Spring Newsletter 2024

In this newsletter:

  • Brown Trout Season Around The Corner - Get Your Permit!

  • River Eden Sustainability Partnership - Funding Success!

  • Riverfly - training available

  • Invasive Species and Habitat surveys - training available

  • Landowner Meeting

  • River Eden Day

Brown Trout Season Just Around the corner!

The brown trout season opens in less than a week’s time on 15th March. Hopefully as things warm up a bit, the bugs will get more lively and a few hatches will bring out a few eager brownies to a well presented flea! The beauty in this photo was caught last year by member Alan Greig. While catches reported were down last year, no-one could deny that the fish that were caught were all in top condition.

So if you haven’t got your permit yet, remember that they are available from all the usual outlets or from the Secretary by online BACS payment. All the details you need are on our permits page.

Brown trout caught by Alan Greig - beautifully marked and in great condition.

 

River Eden Sustainability Partnership (RESP)

Funding Success for RESP!

RESP has been awarded funding by Naturescot from the Nature Restoration Fund. The funds will be used to carry out surveys of the whole Eden and Motray catchments and tributaries - nearly 190km of water course.  They will create maps of landownership, invasive plant species and habitat improvement opportunities.  Over the course of the surveys, discussions will take place with landowners about how the river habitat might be improved.  This will hopefully lead to a catchment scale project to make the improvements but this will depend on further funding. Along with the other main partners, Sustainable Cupar and Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, The Association is playing an important part in this work, making sure that anglers’ voices are heard in the discussion about how to improve the river. As well as the survey work, we are looking for support from volunteers to help support some of the RESP initiatives. This includes Riverfly, an invertebrate monitoring project, water quality monitoring, tree planting and control of invasive species. Let us know if you would like to be involved by clicking on the button below.

Riverfly

The Riverfly programme is a nationwide initiative managed by Buglife Scotland. As part of this, volunteers take monthly kick-samples of invertebrates at selected sites on the river between April and October and then upload the results to the national Riverfly database. To become a Riverfly volunteer involves 2x 3 hour sessions, one online and one practical session on the river. The training is free and all equipment is provided.

We are very keen to get more EAA members involved. New online training sessions are available on 11th March, 10am - 1pm or 13th March 6-9pm with a practical session on the river on 21st April. Drop us a message if you would like to take part!

TWO MORE DATES ADDED: 25th March 10-1 OR 26th March 6-9pm

If interested you can contact Rebecca Lewis the organiser directly - rebecca.lewis@buglife.org.uk OR use the contact button below to send a message.

Invasive Species and Habitat Surveys

RESP is now in the process of contracting surveyors to carry out the work.  There will be more information about this soon.

In the meantime, we are working to create a bank of volunteers who will help with invasive plant species control. Again we are keen to get EAA members involved and so we are offering free herbicide training with all equipment provided. This could provide you with valuable qualifications in PA1/ PA6. In return, all we ask is a contribution to INNS management on the river. We are being advised on this by the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) to develop a proper catchment-wide strategy with this where we work closely with landowners and work our way downstream from source to sea. It is going to take years to make the difference needed but the more people that get involved, the better.

Contact us if you are interested.

RESP Landowner Event

RESP’s first event was the landowner afternoon on Monday 12th Feb.  About 120 people came. The big turn out was largely due to the recent floods.  The landowners welcomed the chance to make their views clear to SEPA, Scottish Water and Fife Council’s lead on flooding. There has been a lot of positive feedback about the importance of taking a catchment wide approach to meet the needs everyone who lives, works and plays in the river catchment. There were some points of disagreement regarding how best to deal with the excessive amounts of silt in the river with many landowners in favour of cleaning out and maintaining the channels while SEPA cautioned against this as a long-term solution.

