East Lothian anglers take spoils in Blackridge and on Fife coast - Nigel Duncan
Two East Lothian-based anglers recently topped the podium in different disciplines. Simon Clynshaw won the annual rod-and-reel match hosted by Edinburgh and Lothians Coarse Angling Club (ELCAC) at Drumtassie near Blackridge, while Keith Bathgate took first place in the East Fife Open on the East Coast.
Clynshaw weighed-in 44lb 6oz to be well clear of the 15-strong field. When he arrived at the venue he popped on his Polaroid glasses and could see fish cruising near the surface on a hot day with very little wind, in something of a rare occurrence at the West Lothian fishery.
Other anglers reached into their tackle bags to bring out feeders to fish near the bottom of the lake, but Clynshaw believed a simple pellet waggler would do the trick. He was 100 per cent correct.
Ormiston-based Clynshaw made the most of the sun-bathing carp and admitted it was almost ‘one a chuck’ at times during the successful session in which he targeted fish at around 20 metres from the bank.
The 48-year-old warehouse manager caught steadily throughout the five-hour match to secure the win. He fished with an 8mm-banded, SonuBaits Fin Perfect pellet on a size 14 Kamasan hook, and fed the swim with 6mm pellets. No additives.
It’s his biggest win so far this year, and he revealed that the fish were around 12 inches from the surface. He had practiced at the venue the week previously, but conditions were different. At that time there was a wind and the fish were at a different depth.
Cynshaw pocketed the pool money and a mystery box of groundbait and pellets from Nigel Foulds of the Kirkintilloch-based JB Angling tackle shop, and he admitted: “I had a good day.”
Second was Bartek Kozlowski with 21lb 2oz. He also used pellet waggler. Third was Darrin Ferguson with a bag totalling 19lb 1oz. Ferguson said he was humbled by his stubbornness, unwilling to change his match plan.
Ferguson, the club president, said: “Simon has had a few near-misses in the past, but not this time. He smashed it out of the park.”
A point to note: former president Geoff Lowe and another long-time former member, Tommy Lauriston, graced the bank again.
Off the Fife coast, the aforementioned Bathgate, from the Prestonpans area, had to battle against a really big swell to top the podium in the annual East Fife Open, with boundaries from Elie to St Andrews. He beat off a strong challenge from Tayside-based Kevin Lewis, team manager for the Scottish Ladies Shore Fishing team, to take the top prize. Lewis also won the heaviest fish prize with a cod of over 3lb.
Third was Yorkshire-based angler Simon Barker. Mike Horn, the Kirkcaldy-based president of the Scottish Federation for Sea Anglers (SFSA), said the swell affected the fishing and made a lot of marks difficult. The preferred bait at this time of year, incidentally, is peeler crab.
Meanwhile, the weather has forced some local trout fisheries to keep their gates shut as temperatures have soared. Take Allandale Tarn near West Calder; their popular fishery has remained closed because of the warm weather, but owner Iona Allan has been cracking on with work to improve the venue, including a new seating area next to the car park.
Nearby, Morton Fishings near Livingston has also been closed. Owner Sandy Mabon said the gates have been shut to allow the fish to go deep, and he added: “Catch-and-release can be a bad thing in hot weather.” His plan was to re-open at 8am on Friday, July 24 when the temperatures are expected to drop.
In East Lothian, Newlands Tweeddale was also closed due to the heatwave and, further afield, bosses at the Lake of Menteith imposed a limit of 12-fish-per-angler on catch-and-release.
One popular location has, however, remained open. At Linlithgow Loch, 67 fish were hooked in the last week, with 48 kept and 19 released. The total weight of kept fish was over 400lb.
Bright sunshine with a North-East wind greeted anglers, and the best tactics were floating, midge-tip, sink -tip, intermediate and Di3 lines, and the most effective flies included Ally McCoist, buzzer, cormorant, Muskins, FAB and various nymphs.
John Convoy and partner kept two fish for 7lbs and returned one, but they missed a number of trout who were not taking positively. Robin Smith with George Mackintosh kept four trout weighing 13lb, Ian Dobbie released five fish, and Ian McDougall and John McLean, who were only out for four hours, kept two fish for 5lb.
Farmers & Associates AC’s visited and five anglers kept 13 trout weighing 34lb, and Gavin Dunn with Jimmy Russell returned five fish. Ian Dobbie, back again for another session, released eight fish.
Linlithgow Loch is restocked regularly and there are updates posted on the fishery's Facebook page. Call 01506 671753 or book online.