A very hit or miss couple of weeks on the Kelvin for me – I have not been able to fish anywhere else due to work and time commitments. You have got to be on the river at the right time and be in the right place as soon as a hatch starts. One guy who appears to be doing exactly the right thing is Kelvinator Alasdair P who has been Salmon fishing – he keeps his trout rod set up and soon as he sees a hatch heads straight for somewhere he knows there will be rising trout – big ones too. The reasons you get rising trout in only certain areas can be explained by quite a lot of factors one of which is there are areas that collect a lot of flies due to currents in the river.
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I have been fishing much further upstream and fairing poorly – I mean I say poorly however I did manage to winkle out a nice trout on a nymph. On Sunday I had a good afternoon fishing with some pals and we all did poorly – I reckon we missed all the action as we started at around 1pm. We all saw some action however not the real consistent action that you expect when the trout are totally up for it. It was a hot day and even some canoeists were out being incredibly rude:
Pro Tip: If you paddle past an angler so close he can smell your breath then a smile and a wave is as good as an apology – ignoring the oik in the water is liable to cause friction for the future.
Last time I was out I noticed I was running low on nymphs – consequently I tied up a power of basic nymphs over the weekend – simple wee nymphs with beads.
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I headed upstream again after work the other day (I have been grabbing an hour here and there) and had a bit of an epiphany – I have been fishing mostly long riffles and runs with a dry and nymph and catching bugger all so walked down the river to some deeper slower water – I spotted a rising fish – heck from a distance it looked a big splash (I suppose there was a possibility it was a kelt) and I headed down there. It was a big slow corner pool with the water flowing at maybe half a slow walking pace so plenty of time for the trout to inspect my fly – I got in the water and started to get myself into position – it stopped rising when I was in position. I waited five mins and then got back out the water and walked back upstream – when I got there I looked back to find another trout rising – I walked back again and it stopped. To cut a long story short I did this about five times. I do not think the trout spotted me as I was keeping low and in to the bushes. More probably the fish was rising sporadically with about 5 minutes between rises, just the amount of time it took for me to walk upstream. I reckon the next time I am on the river I will just head straight for this spot and sit it out waiting on a rising trout – it is nice and shaded with trees as well, casting is a problem because of the high banks however we don’t want it too easy eh?
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On a side note it is my birthday on Monday and I was toying with the idea of getting a new pair of trousers to wear under my waders – I hate wearing jeans as they feel all bunched up around the ankles and even walking trousers feel weird. During Summer I usually wear shorts however it still feels weird around my ankles and calves only having waders. I think I solved this whole comfort thing by simply wearing a pair of long johns under my waders – I know some guys that do this and I must say it felt really comfy and natural – no bunches around the waist or ankle and felt a nice temp in the cold water. Consequently I told my wife to not bother getting me a pair of new fishing trousers.
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Anyway, I hope you guys are going to be doing some fishing over the Easter break – even though I will be off work it will be all family fun down my neck of the woods – I imagine the rivers will be jam packed full combat anglers so I hope you manage to find a quieter wee nook somewhere.
Interesting post, Alistair, particularly about fishing the slower-flowing areas. How slow would you go in this respect? I ask because I’ve taken to fishing a stretch of the Wensum that flows through Fakenham in Norfolk. Downstream from the old mill, the river is more a narrow, brisk stream where you can see what I think are small brownies but casting is a nightmare.
Upstream of the mill, the river widens, there are casting platforms and the water is notably deeper and offers the haven of weed about a foot below the surface but the flow speed is on a par with a team of working pallbearers. The fishing is sooo much more comfortable and I’ve seen definite rises but I just wondered if there’s a cut-off point where slow moving water is concerned, below which the trout will simply move elsewhere.
I reckon if there is a regular rising trout then you just have to give it a bash no matter how slow the water. Biggest problem though will not be drag, size of fly or tippet – it will be waves caused by trying to get into a good casting position.
If you do not need to wade then it will be tippet.
Of course, it all depends on the time of year as well, early on they will be in the slow water and as the season progresses they will move into the shallow riffles.
Saying that some big trout hang out in the sow sections and these are good spots to stake out during Summer dusk sessions 🙂
when I moved back to Glasgow, living near the Kelvin, it was your website that gave the information that trout fishing was a possibility; when I left Glasgow the same river was a cesspit. I have been checking out your website periodically since, s cheers for the information.
Perhaps you can help me with a question. If memory serves me right, in 2007 a permit for the Kelvin was £10. In 2008 it was £15, 2009 it was £20 and in 2011 it is now £40, with rumours of £50 next year and even £100 planned. This is what i call hyper inflation. Why the hiking of prices, since a mid-clyde permit will still only set me back £65 and is a better river.
On another point, the Kelvingrove party. I am in principle in favour of peoples right to gather, party and consume alcohol in public places such as parks. Unfortunately, the weegie seems to have a special gene which results in all out battle under such circumstances. Alcohol is consumed without fear or barny in the large parks of London for instance.
However, as the footage shows, it was a small element that was causing the trouble and if it were a nightclub, the bouncers would have made short work of the troublemakers and the party would have continued. Dare i suggest that the authorities might have been looking for an excuse to break up this party, aswell as gaining the moral high ground on future activities. After all, it well known how against congress and alcohol they are in the park in normal circumstances; they just happened to get overruled on this occasion by the wedding committee.
Anyway, shame it happened and definitely a day that i’d rather have been fishing, as that helicopter droning on for 3-4 hours nearly drove me mad!
My best kelvin success; may time, anything green and nymphy, cast into fast water and allowed to flow to slower lies. fish take just as the fly is beginning to arc due to the line. sometimes its like fish in a barrel 🙂
Hey Russell – glad to hear this blog is useful for something 🙂
I hope I can answer all your points – please remember that you can ask your questions about club business in the offcial kelvin for over at http://fishkelvin.com/
However, there are no plans to put the Kelvn permit up to £100. Back when it was £15 what did you get? you got to fish the river and that was it – no planning for the future, no habitat improvement work, no investigations of where problem areas might be and how to rectify them, nowhere to ask a question and get an answer – you could fish the river without a permit and get away with it.
The permit price only increases as the members needs increase – the members wanted more access to the river and were complaining about the number of people poaching. We simply identified areas that needed work done, slapped a figure on it and spread this out over the number of members – when we have enough money the work will get done or we do it in stages. The members were not happy with people poaching – we worked out that if we put the price up to £50 we could provide 4 part time bailiffs each being paid and consequently guarantee that if you seen someone poaching then someone would be with you within an hour to sort them out – the members rejected the deal so the price stayed at £30 (they wanted the arbour work done)
You think mid clyde is a better river? What on earth makes you say that? Going by this:http://www.midclydeanglingassociation.org/text%20files/CATCH%20RETURN.pdf
We caught many more Salmon – so what is the better river again?
Regarding trout we have a strategy in place to improve the trout population and our members are happy to go along with it. Come the next AGM I reckon the members will be happy to pay £50 for over 30km of Salmon fishing.
So the price rise is not actual hyper inflation – you are just actually getting something for your money – anyway the price is £30 just now and at that price it is a disgrace for anyone to complain.
Did you see the mess at the end of that party? Personally I object to my council tax being used to clean up after folk who do not show one ounce of respect for their own park. If you want to see how a real party with alcohol can work you should head along to the West End Festival or even the FORK open day 🙂
Hope that helps !
A*