Dunlichity House

The frost was not as bad as expected last night and we have opened at 09.00.  The Fishery fished well yesterday, with George Skinner catching 18 fish, David Skinner 13 and George Swanson 11.

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The ice has cleared so we have reopened.

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The ice has now cleared and we have reopened the Fishery.  The banks are quite wet in places and care will be needed when walking aroung the lochans.  In addition, we have still to check the water supply to the Bothy.

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Fishing was good yesterday with Bill Grieg and Martin Krop both catching 7 each and losing others.

The bothy pipes are fixed and the fishery is open as normal.

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Yesterday, we saw the first snowfall of the year, with the lochans getting a light dusting which remained overnight. 

The lochans received a full stocking earlier in the week, and there has been some good sport, with fish being taken at lower depths as the temperature drops.  George Phillip, John Allison and Martin McCool all had good success towards the end of the week.

The last Troutmaster month (21 September to 20 October) finished with the following badge winners:

1.  Cairan MacMillan (Lower Foyers) - 7lb 9oz (caught on a Mayfly!)
2.  George Skinner (Avoch) - 5lb 2lb
3= Colin Keith (Cromary) - 3lb 2oz
3= Neil Pirrie (Inverness) - 3lb 2oz

The report of the last Dunlichity Cup heat has been posted on the Blog, and the final heat will be next Saturday, 3 November at which, in addition to the heat prizes, the season awards will be made.

The clocks go back tonight and daylight hours will be reduced.  As a result, our new winter rates will come into effect.  These will be covered on a separate blog.

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Thursday 26 January @ 08.15
Unfortunately, an overnight frost has left a layer of ice on both Lochans.

The nice is not thick and we hope that forthcoming temperature increases will mean that we will not remain closed for long.

Keep watching the Blog for further information.

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The changeable weather conditions led to difficult conditions for the 4th Heat of the Dunlichity Cup. Indeed, given the fact that the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart was rained off, it said a lot about the competitors that they actually participated and caught some fish!

Inevitably, not many fish were caught (16 taken) and the largest fish of the day at 5lb 12oz won the Heat for overall competition leader David Skinner. In second place, with two fish to 4lb 8oz was Bob Todd. One ounce behind in third place was Tim Watson.

The bottle for the largest fish outside of the top three was won by Richard Franklin.
The result meant that David Skinner consolidated his position at the top or the leader board. George Skinner's blank meant that he has been overtaken by Robert Todd and James Gray.
The next Heat of the Cup is on Saturday 13 August.

The second heat of the 2011 Dunlichity Cup was held last Saturday with a number of new faces, including two juniors competing for the first time. The Fishery had been stocked the day before, so fishing was particularly good, with a number of competitors completing their bag before the break.
Over 60lb in weight was shared by the 17 competitors and a couple of the fish have gone on the Troutmaster Board for May.
The victor for the day was Hendrik Cornelius, with a bag of 6lb 15 oz. Hendrik edged Bob Todd into second place by one ounce, with Will Jack in third place with a bag of 5lb 9oz. Biggest fish outside of the top three went to Liam Skinner, with a fish of 3lb 7oz.

The 2010 Dunlichity Trout Fishery Troutmaster fish off was held on Saturday 16 April. Ten badge winners competed for the shield, £100 first prize and entry into the National fish off.
Conditions on the day were good, and everyone caught fish. The competition was tight and the three bag average weight was around 7lbs.
Congratulations go to winner Geoff Allsop from Mansfield. Geoff travelled up to the Highlands specifically for the fish off, and his efforts were rewarded with a bag of 12lb 2oz, caught before half of the pegs had been completed. Geoff has indicated that he will compete in the National fish off, and part of his prize will be a contribution from Dunlichity Trout Fishery towards his travel costs.
George Skinner was second, winning a prize of £50 for a bag of 10lb 11oz and third place David Skinner won £25 for his bag of 8lb 11 oz.

2010 Dunlichity Troutmaster Champion, Geoff Allsop 2nd Placed George Skinner and 3rd Placed David Skinner with Champion Geoff Allsop Largest Fish winner Liam Skinner

The new summer rates have now been published on the website. Catch and release prices are unaltered, but as a result of increases in fish prices, we have had to move some of the prices for 1, 2 and 3 fish. For some of our prices (e.g. 4 hours, 1 fish), the rate is changing for the first time since before 2007! We have tried to simplify the Senior and Junior discounts, and we have also slightly amended the Troutmaster ticket.

