Issue 59

MEMBERS MAGAZINE WITH REVIEWS, ARTICLES AND CLUB NEWS • ISSUE 59 • SEPTEMBER 2015

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SOX COSSE

PIKE ANGLERS

ALLIANCE

FOR SCOTAND

ISSUE 59 FEATURES: PAAS, LOCH AWE, WILD FISHERIES, SCOTTISH LOCH FISHING

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION FOR THE PIKE ANGLERS FOR SCOTLAND

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WE ACCEPT

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INSIDE

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SOX COSSE

ISSUE 59 • SEPTEMEBR 2015

COMMITTEE CONTACTS CHAIRMAN/GENERAL SECRETARY Steve Tapley, chairman@esoxecosse.com MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Brian Gerrard, memsec@esoxecosse.com TREASURER Rory Fitzpatrick, treasurer@esoxecosse.com MAGAZINE EDITOR Ciaran Wilson, editor@esoxecosse.com PRODUCTS MANAGER Donald Murray, products@esoxecosse.com

9

19

PAAS list of achievements

Loch Awe Looking back

26

30

Weekend with Loch Garry Fishing

4

Wild Fisheries

COMMITEE REPORTS

Reports from our chairman, General Sectreatry, Membership Secretary Tresasurer, Products Manager, Events Organiser and Online reports

11

BRANCH REPORTS

CENTRAL central@esoxecosse.com

36

MUGSHOTS

GLASGOW glasgow@esoxecosse.com TAYSIDE tayside@esoxecosse.com

38

SCOTTISH LOCH FISHING

BRANCH CONTACTS

Read up on activities, outings and general “goin’s on’s” from our branches throughout the alliance.

A starter for 10

PAAS SENIOR FELLOWS

Mark Carpenter, Richard Doig, Frank Gibbons, Declan McClusker, Don McGurk, Jamie McMurchie, Alastair McPhee, Ralston McPhearson, Jim Morrice, Donald Murray, Franny Ruiz, Derek Smith, Steve Tapley, Joe Toner, Ron Woods, Scott Kelly, Scott Lawrence

Any opinions expresses by the writers in the publication are personal views and should not be taken as being representative of the views held by the Pike Anglers Alliance for Scotland.

4 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

COMMITTEE REPORTS THE PIKE ANGLERS ALLIANCE FOR SCOTLAND

COMMITTEE REPORTS and rained hard up there as well. Our intention was to rove and fish with lures and the fly. The winds were of the gale force kind and casting lures into those winds was hard enough let alone the fly.

At one point I cast a lure the wind picked up strength and blew the lure past me in the opposite direction and fowl hooked the dog unintentionally I might add. The hook was just lodged in his thick fur coat so it didn’t take too much effort to remove it.

To cap off a wild weekend we drove down the A9 in the most horrendous weather…………..

May 2nd, 2015 PAAS AGM.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Recent Events

I returned home from another trip from warmer climates hoping to have another May like 2014 as I missed most of it being on a journey from Thailand to South Africa which lasted nearly 8 weeks by drillship. Well, boy oh boy was I to be disappointed with the weather? Now I appreciate I had returned back to Scotland from regions that spent their entire year over 22 degrees of heat but May was very cold here in Scotland. I kept thinking in the next few days it will warm up but to no avail. I was to remain very disappointed as the weather stayed windy and cold from the North Westerly direction sucking in icy winds from the polar regions.

However I did get out and had some good fish and some smaller fish from venues further up the country. Most of all I fished with people I have known for some time but haven’t had the chance to fish with at all or for a long time.

Indeed it was good to catch up with them and share some slow but great action with some nice fish to over 26lbs.

I then headed further North to fish with my cousin and Uncle on waters we had fished in the past and decided to revisit and it blew

This year we were going to hold it earlier as basically this was the only weekend the King Robert Hotel could accommodate the AGM being held there. This was better for us as it avoided the normal FA CAUP Finals both south of the border and here in Scotland along with avoiding the final holiday weekend in May. What sort of turn out were we expecting?

To be honest we didn’t really know because we had had so many issues effecting effective communications with the membership from a Forum down to Facebook and Forum access restricted plus a magazine that was quite simply left for those in the Committee to pick up from scratch. Had we foreseen this happening we would have taken measures to try and counteract the sequence of events that lead to all this happening at once. So it was good to see so many regular faces sitting down on the prepared seating ready for the start.

One of our speakers had called off at the last minute as well and the AGM’s usual tackle stand. Unfortunately he hadn’t replied to umpteen e-mails and messages sent to him about attending this year’s AGM with his tackle stall, lures and rods. So our AGM for the first time in many years was going to be without a tackle stand and there wasn’t much more we could do to improve the situation.

5 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

COMMITTEE REPORTS

However, other invites were sent out and all replies came back saying they weren’t going to attend at such short notice.

The AGM was started with me welcoming so many to the morning session and then moving onto the voting on of Committee members as quite a few were just coopted on until now. The voting went well and all proposals were accepted but two positions left unfilled.

into the envelopes and then posting out to the membership.

Then I stepped into explaining what had been going on over the few weeks or so with the failures in certain areas and why these things had been so catastrophic.

I can assure the membership that the Committee worked as hard as it could to resolve these matters, it certainly wasn’t easy because it asked a few of the Committee to step into areas possibly outside their comfort zone. For instance Stewart had to deal with the server providers and ask questions that none of us knew answers to. He then had to take on the accessing of the Forum once Vooservers had got it back up and running. Vooservers then had to make some changes and unfortunately this had the Forum Membership making up bigger fancier passwords that caused us a lot of grief and I believe some are still struggling so the e-mail address to contact for this should be in this magazine.

I explained all this at the morning session of the AGM and questions were asked and answered and I can assure everyone no one was more frustrated than I was during this matter.

Then Stewart had to gain access to the Club’s Facebook Page and start to update as much as possible on there to try and keep those on line in the ‘loop’ and hope they would pass on any information to those they knew weren’t online. There are times indeed when the Committee inadvertently forgets that not everyone is online with the internet so we have to get the information out as much as possible through other users to the members not on the internet.

We also had a magazine that had fallen at the first hurdle! For instance it was even laid out for Ciaran to put the content onto.

My thanks goes to Steve Orr and the Lads at Glasgow Angling Centre that kindly lent us their services to try and recover some of the lost time and get the magazine content laid out and then sent off to the printers. As I type this the magazine should be leaving the printers to arrive with our Membership Secretary for placing

I can only apologise to the membership for this serious set of malfunctions of the Clubs set up and I can assure you all we, the Committee, have already taken steps to make sure this type of problem doesn’t have such a catastrophic outcome once again.

The rest of the AGM proceeded without hiccup during the morning session and lunch was convened and enjoyed by all.

Well, I never heard any complaints of poor food and the staff were most helpful.

The afternoon session was a good with talks from two speakers and those details will appear in the magazine later. The day’s events was concluded with the usual AGM raffle with some excellent prizes from Diawa and our other advertisers and supporters whom I wish to thank personally for their undying support throughout 2014 and hope you will stick with PAAS during 2015.

I closed a great day off with a cry for volunteers to join the Club’s Committee as we still have two open vacant positions that need urgently filled.

Pikey Matters.

Illegal netting and set lines.

I mentioned at the beginning of my report that I was fishing further North and the Committee had received an e-mail from the Head Bailiff from the Cromarty Firth Salmon Board stating that he had been involved in the expulsion and the prosecution of so called Pike Anglers illegally fish Loch Garve above Inverness.

I wrote back kindly requesting a meet up with him whilst I was already up there fishing and he kindly accepted the offer of Coffee and Bacon butties. We covered a lot of ground and his intentions to rigorously weed out these types of activities and to promote better pike fishing opportunities. They have found so called anglers setting lines and in some cases nets in order to catch pike for the pot by the looks of things or indeed

resale.

He is keen to see the Wild Fisheries View have some impact on protecting all species of fish including most of all Pike.

Another positive outcome of the meet up was he has a younger under study that too fishes for Pike with his older brother and Father, so hopefully we will attract some people to become members in the further North of the country.

Discarded Pike Traces and Line to Wildlife.

Not so long ago the Head Warden of the Loch Arkaig Protection Order sent me an e-mail and attachments with some rather odd but disturbing pictures of a hooks, wire trace and braid that was nestled very unfortunately inside a Sea Eagle chick’s stomach that had either been fed this by bait or by eating a Pike its parent had caught from the water as food. Either way, the chick was carefully removed from the nest operated on and put back in the nest to recover. I am led to believe the chick is making a remarkable recovery after such surgery and looks like it is unharmed from its rather nasty life threatening ideal.

I just think this a prudent reminder to all about keeping an eye on the terminal tackle and to make sure it’s fit for purpose at all times and that the lines of either type are not showing any undue wear or tear. I have had braid break off on me once during the cast and the offending hooks and trace ended up in very deep water. That event might have saved a bird from damaging itself but a Pike could still have easily have picked it up and done itself no favor’s. The braid had actually parted at the stop knot as it hung up on the rod rings when cast out and my immediate action was to quit using those Fox Stop Knot Rubbers and it has never happened since.

I hope you have a fished filled next couple of months and if you catch a whopper do not hesitate to mail it to the Editor to be included in the Gallery Page in the Magazine or website….

Steve Tapley

Chairman, PAAS

6 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

COMMITTEE REPORTS

THE TREASURER’S

REPORT

Hello All, It’s been an interesting few months for the club to say the least…..

