The River Returns

2 years of bad luck

2011-07-29T14:10:00.003+01:00

rain is here at last

2011-05-06T00:25:00.002+01:00

well fellow anglers all over the central belt , the rains have finally come and will offer much needed refreshment to many rivers and still-waters bringing fish on the feed and even the possibility of a few fresh run salmon too which would be great to see ,and would have me at the g.a.c stocking up on my spinning gear which for the moment is non existent as i gave all mine to my bro last season and well lets just say he is my bro and thats that.

the rain is going to be so welcome and i expect to see the river full of anglers chasing that first salmon of the season ,but me i will still be chasing trout as thats what i set out to do more of this season at least until the back end when the bigger runs come in then i go silver skinned too and act like a man possessed charging up and down the river searching pool after pool for fresh salmon,and lets hope this season i get to get on the numbers quick as i could not bare another season without a silver tourist as last season was quite enough.

i am going to get the camera active again too as its always better to see what Ive been doing by means of a few pics to and it also allows people a chance to see the different runs i am fishing when I'm out on the kelvin , so need to get the battery charger out and get all the battery's charged for the next outing in the hope that i can get one or two of the bigger trout in the kelvin and let you guys see whats really in their.

the river is running dry

2011-05-03T02:39:00.002+01:00

well i have been down a few times this week and found the river to be in much need of rain of which i don't see happening in the near future ,,but who knows maybe the fishing gods will smile on us and give us some.
the river is slowly starting to get a thick covering of blanket weed along its shallower sections and this makes wading treacherous indeed as i found out today while having a look through a few of the runs i fish when the river is a little higher ,,,i like to do this when the river is running low so as i can see what the river bad is like in certain areas i fish , so i have a better knowledge of how to fish each section as i come to it on my fishing days out.
i love it when the river gets that new flush of water into it as it brings everything back onto feed as the water drops of and in the kelvin depending on how much rain you get the river can drop of very quick over a few hours .

i also here their are plans for another kelvin grove party this weekend ,,,great !!!! i hope the authorities put something in place to stop this as its not been kind to that section of the river as when i walked along it today i noticed the amount of bottles and plastic bags in the river were at a very disturbing level and only wish i had more time and people to do something about it.

A new season as a bailiff on the Kelvin

2011-03-05T18:08:00.003Z

well after last year and the accident i had around June I'm looking forward to a new season as last one was as dim as they get with most of it spent in a wheelchair , its time to get back on the water and also this year I'm offering my help alongside the bailiff squad on the Kelvin as its something Ive wanted to do for some time and have always been vocal about this matter in the past ,,,so its only fair i try out my hand at it to see just how hard a job these guys can have on the river Kelvin.
i have 10 days to wait before the trout season begins and i really cant wait for it to come around as i love fishing the Kelvin for trout as i enjoy the light tackle and getting in close and personal with the river wild life as i love wading from pool to pool ,,,but this year i know will be different as i don't have any confidence in wading as my injuries are still healing and I'm sure it would only take a small twist to set me back along time ,,,so easy it goes is the strategy I'm going with ,,,and as for early season salmon fishing in the Kelvin ,,well thats hard going at the best of times ,so Ive not been out much as wading is all important unless I'm spinning which is my second choice of method as i just like the whole idea of the double hander when i get the chance to use it on the kelvin as it gives me better control over my flee and allows me to present it better and in the right location which is all important if you are going to getting among the fish.

well guys good luck for the season 2011 and lets all hope we get that dream fish from our home rivers and may the trend of urban river continue to get better and better with each and every year...............

A slow start

2010-03-22T10:36:00.002Z

Winter was very long this year and very, very cold with temperatures falling well below freezing for weeks on end and rivers and still waters were well iced up and would have caused its own problems for the fish and invertebrates in the system.

I have been on the river twice since the start of the season and have fished nymphs and wet fly both upstream and down and across to no real avail as I've only had a couple of small fish to show for it.
I expect the river is going to take into late April to really pick up and start showing daily sport using the correct method , take the duo method , it works very well on the river when their seems to be nothing happening as the fish often see the klink in the surface and come up to investigate when the come across the nymph / spider or whatever flee you have chosen to be your klinks partner and is often the imitation that the fish will take so the klink is often a sight indicator most of the time , but be ready for them coming up fast and hammering that klink too as it happens .

i love everything about the river Kelvin , the fact it runs through the heart of the city of Glasgow and has some great days sport in the right conditions for both the trout and salmon angler,, i have had numerous trout over a pound from the river and to many to name of the quarter pound mark ,,, and as for Parr the system is teaming with them and every run has to be fished through the Parr before you get at the trout , this is what I've found anyway over the past year or two as i see the trout numbers falling and the salmon numbers rising which is great news , but for me the brown trout are as important ,,,and i know as i hear it all the time " Kill those brownies as they eat all the salmon eggs and disturb Redd's ,, but trout are as important to the system and angler who prefers the use of the fly as its the trout that give the main flow of sport through out the season.

i intend to give a more in depth report of what is happening on the river this year as well as Harelaw which i will be fishing whenever i can ,,and i cant wait to get up their as Alec has stated that he is going to take me out on the water on the boat to show me his new tricks for fish on the Pollock shores ,and i cant wait .

these cold mornings

2009-12-30T00:24:00.002Z

well with the temperature being below freezing for over 2 weeks now ,surly the Grayling fishing has got under way for those lucky and brave enough to frequent waters that grace such wonderful creations on nature ,as the Grayling for me must be the most stunning fish when in full show ,with males having that sail like dorsal fin which gives it its great fighting strength as it uses it to great effect as many have told me.

these wonderful Lady's of the stream have eluded me for some time and i know i could travel further and ,,,well fish rivers that truly hold shoals of good sized Grayling as fishing my local river cart is just not bringing in the numbers or fish one would want from a good days Grayling fishing ,and if I'm honest its just not producing at all this year ,although while going to Morrison's a few days before Christmas ,i did see what I'm almost positive was a shoal of Grayling which i would say were in the 3 quarter to the pound mark which for me would have been a great day out if i had happened too take my fly rod along, which I'm sure u will have gathered i did not.

The cold winter months are a real struggle for me as I'm not a great one for the cold mornings and prefer the heat of the indoors leaving more fishing room to the braver men that are out on the rivers looking for that lady of a lifetime , and in Scotland their are a few rivers with big Grayling in them as well as good trout fishing ,the Tievot being one of these named river in which i seen and read of fish in the 3lb range ,and that's just a dream to me and i suppose to any other Grayling fisherman ,.

The end of December is now at close range and I'm contemplating some pike fishing on loch Lomond were I've been hearing of good sized fish coming to articulated fish lures and fly's fished slow and deep which is pretty straight forward tactics i though ,but no I've been hearing of big girlie pike chasing lured and tail walking in these very cold days , so am i a Jessy ,well I'm beginning to think so,,,do i take a few brave pills and brave the cold and give this most uncomfortable time of year for me the real chance it deserves ,as their is always that niggle in the back of my mind saying if you were out you would be catching,,,and then the one for sure real statement if your not out your never going to catch ,and what would i catch ,,,a fish of a life time ,well who knows ,,,I'm hoping that for the effort ill get rewarded with even the odd fish ,as I'm a fisherman ,i don't need to be catching fish ,,,,but by god don't it help when you are catching ,as the confidence goes up and the body warm too , so I've now decided I'm going to give this cold weather the little bit of courage I've found and try my hand at the pike in the canal and the loch which for me i think i will leave until mid February as I'm just not that brave.

good luck to all you guys out their in the cold looking for that fish of a lifetime ,, i wish you all the best of luck ,,you certainly deserve it..

trout season at an end

2009-10-19T13:13:00.002+01:00

well guy's n girls , the trout season is now at an end and for many it will mean a very long wait for the new 2010 season to start, as for me i do miss the river fishing although I'm sure their are some nice grayling to be had in a few rivers around me and that's one of my plans for the winter season .
I also enjoy the time the close season gives me to better my tying ability and this winter i will be trying to build up my still water collection ,of which I'm very interested in the tying of traditional patterns ,as I've seen these work very well on the place i intend to fish next season , which I'm sure people would agree with as its got to be the best in the west (HARELAW) run by a great guy Alex Carney who i can say is the most helpful owner of a fishery I've ever met ,so if any u guys are thinking of trying out still water fishing , then don't go to one of these puddles dug into the ground , as you will be much more rewarded by going to a place such as harelaw ,and this choice will also give you a good guide into what you should be looking for at a quality fishery.

i will be doing my best to get any patterns i tie up on the blog for you all to see and with that i would be grateful of any comments , be they constructive or not .

so until my next post which im going to be doing allot more of , take care and good fishing to you all.

Perfect morning

2009-06-25T12:30:00.005+01:00

well on to the train and for only 3.60 return i was happy ,more than happy to be heading for Neilston where i will need to get a taxi to Harelaw which without doubt is the best in the west ,with rainbow trout that fight like the locals on a Friday night in the high street and let me assure you the fight hard.

Harelaw if you don't know is owned by a fine man of the name Alec Carney who also holds Snypes dam and both hold some fine fishing for all stages of expertise as most fish are never far from the bank .

Harelaw holds its fine wild brown trout which have been their since the place was built and also has regular stocking of rainbows ,blues and i think their are even a few tiger trout in their to as is in Snypes although this is a place I've never fished.

i arrived at Harelaw to the snigger's of Alec watching me climb out a local private hire taxi with all my gear and let me tell you the local taxis ain't cheap folk , so if you intend to follow my route and go to Harelaw remember the taxi fare which will be around 10 pound for both ways.

Harelaw has everything ,scenery and fantastic fishing from boat and bank and for me its the bank as my boating skills are non existent at the moment ,but this is something i want to tackle as i would like to find a boat partner at some point and try the competitions scene to see what its like and to see if i can make any sort of mark in the fishing scene which would be a big delight for me,so as said arrival was greeted by a sneering giggle and the words why did you not phone me .

Alec has always said he would pick me up from the station if i were going to Harelaw ,and this is just the type of guy he is ,a real gent and always willing to give advice and help with fishing technique around his waters.

i fished for around an hour with a black Bobbie on the top dropper and a Kate in the middle and another on the point as i was hoping the Bobbie would attract the fish in to grab the Kate which was lime green tailed ,after a while i realised nothing was forthcoming of this crap choice of flies ( I've still loads to learn about still waters) ,so i changes set up and put a Bibio on the top and a Kate in the middle with a hares ear on the point and no sooner had i done this than i had a good fighting rainbow on which i netted and came to around the 3lb mark with a tail all still water fisheries should judge their fish condition on ,as it was perfect.

this fish was a real pleasure and a relief to catch as it meant i had not blanked that day , i took myself off round the corner heading right from the bothy and i had one hit and one follow as i continued my way round ,were i came to a boggy area which i forgot had been drenched in the heavy rain a day or so before and when around half way into it i felt the ground become decidedly spongy and thought i would be OK to continue , but as i did i soon realised when i put my foot forward and ended up to my waist in bog thick stinky mud which frightened me very much as i was sinking fast and had it not been long reedy grass I'm not sure i would have got out ,but i did eventually and way out of breath i sat and wondered about how close i had been to a tragic accident which i hear of quite allot on the fishing scene, and so it was a wake up call to get myself better informed and also not to take silly decisions like i had just done after all i could have lost my life for the sake of an extra 15 minutes walk around the bog ,,just how silly can i be.

anyway the day went on and i had a few more touches and follows but nothing netted ,and with the sun high in the sky i though it best to rest a while and see what happened ,but by time the evening rise was about an hour away i felt really tiered and decided to call it a day and head home which Alec helped by giving me a run to the station at Neilston which saved me around five quid so thanks again Alec.

I'm looking forward to my next time at Harelaw as I've been doing some reading and feel I'm better equipped for the next journey and my methods will be ready for any changes that come in the weather ,so bring it on Harelaw ill be back.

