The Association offer fishing on approximately 15 miles of the River Devon in Clackmannanshire and Kinrossshire; from below Castlehill Reservoir in Glendevon to Tullibody .
The river provides good opportunities to catch migratory Salmon and Sea Trout, particularly in the later part of the season and the river holds excellent hard fighting native Brown Trout all to the stunning backdrop of the Ochils.
Additionally the Association is able to offer members and visitors bank fishing on Glenquey Reservoir in the heart of the Ochils.
The website is intended to provide information & news for members of the Association, provide a guide for visitors to the Devon & Glenquey and hopefully be of interest to all.
All Salmon caught on the River Devon must be returned to the river without exception.
For the latest news of the Association , River Devon & Glenquey plus other related snippets please see the DAA News & Blog tab.
The Devon Angling Association 
Hi folks, hooe your all good. Not sure why I haven’t posted here sooner but just to say the tying nights are back on. Every tuesday evening 7-9 @ Coopers bar, Alloa. All welcome regardless of tying ability. Tonight we have Ed Madril from Spain demonstrating spanish wets/ dries
Hi guys things are starting to look up again with all the restrictions getting lifted, looking forward to hopefully a good season. I will buy my river Devon permit tomorrow but was just wondering if yous looked more into forth for fishing for us to buy our permits, specially for the Quey it would be a lot easier. Plus its just as easy to submit our catch and weight by email straight to you. I always return any fish i catch anyway. Look forward to your thoughts on the matter.
Tight lines guys.
Sorry ment “fishing around the Forth” for online permits not “forth for fishing”
Just a reminder that any one fishing should have a permit on them all times when on the river fishing .
“Poachers and those fishing illegally can also be charged by the police under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Scotland Act 2003
The river was getting hammered during the Covid lockdown. None of them, or at the very most some if them had permits.
There was even a crowd of youths camped out on tbe bank fishing and having a party.
I was told that the regular bailiffs were in lockdown during this period.
Anyway the vast majority of decent anglers buy permits. It is the ones who don’t that waste it for the rest of us.
The river needs more bailiffs or at the least river wardens and better policed. I’ve never been asked by a bailiff for a permit and don’t know anyone else who has either.
My trout permit has obviously expired . Can I upgrade to a salmon permit for the next 2-3 weeks? Or can I just buy day tickets for salmon ?. Do I need all the photo stuff?
Contact David Mudie details on your permit
I was stopped by bailiffs earlier and if im honest they looked like they wouldn’t have approached me if they didn’t see my 3 year old son.
They definitely didn’t approach a group further down stream and shortly after I met someone else who was upstream and said he seen them and they seen him but they didn’t approach him as soon as I told him they where bailiffs he left sharpish.
Hi kenny I have a question regarding permits , I prefer getting out early 6 am for example , can I buy a permit the day before ? On line maybe ? I live in Airdrie so not on the doorstep , hope you can help , thanks Tony.
Hi Tony, unfortunately for the moment we don’t offer an online option and permits are to be bought on the day. I have emailed you separately
Does anyone know if the road at glendevon coming from muckhart is open yet ?
Road remains closed west of Glendevon village and likely to remain closed until at least the weekend. Glenquey can still be reached from the south via Yetts of Muckhart
Is that def correct that access is available to Glenquey from Muckart ??
The road from Muckart was closed right back at the junction, preventing any access to Glendevon — last Friday.
Ian, definitely open from the Muckhart side. There is a yellow sign clearly stating that access is available as far as the Tormaukin Inn
Yes I do not have a problem with that
Alan Graham Vice President
Hi,
I went to Monas and purchased a permit for Glenquay for tonight. Unfortunately when I went along the road the police have shut the road (damage after the recent flooding?) so I couldn’t get access to the reservoir. Can I use the permit on another day when the road opens up again ?
Thanks Dave
Season permit 267
Dave, I will PM you, but I am sure we can sort this out …….. I understood that the problem was the other side of Glendevon village.
Where and how do we get information on how high the river may be? Tried the Seoa website and the like. A wee bit confusing
SEPA website is most accurate.
