Annual General Meeting & Prize Giving

The Swanswater Cygnets Junior Angling Club held their Annual General Meeting and Prize Giving this morning. Prior to the AGM the Cygnets had a "fun day" - the Cygnets were split into two teams of three and each team competed against the other team, casting to balloons in an attempt to burst them, target practice/accuracy where the Cygnets cast their lines trying to get the wool into a hoop and finally trying to hook rubber ducks. The Cygnets all seemed to have some great fun regardless of the freezing cold day. It was bright but very cold.

The Annual General Meeting took place after the fun day. There were 7 Cygnets along with  parents/grandparents that attended the meeting.

Chairman Alasdair Fyfe thanked all the Cygnets, parents/grandparents, coaches, waterside assistants and fishery staff for their assistance throughout the year.  He also thanked Honorary President Paul Young for his continued support and encouragement he gives the Cygnets on his visits.

The election of office bearers for next season were -

Chairman - Alasdair Fyfe

Vice Chairman - David Armour

Secretary/Treasurer - Morna Lohoar

Match Secretary - Jim Allan

It was proposed that at the pre-season meeting two ordinary members along with two Cygnets members will be elected to join the committee.

Prize Giving

It was agreed that due to lack of numbers that there would be no B Team winners this season. It was a very close battle this season for the overall club champion with 3 points (3oz) making the difference between 1st and 2nd.

A Team Prize Winners

Cygnets Prize Winners

Club Champion - Eddie McKillop

Runner Up - Robert Fyfe

Third - Cameron Smith

Fly Tying Shield - Alasdair Anderson

Club Champion - Eddie McKillop

Alasdair Anderson

Chairman Alasdair Fyfe congratulated Alasdair Anderson, Robert Fyfe and Cameron Smith for their achievement of being selected to fish for the Scottish Youth International Team and wished them tight lines for their international careers.

Cameron Smith, Robert Fyfe and Alasdair Anderson
Scottish Youth International Team members

The Cygnets did extremely well this past season with fishing conditions not being ideal at times due to the weather.

The details of next season will be sent to Cygnets in due course. If any Cygnets have any friends who might be interested in joining or learning to fish please bring them along next season.

A Team Outing - Harviestoun Trout Fishery

The Swanswater Cygnets A Team had their final outing to Harviestoun Trout Fishery today. It was a really bright sunny day, however, it was cold with frost on the ground. The 6 Cygnets were eager to get fishing. Today was the final competition day towards the club championship.

It was not long before Cameron Smith hooked into the first fish for the session, which was followed by his second and third. Robert Fyfe and Eddie McKillop were successful in landing 1 fish a piece. 


Catch returns today were:-

                                    Cameron Smith     3 fish & 1 returned
                                    Eddie McKillop       1 fish
                                    Robert Fyfe           1 fish

It is going to be a very close run battle for club championship this year and may be down to a matter of ounces in weight. 

The Club Champion will be announced at the Annual General Meeting and Prize Giving on Sunday 24th November 2013.

 

The 2013 AGM and Prize Giving is being held on SUNDAY 24^th NOVEMBER at the Fishery.

The programme for the day is as follows

10.00 – 12.00   FUN FISHING DAY – with a variety of activities including distance and accuracy casting and some different fishing ideas. (Weather permitting)
 

12.00  AGM and Prize Giving.    

It is expected that all Cygnets and their parents/guardians will attend.  Lunch will be provided after the AGM.   For catering purposes please let me know asap (in person, by phone or by email) whether or not you will be attending and also how many will require lunch.

End of Season News

The last Cygnets session of this year will be on Sunday 10^th November.  

The A Team will be fishing an outing to Harviestoun Fishery near Alva.   

Details for the A team outing are as follows : 

The price is £14 for 4 hours with a 3 fish limit plus catch & release.

Time 9.00 for 9.30 start; finish 1.30.

Please make sure you have sufficient warm and waterproof clothing.

The B Team will be at Swanswater as normal, 9.30-1.00.   B team members should also be well wrapped up with warm and waterproof clothing.

