Can all members holding a Sea Trout and Salmon permit please ensure that they complete a catch return as soon as possible and return to the Hon. Sec.
You can use the form issued with your permit or complete electronically see https://devonanglingassociation.org.uk/2015-catch-returns/
You must return a catch return even if it is a NIL
With only one more sea trout/salmon fishing day to go, the Devon Angling Association 2016 is almost over.
The end of the Glenquey season this year was extended from its traditional 30th September finish to the statutory end date of the 6th October. A number of anglers took advantage and were still catching:
A late 2016 season brownie from Glenquey [caught by Alan Graham]
Catch returns for September and up to the 6th October showed 37 anglers submitting catch returns showing they caught 145 trout at average 0.65lb and each angler catching a mean 3.9 trout/visit.
We very much appreciate the time taken by anglers in posting their catch returns to the box and we extend our thanks particularly as this season we have had 328 catch returns compared with 263 in 2015.
Brown trout fishing on the river came to end on Thursday 6th October and was met with cold gusty easterly winds. I shared the Fossoway beat with a single other angler for a difficult afternoon of fishing. I lost a decent fish, frustratingly almost at the net, but at least didn’t blank as I managed a few wee trout on a parachute adams
Fishing wasn’t the greatest but the scenery made up for it!
A couple of moderate spates, combined with high tides have brought salmon and sea trout into the river in the last few weeks. Apart from the illegal caught salmon from Taits Tomb reported in September I am aware of only one Salmon being reported caught (though I am confident that a few of the river’s more canny anglers will have had success ……. we will find out in the newt couple of weeks as catch returns come in). Interestingly we have had several reports of Sea Trout being caught:
Sea trout caught 6 October [caught by Alan Graham]
Significantly sea trout were seen running on Thursday, where Alan Graham caught two and lost another very fresh fish; yet when I fished the same area on Friday I drew a complete blank (nothing surprising there). Now I could (and should) blame my lack of angling skill but there was a significant difference between the two days and is a new phenomenon on the Devon.
This year Scottish Water have began generating hydro-electric power at Castlehill Reservoir. When generating they are releasing significantly more water than the standard compensation flows. This is the SEPA gauge reading from yesterday:
By the time I was fishing on Friday afternoon the flow from the headwaters had reduced as they had stopped generating during Thursday afternoon and didn’t resume until Friday afternoon. Time will tell as to the impact on the fishery of this generation activity? There are a lot of factors at play:
No doubt anglers will be out in hope rather than expectation on Monday to bring the season to a close ………. hopefully at least one angler will get lucky!
Alexander Rose sent in this splendid photo of a work party he encountered on the river recently:
[Left to right] Bob Wright, Alan Armstrong (Bailiff), Jim McGuire (Bailiff), Alan Graham, David Mudie (Hon Secretary) and Colin Smail
On another day Alexander may have encountered any of the above and/or Bryan Anderson (President), Ian Allan, Gordon Forbes or Ronnie Breingan
These are the guys that turn out week after week throughout the year clearing spawning burns, clearing fallen lumber, strimming paths, cutting back Himalayan Balsam, repairing styles, opening the north shore of the Glenquey etc etc!
The Forth District Salmon Fishery Board (and/or River Forth Fisheries Trust …… its all the same team!) are reaching out to anglers throughout the district to assist with the Forth Returning Adults Project.
They are collecting scale samples from salmon returning to the Rivers Forth, Teith, Devon and Allan Water so that we can determine if the fish have returned to the river they originated from, or if they have strayed into a neighbouring river.
The Forth Returning Adults Project aims to investigate ‘straying’ using genetic analysis. Juvenile salmon in these rivers have already been analysed to determine their genetic make-up. The results showed that fish could be matched to each river with a reasonable level of accuracy. Now, we can do the same for returning adults, by comparing their genetic make-up to the juvenile populations. All we need is a sample of around five scales from as many rod caught adult salmon as possible.
