Fraser on fishing: Damsel was a pretty sharp operator at Allandale

The Damsel fly really came into its own at Allandale Tarn.

I tackled up with the midge tip line and a single red headed Damsel on a 10ft leader. Earlier reports suggested that the fish were holding in the top 12 inches of water and down a bit when the sun broke through.

I started to play the percentages and moved every time I caught a fish. They were in good nick and put up a good fight all the way to the net. I would not say there is any one spot where there is a big concentration of fish, but I felt the better ones were holding close to the weed beds. Although others were catching on blobs and Yellow owls and the likes, I felt the Damsel outperformed them all.

I can honestly say there was not a platform where I did not get an offer. Probably the biggest factor was that I only fished a single fly as opposed to a team. Most of the fish I caught were between 2-6lb.

I did see one really big fish, or its dark shadow, slowly moving round the edges of the reeds but I could not tempt it to take. Probably just as well as it may have been a long battle and it could have got the better of me.

The water was gin clear and it was best to keep a low profile when the sun shone to avoid long shadows. That said, it was a good day's fishing and I will be back again soon.