Fishing Reports

River Leven.

After one of the driest Septembers on record it’s back to business as usual at last. The barrage dropped at the beginning of the month and since then there’s been a good steady flow allowing excellent fishing conditions. Still fresh fish seen going through but proving difficult to tempt.

On 4th October, Colin Smith was captured playing a good fish at the Bonhill Pool…

… a quick ‘trophy shot’ and it was released back to the river.

Other catch reports include: Malcolm McColl (10lbs) and (5lbs). John Paul Donnelly (5lbs). Kirk Philips (7lbs) and (6lbs). Paul Kelly (8lbs). John Patrick (9lbs).

Earlier in the month, Chic McLean landed this (11lbs) angry looking cock fish at Ritchie’s Lade. Once again, a quick photo and returned to the river.

Still plenty of sea trout in the system. Graham Dunsmore contacted us…

‘Had four nice fish in the past couple of weeks. Two on the fly and two to lures including this one at 2lb 13oz.Had a corker on for a few minutes before it threw the hook. Estimated around 5-6lbs. All the rest were a uniform 2lb 4oz!’…Thanks for your report Graham.

River Fruin above Black Bridge.

With less than a fortnight of the season left and more rain on the way it looks like October should be more memorable than last month.

 

JR

 

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

Very little rain over the past few week so the river has remained at summer low, with anglers depending on weekend compensation water. This must be the driest September for years and a disappointing end to the season. Still fish about though with reports of grilse and summer salmon landed and lost. Unfortunately a few of these reports are unconfirmed due to anglers forgetting to contact us…and we can only report what we know about…

Recent catches: Mick Prize (6lbs) Managers. Derek Hughes (8lbs) Bonhill Pool-rtnd. Stuart MacFarlane (6lbs) & (9lbs) Piles. Kirk Philips (6lbs) Ritchies Lade. Euan Brown jnr. (6lbs) Glebe. Scott Laird (6lbs) Glebe.

The LLAIA’s production of Riverdance?….

Nope! …scenes from the River Leven Clean Up at the end of August…

The usual shopping trolleys, bicycles…and a lot of junk! Thanks to all who took part.

Loch Lomond.

Surprisingly quiet out on the Loch with few boats out even at weekends. There are still plenty of fish lying about, waiting for the main tributaries to spate or drop back to the Leven to spawn.

A lot of good fish have been seen moving north of Rowardennan, particularly between the German Jetty and Culness. On 9th September, the author landed this (13lb) summer salmon, between Rowchoish and Culness, assisted by friend Stevie Jackson. A sunny day and a flat calm. Three other good strikes were missed.

On 13th September, Jim McNiven landed a (7lb) grlise at the Blue Rocks on a copper and silver Toby.

Other Catches: 10th Sept: Ernie East (14lbs) 11th, Rab Strachan (7lb), 13th,  Euan McGrandle (10lbs) at Sallochy – rtnd.

Fly fishing had taken a slight lull due to the bright, calm conditions but I hear things are taking off again with some good sea trout around the usual drifts. More reports on the B.A.W.S website.

Found Landing Net: A landing net has been found on one of the islands. It’s described as ‘well constructed’ and will be a sore loss to its owner. Contact us with a description etc and we’ll gladly return it.

Loch Etiquette. Loch anglers are reminded of the ‘Code of Conduct and Etiquette’  shown on your permit.

‘On Loch Lomond boats must pass port to port. Trollers must give way to fly fishers at all times and by at least 100 yds’

We are aware that some anglers are not complying with these conditions, whether through ignorance or otherwise. Please ensure that you observe these simple rules to avoid the wrath of your fellows.

Rivers Endrick and Fruin.

As we all know, both waters depend on spate conditions and with no rain…no fish and no reports. It’s almost certain that there will be salmon and sea trout lying off both rivers just waiting for the right conditions. Hope they’re watching our webcams!

