04/05/2013 & 07/05/2013 - Loch Freuchie & River Braan

Bridges at inflow to Loch Freuchie

A few of my favourite fishing spots (and views) are dotted around Perthshire. Last week I was based just outside Perth for 6 days which, in the evenings, allowed me to cover many of these places, plus a little bit of exploring new locations.

At the head of the River Braan lies Loch Freuchie. I've managed to entice the odd small pike, perch and brownie from this river, but decided to head up the valley to check out Loch Freuchie itself, reputed to be a relatively shallow loch with some small jack pike.

Looking north on approach to Loch Freuchie

The road and passing places have been upgraded to facilitate their use by the construction traffic which is going about the business of building the somewhat controversial new Beauly mega-power line. As I was there outside of working hours and there was almost no construction related traffic about, it opened up the possibility of more places to park the motor and access water.

I began at the head of the loch, exploring especially around where the river enters. Despite the drizzle, the water looked very fishy, certainly if I was a half decent pike I'd probably choose this area to sit. However, despite spinning and jigging around all likely looking lies, I couldn't connect with anything in the at-capacity water.

View down the loch

There was still the odd spot of snow clinging to the shadowed gullies high up the surrounding hills, a sign that as this spring and summer stubbornly refuse to kick off, this season hasn't quite spluttered into life yet.

I moved around the loch to a big bay where a small stream enters. The sort of spot that fishing guides tell you to target. There was a slight ripple on the water which would allow me to see any rises. I chucked my mepp about in the hope of finding some pike action. Almost immediately my eye was drawn to a large trout porpoising in the water. It was an unusual rise, trout usually sipping, rolling or clearing the water altogether, it is unusual in my experience to see wild fish show their dorsal in such a way. I threw the mepp out into its projected path and waited on the thunk of the take as I retrieved, but no thunk came. There was no other visual action, but my curiosity had been well and truly captured.

River Braan, some snow still visible on the hills

With a stiff crosswind, I was only able to cast a fly in one direction covering the little bay to my left. But this change of method was as successful - not at all - as my lure attempts.

River Braan, not quite the only person for miles

Despite the lack of fish connection, there was plenty going on around me keeping me occupied. There was a gaggle of Canada Geese sharing the field with sheep and lamb's. As well as gulls crows and pigeons, I also spotted pheasants aplenty, chaffinches, black grouse, red grouse, pied wagtails, lapwings and meadow pipits. The latter were a completely new notch on my twitching bedpost so to speak. Whilst the lapwings reminded me of when I was younger and these birds were very prevalent flocking around farmland along the Pentlands and surrounding areas. They're a bird with many unique characteristics from their unusual wing shape (almost bird of prey like) to their flappy and erratic flying style to their call which can sound like someone tuning in their radio at high volume, or maybe an 80's computer game sound effects.

Whopper, beauty, peach,, beast, stotter

Bearing all this in mind, I was saddened, in such a wild and wonderful location to stumble across some discarded tackle left behind by some neanderthals (as well as the obligatory used tin foil bbq). There was a completely unravelled spool of bait elastic and a pile of line nesting around sea fishing rig with rubber squids and oversized sea hooks and a large jighead hook as well. The biggest surprise was that no bird had yet entangled itself and come to grief. It really boggles my mind how or why some people can be so irresponsible, especially in such a location. Do us a favour and just stay at home you fandangles.

'only' 16 inch and a pound and a half

With all available water covered in the windy conditions, I called it a night knowing I'd be able to pop back very soon.

Three evenings later I was back. In effect, this was the first day of summer, the first day that temperatures across the country had broken through 15 degrees. Although conditions looked much better from the shelter of the car, once out I realised it was a lot windier than the previous visit which effectively put paid to my hopes of casting a fly on the water. So with a wire trace and big rubber lure around a jighead hook I set about trying to locate some of the resident pike. The results were as before and it was soon time to explore elsewhere. Being very tempted to stop at a couple of locations further down the loch, I continued on hoping for some convenient access to the Braan to appear. On a bend in the road, the flash of the suns reflection on water, close enough to the road, alerted me that the river was quite close by. I parked up and set off through the fields. However, the 'river' I had seen turned out to be a duck pond, the actual river being the same distance away again through more fields, over bluffs, around and through bogs and amongst some not too pleased to see me sheep.

Eventually I reached the river only to find access difficult. As the landscape here is so flat, any spates spill onto the surrounding land quite easily, making the riverbank very marshy and treacherous to access. Being alone in such a location with no phone signal for a few miles means a fair bit of caution is required. Using the large tufts to avoid the bog, I managed to reach the river and have a cast about in what looked almost like a pond. But I was surprised at the pull of the current as I drew my spinner across. With no luck I retreated and moved downstream in pursuit of another accessible spot.

