| Bothwell and Blantyre Angling Club |
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Linlithgow Drama on the Final Day of the Season
Paul - his 9th Club Championship!
Paul W was confirmed as the Bothwell and Blantyre Club Champion for the 9th time at Linlithgow Loch on Saturday. At the start of the day only 2 men could possibly win - Paul and Keith J, and amazingly Paul and Keith were paired to fish together in the random draw for boat partners. A brave move saw them head for the east end of the Loch where fish were being caught early on, but, unfortunately they arrived just too late to join in that bonanza. A difficult morning saw Keith take just one fish and it wasn't to get much better for these goliaths of the B&B. They managed just 2 more fish, both to Paul, with the result that neither added to their starting points total. Keith conceded the championship to Paul as the pair left the water and even a brilliant performance by John G in taking 8 fish during the day couldn't prevent Paul from claiming his 9th Club Championship. Many congratulations, Paul - a very well deserved win. Well done too, to Keith, John G, Laurie and Ian G, who complete the top 5 for the season.
Meanwhile, many of the other club members were steadily accumulating fish during the day. David P took 4 in jig time, Jimmy K took his chances to end up with 4, Ian G hit a purple patch early in the afternoon and Billy G joined the 4 fish club, too. Willie E found that the fish were happy to take a burgundy blob and Tom C was another who ended the day on 4 fish. However, the stars of the show were the glimmer twins, John G and Laurie, who ended up with 16 to the boat and in the process secured 1st and 2nd places on the day - good angling, gents. I was particularly happy to see John weighing in a fish of over 5lb, caught on a size 16 Peter Ross - watch out you yellow dancer adherents, that's the way to do it! Well done, John - I bet you wouldn't be seen dead with a YD on the end of your line. Willie E also weight in a fish of over 5lb - well done.
In the end 18 club members weighed in 47 fish for 124 lb 5 oz - a rod average of just over 2.5 and an average weight of around 2 lb 12 oz per fish. Linlithgow certainly fished well - I hope the club returns there in 2014. The full results are:
1st John G - 6 fish - 16lb 04oz - 10 pts
2nd Laurie T - 6 fish - 15lb 10oz - 09 pts
3rd = Willie - 4 fish - 12lb 00oz - 07.5 pts
3rd= Tom C - 4 fish - 12lb 00oz - 07.5 pts
5th Ian G - 4 fish - 11lb 04oz - 06 pts
6th Jimmy K - 4 fish - 10lb 08oz - 05 pts
7th David P - 4 fish - 10lb 02oz - 04pts
8th Billy G - 4 fish - 10lb 00oz - 03 pts
9th El Pres - 2 fish - 5lb 07oz - 02 pts
10th Alex G - 2 fish - 5lb 00oz - 01 pts
Congratulations to all, a most enjoyable day on the water and a decent meal, too - curry on the menu!
Meanwhile, many of the other club members were steadily accumulating fish during the day. David P took 4 in jig time, Jimmy K took his chances to end up with 4, Ian G hit a purple patch early in the afternoon and Billy G joined the 4 fish club, too. Willie E found that the fish were happy to take a burgundy blob and Tom C was another who ended the day on 4 fish. However, the stars of the show were the glimmer twins, John G and Laurie, who ended up with 16 to the boat and in the process secured 1st and 2nd places on the day - good angling, gents. I was particularly happy to see John weighing in a fish of over 5lb, caught on a size 16 Peter Ross - watch out you yellow dancer adherents, that's the way to do it! Well done, John - I bet you wouldn't be seen dead with a YD on the end of your line. Willie E also weight in a fish of over 5lb - well done.
In the end 18 club members weighed in 47 fish for 124 lb 5 oz - a rod average of just over 2.5 and an average weight of around 2 lb 12 oz per fish. Linlithgow certainly fished well - I hope the club returns there in 2014. The full results are:
1st John G - 6 fish - 16lb 04oz - 10 pts
2nd Laurie T - 6 fish - 15lb 10oz - 09 pts
3rd = Willie - 4 fish - 12lb 00oz - 07.5 pts
3rd= Tom C - 4 fish - 12lb 00oz - 07.5 pts
5th Ian G - 4 fish - 11lb 04oz - 06 pts
6th Jimmy K - 4 fish - 10lb 08oz - 05 pts
7th David P - 4 fish - 10lb 02oz - 04pts
8th Billy G - 4 fish - 10lb 00oz - 03 pts
9th El Pres - 2 fish - 5lb 07oz - 02 pts
10th Alex G - 2 fish - 5lb 00oz - 01 pts
Congratulations to all, a most enjoyable day on the water and a decent meal, too - curry on the menu!
Last Chance Saloon
NB - If you have a motor and more particularly a battery please bring them to Linlithgow Loch on Saturday.
The last chance saloon will open at Linlithgow on Saturday, giving B&B anglers the opportunity to complete their season in style. The Club Championship will be decided as Paul and Keith go head to head with Keith needing to beat Paul by 2 clear points and finish in the top 4 to win the Club Championship. The scoring system introduced this year has brought a new dimension to the championship, but the battle at the top would have been the same under the old scoring system. Anglers such as John J and Tom B, who have a very good attendance and scoring record have benefited from the new system, but the 4 anglers already mentioned go into the final round knowing that they could drop off a low score with a good performance on Saturday.
