As one door closes, another opens in the shape of winter pike fishing. As any of our regular anglers know and anyone who has seen the photographic archives will testify, Venachar’s pike in the winter get BIG…VERY BIG! Every pike angler knows that the fish are far more active as air and water temperatures drop, feeding with an incredible appetite and putting on a lot of weight. That equals more runs, more action and more large catches for those tough and dedicated enough to brave the elements (although last year’s -16c was a bit much).

As far as the conditions at Venachar at the moment go there has been a huge amount of rain leading to a big rise in the water level and constantly fluctuating water temperatures. Again this has led to certain areas being submerged, but also allows the pike to feed in these newly created habitats, the best of which is probably the Blackwater Marshes up at Little Drum Farm which is completely flooded and deeper than usual. This new territory yielded a massive 25lb 2oz fish for Bryan O’Donnell from Bonnybridge and a cracking 20lb 3ozer for Rab McDonald from Broxburn. Milton Bay, where Stuart Greig’s magnificent 35lb 7oz pike was caught recently, is also still fishing well with two hefty 20lb+ fish courtesy of Euan Taylor from Airdrie and Dale Porteous from Dunfermline. The Invertrossachs area by the dam has also produced some fine mid-doubles lately. As always the fish were returned unharmed and were in perfect condition.

Finally, our fleet of boats have just had their engines serviced to the highest standard so they’re running perfectly, and shortly we will be refurbishing every boat so that they are all in pristine condition. So instead of letting the pike come to you on the banks, why don’t you swing the odds in your favour and go after them in the boat…good luck!

Some recent (reported) boat & bank catches :-

Bryan O’Donnell (Bonnybridge) 25lb 2oz, 16lb 3oz - lamprey, Euan Taylor (Airdrie) 22lb 5oz - joey mackerel, Dale Porteous (Dunfermline) 20lb 7oz - eel, David Hearns (Clydebank) 14lb 8oz - Lamprey, Alan Rankin (Bridge of Allan) 2lb 1oz & 2x 1lb 6oz brown trout - fly-fishing [Gartmore Palmer], George Richie (Crieff) 14lb, 12lb 10oz, 12lb 8oz - joey mackerel & trout, James Williams (Hamilton) 15lb - smelt, Derick Leiper (Falkirk) 18lb 2oz - lamprey, Paul Ross (Coatbridge) 20lb, 14lb 10oz, 10,6 - mackerel & herring, Scott Ross (Coatbridge) 12lb - herring, Andrew Gilbert (Bathgate) 1lb 6oz brown trout - wasp grubs, Brian Tulloch (Kirkliston) 18lb - fly-fishing from float-tube, Colin Wilson (Linlithgow) 15lb - fly-fishing from float-tube, Kevin Mackenzie (Falkirk) 16lb 8oz - mackerel, Mark Thompson (Falkirk) 19lb 10oz, 16lb 8oz, 13, 12lb 9oz, - sardine & smelt, Gordon Lees (Livingston) 14lb 12oz, 14lb - trout, Darren Inglis (Stenhousemuir) 6lb - trout, Stuart Malcolm (Falkirk) 14lb, 15lb - trout & smelt, Stephen McCalister (Edinburgh) 2x 1lb brown trout - spinning, Scott Dixon (Bellshill) 8lb - trout, Colin Sandles (Partick) 16lb 10oz, 15, 14, 15lb 80z, 15, 13lb 9oz, 12lb 7oz, 12 - herring & smelt, George Park (Polmont) 2lb 3oz brown trout - maggot, Rab McDonald (Broxburn) 20lb 3oz, 9lb 9oz - mackerel, Graeme McDonald (Broxburn) 12lb 7oz - mackerel, Stephen Wilson (Falkirk) 16lb - trout, Gareth Neilson (Stirling) 16lb 13oz, 10 - smelt, Ewan Collington (Kent) 2x 2lb - fly-fishing [Pearly Invicta], Stewart Mortimer (Cumbernauld) 15lb 5oz, Scott Millar (Cowie) 13lb - mackerel, Billy Cameron (Livingston) 10lb, 6 - joey mackerel & brook trout, Steven Sommerville (Tillicoultry) 12lb 2oz - trout, Paul Allen (Carron) 8lb 8oz - mackerel, Kenny McCaffery (Bannockburn) 12lb - herring, Barry Guthrie (Dunfermline) 10lb - mackerel, Kevin Graham (Carronshore) 10lb 9oz - mackerel, Derek Thomson (Harthill) 16lb - mackerel.

Please remember to treat Loch Venachar, the habitat, wildlife and other people using the area with respect at all times. This means no litter (leave the place as you find it), cutting down of trees, out of control fires or people, etc. All incidents will be reported. Anybody attempting to kill, damage or remove pike from the loch will be reported to the police and banned permanently. Also, please ensure that you have all the essential equipment necessary to protect the health and well-being of the fish. A full list of minimum requirements can be found at P.A.A.S’s site www.esoxecosse.com and also at P.A.C. GB’s site www.pacgb.co.uk. Thankyou.