Judge the current height against the Average height for a normal reference. I use the Glenochil level as it is furthest down river so takes into account all feeder burn water too. I think 1.00m is normal river depth there. Anything over or under that gives a good indication.
David
SEPA operate two gauges on the river:
1) Castlehill – which will give you a good idea of river levels from Glendevon to the Cauldron Linn (a mile or so downstream of Rumbling Bridge)
https://www2.sepa.org.uk/waterlevels/default.aspx?sd=t&lc=14908
Typical depths are 0.25-0.35m when the reservoir is issuing only compensation flow
2) Glenochil- give you a good idea of river levels from teh Cauldron Linn downstream
https://www2.sepa.org.uk/waterlevels/default.aspx?sd=t&lc=14908
Typical flows are around 1.2-1.5m
These gauges are reasonable accurate, but the data does lag sometimes as much as by 4-6 hours in which conditions can change rapidly (in Tuesday storms the Upper Devon rose 1.5m in fours hours). It is also worth checking both, as when the reservoirs are low, the lower river can be in a big dirty spate fed by the main Ochils burns (Dollar, Tillucoultry etc) and the Gairney Burn while the Upper River runs at normal levels.
Hope this helps
The numbers on the gauge board refers to increments of 100mm above or below top water level.
So the number indicates that the reservoir was spilling by approx. 200mm.
The level was 180mm below top water on Sunday so this gives an indication (380mm) of how much rain fell on Monday.
On 22nd June, the reservoir level was about 2.5m below TWL.
The total volume of the reservoir is 1.2million cubic metres .
At -2.5m, the volume was approx. 850,000m3 , which is about 70% of the total storage.
The dam at Glenquey is 21m high, 250m long and ranges from a width of approx 100m at the base to 10m at the crest.
It is not made of concrete but is an earth embankment with a central, clay core.
I was on Glenquey today, dam gauge at 2, water pouring down the outflow.
Is there any one does fly fishing tuition on the river Devon or close by.
Not sure but a good starting point is probably the Game Angling Instructors Association see https://gameanglinginstructors.co.uk/simplesearch/fly-fishing-instructors-scotland.html or see if the guys at Angling Active can recommend a coach or commercial fishery that does lessons.
Devon on YouTube dry fly action.sean afnan video.
Yes, watched it. Great video. Won’t be so quiet there now ! Good for the Association though.
On the Devon today and once again fantastic river to fish. Unexpectedly caught a Sea Trout on the upper reaches.
I was on Glenquey yesterday, Monday 13th.
The water height is around 18inches higher than it was last week.
That’s three weeks running it has been rising.
One chap tried the “far bank” from the dam head but it looked like really hard work and he didn’t get far.
Wading Boot disaster.
A few weeks ago I met a chap at Glenquey who had “lost” the soles of both wading boots at Glenquey on s previous visit.
By pure chance I had found one and he retrieved it to pursue discussion with the seller.
By similar pure chance I found the other one today.
I left it by the black box at the catch return “station”.
The owner may still want it old don’t bin it.
I can’t remember the chap’s name.
Anybody who knows him and read this +– etc etc.
Just noticed your post about the soles of my wading boots got fed up arguing with glasgow angling centre they told me they were 9 weeks out of warranty considering they were in lockdown for almost a year I found that a bit rich so moral of story don’t touch hodgson wading boots absolute rubbish
Hi folks
booked a cottage in your lovely neck of the woods for a week from 18 July been shielding since lock down so going stir crazy hoping to do some fishing (will have to use bait due to broken wrist) is there the opportunity to purchase a weekly permit and if so where can acquire one
thank you
Hi Tony, unfortunately we don’t do a weekly ticket. Best bet is to purchase an annual trout permit it will only set you back £20 and it will give you full flexibility during your stay. No problem with bait fishing (the local angling stores carry plenty of stock of maggots, worms etc). Enjoy your stay!
thank you very much for the info £20 for a weeks fishing cant beat that bursting at the seams to get out
Hide and sneak ! If the sun is going down, even better….if they see you, they’re gone !!
Good luck.
Just back from Glen Quey .
Dam gauge at 8.
The water level must be at least 4ft higher than last week.
The water is up to the trees on the “far bank” making it completely unfishable.
