Cramond Angling Club

The river conditions this past week have been good with the usual sport being had in the evenings. Daytime fishing can be challenging as it always is this time of year but the odd fish continues to be picked up during the day.

The evening sessions for Sea trout are in full swing with many members fishing through the night.
Waste monofil is still a problem and we urge anglers to dispose of same responsibly

Some time was spent mid week clearing some debris from last weeks high water and the path strimming on bt 2 continued with bt 3 to be re-strimmed this weekend. Hopefully anglers will see the progress being made but as ever its a task which is time consuming and priorities are keeping the river and ladders clear at this time of year

There are still a limited number of places left for the Kids day at Selmuir and the Stillwater championship at North Third ,contact the Outings Secretary for details.

Now that summer is in full swing our members are travelling far and wide in search of sport with Dalguise,The Dee,Leven and Loch Ericht being some of the chosen venues. Catches of note are;
Mark Mcgillvary on the Dee,who in a day and a half had a few sea trout and a couple of Grilse

And Calum McRoberts possibly the fish of the season with a wonderful 13lb 10oz brown from loch Ericht, a lifetime best brown.

Good luck to anyone venturing out next week and feel free to contact us with any catches of note, Chairman@fishalmond.co.uk

Cramond Angling Clubs photobucket account can be viewed here

Good and bad news this week…..
The bad news……..high water hampered fishing for a few days with the river running at 6ft above summer level on Tuesday evening and the resulting high water has left a bit of debris in the river which we will have to sort out.

Its now calming down and hopefully next week should be ok both level and clarity wise

The good news…..15lb Salmon caught on the fly(with scale samples to verify) and a 7lb+Salmon lost. There are also numerous sightings and connections with Sea Trout…..get the big flies on. Even last night with clarity less than ideal the browns were back surface feeding at the brig

Please remember to dispose of all waste mono responsibly its the main thing that gives anglers a bad name with the other riverside users. We have a responsibility as custodians of the river to the environment, and this type of thing just gives the Club and anglers in general a bad reputation.

With river levels remaining on the low side the Sea trout have been hard to entice.
The browns are also proving a tad picky but there are some success stories.Last week Stuart got his first brown on a large sea trout fly well done and guys are picking up fish during the evening sessions. Mark a nice plump brown on of all things a small tube fly and Sergio continues to do well on his size 18/20 dies (Apparently a dozen fish on Monday 20th)

The last Salmon outing was a success(Well done David who had a nice 7lb Salmon) for the report and picture navigate to this link
We seem to be picking up Salmon on every outing….are we getting better, is the outings secretary getting good venues, or are we just “Lucky”?, who knows but it is nice to report successes as opposed to the past few years blanks!!

There are still a few places left for the kids day out and North Third contact Adam (details on the outings page) to book your place.

Hopefully we will get a bit of rain in he next few days and we will see a repeat of Neil Chapmans success with “silver fish” in the near future.

Last Saturday was the date for the river C/R championship and with conditions near perfect a good turnout made for a decent days sport and banter.
Euan Martin won the event with 9 fish all well fed brownies fallinq to black goldheads, for further information, navigate to this link

The river continued to fish well throughout the week with fluctuating levels making for good sport in the windows of opportunity. A few were out in the evenings and the usual flies produced the goods
Rowan managed his best brown to date on bt 2 on Friday evening and Stuart also got a decent brown on the same evening.The browns do seem to have put on a bit of beef and the fish are in fantastic condition. The better fish are now a bit streetwise and a wee bit skill is required to hook these specimens. Stll plenty daft finnock in the system.

Neil Chapman fishing upper bt 1 on light trout gear did manage to hook into and subsequently return a nice Sea Trout of around 4lbs ….Well done, Neil’s first River Almond Sea Trout. Mark (a.k.a Swifty) lost an estimated two pound silver tourist on Sat evening….Welcome to the “so close but so far” club Mark!

Neil’s fly I believe was a pattern tied at the very recent Fly tying evening.(These events have their uses)

With heavy rain over the weekend we should see a rise in river levels and if it remains fishable we should hear of more Sea trout being caught next week. Evening sessions will be the best bet for the browns as is the case at his time of year and if you are venturing out, good luck.
Tight lines to the lads heading up to Islabank on Friday for the Salmon outing. There are still some places left for both the Junior Championship at Selmuir and the Stillwater “do” at North Third for details navigate to the outings section on this web site.

The constantly updated club photogallery can be viewed on this link new additions include the recent ad hoc outing to Loch Leven and the 2011 River Championship. In order to keep the journal current and topical please feel free to e mail pics or news of your successes to, Chairman@fishalmond.co.uk

The river continued to fish well after the storm damage and subsequent clear up thanks to all involved in sorting out the mess.
The flies of choice seem to be the usual fare ( see previous journal entries) Sea trout are being caught with many more being lost. The river today looked like it could do with some more water for these fish.
There has however been reported sightings of decent sized fish in the system.

the flytying evening was a resounding success with a bigger than expected turnout and our thanks go to the demonstrators. we may do another later in the season.

Good luck to anyone heading out next week conditions are ideal for the browns with levels and clarity ok, as previously mentioned a wee spot of rain required for the sea troots

The clubs online galley is constantly being updated and can be viewed here

The result, an article and pictures of this weeks 2011 river championship will be published in the news section of this web site in the next few days

The weekend weather did us no favours with high winds ,high water and poor clarity hampering fishing until Wednesday.
The river cleared on Thursday with Neil Chapman reporting a nice bt 2 fish on early Friday morning to a size 12 black nymph,and Sergio reporting a brace latter on in the day. Although the river conditions were not ideal for fishing a few hardy souls pitched in clearing the river and paths of fallen tree limbs and flotsam. The clubs thanks go to them these are the things that make a difference to the river. I has been proven essential to keep the fishladders clear as there was evidence of migratories running the river during the spell of high water.

