‘Artifishal’ documentary screening Tueday 11th June 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Posted on May 29, 2019 by gowens2013

In addition to the Forth District Salmon Fishery Board’s drop in session at the Forth Rivers Centre, Callander , the FDSFB and the Forth Rivers Trust will be hosting a screening of the documentary Artifishal produced by Patagonia. It outlines the impact of hatcheries and fish farms on wild salmon.

The drop in runs from 3pm – 7.30pm

http://www.fishforth.co.uk/fdsfb/forth-dsfb-public-drop-in-event-11th-june-3pm-7-30pm/

The viewing of Artifishal will be from 6.30pm for 7pm and though free will require a ticket, that should be booked in advance. See for details, venue and booking information:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/artifishal-screening-callander-tickets-61570865115

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Forth District Salmon Fishery Board – Public drop in event – Tuesday 11th June 3pm to 7.30pm

Posted on May 29, 2019 by gowens2013

The Forth District Salmon Fishery Board will be hosting its annual drop in event at the Forth Rivers Centre in Callander. It will be an opportunity to find out what the FDSFB and partners have been doing in the catchment . Refreshments will be provided and FDSFB staff will be in attendance to answer questions about their projects

More details here:

http://www.fishforth.co.uk/fdsfb/forth-dsfb-public-drop-in-event-11th-june-3pm-7-30pm/?fbclid=IwAR0fmjF3rNCE4bXdP8WohfVt3mxz9dfL9SBepaylGn-YUjRP8kUY_4Gi3Io

Immediately following will be an opportunity to see the documentary Artifishal [see subsequent post]

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Season 2019 – May update

Posted on May 25, 2019 by gowens2013

Well this afternoon was lovely, gone was the sunshine and replaced with a lovely dose of drizzle likely to extend over the bank holiday weekend. We really need more of this weather after yet another prolonged dry spring. Already Castlehill Reservoir, who sole purpose is to act as reserve (costs a lot of money to pump it to the water treatment works), is a couple of metres below the dam’s crest. The River Devon really needs the reservoir level to be at the dam crest, so that any spate events in the Ochils (particularly on the east of Glendevon) over top the dam. These spate events may ruin a days fishing (except those with the skill/knowledge to know where to present a worm in these conditions!) but are absolutely vital for the rivers health. Spates benefit trout and their invertebrate prey by clearing accumulated silt/algae, improve spawning grounds by transporting fresh sand/gravel and encouraging migratory fish into the river.

So what happening?

Well Glenquey remains pretty well full but fishing really well. Alan Graham reported catching 15 trout and missing at least a further dozen others on Friday (24/5). Chris Adams fishing last Sunday reported “Great afternoon up the Quay today. 12 to the net, better 2 in photos from the north bank, Osprey & a wee Barn Owl fly-by. Beautiful whether you’re catching or not!!”

Chris was fishing with a wee black & claret Muddler on the top, “but a small silver invicta was the most popular, just under the surface. Something bigger ran off with the Muddler on the south bank in the evening!”

On the Wild Fishing Forum an angler who has known the Devon for decades  posted “A lot of winter work has been put in by the Devon club to give better bank access. Well done those folk on the work parties.   :8)”

On a slightly more serious point regarding Glenquey, please do not brings dogs with you, that isn’t permitted!

The River Devon has taken a wee while to come alive but I am now seeing a lot of reports of decent fish caught on nymphs and dries. The lack of rain means that fishing needs a bit of finesse and care as fish in these conditions are super spooky.

Kenny McAulay and at least one other angler have hooked and lost a large Rainbow Trout on the upper beats (presumably since Castlehill hasn’t been stocked with Rainbow’s for a few years an old resident swept over in the winter spates). We encourage any angler who manages to catch this fish to take it home for tea!

 

 

 

 

Posted in DAA News, Glenquey fishing, Glenquey journal, River Devon miscellaneous, River fishing, River journal, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Forth Rivers Trust – Spring newsletter

Posted on May 25, 2019 by gowens2013

Our friends at the Forth Rivers Trust have published their spring newsletter setting out some of their work on the whole Forth catchment:

https://mailchi.mp/c5f3586c91f6/forth-rivers-trust-2018-recap-newsletter-2385549

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First 2019 season update

Posted on May 3, 2019 by gowens2013

Apologies for the silence on the website, the DAA website is run from a PC at the end of the unclassified road at the far end of the Information Super Highway …….. finally after four weeks we finally have connections reaching the dizzying speeds of 1.4 Mb/s. Me thinks it is time for the UK and Scottish Governments to deliver there promises of universal access to high speed broadband to rural Scotland!