Alec with the first fish of the day that i seen a what a fish it was ,stunning

stillwater fishing

2009-06-10T21:59:00.003+01:00

well I'm off to Harelaw tomorrow i think ,well that's if i can get a run from Neilston train station to the Harelaw as its just to long for walking and I'm just not in the mood for a long walk at the moment ,although i will probably walk around the whole loch through out the day searching for those hard fighting rainbows ,and the camera is a must do need to remember to set up the re0charger for batteries for tomorrow so as i can start getting some pics back up on the blog as they are as important as the written stuff at times to show people were you have been and the sights you have seen through out your trip.
i am by far a river fisherman and would much rather be on the river bank as to a still water every time as their is just nothing quite like the sound of running water and the scent of wild flowers and the sound of the birds as you wade along the river,i miss it very much at the moment ,as the rivers in and around the Glasgow area are well down on their bones and fish must be getting towards that danger period i watch creeping ever closer each year.
trout need plenty of well oxygenated water and also they don't cope well in waters of a high temp which I'm sure I've read can also kill them, not to mention any sea run fish like salmon or sea trout which for sure are in a dangerous situation and no matter how many rain dances I've tried they are just not working,we need rain ever so badly to flush the river and give it its much needed oxygen that the trout and salmon need.

my fly tying is coming along quite well although i feel i still rush some patterns and could do better with just a few tips on certain materials like marabou and synthetics on how to tie them down best and what threads work best.
i love my tying it is the one thing i can do when I've no fishing to go to like at this time when my local is near dry and other rivers in the area are much he same.
i have been tying buzzers and Diawa Bach, as well as crunchers and mini lure as well as boobies in different eye sizes to give different buoyancy's ,and by god i love to fish these, after only using them once with Alec on Harelaw, and as i reported it was one of the best nights of my fishing life.

so Harelaw tomorrow lets hope we can get in among the fish before Alec has to come to the rescue.

were to fish

2009-06-02T12:49:00.004+01:00

were to fish ,well i find myself searching through my old and new haunts to try to come up with somewhere that i can fish in this intense heat that's is surly to be the Scottish summer ,ain't that true lads.
well I'm not going to go on the river as i feel it is just to hot and to much glare ,as I'm sure you all know trout have no eye lids and this effects them immensely in bright sunshine and this is why we often see a drop in activity, so what do i do.
pike fishing ,well their is always a chance of a pike in the warm weather and more so in the early mornings and also as the sun goes down at night as the rise in water temp gets them active and i feel the best way to pursue these prehistoric predatory machines is with a well fished lure as their is nothing quite like a pike braking the surface thrashing at your lure ,and they seem to fight like mad in the summer time too,so their is that option.

i have also considered going to barrhead and giving it a go for the roach which should be feeding up in the water and a size 14-16 pheasant tail nymph fished in a slow figure of 8 retrieve should bring in a few fish and this will keep the thirst quenched ,hmmmmm.

my god this is really hot weather ,i cant stand it much more ,why cant we get good cloud cover ,that would bring it on good style ,but I'm sure their are still great places to be had on an evening rise ,were the water seems to boil with fish activity ,i wish i was at such a water .
oh look i need to get out of here and see whats happening on the river ,will report my findings when i get back.

lack of content

2009-05-29T14:36:00.002+01:00

Well guys sorry about the lack of content theirs been lately ,I'm sure i will be doing more venturing out over the next couple of weeks and months trying new places ,well old places I've not tried for a long time like areas of the white cart river and also the Barrhead dams which I'm really looking forward to as their are still big fish to be had in these great but neglected places and why their neglected i don't know as they hold true beauty beyond anything else in and around the Glasgow area, also as i think I've mentioned before it beggars belief why no one has the fishing rights for the Barrhead dams as it would make a fantastic fishery with many different sized lakes which could be filled with all sorts of different fish ,although trout would always be my main quarry .
i just love the thought of being able to take a boat out on the big dam and going over drift after drift searching out trout in the place that i was first introduced to fishing and a place were i have the best of memories, this place is special to me and to see it being neglected is a total injustice.

the white cart ,what a great river ,it hold some of the very best trout fishing in the urban city and also it most definitely has some of the best looking and also the biggest trout in Glasgow ,as i often here of fish well over 2lb being caught and fish up to 4lb are caught every year on the river .
the cart has also allot of great memories that i often go back on when the fishing isn't quite up to what i was hoping for ,and memories of fishing Pollock estate are some of the best ,like days when i first picked up a fly rod at around the age of 15-16 and remember my first trout it was on a dry fly which I'm sure I've mentioned somewhere before ,but that was around at the run after Braidcraft roundabout in the run that runs along side Nethercraig,s running track and rugby fields.
i have had many good fish from the white cart river and stunning looking fish to ,so to go back to these places is always a little scary even when you hear good things ,i still think i worry that the magic that was once their will be gone ,and often it is as I've grown a good bit older since then and that certain excitement is just no longer as defined as it once was ,but god do i still enjoy it very much ,its like no other feeling to me I'm most definitely a fly fisherman before any other kind of method of fishing and their are many i do enjoy over a season,but a nicely balanced rod a good quality line the cast is made and all those things you have learned come together in an almost perfect cast ,i am happy and their not even a fish in sight.
now that for me is fly fishing as if you enjoy your casting then those days when you draw a blank will still be great days as you will have been able to cast well.

enjoy your fishing no matter what the fish may say.

new forum and virtual shop

2009-05-11T23:08:00.002+01:00

as people will probably know I've got a forum attached to my blog which is mainly on the river kelvin and its fishing methods, well now on my forum due to the great work my brother has put in i have a new and until now as far as i can see untried ,virtual shop ,were members collect points for posts, topics etc!! and also a chance of winning a weekly lottery which all adds fun to the forum.
anyway in the shop ,one can buy himself, herself a new sage, hardy , etc!! rod or reel for a certain amount of points which one has gathered ,and also their is a virtual pond also in the making which would involve having virtual fisheries and virtual fish which can be caught for a said amount of points .
i hope these ideas help to bring in a few new members and push the numbers up a little so as their is a more in depth conversation on the aspects of fishing the fly and other methods on the kelvin and other rivers in and around the Glasgow area.
well i will just have to wait and see what comes of all this over the next few weeks.

Harelaw Magic

2009-05-05T01:16:00.004+01:00

Well after being set on a weekend at Loch Awe ,and only then to be left with a bout of sickness to show for it ,i was not amused!!, and so spent most of Saturday morning recovering from my hell!!!.

i then decided along with my older brother that we should go try out Harelaw fishery ,which had been getting a good write up of late ,and it was also somewhere that we had visited on passing one day to see a few lovely fish being caught just yards from the bank.

Harelaw is to some a rather large fishery ,but with an average depth of around 6-7 ft then their are fish to be found in all areas of the dam ,and bank fishing is said to be excellent to say the least ,so on arrival it was around 4pm ,and the sun was still high in the sky, and no cloud cover was to be seen through out the day period,which did mean allot of fruitless fishing from the dam wall ,which was the only place we happened to see anything being caught at all,,but their were fish being taken from boats that were enjoying fish on blobs and buzzers.

I had to wait till later on at around 8.30 !,when the owner "Alex Carney" was very polite to offer me an outing on the water on one of his very good boats,and what a time we had ,as after the first drift to the Pollock shore, Alex was into a fish and i watched in amazement at the fight that ensued, as the fish made run after run ,and then i also changed my point fly to a Bobbie on an intermediate line,, and the follows were nothing more that bone shaking!! , as fish produced big bow waves on approach to the fly ,and with a sudden crash they were on ,what came next was the best fish fight i have ever had pound for pound ,,and so i will say it here as I've said in many other places,get yourself along to Harelaw fishery Neilston !!! ,its the best fishery their seems to be around , with big hard fighting bows ,browns ,blues, and tigers , and i cant wait to get back among the action.

I again would like to thank Alex for one of the best if not thee best nights fishing I've had in a long ,long time ,and also i wish him all the best in his venture as he really deserves it with all the effort he is putting in ,and lets hope you catch the buggers that keep breaking into the place as they deserve their fingers removed very, very , slowly mate .

keep up the great work .

thank you...

a nice addition

2009-04-27T21:05:00.002+01:00

over the past few week s all that i seemed to catch from the kelvin was ,smolt and loads of them.

today was a nice change as last night their was a little rain and although it didn't make a great difference to water height it did give the river some fresh water washing through it which i think was the reason for the trout being mare active , which resulted in me managing a couple of nice little browns from one or two of my favourite spots ,and this was a nice change as i was beginning to think the river was being taken over with salmon Smolt.

the fish i managed to catch today were both caught on dry fly and yet again the colour was olive and the pattern a Klinkhammer ,

here is a pic of one of the fish.

i also spent some time taking pictures ,which i have been doing any time I've been at the river and the fish have gone off for a while.

here are some of them also.

Glasgow's coat of arm's

the river is still very low and the action is slow at times ,so that's why i have not been adding to the blog that much ,but i hope the rain is on its way and this should bring big changes to the river system ,in the way of some fresh run salmon and sea trout and guess what i just cant wait.

low water on both rivers

2009-04-17T15:40:00.002+01:00

The river is very low at the moment folks and if practicing catch and release then you have to be extremely careful as I've been reading over the last year or so that catch and release survival rates go down during periods of high temperatures or low water levels when their is lowered oxygen levels in the river,so i am going to take this into consideration this year and for the years to come as i am trying to adopt the proper respect that the fish deserve from anglers.
i was up at the white cart at Pollock house and again the water was also very low with very little sign of movement at all,although it was an extremely nice day and their were plenty of people about due to the holiday period.
i also noticed just how much the river cart had cleaned up due to the lowered water which allowed you to see the bottom along most of the river and it was spotless and looking very health with plenty of life going on among the river plant life and gravel.
i did see a couple of guys fishing the maggot and they said they had a couple of fish early morning but nothing as soon as full light came upon the river ,yet again the low water playing a part in it.

I am going to give the cart another go when the river level has risen as I've been hearing of a few nice fish being caught from the river of late and that's all along its length ,also i was told of Glasgow university putting trout into the river ,and this i was told by a Senior citizen who had seen this himself around the Pollock park area, but he did add it was mainly smaller fish, probably rared over the winter in tanks and returned to the river as said.

i just cant wait to get back on the Kelvin as I've been missing my daily outing badly and I'm regularly hoping for the rain to come as it will bring the fish some much needed freshness and also bring a good chance of a few salmon into the system ,which would be nice folks ,so lets hope we get some rain over the next few days .

A great day and not a fish to show for it

2009-04-14T18:29:00.002+01:00

well today i had one of the best session's I've had at the back of the transport museum for a long time with some top of the water action, which was coming on and off with the sporadic hatches which at times were really quite good and brought allot of hungry trout to the top of the water to feed.
i set up first of all before any hatch began with a 2 fly set up ,which was a gold head phesant tail on the point and a hares ear on the dropper ,and with this set up i fished for around an half hour before noticing the hatch coming on and fish starting to come up in the water.
i quickly changed over to a klinkhammer pattern which i tied up a few days ago which is as goes.

Hook - size 16
body - light olive rabbit dubbing
rib - fine gold wire
wingpost - white antron
thorax - dark olive rabbit dubbing

this was bringing everything to it ,i was the one missing the fish and at times i was convinced something had to be wrong with the hook or something ,but i was wrong ,nothing wrong ,the only thing that was lacking was my ability to catch the little fly busting trout which a few i did connect with but duly lost as quick as i had felt them ,but dam what a great day it was just exciting and captivating ,and if i could have a day like that every few days on the river i would be ecstatic even if it meant no fish to show for it .
the moral of the story ,just remember when you are out on the river that its not just about catching fish ,i love to watch the trout behaviour and their habits when feeding which has often helped me to catch trout in the past ,just a great day all round .
also i seen a few others on the river who were new to me but say 'ed they had fished other parts of the river and it just goes to show not enough of us fish enough of the river and if we did we would soon realise just how many great spots and pools their is on this brilliant river.
go on get out their and fish and remember you only catch when your line is in the water .

