o.k, so I created a new post ...

And Ken, you said "There's nothing I can do about top-posting, so anymore
I ignore it." .

In all honesty that was down to my ignorance of etiquette(Thank god there's someone like you to correct me!). Also, I couldn't help but respond to your wit and charm. My sincere apologies!

Re. the site saying "stocked with fish from 1.5 to 10 lbs", thanks for pointing that out to me - I think its a mistake, but will clarify that once I've checked it out. While I've been at Harelaw, the largest stockie I saw caught was a 4.5 lb blue trout - Thats simply because one or 2 larger fish end up going in simply as the supplier can't guarantee that every fish will definitely be less than 3lb. The bigger fish I've seen caught have tended to be (wild) brownies except for a 9 3/4 rainbow and that had definitely been in the water for a very long time. However, I'm not there as often as I'd like to be so there may be one or two others that I'm not aware of.

Re. Not fishing a 102 acre "puddle", each to their own. The best fishing I ever had was in a stream less than 12ft wide and mostly less than 4 inches deep. All the fish were wild and extremely difficult to catch. My record trout from that stream was 3lb 8oz (in 3 inches of water) )and I'd rate that higher than 10 pounders from many waters. I also had a grayling from the same stream - I thought it had equalled the british record of that time (2lbs8oz ), but someone had caught one weighing 2lb 12oz a couple of days earlier (My age is showing here! Its a long time since the record was 2lb 12oz!).

Fishing on smaller waters has some great benefits - especially where surroundings and wildlife are concerned - I've seen wildlife that most people around here would never see in their lives, and Ithink that those experiences have truly enriched my life. Harelaws wildlife can be equally exciting - what is thought to be a black panther has been seen near the loch on a couple of occasions, and this year, a pair of bitterns stayed at the loch for a month or so. I haven't seen any otters there, but it wouldn't surprise me if I did see one there. I have seen Goshawks, peregrine falcons and other more abundant raptors and also picked up a "wild guest" on the way back home 3 weeks ago. The pic is here http://www.harelaw.net/myunusualguest.htm

I've never fished on any truly large waters unless you count an expedition to the mediterranean for swordfish, but I would quite like to try - when time and money permit. At the end of the day, I don't think the quality of my fishing would improve at all if I were to have an attitude of "I wouldn't fish there if you paid me". Also, we don't need to pay for customers - the people who visit tend to become regulars.

Cheers

John

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Http://www.harelaw.net