahine on Lewis and I have to say that they would be my choice for the highest probability of a successful MacNab as, providing you have a breeze, you can generally get a salmon even if the water is low.

 

[enfieldspares]

I have to say that they would be my choice for the highest probability of a successful MacNab as, providing you have a breeze, you can generally get a salmon even if the water is low.

Thank you for sharing that and, yes, I am with you. The salmon is the most difficult of the three to chalk up. The other two are relatively easy (or at least should be if you can manage to hit walked up grouse when you put them up). MInd that salmon is nearly black! It'd be awful eating. Awful! Best indeed it was returned. Is this now the same throughout Scotland and the Isles that the first fish, as well as is as here, coloured, has to go back?

 

[thorneyglatt]

Thanks for that - did enjoy it

 

[Tazz]

For a Macnab can you catch the salmon on a lure ?

 

[TringSaint]

Thank you for sharing that and, yes, I am with you. The salmon is the most difficult of the three to chalk up. The other two are relatively easy (or at least should be if you can manage to hit walked up grouse when you put them up). MInd that salmon is nearly black! It'd be awful eating. Awful! Best indeed it was returned. Is this now the same throughout Scotland and the Isles that the first fish, as well as is as here, coloured, has to go back?

Not into fishing so what’s the cause of the fish being black and tasting awful? Hormones?

 

[enfieldspares]

Not into fishing so what’s the relevance of the fish being black and tasting awful? Hormones?

It's not in the best of condition meat wise and if cooked in the traditional way with the skin on looks awful.

 

[willie_gunn]

Thank you for sharing that and, yes, I am with you. The salmon is the most difficult of the three to chalk up. The other two are relatively easy (or at least should be if you can manage to hit walked up grouse when you put them up). MInd that salmon is nearly black! It'd be awful eating. Awful! Best indeed it was returned. Is this now the same throughout Scotland and the Isles that the first fish, as well as is as here, coloured, has to go back?

Not sure if you’re joking, but that fish would taste fine - it’s just been in peaty water for a while. You can see how peaty the water is from the drone shots. All the salmon we had from the Blackwater were that colour. Take it out and wrap it in newspaper and it will lose a lot of that blackness. Not all salmon are the proverbial “bars of silver”!

Coloured fish are those that are breeding, and are said to be in their “fighting trews” or “tartan”.



The chance of a Macnab will very much depend on the estate. Where we were the stag was easy, the salmon largely manageable, but the grouse would be the challenge.

 

[TringSaint]

It's not in the best of condition meat wise and if cooked in the traditional way with the skin on looks awful.

Ah, ok. Wasn’t sure if it was because it was spawning of something.

 

[enfieldspares]

Not sure if you’re joking, but that fish would taste fine - it’s just been in peaty water for a while.

That's interesting. My father used to fish in Wales in the 1960s, on the Teifi mainly and so there is a fish was "black" it was always never killed and taken. Thank you for sharing. For sure a black salmon in Wales wouldn't have been at all desirable back then.

 

[johndeere]

It was a most enjoyable watch thank you for posting,
I wouldn't run out of digits if I had to count the fish I have ever caught
a salmon is on my bucket list

 

[caorach]

Thank you for sharing that and, yes, I am with you. The salmon is the most difficult of the three to chalk up. The other two are relatively easy (or at least should be if you can manage to hit walked up grouse when you put them up). MInd that salmon is nearly black! It'd be awful eating. Awful! Best indeed it was returned. Is this now the same throughout Scotland and the Isles that the first fish, as well as is as here, coloured, has to go back?

I have a recollection that I was fishing the river and the keeper had said that the Blaser people were coming to make a video the following week so that would mean that it was probably right at the end of the season as I tend to only have a few casts for salmon in late september or early october. Lewis is a grilse fishery and so this river would have been busy with people catching fresh fish in July but by the time this video was made the fish had probably been in the river for nearly 3 months. Fish will start coming into this river on the last tide in June with the main run probably coming on the big tides in July depending exactly on weather and, of course, the mood of the fish. These days most salmon are returned, no matter their colour. There are some legal requirements to return fish on some rivers but it is also the case that most anglers are returning everything they catch no matter where or when and I don't know that there are any hard and fast rules. I would guess that if you get a fresh run fish and it was your first salmon then no one would object to your keeping it (assuming it was legal to do so) but outside of that there would be some gentle encouragement to return everything.

 

[willie_gunn]

Just by way of example, here’s a Blackwater fish:



Here’s an Urr fish:



The Blackwater fish had come in from the sea, rested in the loch until there was sufficient water to travel up the river, and then spent time in very peaty water. The Urr fish had probably come in on that morning’s tide, as you can see that it still carries a few sea lice.

Both tasted the same - I’d say sometimes the fish that have been in the river, particularly a spate river, can actually taste better, as they have put on muscle by fighting against the current.

To get around the aesthetic issue of darkened skin, the fish can be served up with the skin removed.

For the last few years I’ve returned any fish I’ve caught but, to be honest, from an ethical perspective I have a bigger issue with catch and release, as then we are putting fish through suffering purely for our enjoyment. I fully understand that others may feel differently.

