Angling: Leven and Kirkcaldy to host Iain Reid memorial match

Andrew Weir with a 16lb pike. He won the Pike Anglers Alliance for Scotland (PAAS) title in the final of the Daiwa Prorex Lure League

Kirkcaldy Promenade is the venue for day one on Saturday, November 19, with fishing from 1pm to 5pm and Leven is the venue on day two on Sunday, November 20, fishing from 1pm to 5pm.

Registration for both days is from 11am to noon at the end car park at Kirkcaldy Promenade near Morrisons supermarket and this is a measure and return event with all fish of a minimum of 15cm counting.

Lugworm and mackerel are the only baits allowed and there are prizes for the first, second and third, zone and the heaviest flat fish. Entry is £40 for both days and the presentation is at 5.30pm at Burt's Bar, Buckhaven.

David Dobbie, one of the organisers, said this was a Penn Sea League points counter and that the memorial match was a key event in the sea fishing competition calendar.

A total of 58 anglers have already signed up, including fishermen from Newcastle, Sunderland, Cumbria and Edinburgh and Lothians.

Barry McEwan from Port Seton, who made his debut for Scotland in the Home Internationals last summer, is in the field along with Edinburgh fisherman David Cooper who won the first leg of the inaugural Edinburgh Winter Shore Angling series two weeks ago at Portobello Beach. The organiser of that event, Ian Campbell, is also listed.

The annual competition is in memory of Ian Reid, an international angler from Methil who was a regular fisherman along the Fife coastline. He passed away and Buckhaven-based David Dobbie, Iain's best friend, decided to start the annual event in his honour.

It has been held for the past seven years and has quickly grown in stature. Leven has been the only venue until this year but Dobbie said that Kirkcaldy had been introduced this year to provide a different test for entrants.

It was also, he said, another location to showcase the sport to the general public as Kirkcaldy promenade is normally busy on a Saturday.

Incidentally, high tide at Kirkcaldy on November 19 is 10.55am with sunset at 15.58. High tide at Leven on November 20 is 11.44 with sunset at 15.55.

Elsewhere, Stewart and Mike's Winter Open is another event for the diary. It will be on Elliot Beach, Arbroath, on Saturday, November 26. Registration is from 12.30 to 1pm at the back of Bally's.

This is a pegged event and entry is £15. This is a catch and release event with a limit of 50 pegs with a minimum size limit of 18cm. Pre-booking only to Stewart on 07759 379 978 or Chris 07872 944807.

Meanwhile, Scotland's ladies sea fishing team held a two-day training session at Forth William which proved extremely useful according to team member Buffy McAvoy from Edinburgh.

She won a silver medal with Scotland in last summer's Home International in Weymouth and the team hope to compete again next year, hence they continue to train and work on their skills.

Expert caster Ian Graham was there to work with the team as a whole and also on a one-to-one basis to generate more distance and the squad also learned about how to catch different species, including dogfish.

Tweaking rigs to suit different fish was a key element of the weekend when a number of dogfish were caught. They require special handling and instruction was given on that too. Buffy said: "It was a really useful weekend and we all learned a lot from it."

She planned to fish the second-leg of the eight-leg inaugural Edinburgh Winter shore series at Newhaven last night (Friday). Results will be detailed in this column next week.

Elsewhere, the Pike Anglers Alliance for Scotland (PAAS) fished the final leg of the Daiwa Prorex Lure League and only one fish separated the top two. Dunfermline-based Andrew Weir, co-owner of Stenhouse Fishery near Burntisland, topped the table with 60 points with John Fenton snr in second place with 59 points. Third was Neil Harryman with 52 points. The heaviest fish prize was won by John Fenton snr, a 24lb 4oz pike from the Black Loch Near Falkirk. Leading junior was Edinburgh-based Oscar Chalmers aged 13 who only started pike fishing this year.

The association also visited the Lake of Menteith with 72 anglers taking part and there were a number of fish caught over the 20lb mark, including new personal bests for junior member Rocco Chalmers (21lb 13oz) and Stoo Williamson (25lb 10oz).

The next PAAS event is at Linlithgow Loch and anyone keen to join the club should contact the membership secretary, Blair Davidson on [email protected]

Remaining on coarse fishing and the Magiscroft Silver Series is due to start on November 20 with other dates scheduled for December 4 and 18, January 8, 15 and 29.

Practice is on-going for the six-event series in which there is a top prize of £300, runner-up £200 and third place £100 and the best five results allow an angler to drop a poor return. The competition is capped at 21 entrants providing three sections of seven. Also, the pike season is now open at Cumbernauld-based Magiscroft and the owners confirm that it is dead bait only, no lures or live bait. The cost is £9 for a single rod and anglers must come with a decent sized net and unhooking mat. Braid must be 30lb minimum and mono 15lb minimum.

Traces and frozen bait, including mackerel and launce, are available in the on-site shop which also stocks a pike bait pack.

Fly fishing now and Bill Bryce confirmed that Black Loch near Falkirk has been closed until March 2 due to low water levels. All his 24 boats have been removed from the water.

Bowden Springs will remain open all winter and Jackie Burnett, a regular, hooked into six fish around 6lb on yellow dancer while Paul Dancer had five on the same pattern.

Linlithgow Loch has been granted an extension and fishing is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only during November.

Drumtassie near Blackridge report that 1,500 trout have been landed during October in their two fly ponds with eggstacy, squirmy wormy and black and green lures particularly successful.

The winner of the fishery's October event was Mick Oglivie who landed 247 fish in eight visits. Second was Danny Connolly with 223 fish from the same number of trips to the popular fishery.

Stenhouse Fly Fishery at Burntisland is fishing well and Individual returns have included 18, 12, 11 and eight and water clarity is said to be "superb". Diawl bach, black and green lures on a sink tip have produced recently and the fishery is open seven days.

West Lothian Angling Association host their annual general meeting on Monday, November 14, in Mid Calder Community Centre. It is in conjunction with the association's fly tying night which starts at 18.30. The tying will finish at 19.50 to allow the agm to start at 20.00. All past, current and potential members are welcome and members are reminded to send in their catch returns from last season.

The same message about returning catch details has also come from Cramond Angling Club. Their form is on their website www.fishalmond.co.uk.

In East Lothian, John Jackson at Tweeddale near Gifford is open seven days from 8am to 4.30pm and snake patterns are catching along with black and green lures with trout around 3lb to 5lb being tempted. Pink has become a go-to colour after the first frosts.