Lothians anglers give tips on best patterns ... and discover hidden gem of Cobbinshaw

Fishermen have been out in force on local rivers, including the Water of Leith, The Esk and The Almond.

Ben Steer, for the Water of Leith Honorary Fishery Officers, said that, post lockdown, the river was very low and clear but olives of various sizes were noted along with large spinner falls late in the evening.

Dries, he said, worked well when fish were rising with grey dusters and various olives being the preferred patterns.

In low water, when there are no risers, streamer and fry patterns fished tight to cover has usually managed to rustle up a fish or two.

Ben added: “The last few weeks have seen huge amounts of caddis on the wing with the fish making big splashy rises trying to get them. I’ve found at the beginning of the hatch, hares ear and partridge spiders (hares ear body with partridge hackle) have worked in the emergence phase with the usual deer hair type caddis patterns working late evening as the adults return to lay eggs.

“Weighted nymph patterns have been working in the deeper, faster runs during the day time, but the fish seem to move into the pools and glides for the evening due to the insect life coming off.

“It has been an excellent season so far with my part of the river (Dean Village to Newhaven) fishing extremely well.”

Marc Anderson, president of Musseburgh and District Angling Association, reports two notable catches. John Stewart, who is a regular on the River Esk, had five fine grayling to the net using Euro-style nymphing techniques and Jamie O’Donnell also had great success with some lovely trout and a few grayling.

And Gordon McBain brought dry flies out of his box to land six fish in one evening session, with the best around a pound.

On the Almond, Cramond Angling club report that the river has been fishing exceptionally well throughout June following the resumption.

Alastair Parkin, on behalf of the club, said good brown trout are being caught throughout the club beats from Cramond to Kirkliston.

Regular hatches of caddis and upwinged flies are really getting the fish into a feeding frenzy at some points with good spinner falls in the evening to continue the rise. Emerger and CDC-style patterns being most effective.

Sport, he said, on dry flies has “been fantastic”.

Scot Muir, secretary of West Lothian Angling Association, said the recent rain had perked up the river Almond on their eight-mile-plus stretch from near Newbridge to Kirkton.

Nymph and dry fly anglers were hooking into fish of up to 2lbs with the Almondell Country Park, upstream towards Kirkton and down at Birdsmill near Newbridge, were all producing. One new member landed 16 fish in one session.

Meanwhile, it is somewhat surreal to arrive at a fishery open day and be met by men wearing masks, strange times indeed, but COVID-19 still perplexes the planet.

The open day at Cobbinshaw Angling Association went ahead despite driving rain and a strong west wind which prevented bosses from delivering on their offer of free fishing for three hours on a catch-and-release basis.

So, the organisers had to extol the virtues of the fishery on land as they punted for new members.

Club officials must, however, be wondering what they have done to the weather gods as it is the second year running that their open day has been marred by bad weather. In 2019 it was strong winds.

The rain beat like machine-bun pellets on the roof of one of the on-site buildings where visitors sheltered as officials explained that Cobbinshaw is “a hidden secret”.

Looking out over the vast expanse of water, around 300 acres, one was struck by the barren nature of the surrounding landscape.

Cobbinshaw is, however, 1,000 feet up on the moors a few miles on a twisty, tight road from the popular Lang Whang and a short distance from the villages of Woolfords, Auchingray and Tarbrax. The fishery is not signposted and the access road can be easily missed. The post code for satellite navigation is EH55 8LQ.

The water was built around 1820 by civil engineer James Jardine (he also built Glencorse, Harlaw and Threipmuir) to provide water to the Union Canal. The reservoir is also a site of special scientific interest.

The member-only club was formed more than 100 years ago and fishing is by fly only. Cobbinshaw say they stock around 13,000 fish a year.

Bosses claim they have some of the best facilities in Scotland and membership allows access to 16 boats, all with 4HP motors, nets and drogues. The extensive pontoon and harbour offer easy access for anglers.

Membership is open and there is an “entrance fee, a one-off payment of £450 on entry” plus an annual subscription of £296 which allows fishing seven days a week throughout the year, although there are some restrictions over the winter.

There are additional boat charges for each outing and the catch limit is four fish per visit. Full details and forms are on the club website.