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As the daily temperatures plummeted, to just a degree above freezing, it could not have come at a better time, as I had booked two days fishing at Scotland's Lake Of Menteith. ! Day 1 started off flat clam, but soon a bitterly biting North wind set it, making it feel pretty grim to say the least. Not deterred, I carried on in search of the fish. This was my first time at the Lake in November. I had heard it can produce some fantastic fishing, so had to pay the lake a visit, to see for myself. Joining me,...

After a phenomenal week in May, with an average of 27 fish to the boat, surely it couldn't better that. could it ? A practice day on the Saturday with friend, Fraser Mcconnell, saw us parked in the middle of the basin, in  pretty much flat calm conditions for the first hour, and bright sunshine, with a temperature 24 degrees! A tip off from Lake regular John Buchannon, told us the fish were on buzzers - happy days, right up my street. I fished a team of buzzers at first, then switched later to buzzers and diawl bachs. All flies...

Scotland's Lake Of Menteith is one of my favourite waters, as it always seems to offer every style of fly fishing on offer, dries, nymphs, lures. All tactics seem to consistently work here at the correct time of year to fish it. The week was set for me to take 4 different anglers out fishing, and hopefully get a fish or two to the boat - This we certainly did, as our daily average was 23 fish. I was extremely fortunate to get near tropical Scottish weather, with temperatures in the low 20's for all 4 days., and a consistent...

Every year I look forward to the visit of Irish angler Nick Hannon. Nick has joined me for the 3rd year in a row now, for a 3 day adventure on Rutland Water. We have had some ridiculously good buzzer fishing the past two years, however this season, a new food source was on the menu, the SHRIMP ! Could it now become the new March & April food source? As we headed out onto the lake, we decided on the sailing club bay, as a SW wind gave us nice shelter, for either our buzzer or shrimp set up...

So, all the rumours are that the fish are very close to the shores on, Grafham, Rutland, and Pitsford. I am a realist, and appreciate not all fish will be hugging the shores, however for the past 7 weeks, I have barely fished in water deeper than 6', and had some scintillating sport, with browns up to 5.5lb, and rainbows up to 10lb ! So what's driving this? There is one obvious reason -fish food ! There has been unprecedented midge hatches in the margins this year, followed by 1000's, if not millions of daphnia flees, and now on top...