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Champion of Champions Final
Lake of Menteith - Friday 4th October 2024Sponsored by The Lake Of Menteith, Snowbee, Glencairn Crystal, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Angus Angling, McLanachan Transport Ltd and My Fishing Flies.
The weather was kind to the competitors for the Champion of Champions on Friday 4th October with overcast skies throughout the day and a light wind that gave almost perfect conditions. Some light rain did get through later in the day. Sixty anglers set off around 9am and it looked like they had been finding fish in most areas of the Lake in their practice sessions as the boats spread out quickly over the water. The top six anglers from each of the ten Saturday night heats of the Scottish Club Championship qualify for the Champion of Champions and should any angler be unable to take up his spot then the seventh angler from that heat is offered the place.
The match was fished to a two fish kill per angler followed by catch and release with 2lbs being awarded for each returned trout. Heavy fish were capped at 4lb. The competitors caught a total of 498 fish of which 119 trout weighing 353lb 15.4oz were retained and 379 trout were returned. Of the retained trout 28 were capped at 4lbs. One of them was over 6lbs, nine were between 5 and 6lbs and a further 18 were between 4 and 5lbs.
The presentation dinner was held at the Karma Lake of Menteith Hotel with the prizes being presented by Quint Glen, manager of the Lake of Menteith Fishery. During the heats, semis and finals of the Scottish Club Championship and Champion of Champions each angler is asked to donate £1 and along with the proceeds of raffles held at the dinners it is given to the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity. At the Champion of Champions £83 was collected from the £1 donations and £511 was raised at the raffle.
Top rod and the 2024 Champion of Champions was Joseph Wood of Albacats. Joseph had 24 trout for 48lb 3.4oz and received the first prize of £250 provided by McLanachan Transport, a box containing approximately 150 flies provide by My Fishing Flies, a voucher for a 50% discount provided by Snowbee and of course the trophy and a gold medal. Joseph had a very successful end to the 2024 season and in addition to being the Champion of Champions he was in the Scotland team that took the gold medal at the autumn international where as an individual he was 10th overall. The following week he was 24th in the Scottish National Championship and the week after that he was in the Albacats "B" team that were third in The Scottish Club Championship.
photo: Joseph Wood receiving the trophy
from Quint Glen
Close behind in second was Gregor Fleming of Albacats with 21 trout for 45lb 3.1oz. He received a £100 prize, a 40% discount voucher provided by Snowbee and a silver medal. Gregor has also had a successful year having been in the Scotland team that took the gold medal at the spring international. He finished a close third in the Scottish National Championship thereby qualifying for the 2025 Scottish teams and like Joseph he was in the Albacats "B" team that was third in the Scottish Club Championship. Gregor has an incredible record in the Champion of Champions having qualified for the final in at least 8 out of the last 15 years. He was the Champion of Champions as a youngster in 2009 and more recently he was 3rd in 2022 and 5th in 2023.
photo: Gregor Fleming receiving his
prizes from Quint Glen
In third place was Alan Steven of Tartan Tyers with 16 trout for 36lb. Alan received the £100 prize, a 30% discount voucher provided by Snowbee and a bronze medal. Alan recently finished 18th in the Scottish National Championship thereby qualifying for the 2025 Scottish teams. He was in the Tartan Tyers team that finished 10th in the Scottish Club Championship and is no stranger to the Champion of Champions having finished a close third in 2016.
Alan Steven receiving his prizes
from Quint Glen
The Scottish Club Championship committee wish to thank the Lake of Menteith management, My Fishing Flies, Snowbee, Thermo Fisher Scientific, McLanachan Transport and Angus Angling for their support of the Scottish Club Championship and the Champion of Champions. The efficient running of the heats, semis and finals requires good communication with the competing clubs and the committee wish to thank the club secretaries for the help provided by them throughout the season. We are fortunate to have such good natured competitors taking part in the championships and their patience, particularly at the weigh-ins is appreciated.
Scottish Club Championship
Final - Friday 27th September 2024Sponsored by The Lake Of Menteith, Snowbee, Glencairn Crystal, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Angus Angling, McLanachan Transport Ltd and My Fishing Flies.
The weather held fair for the final of the Scottish Club Championship with the competitors heading out to a bright day with a chilly northerly breeze. There was occasional cloud cover with some light showers and generally the wind was light throughout the day. The match was fished to a two fish kill per angler followed by catch and release. Two pound was awarded for each returned fish and heavier trout were capped at 4lb. Numerous trout over 4lb were caught with a few over 5lb also brought to the scales.
