Fishing The Fly Scotland

Index => Main Discussion Area => Topic started by: Hamish Young on 26/02/2015 at 20:44

Title: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 26/02/2015 at 20:44
Some of you may already have seen this:
(http://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/gallery/16-260215204117.jpeg) (http://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=2580)

I'll be there, I really hope many of you will too - promises to be a unique experience :!

More information to come, but get it in your diary folks :z16 Now, time to dust off that 15' rod and get ready for a crack at the event  :z7

H :cool:
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Euan Innes on 26/02/2015 at 22:47
Sounds like a hoot to me and I may have to book a room at chez Young before Ben does.  :z7
Picking up silly lengths of line and casting it all back out was how we did it before shooting heeds came in to fashion. I remember well when Masterline (remember them?) brought out a 40yd DT10 (11 and 12 too) to help folks like me. The wooden box the line came in was my wifes jewelry box for years!
Does the comp have the same rules?? Are we in for good "Vibrations"?  :z4

 :z1
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 27/02/2015 at 07:33
Quote from: Soundmixer on 26/02/2015 at 22:47
Sounds like a hoot to me and I may have to book a room at chez Young before Ben does.  :z7
Too late.... I have a tent tho.....
Quote from: Soundmixer on 26/02/2015 at 22:47
Picking up silly lengths of line and casting it all back out was how we did it before shooting heeds came in to fashion. I remember well when Masterline (remember them?) brought out a 40yd DT10 (11 and 12 too) to help folks like me. The wooden box the line came in was my wifes jewelry box for years!
Aye, I remember those lines. I think Masterline may still be on the go.
Quote from: Soundmixer on 26/02/2015 at 22:47
Does the comp have the same rules?? Are we in for good "Vibrations"?  :z4
Waiting for the comp rules and I expect vibrations will be good  :z7

H :cool:
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Euan Innes on 27/02/2015 at 11:41
And I also suspected that there would be no room in the inn!
I'll check my diary and see if I can get up.

 :z1
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 27/02/2015 at 17:05
Always room chum - just not necessarily bed room :z4
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Peter McCallum on 28/02/2015 at 18:39
Off topic slightly H but is the CLA competition running this year? Just saw a post on. Facebook saying it's in doubt.
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 28/02/2015 at 21:34
Quote from: rabbitangler on 28/02/2015 at 18:39
Off topic slightly H but is the CLA competition running this year? Just saw a post on. Facebook saying it's in doubt.

I have not had replies to my emails about this Peter, which is not a good sign. Truthfully there's been a rumour bubbling away on the back-burner since last autumn that the CLA fly-casting events would be pulled and at the moment it does seem like competitive fly casting at the CLA is over.

A great shame, years of history and effort wiped out and consigned to nostalgia. I am unamused.

H  :z10
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 22/04/2015 at 11:08
Here's a link to the broader festival:
http://www.scotlandsalmonfestival.org/

I said I would pop up the rules of the competition, I've not seen them anywhere other than on Scotts Facebook page so here they are:

ALEXANDER GRANT MEMORIAL SPEY CASTING COMPETITION - RULES OF COMPETITION

1) The competition is open to all comers regardless of age, gender, amateur or professional, competitors need not be resident in the UK

2) First price will be awarded to the competitor who is judged to have cast the greatest distance using a approved Spey cast during the final, 2nd and 3rd winning places will also be judged in the same way,

3) Competitors may compete with any rod, reel and line as long as it fall into the follows specifications

* The rod can be of any make or manufacturer, the rod shall not be longer than 15’1ft in length,

*The reel must be of a normal revolving spool fly reel design

* The casting line or casting head can be of a density that is classified as a floater, in the opinion of the judges the line must float,

* The running line can be made of any material strength or density, There must be a leader/cast of at least 6ft in length attached to the front end of the fly line and to this must be attached a brightly coloured piece of wool or wool substitute, without weight, in place of a fly.

