While much of the rest of the country was suffering floods and gales the NE area has been much less affected. At Lochter Fishery Oldmeldrum, conditions were certainly testing but anglers are a hardy breed and properly kitted out are willing to venture out in most weathers. The biggest problem facing fishers came as a result of the stream which feeds the lochs washing loads of silt downstream and causing the water to go cloudy. This persisted for much of the week with the strong winds exacerbating the situation by persistently kicking up the silt.
The trick for anglers was to have their flies seen by the fish in the water and some gaudy concoctions were cast out upon the waves with this in mind.
In the event blobs and yellow dancers emerged as favourites with black lures and budgies also effective.
Top fisher for the week was Peter Young who had a really good Friday catching and releasing nineteen trout including one at 5lbs.Peter used a variety of lures and also successfully tried buzzers in the clearer water. Also getting into the action was Alex Anderson from Aberdeen who used a blob as an attractor and two nymphs behind it to bring ten fish to the net. Ernie Mackay Snr had seven using cats and Steven Tait five all on a yellow dancer.
At the time of writing the water has cleared so exponents of smaller flies, nymphs and buzzers will be back in serious business. The forecast is for mixed weather but nothing approaching the severity of that experienced recently and who knows maybe Spring is just around the corner.
