Long time DAA member Drew Jamieson has released a revised edition of his excellent book “Where the wild salmon run”. The previous edition was a really great read!
Copies of this and Drew’s other books are available via Amazon.
The DAA must be fairly unique having two long term members who are active authors. As well as Drew we can also look to Keith Broomfield who has recently had a series of books published by Tippermuir Books, including the wonderful “If Rivers Could Sing” celebrating the wildlife of the River Devon through a year.
Details have been confirmed for this years Annual General Meeting. Due to unforeseen circumstances the date of the AGM has been changed from Wednesday 10th January 2024 to Monday 8th January 2024
The Devon Angling Association’s Annual General Meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 8th January 2024 in the church halls of Tillicoultry Baptist Church [163 High St, Tillicoultry FK13 6DU]
The 2023 season finally came to an end on Tuesday 31st October with the close of the salmon and sea trout season. The final three weeks after the end of the trout season, was pretty much more of the same, with prolonged wet weather and large spates. This brought a lot of fish into the river, often at times when the river was all but unfishable, that said 17 salmon, 1 grilse and 4 sea trout were landed. Ally Crawford put in the hard work and long miles, to land 7 salmon, the best being a cracking fresh fish of about 13lb [see below].
An encouraging improvement over the last couple of years, but still a long way the number of fish caught a few decades ago. Hopefully a few more traditional wet summers alongside some of the proposed improvements, will further improve the condition of the river.
Talking of improvements, the scoping surveys for removal of Dollar Weir has now being completed, and the Forth Rivers Trust begin the difficult task of seeking the approvals of SEPA, Clackmannanshire Council and NatureScot, and raising the funding for the works. The team at the Trust are very experienced having completed a number of similar projects, most recently at Seafield Weir on the West Lothian Almond:
The Trust are currently working on a number of other projects on the Devon to further improve the riparian habitat, which we will share in the Newsletter.
At Glenquey the final count was complete. We sold 338 tickets and we are very grateful for the very good rate of return of catch returns (74%). Numbers were a wee bit down on last year (mostly in March and April, so the weather was the probable cause). A total of 554 fish were caught, the largest being 4lb but the typical weight was 0.5lb
The Annual General Meeting has provisionally been booked for Wednesday 10th January 2024 at 7.30PM . Details will be posted here shortly.
A gentle reminder, can all members with an All Species Permit (Salmon/Sea Trout) please complete their catch returns and send to the Hon Secretory by Monday 20th November 2023
It’s been a far from classic season; for the second summer on the trot the Devon suffered from a prolonged drought making fishing on the river very frustrating for many anglers. Thankfully the rains and periodic spates of August and September flushed the river and brought it back to life. Anglers were reporting numerous catches (20+) last Saturday including some decent catches.
A couple of weeks ago Stevie Hodge caught his best trout on the season on the Devon, while fishing with a self-tied micro jig streamer in fairly murky water:
A clearly happy (and slightly shocked) angler though the hook of his streamer showed the signs of hard fight!
Despite the high water in recent there are little sign of salmon entering the river and as of Monday evening no reports of any catches. Hopefully the spate during the week, the predicted rain for the weekend and the very high tides will encourage salmon into the river. There has been a pattern for the last couple of years of our salmon running very late in the season and into the closed season. The committee are monitoring the situation and we will wait with interest for the results of the annual Forth Rivers Trust electro-fishing surveys in the spawning burns. Certainly in late August we were aware of sea trout being caught.
Glenquey
At Glenquey had a pretty good summer considering the conditions:
June – 45 permits returned, 123 trout caught at an average of 8oz and largest being 1lb
July – 28 permits returned, 50 trout caught at an average of 12oz and largest being 4lb (caught by David Hartley and confirmed by a number of witness as a whopper!)
August – 45 permits returned, 72 trout caught at an average of 8oz and largest being 1.5lb
The lucky anglers winning a free day’s permit for submitting a Glenquey catch return were:
June – Robert King, Kinross
July – Peter White, Edinburgh
August – Gordon Dow, Powmill
Other news
Throughout the summer the work parties have been out and about strimming paths, supporting the Forth Rivers Trust by undertaking invasive species surveys, repairing stiles/gates etc. More recently they have being clearing fallen lumber and making sure that the river and burns are clear of any blockages preventing trout and salmon reaching their spawning grounds.
There are a number of projects underway being promoted by our partners the Forth Rivers Trust and The Crown Estate and supported by the Association. They are in various stages of development but include:
> Detailed feasibility studies on removing the weir at Dollar
> Discussions with Diaego and regulators on removing the weir at Cambus
> Working with landowners/tenants to prevent cattle getting in to the river around Taits Tomb
> Control of Invasive Non-Native Species (particularly Japanese Knotweed) – this project is funded and the Trust staff have been busy identifying and mapping invasive species.
Details of the Annual General Meeting will be published on the website as soon as arrangements are confirmed
Last summer Brian Sawers came across a rod tip at Glenquey and we put a notice on the website to try and reunite with its owner to no avail.
While recently out at Glenquey, a fellow angler mentioned that the owner had been actively looking for it. Brian reports that he still has it, that the tip is green and may be part of 4-piece rod. If you are missing the tip drop a line to thedaa@talktalk.net and will put you in touch with Brian. I would be grateful if regulars up there mention to this to any anglers they come across!
Please note that the car park at Marchglen has been temporarily closed by the landowner due to some recent issues, unrelated to the DAA and angling. He has assured the DAA that it will be made available for parking again at the earliest opportunity
A gentle reminder to members and visitors of the Devon Angling Association’s Code of Practice which states:
Members are expected to comply with The Country Code, and respect the privacy, property and interests of the riparian owners who kindly allow the DAA access through their land. Anglers should be considerate to other persons who live by or enjoy the river or loch side environments
Unfortunately anglers on the river this weekend failed to provide that courtesy and caused considerable disturbance to a neighboring property, by their repeated shouting into the night causing disturbance and a complaint to the DAA. This is not acceptable.
Members are also reminded that as frustrating they may find it, fishing is not permitted on the River Devon at anytime on a Sunday
Jonathan has reported finding a Renault car key between Rack Mill and Vicars Bridge. If you are missing a car key, please get in touch [ thedaa@talktalk.net ] and we can put you in touch with Jonathan.
The Devon Angling Association 