4) Each competitor will be given 4 minutes casting time, approved cast will only be judged during the competition time and competitors must re-position the line to outside the marker rope before their initial and subsequent casts within the time period. The distance will be judged as the landing point of the wool/wool substitute on the outside of the target rope on the completion of each cast.

5) Should the same distance be cast by two or more competitors during the Finals of the event, then these competitors will take part in a play off as has been used in the earlier stage of the Final

6) Each competitor must stand in the water at the designated casting position at all times when competing.

7) Failure to abide by any of the above rules and guidelines will result in disqualification

An approved Spey cast will be deemed as:

• Any form of roll or Spey cast which incorporates an angle change of at least thirty degrees or /as defined by the marker ropes laid out in the competition

• A cast during which some part of the casting line or leader alights the water no further than two rod lengths away from the competitor, to form a D or V loop in the accepted sense

The decision of the judges is final.

I might have a chuck, we'll see but I might not have the time as my Coastguards and I will be running elements of the safety for the event and I may also end up helping with the judging.... I believe entries are coming in from all over the world so if you fancy a go make sure your name is on Scott's list :!

H :cool:
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 20/05/2015 at 09:00
I'm going to have a chuck and get some practice in.... any other forum members coming along to the competition :? Promises to be good with a world-class entry field :z16
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Allan Liddle on 11/08/2015 at 09:21
No casting for me but tying there in the MFTI tent, might see a few of you guys there  :z16
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 11/08/2015 at 18:12
I've not had the time to practice, so I'll be there in another role  :wink
Promises to be a good event, the Friday & Saturday at the very least  :z16

H :cool:

Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 03/09/2015 at 20:51
Damn and blast.... I'm casting second tomorrow for day 1 of qualifying.
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Mike Barrio on 03/09/2015 at 20:52
Enjoy :z16

Might get a good tail wind with this weather Hamish :cool:
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Allan Liddle on 03/09/2015 at 23:22
Quote from: Hamish on 03/09/2015 at 20:51
Damn and blast.... I'm casting second tomorrow for day 1 of qualifying.

Good luck Hamish, if I get a chance i'll pop past and watch
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 04/09/2015 at 07:41
Quote from: Mike Barrio on 03/09/2015 at 20:52
Enjoy :z16

Might get a good tail wind with this weather Hamish :cool:
Cheers Mr B, but unfortunately we have a WNW wind which is pretty much right into the face of the casters :z6 Still, let's hope some of the audience had beans for breakfast...... might help  :wink

Quote from: Dryflee on 03/09/2015 at 23:22
Good luck Hamish, if I get a chance i'll pop past and watch
  :z16
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: allabootthetroot on 04/09/2015 at 10:17
Good luck to all competitors.   :z16 :z16

Be interesting to hear what lines come out tops. In fact all the data will be interesting   Rods, Rod sizes,Lines.
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Mike Barrio on 04/09/2015 at 10:27
.............. Will anybody be brave enough to cast a Greenheart?
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Mike Barrio on 04/09/2015 at 12:59

Alexander Grant memorial Spey casting competition going well, guys taking a break and practicing before round 2Leading...

Posted by Scott Mackenzie on Friday, September 4, 2015

(http://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/gallery/2-040915125910.jpeg) (http://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=3066)

(http://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/gallery/2-040915130131.jpeg) (http://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=3067)

Alexander Grant memorial Spey casting competition going well, guys taking a break and practicing before round 2
Leading the completion after round one is
Heir Hansen 53m
Vidar Ness. 51.5m
Andrew Toft 50.25
Jarle Strandberg 48.0 m
Martin Kiely. 45.0
Michael O Kane. 44.0m
Second round starts shortly
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 04/09/2015 at 18:39
Bloody good fun today :cool:

I'm lying 9th or 10th (not sure which) after the second round having managed 41.5m (a disappointing 45 yards in old money) in my second round of qualifying. To put that in perspective - in non-competition conditions - I have done 52m in practice - 56yds.
There are some astonishingly great casters out at this event and it's been a privilege to be in among them. Not a snowballs chance in hell of making the final, but I'll try my best  :z2 Currently on Barrio DH15 competition head which had 4 feet taken out of it today - now goes like a bullet, just the caster attached to it really needs to sharpen up as it was a steep learning curve this morning - fine tuning your outfit during the allotted casting time is not ideal :! Not happy with my performance thus far - should have entered earlier, practised etc - but I am nevertheless ahead of some internationally well known casters which gives me a degree of self-satisfaction that is very very hard to describe :z7 :z4

Have helped a few others out with gear/spares and I've been delighted at the great atmosphere and camaraderie amongst all the casters from all over the world - it's great to see.
Looking forward to the final  :z12

Seen a few forum members including Allan and Magnus - maybe more tomorrow :?

H :cool:
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Mike Barrio on 04/09/2015 at 20:06
Excellent ,,,,,, well done Hamish :z16
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Euan Innes on 04/09/2015 at 23:08
Keep at it H  :z16
Do or do not, there is no try... :z7
And there was coverage on STV tonight which is surely the first time for casting. Mind you it was a 5 minute walk from the STV office so it was an easy Friday  :z7

 :z1
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 05/09/2015 at 21:58
More of an update tomorrow, but I didn't make the final. 9th overall in the company made me quite happy though :wink

H :cool:
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Mike Barrio on 05/09/2015 at 23:35
Great stuff Hamish :z16
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 06/09/2015 at 10:00
Well, that was two days that went by just far too quickly :!

I have never entered a Spey casting competition before and having neither fished nor seriously practised prior to the event I confess I was a smidgen worried about making a complete and utter arse of myself.

The first day sort of revealed that it was really quite unlikely that I'd make the final 6 casters for the men’s final and I didn't fancy having a quick sex change in time to win the ladies, so Saturday was always going to be more  a day for the 'craic' and to see the final. That said, in the difficult (bloody awful, actually) wind conditions of the morning I did beat 2 of the Norwegians and Andrew Toft with a truly mega cast of 32.5 metres....... yes folks, it was that windy  :z10 Even worse the wind was pretty much in your face the whole time so if you got a cast off that might have gone 45+ metres seeing it getting blown back at you (like a bullet, didn't have chance to move, couldn’t protect myself, fly hit me straight between the eyes....) was demoralising for every caster.

Fortunately, for the finals, the wind abated and actually became slightly favourable as the afternoon wore on.

The ladies final was contested by just two entrants. Ally Bremner an accomplished caster and instructor from the borders and Donna O'Sullivan from near San Francisco. Donna is a hugely respected instructor and internationally known tournament caster, she is a member at the Golden Gate Casting Club in the 'States which hosts the prestigious Speyorama event. Although diminutive in stature Donna's casting is mighty! Ally was up against it and whilst they traded best distances across the three qualifying sessions it was ultimately Donna that prevailed in the final.

In the mens final there was Martin Kiely from Ireland, Lee Cummings from Cumbria, Jarle Strandberg from Norway, Andrew Toft from Scotland, Vidar Næss from Norway and also from Norway Geir Hansen who just happens to be the world record holder with the 15' rods in use for the competition. I should maybe mention of the 6 casters in the men’s final that all 6 have been or are world record holders and international competition winners.... a prestigious group in anyone’s opinion.

The final was run in reverse order with Martin casting first then Lee, Jarle, Andrew, Vidar and finally Geir. All had occasionally testing conditions in their allotted 5 minutes and, probably, Lee more than any one of them. The distances were down on the Friday qualifying but ultimately Geir won with a cast of 52 metres. The other two Norwegians were tied on 46 metres and had to have a ‘cast off’ to sort out second and third places, Vidar won that battle with 47.5 metres.

