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Lake of Menteith 23rd October

6ft Water Temperature 7.5C, Clarity (Secchi disc) 2.5m .

A Sublime Problem at Menteith

It has been the busiest end to the season I can
remember at the Lake. The three big factors have
to be the weather, the quality of the fish and
sustained stocking and catch and release in the
last few weeks. We did what was to be our last
stocking yesterday of 450 two to three pound fish
but on lifting all the nets we found we had 500
more fish left than originally thought and this is
not a sales pitch. The problem is we don’t like
handling the fish so estimating remaining
numbers involves lifting the net and having a
look and or on feed response. Numbers delivered
can vary widely, or predators can disappear fish,
so subtracting removals from an initial number
can be way out. The options are stock them now
or protect them in the cages and feed them on
over the winter. We will be doing both another stock today of around 300, which isn’t a bad thing due to the
amount of recent business, and I plan to evaluate a demand feeder for the retained balance in the cages over the
winter, with a view to releasing later in the winter. Douglas called it “a good problem”, I prefer “subliminal or
subconscious planning”.

With the weather looking fairly calm for the next few days and with one week to go, we have 7 boats available
tomorrow (Thurs), 19 on Friday, 1 on Saturday, 4 on Sunday (permits cost will be reduced by 25% due to clocks
going back) and plenty on Mon, Tues and Wednesday of next week. Kirk and School Day is full but there are a
couple of spaces on the waiting list which might become available depending on outboard karma/wizardry.

The Lake continues to fish well and areas mentioned have been Hotel Bay, Sam’s Point and Marker Buoys,
Lochend, Heronry and Gateside. The fish are not deep and clarity is currently good so dries or nymphs and lures
on a sink tip have been working. The good ol’ booby, blobs and fabs on a denser line have been a successful
alternative. The big fish have almost disappeared from below the pens and
are appearing in catches all round the Lake, notably the Heronry and
around the Islands in the last few days. The rope at Gateside will not be
removed this end of season as I would like to guarantee a few leviathons
for next year. In any case once feeding ceases at the cages (it’s been more
or less stopped for the last couple of weeks) and the pens are emptied –
the resident fish move out into the Lake. James Litster is shown top with a
7lb 2oz resident taken from “around
the Islands”!

He has done it again! Callum Steven
form West Lothian (left) is the
winner of the Cormorant Youth Club
Shield (3rd year running) and the Tam
Denholm Memorial Chase (2nd year
running). Big thanks to Alasdair Mair
for his work with organising the Cormorants and also to all the coaches and
boatmen who make the club possible.
Angus Barbour from Glasgow will be fishing in the Youth National Finals
this weekend at the Lake. He is pictured right, last week with a Lake five
pounder.