Life is slowly getting back to normal, the river got a good flush last week, a bit of heat has finally arrived and at last the river is beginning to come to life.

COVID – 19

As the lock down has eased we have been able to get permits to all of our usual sellers. In general Covid 19 restrictions allow all fishing activities but we urge members and visitors to obey any local restrictions and conform with the appropriate social distancing and hygiene regimes. See up to date advice from SANA:

https://www.anglingscotland.org.uk/covid-19-advise-when-we-get-back-to-fishing/

ENVIRONMENT

The DAA work parties have begun the unenviable task of clearing paths, maintaining access and clearing obstruction in the river. This work is normally undertaken on a Wednesday morning and they are always grateful of any extra pairs of hands. You don’t need any special skills, the work party is fully equipped with a wide range of tools and safety equipment. If you are interested at any time please get in touch by email, a call to David Mudie or ask the bailiffs (Alan, Jim and Kenny)

A couple of initiatives by members and members of the public should be highlighted first:

• In January Gethin and Anwen, two youngsters from Dollar under the supervision of their mum, Jane Scott as part of their home learning regime undertook litter picks at Dollar Weir and by the Sheardale Bridge. Their haul was impressive (and quite depressing) including a vac, printer, the inevitable Buckfast bottles, 45 dog poo bags, the occasional shoes and the usual collection of cans, plastic and plastic bottles. Fabulous effort on their part, appreciated by anglers and the local community. Well done Gethin and Anwen!
• In early March, member Christopher Ward and members of the community in Dollar organised a clear-up at Dunning Glen, clearing the usual shocking collection of litter and abandoned camping equipment.

A really great effort, just sad that this has to be done repeatedly. Thanks to Christopher for organising

• Clive Twiggins and Ronnie MacDonald organised a voyage down the Devon with a wee dinghy collecting rubbish caught in the river and along the bank. A great effort and innovative method for collecting. Of interest it, included in their loot were the remains of ‘Taybags’ washed down in spate from works on the hydro-electric plant at the Cauldron Linn. This was their haul which of course was safely disposed off:

• There was also a litter pick event at Vicars Bridge in March.

Works have been undertaken at Vicars Bridge to improve access from the car park

The very low water levels during most of the spring has exasperated the problems of ochre being discharged into the river from the Mains of Blairingone Mine Water Treatment facility. SEPA and the Coal Authority were notified, with the Coal Authority instructing their contractors to take appropriate mitigation to reduce the extent of the discharges and to carry out more sampling. Subsequently DAA have been in dialogue with the Coal Authority and hope that they will be able to put measures in place to avoid future discharge problems.

GLENQUEY

Season is now over ten weeks old and the Ospreys are back in residence. Fish were caught from the off on the opening day, with Christopher Ward landing this cracking fish:

The first returns for March and April 2021, showed that 75 anglers had visited of which 20 had zero catches. This contrasted with a number of anglers which managed returns greater than 15 trout caught. A total of of 182 trout were caught to a total estimated weight of 93lb. This equates to a mean weight per trout of 0.5lb and 2.4 trout/visit (but as the above suggests that is meaningless. One fish was recorded at 1.5lbs and another just shy of 2lb.

Christopher Ward fishing a team of three buzzers from the south bank through rain, snow and hail in late March landed his best Glenquey fish to date:

RIVER DEVON

Conditions have been tough on the river pretty much from the off. With generally cold and dry weather the upper river has relied on compensation water which is generally at this time of year still very cold. Pretty much up to the last week in May the river was fishing slowly, the spate and then warm weather has really brought the river to life over the last week. Without being specific a number of anglers reported over the holiday weekend rising fish caught on dries and nymphs and general signs of activity. Certainly I had short spells on the river for the last two Wednesday evenings, the contrast between the two sessions was marked. First time not so much as a tug or splash, seven days later in the same pools 6 fish caught and p[probably as many missed (all wee fish)