river eden day 2nd March, Cupar

EAA stall on River Eden Day at the Old Parish Centre

Gerry Farrell fly tying at River Eden Day on 2nd March

The River Eden Sustainability Partnership (RESP) put on a day of stalls, talks, films, music and kids activities at the Old Parish Centre on Saturday 2nd March. The Association had a stall with permits on sale, a display of tackle, a fly tying demo (thanks Gerry Farrell - brother of EAA Secretary, Michael) and a range of information about fishing on the river. There was second hand tackle available for free (if you completed the quiz) and for a donation if not and a sign up sheet for volunteers. A huge thank you to committee and members who supported the stall on the day, especially Alan Miller, Billy Collins and George Houston. Our Honorary President, Bill Wardlaw came along and brought old historic maps of the river at Cupar which drew great interest from the public. In the afternoon there was an excellent talk about the work of the Tweed Forum by Professor Chris Spray on natural flood management on Eddleston Water which has been very successful in flood attenuation and habitat improvement. Click the button below to view his talk:

Opening Day Ceremony

Just a few short days until the first day of the salmon and sea trout season! The Committee would like to invite any interested members to come to our annual Opening Ceremony on Thursday 15th February at 3.30pm at Dairsie Bridge car park. After a quick photo opportunity and the traditional blessing of the river with some good quality whisky from a quaich, we invite you to have a cast on the river or alternatively just take a river walk, maybe do some litter picking.

The Brown Trout season will begin on 15th March.

Remember to purchase your permit! At £55 for the season it is great value for some excellent fishing for salmon, sea trout and brown trout. Permits available now from the usual outlets.

2024 Permits On Sale Now!

It’s less than a month to go before the new season starts for salmon and sea trout and the new permits have arrived! They are being delivered to our usual outlets and are available from the Secretary by BACS. All the information about where to get them, costs etc. has been updated on the permits page.

Every permit bought pays for our rent and rates for the fishing beats we have the rights to. It also means you are supporting the Association in our work to improve the river. We are grateful to you for this support and hopeful that the weather conditions will be kinder to us this coming season!

Tight lines everyone!

Get ready for the new fishing season!

Winter Newsletter

Happy New Year!

As we come to the end of 2023, the Association would like to thank all our members for supporting the club and the river for another season and wish you a very happy and fish-ful 2024. In terms of the fishing, the season had its challenges again with high temperatures and low flows in the summer and autumn storms causing spates. This severely reduced the number of fishable days. According to catch returns, days fished for salmon reduced by 50%. As a result, catches were down significantly. Let’s hope for a more productive season in 2024 - though as we know, this new pattern of weather is a result of climate change and is set to continue.

AGM

Thank you to those members who came to the AGM on a bitterly cold night on 3rd December. It was a positive meeting where some important decisions were made for the 2024 season. The full papers and minutes can be obtained by contacting the Secretary. The key decisions:

  • It was agreed to develop a detailed maintenance and management plan for paths and access to the main beats on EAA waters. We will do our best to stick to this but it will need the help of the wider membership if it is to be successful. Thank you to those who signed up to help with this at the meeting.

  • It was agreed to continue to be part of the wider River Eden Sustainability Partnership to look at catchment-scale river restoration and control of invasive plant species. More of this below.

  • It was agreed to explore the development of a brown trout hatchery after ongoing concerns about a perceived lack of juvenile fish in the river.

permits

Permits for 2024 will remain at the same prices as last season. However, for the first time we are offering free fishing for under-14’s who are accompanied by an adult season ticket holder. Hopefully this will make things more affordable for families and get some more younger people out fishing with their parents. Permits will be available from the usual outlets and by bank transfer through the Secretary later in January. We’ll keep you posted!

new water

Last season the Association added some small stretches of new water under our Crown Estates lease in the upper Eden at Reedileys and Shiels and Barroway. Our hope in doing so is mainly to keep an eye on important spawning grounds rather than encourage fishing. However, this was discussed at the AGM and it was decided to make members more aware of these waters. The maps on the website will be updated before the start of season 2024 to reflect this change. Members can fish these areas but we ask that they consider the sensitivity of this habitat when doing so and also, as ever, report any concerns they have e.g. about water quality and/or the presence of invasives.

improving the river

As outlined in the previous newsletter, the Association has been working to raise awareness of the issues affecting our river. This work will continue with the generous funding from the Crown Estates Environment Grant and - with a bit of luck - further funding from the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) for the River Eden Sustainability Partnership or RESP. We will find out about that in mid-January. EAA is a key partner in this new group which includes Sustainable Cupar, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust and St Andrews University. The group is trying to get all the organisations and individuals who live in the river catchment to work together. If we are successful with the NRF funding, it will be used to carry out full surveys of the habitats in the river corridor - the extent of invasives, places where it would be appropriate to plant trees or improve the bankside or instream habitat. This will then give us the information we need to apply for further funding to carry out the work. This will all take time.

