AS reported in the last update the Forth Rivers Trust are engaged in a project to eradicate vegetative invasive non-native species (INNS) in the whole catchment of the River Devon.
Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hogweed are best treated by the targeted use of herbicides. The most populous species in the catchment is Himalayan Balsam. The best means of eradicate this species is simply be pulling up the whole plant before it has time to seed.
Eradication of Hamalyan Balsam is beyond the resources of the funded INNS programme To this end Mario Palomo (Project Officer), and Charlotte Neary (Senior Project Officer ) are looking for an army of volunteers that are willing to help us control Himalayan Balsam on the Devon.
They will be delivering a volunteer training induction to Himalayan Balsam pulling on The Devon Way, between Tillicoultry and Dollar on Friday the 23rd of June between 10:30am – 1pm.
Yet again we have suffered another exceptionally dry and generally cool (at least till earlier in the week). The Devon is already running on bare bleached rocks, the level of Glenquey is steadily dropping and the undergrowth growing rapidly.
Quite a lot to report to members!
Fishing
Fishing on the Devon with the initially (very) cold and then the progressively lower water has been hard work. I have only had success fishing pocket water in the rifles just after dawn and in the late evenings. A number of anglers using upstream nymphing have had some success but nothing to get too excited about. At Glenquey the early cold weather impacted the number of anglers heading there and many struggled [38 permits returned with 30 fish caught with a mean weight of 6oz, more notably 58% of permit returns were zero!]. I happy to report that things have steadily improved with one angler making his first visit caught three fish of about 3/4lb, loved the experience and promised to return!
Glenquey Access Road
We are advised that there will be felling work undertaken in plantations shortly on the east side of the reservoir. Once processed on site it will be hauled from site down the reservoir access road, probably for months after felling is complete. When details become available we will update members and visitors via the website
Dollar Weir
The Association have recognised that the Dollar Weir, that formally was used by the Dollar Bleachworks and associated mills, was a significant barrier to the upstream migration of spawning trout and salmon. The original and subsequently improved fish pass does allow some fish to clear the weir but many fail. Removal would significantly improve access for spawning fish to reach the upper river and tributaries.
The Forth Rivers Trust have been awarded a significant grant by The Open Rivers Programme to support the initial assessment of the Dollar Weir Removal Project. This is the most important and difficult part of the whole process. Work has already underway with Trust staff completing Stage 1 [Scoping & Prefeasibility] of the programme which has included :
consultation with landowners and the owners of the weir [positive]
consultation with local stakeholders
surveys of the weir’s condition
river alignment and depth surveys above and below the weir
sampling and testing the sediment held by the weir
surveys upstream and downstream
This will lead onto:
Stage 2 – Options assessment and consultation
Stage 3 – Detailed design amd schedules
Stage 4 – Finalisation of licensing documents
This work is scheduled to be completed by September 2023 and then the Trust will seek funding for its removal
The Trust have developed considerable experience in managing, funding and delivering weir removal projects most notably on the River Almond in West Lothian.
The Open Rivers Programme is a fund specifically to help restore European rivers by funding and supporting dam removal projects throughout the continent. Thanks to a €42.5 million investment over six years by the charitable fund Arcadia, the Programme will scale up dam removal and help Europe’s endangered rivers run free once again
Cambus Weir
The Forth Rivers Trust and Forth District Salmon Fishery Board have had a number of positive meetings in the last year with the weir’s owners Diageo about reducing the impact of the weir on migratory fish. The existing fish pass is of little value and fish rely on either a spate and/or spring tide to enter the river. Fish sitting in the basin waiting for an opportunity to get over the weir, are vunerable to being preyed upon by seals (or even porpoise) and are at risk from poachers. Hopefully we will have some more positive news report soon!
Invasive Weeds
Through support from a grant from the Crown Estate Scotland to the DAA, the Forth Rivers Trust has been engaged to begin a campaign of eradication of invasive weeds (mostly Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsa) over the entire catchment. The Trust staff began surveys in Upper Glendevon where Japanese Knotweed is endemic. Once the extent of the weeds is mapped and known, then a programme of spraying/injection will begin.
There will be opportunities for members to volunteer to support the work of the Trust in due course
River Streamers
You may have noticed some streamers placed in the river above and below Dollar Weir during May. These were installed to discourage Goosanders from preying on smolts gathering in the pools above and below the weir. Appparently Goosanders and Mergansers do not like diving below floating objects.
This is an initiative promoted by Lee Fisher the FDSFB’s Crown Bailiff, who has trialed this technique very successfully on the Allan Water (at the weir at the bridge at Bridge of Allan). Lee has worked hard this winter encouraging clubs, associations and proprietors to use the technique.
Finally somewhere to rest your weary bones
The DAA work parties have been hard at it as usual along the river and at Glenquey.
Now at least they have somewhere to rest and enjoy the peace!
The DAA are in the process of installing a pair of benches on the south bank. The first one was installed on Wednesday requiring a monumental effort to get the bench and materials to site because of the huge weight of the bench:
The lads hard work has really paid off as witnessed by Chris Ward’s photo from Saturday morning
While it may feel like winter still has it grips on us, I am pretty confident that more than one angler will be wandering about home at first light in the morning gathering their early season gear and thermals!
