Items filtered by date: May 2020

The president, committee and members of Inverness Angling Club pass on their best wishes to Ali Scott as he transfers to the County Community Hospital in Invergordon tomorrow (May 21) for continuing rehabilitation. Ali is making good progress, steadily gaining strength after his severe bout of coronavirus.

The Scottish Government indicated today that fishings could reopen by the end of May. Confirmation could come next week. Reopening is likely to be subject to strict social distancing regulations.

In anticipation of this, the club has closed all its riverside huts, fitting new padlocks, to discourage the social gatherings that anglers enjoy so much. The huts will remain closed until further notice.

Any anglers who have left equipment in the huts, but did not collect it as previously advised, should contact president Alex Elliott who holds the only keys to the new padlocks.

Popular Inverness Angling Club member Ali Scott continues to make good progress following his serious bout of Covid-19. The feeding tube and tracheotomy have now been removed, he is eating soft foods and managing to take a little exercise.

His cousin Mick Fenion says: “Ali is in good spirits, although very weak, and I had a long telephone chat with him today. He is very much heartened by the good wishes being passed on from club members.”

Inverness Angling Club permits (including sea trout permits for the fishings from the Black Bridge to the sea) will go on sale at Graham’s tackle shop in Castle Street on Tuesday (May 19). But don’t take this as a signal to start fishing; wait for government confirmation that freshwater fisheries can re-open.

Please note that Graham’s tackle shop is working restricted hours from 1200 to 1400 hours. Payment by card is preferred to minimise the handling of cash, but is not essential. And it helps if you take your 2019 permits with you. Those taking out their season permits from Tuesday will not be charged the late renewal fee. But the £20 penalty will still have to be paid by members who failed to submit a catch return for 2019.

Anglers seeking to join the club for the first time should download the appropriate application form from the club web site at https://www.invernessanglingclub.co.uk/fishing/permits/ness-permits

Here’s something different from Mick Fenion - a small fly designed by Danish angler, guide and fly tyer Marc Skovby to get down to salmon. Its Francis heritage is unmistakable but expands the range of variations that continue to catch salmon around the world.

Plug Francis
Tyer: Mick Fenion

Tube: Plastic liner with cone at the back
Tail: Yellow fox hair over cone to flare out
Feelers: Boar bristles with glister over fox hair held with another cone
Hackle: Yellow cock held with another cone
Note: Other colour versions may be tied, as illustrated. Beads also can be used.

A tail view

Choose your colour

The Monkey fly has burst on to the salmon fishing scene in recent times, building on the success of long-tailed patterns like the traditional Collie Dog and the more modern Sunray Shadow. Angling instructor and fly tyer David Mateer has developed his own version of the fly, the Mateer Monkey.

David reports: “This has been a prolific fly for me, angling colleagues and one or two members of Inverness Angling Club, producing fish on the Ness, Carron (east coast), Oykel, Spey and my favourite river, the Ewe.

“This fly accounted for five fish up to 17lb for me on the Ewe last June. Unfortunately, I lost a couple as well so almost landed a fish every day of our week. Tied on a 1" aluminium tube gives the fly more movement when using heavy sink tips.”

The Mateer Monkey
Tyer: David Mateer

Thread: Light coloured such as white or yellow for the body. Black for tying the rest of the fly
Body: Mirage - large, tied up and down the tube for durability
Rib: Silver oval tinsel
On completing the body, whip finish and apply two coats of varnish and allow to dry thoroughly. Then using black thread......
Beard hackle: Bunch of Yellow Schlappen fibres.
Underwing: Black Arctic fox, comb some of the fluff out to avoid bulk
Upper wing: Black goat hair, with two strips of gold flash up each side
Cheeks: Jungle cock
Head: Black

Proven catcher

Talented tyer Mick Fenion is making an offer that should be of interest to lots of trout anglers out there. And he has a pretty good reason for doing so. Mick is a cousin of fellow IAC member Ali Scott who is now on the long road to recovery after a severe bout of coronavirus.

To recognise the skills and dedication of the hospital staff who helped Ali through his illness, Mick is offering a full box of flies for sale to raise money for the NHS. All the flies are traditional trout flies for loch and river, freshly tied by Mick. The first offer of over £50 will get the flies - and know that the deal will go to the best of causes at this difficult time. Call or text Mick at 07845 553168.

STOP PRESS: The flies have been sold - first to a kind hearted angler who paid £55 then told Mick to resell them, then £50 from another angler who is going to enjoy his trout fishing as and when it restarts. Says Mick: “That’s twice as much as I expected and the money will soon go to Raigmore Hospital."

Terrific for trout - and the NHS!

One of these little beauties will be Jamie Urquhart’s choice for his first cast when rivers reopen, hopefully on the Lower Fairburn beat of the River Conon. Jamie is an accomplished tyer and enthusiastic member of the close season fly tying group where his creations have won annual awards.

Little specials

Another lockdown offering from David Mateer is the Kerry Blue, a fly created by the legendary Harold Davis who owned and ran the Craigmore Hotel in Gairloch with his wife, Vi. Since the 1970s, it has been used to great effect on the River Ewe for both salmon and sea trout. David reports: “I tied this fly for Ross MacDonald and it featured in the September 2019 issue of Trout & Salmon. It’s tied very sparse for photographic reasons. For fishing purposes, I would have more of a beard hackle and wing.”

The Kerry Blue
Tyer: David Mateer

Hook: Salmon double
Thread: Black
Butt: Silver mylar
Tail: Golden pheasant crest
Butt 2: Black ostrich herl
Body: Rear half red Mylar, front half blue Mylar
Rib: Silver oval tinsel
Hackle: Black hackle fibres
Wing: Squirrel dyed black
Topping: Golden pheasant crest
Head: Black

Ewe success

Inverness Angling Club is currently preparing for a welcome return to fishing on the River Ness, whenever government confirms it is safe to do so. A condition will be a detailed risk assessment to form the basis for rules governing a return to the river.

The most important element of this will be the maintenance of social distancing. To meet that requirement the club will close all riverside huts, traditional centres of social engagement. New padlocks soon will be fitted to the huts at the Little Isle, MacIntyre and Mill Stream pools with keys held by a senior official.

Members who have left any personal belongings in the huts are asked to remove them as soon as possible. Another important consideration is that The Highland Council has indicated that work on the arts scheme at the Little Isle will begin as soon as construction works are permitted. This will include the demolition of the existing hut in preparation for its replacement.