Reports – 2010

WEEK ENDING 31/10/10

Heading in to the last week of the season the weather hampered conditions midweek, with strong winds preventing boats from going out.

Four rods bank fishing at the peat bank on the last day of the season managed sixteen fish.

All fish caught were in fantastic condition with some sizeable browns showing up, the biggest if weighed would have been over the five pound mark.

 

WEEK ENDING 24/10/10

Top catch through the week was made by Harry Brummfitt bank fishing on Thursday with two rainbows and five browns, two of which were over the three pound mark.

Bank fishing at the peat bank produced most of the fish for the second week running.

Seven Oaks A/C 7 Fish – 15lb and some browns.

 

WEEK ENDING 17/10/10

The fishery was quiet through the week, but the rods that visited at the weekend caught some lovely conditioned fish with some cracking browns and blues showing up. Bank fishing at the peat bank produced the most of the sport.

Wayne Cram three rainbows and one blue for 10lb.

 

WEEK ENDING 10/10/10

A quiet week with only a few regulars turning out. Top tactic continued to be the fast glass and lures, with cats whiskers and damsels in particular.

Bill Tomlin three visits managed 15 rainbows and 1 brown around the 3lb mark.

LilyBank Fishing Club (Sat) 44 fish – 91lb.

 

WEEK ENDING 03/10/10

With the water level remaining high for most of the week, bank anglers found conditions difficult.

The top area was up towards the burn, with a fast glass and lures the top tactic.

The best of the weekend conditions were on Sunday as Wayne Cram and Harry Brummfitt found out, boating six rainbows in a couple of hours in the morning.

Mr Campbell & Mr Dickie also out on Sunday managed nine rainbows and reported losing many more.

Rolls Royce A/C (Sat) 10 fish – 22lb,

South QueensferryA/C (Sun) 9 fish – 20lb 2oz + 1 r’bow & 1 brown returned.

 

WEEK ENDING 26/09/10

Strong winds again hampered fishing in the early part of the week, and it wasn’t untill Friday that it eased.

Anglers that visited over the weekend found fish up towards the burn mouth with traditional wet flies working well.

Bathgate Legion (Sunday) 10 fish – 21lb.

 

WEEK ENDING 19/09/10

The fishery was quiet midweek with the strong winds and heavy rain. The level rose sharply over Wednesday night with the banks being under several feet of water.

Anglers that did venture out caught fish on corixa patterns casting towards the dam wall.

The top boat at the weekend managed eight rainbows on Saturday, but on a whole rods struggled all weekend.

 

WEEK ENDING 12/09/10

At the start of the week two days were lost due to the strong winds. When the winds finally eased and the boats got out, fish were to be seen rising around the dam wall area, and rods fishing small beetle patterns made the best returns.

Some nice browns continued to be caught, with the best at over seven pounds being caught on Saturday.

Seafield A/C (Sat) 14 fish – 27lb 8oz, with seven browns returned. One of the browns returned weighed over seven pounds.

Polton Inn (Sun) 15 fish – 25lb 5oz.

 

WEEK ENDING 05/09/10

Anglers basked in the sun Monday to Friday, with hardly a breath of wind, then came the weekend. Friday was possibly the warmest day of the year at Crosswood.

 Ross Kirkwood made the best return on bank holiday Monday with four rainbows and four browns, mostly on dries. Fish fed hard all midweek on black gnats and ladybirds.

Conditions broke at the weekend with Sunday in particular being bad.

Brown trout seem to be starting to congregate around the burn mouth with the spawning urge kicking in, as a boat on Sunday caught 33 up to a 1lb.

Top area for most of the week was the far side of the tower, as Bill Tomlin found out on Saturday landing six rainbows in less than two hours.

Falkirk Municipal A/C (Sat) 17 fish – 32lb 14oz.

Inchinnan A/C (Sun) 11 fish – 21lb 8oz, with 33 browns returned.

 

WEEK ENDING 29/08/10

Conditions were challenging throughout the week with flat calms then strong winds. Fish continued to feed on or near the surface, with daddies and hoppers catching them. Strong winds at the weekend saw rods make poor returns.

Bill Tomlin used his heather fly pattern to good effect catching some nice rainbows and rising many more.

Top area continued to be over towards the tower and the shore opposite the lodge.

B.P A/C (Wed) 9 fish – 20lb, included in the catch was a 4lb Brown which had to be killed.

