Fishing Reports

Historically the third week of March used to herald the first springer taken off the system.  We thought we would give you a taster with this great article by llaia member Frank Donnelly. Frank fishes out from Balmaha on most Saturdays and his love of the loch is all too apparent.

 A dream spring day: Trolling the big loch

Spring Trolling.

It was my first day out with Rab that season. A Lomond Saturday in May, with the Ben and the surrounding hills covered by a late spring snow flurry. As they say, “It was cold, but not too cold “.

I had met Rab two years earlier when he was the late replacement for a “Call off “ on an April “Corrib “ trip. We fished together on that trip and got on well together. I caught a one and a quarter trout and Rab to his chagrin drew a blank, but then the conditions had not been clement.

Rab worked as a “Gateman “ at a factory in Glasgow. Slightly older than me, with a distinctive red beard, he was a more experienced angler. He fished mainly on lochs, from boats, trolling and fly fishing. He had worked at sea and could handle a boat competently. This gave me a tremendous confidence in him afloat, no matter what the conditions.

Being slightly porteous meant that he didn’t feel the cold like I did. Now that helps when you are “Spring “ trolling, like a day we had later on Loch Tay. The temperature was forecast to drop to minus ten Farenheight in the wind – chill factor. Even Rab felt cold that day. Luckily for me, by then I had realised that serious trolling for serious fish required serious clothing : moonboots, thermal underwear, woollens over, a shell suit over all and a lambswool tammy (with gloves or mittens optional).

Rab was a fishing enthusiast. He loved to fish and I learned a lot from him. With his job at the gatehouse, he worked rotating twelve hour day / night shifts. This arrangement gave him precious midweek days off: a real bonus on Association water like Lomond.

On the big Scottish lochs, Spring fishing means trolling, from a boat. Far from being boring, trolling is a game way to catch salmon. You have to fish artificial baits over the lies and make them look attractive and natural . The likely places for a fish are rocky points, shallow banks, gravely spits and burn mouths; all places where salmon love to lie. To fish these lures successfully, you have to have a good knowledge of the lochs underwater contours and a digital sounder / depth meter is a definite advantage.

Rab taught me how to troll in Spring. We fished three rods: two stiffish fourteen foot carbon fly rods for the port and starboard sides and a nine foot spinning rod, the “Poker” out the back, over the transom. This last rod fishes closest to the boat, in the very wake of the outboard motor. On the “ Outside “ and ” Inside “ rod, depending on the direction of the shore, we fished thirteen centimetre (5 ¼ inch ) Black and Gold Floating Rapalas and on the “ Poker” a thirteen centimetre Flourescent Orange and Gold. This arrangement worked in any conditions, even flat calm and bright sunshine, with the Orange and Gold coming into its own in dull conditions.

With regard to lengths of lines, we fished twenty one yards on the “ Poker “ and twenty four and twenty seven on the “ Inside “ and “ Outside “ respectively. When paying out the lures, adjust the boat speed until the lure swims and flutters attractively. Then peel off the line from he reel, one pull of your extended arm for every yard of line you pay out.

With the lure paid out, place the rod in the rod rest. The line from the reel is then placed under a “ Striker “. This is a lead of about one and three quarter pounds, which flies up when a fish takes, thereby setting the hook in the fish. The reels used are “ Mooching “ reels; large four and a half inch diameter centre – pins with adjustable drags, specifically designed for Trolling. Each one is capable of holding up to six hundred yards of thirty pounds test  “Braid “, with one hundred yards of 18 – 20 pounds nylon, replaced twice a season. These large diameter, free running reels are, for me, the only reels suitable for trolling and they are currently available in the shops new, or else second hand. In those early days before I fished out of my own boat, I was on a learning curve; watching and learning from Rab about the ways of the loch and boat handling. It is certainly a distinct advantage , not to mention personal safety, to fish with someone who knows a loch well, either a friend or a gillie, until you are familiar with the loch in its various moods.