A totally wacky start to the 2019 season ……………. the season opening days were greeted with snow and ice; followed by prolonged drought. Castlehill Reservoir is already 2.0m or so below the dam, which doesn’t bode well for the summer. The river is already bare bones, and fish for the most of the day aren’t actively feeding at the surface. That said there are several reports of decent fish being caught. A couple of week ago I met a young lad trotting maggots with a float using  a centre pin reel who had caught several fish in 1lb to 1.5lb range ……… fascinating technique and casting with the centre pin reel is a real art!

Pretty much from the start of the season Glenquey has been fishing really well. In the first week of the season quite a few anglers were reporting catching 3 or 4 reasonable fish on avisits (Chris Ward posted photos on Facebook of a couple of cracker he had caught in the first week or so). Lots of positive comments about the work done by work parties on the north bank

The settlement of our legal action against Scottish Water following the Glendevon Water Treatment Works pollution incident in 2011 is now complete. Our thanks extend to our friends at Fish Legal and their lawyers for their amazing support in recovering an appropriate level of compensation from Scottish Water. We must remain vigilant and we can thank our member Graham Burns who having witnessed the discharge of effluent from Dollar Sewage Works had the sense to immediately report it to SEPA.

If you see anything suspicious being discharged to the river, please immediately inform SEPA using their pollution hotline number on 0800 807060 [the number is on your permit, please record the incident number and send details to the DAA at the earliest opportunity]

In other business the DAA are working with the landowner and their tenant looking at means of restricting cattle poaching of banks in the vicinity of Taits Tomb. Work  parties are bracing themselves for the new season of mowing and striming.

Please also note that due to the enforcement of regulations, the Forth District Salmon Fishery Board fishing between the yellow marker poles at Dollar weir is no longer permitted at any time of the season. Signs to this effect should be erected by the Board soon.

Time for your collective rain dances!

 

 

Posted in DAA News, Glenquey fishing, Glenquey journal, River fishing, River journal | 1 Comment

Tiger Trout (or for that matter Rainbow or Blue trout)

Posted on May 3, 2019 by gowens2013

The Forth District Salmon Board posted the following on Facebook earlier this week:

Reports of tiger trout being caught in the River Forth is something that crops up from time to time and generally the fish is killed and nothing more is done. Because of this, often it is not possible to know whether this is a one off issue or part of a larger escape. These fish can cause substantial damage to the native fish populations and can compete for food along with predate juvenile native salmonids.

We have recently received reports of tiger trout being caught low down on the River Forth. Thank you to the angler who reported this to us and we have reported this to the Fish Health Inspectorate.

All escaped farmed fish should be reported to the Fish Health Inspectorate in Aberdeen – 01224 295525. All fish farms have a duty to report any escapees. All reports are available to view – http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/data/fish_escapes.aspx.

There is of course a bit of a distinction between what might be a one off single escapee and a larger incident. The FHI will follow up any reports and are particularly looking for a pattern of reports indicating an issue or of course a large release of farmed fish found. The fishery or fish farm would not necessarily be aware of the escape so its important that they are contacted to make repairs or changes if there is a problem.

If you catch or see an escapee please report it to FHI and/or let the Forth District Salmon Fishery Board know by messaging this page or email board@forthdsfb.org and we’ll follow it up. Picture and location as well would be helpful.

They shouldn’t be there and its difficult enough for our native fish without this type of competition.

If you catch a non native fish such as a tiger, rainbow, blue trout etc in a river around the Forth District please remove it from the river, report it to the Board and/or the Fish Health Inspectorate. If these catches are left unreported, the problem may persist when it could be dealt with.

Again, thank you to the angler who reported this in. Anglers are the eyes and ears on the river and by reporting issues like this to the Board, we can try to keep track of the situation and highlight it to the relevant authorities.

The Devon Angling Association whole heartedly agree. If  you catch a Rainbow, Blue or Tiger Trout please remove and report it to the Board and Fish Health Inspectorate. Escapee Rainbow Trout from Crook of Devon used to be a problem but even still an occasional Rainbow appears in the upper river flushed out of Castlehill.

 

 

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Lost items

Posted on May 3, 2019 by gowens2013

A couple of items have been mislaid at Glenquey in recent weeks

  • David Hartley lost his mobile phone half way up the south bank (though the information I had was it might have ended up in the reservoir)
  • Alan Graham mislaid his hearing aid

If you come across either please get in touch with the DAA at the usual places and we will reunite them with their owners

Similarly David Mudie is still looking out for his favourite landing net lost somewhere upstream of Vicars Bridge

To quote David, “Us fishermen must be a careless lot“

 

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2019 season ………. only 2 more sleeps away :-)

Posted on March 13, 2019 by gowens2013

The 2019 season will start on the River Devon and at Glenquey on Friday 15th March ………. though judging by the current state of the river and the forecast rain for tonight, the river is likely still to be thinning out from another spate on the opening day (then Saturday is forecast to be absolutely Baltic).  Despite the forecasts, I am sure that some of our keener enthusiasts will be out on the river this Friday and Saturday and Glenquey will get its first casts on Friday. In the last update we were in the middle of the wee ‘fake spring’ burst of warmth, where fish were seen rising on the river and at Glenquey. I expect that this burst of wet weather will recharge all the reservoirs and groundwater levels ……..  which normally leads to good spring trout fishing on the river once temperatures (air and water) rise.

