Dunlichity House

Both lochans frozen and 3 inches of snow mean that we will not be opening today.  Once conditions have improved and we can open, we will update the Blog.

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The ice has now virtually cleared and we have reopened.

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The first heavy frost of the season overnight has resulted in the bottom lochan and two thirds of the top lochan being frozen.  Keep checking the Blog or call 01808 521442 for further information.

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The 7th heat of the 2014 Dunlichity Cup saw 18 competitors on an overcast morning.  With only one heat to follow, points were highly sought after.

Magnus Macdonald set the pace with a 3lb 14oz fish on the first peg.  David Skinner followed this, on the second peg with a fish at 3lb 8oz. 

The eventual heat winner Jamie Macgregor Snr took his two fish in pegs 3 and 4 (4lb 5oz and 4lb 1oz).  James Gray took second place with two fish at 6lb 7oz and George Skinner was third with a combined total of 6lb 2oz.  Magnus Macdonald's first peg fish was good enough to win the bottle for the largest fish outside of the top 3.


Going into the last heat, James Gray is in the lead with 40 points, followed by Graham Matheson on 37 points and George Skinner on 33 points.  The only other competitor who could win the Cup is Magnus Macdonald who, on 30 points is relying on blanks for the three in front!  12 anglers could finish in the top 5 prizes.

The final heat of the 2014 Dunlichity Cup is on Saturday 1 November.  It was suggested at the last heat that there could be an "end of season celebratory drink" after the presentations.  Anyone wishing to participate should ensure that they have lifts home arranged / designated drivers nominated.  Bring a bottle and we will supply a few pizzas!

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The seventh heat of the 2014 Dunlichity Cup is on Saturday 4 October at 09.00.

The top lochan will be closed until 14.15.

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As a result of holidays and other commitments, only eight competitors arrived for Heat 6.  Although this was below the minimum number, we decided to go ahead with the heat but with reduced prizes.

James Watson went into an early lead, taking both fish (3lb and 2lb 13oz) in the first peg.  James Gray caught the biggest fish of the day in peg 2, and David Skinner took his bag (3lb 5oz and 3lb 5oz) by the end of peg 3.

Martin Haberfield kept up his record of having scored points in every heat with a fish in the third peg.

The heat was, however won by Neil Pirrie, who with two fish in peg 6 (3lb 6oz and 3lb 9oz) beat James Gray by a single ounce!

The overall competition is hotting up, with James Gray going into a one point lead over Graham Matheson.  At least ten anglers have a realistic chance of winning the Cup over the final two heats.

The penultimate heat of the 2014 Dunlichity Cup is on Saturday 4 October at 09.00.

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The next heat of the Dunlichity Cup is on Saturday 6 September at 09.00.  The top lochan will be closed until 14.15.

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Only ten competitors turned up for what proved to be the most successful heat of this year's competition so far.

Martin Haberfield chose to take his first two fish and was finished before the end of the first peg.  Indeed, everyone had taken their first fish by the end of the second peg, and four had finished after peg 3.

Liam Skinner had to leave at 11.30 due to other commitments, and in true Liam fashion, caught his second fish at 11.29!

First place went to John Allison who was competing for the first time this year, with a bag of 6lb 14oz.  This just pipped Graham Matheson into second place by one ounce, with James Gray third.  The bottle went to James Watson.

Things are hotting up in the overall competition, with Graham Matheson joining George Skinner at the top of the leaderboard with 25 points. With three heats left, there is everything to play for!
The next heat is on Saturday 6 September at 09.00.
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The access road has cleared overnight and the Fishery has reopened.

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I said that we needed more water for the lochans!

Access roads to the Fishery are completely flooded and are impassable.  Given that it still raining heavily at 08.30, there is no point opening today.  We will update the Blog when there are any developments.

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A record 21 competitors turned up for the fourth heat of the 2014 Dunlichity Cup.  Newcomers included Ryan Campbell, Gavin Mackie, Jordan Grant and Gordon Haggart.

The bright conditions resulted in a lot of fish being seen but fewer being landed!  The first two pegs saw many fish being hooked but getting off before they could be netted.

James Watson led the way with a nice 5lb 2oz fish, with Jamie MacGregor following up with a 4lb 9oz fish.  James' fish was the biggest fish of the day.

As the pegs progressed, it became apparent that anyone taking two fish were likely to be in the running for the prizes.  So it proved, with Martin Haberfield winning with two fish to 6lb 3oz, with George Skinner second (5lb 9oz) and Ian Young third (5lb 5oz).  A number of competitors regretted putting fish back earlier in the day!

