April

Unfortunately it looks as if it will be Friday that the gates are raised. The dry weather has meant that the level has plummeted. That is of course if the attitude of the water authorities is still the same. Still no reports of fresh fish in the system. I believe that Saturday was busy. Ian Hogg lost a fish on Friday which was possibly a kelt and on Saturday he had a Salmon kelt and a sea trout kelt. There wasn't even a good April fool's joke to report!

There is less than two inches of water above the closing height. The sunny weather means that the river bed is visible in a lot of places which means that if there were fish about then they would possibly be showing but that isn't the case. Today there were very few anglers to be seen with the exception of Davy Bell instructing three anglers to spey cast in the stretch above the Bonhill bridge. Between the bottom of the island and the Black bridge there appears to be a large hole formed by the winter floods. It isn't readily seen from the path but from the island it self. A possible new lie? Hopefully some good news soon?

Jack has just informed me that the gates have been raised and the water level is dropping. Where it will drop to will be anyone's guess. They have obviously been ruthless in holding on to the water once again. If this is indicative of their intentions for the rest of the season then fishing prospects will be poorer than usual!

The water level has fallen to the level that the gates are normally opened at. Possibly the level will remain at this height till Tuesday? The Association's web site hasn't any news of catches of springers so the pessimistic reports seem to be accurate. The water temperature is now 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Thanks to Jack for the water level information.

There is still about five or six inches of water above the weekend height. The anglers on the river don't often experience this height of water. This should last till Monday or Tuesday. Into the bargain the water temperature is 46 degrees Fahrenheit which is unusually warm for this time of the season, possibly because there isn't any snow melt. Still no reports of springers with the exception of Chic losing a fish, but it was impossible to state what he hooked.

Around midday the gates were raised and the water level started to drop. It will probably be tomorrow before it settles. There weren't any reports of fish being caught on Saturday or yesterday, nor were there any reports of fish showing. Not even a good rumour!

The water level dropped down to three or four inches above summer low. The only activity on the river was Jack replacing the marker above the Bonhill bridge. Ironically he found the original marker that was thought to have been washed away. With the guidance of his supervisor he managed to complete the task without much bother. A re - marker - able job! Debris on the river bank was cleared and the banks in front of the Chapel hole were shorn of the bushes that were sprouting up. Unfortunately the banks adjacent to the Chapel hole weren't cut last May because the cutting machine couldn't access this part of the river. Hopefully the low water will not hamper the expected run of springers!?

The river is now at a good weekend level. A sea trout about 12lbs was caught in the Loch, during the week, on the troll. The fish was safely returned. Unfortunately nothing to report on the river.

At about 10.00hrs the gates were raised and the water level started to fall towards summer low. There weren't any reports of fish being caught or seen. Saturday was the same. This morning I fished through the Piles at 08.00hrs. The level was still at weekend height but the flow was more like summer low. The right hand side of the island normally has a flow through it but it was dry. This is one of the pools that has changed because of the winter floods. I have been told that the right hand side of the river opposite the golf course now has a deep gully where there was once a sandy bottom. The water temperature is now 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Hopefully some good news soon!

The water level is once again at weekend height. Still no reports or sightings of springers. I spoke to a man and a women today who were float fishing the Bonhill pool. I think they were Italian and only spoke one or two words of English. My Italian consists of "birra scurra", dark beer. I managed to convince them that the float wasn't allowed but was unable to convince them that it was fly only! It would have been ironic if they had caught the first springer. Hopefully tomorrow? The water temperature is now 48 degrees Fahrenheit.

At 11.00hrs the gates were raised again and the level fell towards summer low. Thanks to Jack for the information. The rain might mean a small rise away from summer low. There weren't any reports of fish being caught or seen on Saturday or the this morning. It is as if there were a barrier across the mouth of the river. There haven't been reports of seals being seen at the river mouth, so it is unlikely that they are to blame. Hopefully the rain might make a difference?

The water level this morning was just below the weekend height, because of the rain, which meant that it was worth fishing. Unfortunately nothing to report. More heavy rain tonight means that the water level should remain at this height till Monday? An interesting e-mail from Iain Morison that is worth reading. Thanks Iain.

Hi Robbie 

Just as short note to say hello and good luck for the new season.
I stole a couple of hours off work this afternoon and visited the river to 
wet a line.  I fished McKinnons and down through the Garden Stream.  The 
river flows have changed quite significantly between the two pools.  The 
faster flow that was present last season between the two, seems to have 
disappeared and this I suspect is due to the increase in depth between the 
two pools. As this is a popular route through for continuous wading I would 
warn all those who will be fishing this, especially after dark, to be aware 
of the extra depth they will encounter. I did not see any fish move, but 
one lad worming the right hand bank of the Garden stream did say he had seen 
three good fish go through in the morning, but stated they looked like 
farmers.
I will keep you informed if I have anything to report, as my visits will 
increase now in the forlorn hope of encountering a daft one. 

Tight Lines 

Iain

I have been told that there is a lot of damage to banks below the Blue bridge and there is a big tree in the water at the Easterlies. On Thursday, hopefully I can get some images of the damage and post them on the site.

At 13.00hrs the water level was 5 or 6 inches above the weekend height because of the heavy rain. Normally at this height the gates would be lowered and the level would rise even more. What are the water authorities up to? It's anybodies guess. They could allow it to run off and drop it on Friday to weekend height or on Monday down to summer low. With regards to the last statement in the last up-date then I will be going fishing instead! Surely this extra water will bring the springers in!

This morning the water level was about 5 inches above the weekend height and the water temperature was 48 degrees Fahrenheit. It was a perfect height for fishing the fly on the sink tip. Unfortunately nothing to report up until 13.00.hrs. There were very few anglers on the river. Eddie the Bailiff spent the morning cutting the brambles and other growth on the banks in the vicinity of the Double pipes. I became entangled in some of the crap whilst wading but no complaints because it was a job in need of doing! Other systems are reporting poor catches of springers. Hopefully soon?

The gates have been lowered and the water level is now rising. This is a surprise considering that there is a good spell of weather forecast. Thanks to Jack for the information. The water has now leveled out at 4 inches above the closing height.

Once again Saturday proved to be a barren day in respect to reports that I have heard about. There weren't as many anglers on the river as expected but that shouldn't have been the problem. Nothing hooked or lost and nothing seen. It looks as if it will be Monday morning that the gates will be raised. One crumb of comfort is that a Monday morning has been productive in the past! There were reports of fish being caught and lost on the Loch. A 17.5 lbs caught on the troll by a boat out of Balmaha and another lost. The Balmaha Diary will no doubt have more details.

Good news at last! Just before noon Andy McElwee hooked and landed a 9lbs, sea liced, springer on a black flying C at the pikey. Well done to Andy! This was a stretch of the river that wasn't expected to see the first springer caught. Thanks to Eddie the Bailiff for the information. At the top end of the river where the first springer was expected to be caught there were a few anglers out from first light. Nothing seen or hooked. The water level was still hovering at the closing height at 13.00hrs but that could change. It would be ironic if the level fell to summer low just as the spring run is commencing. Hopefully this is the start that everyone is praying for. There were three fish caught on the Loch on Saturday. The Balmaha Diary has an up-date.

Alun Pryce - previously known as Alan Price on the site - caught a 12lbs springer, at the Stuckie bridge, on the minnow this evening. It was covered in sea lice. Thanks to Jack for the information.