Chilly January Overnighter on Loch Etive | Hot Tent | Snowy Mountains | Spurdog and Pollack

My first trip for 2026 was a return to Loch Etive, heading out on my trusty Orkney Longliner for an overnight fish and camp. Although not far below freezing, it was bitterly cold on a grey January day and the fish were initially reluctant to feed. Moving to deeper water encouraged spurdog to hit my mackerel baits before I headed a few miles further north to find my campsite.

Here I was surrounded by snow covered peaks and barely had enough time to set up my tent before night fell. With the little tent stove lit, my Pomoly X4 quickly warmed up and I could shed some of my many layers of clothing. Luxury indeed!!

Next morning dawned grey and cold again, but Etive was perfectly still and its usual photogenic self. Frigid enough for my drone batteries to protest, so I had to limit my flying largely to land based shots in case my wee Mini 2 decided to crash land. DJI still outperformed the GoPro, whose batteries were constantly complaining and shutting down at awkward moments...

Finally wrenching myself away from the warmth of the tent, and the temptations of hot coffee and bacon rolls, I ventured forth in the Orkney again. Pollack were the main target and proved elusive for a while, until I switched to a small metal lure and picked up four altogether, with a few more spurdogs for good measure.

Pestered by voracious swans(!) and with the light fading, I called it a day as the sun set and set course back to Taynuilt. All in all, not a bad start to 2026👍👍
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'Growing Up' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au