Getting involved & Training Opportunities

We are really keen to get more members involved in supporting both the river maintenance work, habitat improvement and control of invasives. We have some funding to offer training to members and there have been some sign ups already. This includes:

  • Chainsaw and chainsaw maintenance training

  • Pesticide Application courses

  • Health and Safety/ First Aid

Please contact the Secretary if you are interested in taking part/ signing up for one of these courses or just getting involved in future work parties.

Events

12th February - Landowner Event - Letham Village Hall, KY15 7RS

**Note Change of Venue **

The success of the work proposed by RESP depends on listening to and working with landowners and land managers. This event will give them the opportunity to ask any questions about our proposals. We have already confirmed the attendance of

  • Willie Rennie MSP,

  • Kate Maitland NFUS,

  • Rick Haynes, Lead Officer Flooding Shoreline & Harbours, Fife Council

  • Toby Metcalfe, Crown Estates and Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board

  • David Summers, Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board & Tay Rivers Trust

  • Roy Richardson, SEPA

  • Ciara O’Shea, Scottish Water

  • Iain Moss, Woodland Trust

  • Mark Purmann-Charles, Scottish Invasive Species Initiative

We hope that as many landowners and land managers as possible will attend! More details can be found here



AGM 2023 - Sunday 3rd December, Pitlessie Hall 7pm

Dear Members,

We look forward to seeing you at the 2023 AGM of the Association on Sunday 3rd December at 7pm in Pitlessie Hall. We hope as many of you as possible will be able to attend.

It has been a while since you have had a newsletter from the Association. Apologies for that. It has been a busy time! At the last AGM we agreed to make the AGM papers available for members prior to the meeting. Our intention was to give you at least a few days to have a look before coming to the meeting. However, we have only managed a day in advance! Click the button below to download a pdf of the AGM papers. As agreed at the time, this is a password protected document. Please contact the Secretary for the password.

As we get better at this, we will work out a way to make this process easier.

In the meantime thank you for your patience and thank you for your continued support of our river.

Midsummer Newsletter

There is a lot to report since the last newsletter in March. 

In this newsletter:

Let’s get to the basics first..!

How's the fishing?

How’s the fishing?

There are some nice reports on the Facebook page of decent brown trout being caught both on small Mepps and on the fly and some sea trout showing lower down the river.  And if you are in the right place at the right time, you’ll see some steady rising fish.  However, the low water and warm conditions are already having an impact even this early in the season.  We could do with some rain but at the time of writing it looks like it’s going to be mainly dry and warm for the next week or more  - apart from the odd shower.

Beautiful brownie!

Committee member Cammy Spears had a good morning this week but gave up early as it was too hot. Still, he managed 8 brownies all in mint condition, all returned.

Please keep putting your reports on the Association Facebook Page to share with the members.

If you still don’t have your permit, remember they are available from outlets across Fife and also from the Secretary if you email your details and transfer funds to the Association account. 

More details here >>

How's the river

How’s the river?

It is always a pleasure to be on the river even when you’re not catching.  You can still enjoy the wildlife, see the flash of a kingfisher or a dipper and hope that the next time you cast alongside some trailing cover, a monster take will straighten your line…

But as already said, water is low and we continue to have concerns about the pressure on the river from a number of sources: diffuse pollution from agriculture, raw sewage, too much silt, lack of river weed (ranunculus) especially in the lower stretches, water abstraction for irrigation of crops, invasive species like Giant Hogweed, Himalayan Balsam and American Signal Crayfish.

Improvements

What are we doing to improve things?

Crown Estates Environment Fund

In March we found out that our bid for £11.3k funding for river restoration and water quality monitoring was successful.  This money is being spent on getting expert advice on how to restore the river and improve the habitat.  This includes

  • modifying small boulder weirs which hold back silt and cause erosion when the river is high.

  • planting and hinging trees to create shade and cover. This should lower water temperature and where there is wood in the river, create a refuge for fish from predators. It will also stabilise the banks and prevent erosion.