I know that there are some smaller pike much further downstream and this was all I was really thinking about being not too far from Loch Freuchie itself. A few casts into my new location I felt a couple of bumps on my mepp, then the take of something fairly hefty. I was quite sure it was a pb pike (current pb is pretty small) and bossed it a bit to get it up in the water for a look (losing a decent fish before you've even seen it is one of the most frustrating things that can happen) and was surprised and delighted to find I was actually hooked up to a big troot. I played it for a bit before managing to get it across and hauling it onto the bank. At 16 inches in length and a pound and a half exactly, I was absolutely delighted. The Brown Trout hardly gets any better than this (ask me if I stick to this appraisal after I land a Ferox).

Also, the trout that I'd seen do the 'Loch Ness monster impression' in Loch Freuchie the previous visit, was appreciably bigger than this one!!!! Not double figures, but certainly noticeably bigger.

Either side of the fish, the sun was setting at the head of the valley providing an ever changing and completely stunning range of colours from the nuclear furnace at the middle of our solar system. As usual the camera struggled to adequately capture this, but I've included them anyway. And with the setting of the sun, and me standing in a bog in the middle of nowhere in a location I'd never been before, I decided it best to head back to the car whilst I still knew where it was. So I bid farewell to yet another part of Perthshire that ranks right at the top of my favourite fishing locations.

My first three trout of the season were a rainbow, a sea and a brown, which is pretty unusual. Also, this fish brought my tally of trout to just 5 for the season (into May!!!), but with lengths of 11", 13", 16" 18" and 7", an unusually high average of 13".

12/04/2013 - North Esk

Brown or Sea?

With winter hanging around to the point we're more or less missing out on spring this year, the fishing has been deadly slow and unproductive. Both Straiton Pond and North & South Esk's hadn't yielded any returns for my efforts, but what are we if not optimists? Even as I write there is still some snow clinging to the Moorfoot's, indeed it's only in the last week that the temperature has finally edged into double figures, although when it did, 20+mph winds accompanied.

My first trout of the season arrived off the Almond on 28th March and is one of those ambiguous sea trout or brown trout specimens. In the water I was convinced it was from the sea, very silvery with a purple/pinkish sheen. However on land I decided it was probably a brownie that was a bit off colour due to the earliness of the season. Now, looking at photos I'm not so sure and am tempted back towards a Sea Trout again. It was certainly in excellent condition attacking me near the side then leaping clear of the drink a few times, which I wouldn't necessarily expect for this time of the year. It measured a nice 13 inches. Naturally it was sent back to get bigger.

I also had a first session with the fly one evening downstream on the Water of Leith. It has been taking a lot of nonsense for the last year or so as they build flood defences upstream. I found no signs of life at all and won't be going back til the weather really improves. That said, it has appeared devoid of life plenty of times in the past, so hopefully the flood work hasn't upset or curtailed the fish in the lower part of the river by too much.

Some retro litter - McEwans lager can circa 1995?

With no signs of any brownies at all in the North Esk I've been covering a lot of river and exploring a bit more. I'm hoping that the scarcity of sport is down to the extended winter. The less attractive explanation is that there has been another landslip just above Penicuik from some sort of historic industrial dump. This area already garrotted the Esk about 10 years ago when a massive amount of sludge and other nasties was washed into the system. This winter's episode was much less severe so fingers crossed it hasn't had a negative impact on the fish. And fingers on the other hand crossed that the weather heats up a bit sooner rather than later.

First Esk Brownie of 2013

Fishing the Auchendinny stretch of the river, it was apparent that we could also do with a good rain to flush the river out. The water itself had plenty of organic 'bits' in it and the riverbed had a cloying sediment in all the slower flowing or still places (there would be rain the following week that helped clear out some of this muck).

With no bites, no rises, no nothing to provide encouragement, I was trying to keep disciplined to maximise my chances in a minimal opportunity situation. In my favourite pool I'd covered the whole lot when finally my trusty little mepp was attacked and a fish was on. An 11 inch brownie was soon on the bank and my 2013 Esk campaign was off the mark. There were no more fish or fish action to report at all.

I had decided to explore as far downstream as daylight would allow and continued on through some of the pools I know until I reached unexplored territory. It's a bit easier to get off the beaten track at this time of year as the undergrowth is pretty minimal.

Glencorse Burn where it enters N Esk

At the old Dalmore Mill site, they are busy building mock mill-building style flats with some houses sprinkled in (some sort of irony that there was a mill there, it was knocked down, then they build a mock mill in its place...). The construction is most annoying from a completely selfish point of view as before too long this stretch of river will be open to all sorts of people, probably with dogs who enjoy swimming. At the moment I more or less seem to have it to myself.

