2014 Meig Open Report

This year the Meig Open was held on Saturday the 3rd of May. The day dawned with with some cloud and a gentle easterly breeze which was, for fishing, a near perfect start.

12 teams lined up and again it was good to see teams coming down from Lairg A.C. and across from Skye.

After Davie MacGregor’s performance during previous Saturday’s qualifiers, SGL were probably favourites to win for a second year. This however is the Meig open and as usual things don’t always go to plan. After a quick welcome and brief prior the start the boats roared off in every different direction looking to get that first drift in their favourite spot. Some connected with trout straight away while others struggled.

With an hour to go the winner could have come from a number of teams. The big surprise was Lewis Ross who had blanked up to this point and had all but given up; don’t forget this is the Meig and things change very quickly on this loch.

At the weigh in Lewis had 3 good trout which not only helped his team to win the William Bartlett trophy but these very valuable fish were also the best bag of the competition.

The unpredictability of Meig had struck again. The biggest trout was a beauty of 3¼lb caught by James Wilson of Lairg A.C. who won the Strathconon cup. Lewis of course won the Meig cup for the best bag. After the weigh in it was off to the Cottage bar for a buffet and the odd dram.

Thanks again Tracy for putting up with us and setting out such a good meal. Again, the Meig open was a great success which is really down to all the teams who turn up, LAAC hope you all come back next year.

The William Bartlett Trophy

The Meig Cup

The Stathconon Cup

Junior Competition - Fannich

The hardy few, juniors and adults, left Strathpeffer square at 08:20 and headed off for the wilds of Fannich estate. The numbers were down over previous years due to late cancellations and no shows.

On arrival at loch Fannich the weather was typically Scottish Highlands with gusting wind and rain. Due to the weather a 15:00 to 15:30 weigh in, back at the keeper’s house, was, unanimously agreed. All of the pairs headed west up the loch where three of the teams stopped at the 2 big burns. The burns were now running clean after the recent torrential rain. Myself and my son Neil pushed on up to the top of the loch which was a risk as the loch was full to the brim and there was some extra travel time to take into consideration.

The loch at the west end was unrecognisable with the loch having spilled over on to the bog. Young Neil elected to spin given the difficult conditions and tried his luck with a black and gold Tasmanian devil cast out across the wind. Almost straight away Neil was into a fish but just as quickly it was off. Several casts later and Neil had his first trout, a nice brownie about ½lb. A very frustrating day was to follow for Neil with many fish hooked and then lost. I personally started out with an intermediate but quickly reverted to a floater as the trout were on the fly as soon as it hit the water. My cast consisted of a size ten Kate, a size 12 claret bumble and a size 12 black zulu.

This method steadily picked up fish through most of the day, although sometimes the sport was a wee bit patchy. At 14:10 it was time to make a move back around the loch if Neil and I were to make the weigh in. Just below the old ruin Neil had just about time for 3 more casts. Two out of the three casts produced a brownie and a smile on Neil’s face which was worth more than a thousand words.

True to form, on arrival back at the keeper’s cottage, the sun poked his nose out from behind the clouds and brought some sunshine to the weigh in. The BBQ was duly lit and a big thank you to Cliff Furlong for donning the chef’s apron. To a delightful aroma of cooking burgers and sausages the weigh in began. All the pairs had fish and there looked to be some hefty bags. The full results are set out in the table below.

The heaviest fish between Callum and Ramsay had to go to the 3rd fish as the first two fish weighed were identical. Eventually there was only 0.04 lb. between the 3rd fish weighed.

Top Rod - Callum TaylorTop Fly - Callum Taylor2nd - Neil Ross3rd - Ramsay RaitBiggest Fish - Ramsay RaitTop Pair - Lewis Ross & Neil Ross

Again it was a fantastic day out and there is no better place to come with our junior's than Fannich estate, the scenery, fishing and of course the food can be outstanding. Once again our thanks and appreciation go to Ruairidh and Rachael for inviting us up and last but not least, a massive thanks for all those who attended. Looking forward to next year!

Lewis Ross Competitions Secretary

SGL Competition Badanlochs 2014

This year, like most years, the Badanlochs were the chosen venue for the SGL bank fly fishing competition. The date set was Saturday the 13th of September. The target species, as always, were the plentiful brownies that abound in all 4 lochs. September 2014 will be remembered for some glorious sunny days and competition time was no exception with little or no wind. There was however some harr which came and went as the day wore on. The usual four teams of SGL, Beauly, Dingwall and Loch Achonachie angling clubs assembled at Conon Bridge car park and were off, heading North, at 07:30 sharp... Read More

Download Our Other Competition Reports for 2014

Competitions Qualifier 2014

Competitions Watten Charity 2014

Summer Competition Results 2014

Members only Competition 2014

Winter League 2014-15