Loch Ryan Sea Angling Association. L.S.A.A

Once again I’m looking out of the window at the horizontal rain and the trees bent with gale force Westerly's, it must be ****ing summer.

We have had a hard time lately with an algae bloom wiping out the worm beds in the Loch and the weather changing by the minute which is never productive particularly on the West shore which is always best in the summer after four or five days of calm conditions.

Despite these setbacks there are still plenty of fish about particularly Bass which seem to be everywhere in Luce Bay at the moment.

The species hunt last weekend was as usual hard work but very enjoyable and Badger Boy was rewarded with a win after a lot of effort.

It was good to see him get a first because it included the luckiest Flounder ever seen and he managed to stay awake for the majority of the competition. We might have to stop calling him half man half mattress.

The total cash raised from the species hunt, as I write is £140 hopefully this will increase with more donations. All entry fees and winners money along with donations will be given to the palliative care unit in Stranraer where Big Jock, a much missed Lochryan member was cared for before he passed away in 2007.

Thirty three hours of running around Wigtownshire is tough but we managed to carry on with the help of coffee, red bull and pot noodles(you have got to be really hungry to enjoy one but at 2 am they are strangely nice).

The Lochryan Open is next month and hopefully will be well attended as usual. Match venues will be decided during the week before as normal so as to get the most productive areas for both days.

The post “Open” drink is always something to look forward to and a weekend of hardly any sleep for the organisers often results in some staggering about.

Previous years have seen an anonymous committee member selling a car that didn’t belong to him and another putting a hole in the pub ceiling while demonstrating the pendulum cast with a pool cue.

The jolly boys’ trip to the Shannon is imminent and hopefully it will be as good as the 2007 trip when we had some cracking Thornys to just under 15lb. We are joined by the Welsh Wizard this time along with the usual suspects but unfortunately not Kev as he is about to be a daddy again.

I will sign off now as I need to make even more rigs (Kev reckons I’m a bit O.C.D about bait and rigs), all the best Davy.

Here we are two matches into the summer league and the waterproofs haven?t been out yet, already one hundred percent better than last year.

There are a few changes this year; switching to centimetre sizes and measure and return for pegged competitions for example.

We have always tried to move with the times and try new things and so far the response has been favourable.

The Lochryan Open this year will almost certainly be the last ever held on Old House Point. Stenna have delayed construction to allow us one last comp but it will be a sad day for those of us who caught our first rays, tope and huss  etc . from this productive beach.

Back to the summer season, the first match pegged at O.H.P. went well with measure and return being used there was the usual mix of dogs, whiting and rockling etc.

The first rover was a hard days` fishing with all species not really feeding making changing tactics throughout the day important.

There were some nice plaice caught, the best a fish of 2lb 5oz fell to Mr.Mayagi  from his secret location that he will only tell you about if you ask him (ensure you have a spare hour as the story may go on a bit).

As usual this time of the year the Pollock were hit and miss with decent fish scarce but plenty of 1.5lb to 2lb fish about. The dogs didn?t make an appearance at all which was strange as they were a menace mid week with treble shots every cast at the Yellow Isle.

Anyway the summer is upon us my hands are ripped to bits with crabbing, wee Jim is having a moan, Badger Boy and I were hung over at the rover, so normality is restored, so far so good.

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to sign the petition, every name adds more weight to the campaign to save Old House Point.
Having waited nearly three weeks for a reply to our concerns from ERM, ( the company employed by Stena to assess the environmental impact) i have been in touch with them and made them aware of the strength of feeling in the angling community.
As anglers we need to stand up for our right of access to the shoreline and we can only achieve this if we can show to the Government and business organisations that we will not allow projects like this to go unchallenged.
The next step would seem to be writing to our Member of Parliament and trying to get some support from  B&Bs etc. as angling contributes a significant amount to the local ecomomy.
There is no more news as yet but i will keep everyone up to date with developments.
Once again thank you for your support
Cheers, Davy (Secretary L.S.A.A)

