With the season now under way it’s been great to see new members out there giving the loch their first try alongside old hands having a great days fishing and landing some really beautiful fish in great condition.

The last few weeks has seen a mixed bag of weather in terms of temperature. On the days when it has felt like spring might be arriving and you could say it was almost warm, we have started to see some good hatches of bibionidae (March flies) as well as beetles and small spiders in the air. Consequently, there have been times when there have been some superb rises in just about all areas of the loch. The reed bed area and the eastern shore has fished particularly well during the last two weeks. And some anglers report catching and seeing plenty of brownies in particular in Swing Gate Bay.

However, there have also been some days when the cold, damp or windy weather has prevailed and this has been a different days fishing for those coming on those days.

For those who have hit it right for the dry fly fishing, then the most productive  dries have been shipmans buzzer, yellow owl, black foam suspender buzzer and Griffiths gnat. Generally, the smaller the better in terms of hook size.

And when the conditions have not been right for dry flies then a midge tip line with cormorants, blobs or diawl bachs being twitched back, has also produced the desired results.

Catch and release now seems to be the preferred choice for most anglers these days. We would therefore like to remind people that we insist on barbless / de-barbed hooks when fish are being released. It makes absolute sense to try to release the fish as quickly and easily as possible once netted and keep them in the best condition that we can.

Boat and bank continue to fish equally well and as always, we would encourage those of you that have not yet tried fishing from the bank, to dust the waders off and go for a stroll around. Access to all areas is excellent and with the pond weed not yet starting to show, it’s the best time to take advantage of the shores.

Other News:

• Looking ahead, we will be holding our annual charity Lad(y)s and Dads day on the last Sunday in September, this is Sunday 24^th September 2023. We are always looking for donations of prizes for the raffle which is a key element of the fund raising. If you feel that you are able to donate a prize or would like to buy raffle tickets for the prizes then please get in touch with us as soon as you can.
• We announced the dates for the competitions this year in the last loch report. If you would like to put your name down for any of them, please get in touch with us as soon as you can.
• We have now finished our gorse clearance operation around various areas of the loch and this has enhanced the bank fishing in a number of areas by making the back casting much easier.
• We have also had a dry stone- waller in to repair various sections of the dry -stone walls around the loch and he is making a cracking job. This will be on-going work over the next few months.

Visiting Clubs:

Over the next two weeks here are the club days along with the clubs that are coming:

Saturday 8^th April: Ladhope AC

Border Bears

Saturday 15^th April: Heriots AC

As always, we wish them a warm welcome and hope that the weather and the fishing are as good as they can be.

Gallery below: Please send in pictures of your time at the loch if you want them publishing on the loch report, thank you.