Dounreay Fly Fishing Association members returned to Loch Watten for another competition last Wednesday evening in the hope that fishing had improved since their previous event four days earlier.
As the 17 anglers launched their pre-allocated boats for the 6pm start, the light north-west wind was just enough to keep midges and caenis flies away – but it also kept fly life on the water down, and rising fish were scarce until nearer lines up at 10pm.
At the Brown Trout Hotel car park weigh-in, the scales were quickly attached to the open tailgate of a member’s 4×4 and the weights of the seven fish brought forward were soon recorded and results announced.
Only one angler – Toby Bracey – had more than a single fish for weighing and his total of 2 lb 4.25 oz was enough to secure the KML Trophy and 17 Boat League points. His fish were caught near the Lone Tree (now just a stump) and then further out in the loch using Hopper flies on a floating line.
Alex Donald is keeping the pressure on Toby at the top of the league and a 2lb 3.75 oz trout gave him the second place 15 points plus the bonus point for best fish of the evening. Alex had used a DI 5 Sweep line in Laid Bay with an Olive Half Hog fly to catch his nice fish but returned a number of undersized fish from the Bay and Willows areas.
On his first DFFA competition of the season, Gavin Addison took third place (13 points) for a 1 lb 9.5 oz trout. Fourth place (12 points) fell to Ian Cannop with one at 1 lb 5 oz and, on a rare boat event, Adam Koziol took fifth (11 points) for a 1 lb 2 oz fish.
Rounding off the six successful anglers, Jimmy Rhind netted 10 points for a 14-ouncer.
With only one event remaining in the Boat League, Toby Bracey is hanging on to a narrow lead with 82 points – only three ahead of Alex Donald. Ian Cannop has moved up to third on 45, with George Robertson next on 40.
James Simpson and Billy Thomson complete the top six with 30 and 28.
As members can only count points from six of the seven events in the league, both the leaders could have to drop points depending on their scores in the Parry Competition on Loch Watten on Saturday, August 21. Bracey’s lowest score so far is nine points and Donald’s is seven, so a single trout could decide the title for 2021.
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