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Post by sinkingtip on Apr 15, 2008 21:31:09 GMT
Ladies and gentlemen of the '74 Forum. The lads backstage in the AB have a plethora of fabulous prizes starting to gather dust and as we are now firmly in aboot the 'spring' we have decided to hold another of our now legendary '74 Competitions - mainly in order to clean oot the loaby press ...... so to speak. We intend to have a list of prize options which the lucky winner can select from including various offers of fishing on some well know (and not so well known) waters, sporting prints etc etc - a full list of prizes to be published in due course. Lets face it - the next best thing to going fishing is looking at the fishing trips experienced by others .... OK maybe thats arguable but you know what I mean ;D What You Need To Do - Document a fishing day - a photo essay - the real deal - the full boona - a coherent statement ..... ken ? Everybody loves the various single picture posts that appear on a variety of topics and on a regular basis ... and long may this continue, but for braw prizes such as the ones we envisage being able to offer we simply want you to work a wee bit harder by putting together the 'complete package' to include - a) A photograph of a fish (any fish) caught by either yourself or a member of your party. b) A minimum of 6 photographs showing a reasonable snapshot of the beat and / or geographical area, local wildlife - or whatever you feel is appropriate. c) Supporting textual information such as pool names, location, water and overhead conditions, companions, successful patterns on the day, a "quote" from the ghillie, lunch details, .... if you wish - whatever !! ..... as long as it is both enlightening and entertaining. Like we say - "the complete package". Shouldn't be to difficult guys - were well into April now and we assume most of you will be going out on a more regular basis and with a greater expectation of fish. Good luck and we look forward to seeing your submissions over the coming weeks. Deadline - 31st May Note : members of the Advisory Board (Graham + Jock in particular) will not be eligible to enter .... which I am sure will come as a great relief ;D
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osprey
Active Member
Posts: 91
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Post by osprey on Apr 16, 2008 11:38:42 GMT
Sinktip,
I used to get less challenging assignments when I was a student ;D
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hornet
Active Member
Posts: 1,120
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Post by hornet on Apr 16, 2008 12:03:47 GMT
Jeezie peeps, nothing like a a gid bit of pressure getting placed on ye. A hope you get a few reports from this Frid / Sat. Diz baggy minnas fae the Dichty burn coont. A picture of some minnas besides the oldest iron bridge in Scotland. Heelin coos and spadgers in the background and the odd daffy here and there. Sounds like a plan
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Post by sinkingtip on Apr 16, 2008 12:12:18 GMT
Sinktip, I used to get less challenging assignments when I was a student ;D Behave ! ;D OK boyo 'm lad - lets see yer submission - lead by example whydontcha Its quality, creativity and a thinking outwith the bothy mentality we are hoping to nurture on this one - joined up stuff ..... ken fit I mean BTW - I believe the level of student expectation and achievement has progressed somewhat since your 'day release' days at Paisley Tech (mid 70's - the woodwork, gluing + nailing stuff together course if memory serves) and would not be comparable with the standards expected here - go directly to the bottom of the class old bean STip
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Post by sinkingtip on Apr 16, 2008 12:23:20 GMT
Jeezie peeps, nothing like a a gid bit of pressure getting placed on ye. A hope you get a few reports from this Frid / Sat. Diz baggy minnas fae the Dichty burn coont. A picture of some minnas besides the oldest iron bridge in Scotland. Heelin coos and spadgers in the background and the odd daffy here and there. Sounds like a plan Gled 't see somebodys got the picter ;D BTW fella's - in my vocabulary a "fish - any fish" refers to, and has always referred to, salmon and ONLY salmon eg brown trout, haddock, sardines and floonders are not "fish". Might consider a guid sea troot though
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conwyrod
Advisory Board
Autumn on the Conwy
Posts: 4,659
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Post by conwyrod on Apr 16, 2008 12:38:57 GMT
Jeezie peeps, nothing like a a gid bit of pressure getting placed on ye. A hope you get a few reports from this Frid / Sat. Diz baggy minnas fae the Dichty burn coont. A picture of some minnas besides the oldest iron bridge in Scotland. Heelin coos and spadgers in the background and the odd daffy here and there. Sounds like a plan Might consider a guid sea troot though Hey Tippy we should save the sea troot for the summer comp!
