Doing the right thing!

Photo 01 - Where the incident took place, note the marker for walkers.

Doing the right thing!

Regarding the incident with the dogs reported last week I’d thought last week on Boxing Day saw the end of the matter. Rather disappointingly there followed what could only be described as an incredible and reprehensible pantomime of paranoid fantasy and fiction! I was intimidated and threatened and told “never to come to their door again”, I had my vehicle blocked off at the loch side Starsky & Hutch style whilst they both tried to convince me in rote fashion by repeatedly chanting “no one was bitten” and that the whole incident was a figment of my imagination, which is very strange since I was a third party!  

On Boxing Day they accepted their misdeeds that occurred without question as was reported last week, however less than 24hrs later they apparently had 4 witnesses (strangely absent on the day of the incident and on Boxing Day) to say that no one was bitten by a dog, and a further 2 witnesses to confirm that we (Ian & I) had threatened them! If I were to describe the situation as preposterous that would be to do the situation an injustice! This was high buffoonery at its very pinnacle!

Photo 02 - Stevie & Kris basking!

We all four were called outright liars and fantastically, I was accused of orchestrating a long term campaign against them with an end view of setting up the pair in question with the ultimate goal of having all their dogs destroyed! Did you ever hear of such contrived, outlandish nonsense! I recollect meeting them twice in the past, the first was to exchange pleasantries and inform them of our habitat improvement works, and the last time was to remove some chainsaw wielding Muppets from the top of the Lowes for the very lady in question! They even had the audacity to call the police to register a complaint against us!

Yes the fine words of contrition uttered on Boxing Day turned out to be meaningless as a new dark direction was taken in the most cynical and calculating manner! The two people involved should hang their heads in shame! You behaved abominably! We did what we had to do to avert a possible tragedy at a later date! They were simply the actions that would be taken by any self respecting, responsible individual!

How do you think we would have felt if for instance, a child ended up getting maimed in the future because of our inaction? We did the right thing, there was no alternative, when a pack of dogs run rampant and do not respond to the commands of their custodian as was the case, the potential consequences could have been grave indeed! The police having completed their investigations have dismissed the complaint against us and have fully vindicated our actions! Underlying all the shenanigans, the simple facts of the matter were that a man was bitten by an out of control dog!

A police warning has been issued to them!  We have been instructed by the police that if loose dogs or dogs under the direction of one who clearly cannot exercise control over them are running around and appear aggressive in any way, as was the case with the lady shouting frantically and the dogs paying no heed whatsoever, the person under threat should phone the police immediately! We will now include this in our club rule/advice sheet.

Anglers should note that the above situation prior to this event had never before been encountered and that this instance should be regarded as a one off situation, you should not fear fishing any part of the lochs!  All the farmers/shepherds in the area are one hundred percent honest, decent people completely beyond reproach, and have full control over their invariably good natured dogs!

I cannot find words expressive enough to thank our two anglers and our loch keeper for the upstanding and diligent manner in which they conducted themselves in very difficult circumstances! Your actions are an example of the type of behaviour that underpins decent society! Winning a popularity contest never crossed their minds, only the possible consequences of a potential future incident with someone being seriously hurt was uppermost in their minds! The easy option would have been to dismiss the event as a close shave, keep quiet and never go back to fishing the top of the Lowes for fear of personal injury, and when something nasty happened at a later date distance themselves from the fall out!

Photo 03 - Kris with the last Pike caught in 2011

To Stevie, Kris and Ian – you did the right thing! I know that in the unlikely event of a similar situation arising in the future you would do the same again as I would! The club commends you for your exemplary and courageous action, we are proud to have such principled members guided by honour and integrity and a loch keeper with the same values who does not flinch when the going gets tough, being guided only by selfless motives! You are the building blocks from which a righteous society is constructed!

On behalf of the club, allow me to extend my sincere thanks for the honourable manner in which you all conducted yourselves throughout what turned out to be a most serious, murky and convoluted incident! We would also like to thank the police for the courteous, prompt and efficient manner in which the matter was dealt with. We are content that angler’s walkers and any legitimate users of this land may now do so in a safer environment

And to the two people who perpetrated the incident and the sinister farce which ensued – you made a number of serious errors of judgement; you have disappointed everyone, your spineless actions were deplorable in the extreme! The keeping of dogs brings with it an inherent and binding responsibility to exercise instant control over them! You were found wanting in this respect!

Not only did you shamefully attempt to abrogate responsibility for your wrongdoings, lamentably rather than accepting your shortcomings and trying to rectify them, you sought to cast doubt and blacken the names of four innocent individuals in a futile attempt to save your own skin! Your only gain from this whole affair is an official censure and the scorn of responsible citizens everywhere which is only right and fitting! Your underhand and deceitful behaviour was unnecessary, unforgivable and epitomised the very depths of depravity! Human behaviour doesn’t get much worse than this! Your behaviour in this matter was utterly appalling; I hope you can live with your actions!

We have not named the people who brought about this situation because of probable employment consequences were their employers to find out. Our wish is not to have them penalised on this front. Incidentally I fished the top of the Lowes on Saturday and today, the dog’s whilst never in close proximity to me were under the shepherds control. Hope it continues!

Photo 04 - First Pike caught in 2012!

Angling report December 2011

Only 11 returns were received for the month of December showing that the best of the month was one at 14lbs 5oz with three fish between 8 – 12lbs, five fish between 5 – 8lbs and two fish around 3lbs. Angler numbers were very low. Eels are still active probably due to the mild weather and fleshy baits often come back in tatters!

The last Pike of 2011

It has become a tradition over the last few years to see who can land the last Pike of the year.and the first of the New Year. So it was with great anticipation that Stevie, Les, Mr Pike (Kris Olson) and I began our session to win the coveted honour. If we all blanked then the glory would have fallen to Treasurer John Wright who nabbed a very nice six pounder on Thursday. To cut a long story short this was the result. Stevie – lost one good fish, Les - lost a fish of unknown quantity, me - lost two fish using huge Mackerel (suspect they were small fish) Kris - lost one fish but in his own inimitable style landed a two pounder to win the day! Our initial thoughts of strangling him eventually subsided as we paid homage to a lad (god) with a terrific average catch rate! Well done Kris yet again you have shown us the way!

Now for the first Pike of 2012 and Kris wasn’t there, he’s booked in to see some Panda’s at Edinburgh zoo! It was between me, Les and Stevie and you know what I got it with I think the smallest Pike I’ve had for a very long time a 2 pounder approx. Still a Pikes a Pike. I suppose I only got it because Mr Panda wasn’t there!

Just a nice piece of music!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bosouX_d8Y&feature=bf_prev&list=FLm00huTvJenRXM7ZMoAEVEQ&lf=plpp_video

Very best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all our readers and in addition to our anglers Tight Lines!

We will be back to our usual Sunday spot next week.