If you would like to be involved in helping to collect this information get in touch with Sylvian ( s.barry@fishforth.co.uk ) or by calling 0131 4451527 then we will provide you with a sampling kit and leaflet which explains how to collect the scales and what information you will have to collect.
David Mudie has some sample kits which he has distributed to the candidates he expects may have the best chance of catching a salmon this season [the webmaster wasn’t one of his candidates ……… which indicates just how successful a salmon angler he is 😉 ]
As an added encouragement
All anglers returning scale samples will be entered into our prize draw, with top prizes of a £50 voucher for angling active and a bottle of Macallan single malt, plus various runners up prizes. Winners will be contacted directly and announced on our website at the end of the season.
Please if you have a salmon permit please get in touch with Sylvian, this is a really important project!
The latest newsletter from our friends at the increasingly active River Forth Fisheries Trust is available to read here:
http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=d609b5fce77f392cee5505b8e&id=33514a1d21&e=724fc538e8
It will not escaped the notice of anglers that there are barely two weeks left of the trout season on Thursday 6th October.
Glenquey enthusiasts are reminded that for that 2016 season we have aligned the closure of the Glenquey season with the statutory end of the trout season on 6th October giving an extra six days fishing compared to past seasons.
Water levels in the reservoir have been high most of the seasons making fishing from the north bank troublesome despite the sterling work done by work parties clearing the scrub through the winter months. July was a bumper month with 52 anglers submitting catch returns showing they caught 244 trout at average 0.66lb and each angler catching a mean 4.7 trout/visit. August showed the traditional lull with only 47 anglers submitting catch returns at an average 0.47lb and only 3.4 trout/visit no doubt restricted by the relatively high level of the reservoir. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the local ospreys and otters fair a wee bit better than the anglers!
On the river late summer was marked by many dry weeks with the river running bare bones, making trout angling very hit or miss. Bait anglers fishing the slow deep pools still managed reasonable catches but in the streamier sections of the river the trout were super spooky making sport for the fly angler a wee bit more challenging (but not impossible for the patient, those willing to stalk or just plain lucky!)
Late August and early September have thankfully brought a couple of mini-spates which have brought the river to life and encouraged the first Sea Trout and Salmon into the river. As reported elsewhere there have been reports of a salmon being caught by a bait angler at Taits Tomb which was removed from the river. Without wishing to sound like a broken record, new Scottish Government regulations means that under absolutely no circumstances can a Salmon be removed from the river (even a distressed fish unlikely to recover must be returned) Anglers removing fish will be reported to the Forth District Salmon Board’s Crown Bailiff and Police Scotland. Equally to be targeting Salmon and Sea Trout you must have hold the appropriate permit/ticket.
Hopefully additional rain will encourage more fish to take their chance in the river than sitting amongst the seals in the Forth!
Elsewhere in the river the new weir for the Rumbling Bridge Hydro-electric scheme is now complete. The contractor have made a decent job of tidying up the inlet and the extent of the impoundment is quite limited.
It is to be seen what impact extraction of water will have on the Devon between the weir (just downstream of Crook of Devon) and Rumbling Bridge. The weir has been fitted with a fish pass but it is quite possible that in the right water that fish may be able to pass over the weir
The fresher water in the last few weeks have definitely improved trout fishing to probably the best of the season. I had to go down south at the weekend and coming back up the hill on Tuesday I managed to get home in time to sneak two hours on the river. Armed with a selection of dry flies and I managed to land several wee trout like this (and have the fly hit countless more times)
Casting to the smallest of slurps also landed three fish like this (and a much bigger fish that was too shy to hang around for a photo)
There are only two weeks of the trout season …………. make them count 🙂
For the avoidance of any doubt for members or visiting anglers any Salmon caught on the River Devon must be returned to the river. There are absolutely no circumstances in which a Salmon can be removed from the river.
Over the weekend there have been reports of a fish being removed from the river (notably on social media) this has been reported to Forth District Salmon Fishery Board crown bailiff.