Twenty teams of three anglers were in the final having qualified through the May to July Saturday night heats and the two August semi-finals. The 60 anglers caught a total of 271 trout of which 158 were returned.
Top club on the day were the 2022 winners RAF Fish Hawks represented by David Eames (9 fish), Simon Gaines (12 fish) and Leighton Davies (5 fish) with a total of 26 fish for 57lb 7.9oz. They received the £500 winners prize and each team member received a box containing approx 120 flies provided by My Fishing Flies and a Snowbee voucher for a 50% discount provided by Snowbee along with their gold medals.
photo: Simon Kidd of Snowbee presenting the prizes to
Simon Gaines, Leighton Davies and David Eames of RAF Fish Hawks
In second place with 24 trout for 52lb 15.5oz was Albacats "A" represented by Greig Davie (7 fish), Stevie Welsh (8 fish) and Jim Mckinlay (9 fish). The received the runner-up prize of £200. Each member of the team received a 40% voucher provided by Snowbee and their silver medals.
photo: Simon Kidd of Snowbee presenting the prizes to
Greig Davie, Stevie Welsh and Jim Mckinlay of Albacats "A"
In third place with 23 trout for 47lb 2.1oz was Albacats "B" represented by Gregor Fleming (9 fish), Mark Fleming (7 fish) and Joseph Wood (7 fish). They received a £100 prize and each angler received a voucher for a 30% discount from Snowbee and their bronze medals.
photo: Simon Kidd of Snowbee presenting the prizes to
Mark Fleming, Gregor Fleming and Joseph Wood of Albacats "B"
The heaviest fish caught in the heats weighed 6lb 12.9oz and was caught in heat 1 by Lee Anderson of Rescobie Loch DA. Lee was presented with the heaviest fish trophy by Simon Kidd of Snowbee.
The presentation dinner was held this year in the Karma Lake of Menteith Hotel and all the anglers that attended the dinner received a Glencairn Crystal whisky glass. A raffle was held at the dinner which raised £549 which will go to the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity.
photo: Lee Anderson being presented with the heaviest fish trophy by Simon Kidd.
The Scottish Club Championship Committee wish to thank all of the sponsors for their continued support and also wish to thank everyone who purchased tickets and donated prizes for the raffle.
2024 Autumn Team
Fly Box Raffle
The 2024 Autumn team wish to thank all of the competitors at the National semis and the final who purchased squares in the raffle for their fly box. The draw was done at the final on Saturday 21st September and was won by Ian Cannop of Dounreay FFC.
photo: Ian Cannop
Scottish National Trout Fly Fishing Championship
Sponsored by Fishers Direct, Vision, 7Plus7 Developments and R&E Hygiene
Final - 21st September 2024
The SANACC Committee wish to thank Fishers Direct and Vision who provided prizes in the heats and vouchers for the top three in the final; 7Plus7 Developments who sponsored the fly measures and R&E Hygiene who sponsored the waterproof catch returns. They also wish to thank all of the fisheries that hosted the heats and semis and particularly OTFA for managing the Harray heat and the Lake of Menteith for hosting the final and providing pies for the competitors and boatmen at the end of the session. The committee are also grateful to Ian Colligan for standing in as a port angler and fish weigher on numerous occasions and usually at short notice and also wish to thank the thirty three boatmen who gave up their Saturday to ensure the success off the final.
The competitors had cloud cover for almost all the session and although it was on the chilly side the wind was light and only really picked up late on as the sun broke through. From the outset the boats were well spread out with anglers to be seen in most parts of the Lake. During the afternoon the majority of the boats were in open water at the eastern end.
The top eighteen rods from the final qualified for the the 2025 international teams to represent Scotland at Rutland and Menteith and with eleven members of the 2024 gold medal teams and seven previous national champions taking part it was never going to be an easy task.
photo: Thomas McMillan and Derek Keenan
photo: Tyler Hay and Derek Keenan
The heaviest fish of the day weighed 6lb 4.7oz and was caught by Thomas McMillan of Lochend FF. Thomas was presented with the Dundee Salver and a bottle of malt by the international team manager, Derek Keenan.
Top boatman was Tyler Hay who was boating for Ronnie Gilbert and Kenny Sichi and Tyler was presented with a bottle of malt by Derek Keenan.
Top rod with 17 fish for 36lb 6.5oz was Ronnie Gilbert of Greys Menteith Ospreys. In addition to receiving the trophy Ronnie also received a £300 voucher provided by Fishers Direct. Ronnie has won the trophy twice before in 2008 and 2014 and was also second in 2017. He was in the gold medal team at the 2024 autumn international and won the brown bowl for the top individual at internationals in 2022 and 2023.
In second place with 15 fish for 30lb 0.1oz was Ben Robertson of Tartan Tyers and he received a voucher for £100 provided by Fishers Direct. Ben was also in the gold medal team at the 2024 autumn international. In third place with 13 fish for 29lb 3.4oz was Gregor Fleming of Albacats and he received a voucher for £100 provided by Fishers Direct. Gregor was in the gold medal team at the 2024 spring international.
photo(above): Ronnie Gilbert with the National Trophy
photo: Ben Robertson being congratulated by Derek Keenan
photo: Gregor Fleming being congratulated by Derek Keenan
Autumn Fly Fishing InternationalLlyn Clywedog, Wales12th September 2024
Scotland took the gold medal in the autumn international by a wide margin. Read the full report on the 2024 autumn international page..
Autumn International 12th September, 2024 Llyn Clywedog | ||||
Position | ||||
Fish | ||||
1st | Scotland | 236 | 484 lb | 11 ozs |
2nd | England | 159 | 326 lbs | 13 ozs |
3rd | Ireland | 127 | 263 lbs | 9 ozs |
4th | Wales | 105 | 219 lbs | 7 ozs |
Team Scotland - Autumn International 2024- Llyn Clywedog,
Wales
Back Row: Tyler Hay, Derek Keenan (manager), Peter
Auchterlonie, Grant Sutherland, Martin McCafferty, Chris Mcallister, Derek
Pozzi, Ben Robertson, Michael Low and Paul Angell (IFFA President)
Front Row: Scott Aitken, Kevin Neri, Thomas McMillan, Kevin
McCabe (captain), Ronnie Gilbert, Joseph Wood and George Mackenzie
(International Secretary)
Scottish Club Championship
Semi-Final No 2 - 16th August 2024Sponsored by The Lake Of Menteith, Snowbee, Glencairn Crystal, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Angus Angling, McLanachan Transport Ltd and My Fishing Flies.
The second of the Scottish Club Championship semi-finals was held on Friday 16th August and once again there was a strong wind for most of the day. The feature of the day was the number of large trout that were netted. Three fish over 6lbs were brought to the scales along with twelve over 5 lbs and twenty three over 4lbs. Top individual rod was Alan Steven of Tartan Tyers with 16 fish for 33lb 10oz. Tyler Hay, also of Tartan Tyers had 14. There were 20 teams in the semi and the top ten teams qualified for the final.
Top team with 37 trout for 81lb 1.3oz was Tartan Tyers "A". The Tyers were represented by Andrew McAdam (7 fish), Alan Steven (16 fish) and Tyler Hay (14 fish). In second place and represented by Martin McCafferty (11 fish), Robert Wilson (6 fish) and Michael Low (9 fish) were Glencoe FF "A" with 26 fish for 58lb 5.5oz. In third place represented by Murray Hunter (7 fish), John Buchanan (5 fish) and Angus Armour (10 fish) were Costa Ecosse "A" with 22 fish for 52lb 11.9oz. The Tartan Tyers each received a box of flies provided by sponsors My Fishing Flies.
The Tartan Tyers took their fish on midge tip lines with cormorants and fabs in Cages Bay.
photo - Tartan Tyers
Andrew McAdam, Alan Steven and Tyler Hay
Scottish Club Championship
Semi-Final No 1 - 9th August 2024Sponsored by The Lake Of Menteith, Snowbee, Glencairn Crystal, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Angus Angling, McLanachan Transport Ltd and My Fishing Flies.
The first of the Scottish Club Championship semi-finals was held on Friday 9th August and the competitors had to put up with a strong wind for most of the day. However that didn't stop Joseph Wood of Albacats and Nigel Burns of FNF Falcons from netting 14 trout each. Brad Gair of Balfron Piscatorials had 13 and Brian Kennedy of Glasgow PO, Chris Tamburrinni of Central Belters, Calum Clark of Firecats and Sam Harrison of Balfron Piscatorials had 11 each. There were 20 teams in the semi and the top ten teams qualified for the final.
