On Wednesday 17^th August 2016,a party  went electro-fishing on the Auchengaich Burn, a tributary of the River Fruin which in turn flows into Loch Lomond. The party was led by Hannele Honkanen, PhD Student-IBIS Project from  the University of Glasgow. Keith Adams, Keith Gillies, Jim Freeman & Eddie Edmonstone assisted from the Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust(LLFT)with the help from the Dewar Durie family from Finnich Malise, Croftamie, Marguerite and Andrew with their son-in law Adrian and grand children Tristan & Eloise who were visiting from North Carolina, USA. 

Hann made the following observation & analysis:- 

“The trust’s 2016 electrofishing surveys were started on the 17th August. The first site was the beautiful Auchengaich Burn, a tributary of the Fruin Water. A standard quantitative, three pass depletion method was used to assess the fish diversity. The first pass provided 37 fish, the second 27 and the third 10 – giving a total of 74 fish for the 22 metre long site.

Two species were encountered; brown trout (Salmo trutta) and minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus). The vast majority (all but four, which were the minnows) of the fish were brown trout. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fry have been found in previous years but none were encountered this year. All captured fish were also measured for length, which allows determining their age. Most of the brown trout were less than 70 mm long which means they are fry that spawned earlier this year. Overall, the captured trout represented three different age classes.”

The first site was situated 100 metres downstream of the road bridge on the old Glen Fruin Road to Faslane.

This was situated 400m metres above the MoD/Petroineos gabbion baskets which has been causing a serious obstruction and barrier for many years. From the photographs you will note that this has become even more of a hazard in recent years and is now being addressed by  Ronnie Murray (pipeline Specialist) and his team at Petroineos, which is encouraging. 

In the afternoon, we then conducted two more timed surveys one 50 metres downstream of the gabion baskets and another timed survey 150 metres below the second site. We saw a considerable amount of juvenile fish including a rather large eel about 16-18 inches long. 

All in all it was a glorious day in Glen Fruin. We really appreciated everyone’s help and enthusiasm. Many thanks.

Yours Aye Eddie Edmonstone

Chairman of the Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust (LLFT)

River Blane Survey.

Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust/ LLAIA members and volunteers are currently carrying out surveys of the River Blane and Catter Burn.

Every run and riffle will be mapped and plotted by GPS.

This detailed examination to establish the health and habitat conditions on these waters will continue over the next few months.  

Endrick Smolt Trap.

Once again the smolt trap has been carefully positioned in the River Endrick and we’d like to thank riparian owner Jimmy Bilsland, a key supporter of the Trust and smolt trapping over the years.

The Rotary Screw Trap has been run by Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust since 2008 to monitor the health of the Endrick.  Wild smolt numbers are one of the best indicators of the health of salmon and sea trout populations in the river.  Smolts are a key stock component and their conservation is crucial to the long term health of the system.

The results of last year’s trapping show that it was the best smolt run on the Endrick for five years, and especially significant were the number of trout smolts collected, suggesting that the current sea trout population in the Endrick is very healthy.

Total Captures:- 26 March – 12th May (see graph)

Trout Smolts:- 1107  Trout Parr: 244

Salmon Smolts:- 459

Total Smolts:- 1566

Estimated total smolt output for period:

Salmon: 2250 – 4000 (median estimate: 3000)

Trout: 5500 – 10000 (median estimate: 7500)

Trout Smolts: 10500

Trout Smolts outweigh salmon smolts 70-30 + large downstream migrations of trout parr. The bulk of the migration occurred between 11th April and 1st May.

The trap will remain in position and checked daily until the migration is over at the end of May. The help and enthusiasm of our staff and volunteers in ensuring the success of this project is very much appreciated.

Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association.

Fisheries Improvement Group.

This blog chronicles the work of the FIG and will be updated periodically outlining progress and news of relevant issues.

Introduction.

The freshwater environment is critical to the life cycle of all fish populations. Salmon and sea-trout require high quality streams with unimpeded access to and from the spawning areas. Ensuring the best possible habitat is available is fundamental to maximising fish production. Once habitat surveying is completed, a practical programme of habitat enhancement is planned to restore impacted areas. This will include bank protection to mitigate against the effects of erosion and removal of obstructions to ensure migratory fish get free passage to their spawning grounds.

The previous committee embarked on an expensive smolt farming experiment where brood stock from the Lomond catchment area were taken up to Fort William, stripped of their eggs/milt then reared to pre smolt stage. The pre smolts were then brought back down to the Lomond area to be held in holding tanks to imprint them before release into the Endrick or Fruin.

This committee are promoting catch and release by offering incentives and are eager to embark on a program of habitat improvement. Many association members have contacted the committee and are eager to help.

The Vice Chairman of the LLAIA recently conducted a survey of various stretches or the River Fruin, an area largely neglected by the previous committee and found some areas badly in need of remedial work at the earliest opportunity.

Conclusion.

It is the intention of the committee to work closely with Dr Andrew Burrows of the LLFT, Scottish National Heritage, Landowners, National Park Authority, Marine Scotland and local farmers to improve the river habitat in the areas which we either own or lease. The LLAIA / LLFT will draw up a site-management plan that assess the state of the Lomond system and plan appropriate improvements.

River Fruin – April 2012.

This is the largest of a number of trees that have fallen into the river at the stretch known to anglers as the” Horseshoe”, this tree will need cut into sections and dragged out by a tractor / digger. The tree spans the complete river width.

River bank erosion, soil getting washed into river and clogging gravel.

This is one of the main spawning burns on the Fruin. It was blocked from bank to bank with dead wood preventing the free passage of Salmon and Sea Trout.

Debris removed from blockage.

The stream is free of obstructions after only 45minutes work.

20 tons of boulders ready for bank maintenance.

LLAIA Vice Chairman Sid Gath checking the gravel for compactness.

Invertebrate life, vital for juvenile fish, was also cataloged.

Habitat improvement on the River Fruin will continue. Hard work carried out with the guidance of the Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust will ensure that it continues to function as one of the prime spawning areas of the Lomond system.