Lake of Menteith

None of us knew what to expect weather-wise.  The forecasters had promised everything from bright sun to constant rain, with winds anything from 'light and variable' to 17 mph westerlies!  What we got early was calmish with some showers, warm and muggy - very nice fishing conditions.  However, that gave way after an hour or so to bright brassy sunshine with freshening westerlies.  Bar steward!

Ken McLean and I had both set up with dries (as we do), and Quint told us that Alan Hill had been getting them on dries in Gateside during the week.  So, with a very light south easterly at that time to play with, we reckoned it would give us a drift into the bay, and we headed up.  The only problem with Gateside is if the armada decide to descend on it, but we could see it assembling out from shear point for reasons best known to the Spanish navy, so we headed on up.  When we arrived at Gateside, there was only one other boat fishing the west shore, so we headed in.  After settling, we started spotting the odd oncer rise in the corner just outside the rope.  We sneaked up on them on the leccy and presented our flies for their inspection.  Presently we started to get a bit interest and to put a fish or two in the boat.  Ken had a couple on a black bits and a ginger hopper, while I had a couple to a pearly-winged heather fly (though we never saw a real heather all day).

The other boat was catching with a nymphy approach.  All was going nicely.  Unfortunately, the shear point thing must have been a bum steer, as the armada arrived shortly after, muscled their way in to our corner and as good as pushed us out.  Not that there was any point in trying to stay there and fish dries after they had all barged in and put the risers down anyway.  To rub salt in the wound, they started sconing the fish on their twiddling tactics, so that was going to be them rooted to the spot for the foreseeable future.  We left.

The problem with looking elsewhere was that we couldn't find any fish!  The sun certainly didn't help, and the freshening wind knocked a few degrees off the temperature, which probably didn't help either.  We tried the plantation, the heronry, International bay, road shore, Kate's brae, lochend, the butts - all without an offer.  We had given up on dries and were trying assorted pulling tactics, but all to absolutely no avail.  We ran into Dougie Skedd and Alan Duncan mid afternoon.  Their story was remarkably similar to ours.  They had taken 7 fish by 11 a.m., in reedy bay to a complete smorgasbord  of tactics and patterns.  And after that, they had not had an offer.

It occurred to me that the reedy bay - hotel bay area often comes on again late in the day, so with nothing to lose, we went over for the last hour (we were off the water at 5.30).  At first nothing, but as we passed a small inlet in the reeds a fish rose out to my left - first rise we had seen all afternoon.  I was fishing nymphs on a floater and chucked them over the rise.  Bingo - he took the Diawl back on the bob. It had gone 5 o' clock by now.  Ken was back on dries, and 2 minutes later he was into a fish.  We both missed a chance soon after that.  It was 5.15 now and most of the boats had gone in.  Dare we go back round and give the wee inlet another go?  Of course!  At 5.20 Ken got another on dries, and at 5.25, last cast, I got one to a black nymph!  We even made it to the beach for 5.30!

It's amazing how a wee late rescue job changes your whole perspective on the day - we both came off feeling like it had been a decent day!  Our 4-apiece turned out to be a bit of a default total for our boys.  Dougie and Alan finished likewise, as did Ed Green, who took his fish on the Kelly green at Kate's brae.  Best bag went to Trevor, who didn't mind mixing it with the armada in Gateside, where he took 8 on a 3 ft midge tip washing line set-up.  most of his fish came to an all black Diawl bach with a red holo flash-back.

The Club's 10 rods landed 32 fish

Lake of Menteith

An interesting start to the day.  I was out with Dougie Skedd.  It was breezy when we were tackling up.  Dougie reckoned it was a fairly certain puller and he set up the one rod.  Not that I disagreed with Dougie, but with time to spare before we were out - and so often a chance with dries coming early and late - I set up the 2nd rod... just in case.

And it just so happened... the wind dropped as we went out at half past nine.  We tucked in to the corner of reedy bay below Sam's point.  As we dropped in, there's a rise.  There's another.  There's another.  I got a cover on it.  Sipped it down a treat.  I got the fish in, got sorted out, there's a rise, cover it.  Sipped it down a treat.  This one shot out the shallows, across Dougie's line, proceeded to get all fankled up and got off.  I got sorted out, there's a rise, cover it, sipped it down a treat.  Landed that, got sorted out, there's a rise, covered it, sipped it down a treat.  This one was in the net, birled on the frame, got back in the water, caught the tail fly in the net, went an extra run and broke the fly off!

Tied a new fly on (all picking out Tommy's half hog), there's a rise, covered it, sipped it down a treat....  And that was about the time that Dougie decided he had better put up a rod with dries...  As he did so, the breeze got back up, the sun came out, the fish disappeared, and that was that.  Half past ten.  Never saw another rise, never got another offer.  What a first hour though!  I chapped the fish - a few buzzer pupes, odd shuck, odd adult sedge, couple of immature corixa in them.

After that, we did the grand tour, but with memories of our last outing in both our heads and how it had been a waste of time between 11 am and 5 pm, it's probably fair to say that we didn't go about it with the level of enthusiasm required.

So, cut to the middle of the day, and Dougie's still not had an offer.  He decided to put up a DI-7 and his cat minkie booby.  After a slowish start, this method started to pick up pace, and first one, then another, and then immediately after that another fish came on board.  That last one was a lump, which we weighed using the net as a weigh-sling: 5 lb 14 oz.  That was enough for me, and I started to rig up a similar outfit.  Even as I was doing so, Dougie landed a 4th fish to the 'Santa's beard'.  Dougie commented, "You realise I won't get any more now?"  "Yes", says I.  And sure enough, from the moment I started fishing it, neither of us had an offer.  The force is strong in this one!

We did have a wee bit sport to dries with an odd riser mid-afternoon in Gateside, but they were Nervous Neryses compared to those fish in reedy bay in the morning - probably shell-shocked from all the attention Gateside has been getting of late.  We only had a couple of fresh-air shots for all our efforts.

We ended up going back in to Reedy Bay to see if we got the same wee late flourish that Ken McLean and I had a week back.  Sure enough, we both picked up a fish on dries last cast.  You get the impression you want to be fishing it from first light to 11.00 a.m. and from 5 till dusk just now...

It wasn't a great catch for the club.  Stewart Barnes and Trevor Gibson had 3-apiece fishing in Gateside.  Both caught on floaters with a mixture of dries and Diawl Bachs.  Maybe the Andrewbackers might have done better with their twiddling?