For interest only, this is what the championship would have look like under the old scoring system:
Paul 14.5 pts
Keith 14 pts
Laurie 14 pts
Ian G 12 pts
David O 11 pts
John G 7.5 pts
Barrie 6.5 pts
Tom B 5 pts
Sam F 4 pts
Willie E 4 pts
Tom C 3 pts
Jimmy K 2 pts
Eric L 1 pt
Billy G 1 pt
So, what do you think? Has it been a success? Should the new system be retained? Do you give a toss? The Club Council of Management will meet on 15 Oct, so if you want to have your say make sure you speak to a member of the council and air your views. You can be sure that every Council member wants to get this right.
Linlithgow is providing challenging fishing at the moment - which is exactly as it should be for a title decider. Here is the latest report from the Loch. Make of it what you will, but I'll have a floater and nymphs on, with perhaps a FAB or a booby on the point to hold it all up. May the best angler win!
The last chance saloon will open at Linlithgow on Saturday, giving B&B anglers the opportunity to complete their season in style. The Club Championship will be decided as Paul and Keith go head to head with Keith needing to beat Paul by 2 clear points and finish in the top 4 to win the Club Championship. The scoring system introduced this year has brought a new dimension to the championship, but the battle at the top would have been the same under the old scoring system. Anglers such as John J and Tom B, who have a very good attendance and scoring record have benefited from the new system, but the 4 anglers already mentioned go into the final round knowing that they could drop off a low score with a good performance on Saturday.
For interest only, this is what the championship would have look like under the old scoring system:
Paul 14.5 pts
Keith 14 pts
Laurie 14 pts
Ian G 12 pts
David O 11 pts
John G 7.5 pts
Barrie 6.5 pts
Tom B 5 pts
Sam F 4 pts
Willie E 4 pts
Tom C 3 pts
Jimmy K 2 pts
Eric L 1 pt
Billy G 1 pt
So, what do you think? Has it been a success? Should the new system be retained? Do you give a toss? The Club Council of Management will meet on 15 Oct, so if you want to have your say make sure you speak to a member of the council and air your views. You can be sure that every Council member wants to get this right.
Linlithgow is providing challenging fishing at the moment - which is exactly as it should be for a title decider. Here is the latest report from the Loch. Make of it what you will, but I'll have a floater and nymphs on, with perhaps a FAB or a booby on the point to hold it all up. May the best angler win!
Loch Leven - 31 August 2013
Thanks to Paul for this excellent report:
With only two competitions remaining in the 2013 calendar, how quickly the season has gone, some anglers could be looking to upgrade their points total and drop their lowest score from a previous competition. The news was that with Linlithgow being closed the club championship could potentially be decided today. (Webmaster's note - Linlithgow now re-opened.)
We arrived at a sunny Loch Leven for an unusually later 10 o’clock start with plenty of time for a coffee in the lodge. In the lodge were Willie and Michael Wilson and resident Leven expert Alan Smith. A chat over coffee suggested depth was critical for success and line density vs speed of retrieve was very important depending on weather conditions. All suggested lines from DI-3 upwards and that we should get fish all along the southern shore if we got cloud cover. Therefore our seven boats headed out in an ever strengthening westerly wind and spread out from the Cavelstone Strip, Paddies Point, Carden Bay and the point and south side of St Serfs. There was very occasional cloud cover in the morning with more around 1 to 2 o’clock and then further cloud around four. The windy conditions made it increasingly lumpy and if you were in one of the boats down at St Serfs later in the afternoon it was an interesting and rather wet return to the harbour for the weigh-in at five. How was the fishing? Well better than expected. Paul fishing with Eric picked up an early fish in Carden bay and returned lots of small fish which seemed to be present in good numbers on all drifts. Paul was fishing four flies on a DI-3 sweep while Eric fished a fast glass intermediate. In the cloud cover after lunch Eric had a decent keeper at the end of the Cavelstone Strip to a yellow owl, quickly followed by Paul hooking into something much more substantial. After a good 5 minute fight Eric netted a beautiful fin perfect 3lb 10oz wild brown trout. The successful fly was a red tailed pearly wickhams. Paul reported this caught his other fish and most of the smaller returned fish. Elsewhere Ian fishing with guest Robin Brown reported lots of small fish with the occasional better one on a drift from Paddies Point down to Carden Bay. Ian fished a Cortland blue finishing with 3 fish with his best fly being a dunkeld muddler, while Robin raised lots of fish to black lure with a number 11 head. There were also keepers and reports of lots of small fish, bodes well for the future, for Keith, Tom, John and Barrie.
At the weigh the results were as follows: 14 rods 10 fish 12lb 3oz.
1st Paul W - 2 fish - 4lb 10oz - 10 points.
2nd Ian G - 3 fish - 2lb 12.5oz - 9 points.