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osprey
Active Member
Posts: 91
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Post by osprey on Apr 16, 2008 14:25:14 GMT
Sinktip, I used to get less challenging assignments when I was a student ;D Behave ! ;D OK boyo 'm lad - lets see yer submission - lead by example whydontcha Its quality, creativity and a thinking outwith the bothy mentality we are hoping to nurture on this one - joined up stuff ..... ken fit I mean BTW - I believe the level of student expectation and achievement has progressed somewhat since your 'day release' days at Paisley Tech (mid 70's - the woodwork, gluing + nailing stuff together course if memory serves) and would not be comparable with the standards expected here - go directly to the bottom of the class old bean STip Strathclyde yooni if you don't mind my dear chep.
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Post by sinkingtip on Apr 16, 2008 14:36:57 GMT
I agree John - listen up people ..... sea troots, sewin, herling or finnock are now OFFICIALLY off the bill of fare - salmo salar only. Grilse however are perfectly acceptable.
Oprah - and heres me thinking it wiz Skye High and Oban University you went tae ;D regards as always STip
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Post by neptune on Apr 16, 2008 17:30:27 GMT
does that mean my story aboot the trip to the supermarket fish counter will no count, it was a great day oot
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Post by sinkingtip on Apr 16, 2008 18:05:44 GMT
does that mean my story aboot the trip to the supermarket fish counter will no count, it was a great day oot Yo Nep - as long as you have decent pics of your approach to the fish counter, the display, the surrounding aisle's and the eventual checking out process - nae borra !! ;D Mind the "computers for schools" vouchers though ! STip
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djb
Active Member
Posts: 359
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Post by djb on Apr 16, 2008 22:33:11 GMT
OK, I'll start the ball rolling with a slight revamp of my Dunkeld Hoosy/first ever Tay springer story... Adventures in the hut not quite up to my end of season on the Tay October capers with double figures bottles of malt consumed and only 2 wee fishes by one of my fishing party caught incidentally at the Hoosy beat!! A typical picter of me in the PA in Dunkeld after a days fishing on October... Oot with Erchie back in October.... Day - Easter Monday 2008 - party of 8 with a missing Paul Young (had to attend a family funeral). I missed all the morning action as had to drive to Troon to meet my daughter and new grandson. I think the party made it out of the hut eventually by about 10:30 - given the empty bottles in the hut it looked liked - Perrier Jouet 6, Chatoonoof du Pape 4, Marks and Spencers Chicken Pies 10, salmo salar 0. I arrived at the hut at around 1:30 after stopping off at the wee blue hut at Newtyle to show off the wee man to Jock, colin and the boys who were tucking into some real butchers sausages courtesy of Allan Rennie who caught a cracking 22lber later that PM...looked like everyone was settling in for a drinking session whereas having not been oot much for a few weeks I was itching to get out on the water. Likewise head ghillie Ian Kirk was also keen to get out as he had a "feeling in his waters". Munching on one of the above mentioned M&S Chicken pies and downing a quick cuppa courtesy of Erchie aka Seth - who is a carcking ghillie and great laugh out on the boat. I quickly got into the waders and luckily as the other half had been fishing in the morning (but was now taking over on baby sitting duties and had not partook of the above swally), both my flee rod and cutlery chucker were already assembled. So Captain Kirk and myself went out in one of the boats, along with a non fishing member of the party, my good friend Colins wife who had overdone it on the bevvy front the night before and needed the fresh air.... We were soon speeding up towards the Dunkeld part of the beat where we set aboot hammering every mm of water in search of Mr Salmo, leaving beat owner Simon Furness to look after the rabble in the hut and Erchie to look after one of the other party members (someone I had not met before) who decided to have a bit of throw from the bank. Weather was cold and sunny when we headed out but we were soon hit by a few brief snow storms.. here's Telfords bridge through the snow... Snow clearing... change in temp and fish on - took a gold Willie Gunn Waddington...you can just see the bend in the rod. Above is the start of what was a 10 min fight with my first ever Tay Springer.....the fish ran hard back towards the bridge and took all the line and a good bit of the backing before I was able to start playing her back in. Ian took the boat over to the side so we could play. I have the fight all on video taken by a friend who was also on the boat - I need to