With a considerable amount of work having been been carried out on the Endrick, over the last couple of weekends

the focus has shifted to the Fruin. Fallen trees and other obstructions have been removed. It may be a small river but it takes a lot of hard work to keep it fish-able. Volunteers are always most welcome to help out with river clearance and bank maintenance.

Conservation Measures In Force On The Lomond System.

October Catch and Return.

All members and ticket holders are reminded of the conservation measures in force across the Lomond System. From 1st of October to 31st October   ‘all salmon and sea trout must be returned.’

A leaflet of guidance ‘Catch and Release for Salmon – an Anglers Guide’ has been forwarded by the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards. It contains some very useful advice and can be viewed on our ‘Resources’ page.

JR

We ask our members and ticket holders to keep us updated with your catches and experiences on the system by contacting the webmail reports section at – reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

Even with summer low conditions there’s been some good sport with the August grilse run. At one point it looked as though the Loch level might rise enough for the gates to drop, but beaten again…..

15th/16th August were good days out for Derek Hughes:

‘Hi, thought I would give you a report on fishing Friday and Saturday 15 /16 august….on Friday I landed 2 grilse of 6 lb and 7 lb on an orange Allys Shrimp. Took one from the Glebe corner and one at Factory Wall.  Saw a lot of fish going through the system. On Saturday first light, I fished the Bonhill pool and hooked a fresh grilse around 6 lb which unfortunately spat the hook after about 5 mins. Seeing fresh fish moving through the pool I moved up to the factory wall and connected right away with another fish, which again threw the hook.  Looked like there were plenty of fish going through, possibly of the morning tide, anyway a very enjoyable two days fishing,…the 2 fish caught on Friday were released unharmed.’

Thanks for your report Derek.

15th/16th August were also good for John Copolla.  Friday he landed a (7lb) grilse at the Glebe and returned the following morning early to follow up with a (6lb) fish (above) also at the Glebe.

Catches continued on Monday 18th, with Ross Macleod landing this 11lb salmon at the Garden Stream on a Silver Stoats Tail.

On 19th, Gareth Bourhill nets his first salmon of the season (11lb) tempted by a yellow shrimp at the marker above the Bonhill Pool.

Saturday 23rd August. Our chairman netting a 16lb cock fish for Colin Smith at the Bonhill Pool.

A very quick ‘trophy photo’…..

…..and safely released back to the river.

Other reports: 14th August, Dick Dickson, grilse (7lb), sea trout (4lb) and (2lb) at Dalquern. 16th August, Peter Ingram, grilse (7lb) Factory Wall on a Snelda.

Loch Lomond.

The Loch continues to fish reasonably well with grilse and summer salmon about. The Endrick Bank is still weedy, but the Loch level has risen slightly and with the surface temperature now dropped to 14oc there should be more activity.

Good sea trout in the  3 – 6lb class coming to the fly around the islands. Reports and photos on Balmaha Anglers.

14th August, Gerd Elsweiler lands his second fish of the season, a fresh (14lb) summer salmon, taken at Mill o Ross Bay on a gold/green toby….. two more than last year…

Peter Lyons, who had been following behind Gerd, crossed over to the road shore and boated a (5lb) fresh grilse.

The ‘Tap End’ of the Loch is know to hold some big sea trout, which never really get fished for. It’s a long way for a day out, but there’s good drifts at Rowchoish, Tarbert and beyond.

On 19th August, the author landed a nice (6.5lb) grilse at Rowchoish and continued up the Loch in search of more sport. Just on the approach to Doune, the outside rod buckled back with an accompanying screaming reel …..felt like a right good fish. Eventually this (6lb) sea trout was welcomed aboard. Slight ‘sun tan’ but not to be confused with a brownie.

He was quickly sent back to ‘freshen up’. Would have been quite a scrap on a fly rod. …I’m sure there’s more.

Rivers Endrick/Fruin.

Some spate conditions recently with fish showing in both rivers. Not much in the way of reports though. The bailiffs have been busy strimming the banks of the Endrick, so access should be much easier when the time comes…

On the 21st, Malcolm MacCormick had a successful few hours on the Fruin, landing two grilse, (3lb) and (4.5lb)(above) and a (3lb) sea trout.