Unfortunately this has meant that it’s taken a bit of time to get the accounts signed off by the accountant, which wasn’t helped by the changeover of treasurer around the time the accounts were due and the fact the PayPal account was changed over in the middle of the financial year.

members will find a copy of the signed accounts inside this magazine.

To briefly summarise, members will be pleased to know at time of writing the club’s funds are in the region of £12,000 pounds.

Tight Lines,

Rory Fitzpatrick

Thankfully this has all been sorted now and

MEMBERSHIP’S

REPORT

Hi guys and welcome to our August 2015 magazine!

I will begin with a small update on how we are progressing with numbers. We currently sit on 136 members ( this is written in July for posting in August , updates will appear on the website) after getting off to a slow start at beginning of the new membership year and I put this down

to the website and forum being down for longer than we expected. Numbers have picked up since the last mag and hard copies of renewal forms fell through doors .

Members are encouraged to join in at their local branches, details of which are as follows:

Glasgow branch meet in the Iron Horse pub in Glasgow Contact - William Edgar at glasgow@ esoxecosse.com Central branch meet in the Organgs hotel in Grangemouth Contact - Scott Miller at bigscottyfishing@ yahoo.co.uk Tayside branch meet in the Old Reid Park bar in Forfar Contact - Donald Murray at tayside@ esoxecosse.com I am sure the members will be only to happy to welcome new faces and this is also the place to

meet and greet your fellow pike anglers.

PAAS will be attending the Glasgow Angling Centres open weekend in September and will be hoping to recruit more members on the day and hopefully get guys into either their local branches.

I will close by saying a big thank you to the members who have rejoined and a warm welcome to our new members, your continued support is very much appreciated! I hope you enjoy your time with PAAS and hopefully we cancatch up at some point at an event or branch outing.

Any queries regards membership or whatever you woold like to see happen regarding membership please get in touch at memsec@ esoxecosse.com, 07713279404 or p m me at Brian Gerrard or at the membership section on the forum , see you all in November issue . Bye for now!!

Brian Gerrard

7 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

COMMITTEE REPORTS

EDITOR’S

REPORT

Welcome to issue 59 of Esox Ecosse, I hope that this issue finds you all well….

Despite some unseasonal weather conditions over our so called “summer” period, it seems plenty of you have been getting out and wetting a line. Submissions for the mugshots section have been trickling in steadily; Congratulations to all on some super fish and many thanks for your continued support!! I’m aware that there are many more of you enjoying great sport at the moment, so don’t be shy – if you have any interesting stories about recent catches or have been doing well on a new piece of tackle or bait, then your fellow members will be keen to hear about it and maybe even to learn something new!

I am pleased to announce that we have a new advertiser for the prominent back cover of Esox Ecosse; Angling Active, which represents a significant boost to our advertising revenues.

Following a period where, for one reason or other advertisers were withdrawing their support, this is a real lift. Many thanks to Big Scotty from the Central branch for putting in the hard work on this one and indeed as part of the package, Angling Active will also be sponsoring the Central Branch reports going forward.

So, what can you expect from issue 59? Firstly a relatively quick turnaround from issue 58, but as I had sufficient quality material at my

disposal, I felt that this was a good opportunity to get the magazine back on track from a timing point of view. I hope you are all happy with the result…

Our Chairman and acting General Secretary, Steve Tapley has taken a moment to recap on what PAAS has achieved as a club over the years. As a relatively newcomer myself I was surprised at how many things I may now take for granted that have come as a result of hard work from previous club members. Interest in the vacant committee positions has so far been disappointingly thin but hopefully Steve’s article will inspire a few more of you to come forward, ensuring that the club can survive and indeed thrive in the years to come.

Next up we have a guest piece from Cumbrian based Angling Guide Eric Hope on his early adventures to Loch Awe. Eric has been travelling north for many a year now and has enjoyed some wonderful sport with his buddies but in this particular article, he reminisces about where it all began.

Undoubtedly, there is little as important to Pike anglers right now as the Wild Fisheries Review and Ron Woods provides a full update on where we are currently regarding this. This is a very fluid situation with talks ongoing involving

lots of different parties, PAAS included. The nature of freshwater angling in Scotland is changing and it is important that we Pikers, as a minority group, make as much noise as possible to ensure that we get a fair deal, both for ourselves and for old Esox too!

Finally, we have the concluding part of our archived Article from way back in issue No: 6, April/May 2002, Scottish Loch Fishing – A Starter for 10! By Ralston McPherson.

Tight Lines one and all,

Ciaran Wilson

8 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

PAAS LIST OF ACHIEVEMENTS

PAAS’ List of Achievements

I have been hearing way too many times the phrase “What has PAAS done for the Pike and the Pike Angler in Scotland?”. I find this a rather unusual statement in that people who fish for the Pike don’t realise what has been done for both entities since PAAS’s inception.

9 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

PAAS LIST OF ACHIEVEMENTS

IN THE BEGINNING 2001…

The face of Scottish Coarse and Pike Angling was changing at very fast pace with Freshwater Fishery Forum’s, that had already been formed before PAAS’s inception, moving forward with suggested changes to the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act. We, the Pike Angler, already had key people in position on these Forums representing the Pike and Coarse Angler and defending the changes others in Angling wanted implementing. If it hadn’t been for these people and others that joined their ranks things might have been a whole lot worse for us now. Read the story as it unfolds……….

April 2001 the Club was formed in a bar in Glasgow with a big attendance and a buffet that people would die for. A committee was formed in the back room of the bar and the way forward was put into a plan….

To follow was endless meetings of the Volunteers in people’s houses with their good ladies providing the food. With the Committee formed and people in place on the Forums changes were going to come to the way we fish.

AS FOR PAAS’ ACHIEVEMENTS: • The production of the club magazine.

• The first ‘Gathering”.

• The setting up of Local Branches.

• Attaining a membership of some 350 topping out at over 400 during the coming years.

• Accredited as becoming the largest single species course angling club in Scotland.

• Privileged access to Mentieth and further privileged access waters as it was known then and are still now achieving through much hard work.

• Advising on the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003 • Advising on the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 • Prior to the above Act and it’s changes the Pike Angler was only allowed legally to fish with one rod and it had to be held in your hand and bank sticks were illegal according to the Law as it was prior to the above Act. • Representatives on large Trout and Salmon Clubs throughout Scotland and sitting on Committees that wouldn’t have entertained us 20 years ago and still to this day are very actively seeking proactive treatment of Pike and its habitat.

• Providing leaflets at local and national level for the protection of Pike and safe ways to handle the fish.

• Providing minimum requirement suggestions, apon request from the fishery management for Pike Angling on fisheries at local and national levels.

• Representatives on Liaison Committees in regards to Pike fishing on Protection Order waters.( Lochs Awe, Tay. Tummel, Rannoch, Arkaig, Lochy and Oich to name a few.

• Attending endless meetings to the above and advising on the methods employed to safe guard Pike Fishing.

• Representatives on the Protection Order Advisory Committee that help shape Protection Orders new and old in Scotland.

• National Parks and consultation.

• Preventing nettings on certain waters that would have drastically effected the Pike populations.

• Frequent contac.t with the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory at Faskally, Pitlochry.

• Twice we have been asked to provide advice to the Courts on fishing methods and the distinction between fishing for Pike and fishing for Salmon.

• Attending meetings on Loch Ken about the Cray Fish infestations and best practices to be adopted.

• Participating in the original Camping Ban on Loch Lomond consultative program and still monitoring the proposal to extend the ban further around Loch Lomond.

• Attending the Wild Fisheries Review early meetings and responding to the reviews findings and the ways forward and taking part in the consultations on what the Wild Fisheries Review highlighted.

• On many occasions the Branch Secretary’s solving issues at local level and only asking the Committee for any help if it were needed.

The following areas are where those on the Forums representing Coarse Fish and Pike (PAAS and PAC) played a big part and role in modelling what is written in the following parts of the Acts. The following are just some of the major influences we managed to shape and there are many other parts where we took part in discussion and influenced the outcome.

The Club were blessed with the presences of a certain few, namely Ron Woods and Alastair McPhee but to name two, that had such knowledge and persuasive powers that we achieved and are still achieving great things at a Government level.

10 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

PAAS LIST OF ACHIEVEMENTS

SECTION 20

ROD AND LINE

(1) After section 3 of the 2003 Act, insert— “3AFishing by rod and line (1) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be treated as fishing for or taking fish by rod and line in the circumstances set out in subsection (2), (3) or (4) only if the condition specified in the relevant subsection is met.

(2) Where a person— (a)is fishing for or taking salmonids, and (b)is not doing so from a boat, the condition is that the person uses a single rod and line and that the rod is being held by the person.

(3) Where a person— (a) is fishing for or taking freshwater fish other than salmonids, and (b) is not doing so from a boat, the condition is that the person uses no more than 4 rods for that purpose at any one time.

(4) Where a person— (a) is fishing for or taking fish, and (b) is doing so from a boat,the condition is that no more than 4 rods are used on the boat for that purpose at any one time.

(5) In this section, “salmonids” means all fish of the family Salmonidae.”.

(2) In section 4 of the 2003 Act (meaning of “rod and line”)— (a) in subsection (1)— (i) the word “single” is repealed, (ii)for the words “pointing, or by striking or dragging for fish” substitute “foul hooking”, (b)in subsection (2), after “use” insert “live vertebrates,”, (c)after subsection (2), insert— “(3) In subsection (1)— • “foul hooking” means pointing, or any other method of hooking or attempting to hook a fish other than by inducing the fish to take the hook in its mouth by reason of the bait or lure; • “set line” means a fishing line left unattended in water and having attached to it one or more lures or baited hooks.”.