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The 2013 AGM and Prize Giving is being held on SUNDAY 24^th NOVEMBER at the Fishery.

The programme for the day is as follows

10.00 – 12.00   FUN FISHING DAY – with a variety of activities including distance and accuracy casting and some different fishing ideas.

12.00  AGM and Prize Giving.    

It is expected that all Cygnets and their parents/guardians will attend.  Lunch will be provided after the AGM.   For catering purposes please let me know asap (in person, by phone or by email) whether or not you will be attending and also how many will require lunch.

Millhall Reservoir, Polmont A Team Outing

The Swanswater Cygnets had an outing today. 

The 'B' Team were fishing on the Millpond at Swanswater Fishery.

'A' Team Cygnets

The 'A' Team were fishing Millhall Reservoir, Avonbank Fishing Club, Polmont. There were 7 Cygnets fishing today. It was cool with bright and sunny weather, with a slight breeze developing later in the session. The Cygnets were fishing from boats today as there was a bank competition being held at Millhall Reservoir. The Cygnets were allocated their boats and boatmen and were eager to get fishing.

Throughout the session each boat fished at a numbered buoy and after 45 minutes each boat moved in order to give the Cygnets a chance to fish various areas of the reservoir.

The Cygnets had a tremendous days fishing today at Millhall, with some good sport from the trout.

Catch Returns for A team -

                                                  Keir Penman                2 fish & 2 returned

                                                  Alasdair Anderson       2 fish & 1 returned

                                                  Cameron Smith           2 fish & 1 returned

                                                  Robert Fyfe                  2 fish 

                                                  Eddie McKillop           2 fish

                                                  William Addison         1 fish

Cygnets at end of session with Boatmen

The Cygnets wish to thank Millhall Reservoir for their hospitality and warm welcome. Thanks also to Rab Hiddleston, Willie Anderson, Jimmy Miller and Jim Allan for being boatmen for todays session.

Sunday 15th September

There were 5 Cygnets at today's session. The weather was not the best for fishing with rain, heavy at times and a strong wind with strengthening gusts. The Cygnets fished hard throughout the session, with only one fish being caught for the whole session, a Tiger trout caught by Alasdair Anderson.

Congratulations to Alasdair Anderson who won the best newcomer shield at the Scottish Youth National Championships Qualifiers on 1st September at Carron Valley. Alasdair now qualifies to fish with the Scottish Youth International Team at the 2014 Home international.

Following the fishing session, the Cygnets were shown by Cygnets fly tying Instructor, Jimmy Miller how to tie a "Dragonfly". The Cygnets then had the opportunity to tie this pattern themselves.

"Dragonfly"

The next Cygnets session is an Outing to Millhall Fishery on Sunday 29th September for the A Team Cygnets. The B Team Cygnets will be at Swanswater Fishery as normal.

Details of the outing arrangements, will be sent to the A Team Cygnets in due course.

Sunday 1st September 2013 A & B Team Outings Swanswater Fishery

Today was the Cygnets A & B Team Swanswater outing.

The B team were to be fishing on the Mill Pond. Unfortunately none of the Cygnets B Team attended today for this competition.

The A Team Cygnets were boat fishing on Swanswater. There were 6 Cygnets at todays competition. The weather was dull and cloudy with a strengthening wind with strong gusts at times, which made it feel quite cold. As this was a competition towards the overall club champion the Cygnets started at 08:30am. They were eager to get fishing and following the allocation of boats and session safety brief, the Cygnets headed up to Swanswater and out on to the water. 

There were a few fish showing at the start of the session, However, the fish seemed to be reluctant to take any of the flies that the Cygnets offered them. The Cygnets fished hard throughout the first part of the session and it was 2hrs into the session before the first fish was successfully boated by Robert Fyfe, which was a hard fighting, cracking blue trout, which was shortly followed by a second blue trout for Robert.

The Cygnets had a break from fishing at 11am and were joined by Paul Young, Swanswater Cygnets, Honorary President. The Cygnets enjoyed their time talking to Paul and having a warm drink.

