Latest News

Black Loch Fishery - 24 July 2021

Thanks to Alastair for this report:

11 of us turned up ready for action. After weeks of very warm weather, intermediates and Di3/5/7 lines were likely to be the order of the day and so it turned out. A cool morning quickly turned into a very hot day Most boats varied drifting with anchoring frequenting a range of spots , tho heathery bank, high bank and the shore between school bay and the jetty were popular. It was hard going and occasional cries of “ oh ya b*****d” could be heard drifting across the water. Not from our boats of course! Quite a few members were contenders for the unofficial perch catching competition but at the weigh in Laurie T emerged as the winner with a few not too far behind. Others including your reporter did not feature in the share of points. Robert C retired slightly early after having to leave his anchor behind. A buoy now marks the spot. Lots of good humour and camaraderie and thanks to John G for supplying the Monkey Shoulder at the lunch club. We all returned home with red faces - due to the sun of course. The results are as follows:

1st Laurie 4 fish for 9lb 0 oz
2nd Bill 3 fish for 6 lb 14 oz
3rd Gordon 2 fish for 4lb 9 oz
4th Robert 2 fish for 4 lb 0 oz
5th Bobby 1 fish for 2lb 8 oz
6th John 1 fish for 2 lb 3 oz
7th Jimmy 1 fish for 2 lb
8th Willie 1 fish for 1 lb 12 oz

11 anglers caught a total of 15 fish for a rod average of 1.35 fish per angler. All fish were retained and totalled 32 lb 14oz to give an average weight of 2 lb 3 oz. Sounds like a very tough day - well done all.

Congratulations to Laurie and Willie on reaching the 2021 Scottish National Final - good luck to you both on 18 September at the Lake of Menteith

Linlithgow Loch - Saturday 10 July 2021

The LL outing did not prove to be a success - lots of algae, and at depth, not just on the surface. Willie caught a fish - well done - but the paucity of anglers meant that there was no club competition. Well done to those who persevered.

Next up is Black Loch on 24 July - good luck to all.

Scottish Clubs Competition and other News

Laurie, Donald and Paul didn't quite manage enough fish on Saturday evening (26th June) to progress in the Scottish Clubs Competition. Paul was especially unlucky not to go through to the Champion of Champions competition. Next time!

Willie is fishing in the National heat on the Lake on Tuesday 29th (albeit for the RAF Fish Hawks), with Laurie representing the B&BAC on Thursday 1 July. Good luck to both anglers.

Update: Both B&B anglers, Laurie and Willie, have qualified for the National Final in September - congratulations!

Lake of Menteith - Thursday 24 June 2021

Ten B&B anglers ventured out on what seemed like a pretty uneven day's fishing. A number of anglers did very well and a number of anglers had a more relaxed day. The results are as follows:

1st Barrie 14 fish 28 lb 04 oz 10 points
2nd Laurie 13 fish 27 lb 07 oz 9 points
3rd Paul 10 fish 21 lb 12 oz 8 points
4th Donald 4 fish 8 lb 00 oz 7 points
5th Willie 3 fish 7 lb 10 oz 6 points
6th Bobby 2 fish 3 lb 08 oz 5 points
7th John 1 fish 2 lb 10 oz 4 points

Alastair, Robert and Gordon made up the party and I am assured that they 'enjoyed their day'....

47 fish were caught of which 26 were returned giving a rod average of 4.7 fish. The retained fish weighed a shade over 47 lb, giving an average weight of 2lb and 4 oz.

Loch Leven - Sunday 13 June 2021

This outing was cancelled at the loch side on the morning of the competition. High winds were forecast and it seems like a sensible and safe decision was made on the advice of the boatman.

Frandy Fishery - Sunday 30 May 2021

Thanks to Alastair for this report:
What a glorious day the weather gods delivered. Frandy and surrounding area were a stunning example of our beautiful country. 8 turned up to fish, including a guest of Willie , Iain Bell. We would have been 9 but Donald S had to call off almost literally at last moment. Two wives were there to provide support but did not fish. Members tried a range of tactics; traditional flies, buzzers, cormorants and wotsits beneath a bung or fab. The breeze toyed with us all day, coming and going The dry fly also featured in the afternoon, following lunch ashore. Overall winner on the day was Iain, Willie’s guest. Well done. Laurie topped the members present very closely followed by Willie. Bob Ricketts, Paul Jimmy K and your reporter who avoided a red face not entirely caused by the sun! The two wives went on a 7 mile hike and were last seen sprawled on a grassy bank apparently “ out for the count” All in all a good day. The full results are:

1st Laurie 6 fish 11 lb 02 oz 10 points
2nd Willie 6 fish 11 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd Bobby 3 fish 5 lb 02 oz 8 points
4th Paul 2 fish 4 lb 00 oz 7 points
5th= Jimmy 1 fish 2 lb 02 oz 6 points
5th= Alastair 1 fish 2 lb 02 oz 5 points

In total 26 fish were caught by 8 anglers for a rod average 3.25. 16 fish were retained at a total weight of 28.5lb, for an average weight of 1lb 12 oz. Well done all on what sounds like an enjoyable day.

Lake of Menteith - Saturday 8 May 2021

14 B&B anglers braved a very chilly day on the Lake and, as ever, those who got right on the day were rewarded with great sport. I don't recall ever seeing so much bird life over the water - the air was thick with swallow or sand martin type birds - my skills don't run to a positive identification. They were obviously gorging on hatching flies and the bright anglers in the club sussed that fish wanted straight line buzzers - you can look at the results to see who I mean! I suspect that the cold numbed the brains (and other parts of the body!) of some of us and so there was no consistency of catch on Saturday. W welcomed Donald to his first outing as a member and he took top honours in the top boat - a tremendous day for him and BP Paul. Laurie and Bill did well too, arriving late and departing early - sorry I didn't see you, gents. Bobby took 3 on very natural looking flies, persevering after a quiet morning. Almost all of us gathered at lunchtime to remember Sydney with a wee dram of JW Green Label - his favourite whisky. He will be missed. There seemed to be plenty of fish at Lochend and round towards the Butts, but I din't hear pf any other other areas scoring heavily. Sandy Bay needs decent blow into it to clear the debris from the trees. and I saw only sporadic action in Gateside Bay. The full results are as follows:

1st Donald 12 fish 25 lb 14 oz 10 points
2nd Paul 7 fish 18 lb 0 oz 9 points
3rd Bill 4 fish 9 lb 8 oz 8 points
4th Laurie 3 fish 7 lb 12 oz 7 points
5th Barrie 2 fish 6 lb 14 oz 6 points
6th Alastair 2 fish 6 lb 8 oz 5 points
7th Bobby 3 fish 6 lb 0 oz 4 points
8th= John 2 fish 4 lb 0 oz 2.5 points
8th= David 2 fish 4 lb 0 oz 2.5 points
10th Gordon 1 fish 2 lb 6 oz 1 point

Willie and Tom were unlucky as their fish didn't quite get them into the points, while Jimmy and Robert had relaxed days. in total we had 40 fish (22 taken and 1§8 returned), giving a rod average of 2.85 and these fish weighed a total of 95lb (returned fish 2lb each), giving an average weight 2lb 6 oz. This was decent (delayed) start to the season for the club and we move on to Frandy at the end of the month in good heart. Thanks to Paul/Donald for the picture below.

Planned Competition Dates for 2021

Sat 27 March - Lake of Menteith - Cancelled
Sat 10 April - Frandy - Cancelled
Sat 24 April - Black Loch - Cancelled
Sat 8 May - Lake of Menteith - Completed - report posted
Sunday 30 May - Frandy - Completed - report posted
Sun 13 June - Loch Leven - Cancelled due to high winds on the day
Thursday 24 June - Lake of Menteith - Completed - report posted
Sat 10 July - Linlithgow Loch - Event cancelled - Little support from members and water quality poor
Sat 24 July - Black Loch - Completed - report posted

Thursday 12 Aug - Lake of Menteith
Sunday 29 Aug - Frandy
Sat 18 September - Black Loch

Sydney Winship - an Appreciation.

It's my sad duty to report to fellow Club members that Sydney died early on the morning of 25 January. An appreciation:

It’s with the heaviest of hearts that I find myself writing. Sydney has gone - at the grand old age of 93 - or is it 94? I’ll find out. Sydney has been an ever present at the Bothwell and Blantyre Angling Club since I first fished with the club as a teenaged guest sometime around 1973. He loved the club and the people - I know, because he told me. In the days before many of us were fishing regularly with the B&B, Sydney worked down south, and would fly up to Glasgow for the weekend to fish. He and his great pal Bob Stewart (whom many of you knew much better than me) seemed to be in all of the pictures I can find of B&B outings - they were ubiquitous. Sydney just loved life and fellow anglers. Latterly probably a better conversationalist than angler, I’m sure he was fiercely competitive in his day, but with a lightness, generosity and style that is rare. He was one of the most generous men I have ever known. He holidayed around Scotland with fellow B&B members and friends for, I think, some 35 years - Robert will know - he was an ever-present - from early days on Skye, to various haunts around the north of Scotland including Altnaharra, before settling on a week fishing the Dee - based in a cottage on the Balmoral Estate, no less. I was lucky enough to join Sydney, Robert and Gilbert on 5 of these Dee trips. Sydney was a wonderful host, and we enjoyed great food, wine, fishing and, of course the occasional dram. Sydney’s favourite was JW Green Label - difficult to find for a few years - so we were set the task of blending some, using the constituent malts. It didn’t end well….

Sydney also fished the North Esk with Gilbert and others, enjoying occasional success, but, more importantly, enjoying everything about these jaunts, particularly the company of his friends. I’m sure he missed Helen greatly, later in her life and after she had gone, and he often spoke of her, and their life as a couple in the business world. Sydney was the sales director of a packaging company supplying, among other businesses, the whisky industry. Chatting with Syd, you could be forgiven thinking that his life consisted of travelling round the distilleries having long lunches and on the days when there was no lunch to go to, there would be an important dinner in the evening. The 60s and 70s must have been quite the time to be doing such a job - and obviously doing it very well indeed - because such frivolity masks a keen mind, razor sharp intellect and some serious business acumen. Such luxuries are hard won, and don’t generally come the way of the idle.

Sydney was a ‘Para’. He wore the red beret and led the Glasgow and West of Scotland Branch of the Regimental Association. He loved his soldiers and it was clear that they loved him. He was latterly a Lieutenant Colonel in the TA and as befits his ‘Red Beret’, had jumped out of serviceable aircraft more times than I can bear to think. You can add bravery to his CV. He told me of a fairly recent trip to Spean Bridge with his ‘old comrades’ (sic) where they paid their respects to SAS colleagues at the memorial there, followed by lunch in The Alexandria Hotel in Fort William. No doubt they toasted their colleagues-in-arms enthusiastically as well as having a bite to eat. Sydney told me the hotelier (it is a private hotel) refused to take payment for lunch when he found out the nature of the trip - I wouldn’t be surprised if Sydney had actually covered it - such was the nature of the man, and wholly consistent with his views on his responsibility as their commissioned officer (albeit retired) and therefore their leader.

Sydney is a past president of the Club and was one of our very few life members. He contributed to the club in all sorts of ways - formerly a council member and as the donor of the Sydney Winship Quaich - presented every year for the capture of the largest brown trout of the season, and with it goes a bottle of whisky. No point in having a quaich and nothing to fill it. He took part in each AGM with considered enthusiasm, carefully disguised as boredom. It was only last year that he chided the council for not having circulated the financial statement with papers for the meeting, ‘to allow proper consideration’ (or something equally pithy). Sydney much preferred fishing for wild fish - hence the trophy, and was also a piscivore - he like eating his catch - an old school hunter-gatherer! But he was in no way old fashioned. Sydney told me with great glee that he had interrupted his nephew, who lives and works in Singapore, by Face-Timing him on his iPad, while said nephew was in the middle of an important business meeting. ‘Do you mind if I call you back, Uncle Syd….’

