Coldingham Loch Cup 2025

It’s hard to believe that the weather could have been so good for the competition. Some might even say, too good! Bright sunshine and with hardly a breath of wind in the morning there was hardly any need for the drogues and in the afternoon, the breeze was only marginally stronger.

With a full complement of members this year the day was set and it wasn’t long before we saw a couple of the rods bending. Most people seemed to be pulling lures of one type or another but others were keen to try to tempt the plethora of rising fish with dries. Pulling proved to be the most successful method throughout the day and a variety of lines were used but again the most successful were the DI3 – DI5 types.

At lunchtime most people were keeping a few secrets to themselves whilst tucking in to the bacon rolls followed by the delicious tray bakes supplied by Jaine Maclean  …… thanks Jaine!

Once the boats were out for the afternoon, I spent a lovely couple of hours sat high on the hill with my two dogs and my binoculars and I was amazed at just how many fish I was able to observe swimming near to the south shore. This included one very large brownie (estimated at 12 –14 lbs) which was sporting a bright green blob in the left had side of its mouth. It had clearly won the battle against one of the fishermen and whoever that was, had lost the fish of a lifetime!

I was also able to observe the various techniques that people were using and it was fascinating to see the number of fish that were caught and lost throughout the afternoon. For a good few of the anglers it was a case of ‘what might have been’.

With a point for every fish and a point for each of the 6, one hour sessions that anglers caught in, there was all to play for and the outcome was unpredictable, but here are the results from 6^th place to first.

6th place – Paul Maclean 6 fish and 3 session points

5th place – Owen Palmer 8 fish and 3 session points

4th place – Max Anderson 7 fish and 5 session points

3rd place – John Pringle 7 fish and 6 session points (£30 voucher)

2nd place – James Gardiner 10 fish and 4 session points (£60 voucher)

1st place – Ronnie Glass 12 fish and 6 session points (£100 voucher plus the cup and his name on the honours board)   

Congratulations to this year’s winner Ronnie Glass and a big thank you to all those that took part and made the day so special. Ronnie sent in a message to us the next day about the Cup Day and with his permission we copy and paste it and the end of this report.

Once again we would also like to extend a big thank you to Mike Wilson, owner of Fishers at Penicuik. Mike very generously enhances the prize fund for each of our competitions and his support is, as always, greatly appreciated.

A total of 86 fish were caught on the day and I would guess that a similar number were also hooked and lost. Not bad at all for the 2^nd week of October.

Message from Ronnie Glass sent in Sun 12th Oct:

Hi Gareth and Carmel,

 I very rarely find myself lost “in the zone” these days – but I certainly was in session 6 yesterday. It was just amazing to find Wednesday afternoon’s discovery was still working so well. As would be obvious to everyone, I was SO chuffed at winning the Cup that I was still not “back down” when asked to say a few words. All I could think of was “how chuffed I was” and waffle a bit.

  Now, having slept like a log, my thinking is now much clearer. Of course, what I should have said was along the lines of, “Thank you Gareth and Carmel SO much for, not only running such a great fishery but making the effort to organise this Competition – and providing the lunchtime bacon rolls! Normally I simply chuck out a few dries but for some reason, the fish recently, seem shy to commit to taking them properly. It was only due to my boat partner Stewart losing a fish on a dry fly, that I even tried dries today – and caught 4 each side of lunch on them! I should also thank Stewart for allowing me to follow my rather “flexible” plan today. A big “Thank you” Fisher’s of Penicuik for providing the prizes. it’s not always easy in the tackle trade at the moment, so their continued support is very much appreciated.

I caught my first Coldingham trout in 1970 – a rainbow of 1lb 12ozs.

Rainbows were a rare species in Scotland at that time and at that weight had to be an “overwintered” fish. I only fished it occasionally until Ted and Tina took over – I then fished it A LOT until the competition world took hold of my fishing life. I still tried to make a few visits every year, therefor I think I am qualified to say that, under Gareth and Carmel’s stewardship it has never fished better *. For that reason it is hard to “look forward” to them not being in charge. A time comes when “ME” time becomes more important and I wish them “all the best” + as they say, things will carry on as normal until that time. Hopefully, new owners will have the same dedication to the Fishery, the fish – and anglers as Gareth and Carmel have shown.

* I qualify that statement for those of us who remember the amazing evening midge hatches in May and June in the early 1980’s when Grey Boys, “Camtos” and the wee apple green provided memorable sport. That was before the dreaded “caenis” arrived. Ironically self inflicted, as Ted reasoned they arrived from the opening of anglers car boots after fishing other venues.

Ronnie

Thank you to Ronnie for his kind words in this, it means a lot to both of us.