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Posts relating to angling trips, competitions, etc…

Fishing, General info, Stronsay

AFYD angling trip to the Mainland (13th & 14th June 2013)

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The S2, S3 and S5 group at the Kirbister Loch.

June 13th and 14th saw plenty of angling action along the shores of the lochs of Kirbister and Harray. This was part of the Stronsay School’s annual AFYD fishing trip to the Orkney Mainland which involved S5 pupils who had recently transferred to Kirkwall Grammar School and the S2 and S3 pupils who joined the seniors on the Friday.

The weather which had been very pleasant for the last few days had decided to take a turn for the worse and by Thursday morning, a stiff cold north-westerly breeze was sweeping across the county. Even though the original plan was to head for the Harray Loch and spend the day there, the weather conditions were not ideal and fishing the Kirbister Loch first was a tempting option which could help hook a few trout before moving to Harray in the afternoon. A quick vote took place on the minibus and trying Kirbister first gathered an overwhelming majority of 1 vote to nil (3 abstentions…)! This, however, doesn’t mean our anglers didn’t care, they were just too happy to fish either loch!

Decision time for Keith…

By 9:45, the flies hit the water and no long after, the first trout were caught. dark flies such as Bibios and Black Zulus seemed to be the favourites on the day. Jim Erskine, who had kindly accepted to help us for the two days and myself could not help but noticing how much more mature and confident our anglers had become; they were covering a lot more water by taking a couple of steps between each cast, they could deal with most tangles themselves, change their own flies, etc…

After a few trout had been safely landed and that everyone had grabbed a sandwich, it was time to head for the “big water”… The Bochan Skerries, situated within walking distance of the Ring O’Brodgar car-park seemed like a good idea, considering that by then, the wind had backed to a force 4 westerly. Keith and Craig managed to hook a trout each in what was very tricky conditions indeed.

Day 2 didn’t exactly run according to plan… As the minibus was on its way to pick up the junior Stronsay anglers off the pier, we received a phone call from Mr. King informing us that the ferry would be late: the Varagen was involved in the rescue operation of the Lady K off the Calf of Eday… However, the kind weather made up for the delay and by 11:00, our four senior anglers were giving the Kirbister brownies a hard time around the wee island and the younget team were casting their baits in the loch’s peaty waters. It wasn’t long before Thomas reeled in a typical Kirbister trout but it’s not so much for this angling feat that Thomas made himself noticed as for wearing the latest fashion article: a pair of home-made safety glasses using a coat-hanger and bits of clear plastic! James, Jack and Matthew gave fly-fishing a good try but the finicky fish were out of range and very difficult to lure. Daniel and Ieuan preferred to stick to bait fishing. Thanks to Jim, some of the older pupils were shown an old trout fishing method called “dapping” which consist in using a floss line and letting a big bushy fly skip across the waves: Kevin managed to master the technique and landed a nice brownie.


Thomas with his trout and... his home-made safety glasses!

Everybody enjoyed the trip which wouldn’t have happened without the support of Mr. Erskine who spent both days coaching our young anglers, Mr. King who accompanied the junior on the Friday, Linda who is always so helpful when it comes to bookings and paperwork and the KGS management who agreed to release Cameron, Craig, Keith and Kevin for the two days. Finally, I want to thank all our pupils whose politeness, respect for each other and sense of humour make every school trip so enjoyable.

Mr. P

Daniel waiting for a bite.
Kevin trying his hand at dapping.
More competition on the loch with a red-throated diver...
Fishing, General info, Kirkwall Grammar School, Stronsay

OTFA/AFYD Junior Competition – 31st May 2013 – Full report

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With a very late spring and strong winds battering the islands the previous week, there was no doubt that the Kirbister Loch would struggle living up to its reputation as a “beginner’s water”… From the information that could be gathered, Harray had been very cloudy lately, the competition on Hundland had been won by fishing “on the stones” where the water was just clear enough for the fish to see the flies and the near gale force winds had not spared Kirbister either.

