Lothians pair qualify for top British fly fishing final

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Lothians due Jock Kettles and Mike Connet head for Grafham Water in mid-September for the final of the Fastmail Pairs, one of Britain's leading fly fishing events, after a challenging day at Glencorse Reservoir in The Pentland Hills.

Kettles from Lasswade, Midlothian, and Connet from Edinburgh, know the water well as they are regular anglers at Glencorse, but they had to work hard to hook their eight fish which totalled 31lb 01oz in just over five hours. With time bonuses the total rose to 34lb 8oz.

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Dunfermline pair, Ross and Nicola Carnegie, who landed eight fish for 29lb 01oz which rose to 37lb 1oz with time bonuses, arrived back at the harbour in four minutes under three hours after the match started at 9am, and they took first place in an event featuring a number of top anglers.

Third were another Fife pair, William ‘Fally’ Cowan, aged 81, from Glenrothes, and 70-year-old Brian Abel from Cardenden. Their bag weighed 31lb and 11oz and rose to 34lb 3oz with time bonuses.

Mike Connet (left) and Jock Kettles check the scales with Kenny Knox, fishery manager at GlencorseMike Connet (left) and Jock Kettles check the scales with Kenny Knox, fishery manager at Glencorse
Mike Connet (left) and Jock Kettles check the scales with Kenny Knox, fishery manager at Glencorse

Kettles and Connet praised the winners who practised on the water on Saturday. Nicola blanked on the day and Ross tempted four and they agreed on their tactics over a coffee as they relaxed at home.

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Ross, a joiner, and Nicola, a carer, caught six fish in under two hours during the competition and had to wait for the next two as they anxiously looked at the clock in the hope of adding major time bonus points.

Eventually, the fish arrived and the pair have qualified for the final twice. Two years ago they were 21st with 66 boats in the water, a noteable achievement, and the Glencorse heat was their last chance to qualify this year, and they grabbed it.

Ross admitted: “We decided to make for the top of the water (towards Loganlea) and we should have been back in harbour by 10.30, but we dropped a number of fish. At 11am it became cooler but the sun came out again and we found the two fish we needed to come back to harbour. It was, however, a challenging day.”

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Nicola and Ross Carnegie at GlencorseNicola and Ross Carnegie at Glencorse
Nicola and Ross Carnegie at Glencorse

It was also a long wait to see if their impressive total would be beaten.

Kettles and Connet, who was snapped by a big fish early on, were considered a major threat as they know the water so well, but the experienced pair did not arrive back at the harbour until 14.12. They still accrued time bonuses.

Overall, their best finish in the final is eighth and they travel south to Grafham near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England’s third largest reservoir, on Sunday, September 15, fully aware that some of the heavyweights in British fly fishing await them.

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Other Lothians anglers were also in the field including Eck Moffat from Bonnyrigg and Andy Hamlyn from Roslin and they had six fish for 24lb 08oz.

Brian Abel (left) and William 'Fally' Cowan at GlencorseBrian Abel (left) and William 'Fally' Cowan at Glencorse
Brian Abel (left) and William 'Fally' Cowan at Glencorse

The full results were: 1, Nicola Carnegie and Ross Carnegie, eight fish, 29lb 1oz plus 8lb in time bonuses for 37lb 1oz; 2, Jock Kettles and Mike Connet, eight fish, 31lb, plus 3lb 8oz in time bonuses for 34lb 8oz; 3, Brian Abel and William Cowan, eight fish, 31lb 11oz, 2lb 8oz in time bonuses for 34lb 3oz; 4, David Wright and Keith Renton, seven fish, 26lb 4oz; 5, Eck Moffat and Andy Hamlyn, six fish, 24lb 8oz; 6, Dave Moody and Jeff McIntosh, six fish, 21lb 8oz; 7, Simon Thurwell and Derek Marklow, four fish for 19lb; 8, Colin Fairgrieve and Douglas Scott, five fish for 18lb 8oz; 9, Colin Moffat and Willie Jacobsen, four fish for 14lb 14oz; 10, George Amour and Jamie McLery, one fish for 3lb 8oz; 11, Andrew Glasgow and Mark Partizio one fish for 3lb 4oz.

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