A slow start, but hopefully it will warm up

Poor weather continues to thwart the plans of most anglers.

The biggest problem was the temperature. Early in April, snow made the roads hazardous until the weak sun brought about a thaw; when the show melted, the Clyde rose rapidly.

Fortunately it quickly returned to a more normal level. Anglers were hopeful, but were most often disappointed.

Probably due to the cold, no aquatic insects appeared to be emerging from the water.

Careful observation eventually revealed that chironomidae midges were around, and a single large trout was seen feeding on them.

While the south of England enjoyed the hottest April day since records began, some anglers went to the Clyde very early in the morning.

When dawn broke, it came with a hard frost and no chance of even midges to attract the attention of any fish which might have been looking upwards.

The season was off to a slow start. Towards the end of the month, at least one angler thought the solution was to revert to using bait.

He wasn’t far off the mark; while it took a long time, he was eventually rewarded when a trout took the worm that he was trotting down the river.

It turned out to be one of the extremely large fish that the Clyde has a reputation for producing.

His luck changed again, about 10 minutes later, when the trout threw off the hook.

This brings me to the United Clyde Angling Protective Association AGM.

The main business part of these meetings is a fairly routine affair, but the second half is always much less predictable.

Last year was a poor one for most of us, and it was the weather that affected both salmon and trout fishing.

There is very little that can be done to improve salmon fishing.

The Clyde’s salmon anglers consistently demonstrate they are very good at returning the majority of fish they catch.

The Association is also doing what it can to improve the amount of spawning grounds that are available to them.

Known redds are protected, as much as possible, from disturbance by wading anglers.

Burns are checked for blockages. Partial interruptions to the flow are removed because they could cause a build-up of choking silt.

Larger blockages could prevent running salmon and trout from reaching good spawning grounds.

These will be investigated and if it is possible to remove them, I’m sure the Association will do so.

It was agreed that the Clyde was producing a lot of very good trout. The river has not been stocked artificially for years.

By law, only sterile triploid trout can be stocked unless they come from the same river.

Various suggestions were put forward about how the Clyde could be stocked, but it was accepted that any plan would be too labour intensive.

Those present felt there was no need to attempt to stock, but to further encourage anglers to release large trout that they catch.

Many years ago, we thought big trout were this size because they were either infertile or cannibals.

Research on Clyde specimens suggests they aren’t spawning until they are four or five years old.

Large fish might be inclined to grow rapidly, if allowed to do so.

The Association appears to be doing a good job, but if that is to continue, more members must accept the offer to become directors.

A small number did just that at the meeting. Young people like these might eventually take on some of the major roles in the association.

It took 100 years for the Clyde to be transformed from a poor excuse of a river to one of the finest trout streams in Scotland, so I’d advise new directors to be patient and get to know the ropes.

During May we should see mayflies we expected in April, and hopefully those expected to emerge this month will do so on schedule, which should result in a glut of insects.