Thank you to everyone for your support of the Association in 2024!
In this edition…
2024 - What A Season!
As the season draws to a close, it is safe to say that it has been a great season for both brown trout and salmon anglers - although sea trout seem to have been thinner on the ground. Informal feedback from members to committee and on the Facebook page suggest that the brownies being caught are in great condition - fat, healthy and good-fighting - and average size has been bigger than last season. Trout at 1lb have been regularly caught and some of 2-3lb not uncommon. So, despite ongoing concern about water quality, lack of ranunculus and loss of invertebrates, somehow our Eden trout are managing to get good feeding.
Like most rivers this year, salmon numbers have been up significantly and August seemed to be the month for the biggest runs of fresh fish. Last year’s total catch of 17 salmon and grilse was really worrying but partly due to the harsh weather conditions where the river was unfishable due to low or high water conditions. This year, ONE angler has landed at least 13 salmon on his own! The 5 months of autumn and winter rain seemed to replenish the system and although levels have still been low, they have been more steady. Any lift in levels and a good tide have brought the fish in. There is also a suggestion that the reduced pressure on salmon at sea during covid means that they have grown more successfully and so are returning to the river this year in higher numbers.
So, we will see what happens when the actual numbers come in. Which brings us to the next item…
Catch Returns!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! to everyone who has already completed their catch return. It makes a real difference.
Please, please, please! If you haven’t done it yet, make sure you get your catch returns in as quickly as possible and certainly by 30th November. There are lots of ways to do this and it is a requirement of your permit! As a condition of our leases we have to make returns to all our proprietors as well as the official ones to the Tay Board and Marine Scotland.
There are lots of ways to do this including the online link or the QR code below, filling in the form and sending to the Secretary by email, or a photo, by post. You’ll find a copy of the catch return form issued with your permit on the links page. Make sure your permit number is on the form so that you can be included in the PRIZE DRAW for a FREE permit next season! And please add your email if you want to be contacted about next season’s permit.
Looking Forward to 2025
Permits - A new system
Recently on Facebook, we announced that Committee had decided to move to an online permit system for members. This has been discussed for years but never put in place. This is now definitely going ahead. Committee members carried out extensive research and discovered that one of the most popular and effective platforms for online permits was Clubmate. Online permits are now pretty standard at most clubs and have a number of benefits. Over 50 members have already signed up and will be contacted in due course, with the first 25 to put their names forward receiving a 10% discount. Here is a short introductory video:
For members:
Easy to book season and day permits anytime on any device
Permit accessible through an app on your phone or device
Easy online payment of the fee
Better communication with the club
Easy renewal - enter your details once and you will then get automatic reminders
Forgot your phone or don’t want to carry it while fishing? No worries, bailiffs can check your membership on their phone.
For the club:
Reduces admin workload by about 90% - less paperwork and form filling, more fishing!
Frees up the Ticket Secretary to help with improvement works
Cheaper - more resources can go into improvement works
Easier reporting and accounting
Easier to check membership while out on the river
Prices:
Prices will remain basically the same with an increase in the senior citizen season permit.
Adult Season - £55
Senior Citizen Season - £40
Junior 14-18 Season - £10
U14 - Free
Day Ticket £15
There will be a small surcharge of £5 for anyone who wishes to retain a card as well as or instead of the digital permit. We believe that this is still incredibly good value for a great wee river for a whole year.
AGM 2024 season
The AGM is coming up in the close season. Due to the absence of the Secretary/Treasurer, Michael Farrell, who will be away in Australia for the month of November, we have decided to postpone the AGM until January. The new date is 12th January. This will give sufficient time to prepare the annual reports and accounts reconciliation necessary.
Proposals
Last year there were 3 proposals and these will be reported on at the AGM:
develop a detailed maintenance and management plan for paths and access to the main beats on EAA waters.
continue to be part of the wider River Eden Sustainability Partnership to look at catchment-scale river restoration and control of invasive plant species.
explore the development of a brown trout hatchery
This year, as usual, we are seeking new proposals from members.
Please complete the survey using the link below to share your views.
Committee membership
As in most years there will be some shifts in Committee membership so if you would like to join, please complete the questions in the survey about joining, with a short statement on the skills and experience you could add to the running of the club
TAY Board Update
In early October, around 5000 parr raised from the reconditioned kelts from Eden-broodstock salmon, were returned to the river. At the end of October or early November, Tay Board river officers will be out to take new broodstock to strip and fertilise at the Almondbank Hatchery. The Board hold a licence to take 6 fish. This will continue the programme started several years ago. In 2025, we should see some of the stocked fish returning to the river. They should be recognisable from their clipped adipose fin, so please report it if you catch one! We will return to this in a future newsletter.
EAA and The River Eden Sustainability Partnership (RESP)
Background
There has been a bit of concern expressed by some on the Facebook page and in informal conversations about the involvement of the club as a partner in RESP. The additional time spent on this initiative has certainly taken a lot of the Secretary’s time. It is also true that recent newsletters on here have had a lot of information about RESP. This has perhaps blurred the boundaries. As a result, from now on, most updates about RESP activities will be posted on the RESP website or social media rather than on here.
To be clear though, RESP is not currently a constituted organisation but an association of partners. The founding partners were EAA, Sustainable Cupar, St Andrews University and Fife Coast & Countryside Trust. New partners coming on board are Tay Rivers Trust, Buglife Scotland, James Hutton Institute and possibly the Atlantic Salmon Trust.
All of these organisations are seeking to work together on common aims and objectives as equals and each has the freedom to carry on with other aims and objectives that do not align. EAA is therefore under no obligation to agree with proposals put forward by RESP but does have the opportunity to work alongside and provide insight into projects from our perspective. So far all the activities of RESP do in fact align with EAA objectives to restore and conserve the river and improve habitat and biodiversity. Moreover, EAA involvement in RESP has been agreed at 2 consecutive AGMs.
Two important things that should improve things:
RESP is working to put a Project Officer in place - this should give our Secretary the time back to concentrate more on EAA!
Each organisation involved is trying to come up with Memoranda of Understanding so that their relationship to RESP is clear for everyone.
To find out more about other recent activities go to www.riveredenfife.org
Finally, it was agreed in committee that EAA would be the fundholder for a new application to Crown Estates Scotland Environment Grant. This will contribute to a RESP partnership project with Tay Rivers Trust to prevent flooding in Cupar as well as reduce silt being flushed into the river and clogging redds. More information will be provided once we know of the success of the application.
Thank You!
Thank you for your support of the Association and we look forward to seeing you on the river in the close season. For now, it’s time to hang up the waders, sort out the tackle and get ready for the start of Season 2025. And maybe there is the small matter of the festive season coming up…
Tight lines to anyone who is out in these last few days before the season for salmon and sea trout closes on Thursday 31st October.