Eyemouth A/C (Sat) 12 fish – 23lb.

 

WEEK ENDING 22/08/10

This August is following the same pattern from the previous two seasons, in that the fish are congregated around the dam wall and towards the overflow. At times fish are to be seen rising only feet from the boat mooring. It was this area that the best of the catches were made.

Top weekend catch was made on Saturday with a boat landing fourteen rainbows and one brown.

Wayne Cram landed a cracking silvered-up brown at over five pounds on Sunday on a snatcher.

Edinburgh Breadalbane A/C (Thurs) 15 fish – 29lb 12oz.

Edinburgh Post Office A/C (Sun) 25 fish – 48lb 6oz.

 

WEEK ENDING 15/08/10

Regular anglers continued to have the best of the catches, with some having good sport. Fish continued to rise most days, but at times were difficult to temp.

The top area all week was tight in to the dam wall and the far side of the tower towards the overflow.

The top catch all week was made on Saturday with a boat managing fourteen rainbows and three browns.

Some large fish were spotted crashing in to the fry around the boat area.

Daddies, bibio hoppers and black lures took fish.

 

WEEK ENDING 08/08/10

Regular rods made the best returns all week, with visitors tending to struggle. Fish were caught at the burn end and along the south shore with dry flies working well.

Heather flies started to be blown on to the water, but not in any numbers.

Bill Tomlin made three visits through the week and landed twenty three rainbows to over five pounds and thirteen browns up to 2lb, mostly on dries and spiders.

The top boat over the weekend managed eleven rainbows on Saturday.

Mayfly A/C (Sat) 13 fish – 27lb.

 

WEEK ENDING 01/08/10

Fishing for the majority of the week was hard, with the evening sessions not coming to much, the best of the evening rises seem to be over for the season and more fish are being taken through the day.

Black hoppers, bibio’s, daddies and suspender buzzers were what the successfull anglers caught on.

Mr Moran boat fishing on Wednesday caught seven rainbows and four browns.

Mr Walker fishing Wednesday eve managed four rainbows.

Rab Brown boat fishing Friday landed four rainbows.

Bill Tomlin out boat fishing on Saturday morning managed eight rainbows.

Edinburgh Trout Anglers (Thurs Eve) 18 fish – 38lb 4oz, with a further 8 rainbows and 16 browns returned.

Edinburgh Masonic A/C (Sunday) 5 fish – 18lb 8oz, which included a fin perfect 9lb 10oz resident rainbow.

Edinburgh City F/F (Sunday) 5 fish – 10lb 8oz, with 1 rainbow returned.

Inchinnan A/C (Sunday) 22 fish – 43lb 8oz.

 

WEEK ENDING 25/07/10

The fishery was quiet in the early part of the week with strong winds and heavy rain. Anglers struggled in these conditions and it wasn’t till nearer the end of the week that catches improved.

Scott Middlemass three rainbows up to 6lb+ and four browns on Friday eve.

Rab Sneddon & Bob Burnett, six rainbows and three browns on Friday eve, mostly on sedgehogs.

Bill Tomlin & Jim Bryan managed fourteen rainbows on Saturday.

The Priory A/C (Sat) 28 fish – 57lb 3oz.

Edinburgh Post Office A/C (Sat Eve) 20 fish – 41lb 2oz.

Daddies, hoppers, snatchers and sedgehogs continue to work well.

 

WEEK ENDING 18/07/10

The fishery was quiet through the week due to the weather but anglers who visited caught fish, with some nice blues showing up. The heavy rain freshened things up and brought the water level up to the top mark. There were some good evening rises but at times the fish were difficult to tempt. The burn area after the heavy rain fished well, with snatchers, daddies, sedges, damsels and blobs working well.

 

WEEK ENDING 11/07/10

The bad weather from the previous weekend continued in to Monday. From Tuesday through to Friday conditions settled and good returns were made during the day and evening sessions. The weekend was wet and windy.

Thursday day/eve produced fifty five fish for fourteen rods, with a good buzzer hatch during the day.

Gary Kennan and party managed seventeen rainbows, one blue and nineteen browns on Friday evening, with a fantastic late evening rise.

Last Cast A/C (3 Boats Sat) 16 fish weighing 31lb 8oz.

Muddlers, G&H Sedges, Daddies, Kate Mclaren & Blobs took the majority of the fish, with no area in particular being a hotspot.

