Millhall near Polmont report that the second of their weekend sessions took place in arctic conditions but those who did take part reported good sport from both The Shallows and the deeper water off The Dam.
Defrosting and removing the ice from the boats delayed things a little on Sunday morning but an official said that safety comes first.
Sinking and intermediate lines coupled with a variety of lures worked well with snake, damsel and black and green rabbit patterns scoring high.
Anglers using floating lines had success with buzzer, diawl bach and app bloodworms and egg flies and blobs also worked well suspended under an indicator.
S Craig returned 13 fish on damsels, S Murgatroyd and K Craig had nine fish each on buzzers and black and green lures respectively with R Livingston and A Martin tempting fish each on squirmies and diawl bachs while R Sneddon and S Sneddon managed seven fish each on coral egg and blob.
Linlithgow Loch, now only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, report that anglers had great catches on Sunday with Jimmy Russell netting eight rainbows and Robert Stewart had 15 fish.
Lines used were Di3 and Di5’s and successful flies were mostly black/green lures and snakes.
Anglers at nearby Bowden Springs had a sensational day on the two-acre fly pond. David King had 16 while Mr Wilson and Hugh Barr had 13 each with Graham Munro tempting six with egg patterns.
The five-acre bait pond was also busy with Raury netting four, David Robertson three and Ian Smith two, all on Powerbait. Mr Murray had trout of 11lb and 8lb just before the weekend.
Over to sea fishing and Mike and Chris’s winter heaviest cod league starts on Saturday with fishing from 15.30 to 20.30 and registration between 14.00 and 14.30 at the Victoria Car Park, Arbroath. All depart at 14.30 and high water is at 17.20.
Boundaries are Carnoustie to Ferryden Lighthouse and the league is £10 entry and match fee £15. There is no upper limit on entries and phone Chris on 07872 944807 for further details.
A reminder that Mike and Stewart’s East Fife Open pegged match is on November 25 from 3pm to 8pm and registration is from 1pm to 2pm at the Railway Bridge car park and pegging is on Elliot Beach, Arbroath. Entry is £15 and there is a maximum of 50 pegs. Ring Stewat on 07759 379978 or Mike on 07912 842665 to pre-book.
The fourth leg of the Bass Rock Shore Angling League’s winter series is on Wednesday, November 22, and the venue will be decided and posted on their Facebook page this weekend.
Ian Crombie (Dysart) won the second leg of the St Serfs winter league which also doubles as the seventh leg of the shore league with three cod for 5lb in the match between Pittenweem and Fifeness.
The Dysart-based angler also won the first leg of the winter series and the water was clear for the time of year with reasonable movement. Hopes were high as the match started in sunshine but conditions quickly turned to strong winds and driving rain as darkness fell.
Nine intrepid anglers persevered in the five-hour match and Gordon McKay (Cellardyke) was second and Keith Crombie, Ian’s brother and also from Dysart, was third with one fish for 1lb 5oz.
Dave Erskine from Kirkcaldy was fourth and the next leg is from Tangle Ha’ to Inverbervie on Sunday, November 26, fishing from 2pm to 7pm and registration at Gourdon Harbour from 1pm to 1.15pm. Low water is 6.45pm.
Fife Specimen Hunters have also been out. Sean Baxter of Cowdenbeath-based tackle shop, Deals on Reels, one of the organisers, said Fraser Parker from Dalgety Bay landed a 37cm flounder for the longest flat fish and Derek Gray (Methil) a 55cm eel for the longest fish on Leven Beach in tough conditions with debris being thrown onto the beach in heavy seas.
Coarse fishing and Del’s Fresh Produce silver series matchday two of a five match series is on Sunday at Magiscroft. Draw 8.45, all in at 10.30 and 3.30 all out and the match is a sell-out.
PICTURE: Millhall Reservoir near Polmont. Picture by Nigel Duncan
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