SANACC

2010 Autumn International
16th September 2010 - Llynn Trawsfynydd

Scottish Team sponsored by The Lake of Menteith Fisheries (www.menteith-fisheries.co.uk)
BVG Airflow and Flyfish Europe

Back Row: John Ball(IFFA President) Campbell Morgan Keith Logan Rab Maxwell Steven Nicoll Sandy McConnachie Andy McKay Peter Auchterlonie Ronnie Gilbert John Ross(Manager) Ian Campbell(IFFA Secretary)
Front Row: Andy Dunn Alan Porteous Mark Stephen Jock Kettles Nigel Burns Brian Kennedy

The Scottish Team travelled to Wales to contest the Home Countries Autumn International at Llynn Trawsfynydd and although they had finished a fairly distant third on the last visit there the team were confident of doing well on this occasion. With three National Champions and two Brown Bowl winners in the team along with three new caps and an experienced squad they were hopeful of continuing the team's fine run of success which had seen Gold Medals at Lough Conn in the Spring and at the Lake of Menteith the previous Autumn

The competition was fished over the 10am to 6pm session on Thursday 16th September 2010 on a partial catch and release basis. All brown trout were returned with an allowance of 1lb given for each one caught. The competitors were to retain four rainbow trout and thereafter the rainbows would be returned with an allowance of 1.5lbs. Retained rainbows were capped at 4lbs.

On the Monday the teams went out for practice in a strong and gusting westerly wind which made fishing in some parts of Trawsfynydd difficult. Just for good measure there was torrential rain throughout most of the day and by the end of the day almost everyone was soaked to the skin. The wind picked up overnight and on the Tuesday fishing was cancelled. On Wednesday the wind had dropped slightly and although stronger than on the Monday the competitors were able to go out for their final practice day. As expected the water level had risen between 9 and 12 inches and much of the water was coloured. During the practice days the main concentrations of fish were found in Walkers Bay through to Islyn Bay; from Cae Adda through Tyn Twll and at the Totem Pole. The Scottish Team were hopeful that the information they had gleaned from two days on the water would be enough but with the wind forecast to switch to the north on competition day they were concerned that local knowledge would be of greater importance given the limited practice that had been put in.

At the 2008 International at Traws, Steven Nicoll got the Scottish Team off to a flying start when he took a fish in the first ten minutes near to the boat jetty in Club Bay and the supporters on the bank watched in anticipation as Andy McKay started off in the same area this year but history was not to repeat itself. As the day wore on it looked to be close and any fish dropped or any fish taken in the last few minutes could easily mean the difference between a country taking Gold or Silver.

Andy McKay returned to Club Bay late in the day and in the last twenty minutes he took two fish one of which was right in front of the Scottish bus.

Andy McKay boats a fish
in the last 20 minutes

As the boats returned to the jetty the team managers did a quick debrief with their competitors and all countries knew it was a very close finish with Scotland and England each having 60 fish, Wales having 57 fish and Ireland 38.

At the weigh-in England were first up and their 60 fish went to scales at 82lb 11oz. Ireland followed with their 38 fish going in at 52lb 4oz. They were followed by Scotland and Wales and such was the tension that not a smile could be seen on the competitor's faces as they waited for the official result.

England had returned 17 rainbows and 2 browns while Scotland had returned 7 rainbows and 2 browns and Wales 12 rainbows and 1 brown. As the weigh-in progressed it appeared that most of the rainbows that went to the scales were around 1lb 6oz and with 1lb 8oz being allowed for each one returned it looked like these extra few ounces could swing it for England. Wales were last to weigh-in and their individual fish appeared to be slightly heavier than those landed by the other countries. As their team members came up one by one it looked possible that the weight of their 57 fish could overhaul the weights of England and Scotland.

Scottish Team waiting for the result to be announced

Finally the result was announced that Scotland with a weight of 83lb had won the Gold medal by 5 ounces from England. Wales were third at 80lb 7oz and Ireland were fourth at 52lb 4oz.

The individual's competition for the Brown Bowl Trophy was also close with the top three only separated by three fish. The individual winner was Paul Shaw of England who had a superb day to catch 10 fish for 14lb 8oz, all of them rainbows. In second was Marco Orsi of Wales who had 9 rainbows for 13lb 7oz and third was Paddy Mounter of England with 8 rainbows for 11lb 8oz. England had four rods in the top six places with Nick Dunn taking 7 rainbows for 4th place and Chris Micallef in 6th place with 6 rainbows and a brown. The 5th spot was filled by Aled Dixon of Wales who had 6 rainbows.

The top rod for Ireland was Seamus Kelly who had 5 fish for 7lb and finished in 15th place.

