CROWN FLY FISHERS
WINTER REPORTS 2005/06
All smiles after the last outing at North Third. Missing is Bill Hunter, well someone had to take the photo
RIVER TWEED - MELROSE - 18/11/05....Robert Irvine enjoyed a session on the Tweed for grayling, this is his report.
The long range forecast last week was right for once as high pressure dominated from the beginning of the week right through till the weekend. Bright sunny days followed by hard frosts at night and forecast daytime temperatures for the Friday of around freezing would hopefully see the grayling starting to shoal up for the winter. Local angler Tam McLeish who sees the Tweed at Melrose every day in life, reported that the river had dropped considerably from the floods of the previous week and the water was now crystal clear. The river had been fishing well immediately after the flood but things had now slowed down as the river dropped and cleared. I arrived at the car park to find that Dave Downie and Rab Fullerton had already started and another local was about to follow suit. With the salmon season still in full swing we had to chose our water accordingly. The Cauld was vacant and the sun had not become high enough for me to cast a shadow so it seemed the obvious choice, but let me tell you where there is no sun and the ambient temperature is 5 below you need strength of mind to justify carrying on. Apart from a rod slamming take, two runs down the pool produced nothing. A few half hearted chucks were administered at the croy below the chain bridge but nothing moved. The Island stream was too busy with both salmon anglers and grayling fishers so off down to Cowies it was. Local boy Raymond found a pod of fish opposite the fallen tree and had managed to winkle out 6 fine grayling, all on a very skinny pink shrimp in the middle dropper position. Raymond was throwing a longer line to get out to the fish due to the bright overhead conditions. Billy the bus driver got a shot at the tree and pulled out two nice grayling again on a pink shrimp. Detecting that it was the tree or nothing I opted to head back to the car and nip up above the Cauld to St Helen's. St Helen's is literally round the corner from the cauld on the Melrose side. Tam had told me that it doesn't get fished over hard and is ideal for the 'bung'. I arrived to find water hard to come by as two salmon anglers were on the opposite bank, so I fished under the canopy of the willows where a deep hole starts to form. Armed with a sedgehog as a sight indicator and a pink shrimp on the dropper and gold head PTN on the point I ventured out into the liquid nitrogen running before me. After two casts the sedgehog ducked abruptly under as a brown trout of a pound ate the pink shrimp. A few casts later another brown trout was hooked but this time on the PTN. That was the last action the PTN saw as a further 4 brown trout and five grayling took the pink shrimp (14). By 4pm casting was becoming virtually impossible as little balls of ice formed at every rod ring. 11 fish in difficult conditions was more than enough so I headed back to the car to call round and see how everyone else had faired. Dave Downie also had 11 fish, all grayling, Rab Fullerton had a mixed bag of 8. Most of these fish were taken from the Island stream on a wide range of bugs, from normal shrimps, pink shrimps to olive shrimps. Raymond finished with 6 and Billy the bus driver had two. The following day Tam McLeish had 3 grayling from St Helens, Billy Davies managed 14 from the croy at the chain bridge on a small natural shrimp with his inexperienced mate picking up 10 from the same area. Gibby was out for an hour but it was too cold for him!!
Robin Brazier keeps the pressure on as one comes to hand at Regal
REGAL FISHERY - DRUMCLOG - 26/11/06.... Nine members braved the bitterly cold north wind at this ever improving fishery just off the A71. It was certainly worth the trip as sixty three rainbows and one blue trout were caught and released by the nine rods. Hugh Skeoch was top rod with fifteen, all on small lures under a sight bob with a green and black Straggle Fritz the main pattern. Black was by far the colour fish were after and Black Rabbits, Green Pea and the Regal Dancer all took their share. Stewart Wallace and Rab Brazier tied in second both with eleven apiece. There is a tremendous density of fish in this four pond complex and this is the perfect venue for the angler who is struggling to catch fish or the beginner looking for a fish or two. Can be very windy as it is a touch exposed but well worth a visit.
Outing winner Wullie Watters throws a long line at Middleton
MIDDLETON FISHERY - LARGS - 3/12/05.... A cold easterly blew for most of the morning but when it died away around 1 pm black buzzers brought a large number of trout to the surface although they proved difficult to tempt. Small lures such as Black Fritz and Red Head Damsels on floaters and intermediate lines were successful early in the day with one or two taking these static below a sight bob. Wullie Watters won the outing with four, sticking to lures with various retrieves at different depths. He picked up fish throughout the day something others struggled to do. Hugh Skeoch had three in the morning, finding the afternoon risers a little more stubborn. Tam Campbell did manage to take two on dries, a size fourteen emerging buzzer doing the damage after blanking the morning session. Stewart Wallace and Wullie Osborne also had two apiece again these fish coming in the morning. Seven rods returned fourteen fish to the water. This fishery comes into it's own when top of the water sport prevails. Crystal clear water presents it's own problems and adds to the challenge on this North Ayrshire small water. Another venue well worth a visit.
