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

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

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

John Wood fished down the whole Water yesterday – all four beats – and, apart from a strong, well-mended kelt in Haughs, there was no sign of fresh salmon in FCW pools. John told me that the water temperature was 36F which explains why Upper Kinnaird has had a few more fish than usual in the last two weeks. Even with Kinnaird Dyke much improved in terms of passage for salmon and sea trout the truth is that in these very cold conditions at this time of year salmon will be held up by obstructions that in higher temperatures would be fairly innocuous.

Icicles and a 36F river in late March

The end of March in 2013 has been the coldest spring for many years. The photo above shows icicles on the Red Brae hut and fresh snow on the ground on 25/3/2013. The water temperature was 36F.

It is encouraging that Marine Scotland scientists have already trapped and tahgged three salmon at Kinnaird, well within the South Esk, although, as I have mentioned before, that is no guarantee that they will stay in the river. In cold water it has been shown during previous radio tagging projects that salmon will regurgitate a high number of radio tags (c.30%). After the salmon has spewed them up these tags continue to transmit from the bed of the river, perhaps jammed behind a rock.

A cleaner Lemno: riffle & pool

In April 2012 a team of volunteers cleaned up the Lemno Burn between Milton of Finavon village and the confluence weith the South Esk at Red Brae. The unblocking of years or rubbish and fallen branches released a lot of trapped silt. When followed by a long summer, autumn and winter of unusually high water levels, the effect has been to wash through the lower reaches of this spawning and nursery tributary. We can now see gravels and rifflres have appeared where previously there were none. With the removal of much of the mid-range canopy more light now reaches the burn with the result that both aquatic and riparian annuals and perennials are starting to grow. We will need to keep on top of the maintenance of this important South Esk tributary.

More snow has fallen on top of icy drifts in the glens, making the hills prone to avalanches and as dangerous as they can be. For the river, this huge reservoir of snowmelt yet to come should provide the water that our spring salmon so badly need to enter the South Esk. The question is “will it be a year of abundance, as 2011 was, or will it be a poor year in terms of spring salmon numbers, as 2012 was?” We can but wait…

TA on 26/3/2013