Hi all , up at Glenquey last night lot very small fish jumping and one very large fish at the dam wall.
Couple of Questions regarding Glenquey. First, apologies if this was raised at the AGM earlier in the year, but has there ever been a discussion about including the option of adding in Glenquey to the season permit? Secondly, I was fishing the north bank at the top end, and noticed what has to be a manad stone structure above the South bank at the top end of the loch. Does anyone know what this is or what it’s purpose was? Cheers
Man made*
Hi Jack,
It is unlikely in the short term that Glenquey will be included in a season permit as we are obliged to limit the number of anglers on the reservoir (as required by our lease and of course by the limited parking). Limiting the number of permits sold per day helps fulfill that (though I don’t expect anybody hasn’t been able to get a permit). We are however actively engaged in looking at options for purchasing permits on-line, which hopefully will bear fruit shortly.
As for the man made structure, you have me beat ………. see this link https://maps.nls.uk/view/74428206 which is the 1866 6″ to mile map of Glenquey (bottom corner on right) so far as I can see there were no buildings above Glenquey Farm. This link will help you orientate yourself with the reservoir https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14&lat=56.20322&lon=-3.66504&layers=6&b=1 ……. the bar labelled ‘Change transparency of overlay’ lets you overlay a satellite image on to the second series 6″ to mile map (just prior to Glenquey Reservoir being built)
Having looked at the maps the “stone wall” (which is approx opposite the Dunmoss burn entry) is possibly on the 1000foot contour line.
Built to give a survey ref with the wall top at 1000ft. Pure speculation , I add.
Here’s another complete speculation about “the wall”.
There is no evidence on the map but could it be a walled up mine entrance ??
I posted a response to this which understandably went to moderation — but has never appeared ??
Ian, apologies new posters need to be approved to avoid the site being bombarded with spam (82 post in the last twenty days). I did approve your post on my phone, but there must have been a hiccup.
Hi
I have never fished the river. My daughter (8years) is at an age where she is keen to do more fishing and now regularly ask to go fishing.
At the moment she is still bait fishing, however slowly learning the skills of fly fishing with a few near misses.
What is the age limit for a junior permit?
Where would be a good place to start on the river with my daughter and what selection of bait would be permitted and best to use?
Thank you
Stewart
Hi Stewart,
Great to hear that your daughter is so keen on fishing
The junior permit is intended to cover all ages (we significantly reduced the cost of junior permits a few years ago specifically to encourage junior members).
Bait fishing on the Devon is absolutely fine (with the exception of the use of powerbaits which are specifically banned). I personally haven’t bait for trout for probably 40 years (though I am really interested in giving it ago again), hopefully we might get some advice from some of the regular bait fisherman on the river, but I would expect that maggot/worms drifted through some of the slower/deeper pools will be your best bet. As a bairn I use to catch a wide range of river fish including trout using sweetcorn. I reckon your best bet would be any of the deeper pools downstream of the Haugh Bridge (immediately downstream of Dollar). Some of the biggest Devon trout (8-10lb fish) have been caught using worms.
Hi Graham
Thank you for your help.
We are hoping to pop along this weekend coming. Think we will give the maggots and worms a go.
Thank you
Stewart
I’d like to say that the river is fishing really well this year and I’ve already had some really big fish and this is despite the river being so low. Last Saturday I had 27 fish on the duo. I had one last night that took off upstream with my flyline and pinged my leader like thread. I know where he is and I’m going back for him (and my pale watery in his gob) 🙂
Tactics have to match the low water, and crawling on hands and knees to approach your target fish is the only way to get near them. Bow and arrow casting under trees is a must up top too. It’s wee flies that are needed, nymphs in size 20 and 22 and dries 16 to 20 to match the various hatches. Tates has seen some cracking Danica hatches, but it’s the large nymphs that the fish are taking and they are largely ignoring the duns.
Please don’t ever stock the river, it’s not needing it and the fishing is much better.
The Faughlin Reservoir is just one of reservoirs that has got permission from scottish water to open on Monday 1st of June. Have you had any word regarding the Quey? Seemingly they have all gave permission!!