On Lomond on that cold May day to which I am relating, my Fishing Diary tells me we left Balmaha bay at nine o’clock in the morning. We then turned left in order to fish the Endrick Bank. As it happens, on this Saturday, the Endrick Bank was silted up i.e. discoloured chocolate brown, by two days of midweek rain. This had washed silt and debris down to the Endrick delta where it had fanned out into the loch making the area around the rivermouth unfishable. And so we proceeded on down to Net Bay. Here the water was clear again, looking “Black” in the overcast conditions and very “Fishy”. In the Spring it is customary to fish the loch’s southern shore. From Balmaha proceed through  Net Bay, then along Claddich past the Stables, the Long Point, Boturich and finally to Balloch where the fish enter the loch from the departing River Leven. We were passing some rocky shallows just round the Long Point when suddenly the Poker lead lifted and the reel began to scream. “zz-zz—zzzzzz”, the tip of the rod in the rest now alive and wavering wildly. “We’re away” Rab says and points the boat towards the deeper water, where the fish can be played, clear of any underwater obstructions. He hands another of the rods to me to reel in, while he does the same with the third, all the while the fish thrashing and boring behind. With the two rods safely aboard, Rab picks up the Poker and stops the engine. He offers the rod to me but I decline. “No” I say, “It’s your fish, you play it”. And so he does.

After a determined but dour fight I slip the net under a thirteen and a quarter pound Lomond “Bar of Silver”, a beautiful sight for sure! Just then I am careful not to catch the outside of the net on the Rapala’s trailing trebles, not an uncommon way of loosing a good fish. Rab dispatches the fish and we see that it’s a cock fish. We shake hands gleefully, delighted with our prize on a cold spring day.

 Rab. A springer on the troll 13.25lbs of silver.

Because they swim about four feet under the surface well sunk, these Rapalas are ideal for cold day conditions. Meanwhile we run across to Inchmurrin for some shelter, a few photographs and a wee “Drum Up”  ; soup and tea. The day is made and the season on Lomond is off to a great start.

When trolling on Lomond, it is not unusual to troll for up to ten hours a day. I’ve done it many times, sometimes without stopping. You may cover twenty or more miles as particularly, later in the season a fish may be taken anywhere on the loch. And with all the while, the magnificent scenery to keep you entertained. Rab once said that if he caught a fish a month he was happy. And so it is, whereas two or three a day is not unheard of. At the Back End of the season, in September or October, it can pay to fish the fly. A backend fish on the fly is a special thrill. Most of late fish are put back now, by way of conservation.

On that May day, Rab and I fished to Balloch and back to Balmaha again. Late in the day upon returning past the “Stables”, almost unbelievably, the “Inside” rod sprung into life. Almost too good to be true, Rab offers me the rod and this time I accept. I play a beautiful fourteen pound hen fish to a standstill and Rab slips the net underneath it. A fish each and a dream Saturday out “Spring Trolling” on Lomond.

 Frank with his 14lbs springer, an absolute beauty.

Frank and Rab:Two very happy anglers.

 The ultimate prize for enduring a cold spring day

We will put this article on our fishing tips and tricks section and adjust the photo’s etc. For the time being though we hope you enjoy the article which gives encouragement to those who brave the elements and try for an early spring fish from Loch Lomond.

The Committee LLAIA

Article By Frank Donnelly All rights reserved.

We recently sent out our AGM report to our full members.  It correctly stated the time date and venue for our AGM meeting on Tuesday 23rd February 2010. at the Partick Burgh Halls. We sent out an invitation card to our members and it stated the same time and date etc, We even stated in the winter newsletter the time date and venue of our AGM.

Unfortunately we sent out our Agenda sheet along with the report and invitation card with the wrong date on the heading. The agenda sheet had other errors so it was clear this was not the finished agenda sheet! In fact it was the draft agenda sheet.

As secretary I am sorry for the error. We had an extremely tight schedule.  We received further important information prior to printing which we felt would be useful for our membership. We concentrated on getting the AGM report right with the new information included. The Agenda sheet was actually sent (emailed) to the printers whilst printing was taking place. We did not know it was the draft that had been sent until we picked up everything up from the printers.

