Angling: Weed out good from bad

Linlithgow Loch still has a problem with the Canadian pond weed but it is still fishable as I found out on a recent club outing.

Management informed us that the best time to catch would be in the first hour. The weed was visible all around the loch so I made for the deep hole in front of the palace. I went out with a full floater and a cat booby
on the point with two epoxy buzzers above. The booby was keeping the buzzers riding up off the reeds as the fish appeared to be high in the water.

Putting out a lengthy cast I got my first offer although I did not know what it took. It may have been the booby and in situations like that it is difficult to change your flies as it may be the pattern that is taking an interest.

Several casts later I was into a nice fish which took the booby off the surface with a lot of splashing. It put up a strong fight which you expect from the fish at Linlithgow. It tossed and turned and never gave up even in the net. I then hooked a fish of around 6lb but did not fight as well as the first fish.

The catches dried up after that despite changing lines, areas, and flies and that was to be that as far as any action was concerned. It proves a point though that when you are catching fish, take them when you can as it can soon change.