Dunlichity House

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

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The next heat of the Dunlichity Cup is on Saturday 7 September at 09.00.  A report on the last heat will be posted later in the week.

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The ice has all cleared so we are reopening today.

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The dates of the 2012 Dunlichity Cup heats are confirmed as:


We have decided not to hold a heat in August as many competitors are on holiday.

We are keeping the entry fee at £25 for the 4th year in succession but are introducing some changes:

1.  The league will operate on a points basis, with each heat winner getting 10 points, runner-up 9 points, etc down to 10th place who gets 1 point.

2.  The minimum number of competitors to retain the current prize distribution of £60, £40 and £20 is 12.  Between 11 and 9 competitors, the prizes will be £50, £30 and £20.  The minimum number of competitors to hold a heat is 9.

Any questions, please contact us.

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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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Both lochans have now fully thawed.

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Heat 5 of the Dunlichity Cup is on Saturday 4 August at 09.00 am.
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On a day when the competitors welcomed back regular visitor, Dennis Strange from Barrow-on Furness, the day's competition was all about tactics!  Although over 50 fish were caught, only 14 fish were taken as competitors held back waiting for "the big one"!  A number of people ended up "blanking" after having caught fish.

Ian Young's tactic of tacking early fish proved successful with two early fish weighing in at a total of 7lb 2oz, a weight which was not bettered.  Magnus MacDonald came second with 4lb 5oz and Liam Skinner came third with 3lb 15oz (including a fish in the last minute of the last peg!).  The bottle went to Dennis Strange with a fish of 3lb 7oz.


In terms of the league, Colin Keith increased his lead at the top after Bill Greig's noble efforts to join the competition after the first peg due to work commitments failed to bear fruit!  Big movers were Ian Young and Magnus MacDonald.
The next heat of the Dunlichity Cup is on Saturday 4 August.
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The first heat of the 2012 Dunlichity Cup competition was held on Saturday 14 April.  Conditions were mixed but 16 hardy souls turned out for what proved to be a productive day, with 7 competitors taking bags in excess of 6lb.

The day was won by George Skinner, with a two fish bag of 7lb 14oz which included the biggest fish of the day at 4lb 3oz.  In second place was Ian Young with 7lb 5oz and Colin Keith pipped Richard Franklin to third place (both had a bag of 6lb 13oz but Colin won on the basis of the largest individual fish).

The bottle for the largest fish outside of the top three was won by Robert Todd.

Heat 2 of the competition will be held on Saturday 12 May.


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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.

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.

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.

Hi

Fishery Conditions

The fishery was stocked last week and there have been some large bags and large fish caught. I will be trying to provide a weekly update with conditions, significant catches and maybe a few photos!

Website

As you will have seen, our new website is now up and running. We added this blog to the fishery pages so that up-to-date information can be posted (particularly at times over the winter when the weather prevents us from opening). We would welcome feedback on the site.

Competition – The Dunlichity Cup

After receiving a lot of positive feedback following the Troutmaster fish-off, we have decided to run a series of monthly competitions. Starting tomorrow, Saturday 22 May at 09.00, we will be running a 7 peg, two fish competition. The cost of entering is £25, only £1 more than the price of a 4 hour, 2 fish Troutmaster ticket. Prizes of £60, £40, £20 and a bottle will be awarded at the end of each heat, and competitors will be able to continue fishing after the competition on a catch-and-release basis for no extra charge.

At the end of the seventh individual heat, the person who has achieved the largest total bag over the seven heats will be awarded the Dunlichity Cup and a prize of £100.

Due to holidays, there are a number of places available for tomorrow's heat - if you are not able to pre-register in the bothy, then just call us on 01808 521442 and we will reserve you a place.

The entry form is in the Bothy and the rules for the competition are below:

2010 Dunlichity Cup Rules

Heat 1 - Saturday 22 May - 09.00

Heat 2 - Saturday 19 June- 09.00

Heat 3 - Saturday 17 July - 09.00

Heat 4 - Saturday 14 August - 09.00

Heat 5 - Saturday 11 September - 09.00

Heat 6 - Saturday 9 October - 09.00

Heat 7 - Saturday 6 November - 09.00

1. Entry Fee: £25 (£1 more than the 4 hr 2 fish Troutmaster price). Maximum 30 competitors.

2. Register on form in Bothy. Non-returnable fee payable in advance. 20 places reserved for Loyalty Scheme members.

3. Seven 30 minute pegs are fished, with the draw for pegs occurring at the beginning of the day.

4. Pegs will move three places to the right at the end of each 30 minute session.

5. 30 minute refreshment break after 4th peg is fished.

6. Barbless hooks to be fished at all times. Inspection of hooks will occur regularly and any unbarbed hooks found will result in disqualification. Traditional fly patterns, no poppers or boobies. A maximum of two flies may be fished on a line at any time i.e. no "washing lines".

7. Competitors may have two rods on the bank but only a single rod to be fished at all times, 6 lb minimum breaking strain line (8lb preferred).

8. All anglers must be in possession of a priest. Returned fish must be subjected to the minimum of handling. All Brown Trout to be returned.

9. Competitors may fish on after the competition on a "catch and release" basis at no extra cost.

10. Non-competitors will not be able to walk around the lochans during the competition.

11. Heat winner will be the angler with the largest two fish bag taken throughout the seven peg session. Prizes are £60, £40 and £20 for Ist, 2nd and 3rd places respectively and a bottle for the largest fish caught by an angler placed 4th and below.

12. Dunlichity Cup winner will be the angler who has the largest total bag over all of the qualifying dates. Winner will hold the Dunlichity Cup for one year, receive a personal trophy and a prize of £100.

13. In the event of two equally-sized bags, the angler with the largest single fish in the bag will be the winner.

14. Mike will be officiating and his decision on the day is final.

Hopefully see you all soon.

Best wishes

Mike