small river fishing lesson

[Stevie777]

Anyone in the Lanarkshire area interested in a free small river fishing lesson. I cant guarantee fish 100% all of the time on the day, but i'll be very surprised if someone after a 2 hour lesson, doesn't go on to catch on a regular basis or even go on to catch that day.

I have Fished small rivers most of my life. well since i was 10. people would be surprised how easy it is to catch fish. The lessons i can teach can be up scaled to large river fishing. principal is the same. Just a bit daunting at times.

I fancy passing on my knowledge to those who have never ever got into fishing rivers or fishing for that matter. Especially the smaller streams.
It would surprise you the size and the fight from the fish in this particular River i have chosen for this lesson.
. Season starts around mid March. Grayling season is on just now, but there is more chance we could be catching Brownies full of eggs. We dont want that. i Prefer to leave the Brownies to do their thing without stressing them out at this time of year to be honest.

No Permits required. I'll bring some rods and show you the basic set ups, though we can knock up a rod bankside with minimal equipment if that's what you desire. I may make a video showing you how i go about small river fishing between now and March in the meantime. Watch this space.



Ps. Fishing from July to late August mid September is a bit of a nightmare as the river get so overgrown and it requires waders to get a half decent crack at it at times.

I have had 15 brownies from this river in a few hours in the past. but that was perfect conditions and chest deep with the waders on. The most i would expect is one trout for every run if fished the way i teach you, but given the overhangs in high summer the runs are few and far between unless you are prepared to get in the water. It will be worth it though.

Another Survival skill in the bag.

Fire in if you are interested.

If anything it will be something different for some of you guys and girls who have never tried Small river/burn/stream trout fishing and
eating the blighters while they are as fresh as is the bonus.

Cheer....Stevie. Let me know.

 

[Dave]

Wonderful pastime.
I have a beautiful little orvis cfo 1 reel on a little superfine touch 2 weight rod.
Unfortunately not many small streams to go around here.....
I tie little size 20 grey dusters, with the tinchiest pinch of mole.

 

[crosslandkelly]

That's a great offer, wish I were nearer.

 

[Brynglas]

Cracking offer and Lanarkshire has some lovely areas.

 

[Stevie777]

Wonderful pastime.
I have a beautiful little orvis cfo 1 reel on a little superfine touch 2 weight rod.
Unfortunately not many small streams to go around here.....
I tie little size 20 grey dusters, with the tinchiest pinch of mole.

The smaller the fly the better around here. Even on the Clyde. Though this type of fishing will be Worm or river grub only. I'll teach you how to find those as well. The River itself is not conducive to fly fishing in high summer. Back cast and overhangs are a nightmare.

I fly fish with a small 8 footer myself, but only when the bankside growth is at it's lowest. Worm and grub are very productive but a very small, very sparsely tied fly (weighted) can be deadly. Think Czech Nymphing.

 

[Stevie777]

Cracking offer and Lanarkshire has some lovely areas.

Sure has. Since the Salmon and sea trout returned to the Clyde the cost is going up year upon year. Nothing too expensive at the moment. £160 for a yearly permit for the salmon, but i remember 20 years ago £25 got you a permit for Salmon, Sea Trout, Brown trout and grayling.

I wonder where it will stop. ?

The south Calder will be the river in question we will be cutting our teeth on. Google it to get a lay of the land.

 

[Stevie777]

That's a great offer, wish I were nearer.

Cheers. Wish you were.

 

[Brynglas]

Great area, I've fished the Clyde around Carstairs and it's good fishing there. I get your point on the increase in price. It was the same on my local rivers in West Wales, the Towy and Teifi have rocketed price wise over the years, it's been good for the area in general though I think. I'm lucky that I'm a life member of an old angling club so I have some good spots I can fish down there.

 

[Toddy]

Nice offer Stevie
I barely know the South Calder water, I played in both the North Calder water and the Rotten Calder water, as a child though.

The permit fees helped the angling associations seed the rivers, and help with all the legal stuff as well as provide the tools, etc., that the volunteers use to keep the bank access in order. It's not a profit making thing. Himself was good friends with one of the chairmen back in the days when there were virtually no salmon in the rivers, but the anglers were working hard to introduce young into the feeder burns. Now you can stand on the bridge at Livingston's and see dozens of them, and they're big fish too
http://www.ucapaltd.com/aboutus.html

On the whole Lanarkshire's (both of them) kind of doing well with the fishing

M

 

[Stevie777]

Technically if the Upper Clyde angling association wanted to push it they could permit every tributary to the Clyde from Stonebyers to greenock. Unfortunately the South Calder water no longer runs into the Clyde without obstruction, They built Strathclyde park and Calder now runs into the big pond at Strathclyde park.