Members are reminded that this weekend there’s a River Leven Clean Up. The compensation flow will be from Wednesday till Friday then the gates will close.

JR

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

A few quiet weeks on the system, which is nothing unusual for this time of year. Even with the recent heavy rainfall the Loch level, which was sitting fairly low, hasn’t been topped up enough to make a big difference. Well not enough for Scottish Water’s purposes……and as we all know, that doesn’t help the Leven.

We’d had reports of pods of grilse seen heading upstream and some unconfirmed catches. However things now seem to be warming up. On Saturday 9th August, at least two grilse were landed at the Bonhill Pool and one at the Glebe. There was also some good sport on Monday morning with Chic McLean landing and returning two fish (5lb) and (7lb), Mick Fries landing two and Bob McKinnon a fine (10lb) summer salmon at Sandy Hole. Then the gates closed….back to summer low again. So there’s fish there, but not many anglers on the banks.

A good head of sea trout in the river, especially on the nightshift….. On 5th August, Ross Macleod enjoyed some classic ‘after dark’ angling with a three pound sea trout coming to a teal blue and silver. Our rep. David Watt reports numbers of sea trout pushing up to Renton with the tide, but not keen to continue into the warmer water.

On 29th July Glasgow University Angling Club members Craig Carr and Harry Jackson went in pursuit of sea trout. Craig landed this (4.25lb) specimen, a personal best. Harry also enjoyed good sport with a (3.25lb) fish…where did they catch them?…..on the system of course!

Earlier in July, visiting angler Marcus Schmiedehausen and his friends, from Nuremberg, Germany, spent a week in Scotland.  After visiting our website they decided to give Loch Lomond a try. He mailed us…

‘I just want to let you know, that we had a really, really great time in Loch Lomond. We went one day pike fishing, cause all of the fishermen confirmed, that there was not enough water to go for trout and salmon with spinners.

So we took a boat and a bunk room in Balmaha and just have a look to the picture. I released him gently afterwards.

Attached to this awesome experience we met a lot of really nice people there. Everbody tried his best, in our opinion, to help wherever we went. Fishing Store Balloch, Balmaha Oaktree Inn, Boat renting, Hiking, Marshalls, etc.’

Thanks for that Marcus, glad you enjoyed your stay. Next time…….

Loch Lomond.

Over the last fortnight the Loch level has risen slightly and the surface temperature dropped by a few degrees. With these encouraging conditions more fly fishers are heading out, having sport with sea trout in the 2-5lb class. Latest updates on Balmaha Anglers.

A good healthy rod bend, south of German jetty.

Some unconfirmed reports of grilse into Balmaha and Balloch, though boatmen are noticeable on the Loch by their absence. Very few anglers out during the week and there’s no doubt that the grilse are in…so get afloat.

On Monday 4th August, the author landed this (9lb) summer salmon just south of Inversnaid, ‘at the usual lie’ on a copper and black toby. So fresh it must have come up on the back of a jet ski…… not been hanging about and didn’t come up alone…

Lost or Hopeful?

Leven anglers recently spotted a strange bird frequenting the top Pool. Thinking that it might be some unwelcome predator our bailiffs investigated……

….and found it to be a Muscovy Duck drake, normally found in the Mexico, Central/South America region. Won’t find many mates on the Leven……..a nae luck duck! Well you never know, might be a few strange looking chicks about next year.

Great Scottish Swim 2014.

Anglers, particularly those heading out from Balloch, are advised that the Great Scottish Swim 2014 will take place over the weekend 22nd/23rd August. Open water swimmers will head out  from the Duncan Mills Memorial Slipway. Full information at www.greatswim.org/scotland

JR

Your reports, photos and info. always more than welcome.

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

It’s official….the grilse have arrived!  Last week’s run brought some welcome activity to the Leven with numerous seen moving and one or two in the net.

No, this photo isn’t out of focus…it’s a real sparkler (6lb) landed by Chic McLean on Saturday 19 July at the Apple Tree.