On the Wednesday and Thursday, the Kirkwall Grammar School pupils were out on their annual angling trip, part of their end of term activities and they tackled the east shore of the loch. The going was tough and the Kirbister brownies were shunning flies and bait alike resulting in baskets which were certainly not what you would expect from this lovely little fishery at this time of year.. The shore which was chosen on the day of the competition was the west shore even though the wind direction was yet again uncertain, just like last year, and what was supposed to be a WNW ended up more like N…

At 10:30, after the 13 pupils from KGS and the Stronsay School gathered by the shore and were instructed about the rules and safety, the young fishermen started spreading along the bank; the fish were active and a few opportunistic fly-fishers made the most of it, like Craig Stout who landed two fish in the first ten minutes! However, this bonanza was to be short lived and soon after, the trout disappeared, not to be seen again for the rest of the day! It was interesting to see our young anglers using an array of different techniques: bait with bubble-floats, flies using spinning tackle and torpedo floats, flies on fly tackle, etc…

At 2:15, the whistle was blown and it was time to put away the rods and head for the weigh-in where Stuart Topp, the OTFA secretary, had set the scales. The competitors were split into 4 categories depending on age and fishing technique: Marcus Scholes was the winner of the Junior Bait section for the second time and his basket included a beautiful 1lb2 sea-trout. Logan Harcus won the Junior Fly section, Gareth Holmes won the Senior Bait section and Craig Stout was the Senior Fly section winner for the second year, with yet again a basket of 7 fish!

Congratulations to the young fishermen who had to show perseverance to land a few of those moody brownies! Thank you to all the helpers, volunteers and leaders: Mr. Erskine, Dr. Hall, Mrs. Heggarty, Jim Pettit and Stuart Topp. We also want to thank our sponsors for the prizes: WS Sinclair’s, Stockan’s and William Shearer’s.

Another angling trip is planned next week for 13th & 14th June on Harray and Kirbister with a group of anglers from the Stronsay School (including some S5s who recently transferred to KGS).

Mr.P

Fishing, Sanday

Beginners’ Coaching Session for Sanday Pupils (19/06/12)

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Fishless ... but happy!

While they were on their rich task trip to the Orkney Mainland, the Sanday pupils and staff took the chance of casting a fly on the Loch of Kirbister which has seen a lot of action lately!

Most had never handled a fly rod before and one has always to bear in mind that spinning and fly-fishing are two very different angling techniques: in spinning, the weight of the bait or lure helps you cast and pulls the light nylon line out of the reel while in fly-fishing, it’s the weight of the big diameter fly-line which is used to gain distance.

The wind forecast was supposed to be light easterly winds but turned out to be due north… This meant having to change location after a quick picnic and a visit of the hatchery building; there, the pupils were able to see where the trout eggs they hatched at school over the winter came from.

Unfortunately, after fishing hard and persevering, no Kirbister trout was fooled by the youngsters’ flies… The Kirbister Loch is “usually” a reliable venue but when it comes to fishing, there is no such thing as guarantee…

It was good though, to see how the new anglers had progressed through the day: by mid-afternoon, at the north end, Bob and Molly had pretty much mastered the art of roll-casting and would have been able to reach the fish, had they been active. Further down the shore, with Mr. Erskine, Rosa, Lewis and Chloe were learning how to spin with a torpedo float and a fly, a technique which is usually very successful on that loch, but apart from Chloe who hooked a fish and lost it, the afternoon was to remain fishless… It was nice to see the Sanday staff joining in, and Mrs. Newton and Mrs. Thomson showed their usual  perseverance and enthusiasm even though the trout had decided not to play ball…

However, later in the day, when the Sanday contingent settled at the Stromness hostel, there was trout for tea as Mr. Erskine had brought with him some fish that “he’d caught earlier”! The delicious meal was even more enjoyed as everybody had realised by then how hard it can be to harvest a couple of wild trout!