After a quick series of photos and an initial prize giving everyone went to decompress (or just go fishing!) until the formal reception at the Inverness Council Town House in the evening with the Provost hosting. A speech and the formal handing over of the Quaich made for each of the winners of the casting competition were made by the great-grandson of Alexander Grant. In a nice touch all the casting competition entrants took away a fine bottle of malt whisky – I may have had a glass when I got home. The reception formally closed the inaugural Scottish Salmon Festival which, I have to say, appears to have been quite a success. I didn’t see all the stuff going on but took the time to meet and greet folk and friends who were either tying flies in the main marquee or manning stands from fisheries trusts and other organisations. I spent some time with the guys from Marine Harvest and we had some frank discussions about the damage to the ecology some fish farms have caused, the sea lice issue and other ‘stuff’. Of particular interest to me was the sea lice issue, work that I was involved in 28 years ago – the introduction of wrasse to fish farm cages to remove sea lice from salmon – appears to have taken a major step forward recently. I’ll watch with interest.

All in I think it was a cracking event, a few niggles here and there(certainly in terms of advertising, which was dire to be honest) but the work put in by the Inverness Angling Club was significant and they should be credited for doing a stand-out job. It’s plausible a Salmon Festival will be held again and I think there’s an enthusiasm amongst the club committee to see a number of casting competitions held again with an international trophy competition as the flagship event. We’ll see.

I met some great folk, made some new friends and generally had a blast!

Some pics to follow once they're sorted out.

H :cool:
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Marc Fauvet on 06/09/2015 at 12:53
should have gone for the quick sex change !  :z4 :z4 :z4
great report Hamish. thanks for sharing it with us  :z16
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Euan Innes on 06/09/2015 at 18:15
So let's get this straight.
You were ninth in the competition. The top six were / are world record holders / international competition winners.
FFS Hamish! Bloody well done!  :z14 :z14 :z14 :z14 :z14 :z14 :z14 :z14 :z14 :z14 :z14 :z14
And that whisky better not be finished before I get back up or all adoration and respect will be right out the fecking window  :z7

 :z1
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 06/09/2015 at 20:26
Quote from: Soundmixer on 06/09/2015 at 18:15
And that whisky better not be finished before I get back up or all adoration and respect will be right out the fecking window  :z7

Errrrrr  :oops  :z7
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Euan Innes on 06/09/2015 at 20:51
None of my nice "collection" for you then you casting God.  :X

 :z1
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 07/09/2015 at 08:05
Ha :! There'll be more than a dram left it you make it before the end of the season  :z13

H :cool:
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Allan Liddle on 07/09/2015 at 22:43
Crackin event and a few flees tied, even managed a salmon pattern or two  :wink

Well done H and congrats to the prize winners. :z16
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: allabootthetroot on 09/09/2015 at 10:45
Final results for the Alexander Grant Memorial Casting Competition.

A cracking facebook page to keep a eye on this one always plenty interesting stuff  :z16 :z16

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ness-District-Salmon-Fishery-Board/649812418411879
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Derek Roxborough on 12/09/2015 at 16:28
Write up in the Inverness courier mention of a Hamish Young, 2nd local, well done sorry I didn't make it easgach 1
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 17/10/2015 at 09:33
Nice to see this event get a write up with plenty of pics in the current issue of FF&FT :z16

Rumour has it that there may be a similar event in 2017 (perhaps with events for both single and double handed rods) to mark the centenary of the Inverness AC, we'll see.

H  :cool:
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Peter McCallum on 17/10/2015 at 14:38
2017?? Pity it wasn't going to be an annual one  :cry
Title: Re: Alexander Grant memorial spey casting competition
Post by: Hamish Young on 17/10/2015 at 16:45
I'd like to see an annual event myself Peter and based on the Alexander Grant event I think Inverness is possibly 'up there' as one of the best places to in Scotland to host such an event.

However, if I'm honest this years event didn't have as many local casters at it as there might have been (and by locals I mean Brits). That's despite the fact that it was reasonably well 'out there' in the media as an event that would be happening.
Perhaps something every two years is 'sustainable' in terms of attracting competitors from the UK and abroad.
We'll see what happens, perhaps the demise of the CLA and associated world class casting events might see a resurgence in making something happen annually elsewhere in the UK.

Be nice if it were in Scotland, but anywhere in the UK would be good.

H :cool: