I was planning write that today I became the 1st B&B angler to be eliminated from the 2010 Scottish National Championships, but, having checked the results so far, I am not!  Willie E beat me to that particular non-honour by a day.  We were both representing the Fish Hawks in our respective heats, so at least we didn't bring public shame on the Bothwell and Blantyre.  I can only wish the 'real' Bothwell and Blantyre anglers, Ian and Paul, luck when they fish on 4 May (Carron) and 20 May (LoM) respectively.

Heat 1 results:  here
Heat 2 results:  here
SANACC Website:  here

Carron was pretty wild today, with south westerly blowing hard and gusting about.  I was drawn with Robert Murray of  Strathgryfe who had been able to practice yesterday, unlike me.  We agreed Carron Bay and environs was the area (I had found fish there last Thursday) but were not able to find any decent fish at all.  We each had a good few pulls, on a mixture of lures and nymphs, but to no avail.  He ended the day with 2 wee brownies and I had 1 wee brownie of Eric/Gilbert proportions.  I really do not like killing these wee fish, just because they happen to be more than 10 inches.  So, another year, another National and, if I'm spared (and I qualify!) I'll have another go next year at reducing the competence of the Scottish National Team!  See you on Saturday at Butterstone - I can blank there, too!

I deserted my Bothwell and Blantyre friends to fish Rutland with the RAF Fish Hawks in the Lexus Team Competition.  Full info and some pics here.  What follows is a full report of our exploits over 2 days of practice and the day of the competition!

RAF Fish Hawks (FH) practice for the Lexus Team event on 17 April started on 15th, with 4 FH boats joining 4 RAF Defenders (the RAF 'B' Team) boats in practice.  With boats all over the reservoir, it quickly became apparent that there were fishy hotspots in the north and south arms, and a few on the Normanton shore of the Main Basin.  Buzzers and nymphs worked for some, pulling lures worked for others, with the general consensus being that pulling black and green and something 2-tone was likely to get you fish a wee bit more quickly than nymphing.  A good tip was to have a nymph or buzzer between the two lures in case a fish fancied a nymph on the drop or on the hang.  I was fishing nymphs and buzzers on Thursday, with Paul W's No 5 mirage buzzer accounting for 3 fish out of my 6 on the day. 

The NE wind of Thursday was repeated on Friday 16th, but without the cloud cover - very bright with a cold NE wind - just what you want!  2nd day of practise seemed to be a bit slower for most in fish terms, although it might have been down to the slightly fuzzy heads being worn by a few!  (Most of us hadn't seen each other over the winter, so there was a bit of catching up to do!)  The Skipper (Paddy Mounter) and I had a hard old day on the north arm, but the fish magnet (Warren Gain) found a few in some of the south arm hotspots - more of which later.  I had 5 fish on the Friday, including 3 on a Norski Lad viva type fly that I tied up for Carron!  By the end of the day most seemed happy to be starting with Di5 sweep, veering to Di7 depending on brightness, with black and green and/or colour to hook the fish.  We were all prepared to nymph if we got the first inkling that it might work.

Match day dawned clear and bright, not so cold and with the forecast SW wind.  180 deg
change from practice - just what you want! (Again!)  5 of our 6 boats went to the North Arm, including me, who had been drawn with RAF Defenders Skip Ian Baker.  That elicited a few comments as we left the boat dock.  (We are obviously both RAF, but fishing for different teams.  One of the Soldier Palmers (the Army team) suggested that we would fill one bag, then the other.  He obviously doesn't know about the rivalry between the FH and the Defenders - when I was fishing for the Defenders there was no way I would have given a FH any of my fish - we took pride in trying to beat them to prove the selection system wrong.  And also - it would have been wholesale cheating - no chance. )  Si Gaines had been boarded by a (Pitsford) Pirate (Charlie Abrahams) and Al Gamble was out with a guy who had never fished the water before - so much for this being the elite of the fly-fishing world!  We all headed north except Warren, who went south to some of the previous days hot spots.  Ian and I struggled early on, but I had 4 by 12.30 drifting down the woods to the east of Road End.  Saw Al G who was struggling (with no fish - unlike him) and heard that Si G had a couple early on, but that was it as regards help and info.  Ian and I decided to cut our losses at about 1.15 as things had slowed down dramatically and we made our way to NZ point, via Carrot Creek, where Ian took a fish.  Al G followed and tried there, too, but to no avail!

