2024 National - SANACC

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.

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.

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.

The fifth and last of the semi-finals was held at the Lake of Menteith on Friday 28th June.  Once again it was a chilly day with a strong and blustery west wind which grew in strength as the session progressed.  It was overcast with occasional showers for most of the day with the sun breaking through later in the day.  Thirty anglers took part and between them they caught 353 fish of which four were over 4lbs.  The top 14 rods qualified for the final and 12 fish were needed to get through.

In second place with 22 fish was Martin McCafferty of Future FF and third place went to Ronnie Gilbert also of Greys Menteith Ospreys,

Photo from left

Martin McCafferty, Peter Auchterlonie and Ronnie Gilbert.

The fourth semi-final was held at Harelaw on Friday 21st June and once again the anglers had to contend with a chilly breeze.  It was overcast throughout the day with fish showing in most areas but were proving hard to tempt with several anglers reporting that they were attracting fish but couldn't hook them.  Some competitors did well in the morning but as the temperature dropped so did the number of fish being caught.  There were 30 anglers taking part and between them they caught 161 trout.  The top fourteen rods qualified for the final and 5 fish were needed to get through.

The last of the semi-finals is at Menteith on 28th June.

photo from left:

Calum Clark, James Simpson and Brian Fletcher

The third semi-final was held at the Lake of Menteith on Tuesday 18th June and for once there was warmth in the air.  It was overcast for most of the session with a light breeze although the sun broke through late in the afternoon   There were 37 anglers taking part and between them they caught 267 trout.  The top seventeen rods qualified for the final and 7 fish were needed to get through.

The semi-finals moved to Harelaw on Friday 14th June for the second of the semi-finals.  Once again it was a chilly day with quite a few showers in the morning but they cleared in the afternoon.  A moderate breeze blew for most of the day and right from the start of the session the trout were up and several competitors had bumper bags.  There were 18 anglers taking part and between them they caught 269 trout.  The top eight rods qualified for the final and 15 fish were needed to get through.

The 26 competitors in the first of the semi-finals of the National had to contend with a chilly North wind and a mix of sun and cloud.  The semi-finals started off at Lintrathen and the competitors caught a total of 127 trout and the top 12 of them qualified for the final

Stuart took his fish on fabs and cormorants with the first seven being caught at the Sawmiils and the last three at the rhododendrons

     

The 37 competitors in heat 6 of the National were treated to a warmer wind for their session than had been experienced during the previous five heats.  Lintrathen hosted the heat and provided a sunny day with some occasional cloud cover.  There had been very heavy rain overnight and once again conditions didn't make the fishing easy.  However the competitors caught a total of 115 trout and the top 19 of them qualified for the semis.

The heats move to Leven on Tuesday 14th May followed by a break before the final heat at Harray at the end of the month.

Conditions were a touch warmer for heat 5 of the National which was held at the Lake of Menteith.  Forty four four anglers took part and caught a total of 343 trout.  The top twenty three qualified for the semis.  

Top spots were around Tod Hole and International Bay where dries and buzzers were the tactics.

That cold north easterly wind that has been there for most of the heats was back again for heat 4 which was held at Frandy on 2nd May.  Just to make things harder there wasn't a cloud in the sky and fishing at Frandy was difficult.  There were 26 competitors for the heat and between them they caught 55 fish.  The top 13 qualified for the semis.

Top rod and recipient of a pair of Vision sunglasses was Martin McCafferty of Future FF who netted 9 fish.

The top three rods fished the southern end of the reservoir and used di3 and di7 lines with a mix of boobies, fabs, blobs and cormorants.

The National returns to the Lake of Menteith on Tuesday 7th May for heat 5.

Heat 3 of the National was at Menteith on 25th April and the competitors had to contend with a chilly breeze throughout the session.  The day started off bright but gradually clouded over to give a mix of cloud, sun, rain and hail.  However the fishing was good with the 51 anglers netting a total of 414 fish.  The heaviest four trout at the scales weighed 6lb 13oz, 6lb 4oz, 6lb and 5lb 2oz.  A further four were over 4lb.  With 51 competitors the top 26 qualified for the semi-finals.

The top three rods took their fish at Dog Island, Cages Bay, Sams Point, Hotel Bay and the Road Shore fishing cormorants, diawl bachs, fabs and boobies on floating and midge tip lines.

The next heat is at Frandy on 2nd May

Thirty eight anglers contested heat 2 which was held at Harelaw on 12th April.  It was dry and blustery when they set off at the start of the session and they weren't far into the day when the rain came in and the temperature dropped.  The rain was on and off for the rest of the day and fishing conditions were difficult.  However the fish were there to be caught and between the 38 of them they caught 127 fish.