So he’s gone, and will be much missed by us all. I will miss Sydney’s humour, chatter, stories, accepting my flies, intellect, more stories, whisky, stories, occasional shout when a fish is hooked, more chatter, more stories, another dram but above all his cheery company. Jump free, dear friend - may the skies be forever blue and the water below full of trout and salmon.

(While we might not be able to be represented at Sydney’s funeral, you can be sure that we will say a few words ahead of the first outing of 2021 - whenever that might be. I will procure a bottle of JW Green Label - because nothing else will do - and we can toast our departed friend, as I’m sure he would wish - with a smile on our faces and a dram in our grasp.)

Dr Allan Sinclair

We were very sorry to read of the death a couple of weeks ago of former member Dr Allan Sinclair. Allan will be remembered by many of us. He was the most delightful of gentlemen - and as congenial a boat partner as you could to wish to have. Allan moved east some years ago, but kept in touch with Gilbert and the two shared a boat each year on Loch Leven until fairly recently. Allan had been in Ninewells Hospital in the days prior to has passing at the age of 91. RIP.

L - R. Robert, Allan Sinclair and the late Pat Souttar

Black Loch Fishery - 19 September 2020

With apologies for a very belated report - life interfered....

As can be seen from the photo, it was a bit misty as we set up and prepared for the day - this was taken 3 minutes before fishing was due to start, and then Bobby arrived amid screeching brakes and a spray of dust, blowing the mist away.....(insert to follow when I work out how).

It would be fair to say that fishing was slow. A few fish were caught early on, and then there were long periods of fascinating conversation. Almost before we realised, it was lunchtime, and almost everyone appeared for a bit of banter and a dram - but not necessarily in that order. Many thanks to Barrie for the Caribbean Cask - very nice indeed. Thanks to Alastair for the photo, below.....

The angling torture continued into the afternoon, with the Corona Cup and the LWH Birthday Trophy up for grabs. Barrie and Paul were competing in the CC and it was nip and tuck throughout the day, before Paul nicked it 2 fish to 1. Elsewhere, Laurie was compiling the best bag of the day, with 4 fish - good angling on a difficult day. The full results are here:

1st Laurie 4 for 8 lb
2nd Jimmy 3 for 5 lb 15 oz
3rd Robin 2 for 5 lb 6 oz
4th Ian 2 for 5 lb 3 oz
5th Paul 2 for 4lb 11 oz
6th Tom 2 for 4 lb
7th Gordon 2 for 3 lb 12 oz
8th Alastair 1 for 2 lb 8 oz
9th Bill 1 for 2 lb 2 oz
9th John 1 for 2 lb 2 oz
11th Barrie 1 for 2lb 1 oz
11th Willie 1 for 2lb 1 oz
13th David 1 for 2lb
Gilbert, Bobby and guest Millar failed to trouble the weigh master.... better luck next time, chaps.

So a difficult day, with 16 fish weighed in and another 7 returned, giving a total of 23, for a rod average of 1.43, with the fish weighed totalling 35 lb and 13 oz, giving an average weight of almost bang on 2lb and 4 oz.

Photo above shows LWH Birthday trophy winner Laurie (left) and Corona Cup winner Paul (right) being congratulated by Club president (and Corona Cup runner up) Barrie. Well done, gents - you really need to update your hats! (All hand washing protocols were observed before and after this presentation...)

And that's it for this truncated season. News to follow about the usual Autumn council meeting as and when, otherwise, Merry Xmas! 😉

Frandy Fishery - 29 August 2020

Tough day at the office - for most! There was a cold north wind with a very strong blustery element, coming in at least 2 different directions for the first hour or two - lets get the excuses in early! 10 B&B anglers and 1 guest - good to meet you, Ian, set off amid stories of challenging angling - and so it proved. Lots of different drifts were tried, with all ending up somewhere along the dam wall. It seemed that the fish were to be found quite close in, with a bank angler along the shore between the boat dock and the dam doing very well. Not sure how long it lasted, as the fleet descended on the area in increasing numbers, drawn like NATO ships to a Russian exercise in the Black Sea. Tom had a fish early on but couldn't capitalise on his good start. Gilbert took an excellent rainbow near the tower, causing boat skipper Barrie to execute some cute manoeuvring under the bridge at the tower, all the while allowing Gilbert to play the feisty fish without snagging rod or net on the infrastructure. All was well...

The lunch club had a full turnout except that John and Tom met half an hour earlier than the rest of us and disappeared prior to the opening of the Aerstone - thanks, Barrie. Conditions improved in the afternoon and most boats seemed to be doing a shortish drift into the SE corner of the dam. There were fish to be had elsewhere, but I, for one, couldn't manage to hang on to them. Barrie (on a remarkable variety of junk food!) and Paul accumulated during the afternoon to end up with respectable bags. All the scores are as follows:

1st Barrie 5 for 6 lb
2nd Paul 5 for 5 lb 8 oz
3rd Gilbert 2 for 4 lb
4th Willie 2 for 3 lb 8 oz
5th John 2 for 2lb 8 oz
6th Tom 1 for 2 lb
7th David 1 for 1 lb

Jimmy, Bobby and Gordon failed to trouble the weigh-master and guest Ian had a nice Brown Trout. In total we kept 6 fish and returned 13, for a notional total weight of 26 lb. Rod average was about 1.7 fish per angler. In the Corona Cup, only 2 of the 5 qualifiers were able to fish, both caught fish, so Barrie and Paul will contest the final at the Black Loch on 19th September. Looking forward to that already... Tight lines to all in the meantime.

Lake of Menteith - 13 August 2020

Seems to have been a difficult day for most at the Lake. I await any info to add to a report, but the results were as follows:

1st Robin 9 for 18 lb
2nd Barrie 5 for 10 lb
3rd Laurie 4 for 9 lb 4 oz
4th John 3 for 7 lb 6 oz
5th Jimmy 2 for 4 lb 4 oz
6th= Paul 1 for 3 lb 2 oz
6th= Bill 1 for 3 lb 2 oz
8th Alastair 1 for 2 lb 14 oz
9th Willie 1 for 2 lb 2 oz
10th Gordon 1 for 1 lb 10 oz

15 fish we weighed in for a total weight of 36.5lb, giving an average weight of 2lb 7oz. 14 fish were returned, giving a total of 29 fish for 14 anglers, and a rod average of just under 2.1.

In respect of the Corona Cup, the qualifiers for the semi-final at Frandy on Saturday 29th August are Robin, Barrie, Laurie, Paul and Bill. The top 2, plus ties, will go forward to the final at the Black Loch on 19 Sep 2020. All clear? See you on Saturday!

The Black Loch Fishery - 25 July 2020

The Club returned to angling at an impressively well-organised Black Loch Fishery. Everything was done by the book, and we enjoyed a challenging day's angling on one of our regular waters. While it didn't rain as much as the equivalent outing last year, the wind was what might be described as 'awkward' for much of the day. It was obvious from the off that the fish were well spread out, although not far from the jetty, as Robin proved by catching one while Paul was still attaching his flies.... Most of the boats started off drifting from the Reedy Bays area along to School Bay, with a few closing to anchor in School Bay at the end of the drift. Willie found fish off the Heathery Bank on his usual fly (if you have to ask....) but managed to keep those fish that were available to his end of the boat (writes Alastair). Bobby and David did a bit of tandem hooking and losing at their end of the first drift, but they wouldn't have counted anyway as the engine had been started prior to either fish attaching itself. (Obviously.) This started a short period of frantic roly-poly as the obvious conclusion was that the fish wanted the fly moved quickly - they didn't.

Barrie came ashore for lunch with new member Gordon - and we were particularly pleased when Barrie produced a bottle of this splendid stuff. Aerstone. A fine addition to the Lunch Club knowledge base. We didn't learn much about the fishing over lunch. Willie's 3 fish were becoming things of legend, with the captor being his usual shy self about the successful method - not. The rest of us just had another dram....

More boats seemed to anchor up in the afternoon. Not sure if it was my imagination, but the wind seemed to become more difficult. Bobby picked up a fish after lunch, with Barrie nabbing a couple in the last hour. Willie added to his total and David picked up 2, also later in the day. In the end, Laurie appeared with 3 good fish to pinch 1st place from from Willie. Laurie's fish were on dries. The rest were on the usual mix of nymphs and junk food. 18 fish for 14 anglers proved the challenging nature of the day. The full results were:

1st Laurie 3 for 9 lb 4 oz
2nd Willie 4 for 8 lb
3rd= Robin 2 for 4 lb
3rd= David 2 for 4 lb
5th Barrie 2 for 3 lb 12 oz
6th Bill 2 for 3 lb 9 oz
7th Bobby 1 for 2 lb 8 oz
8th Gilbert 1 for 2 lb
9th Paul 1 for 2 lb

13 fish were weighed for 29 lb 1 oz, giving an average weight of just under 2 lb 4 oz. 18 fish in total gave a rod average of 1.38 fish per angler. Congratulations to Laurie on First place and winning the James Lamond Memorial Trophy.

All the above anglers qualify for the 2nd round of the Corona Cup (top 8 plus ties). At the Lake, the top 4 anglers, plus ties, will qualify for the semi final at Frandy on 29th August, and the top 2 from Frandy will contest the final, back at the Black Loch, on 19 Sep 2020.

A few pics below - if anyone has any more, please let me have them. Thanks, David.

Decisions from a brief Council meeting - 25 July 2020

An ad hoc Council meeting was held prior to fishing on Saturday 25th at Black Loch. In recognition of the unusual and foreshortened 2020 angling season it was agreed:

that the following trophies WOULD be awarded this season:

WS Phillips Trophy (Heaviest Aggregate in one competition),
James Lamond Memorial Trophy (Winner of first outing)
Lockhart W Hutson Birthday Trophy (winner of the last competition of the season)
Sydney Winship Quaich (Heaviest Brown Trout)
125th Anniversary Trophy (Member over 70 with highest aggregate)
The Corona Cup 2020

and that the following trophies WOULD NOT be awarded this season:

Henry Muir Cup - Club Championship
Walter Gow Trophy - Runner Up
Wm S Phillips memorial Salver 3rd Place
Alex Dunn Trophy - Heaviest aggregate for the season
Bob Stewart Memorial Trophy - best basket at Loch Leven

A Welcome Return to Angling for the Club

The B&B will return to some semblance of normality on Saturday 25 July at the Black Loch. We will be competing (in some way) for the Corona Cup, but I suspect most of us are just glad to be getting back out fishing. I can't wait - more details on Saturday!

2020 Angling Dates

Angling dates for 2020 are as follows:

28 March - Lake of Menteith - 9.30am - 5.30pm - 10 boats booked - Cancelled
11 Apr - Frandy Fishery - 9am - 4.30pm 6 boats booked - Cancelled
25 Apr - Black Loch - 9am - 4.15pm 6 boats booked - Cancelled
9 May -   Lake of Menteith - 9.30am - 5.30pm - 8 boats booked - Cancelled
30 May -   Frandy Fishery - 9am - 4.30pm 6 boats booked - Cancelled
13 Jun - Loch Leven - Provisional TBC - Cancelled
Thurs 25 Jun -   Lake of Menteith - 9.30am - 5.30pm - 8 boats booked - Cancelled
11 Jul - Linlithgow Loch - 9am - 4pm 5 boats booked - Cancelled
25 Jul - Black Loch - 9am - 4.15pm 6 boats booked
Thurs 13 Aug - Lake of Menteith - 9.30am - 5.30pm - 8 boats booked
29 Aug - Frandy Fishery - 9am - 4.30pm 6 boats booked
19 Sep - Black Loch - 9am - 4.15pm 6 boats booked

Fishing times above are best guess by the webmaster - to be confirmed by the comp sec on the day

Opening (and, as it turns out closing) Day at the Lake of Menteith

3 B&B anglers were fortunate enough to be able to fish the Lake on opening day, 21 March 2020. It was a very chilly start, with social distancing very much in evidence. The Lake has taken very sensible measures to support all current advice in the corona virus emergency - details on the Lake website and FB page. I was fishing with Al G, known to many of you, and he started off with a 4lb fish in I Bay 2nd cast. This was quickly followed by one of 5lb! One on buzzer, one on cut throat cat booby. After I opened my account with a slim over-wintered fish, we moved successively to Malling reeds and Gateside Bay burn areas, with only one more fish to show. We caught a few at Lochend next, before trying Kate's Brae, back to I Bay and finally the Hotel Bay to Reedy Bay area. We ended up with 11 to the boat - Al did me 7-4! Fish were not pattern fussy - we each had fish on every fly on the cast. Barrie and Paul had 11 to their boat, including some lumps, too. They were fishing di3 lines in regular and sweep versions, using mini snakes and boobies. All their fish were taken in the Tod Hole to Butts areas.
Pics below.

Shootout at the Black Loch Fishery - 21 September 2019

The last outing of the season - how did that happen? Time flies when you're enjoying yourself! The club championship was coming to an exciting conclusion with 4 anglers in with a chance - David, Paul, Laurie and Robin. All Robin's points would count today, with David, Paul and Laurie all having registered 8 scores already and thereby having limited scoring opportunities. Paul had done the calculations and the bottom lines were that if Robin or David won on the day, they would win the Club Championship, too. Laurie still had a decent chance but Paul, in his own words, required 'a miracle'! (ie, Paul winning and none of the other 3 scoring...) It was clear from the fishery record sheet that it was unlikely to be a high scoring day, and feeling was reinforced right from the off, as our 12 anglers set off into a freshening wind and cloudless sky, seeking the fish reported to be in the weedy bays and off the high bank. Paul and Laurie opted to anchor just off the jetty in North weedy bay, with David and Robin drifting from the School Bay point, and keeping any eye on any 'happenings' ahead. We saw one net waving, but not enough to persuade us to join the melee, so we tried a few short drifts off the lilies, to no avail. We saw the odd fish taken during the morning, and Robin eventually got one in School Bay in late morning and David lost what seemed to be a good fish around noon - would that prove to be vital? The lunchtime gathering was very well attended, with Willie heading the rankings with 3 (very good) fish, Laurie reporting 2, Ian, Robin and Paul 1 each. Tough going, and the Highland Park was most welcome, for those of us who do....

In the afternoon Willie and Ian headed back to the fence at the high bank, the scene of their success in the morning, while David and Robin went back to School Bay. Robin quickly found another couple of fish in the north corner of the bay, with David eventually finding his feet and landing one or two in response. By 3pm, the score in the boat was 5-5 (all fish having been returned) and when Willie and Ian, then Laurie and Paul appeared in the bay, we suspected that we might have called it right by staying in there. Paul netted another fish along side us and in the last hour Robin's fast glass line and double goldhead set up proved to be a winning combination and resulted in Robin having 8 fish to report at the weigh in, to David's 5. I (David) was delighted to congratulate Robin, our new Club Champion, as I packed up my rod for the day. This is Robin's first win since 1997 and his 4th overall.

Robin has won this Club Championship the hard way. Our rules allow for anglers to have their best 8 scores, from our 12 competitions in the year, to count towards the trophy. Robin has fished only 8 club outings this year and has amassed 71.5 points out of a possible total of 80. In dropping only 8.5 points during the whole season, he has shown outstanding consistency, and his winning the title is thoroughly deserved. I really can't emphasise enough the skill and dedication that he has shown in B&BAC angling this season - very well done - and I learned a lot fishing with you on Saturday.

It's also worth noting that Paul has been 'ever present' and Ian has fished in 11 of the 12 outings this season. To fish all 12 outings in the year is an achievement in itself, and Paul should be congratulated on his contribution to the success of our club. The final results for the day were:

1st Robin 8 fish 16 lb 00 oz 10 points
2nd Willie 4 fish 12 lb 03 oz 9 points
3rd David 5 fish 10 lb 0 oz 8 points
4th Laurie 3 fish 7 lb 09 oz 7 points
5th Paul 3 fish 6 lb 12 oz 6 points
6th Bobby 1 fish 2 lb 04 oz 5 points
7th= Ian 1 fish 2 lb 00 oz 3.5 points
7th= Barrie 1 fish 2 lb 00 oz 3.5 points

12 B&B anglers caught 26 fish, of which 15 were returned. The 11 fish weighed in totalled 28 lb 12 oz, giving an average weight of around 2 lb 10 oz. 26 fish between 12 rods gives a rod average of 2.16 fish per angler. Willie's bag was exceptional, with an average weight of over 3 lb. It was certainly an interesting end to the season, and we can now all look forward to the AGM and Dinner - the date of which will be announced in due course.

In the meantime, if you have any matters to be discussed by members of our club council, please let any council member know ASAP - details in the membership booklet, and the plans are to hold a council meeting in October.

The season's podium party: Robin, our champion, in the middle, flanked by David, left, and Laurie.

Frandy Fishery - 1 September 2019

On arrival at Frandy we were greeted with the revelation that fishing was likely to be tough - and so it proved! Conditions were not unpleasant - wind was westerly and a bit blustery, but we've all fished in worse conditions - see the notes on the first Frandy trip of the season! Bill and Gilbert shunned the others prior to the start, chosing to wait patiently for the off a good bit away from the jetty. We all seemed to get on well with the still fairly new gas powered engines that Ken has bought - the reverse gear is a great help and they start and re-start easily. Laurie was spotted netting a fish early on, but that proved something of a false dawn, in that it didn't lead to his usual avalanche of fish! Robin was fishing with Laurie, and he accumulated steadily on dries, collecting a rainbow and a couple of decent browns. Willie was on the board pretty sharpish, too, catching on two different intermediate lines with a FAB. Barrie and Bobby each had a fish in the morning, too, as did John, but the lunch club, Willie and Jimmy excepted, as a real tale of woe - for most of us unable even to rely on what might have been....
If anything, the afternoon proved even more difficult, although Robin picked up another couple, Ian and David picked up fish, and Willie added one to his total. The usual mixture of flies worked, from dries, to FABs, boobies, whatsits and even a muddler. Robin continues in his rich vein of form, which we hope he takes into the National Final on 14th Sep - good luck! The results were:

1st Robin 5 fish 8 lb 00 oz 10 points
2nd Willie 3 fish 7 lb 07 oz 9 points
3rd= John 1 fish 3 lb 08 oz 7.5 points
3rd= Barrie 2 fish 3 lb 08 oz 7.5 points
5th David 1 fish 3 lb 00 oz 6 points
6th Ian 1 fish 2 lb 00 oz 5 points
7th Laurie 1 fish 1 lb 10 oz 4 points
8th= Jimmy 1 fish 1 lb 08 oz 2.5 points
8th= Bobby 1 fish 1 lb 08 oz 2.5 points

12 anglers caught a total of 16 fish, including a couple of measurable browns, for a rod average of just over 1.3. Average weight of fish (weighed in and returned) was almost exactly 2lb. Not one of our better days, but we can't expect every place we fish to be on form all the time. Looking forward to the final competition of the season, with the Club Championship wide open - the winner will be either Paul, Laurie, Robin or David, with far too many possible permutations to list here! Good luck to all.

Lake of Menteith - 15 August 2019

13 B&B anglers and two guests enjoyed a fine day's sport on the Lake. Both of our guests caught fish, and enjoyed their day out, including an excellent meal at the Lion and Unicorn. Was good to see you, Donald and Al. Almost all anglers caught fish on the day, with floating or midge tip lines being favoured. Boats were reasonably well spread out, with B&B anglers reporting fish taken from Shear Point, entrance to I Bay, Lochend and the Tod Hole, Sam's Point, Malling shore and, of course, Gateside Bay. The fish were of top quality, as evidenced in the average weight, and fought incredibly hard irrespective of their weight. The usual range of flies took fish, with various colours of booby, cormorants, nymphs and blobs all taking fish. Your scribe was delighted that nobody seemed to witness Al and me doing some comedy fish playing when a fish took one of my flies as I was trying to get out of the way of a fish Al was playing.... Both fish were around the 3lb mark and were not happy - we got them in -eventually. I was also struck on the day by the sight of Jimmy K giving out boat handling advice... 😉 Finally, it was great to have Sydney fishing with us for the first time this season, fresh from his triumph of a 4lb sea trout from his trip to the Dee in July. I'm sure that we all hope to be as fit as he is at 92 - great to see you, dear friend. The results were as follows:

1st Robin 9 fish 22 lb 10 oz 10 points
2nd Ian 10 fish 20 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd David O 7 fish 17 lb 13 oz 8 points
4th Barrie 7 fish 16 lb 10 oz 7 points
5th Laurie 7 fish 16 lb 07 oz 6 points
6th Willie 5 fish 13 lb 00 oz 5 points
7th Paul 6 fish 12 lb 14 oz 4 points
8th Alastair 4 fish 11 lb 00 oz 3 points
9th Sam 4 fish 10 lb 10 oz 2 points
10th Bill 3 fish 9 lb 05 oz 1 point

In total B&B members caught 64 (33 weighed in and 31 returned) fish for a rod average of 4.9 fish, and an average weight of just under 2 lb 8 oz. The weighed fish averaged 2lb 14oz. Our guests caught 17 fish between them - top angling. Looking forward to seeing everyone at Frandy on Sunday 1 September.

Black Loch Fishery - 27 July 2019

It made a really nice change not to have to fish at anchor on the Black Loch Fishery. For once the wind did not blow over the 'flat roof of southern Scotland', but equally that allowed the black rain clouds to linger, ensuring that we all received a good soaking. Fishing proved to be difficult in such heavy, overcast and threatening conditions, which had followed a few days of very warm weather. A few of us thought about dries, but reckoned they'd lose their effectiveness fished on a Di3! And so it proved, with most of the few fish caught seeming to be in the fast glass/di3 zone. Successful flies were the usual culprits, mainly boobies and cormorants, with Bobby adding an orange nomad into the mix. Given the conditions it was no surprise that the lunch club meeting was well attended, with only Laurie and Alastair braving the weather for the whole day. We are all very sorry that Alastair insisted on staying out, Laurie - you missed a good lunch! The other notable feature of the day was that 4 very decent each were reported - each around the 1lb mark. Thanks to Robin for taking the trouble to photograph his in such a challenging photographic environment, and also for the lunch/non lunch photos.

In the end, the results were:

1st Laurie 3 fish 6 lb 08 oz 10 points
2nd = Robin 3 fish 6lb 00 oz 8.5 points
2nd = David O 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 8.5 points
4th Paul 2 fish 4 lb 14 oz 7 points
5th Ian G 2 fish 4 lb 10 oz 6 points
6th Bobby 1 fish 2 lb 02 oz 5 points

14 fish were caught in total, with 6 being kept and 8 returned, giving a rod average of just under 1.2, a total notional weight of around 30lb and an average fish weight of around 2lb and 2 oz. The Black Loch remains an excellent venue - there were fish moving sporadically through the day and we look forward to returning for the season finale in September.

