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BACK TO BACK WINS FOR IAN HUTCHEON
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Back to back wins for Hutch |
It has been almost two months since the last competition on Harray, and it had been fishing extremely well in the interim, so it was with great expectation that the 34 anglers assembled for the early 7am start, now customary for the Tommy Thomson Trophy. Conditions were looking good, but as the morning progressed, the wind increased, the clouds burnt off, and it turned out to be a very hard session, with every fish landed having to be worked hard for.
Surprisingly, not all boats headed for the North end of the loch, with a good few motoring down to Tormiston for the start. Other favoured areas appeared to be Bankhead, Kirkness, Nistaben and Biggings. Most anglers reported contacting fish immediately, but it was the anglers who kept it going through to 1pm who topped the competition list. The increased 11” size limit is certainly reducing the fish kill, with most anglers returning many trout in the 10 to 11” range.
Winning basket of the day was taken by the in form Ian Hutcheon, making it two in a row, and lifting the Tommy Thomson Trophy with 14 fish for 9lb 8ozs. Most of Ian’s fish were taken around Bankhead and Kirkness areas. Other anglers who mastered the conditions included Brian Watt with 13 for 9lb 1oz, Erlend Hutchison with 12 for 7lb 12ozs and Sandy McConnachie with 11 for 7lb 11ozs. Two anglers, Stewart Wood and Jimmy Grant each had the heaviest fish, at 1lb 4ozs.
Tactics were pretty much the same for all the successful anglers, basically fast sinking lines and mini lures. White Cat, Merkister Maid, Black Cat and variants thereof were the talk of the weigh in.
Many anglers reported that they had numerous fish during the day following the flies up to the boat, only for them to turn away and retreat to the depths without taking a fly. I suspect that the reason for this is simply that they are too well fed at the moment, as the stomach contents of any of the fish spooned will tell you, they are chock a block with Caenis nymphs, buzzers etc, which is why there is no real intent in taking, just following.
With the competition season past the half way stage, it is very close at the top, with just a few points separating the leading anglers. The next event in the programme is the Merkister Cup on Monday the 12th of July, a warm, cloudy, soft evening would be good.
KK
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