It was a quiet opening day outing for the club this season, with only 3 boats booked following a few last minute call-offs. Our last few sessions on Linlithgow have proven to be extremely challenging, not helped by the quality of the water, which resulted in poor catch returns. Last season this outing was cancelled due to a widespread algal bloom that made fishing impossible. Fair play to the fishery management team who, against a difficult backdrop, have continued to work hard to try and make sure visiting anglers have a good day. The set-up is very good at Linlithgow, what with the purpose-built pier and, as always, the boats were immaculate.
It was a heavy early morning frost out in Gifford, but by the time we arrived at the fishery the sun was making an appearance and the temperature was set to rise slowly during the day. It was a pleasant surprise to see the loch in much better condition, and the clarity was surprisingly good.
The reports during the week suggested that fishing had been good, with most areas fishing well and a variety of lines and tactics working. Maybe the fresh stocking had stirred up the residents? Most of us made a beeline for our local expert, John McGonagle, who had been out fishing and caught a few quality fish earlier in the week. In addition, Dougie Skedd, who prefers to fish Linlithgow from the bank early season, had picked up a number of fish along the North Shore.
John also suggested the North Shore toward West Point and that mini-tip lines were working best, with the fish surprisingly high in the water. Buzzers were mentioned in dispatches, with brown being the preferred colour. Oh yes, and off-course pink snakes and blue flash damsels… The extra mobility of these lures early in the season can often pay dividends.
I was paired with Davy Syme. Last season, on three occasions when we were paired together, the outing was cancelled due to high winds. This was not going to be the case today, with only a gentle breeze on offer. I’d set-up with washing line and black cat booby, Diawl Bach, and sunburst blob on a 12ft slow tip, trying to cover most bases. Davy set up with a DI-3 and some mini lures, which seemed very reasonable. The fish tend to shoal tightly, particularly early season, and a few metres either side can really make a big difference.
Davy and I drifted right along the North Shore, past the Whin Bank, down towards Hatchery bay and Cormorant Island. There was a really good hatch of small buzzers, with plenty shucks around, and the occasional fish was showing. We had already tried a few lines and chopped and changed flies. One had a swirl at my sunburst blob on the hang and that was that. We headed across to Ponsonby’s and bumped into a local who was prospecting in the shallower water, but with equally little success. Of interest was a bunch of bird watchers out with the binoculars and focusing on a number of wading birds. Clearly something relatively unusual among the water birds??? (Ed: Possibly the courting great crested grebes?)
We retreated back from the bottom end without troubling the scoreboard. We could still see boats along the North Shore and along Sam’s Dyke. They had not moved far, so it seemed reasonable to think they might be enjoying a bit of action. We passed Mel and Davy. They had one fish to the boat and Davy had also dropped another.
We headed into Gasworks bay and there were a couple of boats anchored in front of the lodge. We set out our stall and anchored as well. One boat in particular out to our left was having a very good day. One of the rods was on a bung and buzzers while the other was on a midge-tip, fab and buzzer combination. Both rods were bending regularly. There was a slick line and a number of fish were holding in that area, no doubt gorging on buzzers, or the shucks. However, our fishing remained slow. However, we both picked up a couple of good fish in the area, so were of the mark. Davy had a little black/pearl spider that was working well, while I was getting a bit action to the Fab and nemesis nymph. We were also on the midge tip at that time.
Boats behind and to our left continued to dominate. Finally, and don’t ask me why, the mid-glass line caught my attention and almost immediately started connecting – even managed a double header! Thankfully, the smaller fish on the top dropper broke the dropper in the net while the big fella occupied himself on the point before being elegantly netted by Davy.
After that little switch it all went slightly mad and we finished with 26 fish to the boat. We did nothing different but managed to find a decent head of fish. Davy’s best fly was either an ace of spade or that little black/pearl spider. A tequila Fab/blob and nemesis were my most successful patterns.
A great first outing for the club, ending with a total of 30 fish. Quality of fish was outstanding, with a good few lumps in amongst them.
Photos supplied by Mel Mitchell…
