The Devon Angling Association

The hard start to the season continued well into May , even seeing the Ochils plastered in fresh snow at the start of the month. Thankfully June has brought warmer and more settled weather, but very little in the way of meaningful rain and once again the Devon is running very low and relying on the compensation flows from Castlehill Reservoir.

The impoundment of the Devon in Glendevon, has many negative impacts on the river not least removing for much of the year the variations in flow which is vital for the eco-systems of a river. In a prolonged dry spell however it is a blessing as it provides a steady flow with the minimum permitted released volume. By late June, on the Fossoway section of the river, the impact of the prolonged draw down in groundwater levels and the reduction of flow from the only significant tributary below the dam (the Glendey Burn) can be see in the tide mark on this boulder:

Unfortunately in these conditions this means the upper parts of the river don’t get the benefit of a decent flush, that the river gets below the Cauldron Linn. This  is illustrated when you see the impact of Friday nights deluge on the two Sepa river gauges:

At the Castlehill gauge, a 15mm rise in level is recorded

At the Glenochil gauge, a 600mm rise in level is recorded

As for the fishing?

Well in May in my experience it was grim; the best of the fish falling to the bait anglers such as Bryan and his young charge

Fishing Red Bridge stretch

Trout of 1lb 6oz

The best of the action for the fly was with periodic hatches of Hawthorns or Olives and being in the right spot at that time. As the weather improved through June, so has the fishing for the fly angler. As of yet there have been no reports of Sea Trout in the river. I haven’t met many anglers on the river but those I have had have either been utterly frustrated by super spooky fish in the low water or utterly enthralled by regular rising trout. I have had a couple of evening sessions where I have failed miserably to land a specimen trout but have had plenty of cracking wee wild fish caught with the dry fly

Typical June Brown Trout from the Devon

It hasn’t been the easiest of starts to the season with periodic snow melt, low water levels and cold water temperatures supressing hatches and trout activity. The best of the early season fishing was had by the bait anglers, while the fly fisherman had to be in the right place at the right time.

I met one river regular who had happened upon a short hatch of March Browns and was lucky enough to catch some nice  fish on a March Brown dry pattern. Another angler managed five nice fish (and lost another four) during sporadic hatches of olives using the classic combination of Pheasant Tail Nymph on the point and Greenwells Glory on the dropper.

On the limited occasions I have been on the river further upstream I have only spied a single rise; though it has to be said that I have managed to miss every decent days weather but the scenery has been grand:

As mentioned in the Glenquey report, in mid April the Association stocked the river with fish from the well renowned University of Stirling’s Howietouin Fishery [http://www.howietounfishery.co.uk/ ]. In line with current best practice we have used Triploid Fish [sterile fish] which will be identifiable by their clipped Adipose Fin. We  now expect by 2017 the Scottish Government will only allow Triploid Fish to be used for routine stocking.

The guys on the work parties have been busy clearing the winters fallen lumber and improving access along the river. Some things however don’t go plan such as the day they began clearing this obstacle in the river:

No sooner had work commenced was it realised that they were taking apart the rather grand nest of a Mallard family with their brood of nine eggs ………. work was suspended for another time 🙂

The recent heavy rain resulting in three spates were river levels in the upper reaches rose by  60-70cm have freshened up the river no end and I am sure when combined with the longer warmer days of late Spring that things bode well for fishing on the river in the rest of May and into June!