Paul Shaw receiving the Brown Bowl
from IFFA President John Ball

Scottish new cap, Rab Maxwell, had the honour of fishing with the Brown Bowl winner and did extremely well to boat 4 rainbows and finish in 23rd place overall. At one point Rab was being beat 7 to 1 and just tried to keep his head down and to forget how well his boat partner was doing. As his boat partner, Paul Shaw, was doing well on a glass line, Rab changed up to a fast glass from a DI3 and took 2 rainbows on a fast pulled tequilla blob. He later changed to a booby and took his fourth fish with his first cast. Unforunately the booby then had to come off.

Rab has enjoyed the experience of fishing for Scotland and right from the outset he got himself involved in fundraising. He was impressed by the way the team had been working together in the months leading up to the International and his only fear was that the strong winds would lead to the cancellation of the event.

photo: Rab Maxwell

Pheonix Silver Salver


Top rod for Scotland and winner of the Phoenix Silver Salver was Alan Porteous. Alan had 6 rainbows for 8lb 13oz which put him in 7th equal place overall. Alan had hoped to start in the hot water channel but for his first drift he was taken to the area between the power station and the bushes. There was nothing doing there so they moved to Bailey Bridge where he took a fish. They then moved over to the Tyn Twll area where Alan took one on a sparkler. From there they went back over to Walkers Bay and worked their way along to the farm. Alan started off with a DI5 sweep line but later changed to a fast glass and back to the DI5.

Alan knew the result was a close call but thought that they had lost out to England as he knew that like Scotland they had 60 fish. England had returned more fish which he thought would have swung it for them.

Alan's 7th place earned him a carryforward to one of the 2011 teams and was delighted to be told by Team Manager, John Ross, that he and his brother Kevin, who qualified for the 2011 teams from the National Championship, will be in the same team and that they will both be going to Orkney.

Alan Porteous being presented with the Phoenix Silver Salver

photo: Brian Kennedy

This was Brian Kennedy's first cap and it has long been his ambition to fish for Scotland. Having qualified in August 2009, Trawsfynydd was a long time coming. He enjoyed the practice sessions and was impressed with just how helpful everyone in the team was. On competition day he started off drifting between the power station and the bushes and very quickly drew a fish but unfortunately he ran out of room and it didn't take. It would have been a dream start. From there he moved over to the hot channel and finished up with 4 rainbows for 5lb 6oz pulling cormorants on a DI3. His 4 fish gave him a tie for 26th place with Team Captain Nigel Burns and Irishman Ger Linehan.

Photo: Keith Logan

This was also Keith Logan's first cap and from the outset he was surprised by the level of commitment that was required. He found that there was a very professional approach to the organisation and that everything went like a well oiled machine. On competition day he had difficulty getting fish to stick and dropped fish at the net. He finished with one fish but when it is a close as this one was every fish was vital.

Heaviest Fish

The heaviest fish of the day was a rainbow of 2lb 12oz taken by Scotland's Peter Auchterlonie and on a day when the Gold was decided by a few ounces a fish of this size was greatly appreciated.

Peter had a good day and caught 4 rainbows for 6lb 9oz which put him in 18th place overall. His 18th place earned him a carryforward to the 2011 teams. Peter is the Scottish National Champion having just finished top rod in the the Scottish National Trout Fly Fishing Championship at the end of August.

Photo: Peter Auchterlonie being presented with
the trophy for the heaviest fish

Presentation of Prizes

At the Dinner and Presentation of Prizes following the competition the Scottish Team Captain Nigel Burns was presented with the Captains Badge and the winners trophy by the IFFA President John Ball.

Nigel thanked the IFFA and the local Welsh Committee for the efficient running of the event and also thanked the boatmen, the fishery staff and everyone else who had been involved in the event.

He praised the Scottish Team for their commitment and for all the hard work they had put in to win the International and on a personal note thanked them for the support they had given him.

Scottish Team Manager John Ross
receives his Gold Medal from
Team Captain Nigel Burns

On a day when the highest individual Scottish rod was placed 7th equal the overall strength of the Scottish Team was seen at its best. Although the Scottish rods did not feature at the top there were 12 of 14 team members in the top 32 and every team member caught fish.

The Scottish Spring and Autumm Teams have been raising funds through raffles and fishing days throughout the year to help with the cost of the Internationals. They wish to thank the Lake of Menteith Fishery Board for providing sponsorship and also wish to thank the Glasgow Angling Centre, BVG Airflow and Flyfish Europe for their support. The teams also extend their thanks to every organisation and individual who donated raffle prizes and took part in the fundraising events.

Individual Positions of the Scottish Team