Welcome all to the 2008 season at Rescobie Loch. Great news for everybody - prices have not increased this year so we're already off to a cracking start... We have complied a photo journal of last year which can be accessed HERE - or why not take a look at some of last years winners by following THIS link. - we think you will enjoy looking back as much as we did.. tight lines folks.. 14 07 08 Anglers have been experiencing mixed fortunes at Rescobie Loch over the past couple of weeks. While most were getting a fish here and there, limit bags and returned fish were not too common. Fortunately some had the weather to blame for their lack of fish; others just had to own up to their ineptitude. Not everyone found the going tough; some good baskets did come off. As Kipling once said, "If you can keep your fish when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you; if you can trust your flies when all men doubt you, yours is the last laugh, my son." Mark McCrum (Montrose) took June’s Gows Fish of the Month with his 11lb 4oz rainbow, his nearest challenger being D. Watson (Brechin) with 10lb 4oz. On the leader board at the moment is A. Wood (Forfar) with a 10lb rainbow. Some other nice rainbows to come off were, R. Cox (Dundee) 6lb 8oz, G. Burnett (Dundee) 6lbs, A. Taylor (Guthrie) 6lb 4oz, C. Williamson (Forfar) 5lb 12oz, R. Smith (Arbroath) 7lb 8oz, W. Taylor (Brechin) 6lbs. D. Muir (Montrose) had a brown of 5lb 4oz and B. Bone (Arbroath) a blue of 8lb 8oz. Small flies on a floating line have been proving very effective just under the surface. The Condor End and The Kirk have been fishing well for the boats and the Greenbank for the bank anglers. Some recent catches are, from the bank, G. Gall (Arbroath) 4 for 8lb 10oz, R. Beedie (Brechin) 3 for 12lb 8oz with 2 returned, W. Taylor (Brechin) 4 for 11lb 4oz, G. Smith (Arbroath) 4 for 10lbs, J. Moncur (I’gowrie) 4 for 11lbs and P. Laing (Arbroath) 4 blues for 8lb 8oz. From the boats, Messrs Mudie, 2 rods (Kirkcaldy) 4 browns for 10lb 8oz and 4 rainbows for 9lbs, J. Myles (Arbroath) 4 for 11lb 4oz, I. Strachan (L’kirk) 4 for 9lb 8oz, L. Dickson (Montrose) 4 for 10lb 8oz, A. Brewster (Forfar) 4 for 9lb 14oz and N. Smith (Carnoustie) 4 for 11lbs. Finally, J. Edwards (Dundee) had a brown of 3lb 9oz, a blue of 2lb 8oz, a rainbow of 2lb 8oz and a pike of 3 lbs. Unfortunately he did not catch a perch to set what would have been a loch record. 23 06 08 Passers by at Rescobie Loch of late might have been forgiven for thinking that some kind of high speed motor sport was taking place in the vicinity. But no, it was only the sound of screaming reels as anglers were being stripped down to the backing ! Sport has definitely picked up again in the past week or so with some bumper catches coming off. B. Sutherland (K’caldy) had a rainbow of 8lbs in his 4 for 16lb 12oz, Messrs Milne and Moncur had 3 at 6lbs in their 8 for 30lbs, R. Gray (Montrose) had one at 7lb 4oz which was briefly on the leader board for June’s Gows Fish of the Month . C. Munro (Forfar) had one at 5lb 4oz, E. Scott (Kirrie) 6lbs, J. Armstrong (Arbroath) 6lb 5oz, A. Innes (Forfar) 5lb 8oz and D. Nicoll (Arbroath) 7lb 4oz. On the leader board at the moment in M. McCrum (Montrose) with an 1lb 4oz rainbow. There does not appear to be any definite hot spots with the fish well spread out all over the loch and at varying depths as anglers are equally successful on top of the water as they are plumbing depths. The same goes for flies, if you have confidence in it and persevere it will probably do the trick. Some recent bank catches are, W. Massie (Forfar) 4 for 10lbs, D. Watson (Brechin) 4 for 12lbs, A. Lumsden (Forfar) 4 for 12lb 4oz, G. Cheetham (Monifieth) 4 for 12lb 8oz, W. Smith (Birkhill) 4 for 10lb 12oz, R. Smith (Arbroath) 4 for 9lb 8oz and W. Mudie (Birkhill) 4 for 11lb 8oz. From the boats, J. Fletcher (Perth) 4 for 12lbs, J. Massie (Kirrie) 4 for 12lbs, C. Duncan (L’kirk) 4 for 13lbs 4oz, S. Forgan (B.Ferry) 