Lake of Menteith, day session, 13 April

(click on flies for photos)

This was a lovely spring day.  Bright sunshine and dead still early.  Later on we got some cloud and a light breeze to improve the fishing conditions generally.  The wind had been out the east for the past couple of weeks, and we thought the fish may well be pushed towards the likes of the shooting butts or the Malin shore.  This seemed to be borne out by the fact that by mid day a look towards the usually crowded road shore revealed not a single boat.  In fact, the early fishing was hard going everywhere, with not many getting caught.  When the breeze got up it was from the west, and suddenly the road shore started to fish for the boats that ventured back there.  This proved decisive for Alan H and Trevor T who landed 20 between them.  Flies and lines didn't seem to matter much, as one was on Hi-D and the other slime line, and they caught with things as diverse as a black fritz tadpole and an olive booby.

Alan M with a stockie of standard stamp

Elsewhere, Dougie G found an obliging group at Hotel bay, and he took 8 to a mini viva and a claret palmer (well that's what it looked like it was at one time!).

There was a good hatch of buzzers on the go, and the odd fish was up for them.  One group composed entirely of jaggy-tailed residents put in a brief appearance in that area such fish seem so fond of, about 100 yds shy of the gap between the island and the heronry.  Alan M managed to put a dry fly in front of one and was rewarded with a large overwintered fish that was packed  with buzzers: pupes and adults.  Steve G found another group of fish feeding close to the reeds between hotel Bay and Sam's point, and he took 3 on a claret snatcher.

The stockies are of a very good order and averaging over 2 lb each.  In all, our 6 boats weighed in 44 fish for 99 lb 2 oz, with 6 more returned.