After the break the Cygnets were back out in the boats. It was not until near the end that the third fish of the session was hooked and successfully boated by Eddie McKillop. This was another cracking blue trout. Some of the Cygnets reported getting pulls from fish but they were reluctant to stay on.


Overall, the Cygnets did really well in conditions that were not great for fishing.

The Successful Cygnets today were:-

           Robert Fyfe                - 2 fish

         Eddie McKillop         - 1 fish

There were 2 Cygnets who attended fly tying with Jimmy Miller today. They were shown and then tied the "Black Zulu"

"Black Zulu"

 

 

 

The next Cygnets session is on Sunday 15th September at Swanswater Fishery as normal - 09:15am, fishing from 09:30am and followed by fly tying.

 

 

 



Saturday 17th August 2013 - Cygnets BBQ

The Swanswater Cygnets Junior Angling Club met this afternoon for their annual BBQ and fishing competition for both A & B teams towards the respective club championships.  The weather was mixed with heavy rain to bright sunny spells with other spells of cloud. Overall the weather was not too bad.  The fishing started at 3.30pm until 5.30pm when the Cygnets stopped fishing and joined family members for the annual BBQ. There were 8 Cygnets and 12 guests present at the event.  The first fish was taken by Robert Hiddleston on a buzzer. There were a few fish showing around the Mill Pond, with a number of fish swimming around the margins, however, the fish were reluctant to take any of the flies that the Cygnets offered them. The second fish of the session was hooked by Robert Fyfe not long before the planned break from fishing for the BBQ. 

Cygnets Fishing Millpond

Following the BBQ the Cygnets returned to fishing on the Mill Pond. There were fish rising but were not keen to take anything that the Cygnets offered them. The Cygnets tried dry flies, wet flies, buzzers and lures to try to tempt the fish. Eddie McKillop hooked into a blue trout and this was successfully netted. Not long before the end of the session, Alasdair Anderson hooked into a rainbow trout which took a dry fly. Overall, the Cygnets fished really hard and everyone enjoyed the BBQ - "compliments to the Chefs" Alasdair and Ian Lohoar for cooking the food on the BBQ.

Cygnets who attended. Well done to Eddie Robert H, Robert F and Alasdair for catching.

The next Cygnets session is on Sunday 1st September 2013, which is an outing for the A team to Swanswater, boat fishing and the B team on the Mill Pond. 

Details and times will be sent to Cygnets in due course.

Sunday 21st July 2013

This morning was a lot cooler than the last Cygnets' session, with a cloudy over cast sky and a light breeze. Once the Cygnets had drawn their pegs from the hat and received the session safety brief, the Cygnets were eager to get started fishing on the Mill Pond.




Cygnets on Mill Pond



Swans

 The Cygnets were today joined by the two swans and a family of ducks on the Mill Pond.

There were a number of fish rising and showing at the start of the session around the upper area of the Mill Pond. The first fish of the session was hooked and successfully landed by Robert Fyfe. This was a hard fighting blue trout.  Not long after this Robert Hiddleston who was fishing on the opposite bank to Robert hooked into a fish. This too was successfully netted and was another hard fighting blue trout.

 

The Cygnets fished hard throughout the first two moves and then they all had the break from fishing and returned to start fishing.

 

 

 

The fish appeared to have switched off and there was the odd fish rising around the pond. As the morning progressed it became more muggy in temperature, however, the sky remained overcast.



Casting instruction from Thomas Anderson

During the session, Cygnets professional casting instructor, Thomas Anderson walked around the pond and gave advice and instruction on casting and techniques to all the Cygnets. This gave the opportunity for any faults in casting to be adjusted.

 

The Cygnets fished really hard, however, it was not until the last five minutes before the end of the session that Robert Fyfe, hooked into his second fish of the session. This fish gave Robert some tremendous sport. Fellow Cygnet William Addison was on hand to help Robert net the fish. This was a beautiful Rainbow trout. It was superb to see the ethos of Cygnets and the camaraderie between the Cygnets helping each other.



