From Despair to Delight: Lost & Found at Loch Ken

Despair to Delight: Lost & Found on Loch Ken

Fishing is not just about catching fish, it's the stories we gather and the lessons we learn along the way when we're out making memories. Our colleague Jame was out on the serene productive waters of Loch Ken when he made some that ran from the despair of a loss to the joy of an unexpected reunion.

The Full Story!

It was a typical day at Loch Ken. The morning had been quite eventful with perch biting left and right. After such a hectic session I decided to take a short break and pour myself a well-earned coffee.

I placed my fishing rod on the gunnels of the boat, I'd just sat back and relaxed when a slight movement caught my eye. Before I could react, my precious rod and reel were overboard, sinking into the depths of the loch.

Losing any tackle is frustrating but this was pretty much my favourite lightweight combo, a Daiwa Gekkabijin Rod paired with a Shimano Stella freshly filled with braid.
Sensitive enough to pick up bites, soft enough to set hooks without knocking fish off, strong enough to land Pike if need be and it was gone!

The feeling of watching your prized possession disappear into the water is indescribable. We tried our best, spending over an hour dredging the bottom, hoping against hope to retrieve it. But the loch had other plans. Though we marked the exact spot on our GPS, our subsequent visits yielded no results. I was forced to accept that my rod and reel had been claimed by the Loch.

Fast forward three months, and the story takes an unexpected turn. My dad and I were fishing about 500 meters from the spot of the unfortunate incident. As he began reeling in what he assumed was a mere tree branch, I playfully remarked that it might be my lost rod.

To our astonishment, a familiar pink braid soon emerged from the water, entangled in my father's rig. My heart raced as I recognised it as my own. Moments later, the tip of my rod surfaced, followed by my cherished Shimano Stella reel. They were covered in mud but otherwise intact.

The joy of that moment was unparalleled. After a thorough cleaning, the rod was as good as new. The reel, after a wash and a service by Shimano, performed flawlessly!

It seems that you do get what you pay for though, my reel is back out on the boat catching Perch without missing a beat despite spending three months underwater, that kind of resilience is a testament to its quality.

Fishing can be fickle, nature gives and it takes away... occasionally it might give it back though. Remember that it's not just about the catch, but the tales you have to tell.