Roz Cassidy returns to the scene of her greatest triumph with Edinburgh and Lothians Coarse Angling Club

Roz Cassidy at Orchill. Picture: Nigel Duncan

Two weeks ago the 54-year-old landed a whopping bag of over 67lb to win the fifth round of the 11-match event, beating a number of anglers, including Scott McGhee who was 14th in the field of 120 in the recent Diawa Pole Masters which featured some of the biggest names in British coarse angling.

Roz, luckily, drew a peg at the Auchterarder-based venue which traditionally holds chub and felt she was in for a good day after she fed her 16 metre pole across the lake and lowered three maggots on a size 16 hook into the water near the island. She hit a chub first cast.

And they kept on coming. She needed two nets to store the massive haul of 67lb 6oz, mainly chub but also a skimmer, roach and perch.

No groundbait was used, but the fish kept on coming. Roz from Kilsyth admittedly had lean spells, but the fish returned and she left the rest of the field in he slipstream. She also shattered her previous best of 53lbs.

The next best angler on the day, Andy Patterson, weighed-in at 21lb 2oz thanks to two late carp weighing 10lb 15oz and 10lb 3oz.

It was a perfect day for coarse fishing with no wind and cloud cover. The temperature was good for most of the day, although there were several chilly spells.

They did not affect Roz who kept on catching while the angler in the peg next to her, a new member, looked on and shrugged his shoulders.

Roz admitted: "I had a good day, my best ever."

The housewife won four trophies last season, best lady, winner of the first Summer Series match, victory in the Knockout Cup and also first place in the Pairs with Darrin Ferguson.

She was also third in the overall series title race and Roz now leads this year's race for the silverware. She said: "I would love to win the championship, but there is some serious competition out there."

There is another woman in the club, Heather Lauriston, daughter of stalwart Tommy Lauriston who was third two weeks ago with 7lb 9oz, a total which could have been so much better had he not lost three sizeable carp.

Roz said: "We would love to see more women involved in the club. It is a really friendly club with people always willing to help.

"Look at Scott (McGhee). He was 14th out of 120 in a major championship in England and he was still there after the last match only 48 hours after coming home from the Midlands, talking to people and answering questions on his set-up.

"There is also great banter in the club and I just love my fishing."

Scots angler Scott McGhee beats five-time world champion at UK-wide event

So much so, that Roz is out regularly, even in winter at Magiscroft and now Springwater in Ayrshire, which Roz claims is a "brilliant venue".

I remember fishing alongside her on a horrible windy day with horizontal rain falling incessantly at Orchill.

She sat on her box and continued fishing without any cover despite the deluge and she admitted to be shivering with the cold at the end of the competition.

So, how did Roz get into fishing? It was her partner who took her to Blair Castle, where he used to be a gamekeeper, to meet a friend.

They fished during the visit and Roz caught a trout, not on a fly but with bait, and that was that. She said: "It's a brilliant sport and I'm out winter and summer, rain, hail or snow. It is not an expensive sport once you have the basics.

"You don't need to splash the cash. A pole these days can cost thousands but there are poles available for several hundred pounds.

"After that there are some essentials and you are ready to go fishing with a bait box of maggots. You also don't need to travel far. I fish the Forth and Clyde Canal around Kirkintilloch, which is a favourite angling spot, using bait like maggot or sweetcorn from the fridge."

Meanwhile, the Union Canal has been fishing extremely well for some anglers recently. Canal regular Ben Steer has landed 23 pike in the last two weeks and he said: "I’ve noticed that it’s been better during sunny, settled weather. The colder days have been one-offs so the fish have been inactive on those days.

"I've noted mostly small pike. In fact, loads more than I’ve seen for a while which makes me think the spawning has been really good recently."

Sea fishing now and Mike Horn, chairman of the Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers, thanked anglers who attended the latest federation match at Lunan Bay near Montrose.

The fishing was mixed, he said, with a fair bit of weed to contend with unfortunately but and some quality flounders and turbot showed up.

David Neil won with Kevin Lewis second. The Zone 1 winner was Chris Horn and the Zone 2 winner was David Cargill. The longest fish was landed by Chris Horn, a 37cm flounder.

Horn hopes for a good turn out at the next event on the Fife Coast on July 18 when East Fife Sea Angling Club present their annual Summer Open.

The boundaries are between Elie Harbour and St Andrews Harbour and registration is between 10am and 11am at Anstruther Golf club where hot rolls will be available outside.

Anglers can leave at 11am and fishing is from noon to 5pm. Weigh-in is from 5pm to 6pm and scales close at 6pm. Entry is £15. Phone Chris on 07872 944807

Meanwhile, water levels on the Water of Leith have been extremely low making angling difficult and regulars hope the recent rain will liven up the river.

Despite the warm weather, fishing at Harlaw Reservoir above Balerno remains good, according to Robert Ross, company secretary of Malleny Angling, who administer the water.

Bag limits have been caught and some anglers have been recording double-figure catches. Mayfly nymph and dry mayfly are catching.

Buzzers and diawi bach patterns have proved effective when fished in the top 4ft of water or deeper in bright sunlight.

Mini lures have also tempted fish with dancers - in various colours such as yellow, rainbow or black - plus cat's whisker or blobs all tied on standard size 10 kooks have also been successful.

If the bright lures prove unsuccessful, then black lures such as cormorant are worth trying.

Ross added: "The secret in the summer months is finding the correct depth. In the evenings, large hatches of flies, including sedge and moth, are on the water with flies such as Bolton sedge and deer hair patterns proving successful.

"The quality of fishing in Harlaw is excellent with many large specimen fish still being caught. The hard fighting blues are testing anglers and tackle and fishing early or late in the day is the preferred time."

Bowden Springs near Linlithgow has been fishing consistently with Ally McCoist and buzzer patterns working along with mini-lures. Trout of up to 9lb have been regularly netted.

In Midlothian, Rosslynlee near Penicuik confirm that buzzers and CDC have been favoured by anglers recently but B Hunter landing 11 on various lures.

Glencorse have started their evening sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5.30pm to 10pm but owner Bill Taylor said that if there is not enough interest they will stop at the end of July. Ring 01968 678709 or 07703 255955 or mail [email protected] for details. Three boats must be booked to justify opening and catch and release and kill tickets are available.

In East Lothian, Tweeddale Millennium have started a four-round Summer Series with the final on August 1. There is a maximum of 24 entries per heat and the remaining ones are on July 11, 18 and 25. Boobies and flicker spoons are prohibited. Contact Andy Noble on 07960 465044.

Markle has been fishing well with CDC and hoppers among the favoured patterns.