3rd Barrie D - 1 fish - 1lb 6.75oz -8 points.
4th Eric L - 1 fish - 1lb 6.5oz - 7 points.
5th John G - 1 fish 11oz - 6 points.
6th Keith J - 1 fish 10.25oz - 5 points.
7th Tom B - 1 fish 9.5oz - 4 points.
With Paul picking up his second win in row and Keith failing to improve on his best 8 points scores the club championship is down to the last competition of the season at Linlithgow. Latest news is Linlithgow will re-open on the 6th September.
With only two competitions remaining in the 2013 calendar, how quickly the season has gone, some anglers could be looking to upgrade their points total and drop their lowest score from a previous competition. The news was that with Linlithgow being closed the club championship could potentially be decided today. (Webmaster's note - Linlithgow now re-opened.)
We arrived at a sunny Loch Leven for an unusually later 10 o’clock start with plenty of time for a coffee in the lodge. In the lodge were Willie and Michael Wilson and resident Leven expert Alan Smith. A chat over coffee suggested depth was critical for success and line density vs speed of retrieve was very important depending on weather conditions. All suggested lines from DI-3 upwards and that we should get fish all along the southern shore if we got cloud cover. Therefore our seven boats headed out in an ever strengthening westerly wind and spread out from the Cavelstone Strip, Paddies Point, Carden Bay and the point and south side of St Serfs. There was very occasional cloud cover in the morning with more around 1 to 2 o’clock and then further cloud around four. The windy conditions made it increasingly lumpy and if you were in one of the boats down at St Serfs later in the afternoon it was an interesting and rather wet return to the harbour for the weigh-in at five. How was the fishing? Well better than expected. Paul fishing with Eric picked up an early fish in Carden bay and returned lots of small fish which seemed to be present in good numbers on all drifts. Paul was fishing four flies on a DI-3 sweep while Eric fished a fast glass intermediate. In the cloud cover after lunch Eric had a decent keeper at the end of the Cavelstone Strip to a yellow owl, quickly followed by Paul hooking into something much more substantial. After a good 5 minute fight Eric netted a beautiful fin perfect 3lb 10oz wild brown trout. The successful fly was a red tailed pearly wickhams. Paul reported this caught his other fish and most of the smaller returned fish. Elsewhere Ian fishing with guest Robin Brown reported lots of small fish with the occasional better one on a drift from Paddies Point down to Carden Bay. Ian fished a Cortland blue finishing with 3 fish with his best fly being a dunkeld muddler, while Robin raised lots of fish to black lure with a number 11 head. There were also keepers and reports of lots of small fish, bodes well for the future, for Keith, Tom, John and Barrie.
At the weigh the results were as follows: 14 rods 10 fish 12lb 3oz.
1st Paul W - 2 fish - 4lb 10oz - 10 points.
2nd Ian G - 3 fish - 2lb 12.5oz - 9 points.
3rd Barrie D - 1 fish - 1lb 6.75oz -8 points.
4th Eric L - 1 fish - 1lb 6.5oz - 7 points.
5th John G - 1 fish 11oz - 6 points.
6th Keith J - 1 fish 10.25oz - 5 points.
7th Tom B - 1 fish 9.5oz - 4 points.
With Paul picking up his second win in row and Keith failing to improve on his best 8 points scores the club championship is down to the last competition of the season at Linlithgow. Latest news is Linlithgow will re-open on the 6th September.
Lake of Menteith - 15 August 2013
We had a bit of everything at the Lake. The weather was mixed, the fishing was great for some and not so great for others and the fish were catchable on a variety of methods. Most of the fish seemed to be at the west end of the Lake, from Plantation round into Gateside Bay. It was a bit combative in Gateside Bay, but the best totals seemed to come from the Roman Bay area. Laurie certainly did well here on dries, while guest Jim L and David O took them on junk food mixed in with the odd nymph or cormorant. Paul found them in the rookery and Gateside bay. The results were:
1st Paul W - 5 fish - 14lb 00oz - 10 pts
2nd David O - 5 fish - 12lb 04oz - 09 pts
3rd Laurie T - 5 fish - 11lb 10oz - 08 pts
4th John G - 5 fish - 10lb 12oz - 07 pts
5th Alastair S - 3 fish - 7lb 12oz - 06 pts
6th Keith J - 3 fish - 7lb 08oz - 05 pts
7th= Ian G - 2 fish - 5lb 04oz - 3.5pts
7th= Gilbert O - 1 fish - 5lb 04oz - 3.5 pts
9th Sam F - 2 fish - 5lb 02oz - 02 pts
10th Barrie D - 2 fish - 4lb 04oz - 01 pts
Please note that this differs slightly to the points announced at the meal - apologies - clerical error.
46 fish were weighed in by 18 anglers for a total of 114lb 12 oz, giving an average weight of just under 2lb 8 oz, and a rod average of just over 2.6 fish per angler. Over 1 dozen fish were returned.