  • adding woody deflectors in certain stretches to create more diverse flow which will scour out the silt and create better pool and riffle structure.

  • transplanting some of  the vital river weed ranunculus which has disappeared from the river below Cults Mill.  More details below.

  • Carrying out water quality monitoring to gather data on nutrient levels and other pollutants that are affecting the habitat.

We are grateful to the Crown Estates Environment Fund committee for recognising the value of our project.

RESSSP

River Eden Source-To-Sea Sustainability Project (RESSSP)

The Association is also working in a new partnership called RESSSP.  Along with several other organisations (Sustainable Cupar, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, St Andrews University and Fife Councillors) we aim to promote a whole-catchment approach to improving the river.  We have applied for funding from the NatureScot Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). If we are successful, we will be able to appoint a project officer who will manage projects on the river recommended by the steering group.  This will include developing a long-term strategy for the entire catchment to control Giant Hogweed and other invasive non-native species like Himalayan Balsam and Skunk Cabbage.  In the process of writing the application we have been discussing the project with Scottish Water, SEPA and landowners as we need the agreement of all parties to get the work done.  This has led to lots of positive conversations where we are trying to find a win-win situation for everyone involved.

We will continue to seek funds to promote a vision for a biodiverse natural river corridor for community benefit – and that includes improving the habitat for fish!!  We will find out if we have been successful with the NRF at the beginning of July.

Ranunculus Transplant

Ranunculus Transplant

A few months back the Courier reported the Association plans to transplant the vital river weed ranunculus from above Pitlessie to key locations downstream where it disappeared in around 2016 and never recovered.  Ranunculus is amazing stuff.  It is full of insects, provides cover for fish from predators like otters and fish-eating birds and it encourages diverse flows in the river, helping to create gravel beds for spawning salmon and sea trout and feeding lanes for rising fish.

Members digging out a clump of ranunculus to plant further downstream

We are still keen to find out why it has not reseeded but a report from SEPA in 2018 was inconclusive and they promised further tests to try to work out why.  The SEPA cyber-attack together with Covid put a stop on that but we have recently been in touch again and we will find out soon if more ecology and water testing is to be carried out. 

In the meantime, we have been going ahead with a trial of the transplant.  This was attempted in 2020 but it was flushed out by floods and didn’t take.  This time we are using a technique recommended by the Wild Trout Trust. On Friday 9th June, some members dug out some clumps of the weed still rooted in river sediment and then transported them to the new site.  We wrapped the root ball in hessian and buried it more deeply in the riverbed protecting it with rocks.  We will be keeping a close eye on it this time to see if it works.  We will try again a couple of times this summer and if it takes, we can then be confident in transplanting more.

Riverfly

Riverfly Invertebrate Monitoring

Some EAA members have taken part in Riverfly training – a national scheme to monitor key invertebrates on the river.  On Sunday 11th June, a group of volunteers including EAA members, took a kick sample of the bugs in the river and recorded the number of each of 8 key indicator species.  We were delighted to pick up a stoneloach in the sample, carefully returned to the river. We are still learning the methodology but once we are in the swing of it and have more volunteers, we hope to monitor several sites to show how healthy each one is.  The data gets uploaded to a national database where it can be compared with rivers across the country.  We can also use the data to push for further improvements to the river to promote biodiversity.  We are delighted that Pitlessie Primary School are going to be involved too.

If you would like to be involved in this initiative, please contact the Secretary on eaasecretary2022@gmail.com or 07838820659.

Water Quality

Water Quality Monitoring

Thanks to the Crown Estates Environment Grant, we can purchase water quality monitoring equipment. Again, the aim is to gather data about our river that we can use to campaign for improvement.  The purchase of the equipment is under way and we will be looking for volunteers from the membership to get involved in doing monthly measurements at key sites on the river.  Again, if you would like to be involved, please contact the Secretary on eaasecretary2022@gmail.com or 07838820659.

Raw Sewage

Raw Sewage Spills into the Eden

We have all seen the reports nationally about the state of our rivers.  However, it still came as a bit of a shock to see the published figures on ‘Combined Sewage Outfalls’ or CSOs into the River Eden.  This made the local news last month when Councillor James Calder brought it up at a Fife Council meeting.

https://news.stv.tv/east-central/nine-million-litres-of-raw-sewage-spilled-into-fifes-river-eden-in-2022-scottish-water-figures-show

The full data is available to download for anyone on the Scottish Water website.

