There was little sign of cloud cover and the sun was also breaking through as we headed towards the Watch reservoir. I think the drive over the Lammermuirs from Gifford to Longformacus is hard to beat in term of the scenery. Saturday morning was stunning. A word of caution, mind you, rather than spending time being distracted by the abundant wildlife and views, best keep an eye out for some of those pot holes! This was going to be a day for the sun factor 50 and plenty water, but more to the point how was the fishing going to hold up over the course of the session?
Even as we drove down towards the car park there were signs of the odd fish showing in the main basin. It is often a weakness but I’d decided in the lead-up this was going to be a day for the dries. It was just a case of how to start and should I opt for the 5wt or play safe with the 7wt (always got a few more options in terms of lines, just in case…).
It was another good turnout for the club. I was fishing with a guest angler for the day – David Hannaford, another Hibs man, so great to have an ally in the boat.
I was encouraged to see David also set-up with the dries. We were unlucky with the draw, mind-you, missing out on one of the new Coulams. it mattered not one jot to either of us, since we were just looking forward to getting out. A number of our boats headed quite naturally across to the dam and aerator, which seems to attract and hold a lot of fish. We decided that we were just going to drift with the wind and see what happened, no drogue required. David also ties his own flies and our set-up and choice of flies was similar, yellow owls, hare’s ear or sedges.
There was an occasional fish moving. Rather remarkably, first cast, first fish and a good one. Must remember to ensure the backing has no knots in future. We continued our drift. David was already dishing out the midget gems, which were a welcome treat over the course of the day. We then had a typical spell of fresh air shots. Is this a case of incompetence, fish missing the flies or just sod’s law? It was good craic mind you. Next few fish to the boat were resident brown trout. Great to see the variation of the browns: some silver, some dark, but all returned to fight another day.
We were catching fairly regularly, right across the reservoir, and the fish seemed prepared to have a look at most of the dries. Any cloud cover was a bonus, but most of the time it was non-existent. There was no way that I was changing my tactics other than replacing tired and battered flies and leaders. However, something clicked around lunchtime and the fish become very active. We were lucky to be in the right place at the right time. We were trying to work out exactly what these fish were feeding on. Although there was the odd terrestrial, sedge or daddy, blown across the water, the fish were feeding like basking sharks. No evidence of buzzers or buzzers shucks – thought about some Shipman’s but that would mean changing and that was not happening!
David switched over to the washing lie, tequila Fab and a couple of buzzers.- The FAB might have been pulling them in but it was the buzzers that were doing the trick for him. We had a hectic couple of hours, netting a number of fish. The biggest of the day was David’s cracking brown trout – probably around 4lb.
All that was left to do was negotiate the road back home and lashing on the after sun… and maybe a glass of sangria in the park.
Dougie Skedd adds…
Deja vu. The definition is “a feeling of having had the experience before”. Well, that’s the perfect description of our trip to Watch Water Reservoir. The previous Saturday, Keith Logan and I had been plagued by fresh air shots and false rises. The Watch delivered up more of the same. I had started with dries and almost immediately a fish rose to them close to the dam wall. No contact! Several more followed as Bob Whyte and I drifted along a short distance out from the dam. I could hear anguished curses from Keith’s boat nearby, where he appeared to be suffering the same way. I had been looking forward to this outing. I had been seeing lots of stuff flying about that would be ending up on the water. Hawthorn flies, black gnats, beetles, all sorts… so I had started with a hawthorn on the dropper and a beetle on the point. I expected the fish to show their appreciation in the appropriate manner. They didn’t. They kept missing and nudging the flies but not eating them. Eventually, a fish ate the hawthorn and I was off the mark.
Bob was giving the washing line a go and hooked a belter on it. It fell off. Probably another sign that the fish weren’t quite ‘on it’. We persevered. A fish ate the beetle. A good brownie. The conditions got brighter, but still fish came up and scorned the flies, although an occasional one did stick. Most of my fish were coming to a foam beetle. Bob changed to one as well, and began to get an odd fish on it. It was clear that Keith was having one of his good days, although there were frequent exclamations from his direction that suggested he was still getting the runaround from some of the fish. We saw Darrel Young having a purple patch, catching several fish and dropping a few more. I think he was Fo8ing a damsel, but I’m not sure.
A good day for the club and many tomato faces on Sunday, I suspect. Nothing quite like a bit of sun and wind for a good sunburn.
