Weigh-in success for Chalmers
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SMILING faces were more numerous during the weigh-in after round four of Dounreay Fly Fishing Association’s championship last Saturday.
Following the previous weekend’s poor conditions things had improved for the second All Lochs competition – this time a full day’s fishing on one of four local lochs.
Boats were available on lochs Calder, St John’s, Stemster and Watten.
During the afternoon, on Watten at least, a good hatch of olives appeared and for those in the right place at the right time this got the trout feeding near the surface and showing interest in some anglers’ flies through to lines up at 4pm.
Competition organisers Ken MacLeod and George Robertson used their new weighing equipment to determine that Tony Chalmers was the winner of the president’s quaich with a fine basket of nine Watten fish weighing 8.55 lbs. His 20 championship points came courtesy of a wake saver line with golden olive bumble and small olive pattern flies working well. Second place (17 points) was secured by John Briskham who had a bag of four nice Stemster trout weighing 4.90 lbs. He had used a ghost tip line with a Hugo Ross bushy grenadier fly doing the business for his best result in recent years.
Bill Robertson returned from Watten with five fish for 4.49 lbs to claim third place (15 pts). Jan Hughes shared the winners’ boat and summed up his day as "should have done better" after losing a few fish, but he still managed fourth place (14 pts) with five for 4.45 lbs.
George Robertson was very close behind in fifth (13 pts) with another Watten catch of six for 4.43 lbs while Denis MacIntosh took sixth after fishing Stemster for five trout weighing 3.98 lbs.
The two points for the best fish of the day went to Alex Donald who had a cracking St John’s trout weighing 2.62 lbs but his boat partner, David Alexander, wasn’t far behind with one at 1.98 lbs.
At the midpoint of the championship Toby Bracey has had his lead slashed to three points. He is on 55 with Chalmers moving up to 52. Peter Creasey and Donald are tied on 42 with Robertson fifth on 41 and then Rob Hawken on 39.
The club’s next event is the Loch Watten all night competition next Friday.