It would be a legal minefield for UCAPA to take anyone to court. They simply dont have the money anyway. The Salmon and sea trout cant get access to the South Calder water unless they caught the bus, so no harm is done.

 

[Dave]

The smaller the fly the better around here. Even on the Clyde. Though this type of fishing will be Worm or river grub only. I'll teach you how to find those as well. The River itself is not conducive to fly fishing in high summer. Back cast and overhangs are a nightmare.

I fly fish with a small 8 footer myself, but only when the bankside growth is at it's lowest. Worm and grum are very productive but a very small, very sparsely tied fly (weighted) can be deadly. Think Czech Nymphing.

Yeh. Klink and dink eh? How many people would know that there is a worm, which looks exactly like an earthworm, which lives underwater under rocks!? Only us fly fishermen. Mines 7.5 feet.

 

[Stevie777]

Nice offer Stevie
I barely know the South Calder water, I played in both the North Calder water and the Rotten Calder water, as a child though.

The permit fees helped the angling associations seed the rivers, and help with all the legal stuff as well as provide the tools, etc., that the volunteers use to keep the bank access in order. It's not a profit making thing. Himself was good friends with one of the chairmen back in the days when there were virtually no salmon in the rivers, but the anglers were working hard to introduce young into the feeder burns. Now you can stand on the bridge at Livingston's and see dozens of them, and they're big fish too
http://www.ucapaltd.com/aboutus.html

On the whole Lanarkshire's (both of them) kind of doing well with the fishing

M

Some absolute monster fish Mary. My biggest from the Clyde is 12lb's caught not far from where you live, just up from the A725 at Blantyre..I know of bigger. a lot bigger. What i love most about the Clyde is the cleanliness. not the fish. but the fact it's being cleaned up and looked after. we now see the return of the wildlife, otters etc.

I was taking Crayfish from the Clyde around Elvanfoot few years ago............. luverly grub. I know some see them as pest and invasive species. i just saw quality food.

Not sure if they still trap them down that way though. I used to go alone and empty the creels. End result was a crayfish curry.

 

[Toddy]

I was speaking with a couple of the local countryside rangers a month or so ago, and they said that there was a registration thing on whereby every burn that has mink, signal crayfish or problem plants like Himalyan balsam, were being recorded, and that things were being set up to tackle the problems burn by burn starting at the Daer and the Potrail down and clearing as they go.
Sounds like a massive undertaking, tbh.

Years ago I worked with a ranger who had been doing a lot of work on the plans for the renaturalisation of the river bank from Stoneybyres down. He said that the gills had never been felled and were too steep in among their woods for grazing animals. That the native flora and fauna survived there and they were trying to encourage it to come out of the gills and re-establish along the river banks. Joining up all the seperate burns with a riverside 'country park'.

I thought that there was talk of a fish ladder from the Clyde into the overflow of Strathclyde Loch ?
I know the South Calder water is the feeder supply for the Loch. We used to take the bus down through Bothwellpark to go over the Bridge at Bothwell, and then walk along the Whistleberry Road to Blantyre when I was little. Used to watch the swans under the bridge from the Lido on the Hamilton side….and the shoals of tiny wee fishes from the sand
Now Bothwellpark's sunk under the Loch and there's just a newer version of the cenotaph for them.

M

 

[Stevie777]

Yeh. Klink and dink eh? How many people would know that there is a worm, which looks exactly like an earthworm, which lives underwater under rocks!? Only us fly fishermen. Mines 7.5 feet.

Ya man, Hatched and unhatched option...Killer. I was thinking more stone fly as a live bait though. I tie a rather nice grub type thing using the rubber from a surgical glove as the main body and feathers from a pheasant for the legs. works a treat. need to tie more now that i'm thinking about it. Give me something to do before Christmas now.

 

[Stevie777]

I was speaking with a couple of the local countryside rangers a month or so ago, and they said that there was a registration thing on whereby every burn that has mink, signal crayfish or problem plants like Himalyan balsam, were being recorded, and that things were being set up to tackle the problems burn by burn starting at the Daer and the Potrail down and clearing as they go.
Sounds like a massive undertaking, tbh.

