Be ready to prey on these preying fish

Many fisheries are reporting that their resident fish are hunting enthusiastically at the moment on small fish.

These can be anything from sticklebacks and minnows through to fair-sized roach and perch.

Often the giveaway is when lots of small fish jump clean out of the water in an attempt to get away from the jaws of large hungry trout.

So it certainly pays to have a few fry patterns in your box, and this floating fry is one of the best.

The hook is size 12 Fasna 310, the thread Black UTC 70, and the body White UV Polar Hackle.

Tie in a strip of 2.5mm White Foam at the rear, with a few millimetres protruding as a tail. Then wind the Polar Hackle up, and draw the Foam over to form the back of the fly.

Simply build up a good-sized head with the Thread and varnish. To finish, split the tail with a pair of sharp scissors.

This pattern is best fished completely static.

■ At the New Glen of Rothes Fishery at Aberlour, many anglers have been catching some really big fish.

Tommy Anderson had a whopper at 14lb, and Mark Bell hooked a trout which tipped the scales at 9lb 5oz.

The best flies over the last couple of weeks have been a mixture of the Cats Whisker, Damsels, Sparklers, Black Cruncher, Diawl Bach, Blobs, Eggs and a variety of dry flies.

■ The Golden Loch Fishery near Newburgh came out of the doldrums last week with the increase in air pressure.

John Bashford hooked 19 over two visits, Davy Wilson took 14 rainbows and a tiger trout, while Scott Fraser used a Yellow Dancer to net his healthy basket of five rainbow trout.

George Duff had five on dry flies, and Roy Kelly hooked his fish on a Hopper.