Fishing Report
LOCH FAD & LOCH QUIEN
5th July 2010
The best catches for June has been local anglers Calum Geddes with four fish for 10lbs 8ozs on mixed lures, and Stewart Reynolds with six fish for 15lbs including one @ 11lbs 2ozs on s small copper mepps. Also local Alistair Speirs with a nice catch of three rainbows on the surface with dry flies. Mr Gordon & Mr Deighan had nine fish in their boat weighing in at 16lbs 10ozs on Black, Green and Orange lures.
Other good catches include Mr Smith and his partner from Glasgow with seven fish for 21lbs 6ozs, Raemore AC had 19 fish for their Saturday on Black & Green Sparklers, Mr McKenzie from Fife with a great day with 13 fish (all returned) on Silver Sparkler, Mr Busby had nine fish for 16lbs 8ozs on maggot/worm.
Loch Fad to date has good water quality at both ends of the loch.
22nd June 2010
Despite the warm , bright weather the water quality is good on Loch Fad and Loch Quien at the moment with lots of Damsels and Sedges hatching offf. Lots of tiny Perch and Roach fry on the go also adding to the feast.Flies such as White Zonker, Green Eyed Monster, Orange Blob, Cormorants and Sparklers have been catching. Some fish also coming to dries.
Local anglers Alistair Spiers had 3 for 10lbs on dries and Calum Geddes had 4 for 10lb 8oz on Cormorants.Jim Gordon had 4 for 7lb 6ozs and Martin Dieghan had 5 for 9lbs 4ozs and returned 2 on Black and green lures.Mr Bell from Glasgow had a party of 8 rods who caught 19 fish for 45lbs, mostly on black and green or sparklers. Robin Smith and Alister McFarlane had 7 for 21lbs 6ozs, including 2 at 4lbs from the south end of the loch on the Green eyed Monster. Nicky Kyle from Dalry had his best day on Loch Fad on the 18th with 9 trout for 18lbs.
The Pike fishing is good at the moment with fish to 33lbs 10ozs coming to the net.Lures and dead bait both working from both ends of the loch.
5th June 2010
Some good hatches of mayflies and lots of damsels coming off the loch at the moment with fish taking Damsels, Yellow Dancers, White Zonkers and Black & Green Fritz. Pheasant Tails and Bushy Olives also working. Fish have been taken from both ends of the loch on a variety of methods.
Willie Smith from Dalrymple had another good week with over 50 fish to his rod on bait and spinner whilst local angler Calum Geddes had ten Rainbows on fly for 18lbs. Hot Head Damsel and Peach Booby were his successful flies. John Campbell from Newcastle had seven on Black & Green Fritz and small Damsels. The Goth Angling Club from Stirling had 31 fish for 68lbs. Robin Smith and Laurie Taylor from Airdrie had eleven in the boat on fly. Fish up to 8lbs have been caught in the last week with the average around 2lbs.
Loch Quien has been producing some nice Brownies around the 2lb mark with a couple of fish lost, estimated between 3 to 4lbs. Clan Chief, Wickhams Fancy and Black & Pearly Spider taking fish. Mayfly and lots of caenis and black buzzers on the water, especially at night. Fish are fairly close in with the Scalpsie end being a hot spot.
24th May 2010
The dry spell of weather continues at loch Fad and with the constant wind direction changes the fish are not getting into any regular feeding paterns. Some good catches have been recorded with the bait anglers having the best of the sport. Mr Fisher from Rothesay had 4 for 9lbs on spinner on the 18th. Mr Sommerville from Bellshill and his party of five had 26 Rainbows for 63lbs on the 22kd. Potters Angling Club had 33 fish on the 23rd weighing 55lbs, mostly on the left hand bank at the dam end of the loch. The best bag of the week went to Colin Gilespie from Renfrew with 10 fish for 18lbs 2ozs from the grassy bank on the 23rd.
The latest competition run by the Isle of Bute Angling Association was the J.S.Slaven Memorial Shield and was won by local angler Jim Gordon with three rainbows for 5lb 8ozs.all caught on blobs on a difficult day. The best flies at the moment seem to be Black and green fritz, Yellow dancer ,Damsel and Orange blob. This may change as the first of the Mayflies were seen today.
Some very nice Pike are being caught this week with the biggest estimated at 25lbs by Mr Bowman from Glasgow on a Pike fly. The Glasgow branch of the PAAS also had an outing this weekend which for some was very successful, with fish to 18lbs being caught. A more detailed report to follow.
Some good sport on the fly should follow once the May flies get going . All we need is a warm steady wind with a bit of cloud cover, surely not to much to ask!
17th May 2010
This weekend at Loch Fad produced some great sport for both boat and bank anglers, also some nice settled weather.
Best catch on Friday 14th May was Mr Collins, who was bank fishing, with three fish for 16lbs with his best fish weighing 11lbs 14ozs.
Saturday 15th May also produced some great bags and some single trout catches: Mr Reynolds from Rothesay had two for 4lbs 8ozs, Mr Hillan had two fish for 4lbs 6ozs, Mr Jackson had two fish for 6lbs 4ozs but the best bags went to Mr Kerr with five fish for 12lbs 11ozs his best fish weighing 4lbs 3ozs, and Mr Hailstones with ten fish for 2lbs 8ozs, Mr Connway had four fish for 8lbs, Mr Ferguson had ten fish for 21lbs 8ozs on boat, Mr Boag had five fish for 9lbs 11ozs, Mr Thompson had seven fish for 15lbs 4ozs and Mr Falkner had three fish for 8lbs 6ozs, but best weekend catch went to Kingfisher Angling Club who had 57 fish for 132lbs 7ozs with a nice double at 10lbs 1oz.
Also on the Pike angling, Mr Boyle and his son had an exceptional weekend with 24 fish, caught at the south end of the loch on baits, with a best fish of 22lbs.
5th May 2010
The month of May has started well with some good bags of fish coming to both fly and bait. Large hatches of buzzers on the go has seen some good fish starting to rise to them. The water is now over 10C which makes a big differance to rising fish. This month should see some excellent catches as lots of flies start to hatch. The Hawthorns and Olives usualy start at this time and at the back end of the month the Mayfly should be on the go. Last years hatch was good and we are hoping this year will be the same allthough the cold winter we have just had may effect the timing.
At the moment Black and green fritz,Orange blob, Green eyed monster and Yellow dancer seem to be doing well.Maggot and sweetcorn also doing well with small mepps and tobiesalso catching. The fish have been coming of both ends of the loch with the Barnauld Burn,Boathouse Bay and the first fence being very productive.
Local angler Martin Deighan had three on the fly from the first fence and lost a few.Wullie Smith from Dalrymple had a great weekend with 64 fish caught and returned over four days. Local anglers Stuart Reynolds and Alan Fraser had 9 trout between them on the 1st, mostly on spinner. Barlinie A/C had 46 fish for 114lbs including two over 6lbs. Danny Still had 7 for 14lb 3ozs.Mr Carrol had 8 for 14lb 14ozs and Mr McAvoy had 5 for 9lb.
Robert Auld and his boat partner had 6 for 12lbs and lost a lot in a frantic three hours on the 2kd.DSM fishing club from Dalry had 22 trout for 42lbs 8ozs while Alex McClaren from Newmains had 8 for 14lbs on the 3rd. George Fisher from Wishaw had 6 for 12lb,Mr Miller from Ayr had 6 for 19lbs including one of 10lb 4ozs. Mr Bunting also had 6 for 10lb 4ozs.Mr Fullerton from Port Glasgow had 10 for 18lb10 mostly on Green eyed monster as did Mr Mooney who also had 10 for 16lbs.
27th April 2010
Loch Fad continues to produce some nice Rainbows allthough the changeable weather has hit its consistancy , with even the nice days being spoiled by cold winds.
Mr Busby from Clydebank had 4 fish for 18lbs including a nice fish of 10lbs on bait while Mr Dow from Kinross had four for 11lb 4ozs on fly, his best weighing 5lb 10ozs.Mr Harrison from Alnwick had seven for 19lbs on bait including one of 6lb.
By the middle of the month the water was starting to warm and Eddie A'Hara from Glasgow had a nine pounder on a black buzzer.Mr McPartland had 5 for 18lbs including one of 10lbs 4ozs.
Mr Rooney and his party of four rods from Bellshill had 29 Rainbows for 43lbs including a fish of 8lbs on the 26th and Joe Schofield from Glasgow had an 8lb fish on the 27th.
Best flies are black and green or orange paterns at the moment.
Loch Quien producing Brownies to 2lb 10ozs recently with some nice fish rising to small dark flies Fishing best when the harsh wind is not blowing.Bruisers.Kate McClaren and Clan Chief worth a go.
12th April 2010
The warmer weather has now started to warm the loch with countless buzzers hatching all over with lots of fish rising to them very early in the morning. There are a few fish being taken on buzzers but lures are still catching. Best bag to the fly this week was taken by Mr Bell from Dunoon who had nine on Black and Green Fritz for 16lbs 8ozs. Gold Head Nymphs and Damsels also taking fish.
Mr Turner from Glasgow had five for 14lbs 12ozs including a fish of 9lbs 12ozs on Saturday while his companion Mr McGhee had seven for 12lbs 14ozs. Mr Coxford and Mr Harrison had 51 trout for their week including one of 12lbs 6ozs and a couple of 8lb plus fish.
Sue Kuzyszyn from Preston had a nice Rainbow of 9lb 8ozs during her trip to the loch to show her husband how its done .
With the water warming now, hopefully we will see some more rising fish before too long.
27th March 2010
Loch Fad is now warming to the spring weather conditions, with some good hatches of flies and buzzers on the water. Also plenty of early rising fish being seen.
This weekend saw some good bags of fish coming from both boat and bank:
Colin Clement and his boat partner from Tyndrum had ten fish for 23lbs on mixed lures at the dam wall.
Andy Jamieson and his wife from Coatbridge had ten fish for 29lbs 8ozs including one at 10lbs.
Mr McKenzie from Glasgow had ten fish for 19lbs 12ozs including one at 9lbs.
Mr Campbell’s party had six fish for 23lbs at the old boathouse including one fish at 10lbs.
Mr Marsland and his grandson had eight fish for 15lbs 8ozs.
Lilybank Fishing Club had a good day with 47 fish weighing 89lbs, fishing the left hand shore, their biggest fish weighing in at 7lbs.
A party from Bellshill had 25 fish for 49lbs for their day out.
The Ferguson lads had 20 fish for 48lbs.
These were good days sport on the loch, just nice timing for the easter break.
8th March 2010
The 2010 trout fishing season on Loch Fad is now open and some very nice fish are being caught. Laurie Taylor of Rainbow Warriors Angling Club had a nice fish weighing 10lbs 12ozs to open his Loch Fad season, while Willie Riddicks from Ayr had the biggest fish so far weighing 12lbs 6ozs on a Damsel Nymph. Peter Edge from Troon had a 12lb Rainbow caught on a Green Fritz and Jim Wright of Good Companions Angling Club had six fish for 33lbs on Saturday for the best bag so far. Willie Fotheringham and his son Ewan from Fife had 7 fish for 31lbs 10ozs and local angler Leighton Reid had a nice fish of 9lbs 12ozs.
Lots of different flies working including Black Fritz, Orange Blob, Damsels and Black Zonkers. The north end of the loch produced the most fish with the dam wall and pumphouse shore also doing well.