There is still snow around the bottom lochan but the top lochan is now virtually snow-free. The snow has, however been replaced by a lot of surface water, making the banks waterlogged.

If the weather is reasonably dry over the next two days, we hope to be able to reopen on Wednesday. We will update the blog as soon as we are open. Alternatively, call before you travel!

The top lochan is now fishable and we have reopened. If you plan on fishing tomorrow, we will update the blog early in the morning if there is a frost. Otherwise, we will be open!

Woke up to a heavy overnight frost. Both lochans frozen.

Not sure how quickly the ice will burn off - please call before travelling, and watch the blog for any updates.

We have woken up this morning to an overnight frost that has frozen a third of the top lochan. Our hope is that the ice will burn off early on, so the Fishery will open albeit with limited fishing until the ice clears.

The Bothy water is back on so the toilet is available.

Good fishing yesterday, with Martin Patience catching 13 ("and lost as many"). Reg Cambridge also caught fish, including a Troutmaster entry of 3lb 7oz. This means that we now have three at the top of the leaderboard, all with the same weight! Today is the last day of the February round of Troutmaster.

As at 08.00 this morning (Sunday 6 February), following a deep frost overnight, at least 50% of the top lochan is covered by a thin layer of ice.

We will monitor it throughout the morning and will update the Blog if there is any significant thawing.

As at 14.30 today, Saturday 5 February, the top lochan has fully thawed but the bottom lochan is still 50% frozen.

Provided that there is not a substantial frost overnight, or a significant rainfall which will waterlog the banks, then we intend to open tomorrow (Sunday) at 09.00.

We still have to check the plumbing in the bothy.

We will update the Blog tomorrow morning, but feel free to call after 08.00 to check that we have opened.

It feels like a broken record - "Changeable weather conditions"!

After drought conditions earlier in the week, we have had strong winds and showers today that have made casting a lottery!

The dry conditions have caused oxygen depletion and on Thursday, we lost 4 fish including a 12lb+. As a result, we have decided to buy an aerator for the top lochan. The increased oxygen levels should improve the fishing generally and the water circulation may give us a few extra days fishing in the winter!

Significant catches this week include:

• Sean Cowan - 16
• Robin Scott - 15
• Ron Maslin - 11

Success has mainly been on buzzers, albeit that Muddlers have had results in the drier weather.

Next heat of the Dunlichity Cup on Saturday 17 July.

This update covers the two weeks up to and including 20 June.

The interim stocking, which was intended to reduce the number of tadpoles that the fish are feeding on, was largely successful. Tadpole numbers have been significantly reduced, particularly on the top lochan. The last stocking was over two weeks ago and the fish are now becoming a little fussy - the next stocking is planned for this week and there will be a further stocking before the next Dunlichity Cup heat.

Some decent catches have been achieved:
George Skinner - 14
Ron Maslin - 12
Gordon Mey - 11
Bob Matheson, "A.Manile", Sean Cowan - 10
Bill Greig - 9
James Gray, Thom Railer, John McFeeley - 8

Successful flies (according to the catch register) are:
Buzzers - x17
Dry Flies - x17
Sedge - x5
CDC - x4
Tadpole, Yellow Dancer, Damsels, Montana - x3
Hares Ear, Kate MacLaren, - x2
Others incluse Black Dawson, Bloodworm, Cat's Whisker, Klinkhammer, Orange Snatcher, Daddy, Black Fritz.

Troutmaster winners for the month ended 20 June were:
1. Martyn Petrie - 7lb 13oz
2. George Noble - 7lb 2oz
3. James Law - 7lb 0oz
No juniors entered fish this month!

The weather has now brightened up, and it is anticipated that the top-of-the-water sport will flourish over the coming weeks.

George Noble caught this beautiful 7lb 2oz Rainbow on the top lochan on Sunday morning, 20th June. Fishing on a Grey's intermediate line using a Black Fritz, it took George over 15 minutes to land the fish, having been taken to the backing twice!

The second heat of the Dunlichity Cup was held on Saturday.

The day turned out to be quite hard work, with many fish showing early on, but catch sizes and numbers proving a little disappointing. Those who did catch fish tended to return those caught after the first fish was on the bank, hoping for a big fish. As a consequence, the only competitor to take two fish, Robin Scott was the eventual winner and recipient of the first prize of £60. In second place, winning £40 was Will Jack and third place, with a prize of £20 was John McFeeley. James Watson won the bottle for the largest fish outside of the first three winners.