SECTION 21 PROHIBITION AGAINST USING PIKE GAGS AND CERTAIN KEEPNETS After section 5 of the 2003 Act, insert— “5AProhibition against using pike gags and certain keepnets (1) Any person who uses a pike gag in relation to the fishing for or taking of fish shall be guilty of an offence, and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(2) Any person who uses— (a) a knotted keepnet (that is, a keepnet the mesh of which is knotted), (b)a metallic keepnet, (that is, a keepnet the mesh of which is made of metallic material), in relation to the fishing for or taking of fish shall be guilty of an offence, and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(3) Without prejudice to section 294 (attempts to commit crime) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 3 to, the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, any person who attempts to commit or who does any act preparatory to the commission of the offence mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above shall be guilty of an offence, and liable to the same punishment as if that person had committed the offence mentioned.

(4) In subsection (1), “pike gag” means a device used for the purpose of keeping the jaws of a fish open by inserting it into the mouth of the fish.”.

I hope the above information gives the current membership an idea of what the Committees of the past and now are doing for the Pike and the Pike Angler ‘North of the Wall’ and without the Club, it’s Membership and it’s Committees a lot might be a whole lot different and asserts that the Club is a necessity to protect Pike and Pike Angling in the future in Scotland.

Steve Tapley PAAS Chairman.

TAYSIDE

BRANCH R E P O R T

BRANCH MEETING 31ST MARCH 2015.

At this meeting we had a new member in our presence. Andy Elliott from Dundee was accepted into the Branch, welcome aboard Andy..

Thanks go out to all the Branch members who brought prizes, and bought tickets for our mega raffle. We raised ÂŁ60 for club funds.

This was also our presentation night, so our Branch Treasurer, Jim Morrice took to the floor to present all the Trophies to the relevant winners from the 2014 season.

BRANCH OUTING 5TH APRIL 2015.

Our first outing of the 2015 campaign took place on Sunday 5th April. Six of our Branch members were in attendance in the hope of getting an early bonus on the leader board. This was not to be after a very slow day in the pike department, resulting in one missed run for Paul Phizacklea.

So blanks all round and one point each for attendance.

BRANCH OUTING 10TH MAY 2015.

Our second outing of 2015 took place on Sunday 10th May. Steve Tapley was the only man on the bank that day, due to last minute call off’s from other members. Well Steve got his just rewards for being there solo, banking two superb specimens of 22lb 2oz and 19lb 8oz. John and Paul Phizacklea took advantage of our flexible option, and fished the venue midweek resulting in one jack for Paul.

BRANCH OUTING 13TH 14TH JUNE 2015.

Our third outing of the 2015 year was an overnighter for the Tayside Branch, due to the distance they had to travel.

John and Paul Phizacklea, Jim Morrice and Andy Elliott made the long haul for the outing.

A couple of doubles and a few jacks showed up for their efforts, well in guy’s.

Only down side on the weekend, was new Branch member Andy Elliott having to leave slightly early. He stood in a hole and went over the waders, resulting in getting rather wet.

Much to the amusement of the other Branch members lol.

BBQ/LURE PAIRS. Our annual BBQ/Lure Pairs event was supposed to take place on the weekend of the 18th/19th July. This event was cancelled last minute due to severe flooding in Perthshire in the days prior, making it a washout.

We will try and organise a meeting in the month of August to plan out our events for the second half of 2015.

That’s all from Tayside….

Tight Lines…

13 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

BRANCH REPORT

GLASGOW

BRANCH R E P O R T

MAY 2015 BRANCH MEETING

JUNE 2015 BRANCH MEETING

The May Branch meeting saw the new committee taking over for the first time. On the night there was a great show of support, not only from previously signed up members, but nonmembers looking to join and become part of…THE MIGHTY GLASGOW BRANCH. (thanks again guys)

Another great turn out from members along with more new members joining on the night. This saw the Branch numbers hit a grand total of 30.

FANTASTIC !!!

The month of May also saw the launch of the Glasgow Branch Facebook page. Which, if I’m being perfectly honest, I wasn’t looking forward to as it meant that I’d need to do what I always said I’d never do…sign up to Facebook. But the numbers favor of a Facebook page greatly over shadowed the numbers against it. So our very own Tony McTaggart set about getting the ball rolling. And I must say, it’s been a surprisingly good eye opener and not to mention a great way to daily interact and communicate with Branch members. Well done McT.

MAY 2015 BRANCH OUTING Between boat and bank fishing several members made the journey to one of Scotland’s largest waters in what could only be described as less than favorable conditions. Typical for that time of year, the fishing was hard, but some fish were caught over the weekend by myself and Martin McNeil. Biggest fish being 10lb 8oz and caught by myself earning me £30.00 worth of Glasgow Angling Center vouchers.

JUNE 2015 BRANCH OUTING Leading up to the June outing there were mixed reports surrounding boat and bank access to our first choice water so it was decided by the attending members at the June Branch meeting to make the switch to another water to avoid issues.

With the Loch in question being relatively unknown to the majority of the anglers planning on fishing it, most travelled on the Friday to get a better firsthand look at what they were up against.

For the anglers fishing it, it was a definitely a case of famine or feast, with myself and Rory Fitzpatrick catching the bulk of the fish over the weekend. Biggest being an 18lb’er and caught by myself. Again, earning me £30.00 worth of Glasgow Angling Center vouchers.

JULY 2015 BRANCH MEETING Considering it was July and the start of summeholidays for many Branch members the for the meeting was very good. And would you believe another 6 new members bringing the total to 36.

THE MIGHTY GLASGOW BRANCH INDEED !!!

JULY 2015 BRANCH OUTING

Knowing that July was the first of the two summer outing “break” months our Events Coordinator Tony McTaggart arranged a Limited Access Glasgow Branch Boating Event.

With weather reports indicating high winds and heavy rain 16 anglers headed North in the hope of some bearable weather and maybe a few fish.

Overall it was a great day with some good fish making an appearance along with tales of the one that got away. The day in question was topped off with wee social while enjoying a late “alfresco” lunch at the local Chippy (2nd best Chippy in Scotland IMO).

2015 PAOTY This year’s representatives from the Glasgow Branch will be…

Joe “The Hawler” Toner Tony “The Housewives Choice” McTaggart.

Greg “The Baby Maker” Walker.

In reserve…

Bobby “The Builder” Milne.

Glasgow Branch Meetings take place on the 2nd Thursday of each Month in the Iron Horse Pub Glasgow.

CENTRAL BRANCH R E P O R T

A VERY WARM HELLO FROM THE GUYS AT CENTRAL, Sad news to start with‌.our leader had an argument with a large rock! Unfortunately the rock won! Big Scotty tripped over said rock and smashed his elbow! The damage being so severe that he will never cast a lure in anger again. I am sure some of you have purchased some of his gear already, while the big man recovers we will just muddle along best we can until his return, some time soon hopefully.

We decided to fish loch Tummel for our May outing, although no monsters were caught everyone managed a fish or two with Colin Campbell coming out on top with most fish caught , well done to Colin and to Andy Irvine who was runner up.

June saw us travel south to deepest Dumfriesshire where Darren Inglis tried to catch

the smallest fish alive (judge for yourselves ). The honours went to Krissy Smith with the biggest fish with Colin and Darren running him close. A great day out and for once the weather was kind to us.

July outing was to Loch Ken for the lure shield , a warm morning greeted us on the loch at 4.30 am it was flat calm with roach and bream breaking the surface in large numbers. The day ahead was filled with anticipation and what a day! Everyone caught fish; Mikey Wilson had most fish closely followed by Andy, Colin, Darren and Krissy. The shield was won by Krissy with a fish just over 18 pounds very closely followed by Darren with a fish of 18 pounds on the nose, a great day out enjoyed by everyone.

I sign off wishing all fellow PAAS members tight lines from all at Central!!

Andy

Dave Lumb's

12 Wilson Close Tarleton Preston PR4 6DE Tel/Fax: 01772 812036 dave@dlst.co.uk

D.L. Specialist Tackle www.dlst.co.uk PARTRIDGE TREBLES

LURE RODS

BAIT RODS

Chemically sharpened points, black nickel finish, 10 Per pack.

AXIOM 7013 - £165.00 7ft, casts 28-84g Lightweight, fast action multi-purpose lure rod.

X-1 - £190.00 12ft, 3lb A stepped up version of the P-1 on a new woven blank.

AXIOM 6824 - £165.00 6ft 8in, casts 56-112g

P-1 - £185.00 12ft, 2.75lb All round predator rod with crisp progressive action.

X6 Round Bend Size 2 - £6.00 Size 4 - £6.00 Size 6 - £6.00

AXIOM 6235 - £165.00 6ft 2in, casts 84-140g

X7 Modified Limerick bend Size 2, 4, 6 - £5.00

P-2 - £180.00 11ft, 2.5lb Drain/river pike rod.