As with most lochs in Scotland this year there has been a lot of ice on Loch Fad, but it is completely clear at the moment and hopefully we have seen the worst of the cold weather already.
25th November 2009
The weather has put paid to any serious fly fishing of late but any fish that have been caught by the brave souls who have ventured out have been very good quality. Fish in the 4-5 lb class have been caught mostly on small lures such as black dancers,black fritz and humungus. The cages and the narrows have been the most productive areas.
The pike fishing has been good lately with a good number of 20lb plus fish coming to the net. Static dead baits are doing the trick at the moment with roach and smelt working best. The north end seems to be fishing best but the odd big fish is coming off the south end also.
5th October 2009
Once again some nice fish coming off with the bait anglers having the best of the fishing this week. The bulk of the fly fishers were out on Saturday in a howling gale which spoiled the fishing totaly. Tam McGarry of Good Companions A/C had the best fish on fly this week coming in at 7lbs 5ozs.Watty Smith ,also of Good Companions, had a nice fish of 6lbs on fly. The pumphouse shore was the place to be if you were bait fishing with a good number of 3-6lb fish being caught. Andy Jamieson from Coatbridge had 7 for 22lbs 8ozs. Mr O'Shea had 6 for 26lb 4ozs including fish of 6lb 8oz and 5lbs. Colin Binnie had 5 for 15lbs 8ozs also on the pumphouse shore. The best fish this week was 9lb 8ozs and was caught at the first fence from the office.
28th September 2009
Water level back to normal for the time of year despite the wind and rain of recent days.
Recent catches have been reasonable with some nice fish among them. Danny McPhee from Glasgow had a nice fish of 8lbs 2ozs.George Gemmel from Port Glasgow had 6 for 13lb 8ozs including a 6 pounder. Keith Baxter from Wigan had a good week with his best catch of 10 fish weighing 23lbs. Davy Swinburn from Blantyre had 13 trout for34lbs to three rods and their best fish was 6lbs. Tam McFadyen had a good fish on fly weighing 7lbs. Paul Smith from Airdrie had an 11lb fish on bait at the first fence on the pumphouse shore. Mr Harrison and his party had fish of 5,8 and 10lbs in their catches this week.
22nd September 2009
With the water clear and tempretures dropping Loch Fad is fishing well at the moment with some good sport to both bank and boat anglers over the weekend of the 19th and 20thof September. Colin Brash had four trout for 14lbs 4oz including one of 7lb 4ozs while Wullie Brash had had four for 13lbs 13ozs with his best weighing 8lbs 12ozs. Ian Earle had the best fish of the weekend weighing 11lbs 2ozs on Saturday and had a nice bag of five Rainbows for 17lbs 8ozs on Sunday. Wullie Scott had five for 20lbs 4ozs including a fish of 9lb 4ozs.
Bait anglers also had good fishing . Mr Ainsworth and his two companions from Saltcoats had eighteenfish for 45lbs 11ozs including a fish of 8lbs. Local angler Mr Cairney had six fish for 23lb 12oz with his biggest weighing 10lb 12oz. Mr Yates and Mr Walker from Preston had 12 fish on Saturday for 36lbs and on Sunday they landed ten for 43lbs 14ozs including fish of 10lbs and 8lbs 6ozs.
The recent drop in the tempreture seems to have got the big fish feeding again to both bait and fly. Best flies seemed to be Yellow Dancers, Black and Green Fritz, Orange Blob, Pink Fritz, Humungus, Boobies and Cats Whiskers fished on intermediate or sinking lines. The best areas have been around the north end of the loch.