1st Paul W - 5 fish - 14lb 00oz - 10 pts
2nd David O - 5 fish - 12lb 04oz - 09 pts
3rd Laurie T - 5 fish - 11lb 10oz - 08 pts
4th John G - 5 fish - 10lb 12oz - 07 pts
5th Alastair S - 3 fish - 7lb 12oz - 06 pts
6th Keith J - 3 fish - 7lb 08oz - 05 pts
7th= Ian G - 2 fish - 5lb 04oz - 3.5pts
7th= Gilbert O - 1 fish - 5lb 04oz - 3.5 pts
9th Sam F - 2 fish - 5lb 02oz - 02 pts
10th Barrie D - 2 fish - 4lb 04oz - 01 pts
Please note that this differs slightly to the points announced at the meal - apologies - clerical error.
46 fish were weighed in by 18 anglers for a total of 114lb 12 oz, giving an average weight of just under 2lb 8 oz, and a rod average of just over 2.6 fish per angler. Over 1 dozen fish were returned.
Carron Valley Reservoir - 20 July 2013
It was a lovely sunny day in the Carron Valley but the 14 intrepid B&B members and guests feared for their skin as liberal quantities of sunscreen were applied to barely visible body parts in advance of the off. A variety of lines were in evidence in the car park, with some opting for the fast sinks early on with others hoping that the early mist might not burn off too quickly. In the end, the fish were remarkable co-operative in the circumstances and we landed a goodly number of rainbows, browns and a sprinkling of accidentally caught (and released) powan. Most of the action seemed to be towards the dam and there was the usual pod of fish near the boat dock - they were not so easy to catch, and had seen a lot of flies, well, yellow dancers, by the end of the day. Willie and Laurie caught well in the shallows up from the boat dock, with John G, Tom B, Barrie and David O concentrating more on the far shore, while trying to avoid the various dogs, children and even some adults who were intent on ignoring all the extant warnings about the dangers of open water swimming. John and Tom were fishing in close proximity, practicing for the forthcoming Turkish holiday when close proximity will be the order of the day.
El Pres was the unlucky club member who caught fish but didn't get a point, with guests Bill and Bobby pleasingly catching a few fish. Jimmy K was with us, too! In the end, the club caught 34 rainbows for 58 lb and 7 oz, giving a rod average of a smidge under 2.5. We returned a few rainbows (mainly Laurie!) along with some nice brownies and powan. A good day.
Sam F - 4 fish - 7lb 11oz - 10 pts
Laurie - 4 fish - 6lb 08oz - 09 pts
David - 4 fish - 5lb 09oz - 08 pts
Barrie D - 3 fish - 5lb 02oz - 06.5 pts
John G - 3 fish - 5lb 02oz - 06.5 pts
Keith J - 2 fish - 4lb 14oz - 05 pts
Tom B - 2 fish - 4lb 03oz - 04 pts
Tom C - 2 fish - 3lb 09oz - 03 pts
David P - 2 fish - 3lb 03oz - 02 pts
Willie E - 2 fish - 2lb 09oz - 01 pts
El Pres was the unlucky club member who caught fish but didn't get a point, with guests Bill and Bobby pleasingly catching a few fish. Jimmy K was with us, too! In the end, the club caught 34 rainbows for 58 lb and 7 oz, giving a rod average of a smidge under 2.5. We returned a few rainbows (mainly Laurie!) along with some nice brownies and powan. A good day.
Sam F - 4 fish - 7lb 11oz - 10 pts
Laurie - 4 fish - 6lb 08oz - 09 pts
David - 4 fish - 5lb 09oz - 08 pts
Barrie D - 3 fish - 5lb 02oz - 06.5 pts
John G - 3 fish - 5lb 02oz - 06.5 pts
Keith J - 2 fish - 4lb 14oz - 05 pts
Tom B - 2 fish - 4lb 03oz - 04 pts
Tom C - 2 fish - 3lb 09oz - 03 pts
David P - 2 fish - 3lb 03oz - 02 pts
Willie E - 2 fish - 2lb 09oz - 01 pts
Linlithgow Loch - 4 July 2013
We set off from the west to the new venue for the 2013 season of Linlithgow loch in heavy rain. The B&B has fished Linlithgow before, but as far as anyone could remember, it was at least 15 years ago. It poured down all the way there and we arrived in the car and wondered whether we should get out of the car and risk getting the waterproofs on, or make a dash with the gear, to the new to us, lodge to get changed. We needn’t have worried because well before start time the rain had stopped and it was already starting to brighten up.
The reports were that the fishing was hard and that the only place to pick up fish was to fish the deep water by casting and counting down fast sinking lines and lures into the deep hole in front of the palace.
With this news 8 B&B boats ventured out and spread between west point, gasworks bay, off rickle island and anchored in front of the palace. Paul and Sam along with Laurie and Tom anchored just of the deep hole as recommended with lines varying from sink tip to DI-7 and various lures and nymph combinations but no rods were bending early on. Ian and Keith meanwhile were exploring drifts, or should I say anchor points, in front of the trees at the palace down to the high bank. After a couple of moves they found fish tight in at the trees in front of the palace. Ian was fishing a midge tip booby/nymph setup while Keith had the DI-3 white cat booby combination which he has been very successful with this season. They soon had three fish each in the boat. Elsewhere most boats were struggling apart from another who had early success. Tom Connor was anchored off rickle island and also picked up 4 fish in the morning on a white rabbit pattern.