Linlithgow Loch - 13 July 2019

On another nice warm summer's day 8 B&B anglers departed the jetty at Linlithgow with hope looking to triumph over expectation. There didn't appear to have been much info available ahead of our visit, but the staff at the water couldn't have been more helpful and regaled us with tales of fish caught on dates unspecified earlier in the season..... Anglers chose a mixture of lines to start off with, and Laurie was into a fish very early on. As the morning wore on, there were fish moving on and near the surface, but they were difficult to tempt. Paul had a couple in the morning and David took one just before the floating lunch table was deployed (boats tied together for a dram, a sandwich and a blether...). Sport continued to be slow in the afternoon, with Robin, Willie and David picking up the odd fish, mainly on fast glass and di3 lines, to a variety of flies from crunchers, to cormorants and boobies. In the end, 5 anglers weighed in as follows:

1st= Robin 3 fish 7 lb 08 oz 9.5 points
1st= David O 3 fish 7 lb 08 oz 9.5 points
3rd Paul 2 fish 7 lb 00 oz 8 points
4th Willie 2 fish 5 lb 09 oz 7 points
5th Laurie 1 fish 3 lb 00 oz 6 points

11 fish were caught, 4 kept and 7 returned, giving a rod average of 1.37 fish per angler at a notional average weight around 2.12oz. Ian, Jimmy and Alastair were the unlucky anglers on the day, and I should say that Alastair was particularly hard done by in losing a fish at the net while the 'Lunch Club' were cheering his every move. See you all at the Black Loch on 27th July.

Lake of Menteith - 27 June 2019

It was a glorious day on the lake, with the sun splitting the trees on the shores and the most essential bit of kit for the day being sunblock. I was a bit concerned that the fish might have disappeared off to the cool water of the deeper areas, but that was not to prove the the case. Laurie and Bill started off in Gateside bay and Laurie kicked off immediately with a fish first cast. Paul was into them early too, in the same area, as was John G in the plantation/Malling shore area. David O moved a fish on dries at the plantation first cast, but it didn't take. It became obvious that the fish showing on the surface were difficult to tempt and most successful bags on the day were compiled on a fast glass line, or similar. Flies varied, with blobs, boobies cormorants and a few nymphs accounting for fish. The lunch club was well attended, with a number of different drams on the table for sampling. Most club members continued to take fish throughout the day, although the Gateside area calmed down a bit post lunch, and at one point there were 4 B&B boats doing similar drifts off the shore to the south of the Malling burn. It ended up as very good day for Laurie, finishing well clear of his nearest rival:

1st Laurie 14 fish 32 lb 0o oz 10 points
2nd Willie 8 fish 19 lb 06 oz 9 points
3rd Paul 7 fish 18 lb 14 oz 8 points
4th Barrie 8 fish 17 lb 00 oz 7 points
5th= Bill 6 fish 14 lb 00 oz 5.5 points
5th= David O 7 fish 14 lb 00 oz 5.5 points
7th Ian 5 fish 11 lb 04 oz 4 points
8th John 3 fish 8 lb 04 oz 3 points
9th Bobby 3 fish 6 lb 04 oz 2 points
10th David P 2 fish 5 lb 08 oz 1 points

Paul weighed in 4 fish for 12 lb 14oz, and Laurie 4 for 12lb, so there were some very good fish around, with club members reporting a number over 4lb. They certainly went well, whatever the size and weight. 12 anglers caught a total of 63 fish for a rod average of 5.25 fish and an average weight of roughly 2lb 5 oz. The average weight of the fish actually weighed in was 2lb 11 oz. Well done all who caught and we can now all look forward to Linlithgow on 13 July.

Loch Leven - 15 June 2019

Loch Leven was kinder to us weather-wise than in recent years, and we started off in a moderate south easterly with good cloud cover. Later we had to put up with a stronger easterly with sunny spells and variable cloud. Again many members had other plans so only 6 rods made up the 3 boats. Paul was out with Ian, Laurie with Barrie while Gilbert and Robert were in the other boat. We spoke to Alan Smith before heading out who reported buzzers were working fished static at anchor for presentation on the 14 to 15 foot contours all around the loch. Pulling was also working on di7 or di8 lines on the same contours. Ian and Paul began on the drift from Scart to Green Isle with no luck. A move to mid buoy pulling on a di7 produced a follow from a monster which chased a swiftly pulled dunkeld all the way to the boat only to turn away at the last moment. Next move was to the point of St Serfs no luck. By this time it was lunch time so the 'Paul Pasty' was out and the time was used usefully to motor up to hole of the inch. Laurie and Barrie were spied, but reported no luck either. Another move to the sluices and buzzers on tip lines fished static finally provided some action. The birds were working 200 yards out at the 15ft mark - Paul lost a decent fish then Ian got a good one. Paul and Ian finished with 2 keepers each, all fish were returned and counted as 1.25 lb each as per national qualifying rules. At the end of the day Barrie reported 2 pulls and a couple of follows and that was it. So the points work out like this:

1st = Ian 2 fish 2 lb 08 oz 9.5 points
1st = Paul 2 fish 2 lb 08 oz 9.5 points

Well done to Ian and Paul - breaking the Loch Leven duck of a few years. The Winship Quaich and Bob Stewart trophy will find proper homes for next winter! Thanks to Paul for the report, and see you all at Lake of Menteith next week. A couple of nice trout are pictured below - again thanks to Paul for the photos.

Frandy Fishery - 1 June 2019

We had a really interesting day at the Frandy Fishery and it was a pity that so many club members had other plans, or, in the case of the Sec, had other commitments thrust upon them! First of all, the weather - it was actually pleasant, which is a nice change for this season, so far. 7 anglers set out after seeing rising fish from the car park and jetty and it was interesting to note that almost all boats, not just the B&BAC boat, turned left and headed up the reservoir. Paul found fish on the south shore around the island, Barrie and Bobby found fish on the same shore near the lodge and I'm not sure where Jimmy and Bill were at this stage. Gilbert and I tried the north shore off the gorse and each had an early fish, but later found greater success in and around the wee bay and point right by the jetty. We hung around there most of the day. Paul was on dries and doing well, while Barrie had a good morning but couldn't get them to hang on so much in the afternoon. Lunch was a most social affair, with all B&B anglers congregating in the lodge for half an hour or so to exchange info and tales of derring-do...(and have a dram.) Lots of different methods accounted for fish, including dries, muddlers, nymphs, godheads and boobies. The trick seemed to be to find the fish and persevere! The results were as follows:

1st Paul 14 fish 30 lb 04 oz 10 points
2nd David O 11 fish 22 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd Barrie 8 fish 14 lb 15 oz 8 points
4th Bill 7 fish 14 lb 00 oz 7 points
5th Bobby 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 6 points
6th Gilbert 1 fish 2 lb 04 oz 5 points
7th Jimmy K 1 fish 2 lb 00 oz 4 points

7 anglers caught a total of 45 fish for a rod average of just under 6.5 fish and the total weight of 90lb suggests an average weight of 2lb per fish. Thanks to all who attended and good luck to those heading for Loch Leven on 15 June.

President Will and current Club Champion Laurie fished in the Bob Church Classic at Rutland Water on 2 June. Willie came a very creditable 8th with 7 fish on what seemed to be a difficult day and in a very strong field. Laurie had a more relaxed day, but I'm sure both gents had a tremendous day.

Black Loch - 27 April 2019

The 9 members of the B and B ( low turn-out:- all in the points?) arrived at the black loch with a flat calm to light northly wind and a loch with fish rising all over. The weather was forecast to change during the day to 14 mph N/E to N to N/N/E to N/W by the afternoon with the possibility of storms. For once we were lucky in that although the wind did change many times we missed the storms we and we missed the rain with only one light shower. When we went in Davie reported that lightening was spotted in the distance and the storm clouds just passed either side of the loch and apparently there were floods in the clyde valley!!. To the fishing:- the word was midge tip or floater, dam bay to high bank with red holo diawl bachs with a candy booby on the point. At the off the wind had picked up and the fish seen rising all over disappeared in the ripple. Most boats headed to the sunken island, dam, fence to high bank areas. Early on no rods were seen bending and Laurie’s boat was observed to be doing a systematic search all around the sunken island with not much success. John Gould landed an early fish but surprisingly not that much was happening. I was fishing with Ian who started to hook the odd fish and then proceed to have premature catch and release. By lunch time we found ourselves in school bay, Ian had 2, I had nothing so I cast out a team of buzzers on the floater and got the pasty out. That did the trick the line shot away and that was one to the excellent bill marsh method. Ian did the same. After lunch we went over to the top southwest corner and spotted Willie at the start of the high bank. He reported 8 on the floater and black buzzers. Other boats soon spotted this as well and a line formed all the way down the top of the south shore. Most were fishing static but Laurie was now doing well covering rising fish figure of 8 with a booby on the 5 foot ghost tip. Willie and Ian continued to steadily put together excellent bags on the static buzzer. With everybody catching fish all were in the points as follows:

1st Laurie 12 fish 26 lb 02 oz 10 points
2nd Willie 12 fish 24 lb 07 oz 9 points
3rd Ian 7 fish 14 lb 05 oz 8 points
4th John 5 fish 12 lb 11 oz 7 points
5th Barrie 5 fish 12 lb 09 oz 6 points
6th Paul 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 5 points
7th Bobby 2 fish 4 lb 06 oz 4 points
8th Alastair 2 fish 4 lb 04 oz 3 points
9th Gilbert 1 fish 2 lb 02 oz 2 points

So all anglers did get a point or 10! The totals for 9 rods were 19 fish kept, 30 returned, with a total weight of 102lb 08 oz, for an average weight of just over 2lb and a rod average of just under 5.5 fish per angler. Thanks to Paul for the report and see you at Frandy on Saturday.

Lake or Menteith - 9 May 2019

Well, that was a bit different. It was still cold when our 14 anglers gathered at the lodge, but thankfully the whole day was fished in fine conditions and with, for the most part, co-operative fish. No Bothwell and Blantyre angler finished with fewer than 4 fish, with the Butts, Todd Hole, Lochend, Kate's Brae, Sam's Point and Sandy Bay all producing fish. Our Sam produced a 4 fish bag of 14lb, suggesting a high average weight of fish. (Robin wants his fly back, by the way...) Paul accumulated steadily during the morning and reported 10 fish by lunchtime in a variety of locations. David had a decent start in Sandy Bay and Willie and Laurie did well on various Lochend drifts. Buzzers proved to be the best fly for many, but a mixture of DBs and junk food accounted for numbers of fish, too. The full result is as follows:

1st Paul 15 fish 32 lb 08 oz 10 points
2nd David O 14 fish 28 lb 12 oz 9 points
3rd Laurie 13 fish 25 lb 14 oz 8 points
4th= Robin 12 fish 24 lb 00 oz 6.5 points
4th= Sam 9 fish 24 lb 00 oz 6.5 points
6th Barrie 10 fish 20 lb 11 oz 5 points
7th John G 9 fish 19 lb 08 oz 4 points
8th Willie 9 fish 18 lb 10 oz 3 points
9th Ian G 8 fish 16 lb 00 oz 2 points
10th Bobby 7 fish 14 lb 00 oz 1 points

Bill, Alastair, Tom C and Jimmy K all returned 4 or 5 fish but didn't make the points list. Highly unusual in the B&B. We caught a total of 123 fish, of which 79 were returned. Average weight of fish killed was just over 2lb 4 oz, and the rod average for the club was 8.78. A tremendous day's fishing and many thanks to Quint and Douglas at the Lake.

Frandy Fishery - 14 April 2019

Wow. That was some day. We arrived at Frandy to find the water looking good - I say 'looking' advisedly, because looks can be deceptive.... It wasn't until we started to kit up that the extreme cold of the biting easterly wind made itself fully known. It was strong and blustery and as a result, fishing proved exceptionally difficult. We were also hampered by having to use electric outboards - Scottish Water having advised Frandy that horrible polluting petrol outboards were no longer acceptable on the water - no doubt the Scottish Water officials enforcing this new rule were driving around in petrol or diesel automobiles (just saying'). (Frandy's new LPG outboard motors arrived at the fishery the day after our visit.) In the meantime, thanks to all those Club members who provided electric motors and batteries at very short notice - much appreciated.

