Saturday, 22nd October

Linlithgow Loch, Day Session

Wonderfully low light levels for fishing (not for photography -- all shots had to be done at ISO 400) and light winds.  Temperature started good as well, though dropped as an easterly breeze developed later in the day.  Anyways, perfect fishing conditions for late October.

The loch was clearing from a late algal bloom, the remnants of which were still there, but the underlying clarity was true.  Spoonings revealed Corixae, and not much else.

Signs of autumn were everywhere.  Geese were arriving from up north.  The leaves were well on the turn, and falling.

The best of the fishing was concentrated at the extreme west and east ends of the loch, with the north shore also scoring.  Fraser Gault had 3 to a hot head damsel and one to an orange blob, fished on slime line.  Trevor and Alan had 3 in the boat to boobies, including a 5 pounder that took all 3 of Trevor's boobies before he realised it was on!  Ian and Gavin Macdonald had 5 to their boat (for 16 lb 8 oz!), taken on Diawl Bach and bibio snatcher.

Dougie Skedd (above) and I had 4 apiece, mostly taken by drifting with floating lines.  Dougie fished his flies static, taking 3 to Cove pheasant tail and one to a soldier palmer, all size 14.  I had a couple on a holo Diawl Bach, one on an orange thorax Cove and one on a white tadpole, all by steady figure-of-eighting.

The Club's 12 rods landed 21 fish.

Photos: Canon 10D with Sigma 28-300 mm lens