Looking upstream to the viaduct

It's always interesting to view the total disregard or lack of understanding of streams and rivers when building is taking place. It appears to simply be a total inconvenience to us humans, rather than being viewed as an outstanding 'free' resource, not to mention a home for all sorts of other creatures. Usually it is only paid any attention either to build banks high enough to prevent flooding (simply deferring the flood problem elsewhere) which usually obscures any views of the water from the nearest paths or roads or worse still, to simply pipe it up like so many of the streams that flow into the Water of Leith.

In immediate danger of some sort of monstering is the Glencorse burn. This starts in the Pentland's above Loganlea reservoir, flows into and out of Glencorse reservoir, before working its way past Flotterstone. It eventually reappears to the east of Penicuik and snakes its way through Glencorse Golf Club finally joining the North Esk through the aforementioned old Dalmore Mill site. At the end of last season, the confluence was blocked with all sorts of debris and was quite difficult to cross. However it seems to have been purposefully cleared by the workies and at the moment is, in my opinion, an improvement on what it was. I'm disappointed I didn't take a photo in its old form, but you can see what it looks like now in the photo above. Last year it was blocked to a height of 4 or 5 feet roughly from where you can see the river banks in the above photo.

The river meanders in wide arcs below the Dalmore Mill area before flowing under a viaduct and round into more woodland with steep banks. There were three or four pools I'll definitely have a look at later in the year. Hopefully my early season exploration will save time once the bushes and thorns grow into the summer.

05/10/2012 - Lyne Water, South Esk & North Esk

H on the Moorfoot Burn

Time
Weather
Water
Method
Total - 1
Species - Brown Trout - 7.5"

An all day assault on many of my favourite spots on the North & South Esk should have been a fish filled wonder sesh. Instead it was an incredibly frustrating outing resulting in just a single troot of 7.5 inches for two determined anglers using a variety of approaches in all manner of places. Even the final attempts at Polton Bank where I'd taken three in an hour the previous evening could only offer up a single fish to finally expunge the spectre of a double blank. The cost of the solitary fish was my first broken rod in years as I angrily tried to extricate a mepp from a tree after a particularly amateurish cast.

Bites, but still no success on the South Esk

Whilst I've been rapidly expanding my pitiful sea fishing abilities with the help of J & H, I've been trying to fit in a fly fishing session or two with H to get him a bit more up to speed with the finer end of fishing (allegedly). First stop was a couple of pools on the Lyne where I can usually tempt a few small trout. Being so late in the season I knew our chances would be slim. I was able to entice a couple of rises from a couple of small ones. But that was that. H was unable to find any success, caught in that frustrating Catch 22 where until you find a successful tactic in a given method, you fish with minimal confidence to begin with, which then increasingly diminishes with ongoing lack of success. Not to worry though, I'd lined up a delicious looking menu of locations and it would surely only be a matter of time until we began banking trout.

As my tour continued we alighted on the Moorfoot Burn where there are a couple of nice runs and one good pool. But despite conducive conditions neither of us could even tempt a tap so we moved again.

H in Roslin Glen retrieving his tackle from a tree

Next stop was the South Esk just downstream from Temple. There are two streams that merge here forming the South Esk emanating from Rosebery and Edgelaw reservoirs. Due to their size, there are only really a small handful of properly fishable pools although the slightly higher than normal river levels were conducive to some extra little runs being explored. I'd switched to my trusty mepp whilst H was now employing the Isome on a small jig set-up. Straight away he'd induced a couple of bites, but in what was quickly turning into the story of the day, we were failing to hook, let alone land any of the offers. We fished down the Edgelaw 'outflow' burn to the pool below the confluence, then fished up to the weir on the 'Rosebery' river. THere is a fair amount of trekking involved in this location and after returning to the car a little  bit out of breath I asked H if he wanted to do more cross country exploring or go somewhere we would definitely catch a fish. He opted for the latter and we headed for Polton Bank and the North Esk where I'd taken 3 brownies in a par for the course session the previous evening.

H, North Esk, and the benefits of chest waders

H was doing his usual experimenting with all sorts of rubber things while I persevered with my trusty mepp. The run above the weir had H's attention as I moved downstream and it wasn't long before a shout from the top of the waterfall alerted me to the energetic louping of his first fish of the day. before I could get there, it was off. I'd since lost my mepp and had converted to a jighead with a small jelly minnow and was tempted to try the far right bank at the top of the weir as H continued on the left bank. I was getting interest of at least one decent trout which finally took and as I turned to inform H, it too escaped. Things were getting a bit silly. Below the weir again I managed to lift a few more trout from their lies with my minnow, but for some reason, the hooks weren't doing their job and offer after offer was missed.

There are some decent pools further down, one of which I never fail in and I sent H straight to it. In the meantime I was fishing a likely looking spot, but from high above on the riverside path in a bid to take every opportunity going and finally brought a trout to the bank. Talk about hard won victories.