6th September 2009
The water level in Loch Fad is still high but dropping and the fishing is starting to pick up again. Decent fish in the 3-4lbs bracket are coming off and some nice one's to 10lbs 8ozs putting in an appearance. Tam McDonald from Glasgow had a nice fish of 10lbs8ozs to win his clubs outing from the bank beyond the first fence. Curly Wilson from Cowdenbeith had 9 rainbows on an imitation roach fry patern with his best weighing 7lbs 4ozs. Local angler John Miller had four for 17lbs 8ozs, his best weighing 8lb 1oz. Orange blobs and green pea were catching for John. The water quality is good at the moment. Good numbers of pike also being caught mostly on dead baits.
25th August 2009
With the heavy rain of recent days the water level is very high for the time of year. The loch is clear of algae at the moment with the strong winds keeping the loch moving. Fish to 7lbs being taken allthough not easy fishing . The fly fishing is probably best at the south end of the loch with intermediate lines and black and green fritz worth a go. If the fish are rising try a daddy or a bibio as there are a few of them about.
Some good pike also being caught with a few twenties starting to show.
13th August 2009
Water quality good once again with the constant winds from the south keeping the loch moving.The south end of the loch is fishing well with bags of three to five fish on average.Fly and spinning are doing best with black and green fritz, orange blob, mayfly and yellow dancer. Best spinners probably silver mepps.
27th July 2009
A quiet week but fishing picked up on the fly towards the weekend with the cooler weather. Kieth Findell from Kilmacolm had four on damsels for 9lbs 4ozs. Alistair Spiers had two for 11lbs 8ozs including one of 9lbs 1oz on a white and brown zonker. Jim Currie from Dalmelington had 4 for 9lbs 8ozs on mudlers and black and green fritz. John Wilson also from Dalmelington had 5 for 13lbs 15ozs mostly on small vivas. Bert Currie from Ayr had 3 for 6lbs 10ozson mudlers all at the south end. Local angler Alister McFarlane had 8 for 19lbs 10ozs on black and green fritz, mayfly and orange blobs. Tommy Hannen also from Rothesay had 4 for 10lbs 1oz again all in the shallows at the south end of the loch.
Some good pike also being caught with fish up to 19lbs coming off to local angler Johnny McInairnie.
21st July 2009
The water temperature rose last week and slowed the fishing allthough some good bags and individual fish are still coming off. Steven McAllister from Greenock had 4 on damsels , his best weighing 7lbs 14ozs.Ray Hill from Manchester had 5 for 13lbs 12ozs on bait . Mr Rooney from Bellshill had a nice fish on a hard day weighing 9lbs 12ozs.Nick and Jane Wright from Cove had 8 for 22lbs 8ozs mostly on cats and dawsons variants at the south end of the loch.
Sunday the 19th saw a few more fish coming off including 8 for 18lbs 8ozs to local anglers Martin Deighan and Jim Gordon , Jim catching one of 5lb 4ozs. Stuart Reynolds from Rothesay had 5 on mepps from the dam wall and Mr McNaughton and Mr Murphy from Glasgow had 13 rainbows from the south end on fritz lures. Thomas McFadyen from Glasgow had the best fish so far this month weighing 11lbs 4ozson an orange fritz.
Some good sized pike being caught with local anglers John McDade catching one of 25lbs and Alistair Speirs catching a 19lb pike on the fly. Mr Duffy from Inverary also had a 19 lb fish on the fly.
7th July 2009
The first week of July has been wetter than normal and this has helped the water quality which is very good at the moment.Some good fishing despite the warm weather with both fly and bait anglers catching at most parts of the loch.
Alex McEwan from Ochiltree had 5 for 13lbs 12ozs with his best weighing 3lbs 12oz and Alister McFarlane had 7 for 16lbs 6ozs from the south end of the loch mostly on black and green fritz.
Bait anglers catching along the pumphouse shore and the fence.Best fish this week was 8lbs on bait caught by Vinnie Bull from Skemsdale,part of a five fish bag for 18lbs.
Kingfisher A/C had 41 trout for 101 lbs 10ozs up to 4lbs 2ozs ,mostly on bait along the pumphouse shore.