While Chic was landing his fish, Colin Smith was having good sport at the Bonhill Pool the with an (8.5lb) grilse.

Not only are there grilse in the system, but by all accounts some of the best runs of sea trout for ages have been seen making their way upstream. On 14th July, while fishing the lower reaches, Malcolm MacCormick netted this (3.5lb) trout, which was in excellent condition.

Finlay McLaren continues his run of good luck with a (4lb) sea trout on 7th July and this (5.5lb) specimen on 11th July.

Loch Lomond.

The loch is still low, fish well dispersed and lying deep. The recent bright, warm sunny conditions are ideal for a day on the loch with the wife, girlfriend or….. but the serious loch angler should be out either at the crack of dawn or waiting for the sun to start sinking behind the Arrochar Alps…..well, that’s my favourite times. The ‘Tap End’ continues to produce some nice salmon for those heading up.

Balmaha based angler Paul Davis recently made another his regular trips north of the border to taste more success. On 3rd July he landed a double (11lb) and (14lb) both taken up near the Cave on rapalas. It was noted that on this visit Paul was accompanied by his good lady……women and fishing mix after all!

On 14th July, Frank Caldwell reports landing this catch (11lb) just south of Rowardennan on a silver Toby.

With Paul safely back home, it was Bob Forshaw’s turn to travel north. He brought his ‘girls’ with him, mother and daughter, who helped sniff out a (12lb) salmon on 22nd July at the Lucky Chuckie. Have a good week Bob and leave a some for the rest of us….

JR

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

Recently the Leven has been quiet while we await the arrival of the grilse and summer salmon run……and most importantly, a right good few days rain. The usual weekend compensation flow should hopefully give anglers a chance but with the level of the Loch well down can’t expect much more than that.

On 7th July Ross MacLeod landed this 3lb fresh sea trout while fishing the Estuary.

Apart from all their many other duties, our bailiffs still have time to keep an eye on the local wildlife. Last week Colin McFadyen spotted this female Mandarin duck on the Leven which is still managing to support seven chicks.

Loch Lomond.

The level of the Loch still remains low with several features such as the crannog at Strathcashel and the ‘Luckie Chuckie’ showing themselves. As all Loch boatmen know, this is the time when it should fish well. Not much happening down the bottom end though. With the Endrick Bank and Net Bay areas pretty weeded up, boatmen are venturing elsewhere.

On the 30th June, Rab Strachan had his second salmon of the season (13lbs) up at the ‘German jetty’ on a brass toby. Always wondered why it’s called that…..

….maybe Gerd Elsweiler knows. Seen here on 1st July playing a good fish off Inversnaid.

…..and on his birthday too…. a nice (12lb) fish and a few drams to celebrate….no doubt!!

Other Reports: 3rd July, Dick Dickson 15lb, Rowchoish : 7th July, Duncan Ferguson, (12lb), Inversnaid.

Keep up with the news from Balmaha at  www.balmaha-anglers.co.uk.

Webcams.

We are pleased to announce that the Endrick and Fruin webcams are now up and running and can be viewed by clicking on the ‘River Webcams’ link on our home page. All we need now is some rain to get the system moving again……

JR

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

Another quiet week on the Leven with summer low conditions. The bailiffs are out overnight just now and report fish moving up river. Loch anglers are still picking up fresh sea liced fish, showing that they are moving through. Best chance just now either late evening or early morning.

Just a matter of perseverance and being at the right place at the right time…

Wish we all had the the patience of these Leven regulars…..

Loch Lomond.

Loch fishers still enjoying good sport but with their quarry well spread out it’s a matter of a day on the hunt….nothing unusual.

On 13th June, Peter Lyons landed his second fish of the season (13lb) up at Rowchoish, unfortunately losing another.

21st of June, Russell Boyd lands his first fish of the season (10lb) at Sallochy, losing a second at Manse Bay.

Derek Ranachan reports…..

‘I was on the loch on Tuesday 24th June 2014 and caught another 13lb Cock Salmon, on the Toby just past the boat house heading towards Ross Priory.
This is the first time in 18yrs Loch fishing that I have had 2 fish in one season. I went 4yrs without one at all!’

Just like I mentioned earlier, patience and perseverance……

Other reports: 16th June, Tam McBride (8.5lb) Burnfoot. 26th June, Jim Raeburn (11lb) Culness (above). 27th June, Paul Davis (8.5lb) Rowchoish and (9lb) at Cashel.

Balmaha Website.

We are pleased to announce that a website aimed mainly at the Balmaha based fly fishers has now been launched.  With Colin McCrory at the helm, it contains some very interesting and relevant articles. It will be updated regularly with features and reports.Well worth a look. We wish Colin every success with this venture. This site is completely independent of the LLAIA website and can be found at www.balmaha-anglers.co.uk 

While fishing on the Estuary recently, Jim Muir came across this slippery looking snake like creature. A very aptly named ‘Butterfish’…. don’t fancy it on my sandwich somehow…..

JR

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

Not such great conditions for Leven anglers, warm, bright and dry …..well it is summer.

A few anglers still managing to find fish though.

On 12th June, Ross Linden had success (10.5lbs) at the Double Pipes with a flying-c. We’re told that for almost an hour Ross attempted to revive and return the fish.

On Friday 13th June, Angus Soutter finally managed to land his first salmon (13lb) of the year at Sandy Hole on the fly. It wasn’t such a black Friday for Angus with two fish already having become unstuck this season…..must be using stronger glue…..

John Paul Donnelly on 14th June with a (10lb) salmon taken on the fly at the Factory Wall.

Other recent catches: 11th June, Lee Cunningham (10lbs) at the Bucks on the worm. Frank McGeachie (10lbs) at the Top Pool on a floating devon.  13th June, Stephen Gilfeather (10lbs)  and (11lbs) both at the Top Pool on the worm. Stephen returned the second fish.

Loch Lomond.

With dry conditions the Loch’s just at a nice level and producing plenty of good sized fish, still mainly around the Endrick Bank and Boturich areas.

On 12th June, Derek Ranachan landed this fine cock fish (13lb) off Ross Priory on a rapala.

The bailiffs were out on the Loch Saturday 14th June and spotted there were at least 30 boats mainly concentrating on the south east basin. By the end of the day at least four boats had landed fish including..

Dave King jnr. (10lb) on the Endrick Bank…….

and Alec Doey (15lbs) in the deep water off the Spit o’ the Murrin.

The weather has to continue dry and warm for at least the next week, so don’t forget the factor 30 out there…

A lesson to us all….always check your landing net. You just never know who or what might have been eating away at it.  Makes it that much easier for a fish to wave goodbye if there’s a great big hole in it……….

JR

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

A few heavy rain downpours recently, but not enough to raise the Loch level sufficiently for Scottish Water to drop the gates. Definite sightings of fish in the river and some reports coming in, but once again we can only post we know about…

On Tuesday 15th June, Andy McPherson landed this cracker (15lb) at the top pool.

Chic McLean has seen more action: 30th May (10lb) at the Twin Lades – returned, and on 2nd June (11lb) which apparently ‘took him over the twin pipes’….take from that what you will……before it was landed and returned. 7th June, Jordan Granger (15lb) Piles.

Loch Lomond.

Looking back at reports from the last two seasons, the end of May and first couple of weeks of June are now the prime time for Loch boatmen on the troll. Spring salmon, having run the Leven, are in the Loch seeking sanctuary at the various lies around the shores and islands. Once again, as one would expect, the Boturich and Claddich areas feature.

On 29th May, John McClurg landed his first salmon of the year on a rapala off Inchfad. Fortunately not a rod breaker this year John!

Other catches: 28th May, Alec Doey (10lb) Claddich. Walter Gilchrist (13lb) Mid Ross.

On Saturday 7th June there were at least four boats with fish aboard. Well known Loch boatman Ernie East landed his first of the season  (12lb) at Strathcashell….