figure out how to cut it up into smaller chunks - there are some excellent bits when the fish starts running...and some cracking sounds from the reel when the fish took off... Fish in the net - a lovely 10lb hen fish We managed to miminise the handling completely hence the lack of great photos - fish was only briefly handled to take the hook out.. News quickly reached the hut as Eerchie had been looking at the action through the old spyglasses..so by the time we got on the blower..the host had run up the beat complete with a giant Orvis hipflask (about 2 gallons) and some whusky for us...quick blast on the boat over to the other bank.... Quick snifter and then out for some more hemmering of the water but alas no joy... Another snow storm and you can just make out another party of 2 rods with a 4th ghillie (never met him before) out on the spare boat in the distance... A pensive looking Kirky....trying to think of a wind up for the boys back in the hut... Changes in the weather during the afternoon were unbelievable!! All in all a cracking day which was a) meeting my new grandson for the first time, b) first ever Tay Spinger, c) first trip oot to the hoosy this year......next mission - one from the bank in the Lady pool and one of the big uns that seem to be floating around Newtyle!! ;D
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Post by sinkingtip on Apr 16, 2008 23:23:45 GMT
Excellent work David - thanks for taking the time and setting a benchmark. Might just hand over the prize now ! Yours aye STip
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conwyrod
Advisory Board
Autumn on the Conwy
Posts: 4,659
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Post by conwyrod on Apr 17, 2008 20:00:30 GMT
Excellent start to the comp, you've set a high standard there david, but there's plenty of time to go and some big fuishes to be caught before the fat lady sings. ;D
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hf
Active Member
Posts: 1,807
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Post by hf on May 17, 2008 21:18:02 GMT
(STip... didn't think I would have a story for this little comp as I didn't expect a fish in time. Well here is the result. Most photo's were taken on or around May time, although not all.) Mishap and Merriment Loch Brora is a loch which can be divided into three parts: top loch, middle loch and bottom loch. For the purposes of this story all the events are from the topmost part of the Loch although some photos will highlight the other two parts as well. This story begins a couple of months ago when Andy (aka Exerod) indicated that he would be up in the North of Scotland at the end of April. He expressed an interest in fishing Loch Brora and so the date was set for 1st May. All that was needed by way of preparation was for the boat to be booked and the outboard to be borrowed. The outboard was a 4hp Evinrude, a lovely motor which starts with the slightest of pulls. May 1st came and all was in order: boat, outboard, rod, line, bag of fishing gear, money..... MONEY, nearly forgot the stuff and so off I went to get my wallet. After a 4 minute search I came to the conclusion that I couldn't find it and then remembered that the last pocket it inhabited was now in the washing machine. Doom! No worries though, all that would be needed would be for the switch to be turned off and then hopefully for me to fish it out. A couple of tries later and reliably on a size 2 ally's shrimp I managed to pull out a soggy wallet from the drum pool. Thankfully, unlike ordinary permit paper, pound sterling doesn't turn into papermache. Time to get on the road and off to Brora. Now, we were due to meet up at the loch the back of Noon so that afforded me a little bit of extra time to get everything ship shape and of course a sneaky little bit of fishing before Andy arrived. I must admit that I didn't get in as much fishing in as I would have liked as there were still a couple of other hurdles which I would have to overcome. One manageable, but the other... how would I explain it to Andy? What then were the conditions like ? My recollection is that it was a fairly breezy day with the wind coming from the east. A chill was in the air and a couple of fishermen from Thurso had come in early from their fishing muttering something about the cold. (now that is saying something when Caithness men are put off by the wind). There was a nice wave on the loch but thankfully nothing as big as the white horses that sometimes send a wee boat scurrying back to the safety of the shore. Well, the shore was where I was at the moment but up to my waist in water trying to untangle the mooring rope which was snarled up. Just as well I had brought the chest waders... lucky. Once that was sorted out and thankfully there were no leaks in the waders, the outboard was put in its place and everything was set to go. There was still a short time for that sneaky fish. I mean to say, it was only to check out which way the