The Devon Angling Association

Some of you may have noticed the new red signs appearing on the River Devon downstream of Menstrie:

The good news is that the Devon Association have agreed to take an additional lease with Crown Estate Scotland for their fishing between Menstrie and the old railway bridge at Cambus. Work Parties have already been clearing accesses to the banks, putting up signs etc. We will share more information on access etc and amend the beat maps in the next months.

The weekends storms mostly seem to have bypassed Clackmannanshire and Kinrossshire but there has been enough rain to give the lower river a couple of good cleaning flushes which should improve trout fishing markedly.

July was a quite month at Glenquey (seems to happen most years). We had 46 catch returns with a total of 75 trout being caught with a mean weight 0.61lb and anglers catching an average 1.6 trout per visit (of course masking a few blanks and a few more successful anglers). Hopefully August will bring less cloudless and still days!

COVID-19

As the lock down has eased we have been able to get permits to all of our usual sellers. In general Covid 19 restrictions allow all fishing activities but we urge members and visitors to obey any local restrictions and conform with the appropriate social distancing and hygiene regimes.

The latest advice from SANA remains unchanged:

https://www.anglingscotland.org.uk/covid-19-advise-when-we-get-back-to-fishing/

Hopefully by the time we get to the next update all restrictions will have been removed

IMPORTANT INVASIVE SPECIES NEWS

In the space of a week Forth Rivers Trust reported a Pink Salmon caught on the River Forth and the discovery of Signal Crayfish in the River Almond.

Pink Salmon – The Forth District Salmon Fisheries Board reported on their website:

First pink salmon reported on the Forth. Stirling Council Fisheries had a report from one of their anglers catching a pink salmon today on their Forth beat. The fish was dispatched by the angler then pictured and reported to the fishery who then reported it to the Board. If you are fishing and catch a pink salmon, please dispatch it and report it to either ourselves by emailing board@forthdsfb.org or via our social channels.

You can also report it to Fisheries Management Scotland via their online app https://survey123.arcgis.com/…/1b8632f1d06c48c89bbac890…

For more information about pink salmon, head to the below link. http://fms.scot/…/05/210519-INNS-Statement-Pink-salmon.pdf

Pink Salmon (also known as Humpbank Salmon) are natives of the Pacific Ocean. They were periodically stocked into Russian rivers that flow in to the White Sea abd Barents Sea since 1956; and have since spread west into the North Sea and are now seen in Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Great Britain and Iceland.

Salmon anglers on the Devon should familarise themselves with the information and advice contained in the Fisheries Management Scotland note, Pacific Pink Salmon – Advice Note 2021

http://fms.scot/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/210519-INNS-Statement-Pink-salmon.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0E9qGop-jtoFDdr6eLXg9WL7wxLyOxPIWyhcyVayOD23jddNBdtoFYbb8

Signal Crayfish – A new population of Signal Crayfish have been discovered on the River Almond (West Lothian). The Forth Rivers Trust have details here:

https://forthriverstrust.org/invasive-crayfish-found-in-the-almond-catchment/

They are a non-native species from North America originally imported as a ornamental animals for garden ponds. Once established they are almost impossible to get rid off and can have a very detrimental impacting on bank stability through their borrowing, predating fish eggs and competing with fish for invertebrates.

http://www.nonnativespecies.org/downloadDocument.cfm?id=68&fbclid=IwAR3SgZAsGGHX4tFVmxNFm9CZBsXYaXNVCsEj56-MPl4X9t8Xe_3GHpSV-EU

Key to prevent the spread is good bio-security practice particularly when having been fishing where Signal Crayfish are known to exist

http://www.nonnativespecies.org/checkcleandry/index.cfm?fbclid=IwAR1_afrgmNYFxx7hyLtzx6z_C__zVRuQSDwTKLjZU2cTH3a6jqp7s5uA4jY

GLENQUEY

Most of the Ochils reservoirs remain pretty full, no doubt topped up by the occasional downpour which has characterised June and early July. At the start of June the work party endeavored clear access along the North Bank.

The latest catch returns (to 3rd week in June) shows 73 returns recording a total of 346 trout caught (average weight is 0.5lb and mean 4.7 trout/angler visit but included 10 blank visits). Twelve anglers caught 10 or more fish with the best “bag” being 18. Generally fish were in the range of 0.5lbs but a few trout in excess of 1lb were caught.

The angler winning a free day’s fishing from a draw of the Catch Returns is a Glenrothes resident.

