Very good fish! Reminds me of a story my father told me. He was brought up not far from the Gogar Burn source up by Kirknewton - back in those days, it wasn't uncommon for lads to use 'putty' as bait and he had 2 or 3 big trout out of the Gogar where it comes out of the 'big house' grounds above the farm at Kirknewton. There was a decent pool just in the grounds and it held good trout (well it did until it was 'puttied' ).

Apparently there was an agricultural effluent poisoning many years ago and some very large trout were killed.

I hadn't noticed they were infected with tapes.....some of the minnows were closer to 5" than 4 though...

Not even been a walk up to Bonaly for years Norm let alone fished it.It was completely drained the last time I was up though.I don't know of anyone that fishes it these days so I couldn't say.

I last fished Bonaly in 1981 when the Evening News hosted a fishing comp - they piled the rainbows in big style about a day before - bonanza for all the young lads involved, especially those that were in the right place with their bubble floats.

Not that long after, I remember seeing a report in the Evening News about someone who wandered up to Bonaly to test a rod/line and came back with an 8lb wild brown, it was pictured in Mike Shepley's column in the sports 'pink' of the Evening News. I was last up at Bonaly about 7 years ago, must have looked a right plonker with a fishing rod, only to find when up the hill the place was drained.

I mind that one!

I think I fished in that competion too - or at least I tried too but there were so many lads around that I couldn't find any bank space.

I wonder what the response would be these days?

Just had a peak at it on google earth, there was water in it when they took the photo but it is now surrounded by trees, maybe the minin's survived? They'll be really big now!

Norm

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0rWxCCHSCM

All the lads were crowded into the north east corner on the dam wall, between the valve pier and the corner. We stayed behind after most of the lads were gone, and caught a few 1lb plus rainbows - biggest fish i'd had at that point Also remember looking off the end of the pier and seeing a decent pike lying doggo......

Can't remember seeing any specimen minnins, we were focussing on the rather scabby troot!

My teenage 'competition' days progressed to the annual Water of Leith bailiffs competition at Harperrig for a few years, then I retired from that seedy world at about the age of 16.....

I did that once...seem to remember we spent most of the day sheltering from horizontal rain and sleet... Thats another place I've not been to in years.