 

WEEK ENDING 04/07/10

The early part of the week brought the best conditions with fish getting caught on dry flies, but from Wednesday evening onwards conditions deteriorated with a couple of days lost due to the conditions. Evening fishing also suffered with the strong winds.

The area out from the boats continued to produce fish with dries working well along with hot head damsels.

Ross Kirkwood three visits managed fifteen rainbows and nine browns, mostly on dries.

Wayne Cram eight rainbows and one brown on Monday afternoon and six rainbows in forty minutes on Saturday evening, all on the hothead damsel.

Russell Charleston bank fishing on Friday evening landed seven rainbows and seven browns.

Alec Borthwick (2 boats Sat) 13 rainbows and 2 browns, with most fish coming to the diawl bach.

 

WEEK ENDING 27/06/10

Good sport was had throughout the week with day and evening sessions producing good results. Anglers fishing sedges static or tweaked across the surface made the best returns. Evening sessions would often see the last hour come alive, Friday in particular. Some nice browns to over 2lbs were being caught, topped off by an 8lber by Bill Tomlin.

Ferranti A/C (4 boats Sat) 15 fish weighing 30lb, with a further 8 rainbows and 6 browns returned.

Tapshop A/C (2 boats Sat) 11 fish weighing 21lb 14oz, with a further 7 rainbows and 2 browns returned.

David Robertson guiding Jim Middleton caught 8 rainbows, with 4 over 5lbs and 6 browns up to 2lbs. Jim managed four rainbows.

Wayne Cram & Harry Brumfitt two visits 30 rainbows up to 4lb and 4 browns up to 2.5lb.

Bill Tomlin 3 visits 20 rainbows and 6 browns up to 8lb.

Jim Bryan 2 visits 10 rainbows.

David Robertson four visits 17 rainbows and 12 browns.

Ali Middlemass & Ross Kirkwood 10 rainbows and 6 browns.

Mr & Mrs Henderson 5 rainbows, 1 blue and 6 browns.

 

WEEK ENDING 20/06/10

Anglers who fished the day sessions through the week found the sunny conditions hard and the best of the catches were being made late in to the evening and after dark with some nights seeing the water boil.

Wednesday and Thursday produced the best evening rises of the season so far. Friday and Saturday with the chilly north east/east wind put paid to there being a good evening rise. Sunday saw the wind swing round to the west/south west which produced a good evening rise.

Anglers fishing dries made the best of the catches through the week. Daddies, hoppers and sedges fished near the burn area and along the south shore provided good sport. Ginked up blobs fished on the surface had the fish up and chasing them and anglers were reporting many smash takes as the fish were coming up from nowhere. Even at times of no rising fish, anglers were pulling them up with the dries.

Evening fishing continues to improve, and Gary Kennan’s party on Saturday eve managed 19 rainbows, 6 browns and 1 blue.

The Macmillan Cancer Big Fish took place on Saturday, see news page for details.

 

WEEK ENDING 06/06/10

The top return made on bank holiday Monday was by Wayne Cram and Peter Johnson with five rainbows, one blue, one tiger and two browns.

Evening sessions continue to be a bit mixed, with one good evening followed by a couple of poor ones due to conditions. Friday evening saw sixty trout being caught.

The weekend brought two different days weather wise, with Saturday’s sun followed by Sunday’s heavy downpour. Anglers fishing the weekend found the fishing challenging.

Walton A/C (Friday Eve) 21 fish – 43lb.

Clelland Miners A/C (Sat) 14 fish – 31lb.

Bank of Scotland Glasgow District A/C (Sat) 23 fish – 54lb 8oz.

Edinburgh City Fly Fishers (Sun) 5 fish – 13lb 8oz.

Railway Inn 10 fish (Sun) 10 – 22lb.

Linlithgow Bridge Inn A/C (Sun) 8 fish – 19lb 4oz.

Daddies, hoppers, muddlers and blobs are all taking fish.

 

WEEK ENDING 30/05/10

At the start of the week some nice fish were being brought to the scales. On Monday Brian Ritchie fishing an evening session brought in a rainbow weighing 7lb 8oz, Mr Sneddon fishing the same eve session landed one at 6lb 4oz. Scott Middlemass also fishing the eve session landed one at 4lb 8oz. There was a double figure brown trout spotted on Monday eve. The following day Mr Anderson landed a 8lb 8oz rainbow.

