Gatehouse member Bill Sandiford with a Rainbow trout of 12lbs 10oz

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When asked to comment on his prize catch caught in 2012 at Lochenbreck, Bill said…
“It was an absolutely foul day, the rain remorseless. I was fishing from a boat at the far end of the loch, near the boathouse.

I wasn’t completely alone. Shortly after setting off from the jetty, a tiny mouse had emerged from the bow section and had nosed its way towards my lunch pack. Judging by the amount of ham sandwich he’d managed to eat (fed directly from my own hands) he must have been starving. Then, unable to consume any more, he’d scuttled away back under cover. I didn’t see him again until… Bang…! The twelve-pounder took my fly.

 

Fortunately for me, there was another angler on the loch, Adam Thomson, once an acting chairman of the angling association. He’d been fishing from a boat at the other side, near ‘hotel bay’. Adam was able to confirm that it was an outstanding catch and kindly agreed to act as witness. The weight turned out to be 12lbs 10oz and details were duly entered in the fishing log.I should add that I am not a skilful angler. I regard myself as “exceptionally lucky”. But then, why shouldn’t I be: with a lucky mouse to keep me company? I think the mouse was more excited than I was.On arriving home, my wife gazed upon my amazing catch and was moved to ask the inevitable question… “Where did you buy it?”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​