4 for 10lb 4oz, G. Smith (Arbroath) 4 for 10lbs, R. Hampton (Forfar) 4 for 12lb 4oz, B. Garthley (Dundee) 4 for 11lb 12oz and S. Mudie (K’caldy) 4 for 10lbs. 09 06 08 It didn’t come as much of a surprise that Roy Smith’s 15lb 8oz rainbow held out to take Gows Fish of the Month for May at Rescobie Loch. Quite a few really good fish came off but no-one really came near to toppling him except J. McKenzie of Anstruther who, fortunately for Roy, is not a member. Anstruther A/C didn’t have a particularly good day but in their 19 fish for 63lb 10oz was one at 14lb 12oz. Some other good fish to come off were A. Fyall’s 6lb brown trout and rainbows of 5lb 8oz for I. Goodlett (Forfar), 7lb 4oz for C. Herald (Forfar) and 8lb 4oz for L. Dickson (Montrose). A. Taylor (Forfar) had browns of 7lb 12oz and 5lbs whilst R. Gray (Montrose) had a blue of 5lbs. The exceptional water clarity is holding up despite a scare last week when the dreaded algae made a brief return. There are two schools of thought with regard to the water quality. One is that the fish can see the flies from a greater distance thus giving one a better chance of catching them and the other is that it gives the fish a better chance of recognising the imitations for what they are. Whatever the truth of the matter is, loch is fishing well but one has to think small. Buzzers, Sedges, Damsels, Blood worms, Cove Nymphs and PTNs are all in the returns book but there is very little mention of lures. Some recent successes from the bank were, G. Cheetham (Monifieth) 4 for 13lb with 3 returned, R. Beedie (Brechin) 4 for 11lb 8oz with 2 returned, J. Moncur (I’gowrie) 4 for 9lb 4oz, G. Gall (Arbroath) 4 for 9lb 15oz with 6 returned B. Adams (Forfar) 4 for 9lb 4oz and D.M. Smith (Arbroath) 4 for 13lb 8oz with 4 returned. From the boats, D. Carr (Perth) 4 for 13lbs, A. Ewart (Kirrie) 4 for 9lb 14oz, K. Savage (Montrose) 4 for 10lbs with 2 returned, A. Fyall (Arbroath) 4 for 14lbs, W. Johnston (Blair) 4 for 12lbs, C. Thornton (Montrose) 4 for 9lb 8oz and R. Smith (Arbroath) 4 for 9lbs. 05 05 08 What a difference a week makes, as Gordon Brown has no doubt noticed. While his cannot get much worse, Rescobie’s couldn’t get much better. With a considerable rise in water temperature and excellent clarity the fish have been taking really well with limit bags the norm but, like politics, everything could change overnight. The boat anglers appear to be doing better than their bank counterparts as most of the fish seem to be lying in the middle of the loch. They are not far down however so Intermediate lines are favoured at present. Just about every fly you have heard of and some you haven’t are taking fish. Alan Paterson (Brechin) waited until the very last day of the month to knock Alan Taylor off the Gows Fish of the Month board, beating Alan’s 9lb 5oz brown trout with a rainbow of 11lb 9oz. Some other big fish to come off were G. Young (Carnoustie) 5lb 2oz, D. Robertson (Brechin) 6lb 1oz D. M. Smith (Arbroath) 6lbs, C. Piefer (Dundee) 7lbs, C. Duncan (L’kirk) 5lb 12oz, C. Thornton (Montrose) 5lb 8oz and J. McFarlane (Kirrie) had a brown of 7lb 12oz. On the leader board for May is Ian Baxter (Forfar) with a 7lb 2oz rainbow. Some other successful anglers were, from the bank, A. Munro (Forfar) 4 for 10lbs, J. Campbell (Brechin) 4 for 11lb 12oz, A. Innes (Forfar) 4 for 16lbs, G. Cheetham (Monifieth) 4 for 12lb 8oz with 7 returned, A. Lumsden (Forfar) 4 for 9lb 12oz, S. Thomson (Arbroath) 4 for 10lb 12oz with 2 returned and D. Smith (Arbroath) 4 for 11lbs. From the boats, B. Garthley (Dundee) 4 for 9lb 8oz, A. Wood (Forfar) 4 for 11lbs with 10 returned, A. Brewster (Forfar) 4 for 10lb 5oz with 2 returned, G. Burnett (Dundee) 4 for 8lbs, B. Cox (Dundee) 4 for 11lb 8oz with 10 returned, J. Coghill (Brechin) 4 for 10lb 5oz, M. Jarrett (Arbroath) 4 for 14lbs and G. Farquarson (Edzell) for 6lbs with 4 returned. 