Craig Osborne bugging a nice run on the Nith
RIVER NITH - AULDGIRTH - 17/12/05....A cold overcast day with a light drizzle did not seem to put off fish on the Dalswinton Eastate water on this nice stretch of the Nith. Craig Osborne got off to a flier with seven in the first hour on the top beat, while anglers on the bottom beat had to wait till around lunchtime for the fish to come on. Grayling could be seen rising in Scout's Flat and it was here just below the Scaur that Hugh Skeoch and Willie Watters took most of their fish. Heavy bugs including Pink Shrimp and Black Fritz were top takers but smaller fish also came to wets fished down and accross. Craig eventually managed another fish to win with eight, Hugh was second with six and Wullie was third with five. Many of the grayling landed were in the pound and a half class with the best specimen nearer two and a half pounds.
Hugh Skeoch with a 46cm Teviot grayling
RIVER TEVIOT - JEDBURGH - 7/01/06....A dull, cold, overcast but still winters day on a low, gin clear river greeted the anglers who had made the long journey south. Not many locals were out on what is usually a busy beat at the weekend so there was plenty of room to spread out. Robin Brazier was first in action witha nice fish of 38cms on a Pink Shrimp. Right at the top of the beat Hugh Skeoch's first fish, a 46cm grayling put up a spirited fight before it came to hand, again this fish fell to a Pink Shrimp. Apart from a couple of insances of fish on then quickly off again things quietened considerably and almost everyone headed to the bottom end of the beat. This move paid off for Wullie Watters who picked up three nice grayling and lost a couple more, this was enough to win the outing. Tam Campbell who had stayed at the top of the beat had a nice fish of 44cms and lost a larger fish after an amazing fight. This fish had zipped around the pool ripping line from the reel and fought like a large sea trout before hanging directly downstream in typical grayling fashion and then coming off. Ten fish were landed and returned all in fantastic condition. Black Fritz and Gold Head Hares Ear along with shrimp and grub patterns fished deep proved successful.
Robin Brazier with the first fish of the day at Tarbolton
BURNS FISHERY - TARBOLTON - 28/01/06....On a cold but calm day expectations were high for the eight rods fishing this Winter League outing. Rods were split between the large fly pond and the catch and release pond. After an early flurry of action on the large pond at the north end when half a dozen fish were caught, sport dramatically tailed off and fishing became quite difficult. This seemed to coincide with the easterly breeze strengthening and the temperature falling a notch or two. Most of the fish taken early on fell to Bloodworm patterns fished below a sight indicator. Although not everyone agrees with this method it is certainly very affective and can bring fish to the net when other methods fail. At the lunch break Bill Hunter was in front with four, a Gold Head Millennium Bug again fished with a sighter responsible for his success. Thankfully the afternoon saw the temperature rise slightly and fishing in the catch and release pond improve. Gordon Turnbull took fish steadily throughout the day on Bloodworm and Gold Head Red Buzzer to come out on top with eight. Bill managed another two for a total of six and Hugh Skeoch and Stewart Wallace both finished with four. Top lure pattern was the Yellow Dancer and PTN and Diawl Bach fished deep also accounted for a couple. In total eight rods landed thirty two fish, most of which were returned. At £12 for a four fish ticket, Burns Fishery is one of the best value for money fisheries in Scotland.
RIVER NITH - SANQUHAR - 25/02/06....A strong, very cold easterly killed off any hope of taking a grayling or two on dry fly and resulted in sport being very difficult to come by. Only five fish were brought to hand with a couple more hooked and quickly lost. Tam Campbell had three early on and lost a couple more in the afternoon. The best of these fish was near the two pound mark and in excellent condition. all three fell to a size ten Hares Ear Gold Head with a gold holographic shellback fished long line on a floater. Fishing light (three pound cast) could have been the difference in the crystal clear water and fish were well spread out, all coming from separate runs and pools. Rab Brazier, Wullie Osborne and Gordon Turnbull all had one apiece, again Hares Ear featured in the taking patterns. A few olives were seen hatching and if the wind had dropped instead of getting stronger then undoubtedly fish would have been tempted to the surface. This was the club's first visit to this stretch of the Nith and hopefully will not be the last.