We contacted our local Scottish Water contact for comment.  Here is a summary of their detailed response:

Question 1

Are you aware of, and can you share, specific timelines for improvements to the monitoring regime for the Eden or plans to reduce discharges from CSOs or SSSOs?

 Answer 1

The majority of what is spilled from a sewer overflow is rain water, with less than 1% being sewage from toilets. They are an essential part of the waste water network as they reduce the risk of water backing up into homes, streets and businesses.

Our aim is to deliver water quality improvements to protect water quality and reduce Sewage Related Debris for 108 sites before 2027.

1000 monitors will be installed across the country over the next 18 months. They will include some locations on the Eden.

Question 2

Is it correct that only two sites (Cupar Haugh Park and Cupar Wastewater Treatment Works) are monitored?

Answer 2

Only two sites on the Eden are monitored as this is required in the license conditions of the sites.

At present in Scotland only a small number of overflows are monitored. Historically this has been because monitoring has been focused on the highest risk assets.

Question 3

Why is the River Eden not higher priority?

Answer 3

In terms of improvements, we are prioritising the CSOs which are unsatisfactory.

Discharges via CSOs can be unsatisfactory due to:

      • Operation causing water quality impacts

      • Operation during dry weather

      • Operation causing aesthetic (sewage related debris) impact

      • Failure to meet licence conditions

This page gives information on how we prioritise the installation of monitors on CSOs.

Question 4

To improve transparency in monitoring, should reported outflows not include information on weather conditions and river levels?

Answer 4

We share the desire for better integration with weather data and this is something which is being actively looked at over the coming years to improve transparency.

Our aim is to publish near real-time spill data for all monitored CSOs by December 2024.

At present, we do not map rainfall data against spill data but aim to achieve this in future.

Question 5

Are there any opportunities for Scottish Water to promote local initiatives to retain water within our catchment before it gets to into the sewage system, e.g. promoting household collection of rain water; encouraging natural flood management in the catchment; encouraging the development of more green space/ discouraging hard surfaces etc?

Answer 5

We absolutely share the ambition to reduce the amount of surface water entering the network and at working on this as a business.

However, we cannot do this alone. We are working with several local authorities at present on a number of studies and pilots to identify the most effective ways of stopping surface water from entering the network. There are a number of considerations within this when considering their efficacy, including ensuring that any installations such as rain gardens / water butts are maintained.

We have a policy of surface water removal on new developments.

Giant Hogweed

Giant Hogweed

Members trying to access the river for fishing downstream from Cupar will know that Giant Hogweed around the Scottish Water Sewage Works is a big problem.  For years, members have worked hard to reduce the problem on access paths. Recently we have been working closely with Scottish Water to encourage them to take responsibility for this. As a result of the efforts of a number of people, particularly Councillor Margaret Kennedy, they have now agreed to tackle it.  You should notice that this year the massive stand of Giant Hogweed at the Sludge Beds near the sleeper bridge has been sprayed by Scottish Water. 

Giant Hogweed at the Scottish Water sludge beds

At the time of writing this blog it had its first spray treatment and will be due another shortly so should start to die back soon. They have said they will share pictures when this second spray has been completed. Members photos currently show that the spraying is incomplete, and photos have been forwarded to Scottish Water to make sure they are aware.

We have also contacted them to get exact information on any other land they have on the river in other locations so that we can make sure that they take responsibility for these too.

Giant Hogweed control across the whole catchment will be a big part of our Nature Restoration Fund work if we are successful. For the past 8 years contractors have been brought in by Fife Coast and Countryside Trust to deal with it upstream of Ladybank Bridge. The grant money would allow us to deal with the WHOLE catchment (which is really the only sensible way to solve the problem!). Fingers crossed!

