Fish week 92 (season total 25385), Returns 632 (4968) Rod average 4.4 (5.1)
Last week saw 126 anglers taking to the boats here at Rutland to compete for the coveted Airflo Open grand final. The teams encountered variable conditions during practice from very light winds to strong winds on day 2 of the competition culminating in the main basin being put out of bounds.
Day 1 fished at a fantastic average of 4.43 with day 2 proving tougher with the prevailing conditions encountered. The favoured areas during practice and competition were sailing club to the fishing lodge frontage, Normanton Church to Blue pipes and the top of the North Arm – Tim Appleton's and Transformer. Some great specimens were caught with rainbows to 8lb and browns to 12lb reported!
Floating lines through to a fast glass were the preferred methods employed during the match. Tequila FAB’s/blobs, cormorants and addies all featured on the casts of many competitors. Two hard fought days of competition resulted in a mere ¾ oz separating the top 2 teams. Congratulations to Lintrathen who caught 63 fish over the 2 days for 130lb 6 ¾ oz. Although, recording 3 less fish Fulling Mill tequila were agonisingly close with a combined 2-day weight of 130lb 6oz. Fly Shop Welsh Hawks A took 3rd place after a strong second day performance saw them climb the leader board. Congratulations to all the teams who took part in this prestigious final.
Moving to the back end of the week strong wind was still present hampering the number of anglers taking to the water. Anglers who did brave the conditions reported good sport round the weed beds to fry patterns and rudder anglers fared well covering long drifts, particulalrly in the open water of the South Arm from NZ point to the fishing lodge frontage. The strong winds of last week have had a positive effect for the bank angler with wave action breaking up some of the marginal weed present in many areas. Quality rainbows and browns have shown from NZ point, Earnies Point, Stocky Bay and Yellowstone with fry patterns being the mainstay in terms of fly choice. The situation with areas of soft mud on the bank remains with bank anglers once again reminded to test the area of bank before wading.
Sat 22nd of October sees the popular Autumn Pairs competition here at Rutland. 2 sections to choose from, Loch Style or Rudder. 8 fish limit (no time bonus). Call the lodge to book on this friendly competition.
Fish stocked: 2500