Fly fishers gathered at Bixter on Saturday morning for Shetland Angling Association’s final Bank League competition of the season.

Fourteen fly fishers congregated on a beautiful evening at the Bixter graveyard last Thursday for round four of the Shetland Anglers Association Bank League.

The annual trout festival opened last Wednesday with four days of com­petitions for the heaviest fish and heaviest basket.

Round three of Shetland Anglers Association’s fly bank league took place on Thursday in the Central Mainland.

Despite the biting cold northerly wind 16 fly fishers gathered at the Spiggie boat shed on Saturday for round two of the Shetland Anglers Association bank fly league.

A sure sign that spring was in the air occurred on Saturday when 15 fly fishers tackled up at the Tingwall boat shed for the first Shetland Anglers Association fly bank competition of the season.

The annual Viking Angling Festival went ahead this year in punishing weather for two days of the three-day event, but the hardy local and visiting anglers were undeterred and all participants completed three days of fishing without exception.

There was a strangely subdued atmosphere at Mavis Grind on Saturday morning as fly fishers met for the penultimate competition in this year’s Shetland Anglers Asso-ciation fly bank league.

With only three competitions left in this year’s fly bank league we’re down to the nitty gritty now as far as gaining points for next year’s Bank Team is concerned.

Last weekend Shetland Anglers Association hosted a visiting team of six anglers who represented the Dounreay Angling Club.

A former Lerwick optician is suing his estranged wife and erstwhile business partner for more than £800,000, claiming that her actions after they went their separate ways six years ago effectively left him out of work.

New SIC chief executive Alistair Buchan came face to face with all councillors this week for the first time since taking up the post for what he described as “very positive” initial discussions about how to react to major criticisms in the Accounts Commission’s recent report on the local authority.

Multiple Grammy winner Steve Earle, the outspoken singer-song­writer responsible for a host of classic Americana songs including Copperhead Road, Guitar Town and Galway Girl, will be stopping off in Lerwick next Thursday for a re-arranged show at Clickimin.