If you are concerned about Giant Hogweed along the river, please let us know as we are trying to build up a map of where it is located so that we can contact the relevant landowner to support them to deal with it: eaasecretary2022@gmail.com

Permits Update

A number of anglers have contacted the Secretary in recent days about online payment for season tickets. This was not initially offered due to the club transition to new committee office bearers. Instructions for payment by BACS have now been added to the permits page. Please note, however, that there will be a gap between 7th April and 8th May when it will not be possible to respond to requests as the Secretary will be away. Click the button below for further information:

Season 2023 - Permits now available!

Permits for the coming season are now available from the following outlets:

  • R Dott Thomson - Cupar

  • Premier Stores - Cupar

  • Angler’s Choice - Dundee

  • Dan’s Goods - Guardbridge

  • The Kilt Shop - St Andrews

  • Alladin’s Cave - Leslie

  • Deals on Reels - Cowdenbeath

Get ready for the start of the Eden fishing season starting on Wednesday 15th February for salmon and sea trout, then 15th March for brown trout. We are happy to announce that prices remain the same as last year. Tickets will also be available by bank transfer to the Secretary soon.

For full details click here >>

Members Annual General Meeting - 2022

The Annual general meeting of the Eden Angling Association will be held in the Wilkie Memorial Hall , Pitlessie,, Ladybank Road, Pitlessie, KY15 7SP Sunday 4th December 2022 starting at 7 PM. to which all full members of the club are cordially invited.to receive reports on business of committee, the accounts, and to elect office bearers and committee of the club as vacancies arise. There is also an opportunity for any other competent business to be discussed under AOCB.. For more information click the link below. VOTING BY SHOWING MEMBERSHIP PERMIT.

BROWN TROUT SEASON CLOSED- CATCH RETURN REMINDER

Please note that the brown Trout season closed at midnight 6th October. Any Brown Trout caught between 7th October to 31st October when the Salmon & Sea Trout season ends must be returned.
Many thanks to those who have made their catch return on line or using their annual paper catch return. To all other members, please make a start to update your catch return to give the Secretary time to complete & make the statutory return. All members received a paper annual catch return with their Permit. If mislaid print off a copy here, make a start and when the season closes complete it and post it to the
EAA secretary, 49 Sandylands Road, Cupar KY15 5JP. by 30th November at the latest.

Annual Catch Return 2022

GATESIDE MILL WEIR FISH BARRIER REMOVED:

SEPA and their contractors have made an excellent job removing the Gateside Mills weir on time. In the dry hot low water years we are now seeing all too often this weir as a barrier to Salmon, sea Trout and Brown Trout accessing the head water spawning burns. The weir has gone and has been replaced with a series of deep pools formed from weir bedrock and quarried stone. This makes easy access in low water. This should benefit angling prospects for the Eden in the years to come

CATCH RETURNS

Catch returns including NIL returns must be returned to the secretary at the close of the season. 30th November at the latest. Anyone not making their catch return for any reason will be in breach of the rules of the river issued with all permits. Catch returns are necessary to allow committee to manage the river and it is a statutory requirement for a catch return to be made annually to Scottish Government.where failure to provide an accurate return may result in the club being fined.. These returns influence the decisions Scottish Government make on what we can do the improve the fishing.

CATCH RETURN 2022

Fish Rescue at Gateside

The Tay Bailiffs have carried out a fish rescue ahead of SEPA's Gatside mill weir removal project to allow Salmon, sea Trout and Brown trout spawning access to the headwaters.

In the region of 250-300 fish were rescued which were mostly brown trout but did include a good number of salmon smolts. An absolutely massive eel was also shocked but recovered and swam away before it could be transferred. Thanks to the Fife Police WCO for the photos and the Tay Bailiffs for their work.

Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board Electro-fishing at Gateside

Electro-fishing below Gateside Weir prior to work starting

Trout & Salmon Parr rescued

WATER SCARCITY- SALMON FISHING - RIVER EDEN

Following the recent heavy rain the river water temperatures have now fallen sufficiently to the point where it is considered safe for Salmon fishing to resume. However, please, where ever possible unhook your catch in the net when it is in the water. Due to high banks this is may not always be possible but PLEASE do not lift a salmon to take photos estimate its weight from its length and return it to the water as safely and as quickly as possible, giving it time to recover. Handling salmon, especially round the tail can remove protective mucus and allow infection by fungus.

Thank you for your patience. - SECRETARY

Useful Links

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