(For Fuji SiC rings please add £40) FOOLER - £130.00 6ft 6in, casts 28-70g - Top selling all-rounder

TREBLE HOOKS Eagle Claw 974 2X straight point - 10pk Size 6 - £1.80 Size 4 - £1.80 Size 2 - £2.00 Size 1 - £2.00 Size 1/0 - £2.40 Size 2/0 - £2.60 Size 3/0 - £3.00 Size 4/0 - £3.60 Size 5/0 - £4.20

STAY-LOK POWER SNAPS

TOOLS AND STUFF Long Reach pliers (straight): £7.50 Debarbing/crimping pliers: £4.95 Lazer split ring pliers: £11.50 Precision trace wire cutters: £4.95

POWER SWIVELS

£2.99 (Per 10) Size 1, Size 2 (Per 9) Size 3, Size 4 (Per 8) Size 4.5, Size 5

Size 14, 12, 10, or 8 £1.00 per 10 Size 14, 12, 10, or 8 £4.25 per 50 Swivels size 5 £1.25 per 10

FASTACH SNAPS Size 5 £5.25 per 50

Size 2 - £2.99 per 12 Size 3 - £2.99 per 10 Size 4 - £2.99 per 10

SLEDGE-HAMMER 70L - £145.00 7ft 0in, casts 42-98g

Size 2 £2.00 per 10

SLEDGE-HAMMER 66M - £145.00 6ft 6in, casts 56-112g

P-3 LOCH TAMER - £185.00 10ft, 3.5lb - Boat pike rod supreme. Nuff Said!

P-4 LOCH TAMER LITE - £180.00 10ft, 2.75lb - Lighter action boat pike (and zander) rod.

SLEDGE-HAMMER 60H - £145.00 6ft, casts 70-126g.

TRICKSTER H - £150.00 7ft 4in, casts 28-84g Two-piece, fast action multi-purpose lure rod.

TRICKSTER L - £150.00 7ft 4in, casts 28-70g Two-piece, medium action multi-purpose lure rod.

LUREWEAVE MESHES To fit 42” triangular or 36” round frames.

£24.00 To fit 36” triangular or 30” round frames.

£22.00

NEW STUFF Stainless Steel Split rings 6mm - £2.00 Stainless Steel Split rings 8mm - £2.00 Stainless Steel Split rings 10mm - £2.00 Quick Links - £2.00 All 20 per pack

P-5 - £185.00 11ft, 3lb - Multi-purpose boat/bank rod.

Much recommended all round pike rod.

BAIT BLASTER 1 (BB350) - £185.00 12ft, 3.5lb Big bait/long range predator rod.

RIG STUFF Popper Beads 18mm - £2.50 per 10 Popper Beads 25mm - £2.50 per 6 Rigid Boom Tube - £1.40 per 5 Deadbait Elastic - £1.00 30lb DLST Trace Wire - £2.99 per 30ft Crimps - £2.50 per 100 AFW Surfstrand 30lb - £3.95 per 30ft Twidling Stick - £2.00 each Low Temp Shrink Tube (size 1) - £1.70 Low Temp Shrink Tube (size 2) - £1.70 Low Temp Shrink Tube (size 3) - £1.70 Rubber Beads (6mm) - £0.85 per 10 Rubber Beads (8mm) - £0.85 per 10 Plastic Beads (5mm) - £1.50 per 100 Plastic Beads (8mm) - £1.50 per 100 Large Eye Swivels - £2.95 per 50

Lead making swivels per 50 - £3.00

CARRIAGE AND DELIVERY Orders under £25.00 please add £3.00 towards postage. Rods are sent by carrier at a cost of £10.00 per order.

All rods built to order. Please enquire about build times—average is around four weeks.

ALL OTHER UK ORDERS OVER £25.00 POST FREE Overseas carriage on rods (including Eire) by arrangement, other overseas orders please add 10% All weights and measures approximate. Prices correct as of 05/07/15. E&OE

Cheques/POs payable to D.L. Specialist Tackle please VISA/MASTERCARD and PAYPAL ORDERS WELCOME Shop On-Line @ www.dlstshop.co.uk

THE TACKLE SHOP

BRIDGE ROAD, GAINSBOROUGH, LINCS. DN21 1JU

TEL: 01427 613002/679434

Fax: 01427 811375 • Email: thetackleshop@btconnect.com DICTATOR RANGE DICTATOR BOAT ROD

We have added a new rod to our Dictator range. This is the Boat Rod. At 10ft long and 4lb test. As experienced boat anglers we know that conventional 3lb rods are not up to the job. When that big pike has had its first run around away from the boat, when it comes to the net it needs to go in first time. That’s where the extra power comes in. The rod is ringed with sensible sized Fujis, has a hook retainer, folds up into equal sections and has a short handle covered in neoprene so it fits snugly in a boat rest.

RRP £166.00 SPECIAL PRICE £149.00 DICTATOR JERK

Last but not least our versatile lure rod which is at home casting jerkbaits or soft plastics as it is trolling around in ever decreasing circles! 6ft 6 in one section, quality fittings trigga grip will cast up to 140g.

RRP £125.99 SPECIAL PRICE £115.00

All rods built on Daiwa Blanks. Carriage paid.

DROP SHOTTING GEAR RODS Wychwood Agitator 7’ 3” 3-18g ...........................£59.99 Wychwood Agitator 8’ 3” 3-20g ...........................£69.99 Shakespeare Agility 7’ 3-20g ................................£34.99 REELS Daiwa Ninja 1500, 2000, 2500 .............................£44.99 Fox Ultron 1500 ........ £44.99 Fox Ultron 2500 .....£54.99 Shimano Symetre 500FL ......................................£89.99 READY RIGS Fox Drop Shot Kits ................................................. £7.99 MORE DROP SHOT LURES AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE!

BOOKS BY NEVILLE FICKLING MAMMOTH PIKE 2004-13

Sister publication to the original Mammoth Pike. 200 more pike over 35lb documented. Limited run of 600, 250 left.

Hardback £35.00 plus £5.00 postage Cased Leather bound (12 left of 50) £100 plus £7.00 post

BIG WATER PIKE FISHING

Guest chapters by Geoff Parkinson, Al Rawlings, Scotty Davidson, Dave Kelbrick and others. The most comprehensive book on big waters. £10.00 Leather bound was £165.00 now £75.00 £5.00 postage

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PIKE FISHING

An updated soft back of the once out of print favourite. £17.99 postage £5.00

BOOK BY MICK BROWN: PROFESSIONAL PIKE ANGLER LAST FEW FENLAND ZANDER

BY STEVE YOUNGER

REELS & RODS

£28.00 postage £5.00 £14.95 postage £3.00

NEW DAIWA REELS Shimano ST 4000FB ............ RRP £74.99 SPECIAL £59.99 Shimano DL 4000FA ........... RRP £104.99 SPECIAL £82.99 Shimano ST 2500FB ............ RRP £69.99 SPECIAL £54.99 Shimano DL 2500FA ............ RRP £94.99 SPECIAL £72.99 Daiwa Proteus 300L ............. RRP £74.99 SPECIAL £65.99 Abu 6501C ........................ RRP £119.99 SPECIAL £107.99 Abu Blue Max ........... £39.99 Abu Silver Max .....£54.99 Black Widow 4500,4000,3500 RRP £69.99 SPECIAL £49.99 Wychwood Solace 6 ............................................£49.99 Wychwood Solace 10 £89.99 Fox EOS 1000........£49.99 RODS Daiwa Powermesh XJerk 2-6oz RRP £125.99 SPECIAL £120.00 Fox Predator Deadbait 12’ 2.75lb .......................... £69.99 Fox Predator Deadbait 12’ 3.25lb .......................... £74.99 Fox Predator Boat 10’ 3lb ..................................... £69.99 Fox Predator Specialist 9’ 2-8lb ............................ £59.99 Daiwa Whisker 12ft 3lb ...................................... £150.00 Daiwa Whisker 12ft 3.5lb ................................... £160.00

ACCESSORIES

Tackle Shop Over & Under Boat Rest ...................£23.99 Fladen Multi Fitments Boat Rod Rest .....................£12.99 Transducer Bracket .............................................£29.99 Savage Gear Automatic Life Jacket (150 newtons) £99.99 Savage Rubberised Folding Lure Boat Net 70 X 85cm with tele handle ...............................£49.99 Fox Rage Lure Net: ........... Large £49.99 X.Large £59.99 Trakker Cool Box 13lt Green ................................£26.99 Wychwood Aerator Bag £29.99 Fox Rig Bin ........... £8.99 NEW Middy IQ Bait Fresh Bag Outer Bag 14”X13” £15.99 NEW MP Paravane Left or Right ..........................£19.99 ET Unhooking glove .............................................£10.99 Pete Foster Ball Gripper Drop Offs .........................£19.95 The best drop offs we have ever seen!

AERATORS: Bubbles box 1.5V .................................................£19.99 Two-Way (12v or 1.5V) Hush Bubbles ..................£44.99 Quiet Bubbles 1.5V ..............................................£36.99 3 Way Hush Bubbles 3V plus adaptor ...................£44.99 Power Bubbles 12V Best 12V on the market .........£62.99 Wychwood aerator with 12v lighter socket lead (or batteries) ..................................£16.99 Reuban Heaton 60lb scales ..................................£99.99

LURES

Spro BBZ Jointed 8½”..........................................£23.99 Savage 3D trout 20.5cm 120g..............................£10.99 Savage 3D trout 27.5cm 225g slow sink ..............£19.99 Savage 3D trout 11 inch slow sink........................£22.49 Savage Real Eels: 30cm .......... £8.49 40cm ........ £9.99 Savage Line Thru Trout 30cm 12 inch 303g .........£22.49 Colmic Garuda Monster Bait 35cm 106g Big curly tail lure .................................................. £9.80 Grandma Lures: 6” £10.25 7” £12.80 9” £14.80 Weighted Squirrley Burt .......................................£17.99 Castaic Slow Sink 10” ........................TO CLEAR! £8.00 Castaic Slow Sink 8” .... £6.00 Super Stalker .......£15.99 Fox Replicants: 5.5” £6.49 7” £7.99 9” . £9.99 Depthraider: One of the best trolling lures there is.