30th June 2009
Wind from the north and east for the whole of the last week in June but warm. Fishing realy well around the dam end of the loch especialy to fly.All sorts of flies catching at the moment including buzzers,nymphs, boobies,fritz lures, damsels and zonkers.
Mr and Mrs Campbell from Newcastle had over 40 trout up to 10lbs during the week while Colin Clemmont from Tyndrum and his boat partner had 19 for 58lbs 12oz including fish of 9lbs and 9lbs 4oz. Mr Noble and his party of ten from Aberdeenshire had 121 fish for the weekend on an assortment of flies and lines.
Small mepps and tobies doing well and bait anglers catching along the pumphouse shore and at the fence.Some nice Pike being caught including a 25lb fish to local angler Richard Whitelaw mostly at the southern end of the loch.
23rd June 2009
Very changeable weather for June but still some decent bags coming off.Fish still taking Mayfly with the best of the fly fishing at the south end of the loch. Best flies are Black and green fritz, Montana,Damsels, Kate McLaren , Bushy Olives and orange blobs.
Some good bags coming from the fence and the pumphoue shore to bait also.
The weekend of the 20th saw Mr J Reid and S Tippen from Coatbridge catch 15 Rainbows for 35lbs 12ozs mostly on black and green tadpoles.Jim O'Neil from Ayr had 7 for 14lbs 6ozs while Mr Bells party of four from Dunoon had 12 for 30lbs.Local anglers Phil Kirkham had five for 11lbs 4ozs and Alistair Speirs had a nice fish of 8lbs.
Clubs catching on spinner and bait with McVities A/C bagging 32 trout for 70lbs and Fairfield A/C taking 43 for 90lbs.
8th June 2009
Good catches to both fly and bait despite blazing sun followed by cold north and east winds.Mr O'kane from Norfolk returned 9 trout including a 4lb 8oz Brownie and a 6lb 8oz Rainbow caught on C.D.C.'s and Mayfly nymphs. Mr Coleman and his boat partner had some good sport over the week including 10 rainbows for 24lbs 8ozs on the 28th on mayfly,kate McLaren, and Bibio.Gerry Lynch had 10 for 21lbs despite the blazing sun.Wullie Smith from Dalrymple had a good week with loads of trout on copper mepps. He also bagged a few nice Pike with three over 20lbs.
Mr Anderson and Maloy from Glasgow had 16 fish for 34lbs 12 ozs on the 6th while Grantley Bridge had 5 for 10lbs 12ozs. The Isle of Bute A/A had a good day on the 7th despite the cold north wind.They boated 17 trout for 42lbs 8ozs for 10 rods with local angler John Miller catching the best of the day weighing 6lbs 12ozs. Richard Home won the trophy with four for 9lbs 4ozs. Grantley Bridge weighed in another 6 for 12 lbs 12ozs lso on the 7th. Damsels seem to be the killer fly at the moment.
27th May 2009
Improved weather conditions with a slightly warmer wind from the south west saw some good catches at the weekend to bait and fly fishers .With an excellent hatch of mayfly on the Sunday the fly anglers had some realy good top of the water sport. If you cast close enough to a rising fish it nearly always took the fly.They didn't all stay on though as they are fighting realy hard at the moment.
Local angler Fraser McCartney took the honours in the J.S.Slaven memorial trophy held by the Isle of Bute A/A with 8 rainbows for 18lbs 12ozs just beating Alister McFarlane who had 8 for 18lb 1oz.Their total catch for eight rods was 34 fish for 77lbs 15ozs.
Goodyear A/C weighed in 20 rainbows for 38lbs while Mr Watsons party had 20 for 42lbs.
