Category Archives: Stronsay
Posts relating to the Stronsay School in particular.
“Troot in the Shed” in the Orcadian
Following the release of the alevins hatched at the Sanday school, Stronsay School and Kirkwall Grammar, the Orcadian (19th April issue) dedicated half a page to the “Troot in the Shed” project.
(Click on the picture to zoom in)
Alevins released on Stronsay!
The first “Troot in the Shed 2012” batch of alevins were released today on Stronsay into the Meikle Water. The Upper Primary class and the “Peedie AFYDs” (Ben, Matthew and Natalie), all put on their wellie boots and waterproofs and headed for the loch to bid farewell to the 250 small fish they saw hatching 4 weeks ago. The alevins’ yolk sacs were almost reabsorbed and this meant it was time to let the fish go to feed and grow in the loch. Let’s hope that these youngsters get to see some of these fish again in a few years!
Special thanks to Mrs. Bowen for joining us on the trip, Natalie for her photography skills and Matthew and Ben for the videos.
All Stronsay ova hatched!
All the Stronsay alevins have hatched by now! This morning, only a few eggs were left on the mesh frame so it was decided to remove it altogether. Underneath, it was crawling with bright orange tadpole-like little alevins, similar to the one on the picture. They’re all very healthy and we will now keep an eye on their yolk-sacs. Another piece of good news: this morning, I found in my pigeon-hole the four Single Introduction Consents from Marine Scotland which allow us to release our alevins into the various lochs and burns!
First alevins on Stronsay and at Kirkwall Grammar!!!
BIG DAY TODAY!!! On the “Troot in the Shed 2012” Homepage, reports have been coming in this morning that the first ova have hatched on Stronsay and in KGS! From Stronsay, Keith and Craig reported about two dozen alevins first, and shortly after Mr. Ewing from KGS, reported a lot of froth in their tank and the first alevins!
Just wondering what’s happening on Sanday??? I’m sure it won’t be long before we hear from them… Breaktime at the Sanday School is in about an hour’s time at 11:00 and they may be in for a surprise when they check their tank! Let’s wait and see…
Mr. P
Update on the Stronsay ova
Eyes are now clearly visible on the ova at the Stronsay mini-hatchery. Even though the water temperature is on average 4 or 5ºC warmer than on Sanday or at KGS (due to 2 freezers in the shed!) it doesn’t seem to make a great difference. It’ll be interesting to see which ova hatch first! Who is going to report the first alevin?
(Don’t forget to click on the photos for full size)
Mr.P
Ova “eyeing up” on Stronsay!
The Stronsay ova have made very good progress this week and we can clearly see the eyes developing (look at the egg in the middle!). The hatching conditions in the Stronsay shed are near ideal with a water temperature around 9ºC and total darkness. There has been very few losses so far and let’s hope it lasts!
Well done to all the pupils on the rota who check the tank every break-time.
Mr.P
Healthy eggs at the Stronsay School!
So far, “Troot in the Shed 2012” is running smoothly on the island of Stronsay! Apart from 5 casualties on the first day, probably caused by the transport on the plane in a thermos flask, there have only been 2 more casualties. The pupil rota is working well and every day, the tank is checked, dead eggs removed and water and air temperatures recorded. No long before we can see some of the ova “eyeing up”…
Mr. P
Junior Angling Competition on Kirbister Loch (3/06/11)
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
AFYD – OTFA Junior Angling Competition (03/06/11)
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.