A few days ago Gavin P emailed me with a tale of doggy doings on South Uist.  This had been prompted by an article penned by Mike Harding and published in Salmon and Trout.  Gavin is convinced that the mut that Mike refers to is one and the same as he encountered along with its pet Keeper on Uist.  You can read Gavin's observations for yourself on Angli Vespers on Gavin's page under Member's Diaries.

The Tarn looked stunning this morning under an almost cloudless blue sky.  Even the coots had stopped bickering for a while to admire their surroundings and the swans seemed happy to complement the picture by sailing majestically with wings half unfurled.  I thought that the fishery had been busy last week, but had not reckoned with 19 visits producing over 70 fish (32 returned).  That's much more like it.  The damsel flies are now so thick on the water margins that they become a blue haze at times as they flit in and out of the rushes.  They like the midges seem to have thrived over the bitter winter we had here.  I had hoped that the wee beasties would have suffered with the prolonged cold, but they seem to even more numerous and voracious this season.  I'm allergic to the midge bite so tend to spend the summer in a fug of jungle formula which makes everything taste bitter.  I keep meaning to try Avon moisturiser which is favoured by the SAS, but it's hard to come by in this manor.

Ian