Mr. P

Fishing, Kirkwall Grammar School, Stronsay

OTFA/AFYD Junior Competition (1st June 2012)

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It all started as a headache for the organisers… The wind forecast was very uncertain and Orkney Harbours, the BBC and Magicseaweed wouldn’t agree on a definite wind direction for Friday 1st June… NNW, NW or N? Decision had to be delayed until the very morning when the east shore was the chosen option.

The KGS and Stronsay anglers met at the hatchery and, very promptly, the rods were put together and the 18 young competitors were ready for the 10:00 start. The section of bank which was to see the action for the next four hours stretched from the Hatchery to the north end of the Loch and the anglers were split into four different sections: Junior Fly, Junior Bait (including spinning with flies), Senior Fly and Senior Bait. Very soon, it became obvious that the baskets would be a lot heavier than last year’s, as rumours of fish being caught started spreading along the bank… The bait boys were doing well but the Kirbister trout were also taking well presented flies in the slightly broken water. It was good to see 8 members of staff from KGS and Stronsay having made the trip to support their pupils in weather conditions which were not as inviting as in the previous days. Two o’clock came and the last anglers arrived at the Hatchery for the weigh-in where Norman Irvine had set his scales, helped by Ken Kennedy and Stuart Topp from the OTFA. Some very good baskets reached the scales and it was good to see that the fish were well spread into the different sections. Eventually the results were announced with Marcus Scholes winning the Junior Bait section with a basket of 8 fish for 3 ¼ (the heaviest basket on the day), Fergus McIvor in the Junior Fly section, Cameron Singh-Johnstone in the Senior Bait section and Craig Stout in the Senior Fly section.

We want to say a special thank you to Mr. Erskine who helped the Stronsay pupils hone their skills on Kirbister and Harray during the whole two previous days, to the OTFA members who helped with the organisation of the competition and attended the event and to local businesses W. Shearer’s, WS Sinclair’s and Wisebuy’s for their generosity in providing great prizes and vouchers. For more details on the results, click on the table below:

Results of the 2012 OTFA / AFYD Junior Competition.

Mr. P.

Fishing, General info, Stronsay

Stronsay School Trout Fishing Trip (30th/31st May)