Reduced to photographing Brambles

H was still trying and failing as I passed him to a really nice looking pool where I still haven't had a fish. My first cast was rubbish and my second landed in a tree. As I yanked to try and free it I snapped the line and was (not) absolutely delighted to find I'd also snapped the last 3-4 inches off my rod.

It was time to get back to the car. With time running out before H's lift home we headed to Roslin Glen for a final push to bust his blank. Through necessity I was back on the fly. It was my first time down here since before the latest spates and I was surprised at the amount of erosion and reshaping of many of the runs and pools. The corner below the road bridge wasn't just unfishable previously, but you couldn't even get a cast in if it had been. It was now fully accessible and fishable due to all the logs and branches having been swept off. However the story remained much the same as it had for most of the day and we couldn't find any more success. As far as the lovely wee Brown Trout goes, that was it for 2012, but of course, there is always next season.

04/10/2012 - North Esk

Really doesn't get much better

Time - 1715-1830
Weather - Pleasant enough
Water - Dropping back towards normal
Method - Mepp 2
Total - 3
Species - Brown Trout 11.5, 9.5 & 8 inches

With the end of the trout season looming large I've been looking to cover as many of my favourite haunts as possible. Firstly to catch fish quite obviously. But also to have a last recce of the river before the close season when I'm much less likely to see it as the winter weather and any spates or floods reshape the river and some of its pools. Always quite an interesting time when the new season begins and I see what improvements and damage has been done (for me anyway).

First of the session

The Mavisbank stretch of the North Esk down behind Loanhead is usually very accommodating for me. But my sortie was also a preparatory investigation into the likelihood of my chances for the following day when I would be taking H around a few of my preferred beats. I was immediately into a fish in the stretch just below the road bridge of 8 inches which obviously bode well not just for the remainder of the session, but also my forthcoming expedition the next day.

Tubby

Moving down to the weir I was quite surprised to see how clear of debris it was since my last visit. Obviously the high water of the last month or so had moved a lot of the logs and suchlike. Surprisingly and annoyingly the elements had also obliterated the run below the pool at the foot of the weir. Earlier in the season I was getting a hit pretty much every cast by casting across and looping the spinner back across the current. Today it was basically unfishable.

Unfortunately I didn't have any previous pics of the weir, so I made sure I took a couple for future comparings.

Left bank of the weir

At the foot of the weir there was enough water to make most of it fishable despite the usual one or two underwater obstacles to avoid. The next fish to join me on the bank was a hard fighting 11 incher followed quickly by a nice 9.5 incher. All were in excellent condition.

Moving further downstream I enticed a lot more interest but couldnt hook any of the blighters and finished quite happy with my tally of 3 in a reasonably short time. H should be in for a treat on Friday.

And the right bank too

03/10/2012 - North Esk

Time - 1845-1915
Weather - Chilly
Water - +15-20cms
Method - Size 2 mepp
Total - 1
Species - Brown Trout, 8"

The level was pretty much ideal but I got the feeling, mainly due to a lack of interest or eexcitement that my assault on this stretch of the river was a little bit too late. Nonetheless, the 8 incher I caught was a typically nice fish for the river and in excellent condition.

01/10/2012 - North Esk

Great condition

Time - 1845-1915
Weather - Slight chill, little wind
Water - +15cm, nice colour
Method - Mepp 2 Silver
Total - 1
Species - Brown Trout 9"

With the trout season drawing to a close and having neglected my local haunts too much recently I've been trying to cover some of my favourite spots as much as possible before the close season.

I was down at Dalmore again but only had one fish on the bank in the form of a typically excellent little brownie. I was tapped by three bigger fish as well, but frustratingly seem to be missing more than usual.

The water was at 15cm according to the SEPA gauge having been up quite a bit recently around 20-25cm and I would say this is about ideal. Although the gauge claims the water is 5cm's higher than normal, in actuality I'd say it's a good 15-20cm's higher, as hard as these things are to judge (I didn't have my litrs flowing past per second monitor with me).

All my fishing here is done from the banking at present as the sandbar on the left bank which is usually the best spot is submerged and if and when the water level falls, may have still be submerged due to erosion from the recent high water.

28/09/2012 - North Esk

Time - 1430-1500
Water - 12 inch or so up
Weather - Windy, showery
Method - Mepp 2 & 3
Species - Brown Trout 9 inch
Total - 1

With the river being a bit too high the previous evening, I hoped it would have fallen enough to make it supertasty, however some overnight showers had maintained its height. Despite overall lack of success, losing the biggie the previous evening had shown there might still be the odd fish or two willing to scrap.

Due to the height of the river, I had little inclination to explore much and just targeted this pool. My intention was to head down to Straiton Pond afterwards and have a dip there. There were some serious showers forecast throughout the day and I was hit by a couple of smallish ones here so had no intention of staying out too long.