wind was blowing and what drifts we would be able to use. It started out well with the Evenrude behaving itself as usual and setting me on a Southerly course towards the first drift down and away from where the boats were moored Putt... putt... putt... splutter... splutter.... silence. Hmm? This doesn't happen to this outboard. So I checked to make sure that I followed all the instructions that I had been given... make sure there was petrol, turn petrol switch on, choke, revs... start and put in first gear. I managed to get it going again but to my horror it died a death once more. Two thoughts quickly flashed through my mind. Get the oars going quickly before I end up 3/4's of a mile down wind of where I was and a gale to row back into. Secondly and even more seriously, 'what will I say to Andy when he arrives to fish and finds out that the trusty Evenrude is no longer trustworthy.' Severe embarrassment for myself! It's one thing to spoil your own day's fishing but another to allow it to happen to someone else who has travelled so many miles to do so, Doom! I did manage to get back to shore using a bit of elbow grease and finally Andy arrived. Now providence is a strange thing and on this day I was both saddened and relieved at the same time. Disappointed that Andy wasn't feeling well, possibly the consequences of a prevailing Scottish flu, and so wasn't fit enough to man the main sail and cast a line. Utter relief though that it wasn't going to be the trusty engine that would be the ruin of the man's fishing and I was able to breathe a little easier. There was still time however for a good old natter (and an invitation from Andy for me to fish the Halladale one day that week) and then finally time to pack up. Andy left for the warmth of the car's heater and I to put the boat back onto its moorings. Now the little bay where the boats were moored was slightly sheltered from the onslaught of the wind which troubled the rest of the loch and a fleeting thought crossed my head. 'Ten minutes, twenty minutes, a couple of quick drifts... yeh, possible, why not.' Now it would take a fair bit of rowing even in the relative shelter of the bay but it was still early afternoon and what the heck, what else was there to do. It surely couldn't hurt my fitness regime and so I set out to sail the loch once again. To cut a long story short (er) I wandered further and further away towards the other side of the loch determining that I would still have enough strength to make a run for home if the wind picked up any more when, suddenly, the line went solid. Wanting to be sure that there was a fish on I tightened into it a little and felt that wonderful head shake... I think? Maybe the bottom? I tightened into it again and yes there it was the head shake... it is isn't it? ... doom, must be bottom again. I still don't know? I was now into a nice drift, under the shadow of the Carol Rock, on a bit of water I hadn't fished before. (the sickle) This was now on the far side of the loch from where I had started out. The line was going out pretty good and drift speed seemed reasonable also. Cast, hand line, drift... cast, hand line, drift , for another 20 odd minutes when again out of the blue (black actually) there it was. No mistaking it this time. A definite head shake and a fish had taken a cascade size 8 double, a fly which had already taken a kelt from the loch on the first day of the season. The loch had woken up. It's one thing for a fish to take a fly but another altogether, for me, to land it without losing it and valiantly I told myself not to panic, keep the rod up, let it run if it wants to, don't let it go under the boat if you can help it! Splash on the surface tells me it is a good sized salmon. But how do you land a salmon in a boat with a leader as long as the 13 foot Daiwa rod and.... er... no net? Doom, I'd left it at home. Don't panic! I didn't and after about 5 to 10 minutes and a few missed heartbeats a 7lb salmon was landed. All that was required now was the long row back to the other side. Everything was tidied away and and it was time now for a visit to the Evinrude home, not only to share the story of an enjoyable day on the loch but also to mention a little something about an outboard that didn't work. It was to be yet one more case of, 'Dooms' as I was informed that I had missed the part of the instructions that had said, 'open air vent on petrol cap to allow fuel to flow.' Aaghhhh! I was kindly offered a dram as medicine but couldn't even take it as I was on an empty stomach and driving. Well, alls well that ends well. The wife, dear soul that she is, was very good to me when I got home and without me knowing had made a quick visit to the local coop and purchased a fine bottle of Aberlour – a first. Irish coffee for her and a mighty big dram for myself and somewhere, in my thoughts, hopefully Andy - out in the wilds - managing a toddy for himself too. Feet up for the night and 'no doom's about it this time.'
