LONG summer evenings and after-work fishing are back on, a bit of friendly competition to help you get through the day as side bets are placed and killer patterns discussed in the WhatsApp group.
Everyone’s got a different idea of what the essentials are but there is one undeniable challenge that a balmy Scottish night after some rain will always offer: midges.
As big a part of Scottish shorthand as tartan or haggis, more than 30 species thrive here – five of which feed on humans, including the Highland Midge which is the biggest offender and we’ve got no shortage of them.
We’ve even got a midge forecast and, a few years back, an Argyll hotel was planning to offer midge-coated burgers on the menu as a high-protein way of getting our own back on them.
There are tales of medieval torture involving people being staked out naked near bog land to endure swarms of midges – if you’ve ever cut across moorland to get to a loch and raised a cloud of scissor-jawed beasties, you wouldn’t like to be stuck there for any time.
Midges home in on carbon dioxide from your breath from up to 200metres away.
They’re attracted to dark clothing and love boggy ground, undergrowth, and gloomy, still conditions at the start and end of the day – pretty much making anglers looking for an evening rise the perfect snack for them.
Short of holding your breath, there are hundreds of safer suggestions to keep midges away.
Smoke from a fire, citronella candles or modern midge-harvesting machines can reduce the numbers in and around a particular spot.
Creams and lotions can form a barrier making you less attractive by giving off a scent or just making you taste worse.
When you are up and moving with repellent on, they’ll still eventually get on your skin so a midge net and some repellent-impregnated clothing is definitely worth having in your locker even if you’re one of the lucky people that midges just don’t find attractive.
My friend favours chemical warfare when it comes to them. When we were out this week, it was pretty rough tackling up at the car but the fish were rising so it had to be done.
I watched as he applied copious quantities of DEET sprays and less toxic creams before yomping into the cloud as a halo formed in the insects around him on the way down to the bank to get a cast.
Insect pests are an unfortunate fact of summer fishing but that won’t stop us grabbing our tackle boxes and heading to the nearest quiet spot this weekend, midge nets at the ready, armed with our favourite guaranteed recipe and determination.
