Keith Logan reports:
It was a day probably best spent on the shore by Jimmy Nairn’s with a BBQ or maybe take the pleasure boat out to Inchmaholme. The sun was splitting the sky and there was very little breeze; drifting was but a dream. There were occasional fish rising, but they tended to come up the once and then retreat for the sun factor 50. Very little insect life once again – only the occasional daddy or small sedge on show. It was going to prove a day where nothing really worked but everything did to some extent.
It was a busy day at the Lake, with all the boats occupied, as is usual. Quint suggested around Hotel Bay and Shear Point, but reports suggested that the Heronry and Cages were also working and that dries were best tactic. When you receive top quality advice from the fishery why come up with you own harebrained tactics? The smart fishers followed Quint’s sage advice and never ventured far. Heriot’s, on the other hand, spread to all corners of the Lake. McBride/Tyrie headed to the Mallin shore with knowledge still fresh from their Scottish Clubs semi-final success.
Logan/Cockburn headed towards Sam’s Point. We both set out with floaters; Kenneth on dries/buzzers while Logan, not at all confident in anything, had daddy, buzzer, blob combo. The boats around us employed pulling tactics in the deeper channels and a couple of rods were bending. We spent time in and around the rookery but had no interest. We motored up towards the Cages, which was busy with boats, and there was the odd splash to keep us interested, but in truth it was tough going. A very large pike was cruising impressively close to the boat with its dorsal fin prominent, which got our interest. The first fish action resulted in me having to tie a new cast, big feet standing on the line. Kenneth also decided to change, going slightly deeper with a cast of buzzers. We popped across to Stable Point, where there were occasional fish showing – but we did not have the answers.
The first three fish for me came to the buzzer in Gateside. Kenneth changed back to the dries, the ginger hopper creating a good bit of interest. However, the fish were coming frustratingly short… until one lump decided enough was enough and nailed it. We had a double hook up and we thought finally we were in the right area – just as the breeze picked up and it suddenly all looked a lot more promising. I changed (again!!) to dries and picked up another couple of fish. We pottered about looking for further inspiration, but to no avail. The gap, Shear Point, between the buoys and International Bay all proved fruitless. One highlight was a couple of stunning kingfishers that skimmed the edge of the reeds at international bay.
Gary/Trevor had seven to the boat. Gary had 6 to yellow dancer boobies and cormorants on SSI. Davie Tyrie had a very creditable 9 (all on dries), while Jimmy had 8 to dries. Dougie landed 2 but was broken twice. He was fishing half-hogs and cdc loopwing on a floater. Alex had 4 fish to hoppers.