Fissons A/C had 14 for 36lbs with their best fish weighing 7lbs.,Mr McClymont and Mr Tolan from Glasgow had a good day also with 17 for 41lbs from the pumphouse shore.on bait
18th May 2009
Cold north winds with heavy rain and strong easterly winds with bright sun didn't stop the Rainbows biting with good bags from both ends of the loch being caught.Mr Lancaster and his party of four from Wigan had a total of 66 trout for their six days while Mr McGuire and Mr Rooney from Bellshill had 15 from the pumphouse shore.Colin Gilespie from Renfrew had 9 rainbows for 18lbs 12ozs, again from the same area.
Robert Smith and Alister McFarlane had 12 to their boat from the south end of the loch mostly on black and green fritz and orange blob.Robert also had a very nice fish weighing 9lbs 12ozs on a sparkler on the 18thof May.There are one or two May flies starting to hatch off so hopefully if the weather improves we should get some top of the water sport.
Some good pike also being caught with Richard Whitelaw having a good day with fish up to 18lbs 8ozs and Johnie McInairnie with fish up to 28lbs 8ozs ,mostly at the south end of the loch. Pike taking dead baits, lures and the fly.
4th May 2009
LOCH FAD FISHING WELL
Loch Fad continues to fish well with anglers catching on bait, spinner and fly from both ends of the loch. Gordon Price and Keith Findell from Kilmacolm had a bumper catch of twenty Rainbows for 41lbs, nearly all caught on Black Zonkers along the Pumphouse Shore. Archie Thom from Prestwick had ten Rainbows for 19lbs, again on Black Zonker at the Barnauld Burn.
George Gemmell from Port Glasgow had ten fish for 23lbs on a small copper dropper while Mr Lovell from Paisley had nine fish for 17lbs on maggot.
A large party from Airdrie fished for the very popular Jim Smith Memorial Cup in April and it was a very close competition. While lots of fish were caught, the competition was for the biggest fish. This year it was a dead heat with two anglers catching fish weighing 9lbs 5ozs. The joint winners were Paul Smith and Robert Carson, while in third place was junior angler Brendan McPake with an excellent fish weighing 8lbs 10ozs. Loch Fad also put up a trophy for the juniors for this competition and young Brendan won this.
Local anglers have had their share of trout off the loch also, but John Miller and Alister McFarlane were just a bit surprised to both catch Pike estimated at over 25lbs on trout flies with 6lb leader.
20th April 2009
The third week of April was more or less constant cold north and easterly winds but the fishing remained good. Some areas fished better than others with the boathouse bay doing well most of the week with bait anglers and the Barnauld Burn and Barmore Bay doing well for the fly fishers. Copper Mepps also caught well with Davy Swinburn catching ten Rainbows for 26lbs. Laurie Taylor and his boat partner had 18 Rainbows, mostly on Boobies in the bright cold conditions at the south end of the loch. Some good rises of fish early and late in the day and with a change in the wind the fishing should improve again. Best fish this week weighed 10lbs 8ozs, with another of 9lbs 12ozs and a few 7 to 9lb fish.
Easter Weekend
Easter weekend saw some better weather with plenty of sunshine
although Saturday was a bit cold in the morning. The week prior to this
had been very mixed but the fishing was good.
The fish are pretty well
spread over the loch now with some good rises of trout at the south end
of the loch. Lots of different flies catching including Black Zonker,
Black and green fritz, orange fritz, blobs and cats. Best fish so far in
April on fly was a 12lb Rainbow on a Damsel pattern to Ayr angler Alex Bowler. Davy Swinburn from Blantyre also had a 12lb trout on a spinner. Good numbers of fish in the 4-12lbs bracket coming off both to fly and bait in areas such as Pumphouse Shore, Boathouse Bay and Barmore Bay.
29th March 2009
The final week of March saw a mixture of wet, cold and often windy weather, but some good bags of fish still came off. Fish were rising along the dam wall and the shore beside the bailiff’s office to small black flies. During the calmer parts of the week Orange Fritz, Cats Whisker and JC Viva’s all took fish. Orange was the best colour all week.
