Bank Job

Saturday saw an improvement in the clarity of the river although it was still at 3.5 feet above the stone. I was joined by Iain and Alistair from the Perth and District Angling club who fished the Knowes Bank and the Shochie. Both fished the fly which wasn't easy as in places the grass extended into the water before them. Iain had a couple of offers and landed a good Brownie at over two pounds but it was generally quiet.
Alistair fished first of all with a fly that he had tied himself following a description that he had read in the book 'Days and Knights of Game Fishing' by Bill Currie. The creator of the fly had designed it to be used fishing the pockets of slack water when the river was running high in January and February. Fished on a heavy sink line but with little inherent weight of its own the fly is cast square across and retrieved by hand where fish often  took on the second pull. In 1967 this method was successful when the designer of the fly, Dr Hay of Perth, took five fish from such a pocket of slack water at Taymount where the boat only got one from the 'only pool it could fish' as he put it, in the high water.
I also have a copy of this book, I persuaded my friends mum to buy it for me whilst on holiday in Dunkeld when I spotted the reference to Dr Hay from Perth who was my Grandfather. That Christmas in 1987 I gave him a copy of the book which he seemed pretty chuffed with as he had no idea that he and his method were featured.

Thanks Alistair for fishing that fly at Upper Redgorton - it's a small world!