Tough night on Loch Watten for Dounreay Fly Fishing Association anglers
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A cold, windblown group of Dounreay Fly Fishing Association anglers gathered at the Brown Trout Hotel early last Saturday morning for some welcome hot drinks and bacon rolls. They had just spent the night fishing their annual all-night competition on a chilly and windy Loch Watten.
As they prepared their boats for the 10pm start, a westerly wind meant the Laid side was reasonably sheltered but drifting too far out meant a soaking on the way back due to the waves that were building up. By lines up at 7am, only six of the 13 members had something to weigh in, an indication of how tough the night had been.
James Simpson was the second to the scales and his bag of five trout for 6 lb 11 oz turned out to be the best of the night, giving him the Hugo Ross Trophy and 13 Boat League points – his best fish at 2 lb 3 oz earning him the bonus point.
James had caught fish on drifts in Kiddies' Corner, at the Skerries and three between the Red Shed and Sandy Point. His tackle was a Fast Glass line with Bibio, Traffic Light Dabbler, Peach Muddler and Claret Sedge Hog flies.
Toby Bracey had partnered Simpson and he took second place (11 points) with four trout for 4 lb 12 oz that were also caught on a Fast Glass line, a White Hog fly accounting for fish in Kiddies' Corner and on Red Shed to Sandy Point drifts.
Aivis Kreslins produced his best DFFA result so far, with nine points for third place, the reward for three fish (for 3 lb 1 oz) from Laid Bay. His success came from an Intermediate line with a Loch Ordie variant, Brown Sedge Hog and Laser flies attached.
Fourth place (eight points) fell to Alex Donald with two fish for 2 lb 2 oz and fifth (seven points) to Ian Cannop for a single at 1 lb 10.5 oz, while another single at 1 lb 2 oz gave Kevin Imlach six points for sixth place.
The Boat League now has a new leader with Toby Bracey on 41 points. James Simpson moves up to second on 35, with Billy Thomson third on 33. They are followed by Alex Donald (29), Bill Robertson (25) and Aivis Kreslins (20).
DFFA’s next event is the Loch Calder boat competition on Saturday, July 2.
Toby Bracey’s second place in the DFFA event, rounded off a good week for him after representing Scotland in the Spring International in Ireland. He returned with the H Emyr Lewis Trophy for best fish and a team silver medal for second place behind Ireland, the gold medal winners.