On the plus side we did manage to produce the largest recorded AGM report ever and explained in pretty good detail what we are doing etc.

We continue to make good progress on all the other items we are also dealing with and ensuring we get permit application out to members.

Tight Lines and best wishes to everyone

Michael Brady Secretary LLAIA

NOTE: Our AGM meeting is for full members only.

It is with regret that we inform the membership through the website, that Hughie Horn one of our longest serving members has died through illness.

Hughie had undergone major surgery but unfortunately did not recover from his ordeal.

We would like to wish all his family and friends our deepest sympathy.

Hughie Horn seen sitting at his usual wee seat at Drumtian.

Hughies funeral will be at the David Lawson  Funeral parlour at kirkintilloch. This is at Eastside, Kilsyth rd beside the Evans Halshaw Ford outlet and will be at 12.30 this Friday 27th November.

Following on from there  will be a service at The Daldowie Cemetery at 1.30pm at the East Wing.

Directions for Daldowie are pretty straightforward if you are coming along the M8 from Glasgow take the Carlisle cut off and keep to the right hand lane, you will merge on to the motorway with traffic coming from Stirling. Just keep to the right hand lane and you will come to a sharp right bend take the next cut-off on your left, which is for Daldowie, take a left turn and Daldowie is in front of you.

Hughie will be remembered by members who fished at Drumtian where Hughie fished regularly throughout his years. Often when you met Hughie he would give you some flies and there are more than a few members with boxes of flies that Hughie had given them.

The association will ask the owner of the land for permission to put a bench at Drumtian in memory of Hughie sometime in 2010.

Yours In Sympathy The Committee LLAIA

The River Leven has started to produce some cracking fish as well as better than expected fresh salmon being taken recently. If this continues then it looks like the system will finish on a positive manner after a poor period for some weeks and overall we look back on what was a pretty good season on the system when one considers that nationally throughout the country things have been pretty poor generally.

An angler fishing the Glebe on the River Leven

Well known leven angler Chic McLean took a 20lb fish last week and another angler possibly Michael Frew landed a 21lb fish recently which he sportingly returned as the fish was coloured. At this time of the year it is simply not possible for the bailiffs to properly record all the fish being taken (see poaching report below)

Yesterday there were at least three fresh salmon taken off the River Leven and some very fresh sea trout were also caught. Keith Adams had three sea trout, Chic McLean added another fish to his tally with a fresh  sea liced 9lb fish. Charles Burke 7lbs bar of silver and Andy McElwee 8lbs also fresh run. Fish were lost as well with Tom Kirkbride loosing a fresh fish just at the net which the bailiffs witnessed. We believe Tom lost a heavy fish recently. Dave Sunman landed another salmon at 8lbs and a few others had fish as well.

As we move into the weekend with only this Saturday and next  before the season closes lets hope we get some good sport. This last two Saturdays have seen three salmon and five salmon taken off the River Leven so hopefully tomorrow will bring another good day.

Water Levels have been at a nice height for fly fishers  over this last fortnight which is pleasing to note as the river has been too high on many ocassions previously  for the fly fishers to properly enjoy their sport.

The water board has continued to respect the agreement to keep the barrage gates open at a reduced loch level in the last three months of the season (only required this month) which ensures anglers get a decent water level whilst other river systems can be too low to offer much sport let alone the obvious enjoyment some get from simply Spey Casting when the water levels are good.

The River Endrick apart from the odd rise has largely remained in low water for this past seven weeks or so. Members who have ventured out despite the low water have been rewarded by picking up fish here and there. Fish are now well spread out on the river and anglers have a substantial amount of fishing available to them throughout the most productive areas  of the river.

An angler plays a salmon on the River Endrick. (2008)

On the River Fruin fish are now starting to move into the river in increasing numbers. Much the same has applied to the Fruin with regard the low water but as usual those prepared to fish in poor conditions have had their ocassional rewards.

