So the AGM of the Kelvin was last night.
I wonder sometimes, I really do. First of all we had the proposition to make the stretch at the vet school fly only. This I admit was mostly my idea. That part of the river is pretty much hammered not just by the odd guy but by groups of guys that leave a large amount of mess behind after them. Empty cans beer, buckfast bottles the lot. Lenghs of Nylon and empty crisp bags.
The confirmed bait fishers refused outright saying that there are a lot of disabled anglers, in wheelchairs, that fish down their regulary. Now, you know that I pretty much fish down their all the time and I can honestly say that I have never seen anyone in a wheelchair in the good few years that I have fished. Anyway, the proposal was thrown out. It was amended with the rule that bait fishers will give way to fly anglers. Oh yea, like THAT will work. We could have had an amendment saying that disabled anglers could use bait but nah!!
Wait till you hear these two startling suggestions………
Can we stock with rainbow trout
I mean honestly, you have a wild brown trout river and these buggers want to turn it into some kind of fish pond. Saying that, we could fence off the vet school and stock it with rainbow trout, that would keep em happy!!
Can we extend the season into November for Salmon and Sea Trout
Fantastic idea, we are talking about limiting the anglers fishing at the mouth of the Allander because they are killing all the fish, and these anglers want to extend the season to kill more fish. Now lets think about it, well I suppose the thing that is standing in the way of this is like………I dunno……..THE LAW for one. Jeepers, I ask you!!!
Essentially, the AGM consisted of people wanting to know how they could catch more bigger fish for longer. One person did ask how clean the river was coming along and that was that. Did anyone ask about conservation?? trout habitat??? Nah, kill em all and then moan about the crap fishing.
If this is the general attitude of people fishing the Kelvin then it is fucked!!
couldn,t make the agm, but none of what you are saying comes as a surprise, all they want these days is bigger fish with no thought for the river, introduce rainbows and the kelvin is finished as a brown trout water. if these people want rainbows go to a fish pond, there are plenty about.
You have your work cut out by the sound of things Alistair. The whole point of river fishing is to fish for wild brown trout, preferrably on fly. Unfortunately nowadays people are not content with a good walk and the occasional bonus of a nice fish for the tea – they have to be catching limit bags of big fish by the easiest method rather than using skill and craftsmanship.
Congrats on the honourable mention in today’s Scotland on Sunday
Hi there,
I was at the AGM, and I think it a bit unfair to put a stress on one poor guys unfortunate
question about rainbows.( It wasn’t me ok! 🙂 ) The whole meeting had a groan at that..so
put that one to bed guys…no-one would seriously contemplate that.
I was one of the desentors about the fly only rule. If you remember a guy saying that I
often fish with my 9 year old son who can’t fly fish at the moment ( and it’s not just
a case of me not teaching him…I wouldn’t let him wade in a river like the Kelvin any
distance from me.) The only way I get to fish with him is to let him bait fish, and for me
to throw a fly about aimlessly.
As for the point about the groups of folk drinking and making a mess…that’s a job for the
balifs or indeed the police, as drinking out of doors in a public place is an offence.
I think it unfair to knock the “right of way” rule until it has a chance to work.
I would like to hope that the vast majorty of anglers are sportsmen, and would be considerate
enough to make it happen. Those that don’t …well they’re not the kind of guys we would want
in a club, so they should be named and shamed.
One final moan…and it’s a little thing, but something that really annoys me about
angling in scotland. And it’s the inate snobbery implied to fishing with a fly.
Tom mentions “prefferably with a fly” why? I like to fly fish whenever possible, but I
don’t see myself as any better an angler than someone who likes spinning or bait fishing.
It’s comments like that, which promote a divide between anglers, and lets face it. We all
enjoy our sport, a bit of time to ourselves etc, so why make these differences?
You thought you liked to moan Alister!…well meet your mate! 🙂
all above meant in an open and honest calm manner guys, I don’t mean to make anyone angry
about this. And just to prove it…I’ll let you tell me a couple of choice flies to try
on my maiden salmon trip later this month!!! 😉
Paul
and one other thing…I can’t but help smile at some of the ads that support this site?
RAINBOW TROUT FOR SALE.
Are you trying to tell us something here matey?
Paul
And one final thing.
First time visting your site Alister.
Nice one. Made me laugh more than once, and I have to agree with your comments on the
“tenty things..do you sit in them” in GAC, I too caught bugger all in their casting pool!
cheers
Paul
Did Vinny throw himself out as usual?