Despite the cold north winds on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th March the fishing was still good with both fly and bait anglers catching. Good bags of six to ten fish were common and the biggest for the week was a fish of 11lbs for local angler David Duff.
22 March
The third week of the season saw some of the best weather so far. Monday was bitterly cold , but good numbers of fish were rising and being caught on pheasant tails and hares ears, Gordon Price and Keith Findell boated 15 fish for 34lbs 12ozs including one of 7lbs 4ozs for Keith.
Troon angler Hugh Taylor had 5 rainbows for 14lbs including a nice five pounder. Colin Clemment from Tyndrum had 5 for 20lbs 14ozs which contained two seven pounders.
The weather stayed dry and got a bit warmer and on Friday John Campbell and his boat partner from Newcastle had 20 fish for nearly 50lbs, mostly on small lures and nymphs. Bait fishers doing well with a couple of nine pounders getting caught on Friday.
The Black Bull A/C fished on Saturday and Colin Officer had 9 for 17lbs while Ronnie Gethins had 8 for 17lbs 3ozs. The dam wall and the pump house shore doing well at the moment.
16th March
Loch Fad continues to fish well, as it has done since opening day this season, despite some strong cold winds.
Robert Russell and Ian McWha from Dumbarton had a good day on the 13th with 14 fish for 29lbs including a fish of 10lbs 4ozs to Robert and returning another 15 fish.
The Vale Angling Club had a good day on Saturday 14th with members G Lees catching ten for 24lbs, J McGhee had ten for 23lbs 7ozs and S Young had three for 17lbs including fish of 8lbs 12ozs and 7lbs. Yellow Dancers, Orange Blobs and Black & Green lures still catching well, although other flies were working also.
Gartcosh Angling Club also had an outing on Loch Fad on the 14th with T Doosey catching ten for 20lbs, Willie Leeming had seven for 15lbs 8ozs and J Davidson had six for 14lbs 2ozs. Once again lures seemed to be the best catchers. The main hotspot seems to be the dam wall area but fish were being caught all over the loch.
The Brown Trout season opened on Loch Quien with some good action in cold breezy conditions. Some good fish were caught and some good fish hooked and lost, but the best fish on opening day was a lovely natural fish of 2lbs 8ozs caught on a Yellow tag Wickham by local angler John Miller.
THE NEW SEASON ON LOCH FAD
2nd March 2009
The 2009 Rainbow Trout season on Loch Fad opened on Sunday 1st of March with resonably mild weather apart from the odd blustery shower. There had been some good fish moving in the couple of weeks prior to opening day, so hopes were high for some good sport.
It wasn’t long before fish were being caught mostly on lures such as Black and Green Taddy, Olive Gold Head, Humungus, Orange Fritz and Cats Whiskers Variants. Most of the fish being caught were between two and three pounds but one or two four pounders were in among them.
The best fish of the day fell to Alexandria angler Duncan Crawford, weighing 9lbs 4ozs and was caught on a Black and Green Taddy. Duncan also had four other fish to give him a nice total of 18lbs 8ozs. Jane Wright and Tom Taggart of Cove and Kilcreggan Angling Club had a total of eight fish to their boat weighing 24lbs 6ozs. Their catch included two four pounders and a fish of 6lbs 12ozs to Jane on a Cats Whisker Variant.
The best areas seemed to be the dam wall and the left hand bank at the bailiffs office. The south end of the loch did produce some nice fish also. Sinking or intermediate lines were most productive but not all the fish were deep down.
Some very nice fish have been stocked into the loch so the 9lb 4oz fish should be beaten very shortly. Apparently the fish are fighting very well at the moment in the cold, clear water.
There are some interesting competitions planned for Loch Fad this year including a charity event for Water Aid , a fund raiser for the Scottish Ladies and Juniors fly fishing teams, a new junior bait fishing competition and of course the Loch Fad Autumn Doubles event, and that’s just the trout ones!
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