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The Stronsay boys in action on the Kirbister Loch
When the ferry from Stronsay landed at the Kirkwall Pier, on this beautiful spring morning, hopes were high amongst the Stronsay School angling team… After boarding the minibus, the strategy was exposed: the light northerly winds and bright skies would almost guarantee a blank on Harray and it was decided at the last minute to switch to the old faithfull Kirbister Loch whose trout can always be that wee bit more obliging than anywhere else…
The party headed for the north end of the Kirbister Loch and in no time, fly lines were shooting through the rings and rods started to bend! From the shore, it was difficult to tell that only a year ago, 4 out of these 5 anglers had never handled a fly-rod before! Their casting technique, their fly retrieve, right down to their watercraft skills meant that they wouldn’t have been out of place amongst well seasoned fly-fishermen. You may wonder about the 5th angler though… When Cameron joined the trip, he had hardly fished before but managed to learn the skills of spinning with fly and bubble-float very quickly and had a trick up his sleeve for the next day… Wednesday 30th ended with a respectable total, considering the weather conditions, of 16 Kirbister trout including a beauty caught by Keith at just over a pound. Then, the minibus headed north for the Birsay Youth Hostel and later on, once the last strand of pasta had dissapeared from the huge pot of spaghetti bolognese, it was time to get a good night’s sleep and start dreaming about the big Harray trout, as the Harray Loch was to be the destination for the next morning.
Respect for the quarry takes a new dimension with Keith..
Following Mr. Erskine’s expert advice, the chosen location was Kirkness in the north end of Harray, an area offering safe shallow wading conditions and plenty of fish. By the time, the anglers were in action, fish were showing in a few inches of water, but unfortunately they would simply ignore the flies presented to them. Keith and Craig were covering fish after fish very well but their size 14 Dunkelds didn’t receive the attention they deserved… I could barely stand the suspense, borrowed Keith’s rod and tried my best to cover the rising fish… with no more success! It was time for a change of tactics and I tied on a size 12 black & blue buzzer and two casts later, after a few small tweaks on the line, the first Harray trout of the morning was hooked! The traditional flies (Invictas, Dunkelds, Muddlers) were swopped for buzzers and Keith and Craig managed to hook a fish – no mean feat – as we’re talking about very “educated” trout here who see flies retrieved by the best fishermen in Europe on a daily basis! Also a special mention to Andy Rose who accompanied the yougsters all the way from Stronsay, who caught his first Harray trout as well!
That’s when Cameron pulled out his secret weapon, a ” Peach Muddler”, retrieved slowly behind a clear torpedo-shaped float… There was a sudden tension on the line and the light spinning rod double-bent but Cameron kept his cool and managed to lead his fish over the net like a pro. The beautiful trout tipped the scales just short 1lb 1/2, the best fish of the trip!
Craig, well chuffed, posing with his Harray trout, with the Hoy hills in the background.
Around midday, the wind picked up from the north-east and the trout seemed to move into deeper water, out of casting distance, so decision was made to move back to the Kirbister Loch and enjoy a bit more practice for the next day OTFA/AFYD Junior Competition.
Sport on Kirbister was slightly slower than on the previous day and the trout seemed to take the flies a bit short, hence a lot of fish missed on the strike. Kevin and Daniel still managed to catch fish though, and this was a good confidence boost for the next day!
The whole group would like to thank Mr. Erskine for spending those two memorable days in our company, Andy Rose who was a very precious help and The Orkney Trout Fishing Association and the Merkister Hotel for their financial help towards our trip; without their generosity, this trip would almost certainly not have happened. And last but not least, I would like to thank the youngsters who were a model of good behaviour all through the trip and made it a success.
There is a full report of the OTFA / AFYD Junior Competition (1st June) which you can access by clicking on the following link:   http://www.orkneytroutfishing.co.uk/
The one that fell to a Peach Muddler
Fishing, General info, Sanday

Fly-tying on Sanday with Primary 4,5,6 & 7

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Primary pupils in action at the Sanday School and their flies on display.

 

Over the last two days, the primary 4, 5, 6 & 7 learnt the basics of fly-tying, while working on the Arctic Explorers. As you can see on the pictures, the results of their first attemps at tying flies are pretty spectacular! Most of the flies were tied on #1 hooks which are much too big for “troot” (especially the ones we currently have in the shed! ;-)), but were a bit easier to work with. However, the P7 pupils even managed to try their hand at tying a proper trout fly, the Black Pennel, on a size 10 hook and there is no doubt that some of these flies would be trout catchers!

Well done to all the pupils involved in these activities and who have shown great skills in listening to instructions and in concentration and generally a very positive attitude.

Feel free to leave your comments!

Mr. P

Fishing, Stronsay

Junior Angling Competition on Kirbister Loch (3/06/11)

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This is the article published in “The Orcadian” .

