Loch Reports

The opening weekend was well attended and both boat and bank anglers did very well averaging just over 3 fish per rod. The 25 mph North to North West wind put half the loch out and made casting challenging! The fish were in the shallows and black and green was the colour choice to have and a very slow retrieve, the water is very cold at only 3oc. The best fishing day was tuesday and the rest of the week has unfishable due to the wind. Saturday 13th was a good day and in the afternoon the fish were on the top on the south shore feeding hard on copper beetles. There have been Rainbows to 7Lbs and a good Brown of 6Lbs returned. There is a good number of overwintered fish in the 3 to 4Lbs class to bend your rods.

March was very difficult, the very strong north and east winds most days put the fish down and kept the anglers away! The winds got to over 80mph between the 29 and 31st and we stopped fishing! The few anglers that did not get blown away averaged 3.22 fish per rod for the month and we saw Rainbows to 8 and Browns to 7lbs in the returns. o far April has seen a slight improvement and there have been two or three good warm fishing days with fish on the top on buzzers and copper bettles. We need a peroid of warm settled weather to bring the fish on and start the buzzer hatch proper. There are lots of damsel nymphs in the loch and the trout are feeding hard on them in 4 feet of water, as soon as the wind drops floating or slow intermediates with a team of buzzers is best.

A better end to the week with the wind from the south the air temperature got into double figures and there was lots of surface action. The fish were out in the deeper water and the boats had the best of the sport. Lots of large black buzzers were the main interest and many large fish were seen, hooked and lost and returned. The lagest Brown trout and I think the largest ever from the loch was caught on Sunday, it tipped the scales at 14lbs 5oz, a true monster from the deep! Lots of very good rainbows showing with the best for the week at 8lbs 8oz. The top of the water sport has just started!

25th May. We have had perhaps the best fishing in May for 10 years. The warm weather produced a massive hatch of Hawthorn flies and the Dry fly fishing has been fantastic. The weekend was just to hot with day time temperatures hitting 30! The evening fishing has been very good and offered the best sport. The deeper water drifts have been best during the day and the fish are very strong and are giving great sport. Today the weather has changed again and the wind has moved back to the north and the temperatures have fallen back by half or more. The best tactics will be drifting and pulling wets or static black dries. Many good fish caught and lots of Browns returned. Rainbows to 9 Blues to 6 and Browns to 7lbs.

10th June 2010. Summer must be here as its raining, misty and there is a North East wind blowing at a fair pace!! The fish are now in the deeper water and have switched from dries to daphnia. Black buzzers are still around and they will still come to a dry last thing at night. Drifting and pulling wets is producing the best sport and the bank anglres are finding fish down the south shore and into swing-gate bay. Browns to 6lbs returned and many good rainbows and blues to 7lbs.

It was great to see Mr Lilley back at the Loch after a year of ill health and personal Loss. Today 10th June he landed his biggest ever Rainbow Trout, tipping the scales at 8Lbs, very well done from all of us and your fellow Saturday regulars at the Loch. Fishing has been excellent after the strom last week, fish are on the top and excellent sport to dries and small emergers has been had by all. The boats are doing best with floating lines and small flies during the day. The fishing in the evening from both bank and boat is first class.

July was a month of two halves, after a warm and settled June, July opened with two weeks of strong to gale force winds with many days lost to winds of 50mph plus. The second half of the month saw the wind and the air temperature drop and more unsettled wet weather followed. The fish were in the deeper water and on clamer days were right on the top, excellent sport was had by the boats fishing dries to the rising fish along the east shore and over the deeps. Our new weed harvester has arrived from Switzerland and we launched it 2nd August and set to work on the bay, south shore and top end. It is an amazing bit of kit!! August should offer plenty of top of the water sport to Daddies, hoppers and sedges.