The Scottish Flyfisher - January 2021 Issue

Morton Fishings Sunday League Rules and Regulations Fishing in the Morton Fishings Fly Fishing and Bait Fishing Sunday Leagues will be carried out in the spirit of, and with respect for, the traditions of the respective sports.

The two leagues will run from March until October and will be held on the 1 st and 3rd Sunday of each month.

Betting Competitors are not permitted to engage in any form of betting, including sweepstakes, connected with their relevant league table.

Disputes and Complaints Any dispute or complaint must be reported to an official within 30 minutes of the end of the days fishing.

A sub-committee is to be formed of the organiser and a minimum of two officials of the fishery responsible. They shall adjudicate within one hour. If the sub-committee considers that a competitor has not complied with the rules, it may disqualify. It may also refer the matter for further disciplinary action. In that case, a full report must be made to the appropriate management within 7 days. A competitor may appeal against a decision in writing, within 7 days of being informed of any penalty. Any review must be concluded within 28 days.

Fishing within the two respective leagues will be from the bank only.

Start time will be 9am, finishing time will be 5pm, or earlier when later in the season.

Cost of entry is £35.00 per person for each respective league; this will go towards the overall prizes in each league. Plus, the relevant cost of the days fishing on each day will be £25.00 for that days fishing permit.

There will be a bag limit of 4 fish per person for each day’s fishing for both leagues.

Fly Fishing League Rules Flies & Hooks The league shall be fished with artificial fly only. Flies must be dressed on single hook; tandem flies are not permitted.

No more than 3 flies, may be mounted on a cast and flies must be at least 20 inches apart. Hooks may not measure more than fiveeighths of an inch overall, including the eye. The overall length of the fly may not exceed fifteen-sixteenths of an inch.

Attractor chemicals and light emitters may not be used on flies Lines & Leaders Lines, casts and leaders shall not be additionally weighted. No form of shooting line, metal core line or metal core braided leaders is permitted.

Rods A competitor may use one rod not exceeding 12 feet in length and may have a spare rod of the same maximum length. But only one rod may be mounted. A rod is considered mounted if any two sections are joined or if a reel or line is attached. A competitor’s rod, when working flies or retrieving casts must be hand held and must be above water level.

Bait Fishing League Rules Bait Fishing only One Rod per Angler as per Fly Fishing Rules.

No ground baiting.

No treble hooks, swim feeders, bubble with fly.

Natural bait only.

Points System for Both Fly and Bait Leagues Weighing-In If a league member reaches their individual bag limits early, they may leave the water and hand in their bags to an official. The fish should be collected from the official and presented at the weigh-in. All league members must report directly to the weigh-in immediately after the finish time. Nil returns are required. Anyone not reporting within 30 minutes of the end of the day will be deemed to have a nil return.

1 point will be given per pound of weight caught.

Placings League results will be decided by the bag-weight of the fish caught on each visit, (i.e., 4 fish caught for 8lb 6oz, this will be rounded up to nearest point for example 8.5 points or 8lb 10oz will be 9 points).

At the end of the season the trophy and other prizes will be given to the 1 st, 2nd and 3rd places.

If there is a tie for each place either within the fly or bait leagues, a fish off will be undertaken to determine the final winners of each section of the leagues.

If anyone is interested in entering the Sunday Leagues, please email mortonfishings@yahoo.com with your contact details.