Will get down to 18 foot with 50lb braid.

8” £17.99 8” Jointed £14.99 8” Countdown £18.59 Believer: 10” £18.50 7” £12.99 6” £10.99 Believer jointed 8” £14.99 NEW Fox Jointed Replicants 23cm 9”................... £10.99

FOX TOOLS

XLong Needle Nose Pliers ....................................£10.99 Rage Forceps ................ £9.99 Trace Blade ........£12.50 Dead Bait Oil & Air Kit ............................................ £4.75 Diamond Hook Sharpener Large ............................ £7.25 Rage Sidecutters 28cm .......................................£12.99 Rage Crimping Pliers 15cm .................................... £9.99

FOX FLOATS

In Line Troll ........ M £2.85 L £2.95 XL & XXL £3.05 Live Bait Sld ........ S £2.30 M £2.40 L £2.50 XL £2.55 Slimline Sliders ... S £2.55 M £2.70 L £2.85 Ball Bobs ...........................M £2.85 L £2.95 Hi Vis Darts ........ S £2.85 M £2.95 L £2.95 Loaded Lift Deadbait Pencil .........................S-M-L £3.35 Deadbait Pencil ...................................................... £3.35 Stubby Slider ......................M £2.85 L £2.95 XL £2.95 Fluted Slider ............................................... M-L-XL £3.05 Bait Popper ................................................ M-L-XL £2.85 Paternoster Sunk Floats .......M £2.55 L £2.85 XL £3.05 Paternoster Sunk Floats ................................... XXL £3.35

BRAID

Whiplash – 20lb 30lb 45lb 50lb 65lb 80lb 100lb RRP £46.99 SPECIAL £34.99 Power Pro: 15k/20k 275m ........ £39.95 24k/30k 135m ......£22.99 40k/48k 275m ........ £44.99 48k 135m .............£31.99 NEW Daiwa Tournament 8 Braid Mono 300m, up to 35lb .....£34.99 300m, over 35lb .. £38.99 Daiwa Sensor 4-6-8-10-12-15-18lb ..................... £8.99

LUCEBAITS FROZEN DEADBAITS

AS USED BY EDDIE TURNER, GRAHAM SLATER, NIGE WILLIAMS, ALASTAIR RAWLINGS, DAVE KELBRICK & JASON DAVIS

BULK

Smelt 7-8” .......................................3.6kg (8lb) Mini smelt ........................................3.6kg (8lb) Herring ............................................30 Fish New Big Herring (11”+) ..................18 fish Mackerel 10-13” ..............................25 Fish Mackerel 8-9” ..................................30 Fish Horse Mackerel ................................30 Fish Half Mackerel ...................................25 Fish Trout, choice of: Rainbow/ Wild Brown/Farmed Brown ...............40 Fish Rainbow Trout 9” .............................40 Fish Pollan ..............................................40 Fish Coarse Fish (2-3oz) .........................3.6k Coarse Fish (4-6oz) Roach or Bream .3.6k Lamprey ..........................................20 Fish Sardines ..........................................3k Eel ................................................3k Blueys .............................................18 Fish Mini Blueys ......................................36 Fish Salmon Smolts 7-8”.........................40 Fish

£40.00 £27.00 £12.75 £12.75 £14.00 £14.00 £10.00 £14.00 £35.00 £35.00 £24.00 £25.00 £22.00 £26.00 £9.90 £22.00 £18.00 £18.00 £35.00

SESSION PACKS

Smelt ......................................... 8/14 Fish £6.20 Mini smelt .................................. 10/15 Fish £2.95 Trout: Rainbow or Brown Trout ... 5 Fish £5.25 Herring ...................................... 5 Fish £2.40 Snake Launce ............................ 4 to 5 Fish £3.50 Small Mackerel .......................... 6 Fish £3.00 Enhanced Coloured Small Mackerel ........................ 6 Fish £3.60 Medium Mackerel....................... 5 Fish £3.15 Half Mackerel ............................. 8 Fish £5.40 Coarse Fish ................................ 6 to 10 Fish £4.60 Coarse Fish ................................ 16 to 24 Fish £4.60 Eel Section ................................. 8/10 Fish £4.05 Sardines .................................... 5 Fish £2.25 Sandeel...................................... 8 to 10 Fish £2.85 Horse Mackerel .......................... 5 to 6 Fish £1.95 Lamprey sections....................... 8 £6.30 Lamprey Whole .......................... 5 £7.60 Pike packs ................................. 8 Assorted £4.05 Sprats ........................................ 20 Fish £2.25 Blueys ....................................... 5 Fish £5.10 Whiting ...................................... 5 to 6 Fish £2.40 Prebait 20kg £21.00 Carriage £9.00

WIRE

Titanium Wire 7str: Does Not Kink!

30lb 3m ................... £12.99 60lb 3m ..............£16.99 Middy Tec-Core 20lb 28lb ...................................... £4.50 Middy 7 Strand 20lb 28lb ....................................... £4.65 Fox Easytwist 20lb 30lb......................................... £7.25 Carboflex 20lb 30lb 40lb ........................................ £8.25 Fox Soft Steel 25lb ................................................. £7.25 ET 49 Strand 50lb/35lb10m .................................£10.99 ET 7 Strand 30lb 20m ............................................ £6.50

HOOKS

Owner ST36 2-4-6-8 ..............................................£5.99 Owner ST36 Red 2-4-6 ..........................................£5.99 Owner ST41 2-4-6 .................................................£7.49 Owner ST56 Size 1, 2, 4 ........................................£7.99 Fox 2xs Barbed / Semi Barb 4-6-8 ..........................£6.25 Fox Carbon Barbed / SB 4-6-8 ...............................£6.25 ET King Sharp Barbed / SB 4-6-8 ...........................£5.80 ET King Sharp Snap Tackle / 4-6-8 barbed/SB ........£3.20

POSTAGE: Frozen Fish £9.00

(£100 orders post free! Excludes Highlands & Islands of Scotland, Northern & Southern Ireland. Phone shop for details.)

Small item £2.00 / Larger items £7.00 / Books £4.00

BUY ONLINE: www.thetackle-shop.co.uk Tackle Shop P&P214 Green.indd 2

21/07/2015 15:11:28

he world £30.

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Issue 81

ON E AS SU SER IS EN PE OPUM B 29/05/2014

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18 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

LOCH AWE LOOKING BACK

It’s a long way from the Lake District to Loch Awe, and that first session saw us pulling a freshly painted Doghouse behind my trusty old Saab

19 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

LOCH AWE LOOKING BACK

LOCH

AWE

LOOKING BACK

Way back in the 70’s before the advent of internet when forums were something devised by Ancient Greeks, I was a penniless ex-student with uncertain personal habits, lots of weird hair and a history of fish based obsessions. Mostly, though not exclusively, these were based around pike and we fished for them wherever we could. While we didn’t get many huge fish we learned about the ways of pike and how to deal with them both in and out of water. We caught lots of fish and had some shining times. But then I heard tales and rumours about the legendary fighting qualities of Highland pike from Slim Baxter, Fred Sykes and other less secretive members of the Carlisle Specimen group. However, back then finance dictated I was mostly exploring closer to home and so spent regular weekends exploring the pike potential of Dumfries and Galloway. Yes we caught lots of fish but they just didn’t seem to be any tougher fighters than my usual Lake

20 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

LOCH AWE LOOKING BACK

District fish and so it was decided a trek to the proper highlands was called for.

Having read the stuff in the in the press and done some homework, I reckoned Loch Awe offered a far wilder option than fighting the crowds on the Lomond hot spots.

It seemed there were less anglers and supposedly, equally good pike fishing. Not too many people seemed to know very much about Awe, and so I talked my old mate Fat Nasty the Wimp into coming with me for a week of adventure and exploration in the highlands.

Little did we know what epics and memories lay in wait, and if we had known, I doubt I would have

slept a wink in the days leading up to the departure. I always look back on those times with a sense of double wonder, partly that we did it at all, and partly because of the unbelievable fishing and adventures we encountered along the way, and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.

It’s a long way from the Lake District to Loch Awe,

and that first session saw us pulling a freshly painted Doghouse behind my trusty old Saab and heading north for the Dalmally end of the Loch and particularly the legendary bays at Kilchurn castle. All evidence suggested this was the place where in spring an astonishing number of pike came to gather for spawning and we were determined to

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LOCH AWE LOOKING BACK

catch our share. In our naive way we thought it would be easy‌.

Find somewhere to slide the boat into the loch, choose a camp site, and go fishing. Simple really, and we even bought a hundred live, six inch trout from a local trout farm to take with us. As it turned out, in spite of weeks reading the Ordinance survey maps of Loch Awe and Dalmally we had to drive half way down the loch to Ardbrecknish before we found somewhere to launch, but with the Doghouse finally on the water and loaded up with gear, we set off on the long run back up the loch towards Kilchurn..

Now the Doghouse had spent most of its life on Bassenthwaite

working under oar power, so it was a good learning curve to tighten an outboard to the stern, and even though it was an old tired Marriner which we had scrounged from one of Fat Nasty’s gullible mates, the engine started more or less first time. At a little under sixteen feet long the Doghouse was never the biggest boat to sail on Loch Awe, but with two barrels of worried trout, fourteen stone of Fat Nasty and all the food, kit and equipment for a week, she sat a little low in the water. With only around six inches of freeboard between the gunnels and the water, we headed gently away from the harbour at Ardbrecknish.

The loch was rolling steadily in the late afternoon breeze and we made good progress with the Doghouse running the waves nicely. Hand on the Throttle, I was enjoying the whole experience and that wonderful anticipatory thrill of exploration and the prospect of adventure was kicking in.

Half way to Kilchurn the loch widens out significantly and as we approached the small dangerous reefs protectively dotted around the Black Isles, the weather changed. I watched white caps building on the waves rolling dangerously down from the west.

As the wind increased we left the shelter of the lee side and approached the widest end of the funnel that is the Pass O Brander as Loch Awe lived up to its name and the sky darkened with the approach of savage squalls

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LOCH AWE LOOKING BACK

lashing down the loch.

There are a couple of islands that sit in the middle of the loch hereabouts and it was to the first of these that the old nine horsepower engine pushed us slowly while the weather worsened, and the waves continued to build as the long straight and the safety of the Black Isles were left behind.

Within a few minutes the mood of the loch changed from an easy rolling following swell, into an erratic maelstrom of cross winds and grey swathes of rain and hail sweeping down the Pass while waves rose to four feet of white topped anger hitting us sideways on as the distant shoreline disappeared from view in the spray.

Sitting low in the middle of the boat wedged tight between kit, food and bait tubs a silent Nasty was slowly changing colour from pink to ashen white, and then distinctly green as I stared through flying spray watching the pattern of each oncoming wave, before running the Doghouse up the curling wall of water and surfing as far as possible along

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LOCH AWE LOOKING BACK

the rolling top. Battling wind and water we slid down along the back of each wave and up the face of the next one. I have no idea how long it took to reach shelter in the lee of Elieean Beath, my concentration had no concept of time, but it seemed a long, long while before the dark of the island and the smooth beach hove temptingly into reach...After the wind, hail and strong words of the battle across the Pass O Brander, the calm in the lee of the island seemed like Nirvana and we bailed the boat, extracted the stove, the tent and the whisky bottle before collapsing into sleeping bags and exhausted sleep.

Next morning the loch was as calm as the previous day had been wild, and with a good bacon and eggs breakfast and mugs of tea inside us we felt ready for anything. A gentle breeze pushed us along nicely and we made

good time to the calmer waters at the head of the loch just off Kilchurn Bay and the island camp which was to be home for the next few days. Back then the Loch was less popular than now and with the tent set up we had the place to ourselves. Baits were stowed in keep nets and with rods assembled we went looking for pike. A quick scout over the bay showed us a large area of water with an average depth of less than six feet with no obvious features except one deeper hole at the back of the bay. This turned out to be typical of many of the bays on Loch Awe where in later years we often picked up good fish in less than four feet of water, so we opted for float trolling, travelling quietly with the oars for propulsion. On the echo sounder nothing in the way of fish showed up. Two baits apiece went out, one close and one further away from the boat and we were away,

pike fishing at last on the edge of the vast unknown water that was Awe. I’d like to say that we cleaned up and caught lots of enormous pike, but that first session we had nothing. As we later discovered, the pike in springtime drift in and out of these shallow bays and that first day they were obviously elsewhere. But we had time ahead of us, so that night with camp fire alight, we sat back well fed and toasted the loch while the ruined battlements of Kilchurn Castle reflected black against the moonlight on the water.

Next morning we set out early to explore the outside edges of the bay where the loch slopes away to a tangle of dead trees and boulders. On the sonar it looked ideal with plenty of ambush areas and sufficient features for a wealth of pike to be lurking down there. Fishing all our usual

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LOCH AWE LOOKING BACK

Lake District tactics we caught nothing but snags and frustration.

After a fishless morning with baits in a range of depths the score was still zero when once more without warning the wind picked up from nowhere. Within seconds we were blown back towards the bay as waves broke around the Doghouse, to my astonishment two pike rolled in a trough between wave tops right next to the boat. With the sonar showing just three feet depth there was a moment of disbelief when with no warning, the right hand rod hooped over. Amidst muttering and pandemonium I heaved the front anchor overboard to get the boat back under some sort of control. There was a hard bump as the boat stopped suddenly and we battled the first of a series of unbelievably hard fighting fish which were eager to grab a livebait within seconds of it being cast into the waves. In

spite of the wild weather or more probably because of it, the bay had been transformed overnight from a barren area devoid of fish into home for a large number of pike, and they were feeding ferociously.

In the distance at the other side of the bay three more anglers arrived and set up camp on the bank as we continued to catch and the afternoon grew older. Although we were not hauling in monsters, over the next few hours we had pike after pike to mid double figures coming to the boat and all gave us real epic run around fights. By dusk we estimated we had caught around thirty five fish and it was two very happy anglers who rowed contentedly through the gloaming, back to the island for supper.

Next morning was cold and overcast. New snow streaked the mountains opposite while below the grey blanket of cloud covering Ben Cruachan we eased the Doghouse quietly out onto

the loch. In the middle of the excitement the previous day we had discovered a channel in front of the ruined castle where the water was marginally deeper and with the usual float trolling rigs pulling reluctant trout, we quietly approached the trough. On the sonar a large boulder showed up with two fish stationed just behind it. Now apart from revealing the presence of fish I rarely expect to catch in these situations, so I calmed an excited Fat Nasty down. How wrong can you be, for seconds later both of us were playing fish and the cackles of delight echoed across the deserted bay. Bigger than the previous days’ fish, these two upper double figure pike fought with ferocity unknown to anglers more accustomed to reeling in fish from southern waters. Just as we thought they were ready to net, away they went again taking line and screaming clutches on fast thirty yard runs.

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LOCH AWE LO0KING BACK

Eventually subdued they were both a few ounces above sixteen pounds, but what fish. Dark scaled, peat stained backs with leopard like spots on their flanks and rows of sharp teeth to match, these were pike of anglers’ dreams and as the day unfolded, we had lots more of them. At times, baits were grabbed within seconds of hitting the water and for once the fishing was as good as we had imagined it could ever be. From then onwards Awe became an annual part of our fishing adventures.

But all those early sessions were back when live baiting was permitted and there were less pike anglers and more secret places.

Back then, thousands of trout had been released illegally from the fish farm cages along the Pass O Brander by thoughtless anglers unaware or unconcerned about the impact of their deeds. While we didn’t know it at the time, over the next few years we had some

of the finest pike fishing ever and it really was good fishing. We probably had some of the best of times and the diary records a tally of over seventy pike in a four day session. I haven’t mentioned the year of the epic ten day extended visit when we were trapped by wild weather and unable to leave, eating perch and wild food because we had planned for an earlier departure.

Or the Brummies’ bivvied up while a three pound carp swam untouched for three days and nights and we bagged up big style in full view. The crack among travelling anglers was always good, and some shining times were had in the bar at Loch Awe village, with the boat tied up at the old steamer pier and a fire left smouldering to guide us home to the island.

These days though things are definitely different. While I still travel northwards every year and while we do get more than our fair share of good pike, the changes brought about by unthinking anglers have had an effect on the ecology of the loch.

While the escapee rainbows are long gone and bivvy cities spring

up in season, dead baits by law are the early season tactic and in recent years have produced some big hard fighters, but there is more pressure on Awe pike these days and they do wise up to certain baits and presentations in the hot spot zones. Early summer lure anglers do well, but the days of thirty spring fish a day seem to be long gone. At least for my little group of anglers who play by the rules and clear up after their fishing. I see signs on the bank that anglers are not welcomed in some areas and having witnessed the smoking pyres left by the thoughtless I’m not surprised.

But while changes have occurred and Loch Awe is not the place it was thirty years ago, it still has magic hidden in the depths and for that reason, I will haul the long drag to the highlands to be lost in a world of wind, water, birdsong and epic adventures with some fabulous fish. For those of you who live much closer than me, I ask simply that you treasure what you have, for you are very lucky anglers.

Eric Hope

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WEEKEND WITH LOCH GARRY

WEEKEND WITH LOCH GARRY

FISHING

Mark at Loch Garry fishing has supported the club, advertising in Esox Ecosse for a while now but as a self confessed fluff-chucker, he was keen to learn a bit more about how the

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WEEKEND WITH LOCH GARRY

loch fishes using more specific Pike angling tactics.

After some initial contact with Mark, Si Lawson and I headed up for a weekend full of anticipation – Loch Garry rarely sees a Pike angler and with plenty of bait fish throughout the loch, all the ingredients are there for it to be a cracking Pike water.

We spent some time with Mark on arrival learning as much as we could about the area we were going to fish. Using aerial maps and various other photographs, Mark explained to us the best locations and a few things to look out for, such as snags and shallows.

The Inshlaggan section of the loch where the boats are moored was created when the main loch was dammed and is basically an area flooded out of the River Garry. For that reason lots of it is shallow and weedy, however the path of the old river offers a much deeper feature – if you can locate it that is!!

With this being the first time on

a new water, much of the first day was spent moving around trying to locate decent features and, hopefully, to pick up a few fish. Other than the standard live bait ban, there are no further restrictions on methods at Garry however, we chose to fish lures only – a combination of casting and trolling, where possible and managed over the course of the day to cover quite a lot of water.

We even managed to pick up a few jacks along the way, keeping spirits high.

Day 2, we targeted a few of the more likely areas more specifically and with conditions much more favourable than the previous day, the fish were more co-operative.

A couple more jacks and a nice scraper double graced the boat before sadly it was time to call it a day and head home.

Loch Garry is a stunning place; the scenery both at the loch and on the drive up was breath-taking at times. Being somewhat off the beaten track compared to some of the more well-known lochs in the

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WEEKEND WITH LOCH GARRY

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WEEKEND WITH LOCH GARRY

area, such as Oich & Lochy, Garry is a very peaceful place to spend some time. Indeed, on our visit we were the only anglers in sight! For a loch on a hydro-electric scheme, the water clarity was exceptional; there is no doubt that the fish will see lures from a long way off in these conditions.

Mark has an excellent set up; we fished from one of his 15 foot Coulam boats, which were spacious and exceptionally stable – a great platform for the lure angler. He also has a great area beside the loch where the boats are to place the Bivvies, which would be perfect for a branch get together.

One point to note, Loch Garry is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). For this reason three bays in Inshlaggan are out of bounds to boats from the 15th of April to the 31st of July. Bank fishing is not allowed on the loch during this period for the same reason. These bays are

important nesting areas for birds but in reality, on our visit we found that this restriction did not affect us as there was more than enough good areas to target outwith them.

For the bank side dead baiters among you, Mark offers a taxi service whereby he can take you across the loch to some of the less accessible swims, or if you prefer to fish from a boat but do not know where to start, he offers a full guiding service as well. Tackle, including petrol and electric engines & a fish finder can be hired and the boats come equipped with anchors and

unhooking mats as standard.

Although none of the really big fish were playing ball on this particular visit, we were both left in no doubt as to the potential of the loch to throw up some very big Pike.

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31 ESOXECOSSE MAGAZINE

WILD FISHERIES REFORM

WILD FISHERIES PROGRESS AND REFORM NEXT STEPS No big fish or tips on methods in this article I’m afraid, but please read on nevertheless. I can’t stress enough how important this stuff is for coarse fishing - especially predator angling – in Scotland.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

Last year the Scottish Government commissioned a Review of the management of wild freshwater fisheries. The Review team was asked to “develop and promote a modern, evidence-based management system for wild fisheries fit for purpose in the 21stcentury, and capable of responding to the changing environment”. Their Report contained 53 recommendations which cover management structures, funding, enforcement and the development of an “Angling for All” programme to encourage participation and promote angling. You can read it at http://www. scotland.gov.uk/Topics/marine/ Salmon-Trout-Coarse/ fishreview/WFRFinal .

The Review engaged with interested parties across the angling, fishery ownership and fisheries management communities. SFCA and member clubs (including PAAS) actively participated via meetings with the Review team and written submissions. Our agenda has been simple - protect the fish, extend sustainable access, and give coarse anglers a place in decision-making bodies. They seem to have listened, and while there are some issues on which we had hoped to see more progress, the Report is a step in the right direction.

The process didn’t end there. Alongside other stakeholder representatives I gave oral evidence to the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment (RACCE) Committee at the Scottish Parliament in February, and in April the Scottish Government published its formal response (http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/ Salmon-Trout-Coarse/fishreform/consultation) which largely supports the recommendations from the Review. We’ve also had direct dialogue with Scottish Government officials, and are part of a new “Stakeholder Reference Group” which now meets every few weeks to discuss issues arising from what is now being called the “Wild Fisheries Reform” (WFR) programme.

What does the Scottish

GOVERNMENT PROPOSE?

At the heart of the WFR programme is the replacement of the present fragmented management structures for wild fisheries, which focus almost entirely on salmon and sea trout, with a coherent system that aims to address the needs of all freshwater fish species. The largely autonomous District Salmon Fishery Boards would be superseded by a network of “all species” management bodies (the working title is “Fisheries Management Organisations” [FMOs] - hopefully we’ll end up with something a bit more catchy) which will be accountable to a new National Wild Fisheries Unit within the Scottish Government via a system of prescribed constitutions, 3-yearly management plans, and ongoing funding arrangements.

The matter of resourcing the new system is to say the least contentious. The Scottish Government wants to reform the present salmon levy arrangements and extend them to include all fisheries of significant potential commercial value. They envisage having a standard rate for all wild fisheries in Scotland, with FMOs proposing enhanced levies to fund local priorities. The National Wild Fisheries Unit would collect both the standard rate and any local levy centrally and then distribute the money to FMOs. FMOs would be expected to seek additional funds from charitable / commercial sources. It’s also proposed that Ministers should be given the power to introduce a national rod licence, but purely to

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WILD FISHERIES REFORM

fund an Angling for All programme (discussed in more detail below).

Worryingly, the proposals that relate to protecting fish stocks come under the heading Sustainable Harvesting, and mainly concern salmon. It’s also disappointing to see that the Scottish Government didn’t support the Review’s proposal in to introduce a new offence of “reckless or irresponsible exercise of private fishing rights”, which might have offered a way to challenge proprietors who encourage anglers to kill pike. On the plus side, however, the Scottish Government does propose introducing a power for Ministers to ban the killing of particular wild fish species in interest of conserving stocks, and we hope this will be applied to coarse fish, especially pike. It’s also particularly encouraging to see them saying that “The legislative framework could provide equal protection for salmonid and non-salmonid fish species” - which should mean an end to anomalies like the unrestricted right of riparian owners to net coarse fish.

Among the items proposed under the heading of Regulation and Compliance are the abolition of the ban on Sunday rod fishing for salmon and a review of closed seasons, which would come under the control of the National Unit and – for us very significant – could be extended to other species on the basis of scientific advice.

There are also proposals for a more consistent and professional approach to bailiffing.

Interestingly the Scottish Government wants to abolish Protection Orders, whereas the Review suggested they should be retained with extensive reforms.

published a draft reply on our website and Facebook page for comment before it was finalised and submitted. You can find the final detailed response in the “News” section on http://www.sfca.co.uk/ . In brief:• Management structures : we support the proposed new structures, with the proviso that coarse angling interests should be assured of the chance to play a part in wild fisheries management at all levels by having places as of right in the committee that advises the National Unit and on the FMOs’ Boards.

• Resourcing : we believe that a significant amount of new money ought to be spent on the management of wild fisheries for nonsalmonids (especially pike), for instance to improve bailiffing and collect scientific data on populations. However for several reasons – not least that we don’t believe it’s workable - we oppose the Scottish Government proposal to fund this by extending the levy system to include fisheries for non-migratory species. In our view the only viable way to raise additional funds is via some form of rod licence scheme, though not necessarily identical to the English model.

In this context, we would of course want the money raised from coarse anglers to be spent for the benefit of coarse fish rather than soaked up in administration or diverted to salmon management.

Last but by no means least, the Scottish Government endorses proposals in the Review for the bodies involved in recreational fishing to come together to speak through one lead organisation, and for the angling sector to come together to develop a programme for the development and promotion of angling under the title “Angling for All” (AfA). The Review envisaged that AfA would be funded primarily from a rod licence, although the Scottish Government seems to be willing to explore other sources. º

• “Sustainable Harvesting”: we have made it clear that we oppose any “harvesting” of wild coarse fish whatsoever and would prefer to see legislation prescribing universal catch & release. However this is not likely to attract wider support given that the game angling sector is hell bent on preserving their right to kill wild salmonids. Our fallback position is that no removals of coarse fish should be permitted in any water body unless and until sufficient scientific data is available to ascertain what level of “harvesting”, if any, might be sustainable, and satisfactory arrangements are in place to monitor the ongoing position. We have pointed out that there is presently very little hard information on the status of wild coarse fish populations anywhere in Scotland, and that anecdotal evidence indicates some species, pike in particular, are in decline in many waters.

The Scottish Government response doubled as a consultation paper and asked specific questions on the issues raised by the Review.

That consultation closed on 7th August. SFCA

• Regulation and Compliance: We’ve argued for a level regulatory playing field on the basis that “all species management” (ie fisheries management conducted for the benefit of all species) can’t

WHERE DOES SFCA STAND ON ALL THIS?

be effective while the law makes arbitrary distinctions between the levels of protection afforded to different species.

We oppose blanket close seasons for coarse fish, but have suggested that FMOs should have the power to ban fishing for particular species in designated locations at specific times of year where there’s evidence that this is desirable for the conservation of that species in that water.

We’ve supported the abolition of Protection Orders on the basis that they have failed to achieve their aim, but stressed that the new system should embrace the principle of responsible access to fish for all freshwater species at reasonable cost subject to considerations of sustainability, and that riparian proprietors should be legally obliged to allow this. We’ve also pointed out that “access” must include the freedom to use angling methods appropriate to the species being pursued, and access to fish for coarse species during close days / close seasons for salmonids.

• “Angling for All (AfA)”: We’ve expressed strong reservations about the proposal for the “bodies involved in recreational fishing” to “come together to speak through one lead body”, primarily because we need to remain able to represent coarse angling interests independently on issues where we don’t share the views of the game angling community. That said we recognise there are many matters on which stakeholders across the spectrum share common interests and we fully support collaborative partnerships on relevant issues, eg youth development.

We believe the case for some kind of AfA programme is overwhelming, both to address long term decline in angling participation and to help “Scotland plc” to achieve some important economic and social policy goals.

However, we’ve argued that instead of sitting alongside the new management structures and being run purely by the angling sector it must be firmly embedded in the new national and local management arrangements, and in particular that the FMOs must be on board as local facilitators (and in some cases delivery agents).

We’ve proposed that AfA should have five main themes: Maximising access to all forms of angling for all species

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WILD FISHERIES REFORM

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WILD FISHERIES REFORM

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WILD FISHERIES REFORM

Maximising the opportunities for people with disabilities to participate as fully as possible Making information readily available about the opportunities for angling of all kinds Providing opportunities for young people to learn about fish and the aquatic environment Providing opportunities for everyone to experience angling and acquire basic skills Creating and maintaining a support structure so that people who have tried angling can continue to pursue the sport and develop their skills We’ve sounded a note of caution by pointing out that there needs to be confidence that the resource can cope with the increased pressure AfA might generate, and that exploitation will be contained within sustainable limits.

In particular, this makes it even more important that the new management system provides effective protection and monitoring arrangements.

We’ve accepted that some of the funding for AfA should come from a rod licence scheme, but argued that the aims of AfA cover matters for which anglers shouldn’t be expected to bear the cost. We’ve therefore proposed that significant contributions must also be made by national and local government as well as agencies such as Visitscotland and Sportscotland, and that any new funding streams should be additional to rather than substitutes for existing support.

WHAT CAN WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE?

In over 15 years of representing SFCA in angling politics I’ve seen a lot of false dawns, but I believe this is different. The new system will

be weighted towards salmon interests, not least because that’s where the money is, but I think we’ll still make major progress. I’m optimistic about the chances of better protection for coarse fish both in law and through more effective bailiffing arrangements, and for some investment to be made in research to gain more understanding of coarse fish population dynamics. We’re also likely to end up with a voice in consultative bodies and management organisations, and in time I think that will help bring more consistent access for coarse angling and more benign management practices. If AfA gets off the ground and is properly structured and funded (both of which are big “ifs”) there’s a real prospect of sustainable growth in our sport. Let’s be clear however, this will not be a free ride. If we want these things to happen, and to work effectively, we will have to contribute.

That might mean giving up time and effort to sit on management bodies (or on our own club Committee!), assist with bailiffing, or play a part in projects to get juniors and new anglers involved. And we are going to have to expect to put more money into the system too, from Rod Licences or higher permit charges or perhaps both.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Many of the proposed reforms would require new or amended primary legislation, and we believe the aim will be to put a Bill before the Scottish Parliament around the end of this year, with implementation in 2016 or perhaps 2017. SFCA will do all we can to continue to press the coarse angling case throughout this process. Needless to say we will update the SFCA website as and when information becomes available, so please keep an eye on that and give us your support in any subsequent consultations or lobbying.

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MUGSHOTS

1

2

3 5

4

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MUGSHOTS

S T O H S MUG 1 2 3 4 5

Arran Murray Keith Reid Joe Toner Krissy Smith Joe Toner

6 7 8 9

Si Lawson Mark Wishart Krissy Smith Stewart McMath

6

7

8 9

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SCOTTISH LOCH FISHING

SCOTTISH

LOCH FISHING A STARTER FOR 10!

Part 2 By Ralston McPherson

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SCOTTISH LOCH FISHING

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SCOTTISH LOCH FISHING

For the bank angler there is one obvious feature other than those mentioned in the previous article which springs to mind, that of points. Again, we must bear in mind the nature of the water we are fishing. It is not uncommon to have depths from a rocky point drop away immediately into many feet of water a rod length out from the bank. Examination of the nature of the ground around the loch side can give some indication as to what happens at the water’s edge.

Steep hills terminating at the water’s edge usually means that the steep slope continues into the loch.

Look for points which have a relatively flat or shallow sloping ‘fingers’ out into the loch.

Failing this, I tend to look for something in the order of what is shown in Fig 1. Our ‘point’ here has a relatively step slope into the loch however a few rod lengths out from the bank the bottom comes up once more forming a hump before the deeps water is once more encountered.

Plumbing with lead and float will give some indication of what lies out from your point!

These features do exist however, thought and a little time taken to find them prior to wetting a line is paramount. Again, study the terrain – it’s the best indicator you have, next to actually going afloat. On this theme, if you are visiting a loch for the first time and do have a boat, spend your first few hours out on the loch checking out likely looking areas. Resist the temptation to ‘wet a line’ at this stage. I can assure you, taking the time to reconnoitre will pay itself back in spades when you do actually start fishing.

For those fortunate enough to be afloat, what else might we take a look at? How about islands? Scottish lochs usually have a few, some being more productive than others due to their location and make-up. Take a look at Fig 2. Here I have attempted to categorise islands in general terms, into two basic types. The top one is quite common, steep sides entering the loch into great depths, in effect a steep

featureless drop off. I am not suggesting pike cannot be caught near them, however, I would suggest the lower example should be aimed for in the first instance. Let’s face it; an island is simply structure, some of which is visible above the surface. What concerns us as anglers is the make-up of that structure, how attractive to prey fish we feel it may be, all the time thinking of the ideal ‘Ma Pike’s Larder.’ After all, the only one of our three elements missing from the lower example is a river! It’s got to be worth some of our time! As for myself, such locations are worth a LOT of my time!

Our next feature is similar to the foregoing; the only difference being that our ‘island’ is under the surface. In what appears to be a vast expanse of water, features which can range from a solitary wide finger of rock rising form depths to within 20 feet or so of the surface, dropping away into the depths almost immediately, to a ‘flat; or bank’ perhaps covering a wide area, much of it coming within 10 feet or so of the surface. When the edge of our ‘bank’ is encountered, it may drop away gently, or more often, suddenly into the depths. Here, the boat angler with a sounder can find untold riches in what may be otherwise a relatively barren and empty stretch of water. Pike anglers have asked me what I was doing anchored up in the ‘middle of the loch?’ Well, the answer is simple, that ‘bit in the middle of the loch’ consisted of a large raised surface area of the loch bottom, much of it coming within eight feet or so of the surface, which in summer, supports some weed growth and frequently plays host to large shoals of prey

species. I do tend to fish such areas more often in the summer months when the larger pike tend to move off the shallows into deeper water, my ‘underwater island,’ being surrounded by depths of anything up to 50 feet or so, seemingly providing a larder to Ma Pike’s liking. Works for me!

Finding weed growth on such features can be difficult. Some support none at all, be it due to bottom make-up or whatever. I have found however, that when it does occur, it is usually on the ‘lee side’ of the structure, being sheltered from wave action and the storm. (The prevailing wind in the north is usually westerly/south westerly) This in combination with maximum sunlight exposure, the structure not being in shade for most of the day by way of higher ground or trees, say on an adjacent island, appear to be at least two of the conditions required to encourage weed growth. Seek and ye might find.

What’s left, (apart from the deep hole filled with water we drove through to get to the loch side?)

Seriously, one more aspect of our loch fishing needs to be looked at. As I said earlier, some lochs you may come across will appear to be pretty uninspiring looking places, a deep and apparently featureless hole in the ground filled with water. It may be a loch in its own right, or a large bay off the main loch. You may well find

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that for the most part it consists of very deep water. We suspect this will be the case as a generally steep and rocky terrain surrounds the loch, with a high incidence of planted forestry, the tree line for the most part, extending to the water’s edge. However, examination of the loch side will often reveal an area devoid of trees, very rocky and less steep as it enters the loch.

This rocky bottom may well extend out into the

loch a way before dropping off into deep water usually quite sharply. Fishing the ‘drop off’ from the bank can be problematic if ledgering, the line inevitably coming into contact with the rocky shelf, and other methods should be explored. I am sure within the covers of this magazine; others will cover such rigs in detail and how they should be fished! Finally, check out the tree line at the waters’ edge. Look for

a gently sloping, or less severe inclined area, perhaps with broad leaf trees opposed to the usual pine, and the ground will likely be quite soft near to the waters edge, possibly of peat.

In the early summer you may also find a narrow band of reeds extending out into the loch for a

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rods length or two, the outer edges of the red line populated by lily pads. Where the weed line and lily pads stop, the depth inevitably drops away into very deep water. The photograph at Fig 3, luring to the edge of weed line) is an example of such a loch. My fishing partner Alistair McPhee can be seen fishing lures from the deeper water (30-60 feet) along the front of the aforementioned reed line. Inset in the photograph is a diagram giving you some idea of how rapidly the depth drops off and the importance of concentrating your efforts ‘on’ that weed line edge.

In general terms once the depth exceeds 12 feet or so, light penetration becoming limited, the weed growth stops as the depth sharply increases. On waters having these characteristic, there is little else available for the perch population to find cover in, so they tend to populate these weed lines in summer, shoals moving along and in and out of the cover.

Frequently the water is so clear; you can actually see the perch from the boat. As I have said before (I promise not to say it again) Ma Pike’s Larder. These weed lines can be fished from the

bank, usually at the extreme ends when softer ground at the loch side ends and the hard rocky terrain is once more encountered. For the most part a boat is a must for such waters, allowing the limited potential of the water to be fully exploited.

So there you have it, a very general run down on location factors relative to Scottish loch piking. The foregoing is far from comprehensive

but I do believe it to be fairly typical. However, as with all else in life, there will always be exceptions. Use the above as a guide only and not as a ‘bible’ so to speak. After a few visits to such waters you will undoubtedly form your own ideas and look back at the foregoing for what I have intended it to be, simply a ‘starter for ten!’

Wishing all both safe and productive piking, Salute!