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2004 Review 

*Killed figure only: return data for Browns was incomplete.

In common with most other Scottish rivers the Earn had a fantastic year which was very welcome after last year's disastrous one. Due to the poor returns last year (there were good numbers of fish on the redds but not until Nov) I felt it more realistic to compare this year's catches with 2002. 

The opening ceremony took place on 2nd Feb; the weather was mild and the rain held off until lunch time; first fish of the year, a well mended kelt, went to Country Member Jimmy Roy. There were a good number of kelts taken during February and rumours of the odd fresh fish too.  A couple of anglers had a bit of a surprise when they landed rainbows in the 4-6lb range which appeared to have been at large for some time.

At the beginning of March the river level was at a summer low and there were some anxious days as we wondered if last year would repeat itself.  The river was in fact so low and slow that it froze at the margins for some days. By the 10th Mar the river was still running at 0.4m which was not surprising given the fact that there had not been any rain or snow since the beginning of the season.  The trout season opened on the 15th with heavy rain and the river on the rise. Some early fresh fish were being caught by the middle of the month and that set the format for the remainder of the season.

It often seemed that it rain from March until the end of the season, there was certainly a lot of rain this year but there were also good dry period with the river running at medium - high for much of the time during late spring. There was a lot of rain and heavy water from July onwards and this year saw a good grilse run during July with many fish in the 4-6lb range whilst at the same time double figure salmon were running through. The difficulty was stopping fish that were intent on reaching the head waters in the constant high water. The heavy rain that cause the land slip in Glen Ogle also caused a large slip at the head of Glenartney which brought down a fine pale clay  for several weeks every time that it rain which cause the river to run cloudy for several weeks. By September things had cleared out and the good water encouraged some early autumn runners. Fish ran in good numbers right up to the end of the season and beyond; however, several days were lost due to high, coloured water towards the end of the year with the river over the fields on a number of occasions. Fish, fresh and coloured, some really big ones amongst them, were still running at the beginning of December. 

Overall this has been a fantastic year by recent standards and the returns look to be the best for a decade. The high water was certainly a major contributor to the good returns allowing fish to run throughout the season, possibly the repair of the Dalchonzie power station was a factor too. However, it seems likely that the increased numbers of fish could also have been the result of the buy out of the North of England drift nets. Not only were there more fish running but there were good sized ones too. The heaviest salmon that I know of taken (and returned) on the club water this year was 25¹/₂lb; there were a number reported in the 15-20lb range.  We'll need a couple more seasons to see if this year was but a blip.  Irrespective of the number of fish running it is incumbent upon us all to return a high proportion of what we catch: certainly 50% should be everyone's minimum target.  Following the Tay lead we should also all aim to return our first spring fish (those caught up to 1 May) and a good percentage thereafter. 

Sea trout numbers were also up on last year. Again, this will have been due in part to the high water but it is also always the case that some back end sea trout are mis-recorded as brown trout.  This year there has been a reversal of the downward trend of figures for sea trout with at least three anglers having fish of 6lb. That said, numbers are nothing like they used to be and sea trout are more susceptible to coastal predation. Therefore, anglers should continue make every effort to return a high proportion of fish caught. There were certainly good numbers of fish about in Sep/Oct although many were coloured or gravid, and kelted fish were returned as early as mid-Sep. In order to try an improve sea trout numbers the AGM on 7 Dec voted to adopt a clause requiring all sea trout caught after Aug to be returned.  This will feature in the reprint of the rules.

In the absence of stocking there remains a good head of brown trout in the river with the odd fish over 2lb being taken although they are notoriously difficult to tempt. Grayling numbers continue to hold up, several good catches were reported last winter including two at over 3lb to one angler in two casts. 

Drummond Loch

The loch fished well from the opening of the season until July when it clouded with algae. Later fishing was difficult because of calm, bright conditions.  In April 188 brown trout averaging 1lb were stocked; 122 were caught this year,  for an average of 1.63lb were kept with an unknown number returned. Several anglers had over wintered fish around the 2¹/₂lb mark and at least a couple of fish at 5lb+ were returned. There remains a good head of fish in the loch ready for next season.

Thank you to those that sent in pictures/catch reports. The news page is only of value if it is regularly updated and that relies on you passing on information. Email or send fish reports, photos and other news to Peter MacDonald

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