Lothians anglers were in the field for the inaugural Harelaw Pairs and they are expected to be there for the second match which claims to have “the biggest prize in British fly fishing”.
Ross Murdoch is the host and he was determined to celebrate the first year of his lease-holding at the water near Paisley with a special event despite these challenging times.
Murdoch stressed that the £5,000 competition will only go ahead if The Scottish Government Covid-19 restrictions allow but he said he must plan ahead.
There are four qualifying heats using the 16 boats available at the fishery with the top eight pairs in each heat going through to semi-final.
The cost is £100 per pair for the first qualifying heat and £80 per pair after that. There is a 10-fish limit to the boat and pairs can enter as many qualifiers as they wish if space is available.
The dates are: qualifiers: Saturday, May 29 and Sunday, May 30 plus Saturday, July 10 and Sunday, July 11. Semi-finals: Saturday, August 21. Final: Sunday, September 26.
Fario Fly and Rods and Reels Scotland are the main sponsors and Murdoch said the maximum fly size will be to Scottish Club Champions rules: “Winners and placings will be determined by overall bag weight. There is no time bonus for finishing early, however time returned to harbour will be used to determine qualifiers/winners if there is a draw with total bag weight.”
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