On Loch Lomond sport has been mixed mainly due to the weather. It has been too bright or not enough wind on days when anglers have expected sport. Last week just about every boat fly fishing seemed like they had a sea trout landed (all returned as far as we know) with Bob Foreshaw, Paul Davis, Colin McCrory, Brian Wright and his friend, Angus MacRitchie, Peter Lyons, Denis McLaughlan and Jim Bonnellie one sea trout. Matt Stewart and others all getting one sea trout.Terry Martin had a 6lbs sea trout, David McDowell one sea trout  with his griend Gibby landing a 5lb sea trout to the dap.

Perhaps the sea trout are adopting their own conservation  tactics?

Euans McGrandle’s son has been doing rather well this year, he is seen below playing a nice sea trout which was also returned with his dad keeping a close eye on events.

 Young James McGrandle plays a nice sea trout on Loch Lomond Autumn 2009

POACHING: These days with spiralling costs to take into account and the fact that fish are now spread throughout the system the water bailiffs job has to be done efficiently and with purpose. This means that checking permits is done briefly and quickly and if the angler concerned is identified at distance he is left alone to fish whilst the bailiffs get on with doing their main task. This happens a lot on the Endrick and Fruin where often we know the car parked and the member concerned etc. In an ideal world it would be nice to see the bailiffs regularly and have a chat with them discuss flies and fishing tactics etc. In the real world today we do not have that luxury. If the bailiffs see YOU that is all that is necessary!

Our main objective is to be an effective deterant to poaching and poachers. This year has seen the busiest year to date for poaching attempts on the Endrick  and a number of nets have been captured already and anglers have also been charged by the police for fishing without permission. Poachers do not go poaching unless they know there are fish in the system. We know where the fish are and are watching key areas constantly night and day as well as keeping a close eye on other areas.

Once again in an ideal world we would be constantly updating our web reports even when sport is poor. However there are times when that is simply not possible. In August we had plenty of rain  and conditions allowed us time to do web reports. In September it was dry for virtually the whole month. There are always choices to make and decisions to take when money is tight. With the low water on the tribuatries and fish having ran up the Endrick (in particular) the previous month we wanted to ensure that these fish were given maximum protection throughout September hence we sacrificed our web reports in favour of using our staff more effectively in deterring poachers, we also had problems with the computer crashing when we were ready to do a report!

Some anglers will criticise us for doing so whilst others will just go out and fish anyway web report or not.

So far the low water has largely continued into October on the tributaries and once again time is limited. We hope all anglers realise that over this last decade permit prices has remained much in line with inflation or below inflation! but we cannot perform miracles and choices have to be made. As we have said before, there is no point running a hatchery and having a smolt programme if you cannot effectively protect the existing fish.

TIGHT LINES The Committee LLAIA

The River Leven

The River Leven

It has been a month since we did our last report so apologies are due. The association’s computer had crashed and we did not get it back for some time. In addition to this the dry weather over this last four weeks presented a difficult period for the association. The heavy rainfall experienced in August and the extraordinary dry September resulted in fish going into the main spawning stream earlier than normal and then being targeted by poachers in the low water that prevailed throughout September.

There is little point in the Association running a smolt programme to increase fish runs if we cannot effectively protect the existing runs when water conditions go against us! Thus a lot of effort by our bailiffs and our chairman throughout the day and night had been necessary throughout this period.

Despite numerous attempts by poachers particularly on the River  Endrick we have been very effective at protecting the fish stocks throughout this period. Hopefully all members will realise that “your future” is dependent on these fish surviving to spawn this year to ensure we have a promising future in the seasons ahead. There has been a big improvement in the bailiffing this year and night duties have been crucial to protect many of the multi sea winter stock we now have in the system.

Having experienced the best spring and summer salmon fishing for possibly the last 25 years some anglers are disappointed with the grilse runs! We are disappointed as well but hardly surprised given the fact that there is a collapse of grilse throughout the country and that even rivers that have had a huge influx of funding  have produced poor returns of grilse as well as spring fish this year.