The video is wonderful, by the way, and many thanks to @caorach for posting.

 

[75]

For a Macnab can you catch the salmon on a lure ?

Has to be on a fly for a true macnab

 

[caorach]

The chance of a Macnab will very much depend on the estate. Where we were the stag was easy, the salmon largely manageable, but the grouse would be the challenge.

Garynahine are very lucky in the sense that, although the estate covers a goodly area of ground, there isn't much traveling time required between the river and other areas where you might get a grouse or stag and the stag will usually not require a long walk in so even with an hour of light left you still have a chance. I think that really helps. The river is perhaps a little "unusual" compared to mainland rivers as it runs through deep peat and so many of the pools are quite canal like. As a result you don't need high water to get a fish, but a wave on the pools is extremely helpful, so you are much less dependent on the weather. The estate also has several salmon lochs further increasing the chances of getting the fish in less than ideal weather. I always think that getting the fish is the most difficult bit as, in the end, you decided to shoot the stag and grouse but the salmon gets to decide whether it wants to take your fly or not and nothing you can do can change its mind

The following little video was made as a promo and includes some video of Garynahine as well as another estate:



This was a little video I shot on Garynahine in difficult conditions (OK, the sun wasn't out so I had something in my favour but the river was low and calm) right at the end of the season. It gives some idea of the pools:

 

[willie_gunn]

Garynahine are very lucky in the sense that, although the estate covers a goodly area of ground, there isn't much traveling time required between the river and other areas where you might get a grouse or stag and the stag will usually not require a long walk in so even with an hour of light left you still have a chance. I think that really helps. The river is perhaps a little "unusual" compared to mainland rivers as it runs through deep peat and so many of the pools are quite canal like. As a result you don't need high water to get a fish, but a wave on the pools is extremely helpful, so you are much less dependent on the weather. The estate also has several salmon lochs further increasing the chances of getting the fish in less than ideal weather. I always think that getting the fish is the most difficult bit as, in the end, you decided to shoot the stag and grouse but the salmon gets to decide whether it wants to take your fly or not and nothing you can do can change its mind

The following little video was made as a promo and includes some video of Garynahine as well as another estate:



This was a little video I shot on Garynahine in difficult conditions (OK, the sun wasn't out so I had something in my favour but the river was low and calm) right at the end of the season. It gives some idea of the pools:

Oh my Lord! When you catch that fish at 18:38 it really took me back. The adrenaline rush of catching a fish in that kind of river really takes some beating. Nicely played Sir!

It looks a wonderful river, quite like the Blackwater but perhaps with some more deeper and slower pools. You are truly blessed to have access to a river like that.

I’ve never had much luck with either the muddler or with the riffling hitch, but that’s totally down to user error!

 

[willie_gunn]

That's interesting. My father used to fish in Wales in the 1960s, on the Teifi mainly and so there is a fish was "black" it was always never killed and taken. Thank you for sharing. For sure a black salmon in Wales wouldn't have been at all desirable back then.

What a lucky man he was!

Often people refer to “stale fish”, that have been in the river for some time and have lost condition. Perhaps that was the case with the Teifi? I wouldn’t think of it as being a peaty river, though I might well be wrong, as I’ve only fished it for sea trout. In that respect it was pretty magical - even if I failed on the sea trout but caught a bat!

 

[VSS]

Has to be on a fly for a true macnab

A true Macnab wouldn't include grouse, either. Just a salmon and two stags. Poached.

 

[enfieldspares]

A true Macnab wouldn't include grouse, either. Just a salmon and two stags. Poached.

John Macnab - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[enfieldspares]

What a lucky man he was!

Often people refer to “stale fish”, that have been in the river for some time and have lost condition. Perhaps that was the case with the Teifi? I wouldn’t think of it as being a peaty river, though I might well be wrong, as I’ve only fished it for sea trout. In that respect it was pretty magical - even if I failed on the sea trout but caught a bat!

Yes. I think you are right. I think that sums it up. Stale. Yes. He was in the Lllandysul Angling Association and the one the Tregaron Angling Association. As by then he was "of an age" he was allowed to also use worms as well as the usual other means. The rules there now are much changed I see from the internet. Then he would use either a gaff or a tailer as it was very much what you caught you killed. Both now banned. No catch and release just for the "fun" of it. It was catch and kill or leave the fish alone unmolested.

 

[willie_gunn]

Yes. I think you are right. I think that sums it up. Stale. Yes. He was in the Lllandysul Angling Association and the one the Tregaron Angling Association. As by then he was "of an age" he was allowed to also use worms as well as the usual other means.

Coincidentally, in my childhood we holidayed as a family near Tregaron, in a small village called Llandewi Brefi. I wasn’t into fishing back then, more fool me.

Fishing the worm can be highly effective on salmon, particularly in coloured water. I tried it on the Nith, using what’s called a Bouncing Betty. This is basically a ledgering rig, with a lead weight (of various sizes, according to the river’s speed) in a plastic tube that is designed to bump along the river bottom, with a hook full of worms that then floats up above it. Devastating, supposedly, but not in the hands of a complete klutz like yours truly!