Getting about

2009-04-14T12:23:00.002+01:00

Well yesterday was a great day,, as i was out with my brother and his wife and mine ,although the day started off with me out myself to go fishing on the Kelvin ,,it would end at Harelaw Trout fishery! ,which is one of the most impressive looking fisheries i have seen in a long time ,it just had that feeling about it, and the welcome was great to from a very nice gentleman named Alex Carney.
Anyway back to the start of the day which was to start at the sea pool were i ended not fishing at all due to over crowding and mostly water levels as they were very low, and still people were trying out their spinning gear!!! ,hmmmm just gonna lose it i was thinking.
and just before reaching the water i heard the horn of a car ,it was my bro and his wife who were on their way to have a barbecue at the river ,which i did say was not really a good thing to do ,but i wasn't going to try to spoil their day as they never really get out much together ,so we decide to go to the bank area at the back of the art gallery's were i tackled up with my 8 half ft with just a single nymph pattern ,,as i thought fish would be spooky with the low clear water and i was right ,i had a few pulls but nothing aggressive or definite and fished on for another hour or so until my brothers wife convinced my wife to get the kids watched and to come along ,which she did .
We then decided to try the Barrhead dams for a while as its a very nice place to go with someone, and also a chance of a few fish if your really lucky, as it was emptied a while back and will take a while for it to recover well ,but still look like a great place to fish ,so i tried out the pike fly rod and fished using an intermediate line for an hour and didn't have any touches ,just as well really was being a bit irresponsible!!, as i didn't have any traces ,which i discovered when 9i got their and so used 50lb line i had at the bottom of my bag.

then it was on to Harelaw for a look ,,,and i must tell you we passed many places to fish on our way ,and this did get the juices flowing ,but i didn't have the cash to go fishing anywhere but was glad i payed a visit to Harelaw ,as i got to meet a guy from the forum at fish and fly who is Alex Carney who is a very nice guy by the way he welcomed us and helped us understand the water in which he runs and also a few wee secrets to add to my little invisible book which i keep in my head ,so their!!!!,.
anyway Harelaw looks a great place to fish if a little bit big looking for me ,but Ive been reassured that its not that big when you find the fish as their are many shallow bays which seem to hold lots of the fish and me and my brother will be up their at the first opportunity to give it a try,which i cant wait for as I've been hearing so much about improvements and fish quality especially the wild brown which go like trains as do his rainbows too so as soon as the pocket is jingling i will be their thrashing away.

Comments needed

2009-04-14T12:06:00.002+01:00

hi again their folks,, i know this blog is set up for people to read as they see fit and to comment on if they wish,but i am asking if people who view the blog if they could take a wee second to post a few comments on material and any suggestions to make the blog any better ,as i really want it to be valued and be interesting for all who may come over it while surfing the net.

I feel more comments will attract more people ,,and thus more attention!! ,which in turn will also get more people involved on the river kelvin as a topic of discussion and debate, and this will attract more to log on to the forum at http://riverkelvinfishing.co.uk/forum/ which is taking its time to get new members!, but is still a very important part of my blog and development on the river as it encourages discussion and thus more members to come to the river paying their well earned monies to the rivers growing fund, which will allow for further development in areas that are just starting to be looked at now on the river due to board room changes,.
These changes have been a great move for the whole rivers future,, with signs put up within the first few weeks ,and a hoard of new bailiffs on the system daily, which is needed especially for when their are good runs of salmon, as this seems to be a trouble time on the river as far as poaching is concerned .
i will state again that i would be very grateful if people took the time to add their bit in the comments section and if appropriate joined the forum for discussion on matters involving the river and its wildlife as trout are not the only commodity on the kelvin .

I look forward to hearing from you guy and girls too of course.

Salmon showing in the river

2009-04-11T16:07:00.003+01:00

well folk their in the river that's for sure.
i was on the river this afternoon and as usual started at the Sea pool ,with my two boys which i soon wished was another day ,i know its terrible ,but when the fish are their i like to fish ,and i was getting the I'm cold treatment constantly and thus ended up taking down my rod and going home with a great big rotten pitbull bee stung face.
well anyway back to the fish i seen ,which were of a good size by the look of the tail patterns they were throwing off when turning on the top of the water and they also looked very fresh ,as if they were just in which could have been totally possible as the tide was just getting to its height and covering the lower fall of the sea pool and that's when you normally get the fish showing in the pool ,and if your really lucky you can get to see them from up on the bank entering in a pod of salmon which is quite a scene and something I've only ever seen 4 times on the Kelvin.
i am looking forward to the next few weeks on the river now as i know that fish are entering and that makes all the difference as you will know ,its give you that will power to stay another couple of hours or so and that's what makes the difference as you must put the time in for these fish as remember they don't feed in fresh water and your best chance of getting them is when they are just fresh in as they are still very switched on and takes can be thunderous to say the least ,so hang on if you are planing a visit to the river over the next few days .

i wish everyone the best of luck for the new season ahead!, and all you folk who have never had a salmon ,i hope you get your reward this time ,as the new guys deserve a fish more than others at times, as they are the ones on the river from morning to night .

i am going to do my best to keep people up to date on whats happening along the river this year ,as I'm going to be fishing much more water as a rule ,so as i can find some new places that hold fish ,,as their must be many along the river ,,after all its over 3o miles long .

What does the year ahead hold

2009-04-10T20:51:00.007+01:00

i have been thinking of what this year may hold for me and other determined anglers who fish the river most of the year ,just what will be in the river this year in the way of migratory fish(Sea trout / Salmon) i wonder will their be a twenty pound fish caught this year ,as each year the fish seem to get that little bit bigger and if the trend be set then it should be a fish over twenty if were lucky,well if I'm lucky ,,Ha Ha,,.
Also i have been hearing that their are to be trout of a bigger size stocked this year of a lb - 2 lb which will be very nice and will definitely keep me going until i can get my teeth into a salmon or sea trout.

A PICTURE OF A FRIEND FISHING FOR SALMON LAST YEAR

i used to consider myself a trout angler and still do ,but from the moment the first real sign of some good steady run of sea trout or salmon are in the river ,i must say i am switched onto them overnight and pursue them will every last breath in my body.
the salmon that enter the river are usually around the 6lb mark (Grilse) well this is i would say the average ,although their are plenty of fish in the double figure range and upwards as I've sen my fare share of fish in the twenty pound range making the falls at Yorkhill ,also know as the Sea pool ,
THE SEA POOL AT YORKHILL 2009

The Sea pool has caused some real concern among the anglers over the past couple of years with stories of loads and loads of fish being killed by inexperienced and experienced anglers alike, which i must say i do agree that their is scope for improvement (Big) improvement on this part and many other parts of the river as far as catch and release is concerned ,but i must say i have not seen the horrendous numbers of fish being killed every year ,and i fish their regularly ,and i know i may be biast ,,,but i do love fishing the run below the falls for salmon and sea trout ,,and would gladly ,if made a rule by the club, allow for this area to become a sanctuary for the salmon ,but until it is made a rule i will continue to fish it a t high tide,,.

As far as the trout fishing goes ,i am looking forward to the hatches of olives on the river ,which can be really good at times,, i just hope we get the right weather for good constant dry fly action this year ,,as their is just nothing to beat it ,is their guys, and girls of course ,i just love that turn of a trout at your fly and then the slurp and its gone ,then i count or sometimes not , one--two strike and its on ,,and your in your element ,their is also something else i just love on the river Kelvin ,,and that's when you get a few people stopping and staring you as if you are mad fishing that sewer pipe ,and then just as they go to turn away ,,a fish rises and your on ,and a couple of flips here and twirls their you bring the most stunning looking fish these people have ever seen to hand ,and they just stand their stunned ,and then say my god did you catch that in their ,to which you say in amazement "you did watch me catch it from here ",to which you often get the "so their is fish in their!!", i didn't know that",,, and its just fantastic as you return the fish and walk on looking into the water for another beautiful trout.
So if you stay near the river Kelvin ,i would get along to the local tackle shop ,and pay your £20.00 or £10.00 pound if unemployed ,,as its the best fishing for the price in the Clyde system and is showing good signs of improvement each year ,so what you got to lose ,actually quite allot ,like a great days fishing for next to nothing ,trout that are just beautiful ,,and the good chance of some sea trout action, as well as salmon too .
if anyone is interested in finding out some things about the river,, and i can help then give me a line and i will meet up with you and do my best to show you a few good starting points on the river ,,and i can also help a little with fly casting ,and rod set up too ,so their no excuse guys ,get on the river you will be glad you did.

look here for the official site run by my friend Alistair.

http://fishkelvin.com/

Lost property PHEEEWWWW

2009-04-06T19:48:00.003+01:00

Today i was on my way home with my two sons who i get to see each weekend and cherish the little time i get with them to the full .
the day started of with the usual getting everyone breakfast ,,and then arranging with their mum when they will be coming home ,,which is always a slightly sad moment!! ,although i must say the prospect of fishing was playing on my mind, and i was looking forward to it ,so the gear was gathered and the boys dressed ,and so it was to the bus stop!, and on my way home with the boys.
i usually get a certain bus ,as it takes them very nearly to their front door ,but waiting at the bus stop the boys had got somewhat restless and i decided that another bus which would involve two buses in the end would be a good idea, and so all the way home the boys were fighting ,,and slagging each other off ,which really gets me worked up ,as i try to tell them the importance of brothers sticking together ,but the whole time i am thinking of me and my older brother fighting at that age.
i usually keep my bag on my back, as I've forgot it before when getting off the bus and was very lucky to get it back, and so the fighting continued ,,and as we approached our stop i was that eager to get off ,i just got up and marched the two boys to the front of the bus saying "I'm not impressed with you both" and now we are all of the bus and standing waiting for the second part of the journey to start when my eldest son says "dad do you have my jacket " and i reply" yes its in my fishinggggggg baaaggggg,"" awwww fur fruck sake ,I've left it on the bus" and then it goes through your head ,whats in the bag? and so i start to go through the list ,of which i don't really want to list here ,,as i would be told that i was a silly boy for carrying all that gear when i didn't need it really, but after some time i considered the value and it would be an easy £700 and counting ,so needless to say i was gutted, and began the process of trying to recover it which was the most sickening 45 minutes I've ever spent over my gear.
i will cut this story a little shorter and let you guys know ,i did eventually get my gear back by waiting on the bus returning to the stop on the other side of the road and the driver had it in beside him ,,and yet again i had been extremely lucky!! to have it back in my hands.
I did have an hour or so on the river after that ,,and no i didn't catch anything ,but i was just happy i had the opportunity to go fishing at all ,and today is another day i have felt the real appreciation for the gear i have ,so be careful out their always make sure you know were your gear is,, and try to remember to lift it to take home at the end of the day no matter how heavy it may be.
oh and a big sorry to my boys for shouting at then and blaming them for what was only a very short time as i shouldn't have done that at all.
good to have my gear and I'm happy i can go fishing tomorrow .

Freindly faces

2009-04-03T17:47:00.006+01:00

The same old faces are their year in year out ,,and new friends i have made each year.
I feel sometimes i go to the river just for the familiar faces ,and the banter ,,which is often some of the funniest stuff I've ever heard ,but us fisherman are like this ,we spend allot of time on our own at the river ,and when we meet up with friend we have accumulated over the years fishing the river we have a common ground, and are good are ribbing each other with stories of the past ,and woo betide the person that has lost a fish in front of anyone as they can become the focus point of the banter.

i must say that the people i have met on the river are some of the nicest people i have ever come across ,generous ,caring , and always welcoming to a new face on the river, so if you are thinking of fishing the river Kelvin then remember this statement and don't be scared to approach anyone on the river bank as you will often find you make a new friend and also pick up some priceless tips to help you on your way to fishing the river successfully.

I arrived at the river to a familiar face ! "Ozzy"

if any of you know him you will say the same as me i think, a nice guy who is always approachable and a source of information on the happenings of the river were he has fished for many years now i think.
anyway after a quick chat discussing the lay of the land,, and the fact that their are new changes on the table for the river ,which in some instances are causing real problems.

I really do feel it for the people who fish the bridge at the sea pool ,as they have fished it for years ,,and the fact that it is a derelict bridge that they are fishing from ,,and not one that has a public footpath on it , i thought may have been in their favour ,but no it seems rules are rules and no one has to fish the bridge.
the reason i feel for these people are mainly because two of my best friends on the river fish that bridge , ,and they keep themselves to themselves,, and fish their every day morning to night ,no matter the weather , i just hope you guys find a new place ,of which their are many on the river in which to fish to your hearts content ,,and i wish you all the best for the new season ahead ,but one thing i will ask is don't go getting yourselves into bother be it a night in a cell or god forbid something worse over this matter ,as its just not worth it my friends, is it.!!!

I will now get on to the fishing ,i fished a floating line with a 2lb tippet on my Diawa whisker fly 4/5 weight 8 half ft ,,which is a great wee rod coupled with my bfr reel 4/5 which works great for dry fly work as well as light nymph work and spiders .
I started of with a black Klinkhammer which i was casting to a couple of sporadic rising fish ,,of which i had a couple of refusals,, and so changed over to a size 16 pheasant tail nymph, which managed to bring me 3 fish ,all of around the quarter pound mark , with one of them being a salmon Parr.

so another good little day with the good signs that you want to see from your river ! in the form of juvenile fish ,thus showing that spawning of wild fish is occurring and by the numbers occurring in a big way as i seen plenty of these small fish.

contemplating a change

2009-04-03T11:18:00.006+01:00

After speaking to my friend and fellow angler Alistair ,who runs the official River Kelvin site (http://fishkelvin.com/) And his own outstanding personal blog ( http://urbanflyfisher.com/ ) which is so full of top quality material , and deserves the large following it has.

A Picture of the Vet school run yesterday..

I spoke to Alistair regarding my own blog ,,and also my new forum for 2009 ,which covers all types of fishing on the river ,and all types of methods in which to fish,but after some discussion and which sounded good advice from Alistair, about where my blog and forum were going,, and what would help to improve them , Alistair came up with the following idea's .

Macro Photography

First of all Alistair already has over a hundred ,it may in fact be allot more than that for his forum ,which is concerning the river and fishing it, but what he pointed out was really very plain that i should have thought about it myself before now ,as Alistair says he is a devoted trout fisherman, and has no lust or passion to go fishing for what he called belligerent salmon!! who don't even feed while in the river ,and that i have caught and know so much more about their habits and positions in the river while they ascend it to spawn , thus bringing to the discussion the idea that as Alistair is already established on the net as the number one river Kelvin site ..,which as he says in mainly dedicated to trout fishing .

A Lovely April Daffodil taken using Macro Photography

this is where we discussed the possibility of changing my new forum over to a forum dedicated to migratory fish in the river Kelvin which all made sense as he could send people looking for tips or advice on salmon and sea trout on the river over to my forum and anyone asking about trout fishing on the river i will pass on to him .,thus giving me a better chance of succeeding with my forum and also a dedicated place for members of the river to use as a source of information

I love this pic it screams April to me ,, with the robin who i never seem to see after the beginning of April and the opening tree buds to celebrate the coming of summer

I would be very grateful to here peoples views on this matter ,to weather they think this would be a good or bad decision for me my blog and the forum no matter how much it is struggling to attain members at the moment ,as i do believe it will pick up in the months ahead as people like diversity in their discussion and having 2 forums will give that even more than one.

A brighter day for the Kelvin

2009-04-02T19:47:00.004+01:00

Today was the first real day that change seemed to be coming to the river.
i and others attended which was to be a P.R day for the river and also a show of strength in that permits were needed on all parts of the river .
i feel this has been long over due and to see the signs going up is a real inspiration to myself and others who are passionate about the river and its future.
i spoke to a new friend of mine ,,well i now consider him a friend ,you may feel otherwise Alistair ,,lol,, about a few matters on the kelvin which will be at the fore front of the task list over the next few months as well as would you guess ,,my blog ,which i feel he gave me some really good advice about which way i could take it in the near future ,and this i am considering very much,again thanks Alistair.

Alistair giving the police a wide berth.

their were a few bailiffs including the head bailiff Davie Scobbie ,,and a few others who's names i am still unsure of, but will make a point of finding out for the sake of the blog.
Davie seems a very motivated man ,and knows exactly what he wants to see done on the river ,,from tackling the poaching problem, to caring for the river environment and all the animals that inhabit it , which their are surprisingly a diverse amount from trout to kingfishers and even the word of an otter which is just fantastic i think to name a few.

Davie Scobbie Head Bailiff

i also spoke to the Secretary and he is another guy on a mission as far as development of the river goes ,so all in all things are certainly looking up ,,and I'm sure if things keep going the way they are our river will continue to improve each year ,,which will mean better fishing for us all ,from trout all the way to salmon ,,and all for £20.00 quid for the employed ,and £10.00 for unemployed ,so we have it good and its up to us all to keep it this way and to help it improve.

i would personally like to give my appreciation to all the board members for taking on a very difficult job and doing their best to make the river a better place for me and the other members to fish ,so keep up the good work lads you are doing us all proud ..

Thank you .

Derek.

weather a real killer

2009-03-26T20:38:00.002Z

Well ive been ob the river a few times since my last post and to tell the truth it has been rained of for me,as i am not one for the cold chilled rain that comes along with the stiff wind in march in Scotland.
i however have been watching the river and have been noticing that their are more cormorants than their were this time last year, so what can be done about them as they must be causing havoc with the young Parr etc!! .
the river has its usual pea green tinge and at the moment their is very few days that the trout seem to be right on the feed so its really a game of ,watching the weather looking at the local forecast and taking the chance ,as you just never know at this time of year ,as it could be another cold drab day ,or a day when everything seems alive and the trout are boiling at the surface ready to be presented with a well proportioned fly and if your lucky an obliging fish.
well really that's all i can add at the moment ,no sign of any fresh run spring fish of yet on the river and not even any Kelt's have been caught which is quite unusual as i usually hear of one or two so i wonder whats going on..

Rotten day at the vet school

2009-03-24T22:29:00.004Z

Well made my way up to the vet school today and met willie the bailiff who was telling me he has caught allot of people on the river without a permit ,but hat off to him for pursuing these people and removing them from the river as it a disgrace when you think of the very low price of a permit for the river.
i also asked about the others that were taking the bailiff places and he said their were others but he didn't seem to happy about doing the bottom end at the sea pool etc! as i think he had a little bother their the other day which i can imagine was a little heated ,but good luck to yourself wullie and the rest of the bailiffs on the water and keep up the good work we are all behind you just remember that.
anyway back to the trip today ,i did take my double hander with me and a 7 and a half foot shakie rod which belongs to my son ,but didn't get around to using as no later had i left the house and it started to spit ,which i thought would not come to anything, silly me!!!!! it teamed down and after only 20 minutes in the water throwing a very stiff 9 weight line i decided to give up and make my way home as the water was just about freezing temp and their was just no sign of life anywhere.

I took this pic while i was leaving the vet school.

I am looking forward to a little bit of more settled weather and i will be on the river as much as i can and will pass on any thing i find is working for me or others on the river .

4 fish on the klinkhammer

2009-03-23T17:50:00.002Z

I had a great day on the river today ,and had 4 fish all of around the half pound mark and all on the dry fly ,which makes it all the more special for me as i love taking fish on the dry fly ,theirs nothing that quite stands up to it if you ask me.
i arrived around 12 o'clock and no i didn't make it to the science park as i went for a hair cut and decided to try the lower river which I'm glad i did, as i got to the river i armed myself up with the usual for me at this time of year ,the good old gold head nymph and spider duo.
i then started to notice that their were fly's coming of the water and they were dark in colour so thought i would get the box back out and change tactics,which i did by tying on a size 14 dark dun klinkhammer which within 3 casts i was into my first fish and within another hour i had another 3 as well so a great day indeed it was, the first from the sea pool at Yorkhill and the others just above the bride at the art gallery's .
i had a great day and intend getting myself back on the water tomorrow ,but i will be going to the science park as i feel i may have missed something special up their today and i may have just lost out on one or 2 good fish too, which is bothering me so i hope the weather is much the same and i can get a good day up the science park also ,it would be great to see any of you guys up their so sorry i did not make it today but if you are their tomorrow ill see you OK.

pic added later of one of the fish..

Looking forward to tomorow

2009-03-22T15:49:00.003Z

Well i was up at the science park on Saturday with my 2 boys in the hope that i would be able to have the space the help encourage my boys to practice their fly casting which i soon realised was not going to happen due to the rather large numbers of fly fisherman in the immediate area, its great to see although it did resemble an English chalk stream packed to the gunnel's with an angler every 30 yards or so and not a fish in site,which was a little of putting .
i did manage to get a few casts myself and touched nothing during the 15 minutes i spent on the stretch before i decided to head for the open grass lawn and to the task of showing the boys the mechanical steps needed to throw out a line which my oldest understands quite well and my youngest seems to still be using all he knows on casting a dead weight from a fixed spool and cant seem to let go of it ,but he will pick it up too I'm sure .
i love watching the boys getting that line out and straight the look on their face is everything as their proud of themselves and they also know that you are thrilled too,i feel my oldest is more into pleasing me with his progress than what he really wants ,this is an issue i will need to talk over as i would not want him out their if he isn't enjoying the process and the task at hand , but that will be on another day when I'm on my own with him i think.
i will be up at the science park from around 12 o'clock tomorrow and i think i will take my 8 half ft 4-5 weight and also my double handed salmon rod ,12.9ft scierra sweep, which i have been trying my best to get to grips with, and I'm doing OK, but feel i could do with a few pointers ,,so the stretch up at the science park is quite wide ,and will give me the opportunity to try new things ,,so anyone going up i will see you their OK.

Also a wee poem for the guys who lost their lives on loch Awe.

The days were long and the nights some of the best
with your rods in hand you did make your rest
and now that the your line is forever on the water
and your day always to bring the perfect wave
and with eyes cast apon the shore
im sure you will be with your families once more
so throw that line the way you always wished
and may those fish forever be on the take
and with lines tight and fins braking the wave
i wish you all a peacefull sleep
and from your fellow anglers in thought so deep
we say goodnight.
Rest our fellow men.

new season

2009-03-19T19:50:00.002Z

with the new season now under way and the forum up and running at http://riverkelvinfishing.co.uk/index.html
which i can only hope picks up and becomes what i hoped .
i started my trout fishing season on the 17th, and tried out a duo method of a hares ear nymph ,and a snipe and purple on the dropper, which brought me 3 fish with the biggest being around the pound mark, and the other 2 being close to the half pound mark, which shows the river is fishable at the moment with the fly ,as fish are their for the taking with the right set although i did notice the odd fly hatching from the surface and the odd trout rising which was just great as it gives you the feeling of summer nights and makes the wait a whole lot easier.

New forum for 2009

2009-02-24T12:24:00.003Z

I have went to the trouble of setting up a new forum for people who fish the river kelvin .
I feel the new forum will be much better as far as quality goes ,and i also hope their are more registered users on this forum to keep it afloat , as i feel their is a real chance of this becoming a great place for advice on fishing on the river by different methods, and also so as the river gets more publicity ,thus getting it more protection from poachers etc!.
I intend to make a real go of this and do my best to keep people interested in the forum and what it has to offer,.
i also intend to make a real effort in making the tying section a good place to source fly patterns and how to tie them through step by step photos and written guides which is a great passion of mine and a few others who i know fish the river.
i hope these other people will also help in getting as many patterns up on the forum for people to view and hopefully also encourage some new people into fly tying.
i hope anyone interested in the river kelvin will join and help us to make this gem of a river in the middle of Glasgow to flourish ,,and also to help it get the protection it needs from the constant onslaught of fish being killed in the river, and i am not innocent here either, so i want to make changes to my thinking too,, and the forum will help me to do that if i can see people are making a real go to change.

no tickets for the start of the season

2009-02-10T08:11:00.006Z

well now with the season near! and the rod hand itching,, I'm sorry to hear their are no tickets ready for the start of the season yet again!!! on the kelvin. i wonder when the club committee will ever get things ready in time or is their changes needing made ,although that's not to say the guys that are their just now haven't done a good job over the years . i just feel the kelvin needs new blood in the higher ranks to give renewed hope to the people who think it is all a scam and that we anglers are being hustled out our money ,,but for 15 quid i cant see were that is happening .i do feel better protection systems are needed for the river and most definitely their is need for a true crown bailiff on the water who has real powers to deal with the influx of non members on the river ,,which at times is unbelievable to say the least,, although I'm all for young ones getting into the fishing as i take my 2 boys along from time to time to see if they too will find that love that never fades when you become a true fisherman,,as we all know its brilliant.

in the search of cart grayling

2008-12-09T11:05:00.002Z

well I'm off in the search of these elusive grayling that are said to be in the cart and in good numbers if you can find them ,also I've been hearing their are a few in the 2lb weight so that would be nice ,god a 4 inch grayling would be nice ,in fact i would be grateful to find the roach or the good old perch in abundance as it would give me something to fish for over the close season which seems to be never ever ending ,but as they say time goes on and ill be their on the first day of the new trout season with rod in hand and a great big smile on my face, even though i never catch anything on open day ,but that don't matter when your on the river you love the rod in hand and you manage that first good cast of line of a new season ,i cant wait I'm most definitely going to be on a quest for the seatrout this new season as their are some big boys coming up the kelvin and i want to get one at night although I'm not looking forward to meeting all the river kelvin inhabitants ,like the great water rat which I've seen as big as a small cat well it was probably actually a mink as their are quite a few around new and they are lovely animals and really good to watch and also very skilled hunters ,so I'm off up the cart float rod in hand and a tub of maggots to go and ill let you all know how i get on OK.

the wife

2008-11-17T02:12:00.002Z

here is my most wonderful wife to whom i owe my return to the sport i love ,as she is the one who has encouraged me back into fly fishing a few years ago ,so here is my thanks to my beautiful ,caring ,loving wife ,i love you more than life itself and am eternaly greatful for every day we spend together and may their be many more ,

your most loving hubbie Derek....

fly tying club hillpark secondry

2008-11-12T12:15:00.002Z

I have recently joined a fly tying club which i have wanted to do for a long time as I've heard that their is a great amount of knowledge to be had from people who have been tying for a number of years and i must say i am enjoying it to the full and the members all seem to be very nice people who are passionate in their tying as i am and are always willing to give advice and offer help so were is this great club ,well it is held in Hillpark secondary school every Friday from 7pm till 9.30 pm and costs a very reasonable 2 quid which is nothing is it and i am sure they would love more members along,so if you are interested just contact me via this site and i will pass anything you want to know onto you through an e-mail and i will see you their,
I feel i am coming on in leaps and bounds in my tying although i am in need of some new materials so as i can attempt more patterns which right now my main interest is winged wets and spider patterns with the latter being one that i seem to tie to a passable standard in fact I've even had people trying to but these from me but until i am sure i can manage a good line of flys in good supply then i wont be putting my tying name to the test until I'm totally sure and have tried and tested them out which is going to be my main objective for the season coming as i intend to fill a few boxes with different type patterns for trying out on my local as you all should know to be the kelvin, so until then i will be trying new patterns and new methods and if i manage to get them right i will be showing them off no worries on here and other places around the net and in fact with the net the great thing is you get to show them off around the world ,fantastic ain't it folk's well i just cant wait...

The season at an end

2008-11-03T19:24:00.002Z

well now that the season is at an end on the kelvin its time to get the thinking cap on and make sure i have my fix for the colder months as I've just got to be fishing, i suppose you guy's ,girl's feel the same so were do we go in and around the Glasgow area, well first of all their is not much to shout about ,but their is places we can go and find some good sport on the right day and in the right place ,where i hear you say ,well of course first of all their is the canal which will be doing OK for perch and pike as they fatten up for winter on fry so i am going to have a good go at it over the next couple of months to see what happens ,as I'm sure i can pull a few out of the canal if i put in the time and effort, and now I'm thinking were else can i go in and around the city as i do like to stay close to home but will venture out of the boundary if need be and some of my best days have been had going on a good old fishing adventure,and one place I've been mentioning over the past few months has been the Gryffe as i hear their is a few good spots for Grayling which i think is fantastic and cant wait to give it a try during the colder months, but need to do my homework to find out were to fish and what flies work best in what conditions and also what baits i can use and when is best so that should keep me busy for a while.
And their is also one other place i must visit over the winter and that is Barrhead dams which I'm a little afraid to go to in case i find it in an even worse condition than i did not so long ago after they empty'd one of the large dams and loads of great fish were lost ,but I'm going to give it a visit anyway to see whats been happening.
As for fisheries I've not heard to many good things about the ones i know of accept Howood and to get their i need transport and then their is Carbeth which I've been hearing allot of bad things about like it being like a hole in the ground over fished and plenty of the local element to drink with and have a fight with too if you want ,but this could all just be hear say who knows ,but one thing is for sure I'm not sitting around all this winter waiting on the trout season to start, i just cant be doing that again ,theirs no excuse is their accept that horrible cold wind and rain as well as the odd blanket of freezing snow ,ahhh the glory of winter its what separates the boys from the men and ill tell you at 36 and an avid fisherman when it comes to the coldest days I'm certainly now one of the boys as i like my warmth but i will do my best to get out asap and feed back with what i find in and around Glasgow, so until then i will try to keep something coming out each week like maybe some step by step tying of some of my favourite flies for you all to see and add some pics of the places i visit to give you an idea of what the places are like I'm visiting around about Glasgow...

older fishermen know their stuff

2008-10-16T15:28:00.005+01:00

deleted.

coming soon

in search of Grayling

2008-10-14T20:48:00.003+01:00

Well guys i hate to say it but those winter nights are drawing near and their is less and less time in the day for us to get our fix ,i can only hope that my expedition into Grayling fishing takes off and i find a new soul partner for the winter months as last year was so slow waiting for march to come around and OK i know i could go and try my hand at puddle bashing but I've tried it and its just not got the same excitement and it doesn't fill me with a wanting need to do it every day like being on the rivers wading in the running water amongst the wild life finding new places to fish every time you get out ,so this winter its Grayling on the Gryffe and the Clyde and this should be a whole new learning loop for me as I've never pursued Grayling before as I've never really had the bug bad enough but by god now its bad real bad and its getting worse every year, but i would rather fish my days away than be doing things i was years ago ,anyway enough about that as that's the past and i have now got the best sport in the world to keep my happy.i will be checking out prices and venues over the next couple of weeks and also I'm going to have to find what bus goes were as I've no transport so that's a big problem but one I'm willing to deal with in my quest for my first Grayling,so until I've been out again its by for now and keep fishing even if your fingers start to go numb and the best of luck to all you over the winter months....

October rain

2008-10-02T12:12:00.004+01:00

well more good rain again last night which should have brought the river back to a good level ,so i think ill give the old spinning a go again today when high tide is due in which i think is around 3-4 o'clock so as to give myself the best chance of a fish or two even which would just end my season on a high and would keep the spark lit until the new season of trout and salmon on march 15 next year ,ahh those winter nights ,well loads hate them and i do to at times but what i do like is the time it gives me trying out new patterns and perfecting older ones I've already learned to tie ,so it not all doom and gloom is it ,well not for me anyway and if you are a trout man then i would advise getting yourself a vice just a cheap one to start off with to see if you find an interest in it and when like me your hooked then go onto buying a more expensive type vice which will last you years ,so don't sit around all winter wondering what to do get your self tying its a great pass time and if you have kids they will love it too as mine do..more later after fishing

milngavie fly tying club.
http://www.gameanglingscotland.co.uk...s-Aut-2008.pdf

A day on the fly for salmon

2008-09-24T13:32:00.004+01:00

i am going to spend the day trying out using my pike rod which holds a nine weight line and is 9-6in in size for and salmon left in the lower reaches of the kelvin up to as far as the Great Western road bridge and just maybe a little further up to check one or two pools out but I'm sure the water will be starting to get lower again as their has been no real rain for a few days and although i would prefer the water a little higher i am also quite excited about trying new conditions etc!! as i may just find parts of the river that fish well in lower water conditions and even though I've not had a salmon in three weeks I'm pretty sure I've as good a chance as any other time I've been out as their will be fish holding up in certain area's and that can make for good fishing if you can get the cast right, so where will i start ,of course it will be at the extreme reaches of the lower river right down at the long wall that stretches for a few hundred yards behind Yorkhill hospital and does hold allot of fish at times when their is low water so that's a must try ,oh god telling my secrets I'm going to be regretting this next season as i know a few of my tactics have paid off for a few people this year and I'm happy for them .and so I'm off to the river its 13.42 and times running out as you know its getting dark nearly 10 minutes early each couple of days so I'm going to get in as much fishing as i can before the season end creeps up ,will let you people know how i got on tonight OK ,and wish me well .............

#FUDK as you see i did not enter any further notes last night as it turned out to be another fruitless day on the river for me but that fishing ain't it and today i may even just give the browns a go as I've been neglecting them of late with all those big fish in the river i like to call it silver blindness as i do this each year and miss out on some great trout fishing no doubt ,i just cant make up my mind what rod to take as i can take my 9 half ft scierra rod which hold up to a 7 weight which i can also use for grilse if i spot any or my 8ft diawa which is a soft action and very nice with it but more a dry fly rod and i like to get down a little from time to time in the deeper pools with nymphs and wets so its another day of dilemma so I'm just taking my scierra as it covers more options but i just remembered it has a make shift ring job done on one of the lower rings and i need to strip it tonight and do it right now i have epoxy resin at hand what i really need is a new 6-7 weight reel and with spare spools about 3 would be nice as i have a floating a inter and a sinking for a reel that size but i must say the floater and inter are in need of re-placement soon for next season probably so that's more money ,but i never seem to mind spending money on new gear ,and if only the bills could be dropped then i would get some more new things he-he-he so onto the river and I'm going to wish myself good luck ,oh and anyone still reading this thing please let me know as sometimes without comments i feel I'm being silly just writing for myself although it is a great year diary to look back on....

milngavie fly dressing club

2008-09-18T21:00:00.006+01:00

here is a link to the well known milngavie fly dressing club which i will be going to this year as I've heard great things of it and I'm always wanting to learn new methods and tips ,it should be great for a chat and passing on fishing tips and stories of course folks..

http://www.gameanglingscotland.co.uk...s-Aut-2008.pdf

feeling all alone

2008-09-09T06:55:00.002+01:00

boo hooo I'm not getting any comments anymore and now I'm feeling sorry for myself ,naaa just kidding ,but i would like a few comments always helps to keep up the writing and in that what i mean is ,if i had comments everyday then i would add a new post as much as possible as really you can use this for 2 reasons i think ,the first being to keep yourself a good diary of your fishing and also you can have it for the reason of having people follow your fishing adventures and have them leave comments about what you have been doing etc! ,and the latter is the one i was hoping would turn out to be the way this blog went ,but if not then ill be happy with the other and have myself a great comprehensive diary of my years fishing with OK a good few days missed out here and their. but you guys should give a blog a go yourself and see what you come up with........

dissapointment at the end of august

2008-09-05T19:49:00.002+01:00

well it is now September and the winter draws near ,it will soon be golds and yellows along the river bank and their will be those days when everything looks just right and for some those days will happen and will bring with it some of the best days fishing their is to be had .
I love every season that comes around and winter holds its own as far as I'm concerned although the trout season finishes it also gives me a new incentive to fish for species that i would not fish for otherwise ,so it is not all doom and gloom and anyway their is still a month left for most of us and for some the season never ends if you fish for rainbows during the winter which can be really good stuff as most of it is lure fishing and the takes are very savage ,so to say that winter is the saddest time for a trout fisherman is sad in itself and any angler who cant get off his backside and find himself somewhere or something to fish for is just afraid of the cold and for me isn't a die hard fisherman ,so all you guys i will see out in the winter months i give you my hand and wish you all the best on your adventures to catch fish at these difficult times.
winter is another reason i took up fly tying as i used to sit around most of the winter twiddling my thumbs and wondering how i could shift time and space to around spring time when the trout fisherman sour face cracks its first smile and those first rays of sun warm our backs ,but i could never work it out so it was what will i do and a great man called Davie Mc phail made me sit up and realise just what an art fly tying was and he made it look so easy ,which i soon learned had took him years to master and master it he certainly has ,you can find David Mc phail on Utube under his name .
Ive been quite disappointed with the fishing towards the end of last month as i thought i may have had a few more fish than have had ,although i can not complain with having 5 salmon to my name with 4 being to the flying c and 1 and my first to the fly and the fly i was using was a cascade ,yellow and orange and it was caught at the back of the art gallery's at the waterfall and was around 6lb and did put up a fight but i must say i was surprised at how easy it came to the bank.
So until I've been fishing again i am all out of words ,well in fact I'm not I'm just tired and need a Kipp so its goodnight fellow anglers and who ever else should cross paths with my perfect pastime.

Something a little diffrent

2008-09-01T12:27:00.002+01:00

The Forth and Clyde Canal .
Well to be honest I've never really given it much of a chance as far as fishing goes ,just the odd hour or so spinning and one or two bait fishing with the worm for perch which are in fact one of my favourite fish as they always bring with them many great memories of being a youngster and fishing Barrhead dams were their where some great perch to be had on the worm and on the best of all baits i think for them minnows as you seem to weed out the big one's from the smaller fish and that can make all the difference when perch fishing .
The real reason i was back on the tow path of the canal was I've got a new pike fly outfit and i managed to get it all for just over 110 quid which was not bad considering ,OK the rod is not the bling bling some people have with it being a Ron Thomson ,but it is a specialised pike rod meant for the job at hand being a 9 weight to 10 weight which will give it enough back bone to subdue anything unexpected along the canal banks as most pike seem to be very small and to me that only says one thing ,bigger pike must be getting killed by inexperienced fishermen or other means not thought of by myself ,also the real i got in my hand picked outfit is an airframe 8/9 and has just the drag needed for those big runs that pike can make when in the mood ,as for line well i nearly chocked at the price as I've always been a shakey buyer and this time i knew i had to think of the fish before my pocket as I've heard i true pike line is a must if you mean to subdue these fish quick in order to getting them back in the water and released to fight another day , which I'm hoping will be done by all who fish for pike that visit my site as in waters were pike are they are a big part of the Eco system and food chain and if killed by people who know nothing better than they kill other fish then we will have a bigger problem than you would if you were allowing especially the larger caught fish to return to keep their counter parts smaller pike numbers down as this is something i don't think people realise is that pike are very cannibalistic and it is this that keeps numbers of pike down in waters were pike flourish ,so instead of killing those lovely creatures that grace our canals return them to fight another day I'm sure in time you will see the results of which i am speaking ,anyway after being side tracked their by matters more important than the price of my new Rio fly line which is a nine weight and cost 30 quid which I've never paid out for a fly line before ,but as i said and have now realised as I'm getting older yes the fishing and the catching is still a great buzz but its the fish i more than anything else often find myself thinking of and this can only surely be a good thing ,so ill give myself a pat on the back for splashing out that extra 15 quid in aid of the pikes return to the water alive and well.
I am going to spend the next few weeks of Autumn trying the canal at different times on different locations ,i have however been given some really good tips from a fellow angler of the kelvin and canal Alistair who runs another website dedicated the the river kelvin called urban fly fisher.com I'm sure is the name and i take this guys advice on board as it has never ever let me down ,so a big thanks to you my kind sir, and may the luck of the devil follow you in all your fishing adventures,thanks.
And so it was last Saturday just after picking my sons up i decided to have a go with the new fly rod and straight away i found i was going to find this a little difficult ,casting those big flys as they hinge when in the air and become extremely dangerous attack weapons ,so i decided that i would start of with one of my smaller pike /sea flies and i was off and casting this fly quite well and easily getting across to the far bank were i was sure their must be pike and after a while of cast after cast i decided to put on the bigger fly again ,but this time i had cracked the way in which to cast these bigger flys and so on i fished for another hour or so trying different depth and retrievals to see if i could induce a pike into taking my fly but the only thing with pike fly fishing is your arm does get sore after a while so i decided enough was enough and by the look on the boys faces they thought the same ,so off we went home .
I did however enjoy my day out and it gave me some insight into this type of fishing ,for one it was not going to be easy and i was going to have to give the hours needed to get the reward i am so desperate to get from pike fly fishing so ill just need to plod on try harder and wait just wait until i get that first take on a pike fly ,i cant wait I'm off fishing now wish me luck and if i get a pike ill try to get a picture for the blog and if not some pics of the canal at least OK so see you all soon bye and keep fishing..

food for thought

2008-08-22T20:02:00.003+01:00

i have come to a dilemma as my main tool that i have been using this year with all this high water to catch salmon has been the fantastic flying c and fantastic it is as a fish catcher but this is my dilemma their has been 2 fish and no returns and its not for the lack of commitment in returning fish although my first fish of the season i always keep for the mother inlaw ,but even if i had wanted to return that fish i could not have done it as it had took the lure deep and was bleeding profusely and today with another fish of around 6lb which i was looking to return and yet again it had been badly hurt by the treble hooks on the flying c which was very sad to see, so I'm wondering is this quite common with this type of lure as the damage that was done today was to the gill plates which if damaged in any major way their is no chance of survival i don't think as this is what I've always been told so reluctantly i had to dispose of another salmon with only one person smiling out of the sad situation and that's the mother inlaw oh well at least it is not going to waste on the riverbank ,but i must admit it is sad to see such a lovely fish dieing in such an awful way I'm thinking of putting on only a single hook on my flying c from now on and seeing how that works out as i know of others who have done that and it has worked for them so i think i owe it to the fish to at least give it a go as i don't think i can justify the use of trebles on them any longer ,give me your thoughts please.......

Pondering if i should go or not

2008-08-21T15:41:00.003+01:00

with the river level being very high I'm sitting here pondering if i should take the chance and go try my luck with the tool being my spinning gear and a flying c hmmmm!!! ,is it to high or will their be fresh fish on the take like the other week when the river was high i managg-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ed to bank myself a nice grilse on the flying c which was black with a red head and gold blade ,the real dilemma is that i don't have available transport at hand were i can just step down stairs and climb into the front seat turn the key and foot to the floor or i would already be on my way their now, no its a sad journey in get yer self seen fishing gear that the whole world want to have a good giggle at not that i really mind as I'm going fishing and when I'm going nothing really matters ,but when I've got to get one bus then the other that's when it get to this point of should i or should i not and again hmmmm!!! ,so i go over what i need to take to be able to cover a session using spinning gear and yes i could probably keep it very light with only 5-6 flying c and my rod and reel with my waders and then of course i should take some worms just in case and then it takes over ,I'm talking of the madness that is compulsive tackle worry that you wont have the said stuff to enjoy your outing so i then add worm and hooks and weights and that means two boxes of tackle to be added to my bag and now I'm packed and I've not even made up my mind if I'm going ,of course i am ain't i,am i and then one last look at water levels on the sepa site just in case it has changed ,so i have checked the sepa site i know the river is high and probably unfishable and now i have no more excuses i have to make a decision will i go or not ,,,and then my final decision,,"i might " tell you later if i went or not...well it is now 9.30 pm and guess what i didn't go as i thought it through again and realised that if the rain stays off tonight then tomorrow would be a good day for the flying c and the worm so ill keep the bag loaded and set off as early as permitted too by the misses ,got to be keeping on her side as I'm getting a nice wee 100 quid bonus for gear and don't want to rock the boat as I've got my eye on one or two things id like and what i buy ill let you in on a.s.a.p OK bye for now lads

a confession to make

2008-08-18T00:29:00.002+01:00

well it was Sunday yesterday and i was fishing the usual haunt the kelvin and with my 9ft sierra fly rod i set out onto the water my set up was to the limit and i used a size 10 woolly bugger hoping to get one of those big trout that seem to come on the feed just after a period of heavy water as I've had a few at these times in the past ,anyway as i said i was wading into a run just behind the transport museum and had be have some fun enjoying casting my fly line into the now clearing waters of the kelvin and had only had about 4-5 casts when ,well you know don't you pull not a bang and i know what a slow but heavy sharp pull means and i was right ,i had just hooked my first salmon on the fly and off it went across to the far bank when it seemed as if it was quite willing to commit suicide rather than give itself into me as it propelled its self out the water and nearly onto the embankment on the far side what a sight it was and then it made a screaming run up into faster water were it try,d to hold itself low and deep which i knew i had to stop as i could not rest this fish i was trying to get it in so i could release the fish but the fight on the small 9ft rod seemed to begetting the better of me never mind the salmon or it may just have been a lack of expertise in the playing and landing of larger fish on fly fishing gear as i wanted to touch the fish as it meant i had caught it but i was worried all along i would end up having to kill an exhausted fish which sadly turned out to be the case as when i managed to bank the fish with another guy and his son around the fight had already took over ten minutes and on gathering the salmon to remove the hook i noticed the hook was stuck fast into the back end of its tongue which was now detached from the bottom of the jaw i then did what i thought was best and chapped the said fish on the head ,the fish weighed around 6lb and made my day and showed a great account of himself and why we all love to catch these wonderful fish as they are fantastic..

At last ive got one

2008-08-14T22:18:00.004+01:00

well today i managed to get myself a nice grilse of around6lb which made a good account of himself in the fast water in which he used every little bit to aid his chances at a release ,but after about 7 minutes he was ready and was netted by another angler who was also fishing the same stretch and who had just landed another grilse of around 3lb ,both fish were bars of silver and when first looked at didn't seem to have any lice but on closer examination at home i noticed they were their .the water was running relatively clear and i started off with the fly i was fishing a cascade size 8 double on an intermediate line with a 10 ft leader which i fished through the run for around half an hour when David a new friend on the river showed up with both fly and spinning rod in hand and proceeded to set up his 10 ft fly rod and after watching someone else get a fish on a flying c i said " i wished i had brought my spinning gear as well to which he replied you can use mine and no longer had i set up and on my 3rd cast was into said fish ,and if looks could kill id be dead as a door nail "kidding2 David being the person he seems to be was very happy for me and shook my hand and congratulated me on my first of the season which was caught on a flying c black with red head and gold spinner of which I'm going to be buying tomorrow for when the water is like it was today ,so all that is left to be said is thank you David for the kind loan of your fine fishing tackle and lure it made my day and one day ill make it up to you ,and now I'm sure that the boggie is broke ill be getting some more fish in soon ,but my intention is to release as many salmon as i can after today as I'm really getting in touch with my target and am now seeing them for what they are and that is beautiful living creatures what need every help they can get to survive,until next time tight lines and get on the river you wont catch if you ain't their

3rd Anniversary today

2008-08-05T17:56:00.002+01:00

well today is mine and the dear wifes 3rd anniversary and im having family over so it is striktly no fishing today folks and to tell you the truth im not missing it today as today is for my wife i owe her that as she is the one who incuraged me back into the fishing and for that i owe her it big ,so this is just a wee message infront of the whole world

"I LOVE YOU ANGELA HONEY"
"I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT BECOMES OF THIS WORLD , YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING THE ONE I NEED DAY AND NIGHT MY LIFE GIVING SOURCE ,MY SWEETHEART , MY WIFE FOREVER MY LOVE ,YOUR HUBBIE DEREK".

just a wee word of advice to all you fisherman out their that are lucky enough to have a wife left ,dont neglect always give time and remember who is their when you get home.

decorating and fishing dont mix

2008-08-04T10:08:00.004+01:00

decorating the house at the moment so just when their is a chance of catching myself a nice fresh salmon on the kelvin the wife stands in and demands the wallpapering is done this morning so what do i do ,i tuck my tail bettween my legs and do it dont i or it will be daggers for the rest of the day ,well really its to be done for its our anniversary tommorow and family and freinds are coming so im wearing the ball and chain today ,well at least till ive finished the wall thats left to be done, so all you guys out their that are going to the river this fine day ,have a wee thought for me with pasting brush in hand sweating like mad in the heat of the day hanging wallpaper ,hopefully ill get it finished by this afternoon so i can get a couple of hours fishing done.
if you all want my address you could come along and demand my release or else.....please help me im begging you ,help me please.

see you all soon...........

well managed a couple of hours on the river ,water still coloured and high ,fished the worm to no avail ,but im sure by wedensday the river will be in great shape if the rain stays off ,oh well until then as they say ..

waiting for tourists

2008-07-29T22:22:00.002+01:00

Hello ,well i was at the river today just after the torrential downpour which was like something from a Taiwan news report on the monsoon with small streams appearing in the street and people running for cover in every direction luckily i was on the bus for the worst of it which i was very glad of ,so after getting of the bus at kelvinhall i proceeded to walk down to the river along past the transport museum were i noticed a nice fish in the shallows which with a flick of its tail was gone under a tree on the far bank ,thinking the river will be on the rise very soon i made my Way to the falls at the old mill at yorkhill were i met a couple of kids fishing and a guy who was fishing under the bridge with the worm ,i ask if he had seen any sign of the grilse but their had been no sign of them so i made quick stuff of getting my gear set up and was soon fishing and almost straight away i had what looked more like a line bite with that sharp pull and release which i had a lot of last season. I stayed for another hour but soon noticed the river was rising fast and was becoming dangerous so i made my way from the falls and spent some time watching the falls for any sign of fish moving in with the rising water which i only seen one crashing across a section of water which was around 2 ft deep ,so I'm thinking that it might be worth a try tomorrow to see if any fish came into the river during the night time tide which is meant to be a high tide ,so i think i will take my camera and try to get some good pics of any fish i manage to see jumping the falls, so until then take care folk and good luck with the fishing..

my first go at a step by step

2008-07-27T22:44:00.005+01:00

Paraloop Emerger

by D.Graham.

First wind thread down half way around bend of hook and then return to
around the half way mark in open turns .

next catch in some fine copper wire on top of the hook shank.

wind thread over wire to half way around bend of hook catching in copper wire.

now apply dubbing around thread with the pinch and twist method.

take the dubbing about two thirds the way up the hook in even turns trying
to keep the body slim.

now wind copper wire in open turns over the dubbing to aid strength and durability
whilst catching in some 2 or 4lb mono which i don't find any need to be in a loop.

now take a relative sized cock hackle and tie in at base of mono.

add pinch of dubbing and create a thorax to match fly.

wind hackle around mono which for ease should be held in a gallows tool which will make this process easier to master.

now take fiber and stroke towards the bend of the hook and pull mono forward
and tie down and finish with a whip finish and trim any stray hackle fibers
that point downward or effect the eye of the hook.

well that's my fist step by step which I'm hoping i will be showing much more of when i have a better set up for lighting picture ect! until then bye for now.

More bad news folks

2008-07-25T15:11:00.003+01:00

just a short wee note that is going to be quite disturbing for the people who fish the upper Clyde as its now going to be the holder of Europe's biggest wind farm ,meaning large scale construction and damage to surrounding environment which is bad news for the area, will need to read up on it properly before i can give anymore details folks so here's hoping I'm totally wrong but i don't think so....

Tesco

2008-07-25T13:55:00.003+01:00

I would like to invite people to my new forum on the river kelvin which i hope with the amount of members with a yearly permit we can get a forum up and running just for our use and only on issues about the kelvin so here is the link.

http://rivertroutfishing.myfreeforum.org/

i have recently heard of a new large Tesco being built at the very lower reaches of the river kelvin which will no doubt have an effect on the annual salmon run with all the heavy machinery ,drilling and not to forget the sport of easily accessible tipping into the river by workers etc! this is a really worrying finding as the river as my site is called is on the return and anything that seems to threaten that is going to start alarm bells in my head so i will be like some others keeping a close eye on that part of the river when building starts for any signs of deterioration in that habitat as i know that said salmon and not to forget Seatrout use these lower stretches to hold up awaiting the rise in water levels to aid their accent of the river which at times can be for quite some time ,i may be wrong but i am not taking the chance and as i said i will be keeping a close eye on it ,and so on to the river again and whats happening, their seems to be a good run of small to medium sized Seatrout running at the moment with regular fish of around the pound mark being caught regularly and some of 3lb plus also in unmentioned areas and all these fish or well at least most of them are being caught on worm ledgered with a running ball weight which does work well on most parts of the river ,but if you ask me whats the best way to catch these Seatrout and their is really only one firm answer and that's with a fly rod as their is nothing quite like the take on a fly and if you have the nerve to do a bit of night fishing then you might just get a real trophy as Ive seen fish easily into double figures jumping after dark in some of the deeper pools the kelvin has, and these fish if caught will be a fish you will always remember and a true prize for the kelvin .Good flies for Seatrout on the kelvin are bloody butchers sizes 12 up to an 8 at night time and then their is other flies like the squirrel and blue which is just deadly in sizes 12 / 10 /8 mostly i fish these at the back end of a run and right through the run on a slow retrieve through the slacker water at the edges of the run were fish tend to lie and their are a few others that are good patterns to use like the Zulu which I've tried in different variation and had good results and their is also the wake flies of which i like deer hair flies that skate or fish just in the surface film and if fished with short and long sharp pulls which cause disturbance can often produce big takes and these fly can often be used at night to help locate fish as often the fish will miss these flies but leave their were abouts known to the angler in which time can be taken to chose another fly and set ones self for the fight already knowing the fish is in a taking mood so good luck folks and remember the fisherman that puts in the time and effort are usually the one who are rewarded with the special catches.

working with the team

2008-07-21T15:58:00.002+01:00

well the last couple of times I've been at the Ive i have been trying out new flys I've tied and also trying my hand at using teams of 3 with a bead head on the point and a nymph or grub on middle dropper and a spider pattern on the top dropper which has had its moments and has brought 7 trout to the net over the past few visits although the biggest was around a pound which was a really lovely fish which was a lovely golden colour with large black and red spots a typical river kelvin trout .
their is also a steady growth in the numbers of people on the banks of the river with the up and coming salmon runs which from what I've been hearing I'm hopeful will be a big one with larger fish than last year as one or two in the 30lb mark have already been seen clearing the lower falls but at the moment their is plenty of good sized sea trout to be had and for me they are the best of the two so I'm going to try to get myself on the river more over the next few weeks to see if i can beat my last years record of 12 salmon to the net and also around 14 sea trout with the biggest salmon being around12lb and the biggest sea trout being around 3lb so as you can see the kelvin is a real up and coming river which deserves the help it needs to return to its former glory as both a great salmon and sea trout river, so all anglers that fish the kelvin it is up to us to keep the river as good as we can and to report any suspicious happenings on the river as their has been signs of nets found on the river last year and i am not going to point the finger here but most of us will know who is doing this.
i will probably be back on the river on Wednesday at around mid afternoon and if anyone would like to meet up for a good search of the river with the fly then i would be glad to meet them at the falls at the back of Yorkhill at around 3 o'clock .

2008-07-15T19:16:00.002+01:00

i was at the kelvin today with my eldest son who is nearly 10 and the river was in a good condition after all the heavy rain the water seems to have cleared and is now in a prime fishing condition with plenty of small seatrout making their way up the river with most of them being around the pound mark and some a bit bigger which gives me a good level of interest which i will take back with me later in the week when i will stay on the river until dark to see if i can manage to get my hands on a good sized seatrout as this is one of my aims this year as is my aim in getting a salmon of over the 15 pound mark which would be a great achievement for anyone on the kelvin so i look forward to the first sign of a good sized salmon run as ill be checking the river frequently over the next few weeks for those first signs of tourists on the march upstream and then it will be long days with rod in hand chasing what must be one of the best fights you will ever experience in fresh water that's for sure .

the fly fishing i will also need to get my act together with too as I've spent allot of money on this type of fishing and if I'm really honest I've not been doing as much fishing as i intended to be doing this year ,but I'm sure this will be sorted out in the next few weeks with the seatrout and salmon in the river as well as good brown trout fishing all at once its one of the highlights for most of the fisherman on the river kelvin and i look forward to meeting the same old faces and hopefully some new ones to as i love to hear of new methods and different opinions about how to fish the river whether it be with bait or fly i am always looking to pick up any new tips to add to my little book ,i am also intending to get back into my photography as i want to have an indepth photographic diary on pools and riffels that the river has to offer so when the river is up i know what lies under the surface as ive found that really helpfull in the past for fishing nyphs and wet flys so until next time bye for now i i hope that i can offer something abit more exciting for you to read as right now im just trying to keep the words coming as you can probably see .....

Rain Rain Rain

2008-07-10T17:30:00.002+01:00

well its been raining for quite some time now and the river is high and as I've said I've not been down at the river for q while and would love to know if their is any development on the salmon front ,has anyone seen any running and if so what sort of size are the fish ,i am waiting for the rain to cease and the river to start dropping to a fishing level so as i can wet a line which will probably start with me getting my worming rod out and giving the lower reaches a try for some fresh run salmon and sea trout which I'm pretty sure that with all this rain their will be some in the river .this year I'm hoping to get my hands on a nice sized sea trout as I've yet to get a sea trout over the 3lb mark and for me sea trout fight that bit harder than salmon and seem to have the vote on good looks too ,but give me a salmon any day and ill be happy .i have been missing the usual suspects to from the river that I've got to know over the years like Andy and Nicky who are die hard bait fishers that fish the lower stretch and theirs chubby and the other young team who are also into their fishing allot and its great to see Ian I've not seen yet this season accept a brief meeting in march and also Vinnie who is what i would calla well informed kelvin fisherman who seems to know everything their is to know about the river so if you know him he is a good source of information, their are many more guys i know on the river all their names I've not mentioned as their are too many but all good guys and all who love their fishing so hi to you all if your reading and you should be reading right "lol" look I've not really much else i can add just now as I've not been their or done that at the moment so ill say bye for now and wish everyone all the best on the river, oh i will be showing off some of my home tied flies soon so be nice as they might not be the greatest but one thing is for sure they catch fish and that's what matters...

lost my internet connection

2008-07-08T18:23:00.003+01:00

well i lost my connection to the net for a few weeks and I've nor really been doing much fishing with other things that have come up but you guys lucky enough to have enjoyed the new lease of life the rain will have brought id love to know whats been happening as I've not really seen much of the river at all ,was down just after the rain and the water had risen by about a foot and a half and their was plenty of small sea trout getting caught in the lower reaches of the river which always seems to do well for sea trout at this time of year ,but I'm sure that all the rain over the past few days will have all but made the river unfishable so I'm not to gutted at missing out but I'm sitting here thinking i bet those diehards are getting some salmon for their trouble and i have even heard of a 30lb fish being caught up at kirky and returned only to belly up at kelvin bridge a real pity would love to have seen such a fish in the river but it makes for exciting times to come during the fair weekend and the weeks after when we should have some nice runs of salmon so ill try to look forward to this time ahead and hope that the rain gives us a break for a few days to let the silt clear and the river become fishable as I'm really missing the river and its at times like this that you realize the fishing is what you go to the river to do but its the life of the river that i miss it gives me the time to think and also forget if i want so all in all it does it all for me and its this that makes the fishing so attractive.

a day to rmember forever

2008-06-08T20:26:00.002+01:00

today was the best day Ive had in a long time and i didn't even catch a fish but the thing is my son did and all on his own after managing to get out a 20 ft line and after using a slow retrieve more than a few times using his hairs ear nymph he must have remembered the chats we have had about changing your retrieve etc! which he then did and with an almost pro look about him he began a fast twitch slow retrieve and then as i watched the rod tip which he also had close to the water their was that definite tug,tug,tug on the rod and i was awaiting this little 3 inch trout coming flying out the water near faceless with the sheer force but no the boy had listened and instead of a forceful strike he lifted into the fish which i soon noticed was no 3 inches long as the rod tip began to bend into the middle section of his 7 and a half foot rod it was then i thought of drag etc! but he said the drag is too tight I'm going to lose it dad and by helping him control the fish for less than a couple of seconds we were able to give the fish some line and returned the rod to him my heart beating as if it was my first i watched for the first sight of the fish and then it came it was a lovely fish of around a pound and the good news was it looked well hooked which was a relief giving him the word that i had the net ready he continued to play the fish and with hearts pounding and palms sweating the trout slid into the landing net and then the sad part i remembered i didn't have my camera but who needs one when the memories will always be their , god it was a good day and just a few days after i had helped my younger son to his first trout on the fly too just need some rain and just maybe i can get a few fish too who knows and it wont be long till im fishing the worm for salmon and the fly for seatrout at night i just cant wait...

2008-06-03T10:54:00.003+01:00

well fish coming to hand at last and to the dry fly too " Blue dun" fished up stream ,i actually missed this fish 3-4 times to my great frustration then eventually with the right technique i lifted into this lovely looking trout of around 3/4 pound which put up quite a scrap for its size and left me wondering if in fact it was a small sea trout due to its silvery colour but i then thought i cant see a sea trout of this size getting up over the falls at yorkhill so i put it down to being a brownie which I'm sure is the right description .

over the next few weeks I'm going to have a go at doing some step by step tying of a couple of flys I'm comfortable in tying now that i use to good effect on the kelvin and as a list i can probably say they will be the klinkhammer ,elk hair caddis, f-fly , pheasant tail nymph ,hairs ear nymph, in many variations and then the spiders of course i have quite a few variations of these to along side the better known ones so that should be interesting to say the least if only to give people a laugh and allow for much criticism which i will take with great pleasure if its to help my tying to get better but their are a few that I'm sure may not win the hearts of the pros but will satisfy the common among us "lol" so ill be of now to think what to wright in the blog later tonight as i am going to add to this thread later as I've got things to do just now thanks for reading and remember please leave comment on the blog page its what keeps people writing also over the next few weeks I'm hoping to be able to expand the places I'm fishing so as to give more reports on diffrent places....

dry fly for salmon

2008-05-28T22:32:00.003+01:00

well the water was still very low and the trout shy so i decided that i would have a go at the one thing that has raised an eyebrow in me over the past few years and that's dry fly for salmon using flies like the muddler or the bomber skated across the surface or dead drifted to rising grilse but their were no fish to be seen so that was making things difficult right away as for dead drifting you really need to be able to see the fish ,so i started of with the skating method and spent about an hour doing this but to no avail but just maybe when the salmon are in ,in better numbers and the water is a bit higher i may just get my way and land a salmon on the dry fly which i just think would be amazing to experience and as if by magic the heavens open and the rain pours down bringing the much needed water to the kelvin i just hope it was enough to make the real difference that will bring salmon and sea trout running into the river as this can be the best time of the year fishing the kelvin as long as their is enough water with fantastic trout fishing to be had on most stretches so until i get a good look at the river for myself which will be tomorrow morning i wont know what kind of fishing ill be doing over the next few days ,but if the river is high enough but not overflowing ill have a go with the worm for salmon and maybe a wee go with the bomber again....

Itchy Feet

2008-05-25T17:38:00.002+01:00

well over the past few weeks the river has slowly been getting lower and lower making the fishing difficult and the fish sluggish which means they are more at risk of ending up in real distress from the fight of being caught by an angler which was pointed out to me by a fellow angler who happens to run one of the best blogs I've ever read called ,oh here's the link http://theriverkelvin.co.uk/
this is a great informal site not only about the kelvin but many other adventures that he and his friend have taken and is just fab to read, any way don't want to give him too much bling as no one will read mine then but that probably doomed to be the case anyway with so many great blogs out their but i see mine as one with a difference as its from the perspective of a true beginner and I'm sure other beginners will want to hear that others are having the same problems and might be able to share some suggestions for correcting these difficulties we share among us ,as this is my main goal is to give the beginners something to read about their local introduce it to outsiders and of course it gives me a sense of worth if people would leave comments be they good or bad as I'm open to all side of the argument and so it goes back to the itchy feet problem I've been having and by that i mean I'm needing to start put out feelers and test other rivers to see what I'm missing as i know by other people s stories I'm missing loads of great sport on many of the other local rivers around the central belt and for me i think i must first of all look up the most local and find out if they are day ticket venues and give them a few days try out this season before buying into a season ticket which i would do no doubt if the fishing was good i also intend to get myself my first pike fly rod which i can use to fish the canal and a few other wee venues in and around Glasgow so I've plenty to keep me going this year if i want all i have to do is get of my desperately increasing butt and do some traveling the problem being i don't have a car so ill need to find the best way to transport from my home to these places i wish to try out which should be quite easy with being connected to the Internet but my real hope is getting my brother to pick up a fly rod again or even if he wants i will let him use one of mine and that is a privilege as I'm very very protective of my gear even if they be top of the range gear or not, their mine and their everything that gives me the little bit of sanity i have with all these kids around,so until i get on the river or we get some much needed rain bye for now and keep fishing ,tight lines..

Learning to tie flies

2008-05-22T01:19:00.004+01:00

I have over the past 4-6 months been doing my best to get myself familiarised with the art of fly tying which for me is so therapeutic and relaxing that it has become just as important as my love of fishing ,and let me tell you their is nothing quite like a take on your own hand tied fly that you have taken your time to perfect to the best of your abilities and this is when your tying will become just as important to you and the desire to tie more patterns and learn different tying methods so as to extend your tying ability will kick in ,one thing i will warn you of and that's the likely case that your tying materials will eventually start to mount up just like fishing equipment and will slowly or in my case quickly eat away at the space in your house and if you are lucky enough to have a lovely wife you might not have one soon as it will drive her mad and all i get is those feathers smell horrid and oh my god whats that now you have in that bag ,all i can say is its all worth it and hopefully if you decide to go down this road you get the same buzz I've got out it ,their is so much to learn about tying flies from the history and the origin to patterns ,materials etc! and i love every minute so I'm hoping ill get the new vice i want for Christmas or even better my birthday that's sooner i want a c&r vice around 300 but I'm sure it will be worth it with a life time guarantee.
i have been tying nymphs , spiders klinks, and the odd salmon fly too I'm quite happy with my progress but if like me then i want to be the best or at least as good as the best and their are so many great tiers out their to give me pointers and that's just what I'm doing just now as i watch every step by step whether it be pictures or video with video being the best no doubt and the tips I've found on them are in valuable and things that have most likely took years to work out and we are lucky enough to have access to them as these people are kind enough to put their self's up on the Internet showing us how to better our tying so for me i give them a great big hand ,thank you guys and of course girls too as some of the woman tiers are fantastic too.

Time for a rain dance

2008-05-20T16:02:00.006+01:00

An earlier season photo from march behind Yorkhill

The river is running low and clear at the moment which is in turn making the fishing difficult as i find fish are very easily spooked in the kelvin when conditions are like this ,however while at the river yesterday i did notice quite allot of yellow May's on the water and that was bring about rising fish that were slashing at the surface drowning the fly then taking them below the surface film ,well this is what i think they were doing and i never had any imitations in my box but did manage to get a couple on a blue dun size 12 and 14 as well as managing a couple more from the lower part of the river behind Yorkhill hospital on a 2 fly set up using a pheasant tail nymph on the point and a partridge and orange on the dropper, the river is in desperate need of some rain and for one i will be doing a rain dance in the hope that the rain will come ,so come on all yea fly fishers get out yer bongos and your ankle bells and do a rain dance tonight as it looks nice and overcast at the moment so I'm hopeful.

My choice 12 flies for the kelvin

Blue winged olive Greenwells glory Elk hair caddis

Black pennel Black spider Bloody butcher Invicta

Phesant tail nymph Hairs ear nymph Greenwells nymph

Wooly bugger

Flies for the river kelvin ,a beginners choice.
If i had to make a choice of 12 I'm sure it would be 3 drys 4 wets 3 nymphs 2 streamers, first of all the drys my first choice would have to be the one i catch most fish on when using a dry and that's the dark olive in sizes 14 and 16 fished on a tapered leader of around 8ft which i make myself secondly would be Greenwells glory which covers quite allot of hatches in sizes 12/16 also fished on a tapered leader size 8ft with my last dry i would be silly not to have an Elk hair caddis pattern which on its day out fishes most others for me anyway , these are the choice of someone that has only fished the river with the fly for just over a season ,more experienced members may very well have a much varied choice of dry fly and even may frown at some of my choices, but onto the 4 wet flys i would like to have in my box would be as follows first choice would be ,and i will be sneaky here and say a spider pattern with my second choice being a Black Pennel and 3rd a Bloody Butcher and my last the Invicta which is a palmered pattern also capable of catching sea trout which frequent the river now to the nymphs well theirs 2 must haves and that's the pheasant tail and the hairs ear both ribbed and which are great point fly when using wets and also i would choose alongside these Greenwells nymph these all catch fish regularly and are enjoyable to fish, then their are the last 2 which i hope I'm right in classing as streamers and they would have to be woolly buggers for use when the river is quite high and has a little colour in it as i have had some of my best fish on these ,i would chose one black and one brown both weighted with lead or copper prior to tying ,using these patterns will bring you fish on the kelvin and in the near future when more confident with my tying ascetics i will do a step by step for all the patterns i use on the river so until then have a great time fishing and tight lines everyone.

Urban revival

2008-05-17T14:27:00.009+01:00

The River Kelvin at the vet school.

I have been fishing the river kelvin for just over a season now and i am constantly showed just how lucky i am to have such a great river so easily assessable for myself and others who live in my home town of Glasgow which has many other fantastic rivers in which good trout fishing can be had .
the river kelvin is a river on the return with a good head of trout and with an annual run of salmon which is increasing every year which in time Ive no doubt will bring the price of the permit up which is not a problem as far as I'm concerned with this brings concern as the kelvin i feel it needs real management to make sure of its constant revival and that's no disrespect for the current management but by appointing bailiff's with real powers and signs to show the river is a permit only river as with the current position people are getting away with saying i didn't know you had to pay a permit as their is nothing to inform you of that at the moment however the price of an seasons permit which is 15 pound a year for me that is just fantastic and in fact if the river was being run better i would be glad to pay double that for the security of bailiff's ect!.

i will be giving a run down of any fishing trips i make to kelvin in future and pictures of fish i catch if i have my camera with me that is, so until then bye for now and go fish people