No fish can be harvested from the Devon from the Forth at Cambus to the upper reaches of their migration. If you suspect any fish are being removed from the river then in the first instance please immediately contact either Police Scotland or the FDSFB Superintend
Police Scotland via 101, though if a witness call the Police directly.
Local Wildlife Crime Liaison Officer (WCLO) is via C Division – Forth Valley PC Malky O’May Malcolm.O’May@Scotland.pnn.police.uk
Forth District Salmon Fishery Board Superintendent:
Lee Fisher bailiff@fishforth.co.uk 01786 842122 or 07887 835549
Please be aware that any poaching (including the removal) of salmon on the River Devon will be reported to the Police Scotland and the Forth District Salmon Board .
The DAA Bailiff, Alan Armstrong can also be contacted on 01259 751120
If you come across an old folding/extending net lost near the stiles by Taits Tomb last Monday evening, please get in touch so we can reunite it with its owner.
Cailean Moore is a regular angler on the river has demonstrated that with a careful approach even in low water conditions good trout can still be caught.
At the start of the month he was able to catch 14 trout in one outing on dry flies, three of them in excess of 30cm, such as these:
Apologies for the lack of news in recent months, in part driven by other commitments but certainly from my perspective the first months of the season on river to mid June were really slow.
River Devon
The river has been uniformly low for much of May and June, the only saving grace being the occasional additional release from Castlehill Reservoir when they have been running their hydro-electric plant. These general raise the level of the river by 10-15cm for a couple of days and does help clear some of the silt/algae that forms in the prolong dry spells.
In the early season there were a couple of reports of decent fish being caught by bait anglers of up to 4lb. It is only in recent weeks with a bit more cloud cover and rain things have improved. I finally began rising and catching decent trout with the dry flies (including a cracker of about 2.5lb. There have even been reports of Sea Trout splashing in pools …….. the sceptics find this surprising considering how low the river has been
Annual stocking has been completed: these fish have now moved away from where they were released and can still be found. One angler recently caught nine stocked fish in one session (all released).
Pollution incidents continue on the river; with the usual suspects reported once again to Sepa (Scottish Water’s Tillicoultry and Alva WTW). The new Coal Authority mine water treatment facility at Mains of Blairingone, below Vicars Bridge is causing concern as ochre is now finding its way to the river. The Coal Authority contractors are supposed to return this month to attempt to remedy this situation.
River Work Parties
Work Parties have been busy for the last few months attempting to clear vegetation to facilitate access to the river for angling. At this time of year I guess the work parties must feel that it is like painting the Forth Rail Bridge. Approximately six weeks ago they cleared routes through ‘Alva Airfield’ (around the B908) laready the jungle has quickly re-established itself. They have cleared around the ‘Alva Airfield’ , Balguharn, March Glen, Sheardale, The Haugh to Rackmill and Linnbank to Vicars Bridge. This benefits anglers (and dog walkers) access, has helped to reduce the extent of the Himalayan Balsam infestation and involves a huge amount of effort!
Glenquey
By contrast Glenquey has been in excellent form!
The regulars have been ‘busting a gut’ setting unofficial records. Donald MacGregor managed in one session to land 39 trout. Jim Milne by all accounts heading up on Sunday to try and top that …… he couldn’t quite manage to but still landed an impressive 30 trout. Neither will probably be able to keep up with the local Ospreys which once again can often be seen at Glenquey and the other local reservoirs.
Glenquey has benefitted from water at good height allowing full access to all banks. Access has been further enhanced by the sterling work of the work parties over the Winter/Spring who managed to open up access right along the north bank with the help of chainsaws and a huge amount of bloody hard graft!
In May there were 73 angler submitted returns showing 345 caught which represents an average of 4.72 trout/visit with an average weight 0.59lbs [prize winner from the submitted returns was from Sauchie]
In June there were 72 angler submitted returns showing 445 caught which represents an average of 6.18 trout/visit with an average weight 0.65lbs [prize winner from the submitted returns was from Alloa]
Interesting despite there being two modest stockings, a lot of the fish were overwintered or natural breeding stock.
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The Devon Angling Association 