Saturday, 23rd September

Portmore Loch, Day Session

Bright sunshine and a fresh breeze.  Another routine day of rubbish fishing conditions for our club at Portmore.  Word was that it had gone-off a bit of late (also routine for us).  We were also told it had just been stocked, so that should have provided some sport.  Alas, it was not to be.  Don't know where the stockies went, but neither the bankies not the boats found them.  It was a nice day to be out, I guess.

John Robertson -- early in the session, and still quite hopeful!

As the day wore on, for many of us it developed into a case of avoiding the grannie...  if we could!  One exception was Alan Holbrook, who ended as top rod with 3 fish.  Alan switched back and forth between drifting with lures and a slime line, and anchored up with slow-fished nymphs.  One early and late on an orange blob, and one in between on a Diawl Bach did the damage.  Alan's boat partner Bob Allan managed one to a cormorant on a sinking line.

Alan Holbrook with fish No.2

Ken Maclean was never in danger of the grannie either, having taken 2 fish on the west shore early on to a damsel, but that was as far as it went.  Ken's guest Andrew Mathewson took a fish on a silver Invicta.  Dougie Skedd was the only other man to get past the figure 1.  Dougie had a go at plumbing the depths out across the middle, and took a brace to DI-7 and boobies (black/yellow and white/green).

While a good proportion of what fish we caught came from the Laird's Bay, John Robertson and I drew a blank when we tried there.  We also drew blanks from the west shore, the dam area, the lonesome pine, and the top bay... and out in the middle.  The only place we hadn't tried was the big bay, so we went in there and dropped anchor off the alders.  Two casts, and john was into a fish on a hot-head damsel.  At last!

At long last!

I stopped at that point.  After the photography and what-not, I picked up my rod, cast out... and hooked a fish (hot head damsel again).  Between us we had two fish in 2 casts.  Found them at last, we both thought.  We fished on with renewed confidence and enthusiasm.  As the minutes passed, the renewed vigour diminished... and diminished.  The suspicion that it was a flash in the pan slowly started to creep in.  The creep became a stroll, then a gallop.  Yep, that was our sport for the day.

John Miller left it till late, but eventually he took a fish on a Diawl Bach and slow intermediate in the Laird's Bay.

Stewart Barnes was the unluckiest man of the day.  John told him about his late fish on nymphs, and he switched to similar.  In the last hour, Stewart hooked and lost 3 fish.

The Club's total for 14 rods was 12 fish.

Photos:  Canon 10D with Sigma 10-20mm (shots 1, 2 and 4) and 28-300mm (shot 3) lenses (polarising filter used on shots 2 and 4)