It is important with today’s unpredictable and obviously devastating negative factors on salmon fisheries throughout the country that we have in place a method of ensuring our fish stocks do not reach dangerously low levels and hopefully continue to improve hence the smolt programme.

One of the benefits of having a smolt programme in place is that of ensuring that each area of maximum importance has some form of backup when required. The Association now has in place three large brood tanks in strategically placed areas that will allow us to implement a stocking of our  main spawning streams should it be necessary in the years ahead.

Our strategy to purchase fishing’s was a wise one! Our decision to also run with a smolt programme that takes full account of genetics demonstrates to our membership that we are doing something positive for the system without harming the system in any way. Protection of our multi sea winter stock AFTER anglers have taken a portion of the runs when the fish were fresh and worthy of a great meal if desired or returned if not, is high on our agenda.

There is a lot of talk in the angling press of the collapse of the grilse runs and Trout and salmon magazine have an article titled “where are the grilse” in this months edition of the magazine. Other nearby rivers have also experienced poor runs and our own grilse runs hardly set the heather on fire.

FISHINGS REPORT:

Despite the low water on the trtibutaries, fish have been getting caught here and there throughout those rivers.

The River Leven had really good water levels throughout September but the river could only manage the odd fish here and there and ocassionally a brief day or two when sport picked up, fly fishers were notable by their absence on most days as the much higher water levels prevented wading of any sort. Overall though, had the grilse runs been heavy we would have seen far better catches on the leven.  Salmon were caught on the river up to 18lbs and over this last few days the River Leven is starting to fish much better with Danny Connolly getting two fish at 5lb and 6lbs. Big Keith 8lbs, Andy MacElwee getting three fish of 8lbs, 7lbs and 15lbs. Gordon Pollock had a large fish of 18lbs and another angler lost a similar fish after a lengthy battle. Dave Sunman landed and returned a fresh fish of 8lbs.

The River Leven at Renton. A popular stretch with anglers.

COLOURED MULTI SEA WINTER FISH

Hopefully the River Leven will now give us good sport till the end of the season. One word of caution though is that of killing large multi sea winter fish that are coloured and well past their best. These fish are our most important fish and likely to provide us with good future sport if they are not killed in October. It does not matter where you fish they really ought to be returned if one is looking to the future well being of the fishery.

If the Association  is good enough not to force restrictions on all anglers when our spring and summer fish are fresh and a great delight to catch, show off and provide a nice meal for the family, then is it not reasonable to ensure the remaining stock are not further reduced by anglers killing them prior to spawning. We have spring salmon in the loch that will now head back down the Leven to spawn whislt others are already in the River Endrick. Please show restraint with these coloured fish and return them, otherwise you risk ruining the future sport for everyone. This advice applies to all anglers everywhere on the system!

The River Endrick was given a real bad blow when we suffered what must have been one  of the driest Septembers for some time. Few anglers ventured out with the low water yet one of our members Mr Watson had four fish in the low water all caught on the same day!

River Endrick Cowdenmill Fishings middle stretch.

Hopefully we will get some much needed rain over the next few weeks to provide members on the Endrick and on the Fruin with some good sport before the season ends.

The River Fruin did not quite recieve as big a run of fish entering the river in August but it is now getting its fair share and one of our members had two fish recently with others picking up fish over this last fortnight or so.

Loch Lomond: The loch fished poorly throughout August but has picked up since the middle of September. The sea trout runs do not appear to be as good as previous years but nevertheless some really good bags were taken by some boats, Colin McCrory’s boat had nine one day!

Colin McCrory landing a sea trout on the big loch.

The big loch in all fairness was simply too high for it to fish well for salmon and that along with the reduced grilse runs made fishing difficult to say the least.

Matt Stewart and his son Alan have had over 40 sea trout and several salmon so far this year all on the fly, so at least some of us are enjoying good sport on the big loch. We believe all or almost all the fish caught were returned.

