Davies bags Kingdom fly title plus Bass Rock and coarse angling results

Sam Davies won the Kingdom Fly Fishing Championship for the first time and took home a £400 cash prize thanks to a cracking bag of ten fish.

It is the first major competition the Fife-born, 60-year-old has entered in 25 years and only the second time the Ballo member has fished Stenhouse Fishery in the last five years.

His boat partner, Andrew Weir, co-owner of Stenhouse, was third with seven fish and missed out on second place by only 14oz, and, as a consolation he took home £150 plus other prizes.

He tried to match Sam’s tactics which majored on a really fast figure-of-eight retrieve and Andrew, like Sam, only qualified in the last heat at Ballo near Glenrothes.

Weir could have been the champion but he lost two at the net and was snapped on three occasions as the trout savagely attacked his pattern. 

The runner-up was Greg Davies, no relation to the winner, who was the defending champion, and pocketed £250 plus other prizes after netting eight fish.

A total of 28 anglers contested the final and Andy Robb tempted the biggest trout, a rainbow of 6lb 13oz, which helped him claim sixth spot, despite only netting four fish.

Fourth was Darren McPherson, fifth David Stark with Steven Livingstone seventh and Robbie Birrell in eighth position. 

On to rivers and Cramond Angling Club remind members that water levels are low and anglers should ensure that fish are fully revived before being released. Anglers are also requested to keep their fish in the water at every opportunity when unhooking.

On to sea fishing and William Stafford from Edinburgh won the fourth round of the Bass Rock Shore Angling League’s summer series with eight fish for 161 cm leaving the rest in his slipstream.

He used mackerel strips and was into two fish on his first cast but weed troubled anglers all night with the sea calm and showing only a 1ft swell.

The fish were close in to the shoreline but a cold easterly wind forced anglers to don waterproofs to keep warm.

Norrie Anderson (North Berwick) was second with five fish for 81cms and Shaun Gardner, also North Berwick, third with three fish for 66cm.

Scottish international Chris Empson was fourth also with three fish for 65cm and Haddington-based James Ogilvie, one of the organisers, was fifth with two fish for 39cm and James McHale (Gifford) sixth with one fish measuring 17cm.

Empson from Dunbar landed the biggest fish at 25cm and the venue was Thorntonloch Beach near Torness.

Coarse angling now and Maisie the sturgeon has been caught again at Drumtassie and she weighed over 37lb. Two big carp were tempted, one of 18lb and another of 14lb.

Elsewhere, Martin Pearson fishing worm won matchday six of the summer series organised by Edinburgh and Lothians Coarse Angling Club at Orchill with 52lb 3oz with Bruce Lawrie, who was four pegs away, second with 48lb 12oz and Stewart Ritchie third on 35lb 8oz.

Pearson now leads the chase for silverware with Tommy Lauriston a point behind and Geoff Lowe, the club chairman, third a handful of points down after being fourth.