Presently without polarised shades, I've still been trying to keep an eye on the water as much as possible when trailing a lure about. Very important you keep as 'in contact' with what you are doin at all times. Its amazing how often fish 'flash' at a lure without taking. Some sessions you might think were a complete waste of time with no bites or taps, but if you watch your lure, often you see that you weren't far away at all from connecting with something worthwhile.

There are 2 or 3 hotspots in this pool. I covered one first cast and immediately saw a fish rise up and take my mepp as it crossed its path. One cast, one fish, who can complain at that? An excellent brownie safely returned.

Not too long after I induced a tap in the same spot from another substantial fish, similar in size to the one I lost the previous evening and a bit later I hooked another 9 or so incher at the far side and lost it as I brought it across.

So, while still not the rampant success I was hoping for, enough to keep me coming back. I headed home and just got back to the car when the heavens really opened.

16/08/2012 - North Esk

Time - 1500 - 1600
Water - Normal
Weather - Nice
Method - Two fly set-up, Wickhams/Greenwells Nymph
Total - 1
Species - Brown Trout
Size - 6 inch

A quick session from Valleyfield down to Eskmill. I've totally neglected local fly-fishing this season, mostly due to the amount of rain and the rivers being up more or less all the time.

This was a maiden expedition with H who is trying to hone his fledgling fly fishing skills.

There was another fly fisher out who reported one plus a few offers. Another dude was bait fishing in the Ele's hole. I didn't entice anything until the last pool alongside Eskmill, where, when I was reeling in, a daft wee brownie decided to take the Wickhams.

27/07/2012 - North Esk

Water - Up a little and nicely coloured
Weather - Fine & fair
Where - Targets waterfall
Time - 1530-1600
Method - Bread, float
Total - 1
Species - Brown Trout

A smash and grab session lasting barely half an hour resulted in a solitary brownie of 8 inch. Excellent condition, vivid red markings and the usual swallowed hook with these greedy wee things. I only noticed the single bite, but there were a few rises from smallish trout.

Also visible were the remnants of the high water mark from the previous weeks where some of the mossy foliage had been stripped away on the concrete platforms that form the bank to the pool. Pretty high.

13/07/2012 - South Esk

Time - 2030 - 2130
Weather - Dull
Water -
Method - Size 3 mepp
Total - 1
Size - 6"
Species - Brown trout

Having enjoyed success the day before I decided to have another crack at this spot, despite other rivers getting back to temptingly fishable levels. The water level had dropped appreciably with the steps on the overflow visible and the length of the white water at the foot of the overflow much reduced.

The fishing was completely different. Whereas before I'd been almost pestered by bites, there were none at all on the first short stretch. Finally behind the overhanging tree I got a take from a small brownie of 6 inch. And that was it.

So an excellent lesson in the fishability of this spot. If my second visit had been my first, I'd have thought it hardly worth bothering again. Quite surprising how much of a difference the water level can make between very high and high. Elsewhere I'd say very high is unfishable and high is good. This spot is better when really high. Makes you wonder where the fish appear from when its high and where they go in normal conditions.

One other factor to consider is that on the 12th July I covered the whole stretch and most of the fish with the spinner. Only a day later I tried again with little interest. While the water level was definitely a factor, there may have been some fishy learning taking place.

12/07/2012 - South Esk & Moorfoot Burn

Time -
Weather -
Water -
Where - Usual stretch & pool on MB, beneath Rosebery Outflow on SE
Method - Size 3 silver mepp
Total - 9
Species - Brown Trout

Photos to follow

With a fortnights worth of rain keeping the local rivers above worthwhile levels I've been keen to get back to some real fishing. The tides weren't conducive to shore fishing when I had the time (tides out when I was available) and not enough time to devote a full day to somewhere like Eliburn, options have been annoyingly sparse.

On Thursday evening it looked on SEPA like the North Esk was just about back to fishable while the Almond & Water of Leith were still too high. So I decided to try something more speculative.

Firstly I hit the little Moorfoot Burn which was high, but fishable. I had one wee assault from a 7-8 incher in the corner runs below the bridge (I also missed a troot here last time), but nothing else. At the big pool there has been a log lying abreast the foot of the pool which was immovable. However the recent floods seem to have moved it on. Despite the deliciously peaty colour of the water, there was no interest at all. In the corner runs there had been a couple of rises right at the far bank and similarly in the big pool in the backswirl on the far bank there were 3 rises of fish around 6 inch or so.