Lochryan S.A.A. committee members attended a public meeting with Stena regarding the development of Old House Point Cairnryan.
Members and friends of L.S.A.A. will know this beach is our main venue for the "Open",our show case open competition that has been held for well over thirty years.
Lochryan S.A.A. has been in the forefront of sea angling in s.west Scotland being the first to adopt all peggged and measure and return fixtures.
The development as it stands will encompass the whole Old House Point area meaning that the only deep water "pegged", venue in our area will be lost for good.
Stena plan to alter the foreshore adding piers,removing the old Mullbery Harbour concrete boats and undertaking a considerable amount of dredging.
There are a number of concerns with this project including the effect dredging will have on an area known to be a lesser spotted dogfish spawning ground,the way that piers will affect tidal patterns and not least taking away one of only two areas that we can host national standard competitions.
Another major concern post 9/11 is that the "catch-all", of security has been used by companies to deny access to areas without discussion along with that old chestnut insurance.
In the previous incarnation of the Lochryan port development we had a tentative agreement to allow access to L.S.A.A members to the foreshore for competitions etc.
As a life long angler i despise any restriction to my freedom to fish wherever i want but in this case we may have to compromise as far as i know a similar system is in place at Liverpool docks (please let me know the details if you use that area).
To sum up L.S.A.A. are in great danger of losing an important match venue,home to one of the oldest pegged fixtures in Scotland and would very much appreciate the support of our fellow anglers.

If you would like to show your support then sign the online petition http://www.petitiononline.com/lsaa/petition.html

Many Thanks Davy G. sec L.S.A.A.

Lochryan S.A.A. committee members attended a public meeting with Stena regarding the development of Old House Point Cairnryan.
Members and friends of L.S.A.A. will know this beach is our main venue for the "Open",our show case open competition that has been held for well over thirty years.
Lochryan S.A.A. has been in the forefront of sea angling in s.west Scotland being the first to adopt all peggged and measure and return fixtures.
The development as it stands will encompass the whole Old House Point area meaning that the only deep water "pegged", venue in our area will be lost for good.
Stena plan to alter the foreshore adding piers,removing the old Mullbery Harbour concrete boats and undertaking a considerable amount of dredging.
There are a number of concerns with this project including the effect dredging will have on an area known to be a lesser spotted dogfish spawning ground,the way that piers will affect tidal patterns and not least taking away one of only two areas that we can host national standard competitions.
Another major concern post 9/11 is that the "catch-all", of security has been used by companies to deny access to areas without discussion along with that old chestnut insurance.
In the previous incarnation of the Lochryan port development we had a tentative agreement to allow access to L.S.A.A members to the foreshore for competitions etc.
As a life long angler i despise any restriction to my freedom to fish wherever i want but in this case we may have to compromise as far as i know a similar system is in place at Liverpool docks (please let me know the details if you use that area).
To sum up L.S.A.A. are in great danger of losing an important match venue,home to one of the oldest pegged fixtures in Scotland and would very much appreciate the support of our fellow anglers.

If you would like to show your support then sign the online petition http://www.petitiononline.com/lsaa/petition.html

Many Thanks Davy G. sec L.S.A.A.

Lochryan Summer 2008 (The craic n all that)

This has been the worst summer for weather for a long time, some of us

are still shivering from the memory of the match on the Dee estuary in so called ?flaming? June.

?T.F?.for the old Beach Buddy  (John Holden deserves a knighthood ) without which I reckon hyperthermia would have set in. Horizontal rain and screaming gales are not much fun but this has been a feature of this year?s league.

There have been some high points however, Kevin getting a 13lb 6oz Bass for one .

Good man for returning her unharmed we all know catch and release is the future. Not that I have a problem with anyone taking a fish for the pot but be sensible don?t take big fish that are spawning age better to take  a smaller one but legal obviously .

Our man from smoggy land (Tees side) got his first shore caught Tope this year, not huge but Badger Boy was shaking like a diesel taxi. It?s great to see fellow anglers getting as much fun out of fishing as I do.

I got a personal best smoothy this year at 11lb 4oz it was a possible Scottish record but I didn?t want to keep the fish so that?s that then.