As the day progressed the sun came out and the wind increased to a strong breeze, to a full blow from which boats started to seek shelter at the top of the wind. This slowed the catches of the few boats that actually had early success. There were a few caught in the sun in the afternoon, and tales of fish hooked a lost, but Ian in particular must be congratulated on a late return to his morning drift to pick up 1 last fish which proved decisive at the weigh-in.
The results were as follows: 16 rods 15 fish 50lb 12oz.
1st Ian G 4 fish 13lb 4oz 10 points.
2nd Tom C 4 fish 13lb 0oz 9 points.
3rd Keith J 3 fish 11lb 12oz 8 points.
4th John G 1 fish 3lb 12oz 7 points.
5th Tom B and Sam F 1 fish 3lb 8oz 5.5 points each.
7th David P 1 fish 2lb 0oz - 4 pts.
Thanks to Paul for this excellent report.
The reports were that the fishing was hard and that the only place to pick up fish was to fish the deep water by casting and counting down fast sinking lines and lures into the deep hole in front of the palace.
With this news 8 B&B boats ventured out and spread between west point, gasworks bay, off rickle island and anchored in front of the palace. Paul and Sam along with Laurie and Tom anchored just of the deep hole as recommended with lines varying from sink tip to DI-7 and various lures and nymph combinations but no rods were bending early on. Ian and Keith meanwhile were exploring drifts, or should I say anchor points, in front of the trees at the palace down to the high bank. After a couple of moves they found fish tight in at the trees in front of the palace. Ian was fishing a midge tip booby/nymph setup while Keith had the DI-3 white cat booby combination which he has been very successful with this season. They soon had three fish each in the boat. Elsewhere most boats were struggling apart from another who had early success. Tom Connor was anchored off rickle island and also picked up 4 fish in the morning on a white rabbit pattern.
As the day progressed the sun came out and the wind increased to a strong breeze, to a full blow from which boats started to seek shelter at the top of the wind. This slowed the catches of the few boats that actually had early success. There were a few caught in the sun in the afternoon, and tales of fish hooked a lost, but Ian in particular must be congratulated on a late return to his morning drift to pick up 1 last fish which proved decisive at the weigh-in.
The results were as follows: 16 rods 15 fish 50lb 12oz.
1st Ian G 4 fish 13lb 4oz 10 points.
2nd Tom C 4 fish 13lb 0oz 9 points.
3rd Keith J 3 fish 11lb 12oz 8 points.
4th John G 1 fish 3lb 12oz 7 points.
5th Tom B and Sam F 1 fish 3lb 8oz 5.5 points each.
7th David P 1 fish 2lb 0oz - 4 pts.
Thanks to Paul for this excellent report.
Lake of Menteith - 20 June 2013
It looked like it was going to a fine fishy day on the Lake of Menteith as 18 B&B members and guests headed off to many different parts of the Lake in search of a hard fighting trout, or two. Ian G found fish early on in open water out from Dog Island and while Paul landed a fish almost first cast in the plantation area, it proved to be an early (if welcome) flash in the pan. There were plenty of fish moving in west end of the Lake, but they were very difficult to catch, apart from for Ian G, who went on to complete an early limit. Keith accumulated fish from the off in the Butts and Lochend area, fishing a bit below the surface while most club members were using floaters or midge tip lines. There were also fish moving in Gateside Bay and your scribe's bp, Harry, caught a decent rainbow (left/above) not long before lunch. A fortifying dram in good company in the lodge suggested that many were finding the conditions challenging, but it was still a lovely day to be afloat in a boat. Laurie had a very productive afternoon, competing his limit and bringing the limit bag count to 3, but everyone else struggled. A few good anglers blanked and curiously enough a few members noted that they hadn't seen many fish during the day. This contradicts my view, but does suggest that moving fish were very localised. It also means that I failed to catch feeding fish, which is a far more heinous crime than failing to catch in an environment lacking fish! In the end we weighed in 30 fish for 77lb 10 oz, with members scores being as follows:
Ian G - 5 fish - 12lb 08oz - 10 pts
Laurie - 5 fish - 12lb 01oz - 09 pts
Keith - 5 fish - 11lb 10oz - 08 pts
Paul W - 2 fish - 06lb 02oz - 07 pts
David O - 2 fish - 06lb 02oz - 06 pts
Barrie D - 2 fish - 06lb 00oz - 05 pts
Tom C - 2 fish - 04lb 04oz - 04 pts
John G - 1 fish - 03lb 00oz - 03 pts
Jimmy K - 1 fish - 02lb 14oz - 02 pts
Eric L - 1 fish - 02lb 10oz - 01 pts
Ian G - 5 fish - 12lb 08oz - 10 pts
Laurie - 5 fish - 12lb 01oz - 09 pts
Keith - 5 fish - 11lb 10oz - 08 pts
Paul W - 2 fish - 06lb 02oz - 07 pts
David O - 2 fish - 06lb 02oz - 06 pts
Barrie D - 2 fish - 06lb 00oz - 05 pts
Tom C - 2 fish - 04lb 04oz - 04 pts
John G - 1 fish - 03lb 00oz - 03 pts
Jimmy K - 1 fish - 02lb 14oz - 02 pts
Eric L - 1 fish - 02lb 10oz - 01 pts
Carron Valley Reservoir - 8 June 2013
13lb 1oz. Ya Dancer, well, ya pink blob.
