River Leven

[crawuk]

Hi, going to fish the Leven for the first time on Saturday. Anybody got any advice on good beats and flies for this time of year?
Cheers!

[jock]

crawuk said:

Hi, going to fish the Leven for the first time on Saturday. Anybody got any advice on good beats and flies for this time of year?
Cheers!

I can tell you are fishing the Leven for the first time, the word "beats" is a dead giveaway. The genuine anglers, a friendly bunch, will keep you right. hooked my first, and to date, only sofa on the Leven. Fortunately it got off. I would have landed the matching recliner, which I hooked during splashdown on my next single speycast had I not decided to break the line....didn't like the colour, wouldn't have matched the carpet we had at the time, plus I had already lost the matching sofa.

Apologies to the Leven lads on the forum, but they know where I coming from, some of them might even know where the 3 piece suite came from. ;D

Cheers,

Jock

[donnieW]

And I suppose all the fish lie in beds?!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Fruin]

donniewhiteford said:

And I suppose all the fish lie in beds?!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

No, that's the bait fishers!!!

I take it that you mean the Leven in West Dunbartonshire, that connects Loch Lomond to the Clyde.

At this time of year, try the top end:

• Above and below the Stirling Bridge (Stuckie Bridge to locals)
  
• above the double pipes
  
• chesnut tree and craft stream
  
• chapel hole and factory wall
  
• bonhill bridge
  
• the Glebe corner (east/north bank)
  

If you are really keen and need to try more water try further down the river on

• Ritchies
  
• the street run
  
• MacKinnons
  

Park your car near houses, and watch your wading if the water is up.

Check out robbieredball.net for a realistic overview of the river.

Hope this helps. If you get stuck ask any of the locals with a rod in their hands.

If the water is clear, fish a fly smaller than you would on most rivers and you could do worse than a stoats tail 3/4" to 1" tube or a similar size black and yellow(tosh type thing). If their is a bit of colour in the water try a willie gunn in similar sizes - I like mine with brown instead of black hair and a gold body.

If the water is low, a size 8 cascade will do well.

Aim to get the fly fishing about 2-3 feet under the surface as most of the Leven runs relatively shallow.

I hope this helps.

[lomond]

crawuk, there is not much of a chance of a springer until late March or even well into April on the Leven. Although being out on the river beats sitting in the house !

Fruin (local expert) is spot on in his advice. A good place to start is the Bonhill bridge car park (about halfway up the river) and you can go either up or down stream to the pools Fruin mentions.

If you want to get out there and persevere, then good on you, I hope you get a springer, as it will be well deserved.

[granters]

I've a fair idea that craw uk i my feckin brother! Craw, if you want any flies , it's 2quid a pop, family rates

[endrick]

Jock, I was down the Leven on Saturday for a few hours. I am pleased to say the winter floods have cleared out all the sofas, bikes, TV's, chairs, sinks, shopping trollies, cars, etc.. The river is now in pristine condition. Should be ok until about June when the locals will have it back to its former glory.
Cheers
Lomond

[exerod]

fruin said:

Park your car near houses,

Why

Andy

[Fruin]

Your car is less vulnerable if it is parked close to a house. The area is not the worst (I've got to say that, I grew up there) but I would not want to leave my car full of fishing gear in a quiet area.

[shrimpman]

I used to work for Westclox in this area many years ago and was able to get a small grilse during my lunch hour.

[Fruin]

shrimpman,

Did you ever work with a guy called Jim Weir?

[shrimpman]

Hi Fruin,

I don't recall the name - I worked on the sub-contract side with the M.O.D. and IBM.

[clyde-rod]

Crawuk,

Dont be too disheartened because it's so early in the season. The first springer taken in 2006 was in the last week in February.

[Fruin]

lomond said:

Fruin (local expert)

Oh, how I laughed! ;D

ryanbrady said:

Dont be too disheartened because it's so early in the season. The first springer taken in 2006 was in the last week in February.

That was earlier than usual, but the river is very lightly fished early in the season. If there were more rods on the river, I'm sure that we would have earlier fish caught more often.

[clyde-rod]

The river has been virtually disearted since openig day.

[lomond]

Crawuk, get out there and give it a go. As Ryan says, the first springer was taken in Feb last year. You don't catch them if you are sitting in your house !

[crawuk]

Cheers, thanks for the advice. Im gonna brave the elements and give it a blast for a few hours with some of the bros FREE flies.

[crawuk]

Cheers, thanks for the advice. Im gonna brave the elements and give it a blast for a few hours with some of the bros FREE flies.

[exerod]

fruin said:

Your car is less vulnerable if it is parked close to a house. The area is not the worst (I've got to say that, I grew up there) but I would not want to leave my car full of fishing gear in a quiet area.

No place for a Southern softie like me then!

[shrimpman]

Had look at Bonhill Bridge today when I was passing. The river looked in good nick after all the rain we have had this week.

Does anyone know if anything has been caught yet?