While Monday brought back a real taste of winter with it’s prolonged rain through sleet to snow, it thankfully broke the back of February’s prolonged drought. The river today was running at a nice height
Bryan our President was up at Glenquey on Tuesday making sure that it was ready for the new season. He was able to report that the road to the car park is free of snow and that the snow on the banks is manageable!
|As reported earlier we have had a real challenge with getting permits to the outlets (due to staff illness with our long time printing contractor). Permits have now been distributed to all outlets (with the exception of Carronshire which we hope will be sorted asap)
It is worth highlighting the series of competitions being run by Fishing Around The Forth relevant to DAA members specifically the largest brown trout and sea trout caught in the District.
Judging by some of the late season Brown Trout caught and seen in 2022 a DAA angler may be in with a chance in that category!
As ever our trusty work party team have been out and about clearing the winters debris ……. hard and cold work for gents all at least 65+ years old (I’m being polite the average age of our work parties is probably well in excess of 70+). By way of example, last week they were clearing a large fallen tree from the river :
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Anyone interested in helping please get in touch, the DAA have no shortage of projects!
On behalf of the committee can I wish our members and visitors the very best wishes for an excellent 2023 season and thanks for your continuing support!
Just heard from Colin, the permits have finally arrived from the printers and are being distributed to the outlets over the next days.
Its been a bit frustrating and caused by key staff at the printers being ill and in hospital. Thank you for patience and best wishes for a great 2023 season on the River Devon and Glenquey!
I have had a few people asking about when permits were going to be distributed to the outlets.
We are having a few problems with getting them printed; we hope that this will be resolved this week and on receipt they will be issued to the outlets at the earliest opportunity
I will update on here as soon as they are available
The recent spates have resulted in a significant bank failure on the south bank just upstream of the edge of Damhead Woods (the wood and plantation you enter from the B913 at Rackmill. This has rendered the path unusable.
This is a Clackmannanshire Council Core Path [Core Path 181], so the local Core Path team and Access Forum have been notified and a suggested alternative route made. For the time being the alternative is to follow the old railway from the woods until you meet the path from Blairingone [Core Path 176] which will bring you back to the Rackmill to Vicars Bridge path by the River
It is likely that this will need to be a permanent diversion, as it is unlikely that there will be a simple or economic solution to stabilising this short section of bank. With a wee bit of guile and a bit of route planning, this should have no impact on angling this section of river.
The Annual General Meeting of the Devon Angling Association will be held on Tuesday 10th January 2023 in Tillicoultry Baptist Church.
UPDATE 07/01/23 – the AGM will now take place in the ‘Back Hall’ rather the ‘Annexe’ which can be found to the rear of the church and accessed down the west side of the church.
Thanks to all our members that submitted catch returns, we are now able to confirm that a total of 12 Salmon were caught on the river (largest 10lb) plus a single Grilse and 7 Sea Trout.
Perhaps a disappointing return, but there is plenty of evidence of a good run, it was just unfortunate that the last weeks of the season often had less than perfect conditions for fishing.
Please see separate post regards the AGM.
On behalf of the DAA committee, best wishes for Christmas, the New Year and a great 2023 fishing season
A last in late August, the rains came improving conditions on the river and making the fishing a lot more rewarding particularly once the river was flushed of accumulated silt/algae. Some impressive catches were made including at least one brown trout over 5lb. Later in the season, an angler targeting salmon caught a brown trout estimated, I think conservatively, of about 8lb!
The big spates in September and October brought a pretty impressive run of fish many of which bolted up to the top end of their range. A number have been caught, such as this bonny 3.25lb hen salmon caught by DAA President Byran Anderson on a No 5 Meps spoon
Fishing remained steady at Glenquey and by all accounts improved once the sun was routinely replaced by rain clouds!
June – 47 permits were returned 147 fish were caught [mean weight 7.0oz., max 1.5lb & min 2oz]
July – 26 permits were returned 53 fish were caught [mean weight 9.6oz, max 1.5lb & min 4.8 oz]
September/October – 18 permits were returned, 18 fish were caught [mean weight 7.2oz, max 1.5lb and min 4.0oz]
Winners of the free ticket draw for permits returned were:
June – Angus Macdonald [Crossgates]
July – Fergus MacGregor [Milnathort]
August – TBC
Sept/October – Jamie Fairley [Rosyth]
The DAA have been working with the Forth Rivers Trust to address the issues relating to livestock accessing the river and banks between Dollar and Tillicultry. The DAA has applied for a grant from the Crown Estate for eradication and control of invasive weeds, in particular Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam (plus any Giant Hogweed discovered throughout the catchment. If successful, this will be a major project which will span a number of seasons and require significant investment of time by volunteers from the DAA.
Scottish Water undertook some significant bank reinforcement works to the south bank opposite Stirling Mills to protect a major sewer. This required some major civil engineering works actually in the river:
Excavation works to the bank, protected with temporary cofferdam
The completed works
Despite some significant spates, their contractors completed the works without causing any pollution.
The Invicta Club who are a ladies fishing club who normally fish on reservoirs and lochs approached the DAA hoping that someone would be able to give them an introduction to trout fishing on rivers. We are very grateful to member Scott Machar who agreed to guide and coach four of their members in the art of trout fishing on the river.
The Devon Angling Association 