What started out as a pretty mundane Carron Day turned out to be a red letter day for Willie E. Willie, despite his best efforts to keep the capture a secret, landed a large rainbow trout (on a fully dressed pink nymph) during the course of the morning. The fish was weighed in at 13lb 1 oz, and is the biggest trout ever recorded by a club member in a club competition. Many congratulations, Willie - now you've cracked Carron could you turn you attention to the Lake of Menteith, please? Elsewhere, fish were pretty difficult to come by. Tom B and John G had a fish each early on, John managing to add a further fish later in the day while Tom slept, which made a change from moaning, I suppose. Bill M caught half a rainbow (well, a very small on!) in the morning, and followed that up with a better fish later on in the day, but despite seeing fish neither he nor your reporter could attract further fish to the boat (apart from the obligatory browns and a decent powan for DO). Laurie worked his magic away from the madding crowd, taking a couple of fish while bp Barrie managed one. Paul had a good rainbow of 2lb and 12 oz, while Robert C and Gilbert completed the scoring. It was a disappointing day fish-wise, but on the other hand at least it wasn't cold and windy!
Club members weighed in 12 rainbows, shared among 16 anglers totaling 35lb 7 oz for a somewhat distorted average weight of a tad under 3lb per fish! You don't want to know the rod average.
Willie E - 2 fish - 14lb 07oz - 10 pts
Laurie T - 2 fish - 04lb 11oz - 09 pts
John G - 2 fish - 04lb 04oz - 08 pts
Tom B - 1 fish - 02lb 12oz - 06.5 pts
Paul W - 1 fish - 02lb 12oz - 06.5 pts
Robert C - 1 fish - 01lb 14oz - 05 pts
Barrie D - 1 fish - 01lb 11oz - 04 pts
Gilbert O - 1 fish - 01lb 03oz - 03 pts
Club members weighed in 12 rainbows, shared among 16 anglers totaling 35lb 7 oz for a somewhat distorted average weight of a tad under 3lb per fish! You don't want to know the rod average.
Willie E - 2 fish - 14lb 07oz - 10 pts
Laurie T - 2 fish - 04lb 11oz - 09 pts
John G - 2 fish - 04lb 04oz - 08 pts
Tom B - 1 fish - 02lb 12oz - 06.5 pts
Paul W - 1 fish - 02lb 12oz - 06.5 pts
Robert C - 1 fish - 01lb 14oz - 05 pts
Barrie D - 1 fish - 01lb 11oz - 04 pts
Gilbert O - 1 fish - 01lb 03oz - 03 pts
Frandy - 25 May 2013
It was a difficult day in the sun (yes, the sun) with an awkward blustery wind at Frandy. Sad to report that Ken has had to stop selling flies from the 'lodge' because so many have been stolen. You'll have to bring your own yellow dancers now, as there are none for sale. Paul W did just that and ended up with the day's only limit bag of 6 fish - well done, Paul. Unusually, the majority of B&B boats turned left from the jetty at the start of the day and there were a few reports of some fish being caught early on. However, it wasn't long before the boats were moving around trying to locate fish. Ken had said that the fish were well spread, and that proved to be the case with the Club's 44 fish coming from all sorts of different locations. Laurie had his first fish on a Connemara Black and we hoped it might be a day for the traditionals. However, Keith was accumulating with a wee cat booby on a Di3 and David O caught a couple on a wee sparkler, fished slowly on a Di3 sweep. There was lots of line-changing going on in a certain boat, but still the fish would not come to the hook. Barrie and Gilbert were struggling, too, despite using very different methods throughout the day. Alex G and John M didn't find many fish either, despite some dodgy driving leading to Tighnabruaich (ask Alex). Billy S did well on his first outing of the season and picked up 5 points for his 3 fish. In the end, the Club recorded 44 fish between the 19 anglers who were strutting their stuff. This gives a rod average of 2.3157, and the average fish weighed 2.1363(r)lb leading to a total of 94lb of fish. As you can guess, I've just found the calculator application on this computer.
The full result was:
Paul W - 6 fish - 12lb 03oz - 10 pts
Keith J - 5 fish - 10lb 10oz - 09 pts
David O - 4 fish - 08lb 05oz - 08 pts
Billy G - 4 fish - 08lb 02oz - 07 pts
John G - 4 fish - 07lb 03oz - 06 pts
Billy S - 3 fish - 07lb 00oz - 05 pts
Ian G - 3 fish - 06lb 15oz - 04 pts
Tom B - 3 fish - 06lb 08oz - 03 pts
Laurie T - 3 fish - 06lb 04oz - 02 pts
El Pres - 2 fish - 05lb 07oz - 01 pts
The caravan rolls on to Carron on 8 June - see you there.