On 23rd April I explored the upper reaches of the South Esk as it emerges from Rosebery Reservoir. I decided to check it out again in higher level conditions. There is an overflow, which does as it says and allows water to spill out at surface level if the water is high, and there is an outflow which seems to come from a lot deeper to keep the 'river' flowing. So effectively a top and a bottom outflow. You can see the outflow in the pictures on the linked blog. When I last visited, the overflow was bone dry and I was able to walk across it. It is like an oversized flight of stairs. Not the case this time. There was just short of a raging torrent crashing down the steps and into the channel at the bottom. This was very interesting. Rosebery itself is a commercial fishery, so is stocked with Rainbow Trout. So there must be a possibility that one of these usually dumb stockies could find its way over the overflow and into the river system. Similarly, any of Rosebery's resident Pike or Perch may also find their way out. So although I'd only expect a brownie, there was a reasonable chance of a surprise.

At the foot of the overflow I chucked the mepp out into the foam and immediately connected with what turned out to be a 10.25 inch brownie. Not bad for this far upstream, not bad for the maelstrom within which I'd speculated and not bad for such out of the ordinary conditions. And so it continued. I'd often get a couple or more taps per cast and often enough bring fish onto the bank. I totalled 9 in the end, 3 fish being around 6 inch, 4 being 8-9 inch and the biggest at 10.5 inch.

Not quite the full story though. Having got the two 10+ inchers quite early, I was a bit too heavy handed/over confident with one of about 12 inch that managed to escape. And then, there was also 'the one that got away'. With incessant attention from Brown Trout, my hopes of encountering an angry wee Perch or other such surprise had slipped my mind. When thunk, something different was on. This was just after I lost the 12 incher, so I had toned down my sturdy handling. But I knew immediately it was bigger. It took near the bank and not far from me, so I tried to get it up and have a look as soon as I could. It was more sluggish than the brownies had been and although I only got a brief look at its shoulders & back (in fading light), I'm reasonably sure it was an escaped Rainbow. Probably about 18 inches, but as soon as I glimpsed it, it was off again.

Although I continued fishing, and kept getting bites as I moved to fresh parts, nothing as big as had gone before was found.

I had a look up the outflow stretch. The water was clearer than the overflow side for some reason (as I assume the source of both flows is the same body of water). There were a couple of small trout flitting about (max 6 inch), but nothing else and no small dead Perch like there had been previously

So, when conditions elsewhere are too high, this spot benefits from a blast of water and fish seemingly appear from nowhere to give some sport. I will be back.

29/03/2012 - North Esk

Roslin Castle

Time - 1815-1915
Weather - 15+ degrees cooling from main part of day. Record breaking (temp) weather to continue into Friday although next week supposedly cooling back down to around 10 degrees with possibility of some hill snow...
Water - Clear, although low for time of year, there is still enough to keep the river going, no signs of stagnation
Where - Roslin Glen downstream from road bridge to footbridge
Method - Mepp Gold no 0
Total - 1, Brownie, 11 inch

Before I reached the water a Buzzard rose from a nearby tree. And later, for the second day in a row (forgot to mention at Gore Glen) a couple of deer got up & made off on the opposite bank.

Apart from the odd waft from the water works this was a super pleasant evening. the car park closes at 5pm so there was nobody about and I effectively had the stretch to myself. Quite surprising on such an nice evening. Shows you don't always have to go far to find some peace.

I started in the runs above the road bridge and induced a follow of a 7 or so incher. And this was the case as I fished down, the odd follow but no real move for a fish to take. Eventually I got flashed by a 5 incher. In the deeper pool alongside the car park area I had plenty of follows by 7-8 inchers but nothing really looking like biting. There was a small rise here too from nothing bigger than 6 inches.

The conditions were too clear and lacking any above norm turbulence so it appears the fish just have far too much time to eye up what's on offer and are displaying curiosity ahead of aggression.

In the run in to the pool below I got hit by a solid fish and it put up a very good wee fight too. Once banked it measured 11 inches which is the best brownie of the season so far, a beauty in excellent condition.

23/03/2012 - Moorfoot Burn & South Esk

Moorfoot Burn - Above the road bridge

Time - 1645 - 1845
Where - MB - above & below road bridge. RR - foot of dam. SE - Carrington Bridge - Corner Pool
Weather - Nicest day of year so far, only 13 degrees on car thermometer, but really pleasant
Water - Summer levels
Method - Mepp no 2
Total - 1

First stop was the Moorfoot Burn. The foot of the big pool is straddled by a large fallen tree that was unshiftable. Although it cuts off the foot of the pool, it will provide really outstanding cover for any biggies that want to live here. I fished from the foot of the pool and had covered most of it without success. I half miscast to the head of the pool and induced an ambush by an exceptionally lovely and not so wee brownie.

10.5 inch

When I released it at the foot of the pool, it slowly made off downstream, so hopefully it finds its way back at some point. I fished upstream from here but with no further success, fishing further upstream than normal. There are some nice wee spots, but really on the borderline of being able to fish them with a rod. I did see one further half decent fish scoot downstream as I made my way up, but since the water hasn't been up for a while, there is already quite a lot of weed building up.

