Cramond Angling Club

The River Almond offers anglers the opportunity to fish for wild brown trout within the city boundary.  Many techniques and tackle set ups can be adopted and, as ever in angling, many people have their own personal preferences.  The following is not intended as a definitive guide to fly fishing but purely as an insight into my own approach and may be of help to any visiting angler or beginner.

Tackle

You can use any fly rod from 7’6″ 3wt to 9′ 5/6 wt with floating lines to suit.  Smaller rods can be advantageous due to the tree canopy and bushes which line many parts of the riverbank.  My personal preference is a  7’6″ 3wt set up coupled with a wtf4 or dt3.  I like to travel light and don’t carry a bag.  I manage to carry my kit in the pockets of my waterproof/shirt or wader pockets.

In addition to a rod and a couple of lines, I also carry a small box of mixed dries,wets and nymphs from size 16 up to 12.  I pre tie my tapered leaders on rigs to keep them straight and also carry some 2.8lb d/s mono and 3lb sub surface.  Gink and degreasant (washing up liquid) are also an essential accessory, as are de-barbing forceps/scissors.

To complete the outfit a small pack of fuse wire, which can be fed into the braided leader loop when nymph fishing turns the floater into a sinktip, a Monomaster for waste monofilament and small river net.

Waders

Waders will make fishing the river more enjoyable as many of the best fish holding pools and runs are inaccessible from the bank.  Thigh,waist or chest are a personal choice ,as are neoprane/rubber/nylon or breathable.  Expensive top of the range breathable will shred as easily on the brambles on Beat 3 as a budget pair.  For this reason I use a pair of old waist waders which have seen better days.  A wading stick or adapted stick cut from a tree is an essential piece of kit if you are new to the river as there are many deep holes especially close in to the banks.  There are also many shin height submerged boulders on Beat 2 and I have often taken a tumble in the dusk.

Flies

Olives tend to hatch mid morning and sporadically through the day and early evening with no distinct time pattern.  April, May and June is probably best for dry fly and early evening in late July and Aug.

There is an an abundance of sub surface feeding on the Almond as the following picture will illustrate, and in midsummer, when the river is low and clear, the nymph is king

Over the past few seasons the dozen flies that have proved most successful for me are, Greenwell Spider, Cruncher, Dry Greenwell, Iron Blue Dun, Partridge and Orange, F Fly, Snipe and Purple, P.T.N, G.R.H.E, Foam Beetle, Black Spider and Invicta.

Technique

As previously mentioned, wading gives the angler a distinct advantage but it is important to remember that many fish lie close into the bank.  A modified roll or catapult cast from the bank will often produce results before plunging in (this is where the shorter rods have the advantage under the tree canopy).

Dries tend to work best in April/May/June with sporadic rises early evening in late July/August and September.  Due to the fact that many parts of the river are silty or covered in silt holding weed in midsummer an upstream approach will often pay dividends.  Stand in the river just up from the Cramond Brig , move your feet and observe the silt that washes down.  It looks as if a churn of milk has been poured into the river.

Nymphs are king in mid summer when the water is clear and low with the induced take method in the deeper pools often proving deadly.  It is also surprising how very shallow runs hold trout.  Early evening to dusk is without doubt the best time to fish the river in summer, and some good sport can be had targeting the risers with the dry fly.

The fish are easily spooked, and if covered three times with no response its best to change fly size/mono diameter and move on to the next riser.   Odds are he won’t come up for a while.  In late summer sea trout often run up the river.  If the pools go dead its a good sign the silver ones have displaced the browns.  (This is where the 7’6″ 3wt is a distinct disadvantage).

Above all its just for fun and observing the Kingfishers, Kestral, Deer and other assorted wildlife can be as rewarding as catching fish.  The Cramond Angling Club supports a “catch and release” policy and de-barbing hooks will greatly assist conserving fish stocks.  River Almond browns are far to pretty to tap on the head.

Monomaster can be obtained from here www.monomaster.co.uk

Millar H  Laing