The full result was:
Paul W - 6 fish - 12lb 03oz - 10 pts
Keith J - 5 fish - 10lb 10oz - 09 pts
David O - 4 fish - 08lb 05oz - 08 pts
Billy G - 4 fish - 08lb 02oz - 07 pts
John G - 4 fish - 07lb 03oz - 06 pts
Billy S - 3 fish - 07lb 00oz - 05 pts
Ian G - 3 fish - 06lb 15oz - 04 pts
Tom B - 3 fish - 06lb 08oz - 03 pts
Laurie T - 3 fish - 06lb 04oz - 02 pts
El Pres - 2 fish - 05lb 07oz - 01 pts
The caravan rolls on to Carron on 8 June - see you there.
Lake of Menteith - 9 May 2013
Tom C concentrating hard!
I'm back on track with these reports! The Lake looked an early spring picture as we headed out for what is usually a productive day in the B&B calendar. Laurie and Tom B were into fish early in Gateside Bay (I hear tales of a double hook-up?) and David O and Tom C found that the fish moving in front of the boats before we went out were catchable in Hotel Bay. It didn't take long for the wind to pick up as forecast, and there was shelter to be had in the right places, which often coincided with fish locations. During the course of the day fish were reported in Lochend, the butts, gravel pit, road shore, shear point, Hotel Bay, Sam's point, Gateside Bay and Malin shore reeds. Flies were many and various from an obscenely large viva thing, to the more restrained Candy-floss booby! In between were various nymphs and the 'secret fly' - ask Keith J. (Ant, or is it Dec?) Jimmy K (Dec, or is it Ant?) looked after Eric, helping him to a couple of fish late on, and perseverance proved to be the key for Tom C, who recorded his first limit on the lake with a last cast fish in Hotel Bay at 5.24pm. Well done, Tom and you provide the season's first 'champagne moment'. The other notable catch of the day was by by your scribe, who took a large pike (estimated at 12lb+) on a size 10 mirage cormorant. (Photo below.) Thanks to Tom C for his help in netting the beast, and for taking the photo.
The top scores, as confirmed by Paul, are listed here:
David O - 5 fish - 13lb 13oz - 10 pts
Laurie - 5 fish - 13lb 02oz - 09 pts
Keith J - 5 fish - 12lb 14oz - 08 pts
Ian G - 5 fish - 11lb 13oz - 07 pts
Paul W - 5 fish - 11lb 00oz - 06 pts
Tom B - 5 fish - 10lb 10oz - 05 pts
Tom C - 5 fish - 10lb 00oz - 04 pts
John G - 4 fish - 08lb 00oz - 03 pts
Robt C - 3 fish - 06lb 02oz - 02 pts
Eric L - 2 fish - 04lb 09oz - 01 pts
18 Club members and guests caught 62 fish for a rod average of 3.5. David O had a rainbow of 5 lb 2 oz. Total weight of fish was 14o lb, giving an average weight of around 2lb 4 oz. A goodly number of fish were caught and released and no angler blanked - well done all.
The top scores, as confirmed by Paul, are listed here:
David O - 5 fish - 13lb 13oz - 10 pts
Laurie - 5 fish - 13lb 02oz - 09 pts
Keith J - 5 fish - 12lb 14oz - 08 pts
Ian G - 5 fish - 11lb 13oz - 07 pts
Paul W - 5 fish - 11lb 00oz - 06 pts
Tom B - 5 fish - 10lb 10oz - 05 pts
Tom C - 5 fish - 10lb 00oz - 04 pts
John G - 4 fish - 08lb 00oz - 03 pts
Robt C - 3 fish - 06lb 02oz - 02 pts
Eric L - 2 fish - 04lb 09oz - 01 pts
18 Club members and guests caught 62 fish for a rod average of 3.5. David O had a rainbow of 5 lb 2 oz. Total weight of fish was 14o lb, giving an average weight of around 2lb 4 oz. A goodly number of fish were caught and released and no angler blanked - well done all.
Some Images of the season to date
Carron Valley - 27 Apr 2013
I understand it was a pretty wild day at Carron. Well done to Keith J (Ant or Dec) for catching 4 fish and to John G, who featured on the Carron website with a fish of 4lb 3 oz. If there 1s any more to report on this outing please let me know and I will update this notice.
Keith J - 4 fish - 7 lb 13 oz - 10 points
John G - 2 fish - 5 lb 14 oz - 09 points
Tom B - 2 fish - 3 lb 04 oz - 7.5 points
Paul W - 2 fish - 3 lb 04 oz - 7.5 points
Jimmy K - 1 fish - 2 lb 00 oz - 06 points
Tom C - 1 fish - 1 lb 14 oz - 05 points
Barrie - 1 fish - 1 lb 12 oz - 04 points
Laurie - 1 fish - 1 lb 08 oz - 03 points
Club members and guests registered 14 fish, with some 20 brownies and 6 rainbows (who caught them?) returned to the water. The 14 fish weighed in at 27 lb 3 oz, and even my dodgy maths allows me to conclude that the average weight of fish was a smidge under 2 lb.
