Lothians duo looking for national fishing silverware

The Scottish internationals are joined by other leading international anglers including James Woodrow, David McAuley, Derek Brady and Gus Brindle with Darrin Ferguson, president of the Edinburgh and Lothians Coarse Angling Club, also down along with two other members, Heather Lauriston and Rosalind Cassidy.

Brindle, the organiser, confirmed that the draw will be in Car Park 4 at 9am and fishing is from 11am to 4pm and clarified that pike, eels, grayling and trout do not count.

He reminded competitors that all trolleys, luggage and spare tackle must be placed neatly inside the anglers peg and off the footpath.

James Dornom fishing for Scotland abroad

Anglers must set up and fish from within one metre either side of their peg number and back pegs of a seat box must also be on dry land.

Competitors will also not be allowed to ship poles back across the tarmac footpath.

Brindle added: “You must break down twice if necessary or ship your pole at an angle to ensure that the pole does not cross the edge of the footpath.”

The entry fee is £4.50 for a day ticket to the lake and season ticket holders must produce their pass. The match is open to Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling (SFCA) members only. Anglers can join on the organisation’s Facebook page or website.

Strathclyde Park is popular with leisure anglers and Brindle reminded them that they should not keep fish in keep nets longer than necessary.

The water temperature is higher at this time of year and, coupled with the fluctuating dissolved oxygen levels caused by the blue/green algae blooms, the fish get easily stressed, he said.

Rangers have contacted Brindle about the number of dead fish and complaints/concerns being raised by other park users and Brindle said: “We don’t want to get to the point where, like Loch Lomond, they ban keep nets all together.”

Sea fishing now and Easthouses-based Mike Kyle won the Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers individual members shore championship in warm and flat calm conditions on the Cree Estuary in Galloway.

He totalled 15 fish and just pipped Ayr-based David Neil who also hooked into 15 with Edinburgh angler David Cooper third with 14 fish.

Brian Maxwell (Ayr) was fourth with 11 and Ian Campbell (Falkirk), retail manager of The Edinburgh Angling Centre, fifth on ten fish.

Jay Stoker from Dumfries with two fish won the junior event with Bruce McLean (Stranraer) hooking the longest fish, a 72cm thornback.

Elsewhere, Dunbar-based angler Chris Empson won round eight of ten of the Bass Rock Shore Angling League’s summer series with six fish weighing 6lb 9oz.

Second was Jamie McHale from Gifford with three fish for 6lb 5oz and third Graham Meadows from St Boswells with two fish for 1lb 7oz.

James Clark was fourth with one fish of 1lb 4oz and Neil Anderson (North Bewick) fifth with one of 7oz and Stuart Fairbairn (Haddington) was sixth with a fish of 4oz.

McHale had the heaviest fish of 2lb 1oz and round nine is on Wednesday, August 21 at a venue to be decided and confirmed on the club’s Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Andrew Weir, who was in the top three last year, and his partner Kirsty Murray, a first time entrant and now a member of the Scottish Ladies Fly Fishing team, are rivals in the final of the Kingdom Fly Fishing Championship on Saturday, September 28, at Eden Springs Fishery near Cupar.

Kirsty caught her fish 34 minutes into the second heat at Eden Springs weighing 3.5lb and squeezed into the final on time caught after a tie on weight with another angler.

Event organiser Scott Mudie also made it through from the second heat.

Fish could be seen high in the water, but tempting them was a challenge and, as the day progressed, a number of boats concentrated their efforts in a bay to the right of the jetty.

Some competitors fished in the margins with small imitative patterns but Mudie cast into open water on snakes and sparkler boobies.

Greig Davies, who won the first heat at Ballo near Glenrothes, had two fish in the first 12 minutes of the second match, and eventually won with 14lb 12oz. He varied between the bung at various depths and fishing small dries.

Mudie was second with 14lb 6oz and Ben Bosch was third with 13lb 10oz.

The 26 finalists will compete for the John Callison Trophy and the substantial prize fund – top prize £350 plus vouchers worth over £200 - has recently been boosted by a £100 cash injection from Ballo.

Finally trade, and a RIO products and Sage fly fishing weekend, showing the latest rods and lines, is being hosted at the Edinburgh Angling Centre on Saturday, August 24 and 25 from 9am to 5pm.