Loch Leven Fishing Report – week ending 19th August 2012

There have been plenty small fish in evidence over the last week at Loch Leven, with the open water between Reed Bower and St Serfs in particular holding a large head of fish ranging between 5-11 inches in length.  This is obviously great news for the future!  At the other end of the size spectrum, the larger brood stock are now starting to ‘colour up’ which is a sign of things to come in September, October & November when these trout head up the burns to produce the eggs / fry for the following seasons.

Arguably one of the only plus points to come from the recent succession of very wet summers has been that the burns running into Loch Leven are in very good condition and ideal for producing trout fry.  The burn habitat in general is better than it has been for many a year but we do need to be vigilant for incidents which compromise their well-being.

Bigger fish too have shown up in returns this last week with the heaviest weighing in at 3 lbs 12 ozs.  This fish was caught by Nigel Burns, out fishing with his club on Saturday.  Good rises of fish are being seen most evenings and some good sport is being had between 5pm and 9pm in particular.  Admittedly, there are a lot of small fish involved with these rises but nevertheless they are good fun to be amongst.  Fry feeders are showing up along the extensive weed beds but it is usually a case of needing to be ‘in the right place at the right time’ to hook one of these specimens.

Buzzer fishing this season on Loch Leven for some reason just has not really happened although this method has occasionally produced results when conditions have been favourable.  Fishing dries has also worked but again conditions need to be just right to get the best chance of a fish.  However, the most successful anglers over recent weeks have tended to be those using pulling methods. When pulling, line choice is very important and, generally speaking, it has been best to use low density lines in duller conditions and similarly to use higher density lines in brighter conditions.

Water temperature and clarity remain steady at 17.5⁰C and 1.8 metres respectively.