Anyway... Alastair and I headed for the dam area, intending to drift down the south shore towards the lodge. The wind had other ideas and our progress was swift and erratic. We each managed a fish, but Alastair's didn't hang on long enough to count - mea partially culpa for getting in the way. We saw Barrie take a fish and a couple of other rods bending, but action was intermittent, to say the least. By 10.30 I was cold and grumpy - actually, very cold - and suggested to Alastair that we go in for a coffee. We were not alone - El Pres and bro were not far behind us, and Robin and JK had decided to fish off the bank, such was the wind and the motor/battery situation. Laurie and Ian/Bill win the endurance prizes - the latter pair sitting under the dam steeple casting in the erratic and swirling wind for most of the day, managing to snare a hard-earned fish. (I spent 10 mins under the dam at one point and my admiration for Bill and Ian sticking it our knows no bounds.) Laurie, meanwhile, was accumulating steadily doing a variety of drifts from the dam wall. While all this was going on, Robin was catching a few from the bank, as were Willie, Paul and Millar. After Alastair departed to a birthday party appointment, I went back out for a couple of short sessions and managed a few fish. In all, 15 of us accumulated 23 trout, of which 7 were returned, with the average weight being over 2 lb. A mixture of lures took fish - blobs, boobies and goldheads. I didn't hear of any nymph or dry fly caught fish, but you never know. The full results are:

1st David O 5 fish 10 lb 08 oz 10 points
2nd Laurie 4 fish 10 lb 01 oz 9 points
3rd Robin 5 fish 10 lb 00 oz 8 points
4th Willie 3 fish 6 lb 12 oz 7 points
5th Barrie 2 fish 4 lb 01 oz 6 points
6th Paul 2 fish 4 lb 00 oz 5 points
7th Bill 1 fish 2 lb 00 oz 4 points

Guest Millar E also managed a fish. I don't recall a season before when we failed to register 10 scoring anglers in each of the 1st 2 competitions. Good luck to all those heading for the Black Loch on 27th - your regular scribe will be elsewhere on that day, but hopefully Paul will pen a few words and drop the results to me. Happy Easter!

Lake of Menteith - 23 March 2019

Well, every opening outing seems different each year. From ice a few years ago, to pleasant sunny day couple of years ago, to wet and windy on some occasions. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, given that it's still March in Scotland, and even the early March Browns were laughing at us from their nymph stage. This year, I think our opening day could be described as deceptive. There was much car park bonhomie in evidence, black pudding sandwiches being consumed and casts being tied - and then we went round to the other side of the lodge and BLIMEY, that's cold. It was. It didn't change. 4 anglers made a wise early tactical retreat, your scribe was seen in gloves between drifts and the fishy operation was patchy. As ever, some found the method, which seemed to be in the fast glass - Di3 range, with fly not being too important, although my straw poll after the event suggests that lures did much better than the imitative stuff. Mr President spooned a couple of fish, to find not much and a few small buzzers - at least one of these fish had taken his pink blob, but funnily enough pink daphnia in its natural state was conspicuous by its absence in the spooned fish....

Anyway, Barrie found the method and boated a number of decent fish among his 10 - well done - very good angling on the day. Robin was nearly as good with 9, but he obviously kept the method and the effective flies a secret from his boat partner - enough said. David and Willie managed 10 between them, taken from a fairly large area around the south east of the lake. We seemed to have missed out a bit in that Malling fished well, but I'm not sure if any of the B&B boats ventured that far west. Anyway, the full results are as follows:

1st Barrie 10 fish 20 lb 00 oz 10 points
2nd Robin 9 fish 18 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd David O 6 fish 12 lb 00 oz 8 points
4th Willie 4 fish 6 lb 08 oz 7 points
5th Paul 2 fish 5 lb 06 oz 6 points
6th Jimmy 1 fish 2 lb 01 oz 5 points
7th John G 1 fish 2 lb 00 oz 4 points
8th Alastair 1 fish 1 lb 08 oz 3 points

34 fish caught by 13 anglers gives a rod average of 2.6. I'm not sure there's much point in calculating average weight, as 27 of the 34 fish were returned, but those weighed in averaged just under 2, helped by Paul's fish of 3lb 6 oz.

Fish caught by Robin and Barrie are pictured below - click on them to see them properly. See you all at Frandy.

Season 2019 is almost upon us!

The Club season will start at the Lake of Menteith on Saturday 23 March. I'll complete the season dates over the next day or two and will be out and about with camera and pen on Saturday at the Lake. Look forward to seeing you all then.

Champion of Champions Update

As many members know, Ian G and Laurie fished this prestigious competition on the 5th of October, having qualified through the Scottish Clubs Championship. Ian finished a very creditable 19th, with 8 fish for 15lb 12.4oz, and Laurie not far behind in 34th place with 5 fish for 11lb 2.7oz. Excellent results in a high quality field - very well done, gents.

The Black Loch Fishery - 22 Sep 18

With apologies for tardiness. The final outing of the season saw 14 B&B anglers on the Black Loch on what looked like a decent fishing day. The boats were well spread, with David and Bobby getting off to a good start on the shore to the east of the lodge. Boats we scattered around School Bay, the High Bank and both Reedy Bays, but despite a range of methods being used, the lunchtime meet-up proved that returns were pretty scant. The top two, Laurie and Paul, fishing together, were finding the going very hard as were Robin, Willie, Gilbert, Jimmy K and Jackie. David O was putting together a decent bag with a few coming to a big back lure, but almost half of the bag came to more imitative patterns. Paul needed to score very well with Laurie scoring poorly if the 1st and 2nd places in the Club Championship were to be reversed. In the end, Paul's 4 fish allowed him to claim 3rd place on the day, but having to drop a previous score of 6 points the 2 extra points were not enough. While Laurie finished only 10th on the day with 2 fish, his brilliant form earlier in the season meant that he takes a second Club Championship - many congratulations, Laurie. The full results on the day were:

1st David O 9 fish 18 lb 00 oz 10 points
2nd Ian 6 fish 12 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd Paul 5 fish 10 lb 15 oz 8 points
4th Willie 4 fish 8 lb 04.5 oz 7 points
5th= Bobby 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 5 points
5th= Jackie 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 5 points
5th= Barrie 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 5 points
8th Bill 2 fish 4 lb 10 oz 3 points
9th Robin 2 fish 4 lb 00 oz. 2 points
10th Laurie 2 fish 3 lb 06 oz 1 point

Jimmy K was unlucky in catching a fish, but not making it onto the scoreboard. A total if 40 fish were caught, with the average weight approx 2lb. The rod average was 2.85 fish per angler. The final Club Championship table is here.

Frandy Fishery - 2 September 2018

We welcomed Laurie back to the waterside ahead of his previously declared schedule (although I'm hearing rumours of a practice day on the Black Loch last week with the ArchB) - hope it's all on Dr's orders, Mr T! We also welcomed Katrina (sp?) who was out fishing with her Dad and also out fishing her Dad, which was great to see. Research subsequent to the day suggests that Katrina is not, after all, the first lady angler to fish with the club, and that this honour might might have fallen to the late Jane Knights. Anyway, it was a decent day on Frandy and for the most part the fish co-operated and there were no blanks! The usual mixture of flies worked, with the candy booby to the fore for many. Ian and Barrie did well at the top end in the morning, with Laurie catching at the dam and David and Paul accumulating on the north shore. Bobby R won the 'Champagne' moment of the day in falling off his brand new boat seat while 'assisting' Jimmy K with netting a fish. Bobby was most unfortunate in that this incident was witnessed in its entirety by your scribe! We should all give John G a mention for nearly causing us to have a whip round prior to fishing - Alastair, you give a man one job.....! We should also record our thanks to Ken at Frandy for his flexibility - and I do hope that you had a safe journey on Monday, John!!

Anyway, an amusing day in all sorts of ways, and the scores were:

1st Laurie 11 fish 22 lb 12 oz 10 points
2nd Ian 8 fish 16 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd Paul 7 fish 14 lb 00 oz 8 points
4th Jimmy 5 fish 10 lb 00 oz 7 points
5th David 4 fish 8 lb 00 oz 6 points
6th= Jackie 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 3.5 points
6th= Robin 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 3.5 points
6th= Tom C 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 3.5 points
6th= John 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz. 3.5 points
10th Willie 2 fish 4 lb 02 oz 1 point

Katrina caught 4 fish, and would have finished 5th. Barrie and Bobby were unlucky in catching fish yet not scoring. In a curious quirk, 13 anglers caught 57 fish, exactly the same as the last outing on the Lake of Menteith, giving a rod average of just under 4.4, and the average weight per fish of just about spot on 2lb - a wee bight lighter than at the Lake. All in all a decent day, and we look forward to the final competition of the year at the Black Loch on 22 Sep. The overall scores have been updated here.

External Competitions

Neither of the Club teams qualified for the final of the Scottish Clubs competition. The so-called B Team were 12th in a heat of 22, with 11th place being good enough to qualify. Ian, Robin and Jackie caught 18 fish and were effectively 1 short. Very bad luck. The so-called A Team, on the other hand, Paul, Barrie and David, caught only 10 fish between them, finishing down in 20th place. I suppose there's always next year!

Good luck to Laurie and Ian in the Champion of Champions final on 5th October.

Lake of Menteith - 16 August 2018

This was a bit of an inconsistent day for may. The weather was decent and there were many boats in the Gateside Bay area. Some tried elsewhere, with fish coming from the Butts and a few in plantation/Malling Shore/Roman Bay area. The usual mix of dries, nymphs and junk food seemed to work for different people at different times, with many struggling in the morning but collecting fish in the afternoon to compile a decent bag - certainly in the cases of Paul, Barrie, Ian and Robin! The rest of us struggled a bit, with Sam and big Tom being unlucky not to get a point and David P not troubling the scorers! At the end of the day, the best anglers were:

1st= Paul 10 fish 20 lb 00 oz 10 points
2nd Barrie 8 fish 18 lb 08 oz 9 points
3rd= Robin 8 fish 16 lb 00 oz 7.5 points
3rd= Ian 8 fish 16 lb 00 oz 7.5 points
5th David O 4 fish 8 lb 00 oz 6 points
6th Willie 3 fish 7 lb 04 oz 5 points
7th Bobby 3 fish 6 lb 12 oz 4 points
8th Alastair 3 fish 6 lb 10 oz 3 points
9th= John G 3 fish 6lb 00 oz. 1.5 points
9th= Jackie 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 1.5 point

13 anglers caught 57 fish in total, for a rod average of around 4.4 and an average weight of 2lb 4 oz. The Lake really is an excellent fishery - rewarding this who really get it right on the day. Well fished the top 4 - the rest of us must try harder!