Special mention for debutant Jordan Grant, who caught a nice 4lb 4oz fish in the last ten minutes of the last peg, courtesy of a fly donated by Ian Young.

After four heats, George Skinner has moved to the head of the leaderboard, with Martin Haberfield second.  Eight anglers are within ten points of the top spot.

Please note that next month's heat is on the second Saturday of the month, 9th August.

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17 anglers competed for the third heat of the Dunlichity Cup at Dunlichity Trout Fishery. Conditions were bright and blustery and temperatures rose throughout the day.

George Skinner and Graham Matheson set the early pace, taking their two fish bags within the first two pegs at 6lb 8oz and 6lb 4oz respectively.

George Swanson's 5lb 1oz rainbow was the biggest fish taken but the eventual winner was Jamie MacGregor from Munlochy, with a bag of 8lb.  Aeneas Taylor was second with 7lb 9oz and George Skinner was third.

Magnus Macdonald still leads the overall Dunlichity Cup rankings with 17 points, one point ahead of George Skinner and two points ahead of Graham Matheson.

The next heat is on Saturday 5 July at 9am.

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The next heat of the Dunlichity Cup is on Saturday 7 June at 09.00.

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16 anglers competed in the second heat in this year's Dunlichity Cup.

With the heat being held towards the end of a stocking period, it was inevitable that it would be a challenge to catch large bags.  Competitors were warned to "return fish at their peril"!  The advice was sound, with only 4 competitors taking a two fish bag. 
Ian Young won the heat with a single fish - a lovely 8lb 9oz rainbow. Second was Magnus Macdonald and third was James Gray.  David Skinner won the bottle for the biggest fish outside of the top three.

Magnus Macdonald heads the league table after two heats, with two top three places.  He is followed by James Gray and the first two heat winners, Robert Anthony and Ian Young.


The next heat is on Saturday 7 June.

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In our last stocking, we have introduced some Tiger Trout (cross between at Brown Trout and a Brook Trout).

Given the cost of stocking Tigers, we have designated them as "Sporting" fish, so they should be returned with the minimum of handling.

We also put in a large proportion of Blue Trout in the last stocking.

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Tim Watson became Dunlichity Trout Fishery's 2013 Troutmaster Champion after a tense fish off.

13 badge winners competed for the title in good conditions and it was Tim, from Conon Bridge who came out on top with a three fish bag of 15lb 10oz.  This included the biggest fish of the day at 6lb 14oz.
In second place was 2012 Champion Donald Patience with a bag of 13lb 7oz and third was Dean Geddes with 12lb 1oz.

In addition to his trophy and £100 first prize, Tim will also get £100 towards his travel costs to Grafham Waters in September to compete in the national fish off.

During the fish off, over 100 fish were caught, with 12 4lb+ fish being taken.

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The next heat of the 2014 Dunlichity Cup is on Saturday 10 May at 09.00.

If you need any more information about the competition, then please email us on dunlichityhouse1@btinternet.com or call us on 01808 521442.

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The first heat of this year's Dunlichity Cup was held on 5 April and attracted 17 competitors.  In addition to our regulars, we had a couple of people returning after a couple of years absence from the competition, together with some fishing in the competition for the first time.

The lochans fished well throughout the seven pegs.

James Gray pipped Magnus Macdonald for second place by one ounce, but the winner was returning angler Robert Anthony, with a bag of 6lb 5oz.  George Skinner won the bottle for the biggest fish outside of the top three places.


Congratulation also go to Martin Haberfield and Aenean Taylor, who both scored points in their first competition.

The second heat is on Saturday 10 May.

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The lochans will be visited on Saturday afternoon, from 13.00 to 16.00 by a local fly fishing class.

Local Fisher, Heather Cary from Drumnadrochit,  Scottish Ladies National Champion,  Commonwealth Fly Fisher and Qualified Instructor/Coach  has been conducting a Fly Fishing Course based at Strathpeffer Community Centre, the final day of the Course will be held at Dunlichity Fishery on 12^th April when the participants will have a chance to try out their new found skills!

Heather says “ I find Dunlichity an excellent venue with first class, quality fishing and really helpful staff, the set up is ideal for teaching as the lay-out enables one to keep an eye on what’s going on!!”

