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Orkney win 2011 Intercounty cup in heat wave
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Norman Irvine,Stewart Wood, Brian Watt, Ken Kennedy, Ian Hutcheon and Stuart Leslie |
Last weekend’s weather may have been what the barbecue enthusiasts of Orkney have been praying for, but it certainly made for very difficult conditions for the anglers in the annual Intercounty, held on Boardhouse loch on Saturday, and Harray loch on Sunday. It was the Orkney side who overcame these conditions, putting in a very creditable performance on both days to secure the cup, which Shetland had won on Tingwall in 2010.
Day one on Boardhouse, and conditions for the 10am start were anything but conducive, bright sunshine and a strengthening breeze, which was actually quite cold, from a northerly direction. All six boats chose to start in the south end of the loch, with drifts at the Knowe, Crook, Tufta and the Inkbottle shore, favourites. There were quite a few fish contacted early on, but as the sun rose higher, so did the wind, and sport definitely tailed off for some as the day went on. Orkney put in a strong team performance, with their six anglers catching 42 fish, weighing 25lb 5ozs for their day, Shetland managed 23 for 15lb 2ozs between them, finding it very difficult on the day. Best for Orkney were Ian Hutcheon with 13, Brian Watt had 12 and Ken Kennedy had 8. Stevie Leask was Shetland’s outstanding angler with 10. The whole event was fished on a part catch and release basis, with each angler keeping their first 6 fish and returning everything after that.
The sunshine obviously had put the fish down in the water and DI3’s and 5’s were the order of the day as far as line choice went. Orkney’s best fly was undoubtedly the Ace of Spades, with a sparsely dressed size 12 taking nearly all of Ian Hutcheon’s fish. In the true spirit of our sport and the Intercounty in particular, Ian actually gave the very fly from his cast, after he had caught 6 fish on it, to his Shetland counterpart at the other end of the boat, who at the time was fishless. Location was everything for the successful anglers, as they all concentrated their efforts on drifts out from the Knowe at the south end, while other boats searched the loch in vain for feeding fish. It was a confident Orkney side who left the weigh in with the prospect of Harray to come the next day.
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| Alan Smith, Johnny Laurenson, Billy Morrison, Steven Leask, Darren Laurenson and Josh Brush |
The second day and a change of venue to Harray loch. Although it was a cloudless, sunny day, there were very light winds and the hope was that there would be a Caenis hatch in the morning to bring the fish up. It was very disconcerting for all six boats, following the 10am start to find no fish up and rising in the calm , no flies hatching, it was obviously going to be another hard day at the office, with most anglers quickly reaching into their tackle bags for their sinking lines again. Lunch on the Ess Holms at 1pm was a welcome break for most anglers from what was very hard fishing with the heat and the constant glare from the sun almost intolerable at times. There was an improvement for some anglers after dinner, but basically, other anglers continued to struggle on for 1 or 2 fish more. It was another good day for the Orkney anglers who collectively caught 49 fish, while the Shetland boys were very disappointed with their 19, local knowledge and experience being the deciding factor on the day, and another solid team performance with each team member catching 6+ fish. For the second day in a row, and quite ironically for Shetland, Orkney’s top rod by a considerable way was Shetlander Brain Watt, who had put together a quite amazing effort of 14 fish for 12lb 15ozs. Brian was also the top individual over the two days, and was delighted to accept the Intercounty Cup on Orkney’s behalf at the presentation which was held in the Empire Chinese Restaurant, who put on a fantastic meal for all the competitors and ghillies.
Once again, sinking lines were the order of the day, with anything from a DI3 Sweep to a DI8 being employed along the way. The only exception was Ian Hutcheon who had his first 4 fish on a floater fishing various skerries on his way down the loch. Flies were obviously important and it was the Merkister Maid, Erlend’s Cat, Doobry Muddler, Northlink Cat and variants thereof which scored for Orkney. On a very tough day, one of the highlights was following lunch on the Ess Holm’s, when Shetland’s Stevie Leask offered to give Hamish Miller, who had forgotten his wellies, a piggy back out to the boat. After much staggering about, slipping, swearing and complaining about how Hamish was heavier than he looked, he made it out and unceremoniously dumped Hamish in the boat, much to the amusement of all there. All in all, it was a very enjoyable weekend for all concerned, hard days for the anglers and even harder for the ghillies with long periods in the doldrums to contend with. Orkney will look forward to defending the trophy in Shetland next season, but please, please, not Tingwall, anywhere but Tingwall.
KK