At about 3pm we arrived at NZ point to find Warren the fish magnet on 7 fish, and pulling a Di7 through the water at varying depths with a UV cormorant doing the damage.  He bagged at 3.30 (ish) and I gradually added to my total to finish at 4.10.  News gradually filtered through that other FH rods were doing OK, too.  Al G produced a great performance to catch 8 fish between 3 and 5.20 (ish) and, as it transpired, they were of a good mark, so his bag just might be important.

Arriving back at the lodge, we realised that a lot of fish had been caught, and that there had been lots of early afternoon finishes, including Dave Newing and Paddy
Mounter.  Si Gaines finished at around 3.30 and was released from captivity by his
Pirate captor!  This meant that all FH anglers had bagged up and we reckoned we had a
fighting chance of going through as one of the 6 teams (from 16) to qualify.  I ended up with 8 fish for 16lb 7oz, plus a time bonus (4oz per 15 mins) of 1lb 12 oz for my early finish.

John Horsey announced the results - 632 fish caught by 96 anglers for a rod average of
6.58 and an average weight of 2lb 1oz.  Ian Baker (my BP) had the largest fish of the day at 6lb 5oz, which he skillfully netted almost before it realised it had been hooked!  Unfortunately Ian ended the day with only 3 fish.  They just would not stick for him.

Team results and qualifiers:

1. Rio Masters - 48 fish for 120lb 11oz
2. RAF Fish Hawks - 48 fish for 117lb 13oz
3. Team Loop UK - 45 fish for 113lb 6oz
4. Seighford Sharks - 48 fish for 113lb
5. Team Vision - 46 fish for 109lb
6. Pitsford Pirates - 47 fish for 108lb 10 oz

Unfortunately the RAF Defenders failed to qualify, despite some fine individual performances.

On the day I had 3 fish on a back and green booby, with a touch of UV in the wing, 1 on a black UV cruncher and 4 on the norski lad viva variant.  I will bring the flies to Butterstone, if anyone is interested.  All in all, a brilliant few days and to qualify 2nd given the teams involved was a great result.  Thanks to all my FH colleagues.

Much against my expectation, I enjoyed a fine day at Carron Valley Reservoir on Sunday 4 Apr.  There were still snowdrifts on the Takmadoon Road trying to stop me getting to Carron, but on arrival on a cold morning the water looked fine.  I was fishing with Al from the RAF Team and we agreed that he would start with a fast glass with me on the midge tip.  All the int suggested black and green lures, so we both tackled up with viva-ish lures, although I broke it up with a techno cat on the top dropper. 

We headed for the far dam intending to drift back down to the boat dock in the course of the day.  Al was into a fish on the first drift up at the trees on the south shore near the far dam, and I took one just after.  We moved round into 30 minute bay and each had another fish.  We then crossed to the north shore and with the wind blowing us gently down the loch and on to that shore, we were able to move slowly down the water.  We picked up fish regularly, mainly stockies, but a couple of overwintered fish.  They all gave a good account of themselves.  Al had a double hook up at one point and also landed a nice brownie of about 3/4 lb.  Our last fish of the day came above the shallows around 4pm.  We fished the bay right at the boat dock, but didn't hook another fish, although Al missed one on his final rewind!

The final tally was 15, 10 to him and 5 to me, which represented my best day on Carron.  Now looking forward to the Scottish National on 28 Apr with a bit more optimism.  We noticed that most of the fish came at points on the shore with some structure, or a feature, rather than just in the bays.  Black and green worked all day - I tried a buzzer nymph setup for a wee while, but no joy.  Met Andy Everett (Soldier Palmers) in the car park as we changed in the evening - he had had a good day in Burnhouse and Bin Bays, taking 19 on buzzers.  He didn't say whether they were browns or rainbows.

All in all, a very enjoyable day - and it's Al's turn on the motor next time!