Frandy, Sunday 14th June

Frandy is a water where I either catch them on dries or struggle to catch them.  Fortunately, conditions were good for fishing dries - calm in the morning and a light westerly in the afternoon, with broken cloud cover - and an odd rumble of thunder in the distance.

I fished with Gary Wright, and we had a great day.  In the morning we fished around the dam end and there was an odd fish rising.  The vast majority were only up once, making it difficult to get interest from covers.  However, a few out-the-blue takes got the score board started, and after a while we started to pick up one or two from covers as well.  Black Klinkhammer and black hopper were the only flies we used.  We kept a few for the pot and spooning showed them to be running on empty.

The boats were concentrated around the dam and by mid-day the fish were getting a bit tired of all the attention.  Our catch rate dropped and we took our cue to look for pastures new.  We took the boat all the way up to the top end.  By this time a light westerly was established and it gave us a drift that lasted the whole afternoon - just drifting the whole length of the north shoreline.  We ran into a little pocket of fish every couple of hundred yards, picking up an odd one or two from each group as we went through them.  That one drift produced 10 fish for us - albeit a long drift!

Gary hit a purple patch midway along the north shore when he started giving his dries a wee bit movement - just a ba' hair's worth.  I couldn't afford to move mine - on 5 lb Tectan it is suicide for me - the takes are too hard and I get broken moving dries on less than 6 or 7 lb Tectan.  I was still picking them up static though, and we carried on our marathon drift.

We arrived level with the harbour with about 10 minutes on the clock, and I remembered that on more than one occasion in the past, I had seen rising fish way out in the middle of nowhere when motoring in at the end of the day.  With only 10 minutes to go, it was worth a look and we took the boat out into the middle for a last cast.  It worked a treat, and we both picked up a last fish apiece before we headed in.

The Club landed 52 fish for 16 rods.

 

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Photos: Canon 40D with 100-400 mm IS lens

 

COLDINGHAM  20.6.09 – Evening

This was our first attempt at an evening session on Coldingham and it didn’t attract a big turn-out, with only 9 anglers taking part.   Being next to the longest day however, we were assured of having a “guid kick at the ba” as far as light was concerned.  Unfortunately, for some of the time we actually had too much light as it was somewhat sunny.  A brisk westerly wind meant that anchoring up in the shelter of the home bay was the best option for most of the evening - which was a pity.

Fortunes were mixed, with the best bags coming from Ed Green and Bob Whyte, with 6 fish each.  Ed stuck mainly at the point before the narrows and caught using a black nymph on a floating line, with a retrieve varying from slow to static.  Bob moved around a bit more and used a size 14 dry black Shipmans.  John Levy used traditional wets and a cruncher with a floating line for 4 fish, while Trevor Gibson figure-of-eighted dries in the home bay, also for 4 fish.

The total catch was 26 fish, all returned.  Despite the low turnout it is probably worth a go again next year.

 

Linlithgow Loch, Friday eve, 26th June

An unremittingly dreich evening -- a stiff easterly breeze and misty drizzle.  The water was very murky by usual Linlithgow standards.  Talk was of having to anchor in the deeper area and fish Hi-Ds.  Not what you want to hear when you go along hoping for some summer evening sport with dry fly!  Not much chance of anchoring in the deeper water either - not when 15 boats have beaten you to the spot!

Stewart Barnes and I eventually got out onto the water and headed across to the north west point.  Surprisingly (after the talk) we saw a couple of good rises on the way over.  Bum steer, perhaps?  We set up and, after losing our anchorage a couple of times we got a hold and Stewart quickly got a fish on a Diawl Bach and floating line.  I dropped one and then landed one on washing line and DI-3.  But all the while there was an odd fish rising.  The other boats were landing fish in numbers during this period.  But then the fish went off.  We messed about trying to find a way, but couldn't get tuned in.  I eventually went on to dries and took a good fish on a figure-of-eighted black hopper.  Stewart changed to dries and we went for a late look in the more sheltered water of town bay.  Stewart got a chance of a cover to a solitary riser and the fish took his half hog no bother - too dark for photos by then - it was 10.15.  With minutes left on the clock, Stewart took another out the blue on the half hog.

Our catches were mostly 0s, 1s and 2s, with Stewart's 3, John Levy's 3 to Diawl Bach and cruncher on floating line, and Trevor's 4 to snatchers on midge-tip, being the best bags.

The club's total was 21 for 14 rods.

 

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Photos: Canon 40D with 55-250 mm IS lens