The simple answer is no, we have not been given permission by Scottish Water’s land agent to begin fishing. The DAA Secretary having already been in touch with Scottish Water earlier in the week, spent a very frustrating opening day for fishing on Friday, stuck in the house waiting for a call and trying to contact Scottish Water’s land agent; without success. I understand that Larbert and Stenhouse AC are in the same position with Loch Coulter reservoir which is not open either. It may will be that different Scottish Water land agents have reacted more quickly or clubs/fisheries have jumped the gun who knows? The bottom line is, as soon as we can get Glenquey open for angling we will.
Thanks for clearing that Graham. Spot on m8. I can see now how hard yous have been trying… lets hope its all sorted soon. Thanks again. I have been wanting to take a run up to see how the Quey is looking. But didn’t want to drive up to it under the current circumstances. Castlehill looks down a good bit. Miss the Quey and the other anglers that fish it. Always friendly and helpful. This will be the first year i haven’t bought a permit for the Devon. Is the shop in dollar still open or would i need to try angling active?
The Sorting Office in Dollar is open in the mornings (8-noon) and Buicks in Alloa (which I think is open as normal) are both selling DAA permits.
We heard from our bailiff Graham who lives in Glenquey about 10 days ago and he was reporting that Glenquey was still relatively high (approximately 3 foot down from winter levels) but with the prolonged dry spell that may well have changed
Will angling active be selling permits this year ?
Yes Keith, Angling Active in Stirling will be selling permits!
Hi Castlehill Reservoir still very high . Lot of water coming over today.
Marchglen car park full of broken slabs.
Kenny,
Thanks. Info passed on so we can see if we can identify the culprit with the resources we have deployed in the area!
G
Hi reported it to the council just have to see what they say.
Kenny
Thanks. I had a message early from Bryan Anderson who has been on the case to sort it out with the landowner. The DAA have signs on order which will be erected at the entrance warning fly-tippers that the area is being monitored. Fly-tipping is becoming a real menace all over Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire!
G
Hi, just to let you all know theres a fly tying club started on Tuesday nights at Coopers in Alloa 7 til 9pm. Its free to attend, just bring your tying gear.
Each week there will be a stillwater pattern and river pattern demonstrated. Next weeks patterns are Kate McLaren and pheasant tail nymph. Food and drink is also available from the bqr. Tight wraps
Hi l have flew items I can donate Vice wings . Ect.
That would be great Kenny. Let me know how I can get it or will you drop it off at the tying night
Drop the stuff of . There a fair bit.
If you don’t stock where does the permit money go you should not be charging for fishing if its self stocking
The permit money goes to the Riparian Land Owners who allow us on to their land , The Crown Estates Scotland and the local Council as the fishing’s have a Rateable value just like your house. . Then we have the up keep of the equipment which is used in bank maintainence and tree removal from the river. etc: so anytime you wish to join us on a work Party Robert feel free to come along any Wednesday look forward to seeing you tyhen.
The committee do a first class job on tbe upkeep of the river, and the work they do is voluntary. As to stockies, there are several good fisheries in the area that cater for this type of fishing. The river is loaded with wild fish, and I enjoy the challenge in catching wild fish in a river, much more than catching fish reared in a fishery.
Well, Robert, feel free not to pay for the permit. Just don’t ever fish the river.
We have just bought new equipment chain saw and strimmer plus oil etc. £1375 , crown estate £960 and have 12 landowners to pay shortly.nearly 400£ to printersetc etc etc , if you have any questions re stocking etc come to the next AGM. Remember the permit is just that and not a ticket to catch fish. If we had stocked early by the way most of the fish would have ended up in the forth.
Does the Devon angling association stock the river
No thankfully the river isn’t stocked anymore and it’s on it’s way to being a truly wild river.
The river is loaded with fish and there’s no need for stockies.
No we no longer stock the River. The reason being that we MUST by law stock none breeding Triploids and as you will be aware all they do is EAT all year – this would put a very serious dent in the natural trout fry and parr.
The stretch just downstream from the fossoway bridge is getting hammered with weed just now, the narrow runs in between the weeds are stacked full off fish, not easy fishing but definitely satisfying when you get a take!