Bill Tomlin managed two visits through the week and landed sixteen rainbows.

David Robertson bank fishing on Saturday landed six rainbows in forty minutes, with three over the four pound mark.

The most unusual catch since the current management took over in 2006 was made on Saturday. An angler from the Rolls Royce A/C bank fishing landed a fin perfect Brook Trout weighing 2lb 14oz.

Rolls Royce A/C bank & boat fishing Saturday managed 23 fish for 58lb, heaviest fish was a 5lb 2oz rainbow.

West Lothian Fly Dressers boat fishing Saturday managed 30 fish for 72lb 8oz, with a further eight rainbows returned. Heaviest fish was a rainbow at 5lb. Also in the catch was a 4lb blue.

Edinburgh Masonic A/C boat fishing Sunday managed 18 fish for 39lb 8oz, heaviest fish was a 2lb 10oz tiger trout.

South Queensferry A/C boat fishing on Sunday managed 10 fish for 23lb 8oz, heaviest was a 3lb rainbow.

 

WEEK ENDING 23/05/10

The hot/bright conditions we experienced for the majority of the week coupled with flat calms made the fishing difficult at times. Fish continued to feed on the surface for most of the week with Friday seeing the biggest daytime rise all season. The evenings are still a bit mixed at present.

David Robertson boat fishing on Monday managed five rainbows and seven browns, with three of the r’bows over the four pound mark. All were caught on buzzers and hoppers.

Jim Thomson & David Black brought in eight fish for 19lb, with another three returned on Friday evening.

The Grizzlecats boat fishing on Saturday managed 57 rainbows and some browns. They kept 29 fish weighing 72lb, heaviest 5lb and returned a further 28 rainbows.

Archie Melrose 5lb 4oz rainbow.

 

 WEEK ENDING 16/05/10

Conditions throughout the week were changing from day to day, with even a snow flurry on Tuesday. The early part of the week continued with the cold North wind, and fish were to be found at the burn end.

Fish were on the surface most days, but at times were difficult to tempt.

When the wind finally swung round to the West, anglers that were stripping orange blobs and yellow dancers in particular did well, with the south shore and the rocks at the peat bank the top areas.

The top return all week was made on Friday by Alfie Sanford & John Baird who kept eight rainbows and returned a further eight.

Seafield A/C boat fishing on Saturday weighed in 23 fish for 50lb 4oz.

 

WEEK ENDING 9/05/10

A cold north/north east wind made fishing unpleasant for the anglers that visited the fishery. Bank holiday Monday saw Rab Sneddon make the best catch with six rainbows and three browns. Most days saw plenty of fish on the surface, but at times were difficult to tempt. The weekend saw two different days weather wise, with Saturday seeing a cold wind and Sunday the complete opposite, sunny spells with flat calms. A variety of tactics worked throughout the week from lures to dries all taking fish.

Falkirk Municipal A/C boat fishing on Saturday weighed in 41 fish for 84lb 14oz, with a further six rainbows returned.

 

WEEK ENDING 2/05/10

Catches from Monday through to Friday were varied with the weather affecting some days. Wednesday was the worst conditions of the week, but a few rods braved the weather. Mr Mackay boat fishing in the strong wind managed six rainbows on diawl bachs, and Bill Tomlin bank fishing caught four rainbows. The following day (Thursday) saw the best midweek returns, Messrs Liddle and Porter landed sixteen rainbows, messrs Wood and Hunter landed eight rainbows and David Robertson & Son managed twelve rainbows and fourteen browns.

Loanhead Miners boat fishing on Saturday landed 31 fish weighing 71lb.

Butcher Boys A/C bank fishing on Saturday caught 55 fish weighing 119lb 12oz, with more returned.

Bill Tomlin bank fishing landed eight rainbows and four browns in two hours on Saturday morning from the rocks at the peat bank.

Inchinnan A/C boat fishing on Sunday managed 40 fish weighing 91lb.

David Robertson bank fishing on Sunday landed seven rainbows on diawl bachs.

Cormorants, diawl bachs and various lures continue to take fish, with the bank opposite the lodge the best area all week.

 

WEEK ENDING 25/04/10

The early part of the week saw good catches being made from the rocks at the peat bank with diawl bach’s working well. As the week went on some good buzzer hatches started to come off near the burn area, with Friday and Saturday seeing plenty of fish on the surface.

