Angling: Have to be fly to succeed

On a day when temperatures dropped to around freezing where much of the bait pond was frozen over, anglers including myself ventured onto the fly pond at Allandale Tarn in Polbeth.

Those that stayed within the area around the lodge were rewarded with some nice fish. Most of them were fishing intermediate lines with an Olive or Green Rabbit. The top end where I ended up was partially covered in ice that was a big problem at times. The water was still gin clear and although I could see the fish, most of them were holding beneath the ice floes. I stayed on the midge tip line with various lures with limited success and did manage to get several offers but nothing solid. It was only after talking to one of the lads that he offered me his fly as he was getting ready to leave after getting his limit. It took several casts before I got any interest but once I found the depth and speed of retrieve I was getting fish after fish, only I could not get them to stay on.

I had to get one eventually. Not a big fish by the Tarn standards but at 2.5lb a fish none the same. I prefer to return my fish nowadays and it took some time for the fish to revive. By this time my hands were turning blue and I felt it was time to go.