That’s good to know. A wee paradun always does well for me up there. I catch lots of wee half pounders at Fossoway, and rarely get into anything decent.
Tates was fishing well for me last week, with 15 fish in an afternoon session on a double bead nymph on the point and a size 16 Greenwells Spider on the dropper. No weed there to hamper subsurface fishing. River was at a nice height there too.
Vicars bridge car park full off building crap. Fly tippers at again.
Kenny, I passed there this morning and all the material has been removed. There has been a spate of these incidents in the area, including in the carp park at Glenfoot.
Hi Graham cheers was just going to phone .
Is the Devon fly only fishing ?
Chris,
The Devon is an all methods fishery; you may fish with all legal methods of fishing for trout using a single rod held in the hand at all times.
See Rules https://devonanglingassociation.org.uk/about-3/rules/
Many thanks
Hi guy just got my first permit for the Devon. I stay in cambus and was looking for some advice on spots to fish. I’m not 100% on the most popular spots so any tips would be great. Happy to drive to any part too.
Thanks in advance
March Glen, Taits tomb, etc.All are popular, but probably overfished. Try to head there, then the further you walk from the overfished bits the better !
You will enjoy the whole river anyway, so just go fish !
Depends on what type of Fishing you are doing / FLY / Spin or Bait. From Tilly down stream good for Bait and Spin and from Tilly up stream better for the Fly
Welcome greg,
As graham says all the water available to fish, holds large quantities off fish…. personally I prefer anywhere upstream from Haugh area…. although vicars bridge is an eerie place especially at sunset! 😮😮
Most off the fish I have had is been off the top, but some nights/days you can’t beat euro nymphing!
Tight lines!
Hi can anybody help me out looks for nice pools from Alva to menstrie that are worth a stop in. I’m lookin for a nice spot where I can walk to and catch nice brown trout ??
If you park at spca centre walk down to the river the canoe course is is all right spot.so is the prison down to the old DCL some good spots . There should be sea trout in the devon soon . Spinning also works well . Mostly walk and seek . Good luck.
Hi lost a rainbow below castle hill reservoir. On Friday at the old bridge.first time I have had a run in with a rainbow on the devon.
They used to be common enough from Castle Hill down to Dollar burn. Usually from Crook of Devon fish farm at that time.
I caught many above Vicars Bridge early in the season. Haven’t seen one for a couple of seasons.
Had Glen Quey to myself today Had two nice brown trout . Both were bigger than the usual fish I catch up there which was nice . The Devon angling assossciation have done a grand job over the winter cutting back bushes , building wooden pathways etc. The north bank is a waste of time just now as the water is too high to fish that side . There was fish rising at times with a few fly hatches although short lived . It’s a lovely place to fish .
Hi guys, looking for some advice, I’ve fished glenquey a lot in the last few years but due to work will only get the first two weeks of the season and a couple at the end. I’m just wondering how you guys fish it early doors or is it a case of perseverance? Cheers
Fish the deeper water, especially at the dam wall up to the old boat house. I like a weighted nymph on the point such as a gold head hares ear and a couple of black and silver wets or buzzers on the droppers. I like an intermediate leader using the countdown method until I find the fish. Retrieve fairly slowly.
On a personal note I use a floater and a Midge tip line all season. Starting with Buzzer’s and if they fail I switch to a Hot head damsel which has always produced. Size wise I stick to 14 and 16 early doors and drop down in size as the season progresses
Thanks a lot for the quick replies Cailean and Alan. Good luck for the rest of the season.
You’re welcome. I’ll be heading up there until the river comes to life in May. Tight lines.
Hi guys just joined this year any one is there parking near the cauldron linn area of the river is there decent pools for the brownies there.. Thanks scott
Scott,
Welcome to the DAA; the simple answer is access to the Cauldron Linn requires a decent walk from any direction and over some difficult terrain. It is worth fishing as there are some great pools and plenty of trout. My best advice is to park at Vicars Bridge and start exploring upstream from there. There is a path from Vicars Bridge on the south bank generally above the river (starts at the simple gate in the wood on the road heading backtowards Arndean & Powmill) which bypasses some of the more difficult to access sections of the river. The estate in the past have constructed walkways, fencing and even a great viewing platform high above the river. The area can also be reached from Powmill and Rumbling Bridge. Be aware and take care, you will most likely be alone in as remote a part of Clackmannanshire as can be found. Enjoy.
