Summer rain is still a pain for fishermen

I have lost count of the number of my neighbours who think anglers should be happy with all the rain we have had recently.

The truth is, we have had far too much rain, and that has also brought temperatures that were very much lower than we would expect in August.

However, in the third week of the month there was just enough rain to bring large numbers of salmon up from the sea.

When the water level fell back towards a normal level, those salmon were in a mood to accept the flies that were drifted in front of their noses.

After a promising start to the season, sport with the King of Fish went into a sharp decline.

The fish that entered the river a few months ago had become stale, and nothing would tempt them.

Fish that arrived later appear to have vanished.

In reality they will have followed their normal pattern of skulking in the deeper pools and refusing to reveal themselves.

Near the end of August, fresh-run fish came into the system; in contrast these were virtually throwing themselves at the lures and flies put in front of them.

The largest fish that I heard of was estimated to weigh about 10lbs, although it threw the hook very quickly. Those that were brought to the net tended to be about 5lbs in weight.

The weight was always estimated because it is felt that weighing a fish which is to be released could damage it, and anglers now measure them while they are still in the water.

The number of salmon caught since they arrived is actually a measure of the number of anglers fishing in the lower reaches.

That will change now that the news has broken.

The missing anglers have been visiting the top end of the Clyde, where they found the trout in a more responsive mood.

So far, no spectacular fish have been landed, but enough trout up to 2lbs were persuaded to take flies.

Cool weather seems to have been responsible for the fact that very few fish were seen rising to take insects from the surface.

Wet flies and nymphs were generally successful, with some anglers reporting that they had netted more than a dozen fish in a few hours.

Almost half of these turned out to be grayling and not the very small fish so often encountered at this time of year, but those around the 1lb mark.

August should have been a time for fishing well after darkness fell. Instead, there were very few evenings when trout were at all responsive. It was soon much too cold to be worth persevering.

The middle and upper reaches were both worth the time and effort of visiting, except on those occasions when the river was extremely high. This was the case several times in August.

We’re approaching the end of the trout season, and some anglers will be looking forward to the start of the grayling season in October.

Holders of current Annual Permits from the United Clyde Angling Protective Association (UCAPA) will be able to carry on as normal, because their permits are valid until March.

Those expecting to buy a grayling permit for this winter will find that a change has occurred.

Following a series of abuses of the‘winter and Coarse Fishing’permit over the last few months, it has been decided to discontinue issuing this permit.

For this year, the new Annual Permit will be valid from October 7, 2017 and remain so until March 2019.

It will cost the normal price of £55 for an adult but, because it is valid for two winters, it works out cheaper than two grayling permits, which would have been priced at £30. The summer season is included at no extra charge.

Trout will be feeding hard during September but, as they are preparing to spawn, they must be handled carefully and released unharmed.

With any luck, salmon should now be making their presence felt with a vengeance.

The only thing that can spoil things is the weather – anglers do not want a lot of rain at this time.