Finavon Castle Bulletin

These bulletin blogs represent news about Finavon and the South Esk, and my views as a riparian owner. They are not the views of any other organisation, nor are they designed to promote the interests of any individual or organisation other than Finavon Castle Water and factors affecting the fishery. Tony Andrews

Today I learned three things about the 2013 spring run in the South Esk.

While crossing the Haughs Aqueduct I looked down into the river and saw at least 10 fresh run salmon just upstream of the big boulder in the centre of the channel. They were jockeying for position in about 5′ of crystal-clear water, and they varied in size from about 6lbs to somewhere near 20lbs. This small shoal has been building up in this excellent salmon lie over the last few days. It is likely to disperse upstream when the river rises with the melting snow.

This photo is of the downstream slope of the Kinnaird Dyke which, over the years, has been the source of much controversy. In the mid 1990s a brilliantly simple adjustment was made to the fish pass, which unusually is positioned in the middle of the dam, as oppposed to the more normal position at one side of the structure.

Anaethetised salmon ready for tagging

Marine Scotland scientists have tagged and netted 22 salmon in the Arn Pool at Upper Kinnaird, 200 yards downstream of Kinnaird dyke. These salmon remain in the river, except two which have moved upstream above the dyke. Despite the unfriendly east wind more salmon have been netted and tagged in the Usan nets, two of which have entered the South Esk. It is not known how many of these fish have regurgitated their tags, if any.

Colin Carnie's repair to dyke rs

While Upper Kinnaird continues to show encouraging catches – by far the best of both Esks – the numbers of salmon entering the North Esk, as recorded by the Logie counter, is lower than in recent years. At the same time the South Esk is showing a higher catch at Upper Kinnaird than for some years, most probably because of the very cold water temperatures inhibiting the passage of salmon through the Kinnaird dyke fish pass. If catches continue at the current rate, catch numbers at Kinnaird should exceed 50 salmon by the end of April.

The photo above shows the Haughs Aqueduct just downstream of which is the salmon lie referred to in this blog. On the 8th of April 2013 I saw about 10 fresh spring salmon lying in this great spring salmon lie.

I suppose I should offer a health warning for any unfounded speculation in this blog. I can however vouch for my impeccable source for the Marine Scotland report, and for my own observation of the salmon lying below the Haughs Aqueduct!

And the forecast is rain and a warm front, with southerly winds coming into the country from the west at the weekend. Maybe spring has arrived: about time too.

TA 8/4/2013

These bulletin blogs represent news about Finavon and the South Esk, and my views as a riparian owner. They are not the views of any other organisation, nor are they designed to promote the interests of any individual or organisation other than Finavon Castle Water and factors affecting the fishery. Tony Andrews

On Saturday I walked the whole of FCW with the dogs, unusually for me without a rod. The water was cold with a slightly milky colouring from snowmelt and the sun was shining brightly, well, most of the time. The air temperature was about 5C.

Two Labradors colonising Kirkinn

Presumably labradors are used to icy waters. I am not sure whether it is true that these dogs were used originally to help set nets in the sea by swimming the leader ropes to the fishermen, who then drew in the moving net. The enthusiasm my two black labradors show for a cold swim is different and an indication of their characters. The onlooker (as is her wont) is Tinca, a laid back animal if ever there was one, and the swimmer, enthusiastic and intrepid, is her sibling, Tally. Both animals are great company for an ageing fisherman!

The aqueduct has now completed its transformation from pipe bridge to footbridge after Will Wells and the Scottish Oak team (they are the people who built the magical ‘Monet-style’ footbridge at Red Brae – see photo below) installed handrails on both sides of the central concrete girder. The result is a bridge that feels safe, although there is still work to be done to protect its foundations on the south bank from further erosion.

'Monet' Bridge 30 3 2013

I saw one fish in the lie at the head of Haughs (Bogardo Beat). I am fairly certain this was a fresh salmon of about 12lbs. My guess is based on a) the position of the fish, holding station in the stream, which kelts usually avoid b) the thick-set, solid profile of the fish which was lying in about 4′ of water downstream of the aqueduct. It was therefore easy to  see because I was directly above it. Judging by the water temperatures over the last four weeks I doubt whether many salmon will have reached FCW, so this is proably a lead scout in what we are all hoping will become a substantial spring run.

Craigo Stream 30 March

The gradient between the suspension bridge and Craigo Stream (photo above) is one of the steepest in the middle South Esk. This very fast stream, running down a narrow channel, requires an effort for salmon to ascend in cold water temperatures, which may explain why fish tend to hold up in the relatively calm and deeper water of the Boat Pool.

As I said in the previous blog, it is encouraging to see that Upper Kinnaird is the leading beat on both Esks (as declared in Fishpal’s reports). This is the proof we need that the spring run on the South Esk is not dead, but we should not construe too much from the 22 salmon so far reported from Kinnaird’s beats. There are two reasons for that comment 1) Some fish may go back to sea after deciding they want to be in another river 2) The fish caught at Kinnaird may represent a high proportion of the South Esk’s spring run to date, on the grounds that low water temperatures are effectively holding them downstream of the Upper Kinnaird dyke.

Next blog: Some thoughts on how to solve the problem of erosion downstream of the aqueduct and a request to my readers for some ideas on how to deal with it. And, who knows? Maybe our first fish of 2013, later than usual this year.

TA