Loch Lomond: Matt Stewart with a nice sea trout taken this Autumn.

Hopefully everyone will get an opportunity to get out before the season finishes and experience a few good catches, lets hope so.

TIGHT LINES THE COMMITTEE LLAIA

Yesterdays rainfall saw the River Endrick burst its banks at Balfron and the usual site at Drymen  showing sheets of water resembling a lake was apparent for anyone that drove by during that period. The River at Fintry was running at 3.5ft at 8am yesterday and rising so it would have been huge further downstream. Obviously the river was completely unfishable throughout the day and night.

Today the River Endrick is running 10 inches at Fintry and should be fishable within a matter of a few hours further down  river if not fishable right now. It is hard to imagine with all the rain we have had that anglers could be enjoying fishing the river today but it just shows you how quickly the river can drop and provide sport to those fortunate enough to be able to fish today.

Tight Lines     The Committee LLAIA

Having experienced the best spring and summer salmon fishing we have had for more than 25  years the grilse run was never going to equal or surpass the runs of fish or the quality of fishing the system had experienced in the first half of the season.  Nevertheless the month of August has produced mixed sport with some sections doing very well and others slightly disappointing, understandably so given the weather we have experienced throughout most of August.

August began with the bank maintenance on the River Leven and the big cutting machine.Thank goodness because the water levels recently have ruled out wading of any kind and under those conditions well kept banks make fishing a pleasure rather than a chore. The association will keep that in mind for future years.

The grilse runs were slow to kick off and several phone calls to other fisheries  confirmed that the grilse runs were later than normal and had yet to arrive! It now looks like the grilse runs have been very poor throughout the country. The Lomond system given the circumstances appeared to have done very well indeed. Some fisheries  struggled with the rainfall causing the river to be too high and coloured followed by more rain and the same problems over and over again! This is where the Loch Lomond System shows its true worth. On Monday 31st  heavy rainfall for example seen the River Endrick up over 4ft and coloured with the River Leven running dirty yet four hours later anglers were fishing the River Leven and anglers have  been out on the Endrick since lunchtime Tuesday!

There is always somewhere to fish on this system so you rarely have a completely wasted day. The River Leven has remained  fishable along with the River Fruin and Endrick despite all the rainfall experienced over this month! Ironically Loch Lomond has struggled though with winter high water levels rarely good for fishing. The fishing has been challenging  but the fish are there. On Saturday 29th Angus MacRitchie and his boat partner rose seven between them but only hooked one which got off, Colin McCrory rose nine and never touched any of them. Peter Lyons lost a grilse but landed a sea trout with others landing fish but overall the loch was disappointing. That said, it is extremely rare not to have at least one section of the system fishing well at this time of the year……..or fishable might be a more appropriate word with the amount of rain we have had!

Anyway here is a rough overview of how the fishing was throughout August apologies for names and anglers missed out or any slight errors if we get bits slightly wrong.

River Leven Stucky Bridge

RIVER LEVEN AUGUST: On the 1st we had a Mr Hartley landing a fresh grilse of 7lbs and a 3lbs grilse was either caught by the same angler or another!  Several other fish were reported landed over the next few days but we could not confirm. Mark Needham landed a 9lb salmon at the Glebe on the 6th and Jim McDonald had a fish of 6lbs on the flying C on the 7th and John the brickie landed a nice sea trout of 3.5lbs on the same day as did Paul McNeil at 2lbs. Several other sea trout were landed that day. In the next few days we had two reports of fish but no names, followed by Kirk Philips with a 7lbs fish on the 10th.

