Sunday, 24th June

Lindores Loch, Day Session

Christopher Bell, into a fish on dry fly

The weather wasn't near as bad as it looked like it might be, but it was bad enough for late June.  Dreich about sums it up.  The useful things it gave us were a steady light breeze, 100% ceiling and flat light.  It was a bit cool though, and decidedly soggy.

Andy told us the fish were feeding in the early mornings and evenings, which didn't bode well for a day session.  The water was recovering from a green algal bloom, and, while it was still decidedly minty looking, the clarity wasn't too bad.  Andy told us that dries were working and, after last year's equivalent outing provided a dry-fly-fest, I tackled up accordingly, with a black Klinkhammer, an Adams hopper and a claret half-hog.

Where's the net?

We started right in the middle, and I had an offer first cast.  Then another, and another, and another...  Some were swirling under the fly without taking.  Others were taking the fly down, but rejecting it before I could tighten into them.  However, one finally stuck.  Then another.  Then another.  And this was all on the first drift.  What was Andy talking about?  This is superb!  Er, well it was... for precisely that first drift.  I didn't land another fish until the last hour!  Early mornings and evenings Andy said... and he was dead right!

John Wastle, in the boat with me for his sins, started on a washing line set-up.  That did nothing while I was having my mad spell, so he quickly set up the second rod with dries.  Even as I was starting to find sport tailing off, John picked up 3 fish in quick fashion to claret Klinkhammer and claret half-hog.

Not too many places you can see red kites and ospreys at the same time.  Didn't get a photo of the kite, but the ospreys were hunting throughout the day.

The fish quickly shut up shop on John too, and it was hard, hard going for the next 4 or 5 hours, though John did pick up a 4th fish on dries up towards the big house.  Speaking to those around us, it was the same story all over the water, with a burst of early action quickly followed by hee-haw.  The only boat we saw pick up fish in this spell was Christopher Bell and Bill Scobie, who took 3 each.  They split their time between anchor and drift -- all in the middle section of the loch, which seemed to come out tops for area.  I don't have much detail, but Christopher was on dries (amber hopper).

Bill Scobie puts the net under one

Fraser Gault was another to get a bit of a dizzy as a result of the false start -- he had a fish first cast... then one more for the day.  Fraser popped a booby on floating line.  Dougie Skedd, in the boat with Fraser, mixed it up with washing line tactics on the slime line, which was worth a fish to the booby, and dries (a blue-winged olive Klinkhammer -- sorry no specimen for photo), which was worth another two.

Tommy Steven and Adrian Coats had a brace apiece to dries (claret and red hoppers), while Stewart Barnes also had a couple to dries (orange hopper and elkhair sedge).  Unfortunately, aces and Brussels sprouts completed the score cards.

John Wastle with a semi-residential rainbow

Having messed about with various tactics after the dries had, er... dried up, with an hour to go, I put up a floating line with a couple of snatchers and a gold-head damsel on a shortish cast of double strength.  Figure-of-eighting this set-up, I started to get offers, and I managed to stick to a couple of late fish.  I don't know if this was the first of them coming on for the evening, or if it might have worked if I had tried it earlier???

The fish were certainly there, and I think if you had gone out with dries at first light, you could have filled the boat.

The club's 14 rods landed 27 fish.

Photos: Canon 10D with 28-135mm IS lens