Black Loch - 28 July 2018

The slightly better (fishing) weather seemed to rekindle a bit of excitement in the pre-match conversation, with most looking forward to good day on the water. Laurie was struggling with a shoulder injury and took the unfamiliar bow seat. The 'dream team' of Ian and Robin were quietly optimistic and we all headed out in expectation rather than hope. David and Laurie and Barrie and John G started in school bay, with the fish being uncharacteristically unco-operative. Barrie did land one and David lost one before moving on to Reedy Bay north, to find Ian and Robin in Reedy Bay south, but only having boated one fish. Paul appeared before long looking for a fish or two, but David took a few on a mixture of junk food and naturals, giving some encouragement to Laurie, who joined in with a couple of nice fish. At lunch (12.30 on Black Loch, Mr Pres) there was nothing consistent to report at all, apart from the fine quality of the scotch. In the afternoon, the boats anchored under various parts of the High Bank did best, with Robin and Paul adding regularly to their respective totals. Jackie, too, accumulated steadily and in the end 36 fish counted (15 weighed, 21 returned) and we had something of a unique situation where 4 anglers tied for the top post, each having caught 5 fish. Total weight was just over 73lb, giving an average weight of just over 2lb, and a rod average of 2.7 fish per angler. The wind in the afternoon was pretty strong, so a particular well done to those who caught fish in the last couple of hours. The full result is:

1st= Paul 5 fish 10 lb 00 oz 8.5 points
1st= Robin   5 fish 10 lb 00 oz 8.5 points
1st= Jackie   5 fish 10 lb 00 oz 8.5 points
1st= David O 5 fish 10 lb 00 oz 8.5 points
5th Laurie 4 fish 7 lb 09 oz 6 points
6th. Alastair 3 fish 5 lb 15 oz 5 points
7th Barrie 2 fish 4 lb 09 oz 4 points
8th John G 2 fish 4 lb 02 oz 3 points
9th Ian G 2 fish. 4lb 01 oz. 2 points
10th Willie 1 fish 2 lb 09 oz 1 point

Linlithgow Loch - 14 July 2018

This turned out to be a better day than might have been suggested by the weather. With weeks of warm weather preceding the day, we anticipated weed and warm water, with the chances being that the 'hole' would be heavily fished! i turned out to be pretty much that way. Laurie was at his customary post fishing into the hole form the lodge side, and accumulated steadily through the day on a variety of flies. His bp, Bobby, took a couple of hefty fish towards the end of the day, too, so that was a pretty good boat. Pres Willie and David P went fish for fish until Willie came over all 'dropsy' (which is not as bad as it sounds, apparently) and they ended up with 7 to the boat. David O found his Di3 blob/cutthroat cat combination to the fishes liking in the morning, and then again later in the afternoon. Ian, in the pointy end of the boat, found a couple of fish on his mid glass just after lunch. Robin ended up with 3 after getting off the mark early, but the surprise packages were Paul, Barrie and Jackie, who found the fish surprisingly unco-operative. In total, 19 fish were weighed in with 13 returned. Rod average around 2.2, with a good average weight of around 2lb 8 oz.

Results:

1st Laurie 6 fish 14lb 08 oz 10 points
2nd David O 5 fish 12 lb 08 oz 9 points
3rd David P 4 fish 9 lb 00 oz 8 points
4th Willie 3 fish 8 lb 06 oz 7 points
5th Robin 3 fish 7 lb 08 oz 6 points
6th. Bobby R 2 fish 7 lb 04 oz 5 points
7th= Tom C 2 fish 5lb 00 oz 3.5 points
7th= Ian 2 fish 5 lb 00 oz 3.5 points
9th Jimmy K. 2 fish. 4lb 08 oz. 2 points
10th= Paul 1 fish 2 lb 00 oz 0.5 points
10th= Jackie 1 fish 2lb 00oz 0.5 points

Lake of Menteith - 28 June 2018

Thanks to Paul for this report on what was a pretty tough day.
News from lake - it was the hottest day of year 29 at lake 32 in Motherwell.
David Penrice was off to a flyer in cages picking up 2 on intermediate and red head damsel in first 1st hour or 2.
Barrie(5) and Laurie(3) did well to find some fish Malling and plantation to back of dog isle. They were fishing di3s, Barrie with a new fly, blue eyed damsel booby with blue flash rib and blue flash in the tail. Laurie red head damsel. Me and Jimmy tried various deep water drifts, never touch a fish till 3:30 ish di5 sweep full cast count 50, 6 foot leader single large and I mean large white cat booby fist fish 3lb 6oz second fish 5lb 7oz. John Gould picked up 2 fish, Jackie 1 and that was it. Hard hard day 15 fish in total and only 45 points awarded.

1st Paul 2 fish 8 lb 13 oz 10 points
2nd Barrie 5 fish 8 lb 12 oz 9 points
3rd Laurie 3 fish 6 lb 04 oz 8 points
4th David P 2 fish 5 lb 06 oz 7 points
5th John G 2 fish 4 lb 02 oz 6 points
6th Jackie 1 fish 1 lb 09 oz 5 points
7th - 10th Not Awarded

Loch Leven - 16 June 2018

Press release: Everyone got very wet. At least one undersized fish was returned. Ends.

External Competition News

I was in trouble last week for missing a couple of distinguished performances from B&B members in external competitions, so here goes with a roundup - please let me know if your particular achievement has been missed.

Scottish National:

President Willie didn't quite make it at Lintrathen, fishing under the RAF Fish Hawks banner.
Barrie qualified for the semi finals at the Lake on 3 May, with 6 fish for 11lb 14.5oz. Unfortunately the semi at Carron did not go according to plan for Barrie and our interest in the national has ended..
Paul didn't quite make it in the same heat.
Laurie didn't quite make it either, fishing Carron on 19 Apr.

Scottish Clubs:

On 12 May the B&B 'B' team of Ian, Robin and Jackie qualified for the semi-finals, taking 3rd place in their heat with 10 fish for 25lb and 7oz.

Ian G also qualified for the Champion of Champions with his 5 fish for 12lb. Well done, Ian!

Our A team of Laurie, Paul and Barrie also made it through, although the SANACC website still suggested they were 4th, on 26 May in their heat. As previously reported Laurie made it through to the Champion of Champions with 6 fish for 13lb 6oz.

Both teams fish in the Semi final on Friday 17 August, with David O substituting for Laurie, who is not available to fish.

Frandy Fishery - 2 June 2018

Well, it was certainly a lot warmer than when we were here in mid-April. Tales abounded of numerous fish being caught the day prior to our visit, but it became obvious very quickly that Saturday was different from Friday in more than just name! A couple of brave souls started on dries with others on the long tip, and while it was clear that the fish were near the surface, it was much more difficult to know what they might be persuaded to take. In the end, a variety of methods worked, from Cut throat cat, to cormorants, DBs, boobies and, for Robin in the afternoon, CDC shuttlecocks. The rod average ended up at just over 3, which these days means challenging fishing. Well done to those caught - it was not easy, but particular congratulations to Robin and Barrie, recording 8 and 6 respectively. Your scribe won't be at either of the next 2 outings (Loch Leven and LoM, but will endeavour to keep the website up to date. The full result were:

1st Robin 8 fish 16 lb 00 oz 10 points
2nd Barrie 6 fish 10 lb 04 oz 9 points
3rd Paul 4 fish 8 lb 03 oz 8 points
4th Jackie 4 fish 8 lb 00 oz 7 points
5th Jimmy 3 fish 7 lb 01 oz 6 points
6th= Ian 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 4.5 points
6th= David O 3 fish 6lb 00 oz 4.5 points
8th John 3 fish 5 lb 12 oz 3 points
9th Gilbert 1 fish 2 lb 00 oz 2 points
10th Not Awarded

Club members prepare to go afloat on the Lake. Thanks to Quint for the photo

Lake of Menteith - 10 May 2018

Once again Laurie ran away with the points - he is in a fine run of form, capped by booking an appearance in the Champion of Champions competition during a Scottish Clubs heat recently. No one could match his 12 fish, caught in a variety of locations around Hotel Bay! Robin followed up with a decent basket of 6, with Pauls 4 fish earning him 3rd. Lochend fished well at times, but the greatest concentration of fish was in Hotel Bay, and that accounted for the greatest concentration of boats as 5.30 drew ever nearer. All the usual methods worked, but lures seemed to do best, and those who weren't using rubber hooks did better than those of us who were. It was also nice to fish in slightly warmer conditions than earlier in the season! The full results are:

1st Laurie 12 fish 26 lb 08 oz 10 points
2nd Robin 6 fish 12 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd Paul 4 fish 11 lb 00 oz 8 points
4th David P 3 fish 9 lb 10 oz 7 points
5th Jackie 3 fish 8 lb 12 oz 6 points
6th Barrie 4 fish 8 lb 00 oz 5 points
7th David O 3 fish 6lb 00 oz 4 points
8th Willie 1 fish 3 lb 00 oz 3 points
9th Ian 1 fish 2 lb 10 oz 2 points
10th David P 1 fish 2 lb 06 oz 1 point

18 fish were weighed in for a total of around 49lb, and average weight of around 2lb 11 oz. A further 21 fish were returned giving a total of 39 fish among 16 anglers - 2.4 fish per rod. Please note that these results are provisional until I confirm them with Paul's final totals. Should be noted that Alastair missed out on a point - the only angler to catch and not get a point. We were also delighted to have John H fishing with us as a guest of David P. John had a relaxed day, but we always enjoy seeing him.

See you at Frandy on 2 June.

Black Loch Fishery - 28 April 2018

Well, that was a bit of a red letter day in Bothwell and Blantyre history, I reckon. I have no knowledge of any individual winning a B&B competition with 30 fish. Take a bow, Laurie - what a fantastic achievement. The conditions were as good as I can remember any time I have fished the Black Loch. If I was nit-picking, then it was a bit cold, but the usual 'stiff breeze' (howling gale) was absent and the conditions generally good. We even drifted comfortably for the first 90 minutes, but I think we were alone in that. Laurie and partner Sam found the fish from the off, and around 10.30 we passed Laurie and I heard him on the phone to the lodge checking what our kill limit was! I should have realised then that something was up. Alastair was also into fish early, with 5 by 10.45 and continued to accumulate until his self imposed (or was it Mandy?) lunchtime finish - 9 fish in a morning is not to be sniffed at - well done. Alastair. The lunchtime news was not all good. Paul and Bobby hadn't really found the fish, but we did hear that Tom B was slaying them. Tom and Barrie very kindly moved off the fish at lunchtime to give everyone else a chance - candidates for the 'public spirit award' this year? Willie was fishing with guest and prospective member Eddie and they accumulated steadily at the heather bank. But it was the High Bank where the 3 biggest bags were accumulated, although Robin and Ian did well elsewhere - not sure exactly where - school bay? Lots of different patterns took fish - cormorants on a washing line, lures at times, buzzers and nymphs at times - it's difficult to be specific because some things worked for some, and not for others. All in all, a fine day for most, and NO BLANKS. Well done, everyone.

1st Laurie 30 fish 61 lb 05 oz 10 points
2nd Sam 14 fish 29 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd David O 12 fish 24 lb 00 oz 8 points
4th Robin 10 fish 20 lb 00 oz 7 points
5th Paul 9 fish 19 lb 02 oz 6 points
6th Alastair 9 fish 18 lb 11 oz 5 points
7th Ian 8 fish 16lb 00 oz 4 points
8th Willie 7 fish 15 lb 15 oz 3 points
9th Tom B 7 fish 14 lb 11 oz 2 points
10th David P 5 fish 9 lb 00 oz 1 point

The final count noted 51 fish taken for 109lb and 5 oz, for an average weight of just over 2lb 2 oz. Another 78 fish were returned, with anglers receiving and allowance of 2lb per returned fish. The overall rod average (for 16.5 anglers - allowing for Alastair's half day!) was 7.81, as good as anything the club has ever experience, I'd guess. A remarkable days fishing - many thanks fo the Black Loch and we look forward to our return later in the year.

Frandy Fishery - 14 April 2018

14 of us fished in reasonably pleasant conditions at Frandy, although the pre match info was that fishing was 'hard' and not being helped by a water temperature of a chilly 4ºC! It certainly seemed that the day was going to be tough for most, with Jimmy K recording a couple of fish in the morning, Mr Pres nailing one on a top secret classified 'fly' and a few others reporting the odd jerk - at one end of the rod or other. Glum faces (almost) all round at the 'lunch club', at least until Barrie's excellent water of life made an appearance - thank you! Paul had nabbed a fish just before lunch down at the sluice corner, and during the afternoon proceeded to add regularly to this total, catching on a cat booby, iirc. Laurie and Jackie meanwhile were picking up fish and building to decent bags on a mixture of buzzers, cormorants and YDs. Alastair entered the fray late on with a couple of fish on a bloodworm and David's trusty Frandy 'Kate McLaren' variant came good in the end, but only after David and Alastair had nicked Paul and Jimmy's prime spot at the sluice! Willie managed another couple to finish respectably and most other members managed a fish or two. Your spy noticed only one bit of dodgy boat handling, as yours truly managed to wrap the (barely needed) drogue round the prop. Muppet. Now looking forward to the Black Loch on 28th, but in the meantime the good anglers on Saturday last were:

1st Paul 10 fish 21 lb 04 oz 10 points
2nd Jackie 5 fish 14 lb 12 oz 9 points
3rd Laurie 4 fish 10 lb 06 oz 8 points
4th Alastair 2 fish 6 lb 02 oz 7 points
5th Robin 3 fish 6 lb 00 oz 6 points
6th Jimmy 2 fish 5 lb 04 oz 5 points
7th Willie 2 fish 5lb 02 oz 4 points
8th= Ian 1 fish 4 lb 00 oz 2.5 points
8th= David O 2 fish 4 lb 00 oz 2.5 points
10th Barrie 1 fish 3 lb 10 oz 1 point

22 fish were weighed in, with another 10 returned, giving a rod average of 2.3 fish per angler, and an average weight, of fish killed, of around 2lb and 10 oz.

