Angler wins major event but bears the scars from dogfish fight
Alan Brown bears the scars from winning the Clyde and Western Open at Greenock Esplanade on Sunday, but the pain was lessened when he pocketed the first prize of £200.
The 63-year-old hooked into dogfish first cast and he barely had time to bait up before his rod tip bent.
For 90 minutes it was a fish a cast at Greenock Esplanade and he had seven around 60 yards out before it all went quiet. An eighth dogfish appeared later.
Surprisingly, the man fishing next to him, James Ogilvie from Haddington, only caught one mackerel during the five-hour match.
The West Barns-based angler has landed the biggest fish award at the event in previous years and he was pipped for that accolade by two centimetres on this occasion. It would, he said, have been a nice double.
However, the recently-retired maintenance engineer beat more than 70 other anglers, including international anglers, to take the top prize and he revealed: “I got into fish right away, the first cast. I just had time to get the rod in the rod rest and the tip bent.
“It was the same for the next 90 minutes and I barely had time to bait up before the next one.”
His fish in this measure and release match were between 50cm and 63cm – around 2.5lb – and they were tempted on a three-hook rig bated with one centimetre wide strip of mackerel about 4cm long.
Brown used a size 2 Aberdeen hook with 50lb braid, 32lb leader and snoods of 22lb to and he recalled: “I had the longest fish in this event three of four years ago, but I have never won it, until now.”
There were 81 pegs near The Royal West of Scotland Amateur Boat Club, the headquarters for the competition, and 72 anglers were there. Brown was fortunate. He picked peg three but there were no anglers in pegs one and two so he, in effect, enjoyed an end peg.
However, he concentrated casting straight into the sea and said: “You have to get the dogfish in quickly. They coil like snakes and they make a real mess of rigs, if you let them.
“They are also difficult to unhook. One wrapped itself around my wrist and gave me what looks like a Chinese Burn as its scales cut into me. It was tough to stop the blood for a spell, and it stung every time I unhooked a fish because of the salt water. There is still a scar now, but it is receding.”
Brown added: “James (Ogilvie) was fishing on peg 4 as James fishes from a wheelchair. He used the similar bait as me, but only caught one fish, a mackerel.
“I remember a few years ago. We had a family peg during a competition at Riverside Drive in Dundee and he caught and I only had two small fish. It was the reverse on Sunday. Added to that, there were three juniors and an adult fishing next to him. They caught, James didn’t and he is a good angler. That’s fishing.”
Brown, who recently retired from Torness Power Station, totalled 480 points at Greenock and second place went to Stan Lynn with four fish for 186 points. Third was Neil Cutler, a well-known competition angler from Tyneside, who had six fish for 129 points.
A total of 20 juniors took part and Caleb Watson was the winner with four fish for 243 points with Aeron Baxter second with three fish for 119 points and Nathan Lockwood was just behind him on 117 points from two fish.
Frankie Hamilton was fourth with two fish for 115 points and fifth was Kaileb McGovern with two fish for 110 points.
Jimmy Connell hooked into the longest fish, a 65cm dogfish.
Back to Brown and he is also performing well in the Summer Series organised by the Bass Rock Shore Angling League. He modestly said: “I am fishing OK in the competition and I am lying fourth or fifth at the moment.”
He recently won leg eight with two fish for 63cm beating David Fairbairn from Haddington who also had two fish but they only measured 46cm.
A reminder that the under-16 sea fishing championship is nearly upon us and the lading six anglers will make the Scotland team for 2027.
The top four results out of six matches will count towards final classification and the events are on August 29 and 20 in Dumfries and Galloway, September 19 and 20 in Edinburgh and the Lothians and November 28 and 29 in Angus and Dundee.
Elsewhere, and the Association of Scottish Stillwater Fisheries have donated £6,800 to the Scotland Youth Fly Fishing Team and Youth National. The presentation was held at the Lake of Menteith and it has been fishing hard, at times, due to the water clarity.
Nearer home, Allandale Tarn has been fishing well despite the high temperatures. The top rod was 13 to the net in a four-hour session.