Clyde catches are trout of this world

A month is a long time in angling, especially on a river as rich and varied as the Clyde.

A slow start to the season meant that we missed the anticipated Duffer’s fortnight, when rising trout would be willing to take virtually any fly thrown close to them.

Trout were not rising, even on the rare occasions when insects were obviously on the water. Not to be beaten, anglers tried their luck with a variety of nymphs held close to the bottom, and it wasn’t long before reports were coming in of trout weighing up to 5lbs.

Trout of this quality are usually single specimens, and might be caught early in the season when they are recovering from spawning. By now, I almost expect one or two to be caught at dusk, or in the middle of the night, if the water remains warm enough.

To hear about such trout coming from everywhere between Crawford and Carstairs, during daylight hours, is difficult to believe, but they have been verified by bailiffs patrolling on behalf of the United Clyde Angling Protective Association.

Those catching the trout invariably had the correct permits and were restricting themselves to killing no more than the two fish which their permit allows them.

When this bag limit was brought in, a brace of 12oz fish was seen as adequate for a meal, and sustainable in terms of the population of the river. Two fish, of the quality being reported, seems to be excessive.

The Clyde has always been seen as a top quality trout river, but this year has topped anything that I have ever heard about.

Last season was not a good one, in terms of fish caught, and this might have something to do with the improvement this year. Most anglers have been releasing trout that they’ve caught for the last few years, and this could be playing a part.

If the large fish were confined to the top end, where crayfish are abundant, the availability of these, as food, might have had something to do with it.

The Association intends to obtain scale samples, for examination, in the hope that results will provide information about the health of the river, based on growth rate of the trout.

Fish of the quality under discussion might be ideal brood stock, but the bigger ones might be sterile.

Towards the end of last month anglers were on the verge of complaining about the number of much smaller fish they were finding. These are the future of our sport – it shows that successful spawning has been taking place.

It was apparent that the lower end of the Clyde was not following the same trend, but this might be because those down stream of Stonebyres were more interested in looking for salmon.

Some small salmon had been reported in May but these had disappeared very quickly. Throughout June, salmon were being caught in Mid Clyde Association water, down stream of Blantyre Weir. At the same time, salmon were observed slipping quietly through the fish pass adjacent to the weir.

It wasn’t long before these were being spotted several miles upstream in water controlled by UCAPA. Most of those were estimated at about 6lbs in weight, but one was said to be in excess of 10lbs.

If the weather remains much as it has been, salmon should continue to come up from the sea. Most are likely to pass straight through Mid Clyde water and be available to holders of UCAPA permits.

Of course, anyone who catches one of these fish must return it unharmed, because the Scottish Government were wrongly advised by unelected bureaucrats to impose a policy of total catch-and-release on our part of the Clyde. This has led to a reticence among anglers to buy permits early in the season.

If too few anglers fish for salmon, the resulting low catch returns will appear to show a decline and, by inference, prove that our part of the Clyde is indeed in decline, with respect to the salmon population.