Heather is, for a 3^rd time, a member of the Scottish Ladies Commonwealth Fly Fishing Team which will be competing in the Commonwealth Championships in Devon in June 2014. The Championships are bi-annual and are, this year, being hosted by England (on the last occasion they were held in Tasmania in 2012 where Heather was top rod in the team).

Heather will be teaching Fly Fishing at the Highland Field Sports Fair at Moy on 1 – 2 Aug 2014 on behalf of the Inverness Angling Club. In order to further her teaching experience she attended the World Famous Joan Wulff Fly Fishing School in upstate New York in 2013 which she described as being fascinating and feeling extremely privileged to be able to spend time with Joan discussing teaching methods and techniques.

Heather intends to organise an advanced casting clinic through Strathpeffer later in the year and fly tying classes are at present under discussion. Her website is www.heathercary.com where further details may be obtained.

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Tomorrow, Saturday 5 April sees the first heat in this year's Dunlichity Cup.

For the fifth year running, we are keeping the entrance fee unaltered at £25 per heat.  To enter, report to the Bothy at 09.00 tomorrow morning for registration, briefing and refreshments.

Any question, please email us or call 01808 521442.

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We will be clearing the ditch at the back of the top lochan today and tomorrow.  As a result, there will be a little disruption at the far end of the fishery as excavated material is removed.

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The dates for this year's Dunlichity Cup heats are:

Heat 1:  5 April
Heat 2:  10 May
Heat 3:  7 June
Heat 4:  5 July
Heat 5:  9 August
Heat 6:  6 September
Heat 7:  4 October
Heat 8:  1 November

The 2013 Toutmaster Fish Off will be held on Saturday 19 April.  Qualifiers will be notified shortly.

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As a result of the mild weather, we have restocked the fishery this week, the first time that we have stocked in February in the seven years that we have been here.  Good bags have been caught in the past few days, with Magnus MacDonald and George Skinner being particularly successful.

The steady rain that we have had over the past 48 hours have left the banks quite wet and slippery - take care when walking around the lochans.

The electric sockets have been fixed in the Bothy, so the kettle and microwave are back in use.

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• 27 anglers competed throughout the season.
• Over 362lbs of fish were taken.
• In excess of £1200 was awarded in prizes.

The final heat was a proved to be very tight with six 4lb+ fish being caught. First place was taken by Graham Matheson with a two fish bag of 8lb 15ozs (including the biggest fish of the day at 6lb 12oz). Second was George Skinner and third was Liam Skinner. Michael Kerr won the bottle for the biggest fish outside of the top 3 (5lb 9oz).
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The lochans are clear this morning and we are reopening.  We are hoping to have a restocking in the next few days, and there are only two days left to get a Troutmaster badge for the current month (only one name is on the board so far).

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Very heavy overnight frost - both lochans heavily frozen.

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It is a beautiful sunny morning up here and almost all of the ice has gone so we have reopened.

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The bottom lochan and two thirds of the top lochan are frozen this morning.  We will update the Blog as soon as conditions improve.

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Ice has all gone and a lovely morning with little wind.  Banks are wet but accessible with care.

We still have problems with the power sockets in the Bothy but the lights, toilet and water are all working.

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An overnight frost has resulted in both lochans having a film of ice this morning. 

We will reopen as soon as the temperature has risen sufficiently to clear the ice.

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The ice has all gone.  The banks are still wet but have dried significantly overnight so we are reopening today.

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FRIDAY, 24 JANUARY 2014

Again we had some heavy frosts overnight, resulting in the lower lochan being frozen, and the top lochan partially frozen.  As a result, we will not be open today for fishing.
Please check the blog daily for further updates. 


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Although there is a thin layer of ice on 30% of the bottom lochan, the top lochan is now clear so we are reopening this morning.

Keep checking the blog for further updates.

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Last night's clear skies and subsequent drop in temperature have resulted in both lochans being frozen this morning.  We will update the blog as soon as there is any change.

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Although the banks are quite wet due to the overnight rain, all of the ice has now gone, so we have reopened the fishery.

Normally at this time of year, we have twelve inches of ice on the lochans!  Given the mild winter that we have had so far, it is a case of us reviewing the fishery status on a daily basis.  However, the lochans are fishing well and it is a good time to get a Troutmaster badge!

If you are unsure as to whether we are open or not, then either check the blog or give us a call on 01808 521442.

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SUNDAY 5 JANUARY 2014

After a beautiful sunny day yesterday, we had a heavy overnight frost, and unfortunately the lochans will be closed today.
Please check the blog daily for further updates.



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