If you mislaid a hat on the 13th June, you can reclaim it by giving Neil a call on 07748573561.

RIVER DEVON

The Devon has benefited from a few small spates in recent weeks which has helped to freshen it up a bit. There are a few reports on social media of decent 1lb+ fish being caught, mostly early in the morning or in the evenings. Once again these fish are being caught on nymphs cast upstream. There is more signs of surface action too, with a number of fish now being caught on dry flies

Its a bit too early for migratory fish entering the Devon, but any spate event from now on might encourage some early visitors to the River. Hopefully the relatively high current level of Castlehill Reservoir will remain, so if we get any serious rain the river will benefit from Glendevon

Life is slowly getting back to normal, the river got a good flush last week, a bit of heat has finally arrived and at last the river is beginning to come to life.

COVID – 19

As the lock down has eased we have been able to get permits to all of our usual sellers. In general Covid 19 restrictions allow all fishing activities but we urge members and visitors to obey any local restrictions and conform with the appropriate social distancing and hygiene regimes. See up to date advice from SANA:

https://www.anglingscotland.org.uk/covid-19-advise-when-we-get-back-to-fishing/

ENVIRONMENT

The DAA work parties have begun the unenviable task of clearing paths, maintaining access and clearing obstruction in the river. This work is normally undertaken on a Wednesday morning and they are always grateful of any extra pairs of hands. You don’t need any special skills, the work party is fully equipped with a wide range of tools and safety equipment. If you are interested at any time please get in touch by email, a call to David Mudie or ask the bailiffs (Alan, Jim and Kenny)

A couple of initiatives by members and members of the public should be highlighted first:

• In January Gethin and Anwen, two youngsters from Dollar under the supervision of their mum, Jane Scott as part of their home learning regime undertook litter picks at Dollar Weir and by the Sheardale Bridge. Their haul was impressive (and quite depressing) including a vac, printer, the inevitable Buckfast bottles, 45 dog poo bags, the occasional shoes and the usual collection of cans, plastic and plastic bottles. Fabulous effort on their part, appreciated by anglers and the local community. Well done Gethin and Anwen!
• In early March, member Christopher Ward and members of the community in Dollar organised a clear-up at Dunning Glen, clearing the usual shocking collection of litter and abandoned camping equipment.

A really great effort, just sad that this has to be done repeatedly. Thanks to Christopher for organising

• Clive Twiggins and Ronnie MacDonald organised a voyage down the Devon with a wee dinghy collecting rubbish caught in the river and along the bank. A great effort and innovative method for collecting. Of interest it, included in their loot were the remains of ‘Taybags’ washed down in spate from works on the hydro-electric plant at the Cauldron Linn. This was their haul which of course was safely disposed off:

• There was also a litter pick event at Vicars Bridge in March.

Works have been undertaken at Vicars Bridge to improve access from the car park

The very low water levels during most of the spring has exasperated the problems of ochre being discharged into the river from the Mains of Blairingone Mine Water Treatment facility. SEPA and the Coal Authority were notified, with the Coal Authority instructing their contractors to take appropriate mitigation to reduce the extent of the discharges and to carry out more sampling. Subsequently DAA have been in dialogue with the Coal Authority and hope that they will be able to put measures in place to avoid future discharge problems.

GLENQUEY

Season is now over ten weeks old and the Ospreys are back in residence. Fish were caught from the off on the opening day, with Christopher Ward landing this cracking fish:

The first returns for March and April 2021, showed that 75 anglers had visited of which 20 had zero catches. This contrasted with a number of anglers which managed returns greater than 15 trout caught. A total of of 182 trout were caught to a total estimated weight of 93lb. This equates to a mean weight per trout of 0.5lb and 2.4 trout/visit (but as the above suggests that is meaningless. One fish was recorded at 1.5lbs and another just shy of 2lb.

Christopher Ward fishing a team of three buzzers from the south bank through rain, snow and hail in late March landed his best Glenquey fish to date:

RIVER DEVON

Conditions have been tough on the river pretty much from the off. With generally cold and dry weather the upper river has relied on compensation water which is generally at this time of year still very cold. Pretty much up to the last week in May the river was fishing slowly, the spate and then warm weather has really brought the river to life over the last week. Without being specific a number of anglers reported over the holiday weekend rising fish caught on dries and nymphs and general signs of activity. Certainly I had short spells on the river for the last two Wednesday evenings, the contrast between the two sessions was marked. First time not so much as a tug or splash, seven days later in the same pools 6 fish caught and p[probably as many missed (all wee fish)