Anglers fishing on Saturday reported being plagued with brownies as they were hitting the flies before the rainbows got the chance. The biggest brown of the season was landed on Saturday with one over the eight pound mark being caught on a black hopper.

Tactics varied at the weekend with lures, buzzers and dries all working well. Wayne Cram up practising for the Airflo Classic managed to land a cracking 12lb 8oz wintered rainbow on a diawl bach. (photo on gallery).

The Airflo Classic bank competition was held on Saturday, go to the latest news for the full result.

 

WEEK ENDING 18/04/10

After a slow start to the week, things picked up around Wednesday and with the improving water clarity, fish started to be caught on smaller stuff, diawl bachs and crunchers in particular. More and more overwintered fish started to come on the feed and a good selection of rainbows, blues, tigers and browns were landed. Anglers that visited at the weekend made good catches from both bank and boat, although bank rods outfished the boats on the Sunday.

Bank rods found fish along the lodge shore and also the bank opposite the Lodge with floaters coupled with diawl bachs, cormorants and nymphs. Boat rods were catching all week from the peat bank using sink tips.

David Syme and Ian Pennycuik after a slow morning/early afternoon managed eight rainbows in a couple of hours using pink cormorants.

Jimmy Mcskimming and Jimmy Neil landed seven rainbows in a short four hour session.

Five season ticket holders who fished through the week caught and returned seventy four fish.

Mr Walker and Toye after struggling from the boat, fished of the bank for the last few hours of there ticket and managed a further eleven fish.

Wellington A/C 44 fish weighing 100lb 10oz with a further 77 rainbows and 1 good brown returned.

WEEK ENDING 11/04/10

The early part of the week brought difficult conditions due to the wind and snow melt. The sunny conditions from Thursday to Sunday certainly brought the water on and the catches reflected this. Friday saw overwintered rainbows to over seven pounds and browns to over five pounds being caught. The following day brought the best returns of the season so far with over one hundred fish being landed.

Top areas were the bank opposite the lodge and the peat bank with floating lines and cormorants, damsels.

Wayne Cram won the Troutmasters Fish Off on Saturday with 4 fish weighing 10lb 2oz.

Jim Mckenna and partner brought in a quick limit on Friday.

Tam Meechan & Mr Shepherd bank fishing on Saturday managed sixteen rainbows, mostly on lures.

Jim Meechan and nephew 4-9lb and 5 rainbows returned.

Bill Tomlin & Jim Bryan landed fourteen rainbows, mostly on cormorants.

David Robertson and son boat fishing landed sixteen rainbows up to 4lb and a dozen browns.

Willie Kelly and George Brown 7-15lb.

Ian Mcnicoll and son 6-14lb.

WEEK ENDING 04/04/10

Nothing much to report this week due to the blizzard that hit us on Tuesday. The fishery was closed from Tuesday until Sunday with eighteen inches of snow blocking the road. When we did manage to get anglers out on Sunday the fish were found tight in to the bank along the lodge shore with floating lines and cormorants working well. Top catch on Sunday was made by David Wales and partner who boated fourteen rainbows and four browns, mostly from the lodge shore. David Robertson out bank fishing for a few hours on Sunday managed three rainbows and one brown over the three pound mark. Prospects for bank fishing don’t look good for this coming week due to the snow melt resulting in the banks being flooded.

OPENING WEEKEND

Saturday 27th March saw Crosswood welcome anglers for the start of the 2010 season. Boats headed over to the peat bank and were soon in to fish. The top return was made by George Beattie and George Dale with fourteen rainbows from this area,mostly on cormorants. The wind picked up later in the afternoon and most boats came in early.

The lodge shore held a good head of fish and bank anglers took limit bags using floating lines and lures fished slow, with the fish sitting in 3-4ft of water.

Overwintered rainbows up to five pounds and browns up to six pounds were landed on the day. It was good to see some browns being caught this early with another two over the three pound mark being landed.

Bill Tomlin eight rainbows and two browns returned, David Robertson Snr eight rainbows and one brown returned, David Robertson Jnr six rainbows returned, Fraser Pennycuik four rainbows returned, Neil Mckenzie four rainbows returned, Rab Sneddon 4-9lb, Bob Burnett 4-8lb 12oz.

The following day saw low temperatures with few anglers heading out. Mr Smith landed a nice tiger trout in there catch of six fish in four hours, mostly on cormorants from the lodge shore.