Advance warning - please gather for a club photo at 9.15, in front of the lodge, at Lake of Menteith on 10 May.

Lake of Menteith - 24 March 2018

18 of us set off for our opening day on Saturday, with the weather a little bit milder than it had been for the Fishery opening the week before. Laurie was into fish early on, as was Barrie although respective boat partners struggled bit. Early method seemed to involve a Di3 sweep and some things called 'boobies'. Nope, I don't know, either. The lunch group met up at the lodge at 1pm, with Barrie's generous gift much appreciated - plenty left for Frandy! The general consensus of those of us who lunched was that we must do better in the afternoon. Laurie continued to prosper, and Robin, in Keith's company, had a golden drift netting 7 fish as the boat nudged a long the south shore at the holiday lets. A right mixture of methods succeeded in the afternoon, from midge tip to Di3, and the aforementioned boobies, buzzers, cormorants and lures doing well. in the end, 39 fish were weighed in, with a further 45 returned, for a total of 84, and a rod average of 4.66. The average weight of the fish weighed in 2lb 11 oz - remarkable for this stage in the season. My spies tell me that there were a couple of early departures from the beach, and that not only did members have motor issues involving ID10T (user) errors, but that there was a drogue in motor episode, too. I'm sure we'll all do better at Frandy.... And the good anglers were:

1st Laurie 18 fish 38 lb 08 oz 10 points
2nd Keith 10 fish 27 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd Barrie 9 fish 22 lb 10 oz 8 points
4th Robin 11 fish 22 lb 00 oz 7 points
5th Bill 6 fish 16 lb 04 oz 6 points
6th Ian 6 fish 13 lb 12 oz 5 points
7th Willie 5 fish 11lb 00 oz 4 points
8th Jackie 5 fish 10 lb 10 oz 3 points
9th Paul 4 fish 09 lb 04 oz 2 points
10th David O 4 fish 07 lb 12 oz 1 point

Keith returned a fish estimated at 5 lb 8 oz and Paul one of 4lb. Pics below.

Outings for 2018

The following outings have been confirmed for Season 2018

Sat 24 March Lake of Menteith 9.30 - 5.30 10 Boats
Sat 14 April Frandy Fishery 9.00 - 4.30 10 Boats
Sat 28 April Black Loch 9.00 - 4.15 10 Boats
Thurs 10 May Lake of Menteith 9.30 - 5.30 10 Boats
Sat 2 June Frandy Fishery 9.00 - 4.30 10 Boats
Sat 16 June Loch Leven 10.00 - 5.30 6 Boats
Thurs 28 June Lake of Menteith 9.30 - 5.30 10 Boats
Sat 14 July Linlithgow Loch 9.00 - 4.00 8 Boats
Sat 28 July Black Loch 9.00 - 4.15 10 Boats
Thurs 16 August Lake of Menteith 9.30 - 5.30 10 Boats
Sun 2 September Frandy Fishery 9.00 - 4.30 10 Boats
Sat 22 September Black Loch 9.00 - 4.15 10 Boats

Please note the Frandy outing on 2 Sep 18 is a Sunday

Council Meeting - Thursday 19 October 2017

Please let any council member know if you want any matter raised at this meeting, or, better, let Alastair know in advance.

Black Loch Fishery - 23 September 2017

With the club championship effectively settled after the Loch Leven debacle, the final day shoot out at the Black Loch (there must be a film title there somewhere) turned into a gentle day's pleasure fishing for most. The weather was pretty kind to us, with no rain and the wind being not too bad. In fact, for a short time around 8.30, it was positively balmy, with buzzer type flies hatching off and the odd fish rising. 12 of us set off with great hope, and by 4.30 there was not a blank to report. I wouldn't say the fishing was easy, but Paul and Jackie managed to record 9 and 8 respectively over the course of the day, with fish being caught all over the water, or, at least, all around the margins. The High Bank, the Dam, Heather Bank and School Bay all fished well and as usual a variety of patterns caught fish, from Cormorants to DBs, with boobies and yellow dancers doing a bit of damage, too. In the end we weighed in 37 fish, returning another 8. Of the 4 limit bags, Alastair recorded the heaviest at 11 lb 08 oz, with Paul, David and Jackie running close behind. The full results are:

1st Alastair 5 fish 11 lb 08 oz 10 points
2nd= Paul 5 fish 11 lb 02 oz 8.5 points
2nd= David O 5 fish 11 lb 02 oz 8.5 points
4th Jackie 5 fish 10 lb 10 oz 7 points
5th Ian 4 fish 09 lb 02 oz 6 points
6th Barrie 4 fish 09 lb 00 oz 5 points
7th Gilbert 2 fish 04lb 05 oz 4 points
8th David P 1 fish 02 lb 02 oz 3 points
9th Willie 1 fish 02 lb 01 oz 2 points
10th Bobby 1 fish 02 lb 00 oz 1 point

Sam had 2 fish, but weight unknown. David's guest John also had 2 fish, and would have finished 7th - good to see you again, John. This was a decent way to end the season, and many congratulations to our Hon Sec and Treasurer for his first outright win with the club. The final points table is here.

Loch Leven - 2 September 2017

Deliberately Blank

Scottish Clubs - Trophy Alert!

Robin, Barrie and Jackie did exceptionally well to qualify for the final of the Scottish Clubs competition - full details of the final are here. Unfortunately a top 3 place narrowly eluded them and they had to be content with one of the other runner up prizes, below. Well done, gents - a great experience for all of you, I'm sure.

The Trophy

Stop Press! Scottish Clubs Final Qualification

Congratulations to the Bothwell and Blantyre 'A' Team on qualification for the final of the Scottish Clubs competition. Robin, Barrie and Jackie had 21 fish for 47 lb and 5 oz to qualify in 7th place. The final will held on 22 Sep 17 at the Lake. The 'B' team, Paul, Ian and Tom C, narrowly missed out on qualification. Full details are here.

Lake of Menteith - 17 August 2017

It looked like brain a decent day for angling as 16 club members set off from the beach, with only Sam and Gilbert going a bit early! However, as events unfolded, the morning proved to be much more difficult than the conditions might suggest. A few boats headed for the malling shore and there were long faces and O signs from the boats that we passed as the Malling burn, shore, silage pit and plantation failed to offer much encouragement, other than a fish with a rubber mouth. Robin and Barrie picked up a fish each in the Stable Point area and Robert C had one in the deeps of the Butts! The rookery shore had produced a couple of pulls in the morning, and Willie E and Tom C confirmed that there were fish along from Sam's Point to Hotel Bay. (Tom having his 4 by 2pm.) The afternoon proved much better for most, with fish being found in lots of places. The favourite spot seemed to be the leeward side (west) of Gateside Bay, where I counted 9 boats in the afternoon. Robin and Barrie continued to do well, ending with 15 to the boat - good angling, gents. Paul found fish in the afternoon, as did Laurie, Ian and David O. Most of the rest of the field managed 1 fish each, but there were one or two blanks, too. In the end, the scores were:

1st Tom C 4 fish 14 lb 04 oz 10 points
2nd Paul 4 fish 12 lb 06 oz 9 points
3rd Robin 4 fish 09 lb 10 oz 8 points
4th Laurie 4 fish 08 lb 12 oz 7 points
5th Barrie 4 fish 07 lb 12 oz 6 points
6th Ian 3 fish 07 lb 08 oz 5 points
7th David O 1 fish 04lb 06 oz 4 points
8th Jackie 1 fish 04 lb 02 oz 3 points
9th Robert C 1 fish 03 lb 03 oz 2 points
10th Willie 1 fish 02 lb 10 oz 1 point

Tom C had a superb basket of 4 fish, including a fish of 6 lb 6 oz (see pic below) and another of over 4lb. David had a fish of 4lb 6 oz, and Paul's 4 fish averaged over 3lb. 29 rainbows were weighed in for 79lb, and an average weight of 2.72lb. With 12 fish returned, the rob average was just over 2.5 fish per angler. The Lake of Menteith is an excellent, often challenging, fishery. Looking forward to next year already.

Other News - The Test and South Uist

Robin was on the River Test for a day at the end of July and reports catching wild and stocked trout, and grayling. Below are a few pics of his fish and the winning flies.
David was on South Uist (again) and further below are a couple of Loch Roag grilse and a couple of Machair and non-Machair trout, along with the successful flies.

Carron Valley Reservoir - 29 Jul 17

I'm not really a great fan of Carron Valley Reservoir and the day lived up fully to my expectations. The weather was horrible, culminating in a very wet afternoon and the rainbow trout didn't really play! Apart from all that, it was great. Laurie and Paul were the men who found the trout, doing well to record 4 and 3 respectively. For everyone else (apart from Willie and me) 1 fish sufficed. What is remarkable is that a few big fish were caught - see below. Well done to all the brave souls who got wet - the results were:

1st Laurie 4 fish 9 lb 05 oz 10 points
2nd Paul 3 fish 8 lb 01.5 oz 9 points
3rd Barrie 1 fish 6 lb 10.5 oz 8 points
4th Ian G 1 fish 1 lb 14.5 oz 7 points
5th Jackie 1 fish 1 lb 09 oz 6 points
6th Robin 1 fish 1 lb 08 oz 5 points
7th Tom C 1 fish 1 lb 07 oz 4 points

Some of the Carron Big Fish

Linlithgow Loch - 15 July 17

One dozen anglers fished on the 15th - if only Robert C had been there, we would have had a baker and a baker's dozen! It was a bit of a dreich day, with lots of cloud, the promise of an increasing wind and rain to come. In the end, we got a bit wet in the last hour, but the wind wasn't too bad, I'm pleased to report. The fishing was challenging throughout, but 11 out of 12 anglers managed at least 1 fish, and some did a bit better than that. Davids O & P both had a fish in the 1st 20 mins, and then a long spell of nothing much. Laurie accumulated during the day in that corner between the lodge and the Palace, with Ian G almost matching him bu the 4pm finish time. Willie looked as if he might stretch a lead over Jackie, but Jackie caught fish in the dog hours of 12-2 when there was no other rod bending action to be seen. Bill and Alastair managed a couple each, but Barrie and Bobby struggled to get more than one. There was a wee bit of activity in the last hour - Ian G finishing his limit and David O tempting a few on the Di3, but only 25 fish were weighed in and 8 were returned. Successful flies varied from cormorants to blobs to DBs and I understand one gentleman even used the Yellow Dancer with some success. the results were:

1st Laurie 5 fish 12 lb 10 oz 10 points
2nd Ian G 5 fish 12 lb 04 oz 9 points
3rd Jackie 4 fish 11 lb 08 oz 8 points
4th Willie 4 fish 11 lb 02 oz 7 points
5th Bill M 2 fish 6 lb 04 oz 6 points
6th Alastair 2 fish 6 lb 02 oz 5 points
7th= David P 1 fish 3 lb 08 oz 3.5 points
7th= Barrie 1 fish 3 lb 08 oz 3.5 points
9th Bobby R 1 fish 2 lb 08 oz 2 points

Rod average was just over 2.5, and the average weight of the fish was north of 2lb 8oz. A decent if unspectacular day, and what was not in doubt was the quality of the fish. The meal at the Bridge Inn was much enjoyed by 6 diners. Carron next, on 29th July - can't wait.......