Richie Campbell had a 10lbs fish on the Allys shrimp on the 11th as did Frank McGeachie 10lbs at the Stucky Bridge. The water bailiffs were kept very busy throughout this period and it was simply not possible to get up to date catches for the rest of August. We can confirm though that the River was doing well with Saturday 15th producing six fish off the river and the following Saturday we had eight off the river. It would be fair to state that from the third week onwards the river fished very well given the state of the grilse runs throughout the country. We can confirm that Alan Pryce had a 6lbs grilse on the 22nd  and had landed two other fish during the previous week. Andy MacElwee landed a 10lbs fish and a 5lbs grilse at the piles on the 24th,there was also a 12lbs fish landed at Flowers stream by an angler. On the 25th Jim McDonald landed another two at the chapel hole and Linnbrane weighing 6lbs and 7lbs and had landed three in one day during the week! Alan Pryce was reported doing well and also had several fish in the one day as well as the fish reported above. The number of anglers out fishing has varied enormously with some days quiet when expected to be busy and vice versa. Strangely though Saturday just past(29th) saw quite a few anglers out with four fish landed.

We can report that Saturdays have been quite good over the month as we had six salmon followed by eight salmon followed by four salmon caught in the last three Saturdays of August, which is not bad at all in our opinion.

The River Endrick has over the past few years been disappointing until October then we experience really good sport. By then the fish are well past their best and most fish ought to be returned as they are hardly fit for the table. This applies to all coloured fish though and not just the Endrick or the Fruin!

In August we do get fish running through the leven into the loch and straight up the Endrick though the numbers depend on the frequency of the spates and the strength of the runs coupled with the mood of the fish!  Both salmon grilse and sea trout can enter the river during this period and the fish are usually fresh and at their best.

River Endrick at the Potts of Gartness

RIVER ENDRICK AUGUST: The Endrick is a spate river and sport is naturally dependant on regular spates to fish at its best, even then some stretches are not worth fishing as the fish simply run through whilst others stretches look good but do not hold fish in any numbers.Thankfully the LLAIA now owns some of the best stretches on the river and when conditions are good can provide delightful fishing.

One of the most productive stretches on the whole of the Endrick is Drumtian. It is popular with our members as it is both visually beautiful to look at and is productive for a longer part of the season than most stretches.

 River Endrick: Drumtian beautiful and productive!

With the number of spates throughout August the Endrick is holding a decent number of fish well spread out throughout the river. Obviously some sections will have few fish and others will hold more. night time as well as day time bailiffing continues as soon as the river drops thereby protecting the fish that are resident.

Drumtian has had its annual strimming and tidying up with all the overhanging branches cut sufficiently to cast a fly under but still leaving cover where necessary to provide good lies for fish. If we get some dry weather we will get a couple of benches and rod rests fitted….depending on the weather. Once finished members will see what can be done with a stretch of water we own!

John Coppolla fishing Drumtian: River Endrick.

John Coppolla is a regular Endrick angler and a member for many years. Up till the weekend he has landed 15 salmon so far, he has retained some fish and returned others.  Apparently all or mostly all were caught at Drumtian! We hear he has extended that number as we move into September!

Another much less popular stretch is Wilsons yet it fishes really well and holds fish in the Bridge Pool and at the famous Oak tree pool. It too has fished well again this year and produced fish.

Wilsons: An angler fishes the run in to the Bridge Pool.

Both these stretches are now owned by the LLAIA so they will be there forever more for our members to fish and to enjoy sport over many years to come. This stretch (Wilsons) will be next in line for improvements once Drumtian is completed.

Iain Morrison with a 6lbs 5oz sea trout from the Endrick.

Chris Turner landed this salmon from the Oak Tree Pool Wilsons.

Chris Turner landed the above salmon at Wilsons the previous visit he lost one so was pleased he landed this one.

Malcolm MacCormick also landed a nice sea trout of 5.5lbs and he also had a salmon the day before. The sea trout was caught at Netherton. Kenneth MacCormick had caught two salmon on the same day his brother was fishing as far as we know though not confirmed? We believe one was caught at Drumtian.

Other stretches that have produced fish are above Netherton where one angler had three in the one day, he fish were fairly fresh and silver and all were returned! The LLAIA owns the right bank looking downstream of this stretch!

The Netherton stretch has seen a few fish taken and more no doubt will be caught as the season continues. Netherton has always been popular with members who mostly park at Collies Lynn stretch and walk up to Netherton. The LLAIA own the right bank looking downstream and lease the left side though it presently fishes best from the left bank.