Vivid red markings

Next I made my way to Rosebery again. In the short journey betwixt locations I spotted a Curlew, which I've not seen any or any of recently, a Buzzard and (I'm 95% sure) a Kestrel. There were also a fair few Pheasants about looking nice but dumb and making the odd racket.

Red fin

I was able to get parked and set off to the foot of the dam. The 'left' overflow is a series of large steps and the pool at the bottom had hardly any depth and I couldn't see any fish which I'd contend was a fair assessment of the fish population there. There was almost no water entering here.

On the opposite right outflow, things looked much better. There is a long man-made channel with enough water in it to support some fish (see pic below). However I fished the length of it and didn't see squat. At the head of the run, just below the outflow itself I noticed 5 or 6 dead fish in the water. Once I got in amongst them, they turned out to be Perch of about 5 inches long. I assume they have simply been sooked into the outflow system and died in the process. It does show that they can physically escape from Rosebery but whether they can come through alive is another matter.

Rosebery Dam wall & Outflow

At the end of the right outflow it joins the left overflow and there is a slow pool which flows under a footbridge before becoming a wild burn again and heading down towards Temple. Under and just below this small bridge I noticed a good half dozen or so rises, all seemingly quite small. I couldn't see them and had a wee trawl but couldn't tempt anything. When I crossed the bridge I seen a seven (or so) incher dart down and away. Like Gladhouse the day before, I reckon this might be worth another try in higher water.

I rambled downstream a bit, but the 'path' was well above the river which was pretty overgrown in most places and there didn't appear to be any large enough pools to justify putting in the effort to scramble down (and then back up again). So with some time left in the bank I headed back to my car.

Next stop was the Temple stretch of the South Esk again. However I was unable to connect or even rouse anything other than spooking a deer and a couple of Pheasant.

18/03/2012 - North Esk

Roslin Glen weir at the Old Gunpowder Works

Time - 1600 - 1800
Water - A little bit more than previous visit and a little bit cloudier, but still low and clear for time of year
Method - Mepp No 2
Where - Roslin Glen Old Gunpowder Mills, Dalmore
Weather - Very fair, a bit breezy
Total - 1
Species - Brown Trout

Note the hatch

I decided to explore the weir area at the old Gunpowder Works in Roslin Glen. The foot of waterfalls might be my favourite spot, especially with the mepp. Something about the limited time a fish has to decide or otherwise on the offering.

Looking downstream from atop the weir

I fished from the foot of the weir and had a follow quite quickly from a fish of around 9 inch. As I didn't know the layout, I was fishing over shallowish undulations and rocks etc that I couldn't quite make out in the light and water conditions. Plenty of lovely little holes and sucklike.

Looking downstream from the foot of the weir

I moved downstream into the first big pool just under and below the footbridge and quite soon connected with a brownie in nice condition tipping the tape at 9 inch. When I banked it, it covered itself in a bit of gravel and as I rinsed it to get it looking good for a photo, it managed to free itself and make off.

View downstream from footbridge

I continued downstream covering two or three of the runs and half-pools there are until I reached a long pool under the old lade, meaning there is a long large brick wall down one end of the pool. Accessibility became an issue and not knowing the depths and still having to explore above the weir, in limited time, I headed back upstream.

Cliff

Cliff again

Above the weir is a lovely big pool with the obligatory bubble float/s in the trees on the far bank. A bit too low and slow and no interest. Well worth further examination though most probably from the opposite bank.

An absolutely lovely wee spot though and well worth perseverance and further investigation in future.

While returning along the old railway I took a shot of the Pentland's in the distance with a plane above them as you can see below left.

View of Pentland's from Old Railway on way home

Before finishing I had a quick dip at Dalmore fishing the weir pool, then upstream to the old railway bridge, but with no success.

16/03/2012 - South Esk

First Brownie of the season

Time - 1515 - 1615
Water - Lowish and clear
Method - Mepp 2
Where - Carrington Bridge to Arniston House corner pool, then up to old water pump building pool on the Roseberry outflow river
Weather - Had been raining, bright enough and a bit blustery
Total - 1
Size - 8.75 inch
Species - Brown Trout

With a limited time frame I tried to hit all my favourite spots with the minimum of exploring. I started above the Carrington Bridge and had a follow quite soon from a fish around 6 inches (max). Down from the bridge at the best pool between the bridge and the confluence, the winter has been very kind to it. Most overhanging trees weren't an issue and the river itself has formed nicely. Despite all this, no fish showing at all.

Tree obstruction removed

Next I reached the big corner pool which last season was effectively chopped in half by a large fallen tree. In one of the greatest examples of river management, this has been completely removed at some point since my last visit, freeing up the entire pool for examination. If anything, the 'clearers' have done too good a job combined with the clear water conditions, there is hardly any cover at all, and no fish could be persuaded to connect.

