With the Brown Trout Season fast approaching on the 15th March, here is all our news:
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New Season, New Committee
We have some changes to the committee this season. We would like to thank David Farmer for his leadership over the past 4 years and Steve Smart who stepped down as Vice-President. The new team is settling in and we will tell you some of our plans later.
Honorary President & Chairman: Bill Wardlaw
Vice President: Scott MacLeod
Secretary/Treasurer: Michael Farrell
Ticket Secretary: Peter Holroyd
Members: Dougie Braid, Billy Collins, Graham Dick, Harald Gavin, Colin Jeffrey, John Gray, Cammy Spears, David Steven and Bert Young.
Our Opening Day Ceremony to bless the river and celebrate the start of the salmon and sea trout season went well with a great turnout. It also featured in the Courier with an article by Peter John Meiklem and this then led to an interview on Kingdom FM with the Secretary Michael Farrell to speak about the planned improvement works on the river. More of that later…
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Permits for Season 2023
At our AGM it was decided once again to keep membership ticket prices unchanged for another season. This makes for an excellent deal: Salmon, Sea Trout and Brown Trout fishing for the season for £55 Adult and £30 Junior/OAP. Thanks to new Ticket Secretary Peter Holroyd for distributing permits to our outlets. If you have any difficulty in obtaining a permit, please contact the Secretary, Michael Farrell by email eaasecretary2022@gmail.com Click the link below for permit information
Please take the time to sign & read the Association rules which are supplied with your permits. Permits are only valid when completed & signed. Please comply with the rules, carry your permit with you and show it to committee members or the bailiffs if asked.
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Catch Report 2022
Catch Report 2022
Gordon Pryde receiving the Stan Reed Trophy for biggest salmon of 2022 from President Bill Wardlaw
Low river levels and very warm weather in summer, combined with more frequent floods in autumn and winter seem to be the pattern that has developed with climate change in the catchment area. These all influence the catch return, as does agriculture with diffuse pollution and water abstraction. The low water levels and high temperatures seemed to hold back the main run of salmon & sea trout in 2022. Fish that do enter the river, seek cooler water under banks and trees but it seemed that many fish did not appear until late in the season.
Salmon catches in 2022 were very similar to 2021 with 39 in total, except that the hen fish, like most of the Tay rivers, seem to be getting larger. The Stan Reed Trophy this year was won by Gordon Pryde with a cracking fish of 18lb.
Sea Trout: It was a disappointing season for sea trout with catches well down. Reports from members fishing the Estuary, Kemback & Nydie show an abundance of small trout & finnock but few larger sea trout being seen or caught. Bait fish shoals and bass were again reported in the Tay estuary which may be another reason why sea trout & finnock stayed out of the main river until after the end of the season.
The Eden remains as CAT 3 which means mandatory catch & release for 2023. Hopefully mandatory catch and release is working. It seems to have improved catches by allowing the bigger hen fish to spawn then return to sea again to come back another year. It remains the case though that wild salmon are in crisis and we need to do all we can to support improvements to the river which will help these iconic fish.
Salmon numbers are in decline so it is important that we do all we can to improve habitat in the river and spawning burns.
Thanks to you all for returning fish, as it is our way of helping to improve future fish stocks.
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River Improvement Works
Committee and member volunteers have worked hard to improve the river and its habitat undertaking litter picks, stile maintenance and tree works to enable access for anglers. Thanks to Colin Jeffrey, Scott MacLeod and David Steven for the work done on this in the close season. There is a lot more to do! SEPA have made a great job of removing Gateside Mill weir. This was a barrier to fish migration and this will now open up new spawning grounds in the headwater burns. A second attempt to re-establish the ranunculus (water crowfoot) weed, essential habitat for juvenile salmon & trout, is planned for 2023 as well as a range of other works to improve the river habitat and gather data on the state of the river (e.g. water quality and invertebrates) so that we can press for even more change and improvement.
Wild Trout Trust Advisory Visit
In May 2022, the Wild Trout Trust carried out a Habitat Advisory Visit.
The report gives us a number of recommendations to help us improve the habitat of the river. :
Improving flow diversity in some sections to flush out silt - this will restore habitat for ranunculus. It also encourages restoration of spawning beds. This can be done by adding woody material to the river in appropriate locations as well as re-aligning boulder weirs.
Bankside planting to stop erosion and create shade and cover - this reduces the amount of silt going into the channel. It also helps to keep the water cool.
Getting rid of non-native invasive species, particularly Giant Hogweed, which degrade bankside habitat and take over from native vegetation. There is now information on the website about what anglers should do about some of the invasive species on the river.
Find out more about the diffuse pollution going into the river which is causing the weed to be smothered by silt and algae.
None of this work can be done without (a) money and (b) the help of members. We are working on (a) by applying for funding and we will let you know if/when we are successful. (b) means we need YOUR help!
If you would like to help with any of this work or read the full WTT report, please contact the Secretary at eaasecretary2022@gmail.com.
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hatchery visit
On 6th March, we were invited to visit the Almondbank Hatchery to meet David Summers, Director of Tay & District Salmon Fisheries Board. Secretary Michael Farrell was joined by committee member Colin Jeffrey to discuss a range of issues including our plans for river improvement. We were also able to speak with Mark Purrmann-Charles about his work with the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative. However, the highlight of the day was the tour of the hatchery from Hatchery Manager, Craig Duncan. He showed us the tanks where they keep and recondition the kelts and then the incubator drawers where ‘our own’ Eden eggs are developing. It is hoped that several thousand of these will survive into parr and then be returned to the river in October after being fin-clipped to identify them for future research. It’s an exciting development and combined with the habitat improvements, we hope this will help to restore the numbers of salmon on the river.
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CATch Returns for 2023
Remember Rule 13: Report all fish caught as soon as possible preferably monthly using the on-line reporting form on the web site. Alternatively, complete the annual return supplied with each permit to the secretary by post or e-mail at the end of the season - 30th November at the latest. This allows time for the Association to make its statutory return to Marine Scotland.
PLEASE NOTE When reporting brown trout catches it is recommended that you only report fish over 8”. This will ensure there is no chance of misidentification with salmon parr.
The catch return also helps us to monitor the fish population and the health of the river.
Please also take all rubbish home with you.
If anyone has any issues or comments, please do not hesitate to contact Michael Farrell as Secretary at eaasecretary2022@gmail.com or any member of the committee on the contacts page. You can also reach us on the Association Facebook page.