Lake of Menteith - 29 June 17

Thanks again to Paul for this report:

WET,WET, WET non stop from 9:30 till 5:30 but someone said it was fine early afternoon for 10 minutes. It was cold as well, strong north east to north wind. You could warm your hands by dipping them in the lake, very uncommon in Scotland. One of our more senior members retired early the weather was so bad.

Anyway to the fishing - it wasn’t easy - they were in the mood early if you were in the right place which seemed to be the rookery to port end bay and to Sam’s point early on. Robin reported 3 fish there before it went dead at lunch time. Others struggled in the morning reporting lots of follows but fish turning away at the last moment or following the just disappearing as the fly began to sink. Laurie got it right in the afternoon fishing an “olive and black grunter dry in the pouring rain” good angling! taking 7 fish in total including having to return number 6 which he estimated was a 10lber. Successful tactics pm also included washing line, fabs and small crunchers on the midge tip and various dries. Alastair and Paul both reported losing good fish after playing for quite a while. In the end 14 rods landed 31 fish for 89 lb and with 6 limits and 7 fish returned. The results are:

1st Tom C 4 fish 12 lb 02 oz 10 points
2nd Barrie 4 fish 12 lb 01 oz 9 points
3rd Robin 4 fish 11 lb 12 oz 8 points
4th Jackie. 4 fish 11 lb 06 oz 7 points
5th Laurie 4 fish 11 lb 03 oz 6 points
6th Willie 4 fish 11 lb 00 oz 5 points
7th. Ian 2 fish. 6 lb 11 oz 4 points
8th. Paul 2 fish 5 lb 14 oz 3 points
9th. Sam 2 fish 4 lb 08 oz 2 points
10th. Alastair. 1 fish. 2 lb 09 oz 1 points

Amazing average fish weight - well done to those with a limit bag. See you at Linlithgow.

Carron Valley Reservoir - 17 June 17

Thank you very much to Paul for this report:

Very hard day on Carron lots of small, just undersized, browns reported, especially in morning with good westerly and cloud cover, rainbows hard to find as you will see from results below. Sun came out and killed the top of the water fishing. No stocking carried out since start of season but should have been stocked now on the 20th. 12 rods only 8 fish. Laurie did well 3 fish with one at 4lb 10 oz, but used a method which I won’t mention (ok then bung with beaded whatsit 5 ft below). Cloud made partial return for last hour which allowed a couple late fish but all in all disappointing.

Here are the results:

1st Laurie 3 fish 7 lb 1 oz 10 points
2nd Tom C 1 fish 1 lb 12 oz 9 points
3rd Robin 1 fish 1 lb 11.5 oz 8 points
4th Robert C 1 fish 1 lb 07 oz 7 points
5th Paul 1 fish 1 lb 06 oz 6 points
6th Jackie 1 fish 0 lb 11 oz 5 points

I'm sure everyone is looking forward to fishing the Lake of Menteith on 29th June - tight lines!

A Photo Catch-up......

A few pics for your delectation - thanks to Robin for supplying a few of these.

Frandy Fishery - 3 June 2017

A very fine day was enjoyed by 12 of us at Frandy, as we fished through a fine variety of weather conditions and saw fish moving on or around the surface for most of the day. Robin sussed the required tactics returning a most impressive 14 fish on the day, while Barrie, Ian and Paul had 7. Dries worked for some, nymphs for others and the ugly stuff for many of us! Lines varied from floater to fast glass - I didn't hear of anyone having to go deeper. Results are:

1st Jackie N 5 Fish 11 lb 02 oz 10 points
2nd Paul W 5 Fish 10 lb 09 oz 9 points
3rd= Barrie D 5 Fish 10 lb 02 oz 7.5 points
3rd= Ian G P 5 Fish 10 lb 02 oz 7.5 points
5th Robin B 5 Fish 10 lb 00 oz 6 points
6th Bobby R 5 Fish 9 lb 04 oz 5 points
7th Tom C 4 Fish 9 lb 00 oz 4 points
8th Laurie T 3 Fish 6 lb 06 oz 3 points
9th Tom B 2 Fish 4 lb 00 oz 2 points
10th -

Interesting that Ian and Barrie finished 3rd=, same weight, same boat, and each played their fifth fish exactly the same time!

39 fish were weighed in for 80lb, giving an average weight of just over 2lb, and with returns, 60 fish were weighed in giving a rod average of 5. A good day all round.

Lake of Menteith - 11 May 2017

Interesting day on the Lake, today, with 41 fish weighed in and another 28 returned. The usual mixture of methods, with buzzers to the fore, but Barrie found the fish happy to take a lure on the intermediate later in the day. The feeding depth seemed to vary, with some fishing straight lining buzzers and others using the washing line. Weatherwise, it was a pleasant day, but there was still an edge to the (lightish) wind. Laurie, Robin and Willie were all into double figures by the end of the day, with Paul ending up with 8. There were 6 limit bags and the results are:

1st Paul W 4 Fish 10 lb 00 oz 10 points
2nd Barrie D 4 Fish 9 lb 13 oz 9 points
3rd Laurie 4 Fish 8 lb 06 oz 8 points
4th David P 4 Fish 8 lb 05 oz 7 points
5th Willie E 4 Fish 8 lb 04 oz 6 points
6th= Robin 4 Fish 8 lb 00 oz 4.5 points
6th= Bobby R 3 Fish 8 lb 00 oz 4.5 points
8th Alastair S 3 Fish 7 lb 08 oz 3 points
9th Tom Co 2 Fish 6 lb 00 oz 2 points
10th Jackie N 2 Fish 5 lb 10 oz 1 point

Average weight was around 2.25lb, with an overall rod average (including returns) of 3.8. Good quality fish, as ever.

Black Loch Fishery - 29 April 2017

Well, that was a bit chilly again! After a beautiful day on the Lake at the end of March, the temperature control has been cranked down on the last two outings! Still, the fish kept most B&B anglers warm during the day as the Club recorded 11 limits in a total of 18 anglers. Laurie Taylor was the unlucky angler who didn't record a point, despite catching 10 fish during the day - that must be some kind of unwanted record. Gilbert and Sam headed for the Heather Bank and each completed limits by mid afternoon. Barrie and David P sat just off the lodge all day and accumulated fish, with Barrie catching 11 altogether - David recorded a limit, too. Willie (Mr President) and Ian G each managed a limit, with Paul also having 5 while BP Jimmy K just couldn't manage that 5th fish - unlucky, Jimmy. Fish were caught on a variety of methods - all the usual stuff, in fact, from YDs, to buzzers, crunchers, cormorants, boobies and traditional wets. A fine day all round, but don't mention that to Tom C, Robert C Alex G or David O. 2 boats just could not find the fish! On the day the good anglers were:

1st Paul W 5 Fish 11 lb 09 oz 10 points
2nd David P 5 Fish 10 lb 15 oz 9 points
3rd Robin B 5 Fish 10 lb 14 oz 8 points
4th= Barrie D 5 Fish 10 lb 12 oz 6.5 points
4th= Gilbert 5 Fish 10 lb 12 oz 6.5 points
6th Sam 5 Fish 10 lb 10 oz 5 points
7th Jackie N 5 Fish 10 lb 08 oz 4 points
8th Willie E 5 Fish 10 lb 07 oz 3 points
9th Alastair S 5 Fish 10 lb 06 oz 2 points
10th Ian G 5 Fish 10 lb 05 oz 1 point

Barrie finishes 4= and Jackie finishes 7th for the 2nd competition in row. Consistent, gents. 63 fish were weighed in with 19 returned. Average weight was over 2 lb. Paul's bag was well clear of the other 10 limit bags, which were separated by 12 oz. Closer than a very close thing. Well done all, well, almost all, and see you at the Lake on Thursday 11th May. No pics from the Black Loch (because it was so cold!) but here are a few quality fish from Pitsford and Ravensthorpe:

Frandy Fishery - 15 April 2017

Well, that was a bit chilly! 18 of us started out at Frandy on a bitterly cold day with a biting NW wind. Unfortunately John G didn't feel well enough to continue after lunch - hope you are back to full fitness soon, John, and thanks to Jimmy for making sure you got home safely. There seemed to be a right mixture of methods with success coming to those on likes from intermediate to Di5. I didn't think the fish were that deep, but you needed to get down a bit. Barrie and Willie were into the fish early right up at the burnmouth, and Robert C and Bobby R had morning fish in the area from the wee island (at high water levels) right down to the dam. Alastair and David found the going slow until they too ventured to the head of the loch and there were a few fish to report amid the lunchtime revelry. Laurie was rarely seen but put together a fine bag of 5 fish and as can be seen below a few people seemed to crack the requirement while others struggled. In the end 18 rods weighed in 40 fish for a rod average of 2.2 and an average weight of just over 2lb. The good anglers are listed here:

1st Laurie T 5 Fish 10 lb 12 oz 10 points
2nd Paul W 5 Fish 10 lb 10 oz 9 points
3rd Willie E 5 Fish 9 lb 04 oz 8 points
4th= Barrie D 5 Fish 9 lb 00 oz 6.5 points
4th= Bobby R 4 Fish 9 lb 00 oz 6.5 points
6th Alastair S 3 Fish 6 lb 10 oz 5 points
7th Jackie N 3 Fish 6 lb 04 oz 4 points
8th= Ian G 2 Fish 5 lb 00 oz 2.5 points
8th= Robert C 2 Fish 5 lb 00 oz 2.5 points
10th Tom B 2 Fish 4 lb 04 oz 1 point

See you all at the Black Loch on 29 April.

Season 2017 - Lake of Menteith - 25 March 2017

The 2017 season started at the Lake of Menteith as per usual, but we were treated to some very nice spring-like weather this year. Oh, and the fish co-operated, too, for most people.

As you can see from the pic, it was a beautiful day. Jackie N continued his fine form of 2016 with a very swift limit bag of 4 fish by 11am, the envy of a few of those of us who got together at lunchtime. A few seemed to be struggling but Raymond G opened his account as a club member early on in the day, and Alex G was setting a bit of an example with lots of fish coming to his exquisitely-angled yellow dancer. By mid afternoon there were reports of many more fish being caught with 9 anglers weighing in limit baskets of fish by the end of the day. Lines varied from floaters to Di3, and there were reports of fish being caught on traditional, (Kate McLaren) buzzers, nymphs, cormorants and lures. 8 fish over 5lb were weighed in, with 4 of these fish being over 6lb. A quite tremendous days fishing, with a total of 59 fish weighed in and many more returned. The results are as follows:

1st Jackie N 4 Fish 15 lb 13 oz 10 points
2nd Paul W 4 Fish 13 lb 00 oz 9 points
3rd Ian G 4 Fish 11 lb 11 oz 8 points
4th David P 2 Fish 11 lb 00 oz 7 points
5th Alastair S 3 Fish 10 lb 02 oz 6 points
6th Tom C 4 Fish 9 lb 01 oz 5 points
7th Keith J 4 Fish 8 lb 14 oz 4 points
8th Alex G 4 Fish 8 lb 03 oz 3 points
9th Tom B 2 Fish 8 lb 00 oz 2 points
10th Bobby R 4 Fish 7 lb 12 oz 1 point

Here are a couple of fishy characters with fish - see you at Frandy on 15 April.

Website Housekeeping

I have done some pruning to this page, so that it now reflects only more recent, and indeed latest, news. Other articles from this page have been moved to the relevant year page, or, for more general articles, the Archive page. Please feel free to have a look around.