Years ago I worked with a ranger who had been doing a lot of work on the plans for the renaturalisation of the river bank from Stoneybyres down. He said that the gills had never been felled and were too steep in among their woods for grazing animals. That the native flora and fauna survived there and they were trying to encourage it to come out of the gills and re-establish along the river banks. Joining up all the seperate burns with a riverside 'country park'.

I thought that there was talk of a fish ladder from the Clyde into the overflow of Strathclyde Loch ?
I know the South Calder water is the feeder supply for the Loch. We used to take the bus down through Bothwellpark to go over the Bridge at Bothwell, and then walk along the Whistleberry Road to Blantyre when I was little. Used to watch the swans under the bridge from the Lido on the Hamilton side….and the shoals of tiny wee fishes from the sand
Now Bothwellpark's sunk under the Loch and there's just a newer version of the cenotaph for them.

M

I was at a meeting many years ago with the secretary of ucapa where there was talk of permitting the south Calder. The upshot was that any bailiff would need a pair of boxing gloves and a shotgun to stop the locals from fishing the Calder. I agreed. It would be too big an undertaking for anyone to patrol that Valley and one i dont agree with anyway..People have fished that river for thousands of years without the need for a permit. I dont see much changing even if they did permit it.

As for the Ladder into Strathclyde park. There are no guarantees that Salmon would head for the Calder anyway. The Council would need to upgrade the sewerage system that constantly over-spills into the river after a heavy rainfall like we've had this week. No doubt the lids will have blown off the pipes crossing the river...Again.

Hence the Blue Algae blooms that occasionally blight Strathclyde park in a long hot summer year.

 

[Toddy]

Thon pipe's a disgrace. It's been a disgrace for too damned long. The muck that gathers behind the booms at the Roman bridge is a mess.
It's a shame too for the river's clean above that for the most part.

I agree, I think Bailiff's would have a real struggle to keep an eye on the South Calder, but it's not been part of the rivers that they seeded with small fish anyway, is it ?
Besides, it's piped for about half a mile under Ravenscraig. Can't see fish happy to swim that. That said, everything's cleaner since the 'Craig closed. No more electric sunsets but the pollution levels have dropped like a stone

M

 

[Stevie777]

Thon pipe's a disgrace. It's been a disgrace for too damned long. The muck that gathers behind the booms at the Roman bridge is a mess.
It's a shame too for the river's clean above that for the most part.

I agree, I think Bailiff's would have a real struggle to keep an eye on the South Calder, but it's not been part of the rivers that they seeded with small fish anyway, is it ?
Besides, it's piped for about half a mile under Ravenscraig. Can't see fish happy to swim that. That said, everything's cleaner since the 'Craig closed. No more electric sunsets but the pollution levels have dropped like a stone

M

The main problem with the pipes is the size of the bore. Those pipes were installed 50 years ago + when the population was less than half it is now.

Dont get me wrong, they are pretty quick in getting on the job and fixing any problems after you make the call, but surely they must realise that there is a problem somewhere along the line when the sewerage stops flowing into the sewerage plant at Cleland....well, Cleland it is for me here would be the first point of call for any sewerage from Shotts down to Cleland..?

They must know this yet i had to make a call after a pipe burst over the river and no-one came to fix it for 5 days until i reported it. As i said, The pipes are well past there sell by date and need upgraded to accommodate the increase in population from Shotts to Motherwell.

More expense in these times of Faux austerity. but what ya gonna do.?

 

[Stevie777]

I agree, I think Bailiff's would have a real struggle to keep an eye on the South Calder, but it's not been part of the rivers that they seeded with small fish anyway, is it ?
Besides, it's piped for about half a mile under Ravenscraig. Can't see fish happy to swim that.

M

Mary, I walked into that tunnel from this side last year with the waders on. Trust me, There are cars. Trees, shopping trollies and all sorts jammed in that pipe. No Salmon whatsoever would even attempt it. i didn't even get 30 yards in and i walked back out. The tunnel is like 20 feet x 15 feet at a push...tiny.

 

[Stevie777]

Just realised i'm not really selling the South Calder water to anyone here ...Trust me. It's clean and full of Fish. The fish are not daft and Me, my father and his Father have all swam in it at some point.

 

[Toddy]

Most folks don't realise just how richly beautiful Lanarkshire's green (and wet) bits actually are in reality.
The thread needs photos

Falls of Clyde 1

Falls of Clyde 2

Falls of Clyde 3

Falls of Clyde 4

Falls of Clyde 5