Fish on

There were on only 3 fish landed today, However some of the Cygnets did report that they had hooked fish but lost them before they could be netted. The fishing conditions were not great. The cloud cover would help but the heat building throughout the morning made the fishing very difficult.

The successful cygnets today were :-

 

Robert Fyfe - 2 fish

          Robert Hiddleston - 1 fish



Successful Cygnets

 

The next Cygnets session is on Sunday 4th August 2013 at the usual time of 09:15am for fishing from 09:30am.

Sunday 7th July 2013

Today's session was very hot with temperatures of 30 degrees being registered, which made it a very difficult day for fishing. Initially, there was a slight breeze that cooled the air down. However, it was not long before it was extremely hot and humid.

The Cygnets fished hard, regardless of the heat and the sun. There were a number of fish showing and rising around the Mill Pond. It was not long before Robert Fyfe hooked into the first fish of the session. The fish was netted by fellow Cygnet William Addison. It was great to see the Cygnets help each other.

 

 The second fish for Robert came very quickly after this. Once again the fish was netted by William Addison. This showed the true spirit of Cygnets.  The fish seemed to go off after this, with the Cygnets trying Lures, Dry flies, Wet Flies, Nymphs to try and tempt a fish. However the fish were very reluctant to take anything, most likely due to the extreme heat and bright sunshine.

 

It was near the end of the session before Alasdair Anderson hooked into a fish. This was safely netted and the hard work and perseverance paid off.  Overall the Cygnets did really well to fish in such difficult conditions. With the temperature soring and the very bright sunshine the fish were staying deep.

The Successful Cygnets today were:-

Robert Fyfe 2 fish

Alasdair Anderson 1 fish

 

 

The next Cygnets session is on Sunday 21st August 2013 at 09:15am for fishing from 09:30am.

The Cygnets are reminded to ensure that when the weather is very hot and sunny that they use a high factor sun tan lotion/cream and ensure that skin on legs and arms is covered at all times and to ensure that they drink plenty of fluids throughout the session to prevent dehydration.

Sunday 9th June 2013

There were 9 Cygnets at today's session with a further 3 children who came along to the session. It was a cloudy but warm and muggy day. Once the Cygnets chose their starting platform from the hat, they were eager to start fishing.

With the high pressure and muggy temperature the fishing was difficult. The Cygnets who managed to hook fish took them on small patterns, such as buzzers etc.

The successful Cygnets today were :-

Robert Hiddleston.  1 fish

Robert Fyfe.  1 fish

Alasdair Anderson. 1 fish

Cameron Smith 1 fish

After the fishing session. The Cygnets took part in the first fly tying assessment towards the fly tying shield trophy. Only 4 Cygnets took part today. The Cygnets had to choose to tie 2 patterns out of the patterns they have been shown over the last few weeks.

Well done to Robert Hiddleston, Robert Fyfe, Kier Penman and Alasdair Anderson. You all did very well with your flies that you tied.

The next Cygnets session is on Sunday 23rd June at usual time.

Fly Tying Materials & Fly Fishing Tackle

FLYBOX

Special Discount available for Swanswater Cygnets

Mr Ian Christie has generous continued the offer of a Discount on Fly Tying Materials for the Swanswater Cygnets from FLYBOX for 2013

FlyBox Materials are the best quality materials available. Flybox's materials gives the fly that edge that the fish just cannot resist.

 

So come on Cygnets, get started tying your flies for the 2013 season.

 

Make the most of this very kind and generous offer from Flybox and give your flies that little bit of an edge by using some of the terrific materials available in the flybox range.

Cygnets get your parents or guardians to contact Mr Ian Christie, FlyBox on the telephone number below to arrange for your Swanswater Cygnets Discount. (offer not available online)

 

Fly Box hours of business are generally 9am - 5pm GMT.

you can call us FREE on 0800 862 0117      

email us at: team@flybox.co.uk

 

Click the link below to have a look at the materials available from FlyBox

 

 

http://www.flybox.co.uk

 

Remember Cygnets, if you use flies tied using FlyBox materials you will have Tight Lines!!!!!