Collies Lynn used to be very popular but has disappointed over this last few years. The LLAIA own the right bank looking downstream but it presently fishes best from the left bank which we lease.

The Black Lynn (which we lease)has also been disappointing and the stretch below Wilsons (Ballochruin) which we can fish on the left bank downstream has also disappointed but then Ballochruins  popularity has been more to do with its closeness to the road and therefore convenience rather than its ability to produce fish.  The Right hand bank was bought by a private owner last year the association has been offered a lease but has not taken up the offer.

There is now a decent head of fish throughout the river with the Cowdenmill stretch now starting to produce fish as well. We openly admit that there is still a lot of work to be done at the Cowdenmill stretch but the most important thing is that we own the right hand bank and have full permission to cut or prune trees, so in time this stretch will become more popular as we attend to the work required etc.

LOCH LOMOND THE BIG LOCH:

Fishing the drift:  Dapping on the big loch

There are plenty of  days when the big loch shows her angry teeth and heavy waves make fishing the loch out of the question. There are also days when you come in from the loch resembling a drowned rat! There were plenty of drowned rats on lomond throughout August. Some of the anglers decided they had had enough and waited till the better weather appeared……. they are still waiting!

Breaking records seem to be part and parcel of events these days and no doubt the weather forecasters will be telling us it is the wettest August for many a year. We have all enjoyed some really good days in the rain and equally poor days as well so it does not really bother Loch Lomond’s faithful few normally?

The loch remained at a very high level and sport is and can be reflected by unfavourable conditions for several weeks on end. Although the sea trout were in the loch catching them was difficult with days when the fish remained unmoved and other days when they rose but did not take. The salmon fishing was poor for most anglers who ventured out though some did well at times and seemed rather pleased with their success. The almost constant rain  saw grilse moving into the River Endrick rather than heading up the loch. A falling loch can fish well at times but for the most part the loch just kept on rising which is usually looked upon as poor conditions at the best of times.

Although there were salmon and sea trout  caught the month was disappointing on Lomond.

John McKeller with a 14lbs salmon Loch Lomond 2009

Young James McGrandle went out fishing with his dad Euan and landed a nice wee beauty of a grilse. His dad watched anxiously as James played the fish from start to finish where it was finally netted by Euan. A happy ending to a day on the big loch for father and son.

Young James McGrandle with his first ever salmon.

It is worth mentioning that members wives and kids up till the age of eighteen can fish for free so long as they are accompanied by the permit holder.

THE COMMITTEE LLAIA

LATEST UPDATE 10am: River Endrick  in great order the colouring up at Drumtian reported by bailiffs had only temporary affected the Drumtian stretch. The whole river is now looking good and fishable.  Tight Lines

The River Endrick was in perfect order at first light this morning. However at 7 am the river is starting to colour up. We can only presume that there has been heavy rain over the fintry hills as the burns lower down are running clear.

Fish have been getting caught at Drumtian with Colin smith getting two 5lbs and 7lbs and J Coppolla adding to his tally. Malky McCormick had a salmon last night and just landed a nice sea trout early this morning.

Work will be done this Sunday on the Endrick and someone is currently making the rod rests for various stretches. We are detrmined that the benches and rod rests will be fitted sometime this year, hopefully within the next few weeks.

The Committee

5pm today: River leven very high but it is not dirty.

5.30pm today: River Endrick running too high and dirty, Douibtful it will even clear by tommorow morning!

At 10am today: River Leven has risen from yesterdays level and is now running dirty and very high

River Endrick  at 7.30am this morning is running 1.5ft at Fintry and 3ft 6inches at Gartness. The big difference in height is largely due to the rain falling over the river area below Fintry causing the burns to rise sharply. The water at Gartness is dark chocolate so could go either way ie muddy brown or turn a nice tea colour and fishable. There is rain forecast so chances are it could go muddy brown and remain unfishable for most of the day.

Today

The Committee LLAIA