I walk in from Rumbling Bridge. You are allowed to WALK through the big gate posts on the North West side if the bridge along to Braehead farm. Turn left immediately after the farm down a lane. Walk across the field to the west if the house down there.Ther is a public stile/gate on the other side of the field. Follow the track down to the river..Great pools. Walk in is half an hour. You can also go down the lane west of Gartwinzean Loan on the A977. It heads North beside 2 cottages. Shorter walk I think – I don’t know if you can take a car down there. A pre season explore would be in order ! If unsure – always ask the locals if it’s ok .
Hi mate thanks for that info superb… I fished glenquey today Sunday the 17th 2019i caught a perch around 6ozs I’ve een asked to report it as its a rare catch on this water.. I caught it below the boathouse towards the dam wall
Scott, thanks for reporting and I will share with the committee; it is news to me that there are Perch in the reservoir.
Perch breed voraciously and can multiply in huge proportions. They eat anything that moves including smaller fish as well as the insect life that the trout rely on to survive. I’ve never seen a perch up there, but Scott is a good angler and I have no doubt it was a perch he caught.
Let’s hope that the perch remain in small numbers or the trout population could suffer.
Thanks for that I m going to walk it today from vicars Bridge
Scott sorry but you will have to park at Vicars then your in this is mountain goat country
Yip I know a perch I was a pole match angler for 10years caught hundreds of them amongst carp tench roach and bream etc.. Should I have killed it
Hello everyone and tight lines for the coming season – not far off now!
I just wondered if there are plans to stock Glenquey with trout this season? I know that the river won’t be but wondered about Glenquey.
Hi George – no there are no plans at present to stock Glenquey – the river will definitely NOT be stocked this year – see the minutes from the AGM and subsequent news letter
At last, caught a salmon on Thursday. 71cms. About 7 lbs ? Tartan – but a salmon nonetheless! Returned safely. This fish was caught at Muckhart Mill, so it had run the whole river, past all those rods ! – just shows, they are there……
Congratulations Graham!
It was a strong fighter too. Heart in mouth stuff !
Superb Graham! I bet you’ll remember that for a long time. I saw a few nice tourists during the back end of the trout season, but kept their location secret. The river is in fine form and it was great to see the big true Danica Mayflies on the river in good numbers and even despite the low water conditions for much of the season, the trout were very obliging to my wee nymphs. Has there been any sea trout caught?
I haven’t caught any sea trout this year or heard of any .
WELL done Graham great news – it must have passed my Fleas to get there
Just standing at Rackmill watching two large salmon trying to jump up the weir. Hope they find the ladder !
That’s good – they always show up after the season closes
Where does the permit stop ,is it the menstrie bridge or the old railway bridge
Robert, the downstream limit of the DAA waters is at the Tullibody-Mestrie road bridge on the south bank only …… see the beat map in the tabs [or here https://devonanglingassociation.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/daa-beat-maps-2017.pdf ]
Menstrie Bridge
Lot of reports of people fishing for Eels and killing them . No Eel must be killed. Legislation
The Freshwater Fish Conservation (Prohibition on Fishing for Eels) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 in January 2009 as part of the Scotland RBD EMP. The Regulations were made under section 51A of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003. The effect of the Regulations is to prohibit fishing by any method for eels (Anguilla anguilla) in Scotland, except on application and under the authority of a licence granted by Scottish Ministers.
Kenny
Rock and Roll – lets hope we get some more Rain to bring more up
Salmon sea trout went over the falls at cambus flew days ago
Hi folks salmon sea trout in the river went over the falls at cambus a flew days a go.
I just wanted to offer my thanks to the DAA for the free permit which arrived in the post today. I’m delighted to have joined the DAA this year and it has been a revelation to spend a handful of days up on Glenquey – a veritable ‘red-spotted’ jewel!
Is there any scope for permits being available online this season?
Cheers
To-/day strimming took place at Marchglen and the Black Bridge areas. Tight lines