 

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Accessories

Leader & Tippet

Fly Lines

Fly Reels

Clothing

Vests/Backpacks

Luggage

 

Click on the SKB Fly Fishing link below for some truly superb quality fly fishing tackle :-

 

SKB Fly Fishing

 

Sunday 26th May 2013

Todays there were 11 Cygnets at the session. The weather was cloudy, with bright spells and felt quite muggy. Once the Cygnets drew their pegs they were eager to get started fishing. There was almost instant success with fish being hooked not long after starting the session.

 Mill Pond

 

 Cameron Smith playing a fish

There were fish all around the Mill Pond today. However, the majority of the fish appeared to be around the bottom corner. There were a number of fish hooked and lost throughout the session. The Cygnets found the Ricky Special, Orange Blob, Cats Whisker and Olive Neon Damsel to be successful patterns today.

 

 

Cygnets fishing

 

 

 

Fish being returned

 

 

 

 

The successful Cygnets today were ;-

 

Cameron Smith 2 fish & 1 returned

Abbi Hutton 2 fish

Eddie McKillop 2 fish

Alasdair Anderson 2 fish

Keir Penman 2 fish

Robert Fyfe 1 fish

Louise Dinley 1 fish

 

 

Successful Cygnets

 

 

 

After the fishing session the Cygnets were shown how to and then tied the "Hog Louse" with Cygnets fly tying instructor Jimmy Miller.

Fly Tying with Cygnets Fly Tying Instructor Jimmy Miller

 

 

"Hog Louse"

 

 

 The Cygnets fly tying assessment will take place at the end of the fishing session on 9th June. Where the Cygnets will be asked to tie 2 fly patterns from the last 4 fly tying sessions. The Cygnets will me marked on their flies.

 

 

The next Cygnets session is on Sunday 9th June - 09:15am for fishing from 09:30am

 

 



SKB Fly Fishing

Accessories
Leader & Tippet
Fly Lines
Fly Reels
Clothing
Vests/Backpacks
Luggage

Click on the SKB Fly Fishing link below for some truly superb quality fly fishing tackle :-

SKB Fly Fishing

Sunday 12th May 2013

Swanswater Cygnets Junior Angling Club

 A Team Outing

Harviestoun Fishery, Alva

 

 

The Swanswater Cygnets A team had an outing to fish Harviestoun Fishery, Alva today. There were 8 Cygnets fishing.

 

"Swanswater Cygnets A Team"

 

The Cygnets were eager to get fishing and looking forward to some superb sport. The Cygnets drew their podiums and started fishing. The weather was mixed with a bright start to the day. However, as the day progressed it become increasingly wet and windy. It was a bitterly cold day. This did not deter the Cygnets as they fished hard.

 

The first fish was taken by Eddie McKillop on a Black Pennel which was quickly followed by a second fish for Eddie. The fish gave some great sport. Fully finned power houses and certainly gave a good account of themselves.

 

 

 

Cameron Smith took a superb Tiger Trout on a Yellow Dancer. This was a fish in pristine condition and gave Cameron some superb sport. The fish appeared to be all around the loch with other anglers fishing the loch taking the odd fish. Robert Fyfe hooked into a hard fighting Rainbow Trout which put up a great fight before coming to the net.

"Cameron Smith with his Tiger Trout"

 



"Swanswater Cygnets at end of their fishing session with Cameron, Robert and Eddie with their catch"

 

The successful Cygnets today were :-

 

Eddie McKillop - 2 fish

Cameron Smith - 1 fish

Robert Fyfe - 1 fish

 

The Cygnets all had a superb days fishing at Harvestoun Fishery, where some of them had some superb sport from the pristine hard fighting fish. The Cygnets are looking forward to another trip there in the future.

 

 

 

The B Team Cygnets were fishing Swanswater Fishery as normal today.

 

 

The next Cygnets session is on Sunday 26th May at Swanswater Fishery at 09:15 for fishing from 09:30am