1990 Reflections

“Goldenloch”

November-18^th– 2019, Week 45

Well its now mid November, soon to be December, time for some 1990 reflections, this has been a pretty shitty year, caused mostly by my own ego, It started great, and that was in afterthought, part of the problem, February and March were amazing, when I look back at the catches book and income, into April was fantastic, causing me to put in two extra stockings of fish, due to the demand being so good, what happened next was the first hot spell, it was coupled with a very fast water temperature rise from 11 degrees to 16, in just a few weeks, this in early May was unprecedented, then we had a couple of really busy weekends, that prompted me stupidly to stock again, an extra load of fish, now somewhere in all of this we had an explosion of sticklebacks, I have my own theory on their arrival, but it was the shear quantity, mostly due in fact to there ability to breed, the effect on the fishing was that they consumed all the hatching flies, in a near total quantities, therefore no rising fish, trapping and electrocution was a way to wipe out the sticklebacks and had I been fitter ( as then I had a dislocated arm and broken shoulder) I would have been on top of the problem, but honestly the real killer this past year was the heat wave from June till September, we still are having the after effects, a good few fish became covered in a white mucus mostly from the injuries sustained by Ospreys, and some through bad handling but it was definitely more the heat, the water temperature was above 20 degrees for several weeks and with pumps running virtually all the time we managed to keep the oxygen level at 10% >12% which is normal, so you would imagine not much more could go wrong, but it wasn’t long before the Argulus (fish lice) which we have known for years that was in the loch, became a real problem, now I personally think that there is a connection between the Argulus and the Sticklebacks’, our near neighbour and the reason that Scotland has Argulus is “Lindores Loch” a once great fishery had Argulus introduced into it in the 1970s and 80s a massive head of fish in that loch including sticklebacks and the affect was devastating, we introduced at that time strict hygiene policies, own nets, equipment dips, but it was inevitable that the parasite would get to us on birds, otters and mink, but in spite of these obstacles’ this year the fishing is still amazing, I try hard to make the fish as natural as possible, in that they are in the water for a good few weeks before being caught, this makes them fly sensitive, good anglers can do really well, poorer anglers have to learn and adapt to become better, and that happens, it still however seems that fishing for pellet stockies 2 maybe 3 days after stocking makes some guys think they are great anglers, mostly these fish are caught on bungs or blobs which is what we give kids to fish with, This week has seen some pretty good fishing though Jim Anderson 5 all returned, as did Sandy Band, Les Mitchell beaten by the cold had 1, A Morgan 7 all returned, Rod Thaw 5 returned, Brian Dewar had 22 all returned and B Davies had 11, many others with 2 and singles, but it was a cold week plus ice some days and wind on others, the water is crystal clear as it has been for a long time, with no weeds, a high oxygen level all is good.

Fly Fishing is a Pastime, it is not only relaxing, but also rewarding, come to the “Goldenloch” enjoy your Hobby to the max, no stress, only tranquil surroundings abundant wildlife, great fish, Brown, Blues and Rainbows, you will not be disappointed. Phone 01337840355 or 07968006367 ask for John or look up Postcode KY14 6HZ