The Dewar was also into smoothies , getting his first shore caught hound this year, we had a great night rounded off with a world class sausage supper on the road home.

Stevey Hall had cracking Pollock in the all-nighter (7lb 5.5oz) which is a good fish in a comp as its hard to spend time hunting specimen fish in matches.

Commiserations have to go to Mr.Mayagi our most senior member who is well past 70 years old and landed a nice Huss of 8lbs at our last comp of the summer league unfortunately the fish was undersize and didn?t count! I?ve never seen a fatter and shorter Huss before, that?s hard luck as it would have taken the comp. and heaviest fish of the year. ?Bo###cks ! Davy san?, was heard, the air was blue but the fish went back ok.

What has been good this summer was fishing matches without a hangover, Badger and I decided this year to not have a wee vodka when he arrived the day before the comps (you know how it is, the craic`s good and the next thing the bottle is empty) as we did last year. We didn?t catch any more, but the big ?fella? didn?t throw up on the climb up and down the cliff marks which is a plus.

Senior moment of the year goes to Wee Jim .He was standing concentrating on the rod tip and after 15 minutes of moaning about no bites, decided to wind in and change the bait, only then did he   realise that he hadn?t actually cast out , ?There?s not a mark on these sand eels?, he shouted as I almost fell of the rock laughing.

So that?s the Summer League, the award winners are listed elsewhere but the best part of club competitions is the craic so thanks to the guys for turning up and there?s only a couple of weeks until the winter league starts, I cant wait for the wild weather ?.well its just like summer but a bit colder!

Cheers Davy

Lochryan Summer 2008 (The craic n all that)

This has been the worst summer for weather for a long time, some of us

are still shivering from the memory of the match on the Dee estuary in so called ?flaming? June.

?T.F?.for the old Beach Buddy  (John Holden deserves a knighthood ) without which I reckon hyperthermia would have set in. Horizontal rain and screaming gales are not much fun but this has been a feature of this year?s league.

There have been some high points however, Kevin getting a 13lb 6oz Bass for one .

Good man for returning her unharmed we all know catch and release is the future. Not that I have a problem with anyone taking a fish for the pot but be sensible don?t take big fish that are spawning age better to take  a smaller one but legal obviously .

Our man from smoggy land (Tees side) got his first shore caught Tope this year, not huge but Badger Boy was shaking like a diesel taxi. It?s great to see fellow anglers getting as much fun out of fishing as I do.

I got a personal best smoothy this year at 11lb 4oz it was a possible Scottish record but I didn?t want to keep the fish so that?s that then.

The Dewar was also into smoothies , getting his first shore caught hound this year, we had a great night rounded off with a world class sausage supper on the road home.

Stevey Hall had cracking Pollock in the all-nighter (7lb 5.5oz) which is a good fish in a comp as its hard to spend time hunting specimen fish in matches.

Commiserations have to go to Mr.Mayagi our most senior member who is well past 70 years old and landed a nice Huss of 8lbs at our last comp of the summer league unfortunately the fish was undersize and didn?t count! I?ve never seen a fatter and shorter Huss before, that?s hard luck as it would have taken the comp. and heaviest fish of the year. ?Bo###cks ! Davy san?, was heard, the air was blue but the fish went back ok.

What has been good this summer was fishing matches without a hangover, Badger and I decided this year to not have a wee vodka when he arrived the day before the comps (you know how it is, the craic`s good and the next thing the bottle is empty) as we did last year. We didn?t catch any more, but the big ?fella? didn?t throw up on the climb up and down the cliff marks which is a plus.

Senior moment of the year goes to Wee Jim .He was standing concentrating on the rod tip and after 15 minutes of moaning about no bites, decided to wind in and change the bait, only then did he   realise that he hadn?t actually cast out , ?There?s not a mark on these sand eels?, he shouted as I almost fell of the rock laughing.

So that?s the Summer League, the award winners are listed elsewhere but the best part of club competitions is the craic so thanks to the guys for turning up and there?s only a couple of weeks until the winter league starts, I cant wait for the wild weather ?.well its just like summer but a bit colder!

Cheers Davy