Keith J - 4 fish - 7 lb 13 oz - 10 points
John G - 2 fish - 5 lb 14 oz - 09 points
Tom B - 2 fish - 3 lb 04 oz - 7.5 points
Paul W - 2 fish - 3 lb 04 oz - 7.5 points
Jimmy K - 1 fish - 2 lb 00 oz - 06 points
Tom C - 1 fish - 1 lb 14 oz - 05 points
Barrie - 1 fish - 1 lb 12 oz - 04 points
Laurie - 1 fish - 1 lb 08 oz - 03 points
Club members and guests registered 14 fish, with some 20 brownies and 6 rainbows (who caught them?) returned to the water. The 14 fish weighed in at 27 lb 3 oz, and even my dodgy maths allows me to conclude that the average weight of fish was a smidge under 2 lb.
Frandy Fishery - 13 Apr 2013
Apologies for this tardy report. The season eventually kicked off for the club at Frandy, and on a cold day it wasn't long until Barrie D found the fish! Barrie rose one on his first cast and landed what I presume were the first two fish of our season on his 2nd and third casts. Boat partner Willie E was 'delighted' to assist with these early fish - the ideal way to cement a boat partnership for the day (or not!). Barrie went on to complete his limit in mid afternoon and took first place for his efforts. Fish were caught up and down the south shore throughout the morning, but not in any great numbers. Meanwhile, Keith J and Jimmy K (KJ & JK - the Bothwell and Blantyre Ant and Dec) found fish up towards the top of the Loch and both completed their limits by mid afternoon. After a long lunch with Paul W and Bill M, David O and Tom B gatecrashed Ant and Dec's party, ending up with 6 fish each just in time to get back to the lodge that little bit early. Elsewhere, the going was a bit more difficult, and while there was a hatch of Yellow Dancers along the lodge shore the scoresheet recorded lots of 4s and fewer, which proved that Frandy was not wholly generous on such a cold day.
In the end, the scoring was a as follows:
Barrie D - 6 fish - 13lb 10oz - 10 pts
Tom B - 6 fish - 12lb 08oz - 09 pts
Jimmy K- 6 fish - 12lb 04oz - 08 pts
Keith J - 6 fish - 12lb 00oz - 07 pts
David O - 6 fish - 11lb 04oz - 06 pts
Paul W - 5 fish - 09lb 12oz - 05 pts
Robt C - 4 fish - 09lb 04oz - 04 pts
John M - 4 fish - 07lb 12oz - 03 pts
Willie E - 4 fish - 07lb 08oz - 02 pts
Alex G - 3 fish - 06lb 00oz - 01 pts
20 Club members and guests caught 64 fish weighing 128lb and 8oz, for a rod average of 3.2 and an average weight of just over 2lb. Oh, and it was cold!
In the end, the scoring was a as follows:
Barrie D - 6 fish - 13lb 10oz - 10 pts
Tom B - 6 fish - 12lb 08oz - 09 pts
Jimmy K- 6 fish - 12lb 04oz - 08 pts
Keith J - 6 fish - 12lb 00oz - 07 pts
David O - 6 fish - 11lb 04oz - 06 pts
Paul W - 5 fish - 09lb 12oz - 05 pts
Robt C - 4 fish - 09lb 04oz - 04 pts
John M - 4 fish - 07lb 12oz - 03 pts
Willie E - 4 fish - 07lb 08oz - 02 pts
Alex G - 3 fish - 06lb 00oz - 01 pts
20 Club members and guests caught 64 fish weighing 128lb and 8oz, for a rod average of 3.2 and an average weight of just over 2lb. Oh, and it was cold!
A stuttering start!
Well, the season got off to a rather stuttering, or even non-existent, start. We didn't get out because of ice on the Lake and there are some photos of that particular problem in the box below. Thanks to Alastair for the picture on the right. It was a lovely, if cold, day and I while I guess fishing would have been slow because of the water temp, it would have been nice to get out.
So, we move on to Frandy this coming Saturday for the 'next' first competition of the season. Reports from Frandy suggest that the ubiquitous Yellow Dancer and her cousin the Coral Dancer are likely to be to the fore, along with Cormorants, Ace of Spades and bloodworms. I will try my usual Frandy Nomad, in green and black - always good early season colours. The latest from Frandy is here.
Wrap up well - the chilly weather is likely to continue through the weekend.
So, we move on to Frandy this coming Saturday for the 'next' first competition of the season. Reports from Frandy suggest that the ubiquitous Yellow Dancer and her cousin the Coral Dancer are likely to be to the fore, along with Cormorants, Ace of Spades and bloodworms. I will try my usual Frandy Nomad, in green and black - always good early season colours. The latest from Frandy is here.
Wrap up well - the chilly weather is likely to continue through the weekend.