Hi there, I am a 32 year old social worker from Glasgow in Scotland. Until very recently I could not drive (the summer of 2006) and this made me look for fishing opportunities closer to where I live. The closest river to where I live is the River Kelvin which is Glasgow’s second river after the River Clyde. It rises in the Kilsyth Hills to the north of Glasgow and joins the Clyde at Partick some 33.5km later. Its winding course takes it past many of the most notable parts of Glasgow’s west end including the Botanic Gardens, the University of Glasgow, Kelvingrove Park, and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Its many pools have been given notable names such as sanitary towel pool and needle alley however the river continues to regenerate and become cleaner with increasing amounts of wildlife including the ever-present Grey Squirrel and Magpie, the Grey Heron, the Cormorant, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Redwing, Carrion Crow, Kingfisher, Mallard (Wild Duck), Goosander, Red Fox and Brown Rat. There are also a large amount of red deer that travel up and down the green corridor that runs through the centre of Glasgow.
So I have fished this river for around 8 years, in the beginning occasionally but in the last 5 or 6 I have became fairly obsessive about it. It is the whole idea of fishing somewhere that other anglers just walk by, there are lots of burnt out cars along the riverbank which does not make it look pretty but it has a character of its own. I like fishing an unloved river- if you love it and are prepared to put in the time then it will give up secrets all of its own…purely to you!
So now I am one of those people that drive and fish other rivers as well. I miss getting on the local bus already wearing my chest waders and waistcoat and setting up my rod while the commuters stare at me (mostly thinking that I look like an alienâ€) but anyway times change I suppose. In this diary I note the other rivers that I fish although I tend not to name them, I think it is much more fun finding them for yourselves don’t you think?
I started this blog as a record for myself of my catches. It was the first dedicated fly fishing blog on the internet and has spawned many more. I am a little proud of that fact. I stay small however- under the radar, a little like the Kelvin really..I class it as my home water- all other rivers I fish are compared to it whether it be size of water, size of fish, amount of fly life or even amount of junk on the riverbank. I suppose everyone has a river like this ïŠ
I am amazed as I have been noticed in the media a few times. I appeared in the show Trout n About - which really should have been called “Aboot N Aboot” as we caught absolutley no trout !
I was in a feature on the River Kelvin - below you can see my “coupon” spread across an insert of a major national newspaper.
and in this one…
I was actually misquoted - what I actually said was my worst nightmare was “becoming a dead body in the Kelvin”
I also came second in the Metro newspapers Top of the Blogs 2007.
I don’t profess to be a great fisherman, hell I don’t even profess to be a good fisherman- I certainly don’t profess to catching the biggest trout on my home river The Kelvin - what I will say is that I am an average fly fisherman who loves catching trout of any size on a fly rod.
Enjoy my Diary- put your feet up if you are at work, feel free to make a comment- just remember that I expect you to behave the same way as you would if you were in my own home dont put your muddy boots on my nice table.
