Fishing – boats still available for Scierra Pairs

The next heats of the Scierra Pairs, one of Britain’s leading fly fishing competitions, take place at the 23-acre, sheltered Raith Lakes at Boglily Road, Kirkcaldy KY2 5NF on the B925 Auchtertool Road on Saturday and Sunday.

Organiser Phil Dixon confirmed boats are still available for heats at Black Loch (Sunday, June 30), Beecraigs (Sunday, July 7) and Lake of Menteith (Sunday, July 21).

Rosslynlee Trout Fishery near Rosewell is fishing well with a mixture of tactics and fly patterns proving successful.

Buzzers, black rabbit, cats whisker, hot-head damsel, bloodworms have proved winners but olive CDC, cormorants and the trusty yellow dancer have also scored.

Manager John Dewar said that they are constantly amending their opening hours but currently they are from 8am to 8pm Thursday to Sunday and from 8am to 5.30pm from Monday to Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Harlaw and Threipmuir both report good sport. A size 14, single gold bead okey dokey on the point and a size 12 CDC yellow owl about three feet above on a dropper have proved successful by sitting quietly amongst feeding fish.

Other anglers have pulled lures to tease the fish and Jim McComb, head bailiff, said the water was a little peaty but most anglers are achieving their bag limit. Evening sessions start here in May.

Meanwhile, as part of the RiverLife: Almond & Avon project, the Forth Rivers Trust offers an opportunity for volunteers to train for a range of different activities.

If you are interested email volunteer co-ordinator Amy at a.fergusson@forthriverstrust.org before 5pm on Tuesday, April 23.

River fly monitoring is one of the activities and this is for volunteers who want to understand the health of the river.

After a day training volunteers are able to contribute to a national database and the next location is Almondell & Calderwood Country Park Visitor Centre on Saturday, April 27 (9am to 4pm).