To our new members, may I say a big WELCOME; to our
existing members, Hello Again.

Firstly, grateful thanks are due to Wendy Harpe for her good work as our Newsletter Editor. I wrote our News- letter for quite a number of years, and was not expecting to have the task (temporarily) returned to me; that will teach me to attend an AGM! With luck, by now you’ll all have your own (or a friends) e-mail address that I can send this to, as I just can’t face the printing, addressing and posting operations that Dave Sellers and I used to have to do. So, if you don’t have an e-mail address, please enter one belonging to a friend or family member that can be relied upon to get the information to you quickly.

You’ll have an opportunity to enter your current e-mail (or contact) address in our Permit Renewal Slip (there’s one appended to this); please write legibly, as details such as correct spellings, post codes, etc are greatly appreciated by Paul Summerlin our I.T. Specialist, who has the unenviable task of trying to maintain an accurate BAC Database. He also maintains the BAC Website, which has lots of current and past information, including lots of interesting photographs. Why not visit it at www.beauly-angling-club.co.uk.

Existing members may be pleased to learn that my misplaced sense of humour has been curbed by the ravages of time, and never again will I jest that a member would have been up for the coveted Matheson Cup for the heaviest fish, had he not played his fish for so long, that it lost so much weight! More seriously, if you’ve any short but interesting/humorous fishing-related stories to recount, then why not pass them on, as they may hit the press.

As a progressive and proactive angling club, we do have bank clearing and other such operations to attend to, so, if possible, we intend to give you early warning of such work in a Newsletter, but more immediate warning a day or two before, so that you’ve no excuse for forgetting. Although I’m happy to help if available, I admit to easily forgetting, if I’ve not had a more recent reminder of such events. As mentioned at the AGM, certain spawning burns have been identified as requiring clearance and improvement work, hence that work will also be carried out in 2012, as well as more routine clearance work. No clearance date to report so far.

Ian McHardy (01463 783812), our intrepid Vice-President, has concluded his negotiations with Erchless Estate regarding our use of their Loch Fada (The Long Loch), hence I’m pleased to report that it will soon be holding stock trout, which our members may fish for using fly. The rod limit will be 5, the catch limit will be 2 (catch & release thereafter), and a boat will probably be available. A few of us have already had a pike fishing foray, but to no avail, presumably because of the icy conditions. Jim Braithwaite is currently pre-fabricating a new sluice for the outfall-end of the Loch, and with a bit of luck and effort, it will be in place shortly, after which higher water levels will be more easily maintained. The larger Pike of >15 lbs will probably be reprieved if caught (as they eat the smaller Pike), however all smaller ones should be despatched humanely/quickly, if you want any trout to be available to catch. George Fraser is the Head Stalker on Erchless, and as you pass his house on the right on your way up, please say hello if his Land Rover is there, and fall in with any particular requirements he may have on the day. Best to also advise George when you are leaving. For more details, please ‘phone Ian, or John ‘Yorkie’ Brocklehurst (01463 782785). John Szarkiewicz (01463 782631) should be contacted in order to obtain the necessary pass.

You have until 31st March 2012 to re-join, and Permit Fees are generally unchanged, however Day Tickets, available from the Lovat Arms Hotel in Beauly, are now £20.00. Member’s Permits will continue to be sold by our Membership Secretary, John Szarkiewicz, from 18 Croyard Drive, Beauly. John will continue to also issue them by post, but please remember to enclose an SAE. Don’t forget that we now issue Intermediate Permits at £20.00 for the 17 to 21 age group.

Please don’t claim confusion about our Conservation Policy regarding Catch and Release; you may keep alternate fish throughout the season, but only if other considerations don’t apply. In short, one returns the 2nd fish, the 4th fish and so on, no matter when they are caught, throughout the season. It’s up to you to remember what you did with the last one.

The venue for Committee Meetings will from now on be at The British Legion Club in Beauly, at 8.00pm on the first Wednesday of most months; please see permit for details. I’m not a Committee Member, so in the interests of expediency, please direct any queries to the relevant Office Bearer.

Finally, our new season is almost upon us, hence the customary BAC Opening Ceremony will be on Saturday 11th February at 11.00am; we look forward to meeting you then. High Tide is one of 4.8 metres at 1444 hrs, so you will have plenty of fishing time, if the river itself isn’t too high. Hopefully the 2012 salmon catch will be better than last year’s.

Very Tight Lines

Ewen

Ewen M Robertson, BAC Newsletter Editor (Temp) ewenrobertson@hotmail.com