The top team was FNF Falcons represented by Nigel Burns (14 fish), Cambell Morgan (9 fish) and Alan Brock (8 fish) with a total of 31 fish for 67lb 10.5oz. They will each receive a box of flies provided by sponsors My Fishing Flies. In second place with 28 fish for 60lb 10.9ozs was Balfron Piscatorials "B" who were represented by Brad Gair (13 fish), Sam Harrison (11 fish) and Connor Wales (4 fish). The third placed team represented by Brian Kennedy (11 fish), John Simpson (5 fish) and Andrew Kennedy (10 fish) were GPO with a total of 26 fish for 56lb 1oz. GPO had finished 7th in their heat but got the place following a withdrawal and the 5th and 6th placed teams being unable to take the spot.
photo from left
FNF Falcons - Alan Brock, Nigel Burns and Campbell Morgan
2024 River Final - Top 6
Matthew Skeoch, Richard McHattie, Rab Maxwell, Scott Hamilton, Mark Straughen and Grant Gibson
Fly Box Raffle
Spring Team - 2024
Lough Ennell
Throughout the National heats competitors had the opportunity to take part in a raffle for a presentation box of flies that had been tied by the team going to the Spring International at Lough Ennell. The raffle raised £550 which went towards the costs that the team members would have had to pay themselves. The team wish to thank everyone who took part and helped them win the gold medal.
The box was won by Scott Henderson (photo)
Spring International - Lough Ennell
Back row from left: Michael Callaghan (IFFA Secretary, Neil Cockburn, Derek Keenan (manager), Calum Clark, Sandy McConnachie, Wullie Simpson, Martin McCafferty, George Telford, Tyler Hay and Paul Angell (IFFA President)
Front row: George Mackenzie (international secretary), Gregor Fleming, Kevin McCabe, Michael Ward, Sean McCaffrey (captain), Colin Macdonald, Peter Cameron and Ally Middlemass.
Spring International | |||
Lough Ennell - 24th May 2024 | |||
| Fish | Points | ||
1st | Scotland | 13 | 851 |
2nd | Ireland | 8 | 505 |
3rd | Wales | 4 | 253 |
4th | England | 3 | 191 |
28 | |||
Rod Licences - Press Release
Wild fisheries
Protecting the rights of anglers.
Anglers in Scotland will be shielded from increased costs. Proposals to introduce rod licences and a new wild fisheries levy will not be taken forward, Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham has announced.
The Scottish Government has ruled out these measures as well as the criminalisation of freshwater fishing without written permission and proposals to overhaul the structure and remit of District Salmon Fishery Boards, following a consultation on draft provisions for a Wild Fisheries (Scotland) Bill and draft Wild Fisheries Strategy.
The Scottish Government will facilitate work streams which encourage, empower and support the modernisation of fishery management, including the piloting of voluntary board mergers to identify any existing legislative issues. It will also develop a fishery management plan to trial any changes with boards and will also explore potential freshwater conservation provisions ahead of the introduction of a Bill to Parliament.
Ms Cunningham said:
“The Scottish Government is committed to supporting our famous and valuable wild fisheries, to modernise our fishery management structures and to establish a more secure and sustainable future for this vital sector.
“Our Wild Fisheries Bill will build on our significant conservation achievements to date, including the annual salmon conservation measures, Spring Conservation Orders, and the moratorium on coastal mixed stock fishery netting for three years.
“However it’s important that we represent the interests of our anglers, that’s why we have listened to the sector’s concerns around increasing costs and restricting access to fisheries and are ruling out the introduction of rod licences and a freshwater levy.
“We’ve heard through the consultation that these steps would limit the opportunities for our anglers and potentially discourage young people from taking part. Over and above this we will work with the angling community to identify ways to increase participation and to improve engagement across the sector.
“I am grateful for the considerable time and energy that the wild fisheries sector has given to date to help inform the programme of reform. We will continue to work closely with our stakeholders to make sure the legislation that is ultimately brought forward is robust and fit for purpose, so that anglers have confidence in the management and development of the fisheries that they depend on.”
2023 Champion Derek Pozzi
2023 River Champion Scott Hamilton
2023 Scottish Club Champions
Military Veterans
Military Veterans
2023 Champion of Champions
Keith Logan
Keith Logan