In the meantime the work parties have been busy!

Clearing falling lumber from the Devon at the Haugh

Spreading Type 1 to improve the parking facilities at Glenquey

The work party is manned by volunteers who are out on DAA waters most Wednesdays of the year doing what they can to improve access for anglers, make sure fish can reach their spawning grounds and clearing fallen lumber and maintaining paths/stiles/bridges/fences/etc. If you are interested in getting involved then please get in touch; see https://devonanglingassociation.org.uk/about-3/contact/ for contact details

Good luck to all our members and visitors for the 2019 season!

 

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Posted in DAA News, Glenquey fishing, Glenquey journal, River fishing, River journal | 1 Comment

Pre-season update

Posted on February 23, 2019 by gowens2013

Its Saturday 23rd of February, with only 20 days to the start of the 2019 Season and in stark contrast to this time last year it feels like spring is just around the corner …….. no doubt by the time March 15th comes around Glenquey will be frozen and the banks will be wreathed in snow!

So what’s new?

Permits are back from the printers and are being distributed to our outlets:

Permits

Please note the modest in prices for permits (details in the link above)

There are two important changes to the DAA rules:

  1. Fishing either side at Dollar Weir will not be permitted – traditionally we did not permit fishing either side of the weir during September and October. The Forth District Salmon Board are now enforcing the regulations and we are required not to allow fishing at anytime. The old yellow marker posts will be repainted and the FDSB will be setting notices to this effect. Notices will also be erected at Cambus, so we will be interested to see how that is enforced!
  2. Salmon fishing effort to be reported – The mandatory salmon return required by the DAA for salmon anglers now not only requires a record of all fish caught and returned, but also a record of the effort put into endeavouring to catch salmon. You are now required to keep a record of the numbers of days spent on the river endeavouring to catch a salmon (even if you are on the river for an hour count that as a day). This will allow Marine Scotland to review not only the number of fish caught but also how much effort it took to catch those fish.

Members of the DAA committee assisted the Forth Rivers Trust as they began their ‘Fish in the Classroom’ programme at Tillicoultry Primary School. Once again we thank EPIC [Enabling Projects in Clackmannanshire] for funding and supporting the DAA with this important opportunity to engage with young people about the wonders of the freshwater habitat on their doorsteps. Some may become anglers but hopefully all will begin to understand the importance of protecting rivers and burns.

Work is ongoing with local landowners to address the continuing problems of cattle encroachment on the river below Dollar. The work parties are gearing up for their annual campaign of clearing the winter’s toll on bankside trees before the endless toil of clearing paths begins.

The work parties are planning a campaign of clearance in the ‘Devon Gorge’ between Muckhart Mill and the Cauldron Linn. This is one of the remotest parts of our fishery, best suited for a full days exploration with a rod. Access takes (a lot of) effort, access/egress to the river can be difficult but on the right day the fishing can be superb. The plan is to clear fallen lumber only ……. it will remain a proper expedition to fish here!

Best of luck for new season to our members and visitors …………. and please share your experiences with us!

Posted in DAA News, Glenquey fishing, Glenquey journal, River Devon miscellaneous, River fishing, River journal | Leave a comment

New books by DAA member Drew Jamieson

Posted on February 5, 2019 by gowens2013

Some of our members may be familiar with DAA member Drew Jamieson from encounters with him on the Devon or from reading some of his work in the likes of The Scotsman (where he has been their angling correspondent), Trout and Salmon, Fly Fishing and Fly Tying, Trout Fisherman and the Atlantic Salmon Journal.  He was responsible for an extremely professional rebuttal of CEMEX proposal for sand & gravel extraction in Glenquey which helped inform the refusal of planning permission by Perth & Kinross Council. From 1979 until 2000 he was responsible for the trout reservoirs of Lothian Regional Council and the fisheries of East of Scotland Water, across the south and east of Scotland. He has also served on the Secretary of State’s Consultative Committee of Freshwater Fisheries, been Honorary Secretary of the Scottish Angler’s National Association (SANA)  and a Fellow of the Institute of Fisheries Management (of which he was chair of the Scottish Branch for a number of years.)

He has just released a series of independently published books (which feature various references to the River Devon) available through Amazon which I suspect will be of great interest to River Devon anglers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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