…and the same day Sean McAulay (10.5lb) on a toby at Boturich.

Other catches: 3rd June, Frank Caldwell (12.5lb) Endrick Bank and 9lb sea trout off Balloch Park. 7th June, Scott Pryce (10lb) 10th June, Eric Donnachie (14lb) Boturich.

A few boats have ventured up the ‘Tap End’ but nothing reported yet. The northern end of the Loch is by far the most scenic area and well worth the trip, but over the past few years salmon catches have been very much on the decline…..there used to be brown bears up there too…..I remember them well…

River Endrick.

The news we’ve been waiting for at last, the first reported fish from the Endrick!

Tuesday 10th May was a significant date for John McNab. Assisted by Colin Ferguson he landed the first reported salmon (11lb) this season from the River Endrick. It was quickly released to continue on its way. That old favourite the Ally’s Shrimp once again proving its worth…..nice one John!

New Angling For Youth Development Training Group “AFYD Dunbartonshire”.

LLAIA  (Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association) have formed a joint project with an angling charity called “ANGLING FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT” (Charity No SCO39286) with the intention of offering YOUNG PEOPLE of all backgrounds & abilities the opportunity to participate in angling and angling related subjects, thereby improving their quality of life.

We want to be operational and teaching Schools/ Clubs by May 2015.

Free Qualification/ Insurance & PVG Registration;

SQA Angling Coaching Course!

We need 6 volunteer Anglers from the Dunbartonshire Area, members of LLAIA, who are willing to give up 3-4 weekends (9am-5pm) to be trained FREE OF CHARGE to become Qualified SQA Angling Coaches with Dunbartonshire AFYD Hub.  Coaching Courses will be Late October/ November 2014. The Qualification is recognised worldwide.

We are also looking for Volunteer helpers to assist our Coaches, who may after gaining confidence might consider putting themselves forward to do the Coaching Course in the future.

All volunteers & coaches will have to pass in the first instance a Government PVG Scheme run by Disclosure Scotland before you can work/volunteer with children.  

AFYD Dunbartoshire have funding and all Disclosures & Coaching Courses will be paid for.

AFYD patrons include Professor David Bellamy OBE & Fiona Armstrong.

Website: www.AFYD.co.uk

Lampey Watch 2014.

We recently mentioned that SEPA are carrying out a survey of the lamprey population in the River Leven.

Yesterday Colin McFadyen spotted several of these creatures nesting under Stuckie Bridge. SEPA would be grateful for as much information as possible. This link explains what we’re looking for Lamprey Watch 2014

Recently Balloch boatman John Bell was heading up the Boturich shoreline when he spotted something unusual ahead. Definitely not a seal!  Nessie lost?

….nope…just Bambi joining in the springer hunt…….

Thanks to all for their contributions.

JR

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

A few anglers out on the river over the weekend, though not much to report apart from some ‘one that got away’ tales, but that’s angling……

On 24th May, a quiet Saturday morning turned into an exciting day for Stephen Japp. The fly only Bonhill Pool produced this classic 13lb spring salmon. A Willie Gunn did the trick.

Just to remind members and ticket holders that river conditions are now being updated daily courtesy of Jack Ferguson and can be viewed via the ‘River Leven’ link on the home page.

Loch Lomond.

The Leven may have been quiet over the holiday weekend, but the Loch is now beginning to produce. On Saturday there were at least two fish that know of into Balmaha.

Euan McGrandle with this (12lb) pounder taken off Strathcashel Point on a rapala…

…and Geordie Fyfe with a fresh (11lb) springer at the Black Rocks, also on a rapala.

On Monday 26th May, Rab Strachan returned to Balloch with his first salmon (10lb) of the season landed at Cemetery Bay.

Fresh fish are certainly moving in to the eastern basin, but they seem to be spreading out quickly and heading up to the colder water. A ‘Tap End’ fish this weekend?  Maybe a wee bit early….. but you can be sure that the midges will be out!

JR

Contact Reports at :  reports@lochlomondangling.com