Tuesday 31st is the date for the members fly tying evening, 7.30 Cramond Boat Club, and Sat 4rth being the date for the River Almond championship, details of both on the members forum. For details of the remaining club outings see this link
Good luck for anyone heading out over the next few days.

The Clubs online gallery can be viewed on this link

The welcome rise in river level came this week but unfortunately the Trout seemed to turn off
This is not unusal for the river and daytime sessions can be tricky as the trout seem to become
more “street wise” when we head into the summer months
Many anglers are commenting that when covering fish with dries that worked last month,the same flies just aint working this month.
Badly presented flies seem to be easily sussed by the fish. There is an opinion that because of the vast amount of sub surface feeding the fish can be rather picky and daytime sessions may prove to be more productive if the sub surface approach is adopted, that was certainly the case last season and the season previous. Crunchers, Ptns and Hares Ears were the flies that seemed to work amongst others

The River was looking spot on today (Sunday 22nd at 11am) with levels and clarity spot on.
There is evidence that the Sea trout have been running the river so hopefully we will hear of more hookups next week.
The members flytying session is being held at Cramond Boat Club on Tuesday 31st of May starting at 7.30 pm ,all members are welcome. There are still a few places left on the Junior outing and North Third outing see this link for details
The annual River Almond championship takes place on Sat 4rth May all members are welcome and a BBQ will be running during the afternoon. This is a great event to meet the members and swap ideas the competition is secondary
Good luck to all who venture out next week

The past week has seen the long awaited rise in water level with the height rising on average about 8″ from previous weeks. This has encouraged the larger sea trout into the river with reports of sightings on bt 1 on Thursday.By all accounts it has been harder fishing for the browns and the numerous hatches of hawthorns are being ignored with the exception of Wednesday when one of our junior members, Cameron Chapman managed to get his first ever Almond Brown on a Hawthorn variant.Well done Cameron.
This morning saw the start of the path reconstitution on bt 3 with a section cleared between Boathouse bridge and Halyards farm . Numerous cut ins have been made and some large overhanging bushes trimmed. This has enabled easier access to the water and hopefully this ongoing project will drastically improve this section. The more its used the easier it is maintained.
There is a slight change to the layout when gaining access to the north bank at Boathouse bridge
The farmer is going to be using the field for live stock. We now access that bank by going down the road towards Edinburgh and on the first bend there is a gate with a post marked footpath and a C.A.C sign enter by the wooden gate. The landowner has requested that cars are not parked on the corner which seems reasonable. There is a well maintained path on this bank which leads past the poplar trees all the way down to the railway bridge (as yet cut ins have not been made). The River here is wadeable all the way down with care.
The lighter nights will see the start of the night sea trout sessions and with reports of fish in the system it wont be long before we feature pictures on the web site. Catch and release is highly recommended for these fish and please bear in mind “flying trebles” are not an option on our river.
Ther are still places left for the Junior day and Stillwater championship for details navigate to the outings section on this site.The River championship is to be held on Saturday 4rth June and all members are welcome. a BBQ will be running for the duration of the day and the competition aspect takes a back seat in preference to enjoyment deatils can be found here
Have a good week on the river and hopefully we will hear of some 5lb+ Seat trout……..they are there!!!

The long awaited rain has eventually arrived with the river rising six inches on Friday. Fish were being taken throughout the latter part of the week with George Melvin bringing a nice 3/4lb brownie to hand at the Cammo flats on Tuesday evening.The long awaited rise in river levels will give the river a good flush through and we should eventually start to see some decent sized sea trout featuring in the returns.On the Brownie front the flies that were successful last week were Grey olive patterns and Partridge and Orange’s.There are still a high number of smolts in the river and fishing barbless will aid their return.The river is continuing to be well fished by both members and day tickets with reports of bigger fish coming off bt 3
The members Fly tying evening is now organised for Tuesday 31st May and details can be found on the members
forum May sees the season really kick off with a few events planned. We have The River championship in June and the Junior and stillwater championships to follow, dont be detered by the word “Championship” as these events are social events with the emphasis on having a good time and a laugh as opposed to serious competition. For details of these events navigate to this link As previously reported the emphasis is being shifted to bt 3 for our bank maintenance programme with Sunday the 15th May seeing the start of the path and cut-in restoration if you can help in any way we are meeting at The Boathouse Bridge at 8am. This is an important task as the fishing on this section can be exceptional (if you can get at it!!) Good luck for the coming week and please continue to carry your day tickets/membership cards.

Water level is at summer low and running gin clear.
The weekend saw mixed results with some anglers struggling in the bright sunshine Plenty fish are being caught however mainly before noon and after 5pm. Dries being the most entertaining way of enjoying the river but they will still take wets and nymphs in the faster runs. Emergers or dries (just as the are about to go under) are possibly the best method in the deeper pools. The low water has continued to hamper the Sea Trout run and only a good bit of rain will rectify this. The river continues to be well fished with members and day tickets out most days/evenings and availing themselves of the 3 beats on offer (Please continue to carry your membership cards/day tickets) The first of the Club fly tying evenings is advertised on the members forum as is the Junior competition/fun day Spaces are limited for the latter and we would advise to book now to avoid disappointment As promised the focus of the monthly work parties will be switched to bt 3. with access and cut ins being the main priority If you can lend a hand on the 15th pop along (details here ) Good luck for the rest of the week.