SANACC

119th Scottish National Trout Fly Fishing Championship
2011
Sponsored by the Glasgow Angling Centre

Semi Finals

Semi Final No 1 - Lintrathen 21st June

The semi finals got under way on 21st June at Lintrathen and the 33 competitors caught 114 trout for 197lb 8oz. There were two superb rainbows of 5lb 8oz and 3lb 2oz taken, both of which were capped at 3lb. It rained constantly throughout the session and the chill wind made it seem more like March than June. At the off 16 boats made for the quieter water at the sawmill end but Campbell Wilson of Cowdenbeath & District AC and his boat partner David Tyrie of Norhet AC opted to fish the downwind shore at the rhododendrons. They had this area to themselves for most of the day and the decision proved to be the right one as Campbell had 8 fish for 13lb 7oz which was the best bag of the day.

Jim Mackie of Moncrieffe AC was second with 6 fish for 11lb 1oz and Ian Birch of Moncrieffe AC and Sandy Boag of Balbeggie AC tied for third spot with 6 fish for 10lb 12oz. The top 10 competitors go through to the final.

Campbell took his fish on a tequila blob, viva and straggle cat on a slime line. All of them were close in at the rohododenron shore. Jim Mackie took his trout on snatchers and a coral blob on a sink tip line. They were all taken at various locations at the sawmill end.

Ian Birch's fish fell to a white cat booby and cormorants on a midge tip line while Sandy Boag's fish were on diawl bachs on a sink tip line. Both anglers were at the sawmill end all day.

Congratulations to all ten who qualified for the final.

photo: Jim Mackie, Sandy Boag, Campbell Wilson and Ian Birch

Semi Final No 2 - Carron 22nd June

The semi finals moved to Carron on 22nd June and thankfully the rain and chill winds we had the day before faded overnight. Conditions were near perfect with a light breeze and overcast sky. However nobody told the trout that the conditions were perfect for them and although there were fish moving for most of the day many of the competitors struggled. 37 competitors took part and with 30% qualifying for the final the top 11 went through. Top rod was William Taylor of Laurencekirk and District AA who had 12 trout for 20lb 9oz. In second was Peter Batchelor of Mayfield Inn who had 12 trout for 17lb 8oz and in third was Craig McKean of East Kilbride AC who had 9 trout for 15lb 5oz. A total of 137 trout, which with allowances for cartch and release, weighed 202lb 3.5oz.

William and Craig were in the same boat and made their way to Burnhouse Bay where they remained for the day. William took his fish on a Kate McLaren, bumbles and a cat fished on a midge tip line. Craig took his on snatchers and small shimmies and was also on a midge tip line. Peter fished dries throughout the day and took his first four trout in the pier area before moving over to Burnhouse Bay where he took the remainder.

The semi finals now move to Leven on Friday.

Semi Final No 3 - Loch Leven 24th June

The semi finals moved to Loch Leven on Friday 24th June and the 15 competitors had ideal conditions for the competition. With 30% qualifying for the final the top 5 went through. Allan Smith of Stormontfield was first with 11 trout for 18lb 6oz and Ewan Clark of Strathtyrum AC was second with 11 trout for 14lb. Neill Barrett was third with 9 trout for 12lb 2oz. The fourth and fifth places were filled by Graeme Connelly and Jimmy Young of Kahts Whiskers AC who had 5 fish each. 57 fish for 74lb 13oz were caught.

The top three rods all took their fish on buzzers fished on floating lines. Allan and Ewan were both using black and olive buzzers and took all their fish at the North end. Neill was fishing black and red buzzers and took his fish at the North end and at the East Buoy.

photo: Allan Smith Jimmy Young Ewan Clark
Graeme Connelly and Neill Barrett

Semi Final No. 4 - Carron 27th June

The semi finals returned to Carron on 27th June for the fourth semi. Conditions were excellent for the 26 competitors with a light breeze and an overcast sky and to crown the day much of the south side of the water was visited by Hawthorn flies. With 30% to qualify the top 8 rods go through to the final.

The best basket was taken by Wullie Leach of Falkirk Municipal who had 13 fish for 18lb 14.5 oz. In second place was Bob Robertson of Balfron Piscatorials who had 11 fish for 17lb 0.5oz and in third was Colin MacDonald of Dunoon & District AC who had 10 fish for 14lb 11oz.

Wullie and Colin were in the same boat and took their trout in Thirty Minute Bay, Carron Bay and the stretch between Bin Bay and Burnhouse Bay. Wullie was fishing dry hoppers while Colin was using a variety of dry flies. Bob was also fishing dries and took his trout on black hoppers in Thirty Minute Bay.

Steven Welsh of Dalbeattie AA had a magnificent trout of 9lb but as it was capped at 4lb for competition purposes it was not enough to get him through to the final.

The semi finals move to Menteith tomorrow.

photo: Bob Robertson, Wullie Leach and Colin MacDonald

Semi Final No. 5 - Menteith 28th June

The semi finals moved to the Lake of Menteith on Tuesday for the last two sessions. The conditions for the fifth semi final were good and for a change it was warm. It was a bright day but with a fair amount of cloud cover. Fifty seven competitors took part with the top 17 qualifying for the final. 308 fish for 653 lbs 4.2oz were caught and a weight of 14lb 13.8oz was required to qualify for the final.

Top rod was Ray Anderson of Leslie & Glenrothes AC who had 11 fish for 22lb 14oz. George Brown of Sunburst AC was second with 10 fish for 21lb 14oz and Campbell Morgan of Strathleven FF was third with 10 fish for 21lb 11oz.

Ray took most of his fish on yellow owl shuttlecocks drifting over the deeper water between the plantation and the islands. George took his fish on black dries and yellow owls in the same area. Campbell took his fish on black and olive snatchers fished on a midge tip line drifting east from Dog Island.

The last of the semi finals will be at the Lake of Menteith on Thursday 30th June.

photo: Campbell Morgan, George Brown and Ray Anderson

Semi Final No.6 - Menteith 30th June

The last of the semi finals was contested at the Lake of Menteith on 30th June and with 28 taking part the top 8 qualified for the final. It was a bright day mixed with cloud cover and the trout were more active when the cloud came across. A total of 161 fish were caught, which allowing for catch and release, had a weight of 344lb 12oz. The quantity and quality of the trout were superb and 17lb 13.4oz of these 'turbo charged troot' was required to go on to the final.

The best basket was taken by Jock Kettles of SANACC who had 13 fish for 26lb 11.4oz. In second place was Paul Garner of Alba Orvis FF who had 10 fish for 21lb 11.2oz. Ronnie Glass of Kelso AA was third with 9 fish for 20lb 2.6oz.

Jock and Ronnie were in the same boat and they took their fish on diawl bachs, nymphs, snatchers and boobies on slow glass and midge tip lines. They took their fish at the road shore and at the Plantation. Paul took most of his fish on dries with some on boobies and nymphs at the Plantation and the Rookery.

photo: Ronnie Glass, Jock kettles and Paul Garner

Boat Draw