Our thermometer is broken and the new one arrives tomorrow but the water temperature should be around 15C as further cooling is ongoing. Clarity is 2m. Catching has been pretty good in the last few days (top boat > 30)and 400 nicely conditioned bows were stocked today (top boat catch today so far 26). The dry flies are still working out of the wind and the top areas have been Malling Shore, Butts and Gateside. Tom McBride returned this cracker at the end of last week. This is the trout picture to beat for next years brochure and a free boat IMHO.
The change over to the new booking portal is scheduled for this week…maybe Thursday. It will be a one stop book and pay operation with special dispensation for clubs to pay with different methods on the day if required.
The PIKE FLY FISHING ASSOCIATION were out on Saturday with 12 boats and some fine specimens were landed 7 double figure fish (biggest 19lbs) and 14 fish of less than 10lbs. This from Dougie. It was a tough old day with many anglers struggling to find fish and many of you reporting lots of frustrating “followers” not in a taking mood. The big fish points were dominated by the English invaders who made the journey over the border to plunder our waters :). Massive congrats to Richard Grave who landed a cracking 18.04lb fish winning himself the VISION Big Mama reel, Big Mama line, backing, Vee cap and engraved tankard. Second place went to his boat partner Paul Varcoe with a fish of 15.08lb, winning a Grand Daddy line and Gillie cap.Third place went to Andy Cheetham with a 14lb fish, winning the Big Mama fly box and Natives 4.0 Cap. Fourth place to Marc Light with a lovely fish of 13.08lb winning the Mega Tungsten forceps. Congrats to all the winners and thanks again to VISION UK and David Bilbrough for their prizes and support and to the PFFA for prize donations.
HERIOTS AC Got a great report from Colin Riach who was out on the 15th with Heriots AC ….and as he has a way with words and a camera. Thanks for sharing.
This from Colin….. We would have had between 25 and 30 for the boat. We are still on dry mayfly patterns – shucks, emergers, duns, and spinners. Jimmy had quite a few on a Found Link, and I am still getting mine on the paraloop spinner.
The fish had had their Weetabix! Unbelievable strength in them at the moment! I had 30 yards of backing out on one that then circled the boat… twice! There was spray riding up the line as it cut the water like a cheese wire! Fastest moving rainbow I have ever caught… and it wasn’t even one of the bigger fish. Weighed the best one in the net and it went 5 lb. Here is the clubs full report:
The day gave us a fresh-feeling westerly breeze with a mix of ceiling – cloud, sunshine and showers. I was still in ‘mayfly mode’, though the hatch is definitely petering-out. I was hoping the residents were still recognising one when they saw it! Bob Whyte and i set out to have a day on mayfly if we could. We managed it, reasonably well. The fresh breeze dictated the areas we might find rising fish – as per the GPS below. We focused on fishing the creases between the sheltered and the open water – the lines where food is blown and then idles for the fish to find it. We were both mostly catching on the paraloop spinner, though I got a couple on John Wastles Deer mayfly emerger.
The resident rainbows and blues are fit as butchers’ dogs just now. I was on the backing several times, with the best of the day – around 4 lb – getting upwind of me and having about 60 yards out at one point. The takes were a bit different from what I’ve been experiencing recently. They’ve been head-and-shoulders out the water, or exploding onto the fly aggressively. Yesterday a lot of the takes were almost imperceptible… just sipping the fly down while barely making a mark. Blink and you missed it. We finished with 17 to the boat.
With social-distancing precautions including the avoidance of scorecards, Bob asked the members to send in a mini-report to give catch and method details. So, without further ado…
Keith Logan and Peter Fionda – 16 fish
Peter got of to a flier with 6ft mini tip and washing line. His best flies were booby and Kate snatcher fished slowly. I started on dries, picked up a solitary fish on sedge pattern. Switched to nymphs, picked up another couple on floater. They seem to be partial to a quicker retrieve. My best line ended up as slow intermediate and best fly was red holographic diawl, best areas were Malling, towards Dog Isle and Rookery. KL
Stewart Barnes and Steve Kilpatrick – 6 fish
Well Steve and I were clearly the poor relations, but I will give the details. I don’t know if our lack of success was due to a poor choice of patterns or our choice of locations. Steve had 1 on a small dry. I had 2 on a small organza-bodied booby and 2 on an F-fly dry and 1 on a bibio dry. We found fish at Arnmach peninsula. I also moved fish at the plantation on my dries earlier. SB
Dougie Skedd and Alan Duncan – 14 fish
We both started off with dries without success and lost the first hour accordingly. Changed over to the washing line with diawl bachs and a small booby and started catching. Found that the fish at times liked a faster retrieve and Dougie had success with the roly-poly often producing a decent bow wave as the fish chased the fly. Of my 5 fish all but one fell to a pink booby, whilst Dougie’s 9 fish were 50/50 booby and diawl bach, the most successful diawl bach having a holographic gold rib. Best sport was found in the Rookery and off the Malling Shore. AD
Adrian Coats and Trevor Gibson – 15 fish
We started at Stable Point and had a double hook-up almost straight away on washing line. That kept us in the west side of Gateside Bay for the rest of the day, apart from one drift across to the burnmouth and one almost to Inchmahome. Trevor had ten all on washing line (the first two or three were on a floater but he then changed to a ghost or midge tip). I had three on midge tip and two on dries. Very few took the booby and most were on diawl bachs of various colours. Figure of eight retrieve. Trevor must be commended for spending at least five minutes freeing my line from both outboards after I was snagged by a lively fish. I had offered to pull for a break on several occasions but he persisted. And the fish was still on at the end of it! AC
The Club’s 10 rods landed 68 fish.