24 03 08 There cannot have been many Opening Days at Rescobie Loch to beat the one this season. The weather was near perfect and the fish were in a taking mood. All the boats were out and the banks were lined. No-one reported a blank - mind you, had anyone dared they would have had to run the gauntlet of derisive jeers from those who had bagged up early and spent the rest of the day consuming copious cups of coffee and swapping yarns in the boathouse. Black and green was the colour- the shape didn’t seem to matter much. Intermediate lines were favoured as opposed to the fast sinkers of previous Opening Days. There didn’t appear to be any obvious hot-spots, the fish were being taken from all over the loch. Things quietened down a bit after the weekend, not that the fish went off, but it was just that the Arctic conditions meant that few people were mad enough to venture out and those who did were too busy wiping the drips from their noses or picking their flies from off their boat partners to do any real fishing. The first of the bigger fish was taken by P. Laing (Arbroath) who had a 5 lb brown trout from off Drimmie. It was followed by another brownie of 4lb 12oz taken by G. Gall in his 4 for 13lb 12oz with 21 returned. D. Watson (Brechin) had a 7lb 12oz rainbow from the Greenbank, laying an early claim to the Greenbank Trophy but on the leader board for Gows Fish of the Month at the moment is A. Davidson (Forfar) who had an 8lb 12 oz rainbow from off the Boathouse Pier. Some successful bank anglers were, R. Smith (Guthrie) 4 for 12lb 3oz with 6 returned, J. Thomson (Montrose) 4 for 14lbs, B. Watson (Inverbervie) 4 for 11lbs, R. Bullions (Blairgowrie) 4 for 9lbs, G. Smith (Arbroath) 4 for 10lbs with 4 returned, G. Cheetham (Monifieth) 4 for 11lbs with 8 returned and B. Adams (Forfar) 4 for 9lb 6oz. From the boats B. Garthley (Dundee) 4 for 8lb 12oz, K. Shepherd (Forfar) 4 for 7lb 4oz, C. Walls (Monifieth) 4 for 9lb 8oz with 10 returned, I. Goodlet (Forfar) 4 for 9lb 12oz, J. Balneaves (Forfar) 4 for 10lbs, A. Paterson (Brechin) 4 for 9lb 8oz, J. Giacchetto (Dundee) 4 for 10lb 8oz, D. Young (Monifieth) 4 for 10lb 12oz, J. Moncur (Inverbervie) 4 for 10lb 2oz and G. Milne (Arbroath) 4 for 8lb 4oz. 21 04 08 Visitors to Rescobie Loch of late might be forgiven for thinking that the present hot-spots are Condor End, Drimmie and the Roadside Bank. While those areas are undoubtedly fishing well, the main reason for the majority of boats being there is mostly down to the weather. Those brave enough to venture out are congregating in some of the few areas of shelter there are from the persistent and snell north and northeast winds. Those who do manage to commandeer their own little oasis of relative peace are rewarded with good hatches of flylife and taking fish. Sinking lines with lures are doing well but so are floating lines and buzzers, the secret being to get them down to where the fish are. A. Wood’s 7lb 4oz contender for Gows Fish of the Month had a short innings. I. Goodlet (Forfar) beat it with an 8lb 12oz brown which he took from off Drimmie on a Diawl Bach. Non members L. Dickson (Montrose) and G. Strachan (Banchory) had a 7lb 8oz brown and an 11lb 4oz rainbow respectively. On the leader board at present is A. Taylor (Guthrie) with a 9lb 5oz brown trout. Other successful anglers were, from the bank, A. Innes (Forfar) 4 for 9lbs with 3 returned, N. Cargill (Snr) (Arbroath) 4 for 11lbs with 2 returned, J. McFarlane (Kirrie) 4 for 10lbs, B. Adams (Forfar) 4 for 12lb 6oz, J. Campbell (Brechin) 4 for 11lbs, W. Smith (Birkhill) 4 for 8lb 8oz and P. Hogan (Arbroath) 4 for 9lb 8oz. From the boats, R. Luckett (Carnoustie) 4 for 10lbs 8oz, B. Garthley (Dundee) 4 for 12lb 8oz, M. Jarrett (Arbroath) 4 for 10lbs, K. Stewart (Arbroath) 4 for 12lb 4oz, L. Coxon (B. Ferry) 4 for 8lb 4oz, R. Anderson (Alford) 4 for 10lbs, D. Watson (Arbroath) 4 for 11lb 8oz, C. Thornton (Montrose) 4 for 9lb 12oz and A. Fyall (Arbroath) 4 for 10lb 8oz. Words © Ron Fordyce Photographs © David Ashe  Click to enlarge |