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hornet
Active Member
Posts: 1,120
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Post by hornet on May 17, 2008 21:58:04 GMT
What a bonnie looking Loch Hellanman. The way you told the story was excellent and the wallet in the WMC had me laughing ;D. To finish with a bonnie fish i take it made the day. Pity to read that your mate was a bit under the weather, i'm sure a few of drams would have put him on the mend . Cheers Hornet
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Post by sinkingtip on May 18, 2008 22:27:33 GMT
Unless we get a late flurry, twa nichts guided see troot fishing wi accommodation (my settee) is deffo on the cards for you heilanman, boyo-'m lad ..... excellent work ... a 'thinking man's' post. Deep respect. STip BTW - nice layout
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Post by Roobarb on May 19, 2008 18:03:11 GMT
A footnote to Highlandfishers story, a worthy winner if no one nips in and steals it. First off I must say a thankyou to Highlandfisher for arranging the day on the Loch, it was a great shame I had to duck out at the last minute (next year!). Not only was I suffering a nasty case of the sniffles but I also had what I subsequently found out was a sprained shoulder (the result of a bit of impromptu pot holing while trout fishing on Benbecula the week before) which meant I couldn't have lent a hand with the rowing if I had gone out. I limped back to Strath Halladale and a lemsip and it was with somewhat mixed feelings that I received the news that the bailiff, who I had told to fish my beat in my absence, had extracted a 12lb sea licer. I'd been in the right place at the wrong time twice in one day Andy
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stuart
Active Member
Posts: 113
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Post by stuart on May 20, 2008 17:05:55 GMT
Ok here I go Went down to Tilbouries today for a bit of casting practice as I wasn’t very hopeful of catching anything. The Dee had been fishing well but most of the fish were being caught above Banchory with few fish coming from the lower beats. The river was at 3’ 1” (11” on the Park gauge) crystal clear and 50°F. I arrived at 09:00 and the bright sunshine and an upstream wind didn’t add to my confidence, in fact I left my landing net in the car. After tackling up and having a walk down the lower beat with Willie I started fishing the Tilbouries streams with an intermediate line, a 5’ polyleader and a Park shrinp (thanks MacD) as there was still a fair flow and I wanted to get my fly down a bit with the bright conditions. 15 minutes after starting, cast, mend line, zzzzzzzzzzzzz, fish on. After a good tussle in the fast water and no landing net I managed to land a sparkling 11lbs (80cm) fish dripping with sea lice, fresh off the tide. I took a couple of pictures of the fish then sent it on it’s way again. 2 casts later just as my pulse rate was returning to normal, I felt a tug on the end of my line followed by what looked like a dolphin porpoising down the pool at a rate of knots followed by my backing. Realising that it was a big fish I made my way to the bank and started following it downstream as it attempted to return to the sea. By the time I got to the bank it must have taken 150m of line and was still taking more. I had to jog down the bank keeping my rod high so the line wouldn’t catch on the bushes as I slowly regained some of the line. I eventually landed the fish some 500m down river in a slack piece of water in Alfreds pot. I’ve never put so much pressure on a fish before and it even partially straightened my heavy gauge hook. I unhooked the fish which was about 17lbs and again dripping with sea lice, this was my personal best to date. Because I didn’t have my net and had to land it on a sandy patch while keeping it in the water, before I got the chance to take a picture the fish kicked and away it went back into the depths to fight another day. Tilbouries streams looking down to Alfreds pot. I caught both fish here but landed the second on down bu the trees beyond the field on the right:eek: Alfreds pot, fish landed just above point. I fished down the Tilbouries streams again and through Alfreds pot but didn’t see or touch another fish. I guess I just hit a pod of fish as they were running up river and was lucky enough to connect with a couple of them. First fish I went up to the hut for lunch and we sat and watched an osprey and a red kite on the other side of the river while we ate lunch. After lunch I had a quick fish down through the island stream before packing up for the day very happy with my days fishing. Island stream
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Tyne Andrew
Active Member
April Spring Salmon 2010 - Lower Pitchroy, River Spey
Posts: 1,104
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Post by Tyne Andrew on May 20, 2008 17:22:09 GMT
Sounds like a great day Stuart - well done! And good to hear of fish still coming into the Dee
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lamson
Active Member
Posts: 429
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Post by lamson on May 20, 2008 18:49:24 GMT
Congrats Stuart, nice fish, nice report.
Steve
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