On Friday the 3rd of June, a small group of very enthusiastic young anglers gathered on the shores of the Kirbister Loch for the first Orkney AFYD,(Angling for Youth Development), Competition, sponsored by the OTFA. AFYD is a relatively new initiative whose aim is to encourage more young people in to angling. They have been teaching fly dressing at the schools and some of the youngsters were actually fishing with flies they had tied themselves The group included 8 anglers from Kirkwall Grammar School, and four anglers who had travelled in from Stronsay School. This was a bank fishing only competition with only wellie boots allowed. This factor and the flat calm conditions at the start provided very testing conditions, but nothing could discourage these lads as they fished along the west shores of the loch.
The young anglers were encouraged and advised by their AFYD mentors, Neil Ewing, Antoine Pietre, Simon Hall, Jim Erskine and photographer for the day, Stuart Topp. Conditions did not improve as the day went on with the bright sunshine definitely putting the fish off. There were fish caught though and at the weigh in, Official Weigher Norman Irvine had to put numerous fish on the scales. The results were as follows, Winner of the Senior Fly Section and the Scorrabrae Cup was Jason Cook with a very commendable 3 fish. Winner of the Junior Fly Section was Craig Stout also with a great effort, landing 3 trout. Junior bait section winner was Steven Newlands who managed 1 fish. There was a fantastic selection of prizes and all competitors received something to remember their day. Many thanks to the businesses and individuals who donated prizes and their time to what was a brilliant and rewarding day for all concerned, especially, W Shearer’s, Kirkwall, WS Sinclair’s, Stromness, Glasgow Angling Centre and Gilbert Archer.
The hope is to expand the net as it were in the future and include more of Orkney’s Schools and youngsters into a past time which they can enjoy for years to come, come on dads out there, take them fishing!
KK

Fishing, General info, Stronsay

AFYD – OTFA Junior Angling Competition (03/06/11)

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It was on a gorgeous sunny morning that 14 pupils (4 from Stronsay JH and 10 from Kirkwall Grammar) jumped on the bus and headed for the Kirbister Loch.  Kirbister wa chosen as the venue for the competition as it usually offers anglers plenty of chances to hook trout. However, with bright sunshine and lack of wind, the conditions could be very tricky…

At 10:00, flies and baits hit the water and fish were very active on the surface, feeding mostly on midges and slightly out of casting range. The young anglers persevered and after a couple of hours, it became clear that baskets would be very light and that one fish could make all the difference at the weigh-in…

When the whistle blew at 2:00 to signal the end of the competition, the weight of the baskets didn’t do  justice to the anglers’ skills displayed during the day. However, technique and perseverance paid off for Craig Stout who won the Junior Fly section (3 fish), Jason Cook, winner of the Senior Fly section (3 fish) and Steven Newlands in the Junior Bait section (1 fish). Also a special mention to Keith Holland whose casting and retrieving technique has improved so much, who managed to bag a fish in the last half-hour of the competition which granted him 2nd place in the Junior Fly section. Daniel Carter was a lot more successful the day before, during practice and the same can be said for Kevin Kent who managed to catch a trout on the Harray Loch on his first cast!

Congratulations to all and a very big thank you to the OTFA volunteers who came to help the youngsters and to Norman Irvine and Ken Kennedy who organised the weigh-in.

Fishing, General info, Stronsay

AFYD-Stronsay J.H. fishing trip.

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On 2nd June, the AFYD pupils from Stronsay J.H descended on the Mainland lochs… It seemed to be quite a long time when they suggested in class, back in September that they would fancy a fishing trip and grilling their catch by the shore!

After the ferry crossing from Stronsay, we drove to the Harray Loch  first where the pupils had the chance to see what a 29lbs trout looks like (the one on the wall of the Orkney Trout Fishing Association hut… Then, a few casts on Harray and Kevin was already playing a beautiful Harray trout! On his first cast! No mean achievement!

The AFYD pupils from Stronsay on the Kirbister Loch (June 2011)

 Then it was time to eat our catch and Kevin’s trout tasted lovely on the barbecue!

The wind was still very strong and moving to  Kirbister Loch sounded like a good idea as it offers free rising fish and “usually” the guaranty of a good basket. However, the trout didn’t want to play ball and it was a struggle to hook a few fish.

What I couldn’t help noticing though, was how our pupils’ skills had improved over a few hours fishing! Here they were, casting a perfectly straight line, retrieving at the right pace and controling the line, rod tip down as if they had done it for years! They had become very comfortable with a fly-rod and their casting looked easy and fluid like any sport action properly executed!

Well done boys!

(More to come on the AFYD/OTFA Junior Competition)