2025 Veterans Cup Round 3 Lake of Menteith

Veterans Cup Match Report from Jock Royan

The weather unfortunately impacted significantly on Round 3 of the Veterans Cup. West, South Westerly winds of 15-20mph with regular gusts of 30-35mph made the fishing quite lumpy at times. Out in open water, due to the gusts, the boats were crabbing, resulting in erratic retrieves and difficulty keeping in touch with the flies. Popular areas were the sheltered shores of the Butts/Tod Hole/Lochend and top end of Gateside Bay.

I managed to book a late cancellation boat for Saturday and the conditions couldn’t have been any better for top of the water sport. 18 Deg, light ripple and 100% cloud cover. Stevie McArthur joined me and we spent a day on the dries, both catching more fish than we ever had at the Lake of Menteith. At most, there were only 6 fish below 3lbs with some others pushing 7lbs. These days are very rare and you just have to make the most of them, which we most certainly did.

Back to the main event! Due to a late call off, we had an odd number which meant we had a single boat. The usual suspects were chomping at the bit to go out on their own but as the only committee member left not to have done so, I took my turn. I couldn’t remember how many extra fish a single boat added to your total, so I chose 6! Anyway, Magic provided the Lorne Sausage Rolls, Glen handed out the Score cards and we all headed out at 9am. The majority of boats headed towards the shelter of Lochend and a few of us desperados headed into the washing machine! Such was the wind, there were quite a number of drogue incidents, including one by one of the most-capped Scottish International Anglers in history and current Kit Kat Cup holder! In his defence he was out with Magic - enough said!

By lunchtime, it was clear that the fishing had been challenging however soon forgotten when we focused on the craic and outstanding lunch provided by The Rose House in Perth. John and Audrey Maestri really push the boat out when it comes to supporting the Military Veterans and we are all very grateful. The Cake was mouthwatering, particularly the second slice!

Dave Penny is currently suffering from dupuytrens contracture on both hands and was struggling to hold his rod in the wind, so he opted out of the afternoon session and I jumped in with Allan Gamble. We had an enjoyable afternoon, mostly fishing traditional methods!

By 5pm, we were all ready to get in and off home to dry off. A challenging day for all, but the fish were there to be caught and the quality of fish at the Lake of Menteith was simply outstanding.

A final note to congratulate John Maestri Allan Gamble, Allan Macleod and Eck Moffat in qualifying for the Scottish National Semi Finals. Good luck to John Maestri, Glen Lamont and Graeme Ferguson who are representing the Military Veterans this coming Saturday night in the Scottish Clubs Championship, an event we won in 2023. Tight lines guys.

Al Gamble 10 Fish - 1 Point

Jock Royan 10 Fish -2 Points

Ian Macgregor 8 Fish - 3 Points

Glen Lamont 7 Fish - 4 Points

JP Maestri 7 Fish - 5 Points

Jock Kettles 6 Fish - 6 Points

Kenny McClymont 6 Fish - 7 Points

Tony Smith 5 Fish - 8 Points

Graeme Ferguson 5 Fish - 9 Points

Dave Penny 4 Fish - 10 Points

Cammy Duncan 4 Fish - 11 Points

Dave Rogers 4 Fish - 12 Points

Sandy Campbell 4 Fish - 13 Points

Stevie McArthur 3 Fish - 14 Points

Ian Howland 2 Fish - 15 Points

William Shepherd 2 Fish -16 Points

Graham Fulton 1 Fish - 17 Points

John McAuley 1 Fish - 18 Points

Byran Yip 1 Fish - 19 Points

Graham Steele 1 Fish - 20 Points

Les Grant 0 - 30 Points

Jim Carruthers 0 - 30 Points

Eddie Fullerton 0 - 30 Points