So I headed up to the pool next to the old waterworks building. This has changed its character a lot in the last few seasons and I was interested to see how it had developed over the winters weathery travails. It is now almost split in two and the main current flows down the right central sort of channel (last season, left bank). I've had some interesting encounters here in the past, but nothing at all was around or interested as I fished it.

With the prospect of a blank and time running out I headed back downstream trying a couple of the larger deeper holes, although they are hard to adequately access. In one, I induced a couple of attacks in the tight space and limited time between the mepp landing, becoming active, then running out of room. Convinced I'd missed my opportunity, I chucked it in again and hooked a nice if lean brownie that I couldn't quite stretch to 9 inches on the tape. Quite thin, nevertheless it was my first brownie of the season and a decent length for the location and time of year.

03/10/11 - North Esk

Time - 18.00 - 19.00

Water - Around 10cm up, coloured nicely
Where - Railway Tunnel Bridge - Dalmore Weir

Weather - OK

Methods - Size 3 mepp
Total - 1
Species - Brown Trout
Size - 10.5 inch

An excellent image above of the overnight rise in water level according to the Dalmore gauge on the North Esk.  While an excellent resource, I've only recently discovered this specific water level indicator. On the few occasions since discovering it that I've been able to match it to my own actual observed conditions, I'd say that it is accurate at recording water levels, bit the times it claims to represent are a bit out. I'll be more specific once I've had time to do a bit more matching up of data and observations.

From Dalmore Tunnel looking west along the Old Railway

The boost in water attracted me out. Auchendinny was the direction. After an unsuccesful stint at the bridge, walked through the tunnel to the old mill site to find it's been fenced off since my last visit. So back up to the bridge, into the water and a traipse downstream. However, as I was crossing at the foot of the bridge pool, I chucked the spinner directly upstream. This is the tactic that has brought me my only two fish to date from this pool and first cast I was into another. Notable that they don't sniff the mepp in other directions but can't help themselves when its heading straight downstream.

10.5 inch

Afterwards there was a little toil for no reward. Nothing doing at all in the weir pool and the impending darkness ended proceedings.

01/10/11 - South Medwin Water

Biggest Hill Pool

Time - 18.00 - 19.00

Water - Crystal clear, not low, but not high either
Where - Parked at the farm track ford & fished upstream in the hill pools, then a quick shot at and above the humpback bridge

Weather - Windy, drizzly

Methods - Size 3 mepp
Total - 3
Species - Brown Trout
Size - 6.5-8.5 inches

6.5 inch

With time running out in the trout season, I made my way to Dunsyre to see what was on offer. Initially drove thru the village and along the farm track to the weir. The track is becoming difficult to pass and an off roader would be well advised next time I attempt the mission. Had a quick thrash in the weir pool, but nothing showed itself in a favourable looking spot.

First 8.5 incher

Moved upstream in the increasing drizzle doubting my decision to persevere. En route witnessed at least a thousand geese, maybe as much as five thousand or so, migrating in their V formations, in half a dozen or so groups. Took some footage, but in the grey drizzle and at the height they were at, not really worth adding the clip on here. Tried my luck in one or two small runs, the burn is pretty small this far upstream with no success. At the first decent pool I connected with a 6.5 incher, resplendent in a real buttery brown colouring and flapping about like the wild burn brownie it was. An absolutely excellent wee fish and suddenly everything was worthwhile again.

Best saved til last

At the next and biggest pool, prospects looked outstanding. After a couple of missed taps, I managed to get my second fish, marked and coloured exactly as the first fish. However on closer inspection, there was a problem with its tail. At first I assumed it had been nibbled a bit, and that may have been the case. But it was probably some sort of fungus/wasting type infection. Otherwise the fish was lovely.

The very next cast I hit the jackpot again with another 8.5 incher, this time without any problems. Fish of the day to top things off. If these are the fish that make their way downstream and into the Clyde, then the Clyde is a lucky river indeed.

With the rain and potential for lying water in mind, I made my way back to the car to get back along the farm track before things got too slippy and puddles got too deep at the risk of becoming stranded.

At the humpback bridge, I had a wee peer to see what, if anything was happening. Upstream there is a shallowish pool which slopes right into shallows before running under the bridge. At the tail of that pool, there must have been 8-12, 7-9 inchers lying which were spooked by my silhouette and made themselves noticeable as they made for cover in the deeper current. I fished from the bridge up for a few small pools and runs, but generally the pools were too small. Nevertheless I did manage a couple of half decent bites.

Last stop was the pool immediately below the bridge. I opted to fish upstream into it from the right bank. I was tapped a couple of times when casting right into the inflow but was unable to make them count and called it a day after a right good covering.