I wish Vinny had been there, at least he actually cares about the river
could not make the agm either as i now live out of town.iam predominately a fly fisher but will fish using rapala,devons etc when salmon fishing.My only criticism about bait foshing on the Kelvin is the kind of gear used by uor bait fishing brederin.I have seen boat rods in evidence and set lines are the norm,using large ledgers etc.To consisitantly catch trout some sense of stealth and delicacy is required and any fly fisher approaching a pool that has had a dozen bait fishers flogging it all morning will know he is onto a looser.As for the baliffs,well,in 4 seasons on the Kelvin and over 300 trout caught (all released) i have been asked for my permit once!! .The police are worse,if its off the streets they are not interested.Iam an access officer and have to deal with anti-social behaviour in our green corridors and urban parks every day of my working life and the only way to make any headway in this is through education,at primary school level.As for fly only at the vet school,i have stopped fishing this stretch due to hogging of pools and the fact i like to fish alone.I can see both sides of the arguement,but bait fishers must be made aware of the law and encouraged to wade and fish like the grayling fishers on the teviot do,trotting with avon floats and moving through the runs and pools as a fly fishewr does.Not only would this be a more sporting method,but one i’m sure would be more successfull.However,all fishers should remember that the most accessible areas of any river are rarely the most productive,try to get to know your river and discover some of the more secret parts,and reap the rewards.Alistair,do you remember meeting me a couple of seasons ago and talking about clyde flies,this is the first time i have visiteds the site,WELL DONE !!!
one other thing with regard to rainbows.Obviously stocking them into the river would be a no-no,but i wonder if anyone other than myself have caught a rainbow on the Kelvin.Ihave caught and dispatched 2.So,they are there already (escapees from one of the myriad of fisheries in the catchment).Anyone who does catch one should knock it on the head and take it home for the smoker!! Having just visited this site for the first time and having just read about the agm i am amazed at some of the attitudes reported from the meeting.Obviously,iam preaching to the converted here,but some of the fishers on the river have very dubious ideas when it comes to river fishing.What is needed is far more action on behalf of the baliffs.The river has only in recent years regenerated and if it is to remain a wild trout fishery then certain practices must be stamped out.Iam currently working with Willie Yeomans of the Clyde River Foundation promoting trout and river ecology in schools in North lLanarkshire.In my opinion education is our first line of attack.I feel that reading the comments reported from the agm that many of the anglers on the river require education on how to look after their river.We should aim for a situation where the fishers have a sense of stewardship for the river and if funds are not available for more baliffs then responsible anglers should “police” the river themselves so that we get to a stage where anti-social behaviour and dubious fishing practices become the exception rather than the norm.Thats my moan over for now!!! p.s. if anyone reading this has any good evidence of seatrout and their movements in the river then i would be very interested in hearing from you.Ihave caught plenty of finnock but have failed to connect with or see any adult fish,even when fishing at night with similar tactics that i use on th Teith and S.Esk
I have been reading your comments about introducing onchoroncus mykiss (Rainbow Trout) to the river. That itself is totally ridiculous, however as a fully qualified Fishery Manager wasn’t the introduction of reared salmo trutta (Brown trout) to fingerling size brought up on the agenda? It would have to be financed obviously but at what cost you might add? There are plenty Hatchery Equipment available cheaply or sometimes free of charge! As a Leven fisherman I myself have seen the rewards reaped from their stocking of smolts from their L.L.A.I.A hatchery based in fintry. I myself believe in river conservation maintained by both the anglers and other governing bodies. As a 1st year fisherman on the Kelvin I hope I can also get the message across how much a river needs to recover from heavy abuse such as the Kelvin has endured. I would be pleased to hear from Kelvin angler who would support the introduction of reared Kelvin strained trout. As for salmo salar up until now I wasn’t aware of any such numbers which have indicated.
Stuart Reid
Alistair:: removed email in case it gets reaped by spam bots
It would be interesting to know how you got the funding for your club as when somthing new is trying to break ground it can be quite dificult?
I believe the funding for the club comes solely from the permits!
Alistair
I fish the river Avon in S. lanarkshire as well as the kelvin.The avon angling club has its own hatchery and at the end of the season electro fishing is done to determine where feeding is good but fish numbers are low.Then adult troiut are captured and their milt/eggs are extracted resulting in broodstock for future trout.The fry are trhen reared over the winter in the hatchery and then released into the river in the areas where feeding is good but fish were scarce.This has had 2 benefits; firstly avon stockies come directly from avon fish,and secondly it gives Avon fishers the chance to become directly involved in the future of their river.Stocking freestone rivers with farmed fish can have detremental ecological effects.Just a bit of food for thought!!
I am trying to contact David Biggart in refference to his cousin.
Thanks