River Leven Kelts

[clwydman]

I know this is not in the correct place as I am replying to messages on the Scottish Rivers report but there seems to be a gremlin which will not allow me to place a reply in teh River Leven thread.
Why are we bragging about dragging 30 plus salmon and sea trout kelts out of the river?
No fresh fish were caught which stacks the odds on only contacting kelts so why bother?
Ther is absolutely no point in my opinion in spending thousands of pounds improving habitat possibly using hatchery if the very fish that we need to return are dragged out of the river as they find their way back to the sea.
Am I totally off the mark here or do other anglers find it slightly obsene that we are posting comments about this number of kelts being caught?

[wilbert]

I am with you on this one but I don't think that anglers brag about catching kelts, after all there is not much to brag about is there. Then again it does seem like a waste of time going out on opening day if you know that there are no fresh fish in the system.

[Fruin]

Clwydman,

Please allow me to clarify. I was not, nor is anybody else bragging about catching kelts. It was opening day on the local river and all the regular rods cast a fly to mark the occasion. I was only providing information for anybody that may have been interested.
Quite often if there are a few kelts about, one or more fresh fish will nestle in with them, so it makes it worthwhile covering the water.
I stopped fishing halfway down that particular pool when I realised that, given the number of kelts in that pool, all I was going to catch was a ridiculous amount of kelts and it would not be in the interests of the fishery for me to continue.
I later went to the pool again with a new(ish) member of our club that has never caught a salmon before. He did catch a kelt, returned it safely, and was overjoyed with the experience. This may just keep his interest in fishing alive.
Catching kelts has always been and always will be a part of spring fishing. Pointing out that a lot of kelts were caught on opening day is only highlighting that it may well have been a good year for spawning fish, maximising the potential for a good juvenile population.
If you feel that we are spending money on habitat improvements and hatcheries and therefore should not be fishing if we risk catching kelts, should you be fishing at all? Or perhaps you think that all rivers should be closed until June?
I am versed enough in the subject to realise that kelts are weakened fish which is why all that I caught were played very quickly and allowed to recover sufficiently on their return to the river. However, I must also point out that the potential for damage to a rivers salmon population is far greater by catching fresh fish that may die after being returned than by catching and returning kelts. Fresh fish have still to produce their offspring.
I would rather be fishing for fresh fish and there is always the chance of an early springer, and I was not, nor was anybody else, purposefully targeting kelts.
If you took the time to read through the rest of the thread, you would have noticed that I stated my next venture, after the opening day, would be in mid march when there is a better chance of fresh fish.
I hope this has helped clarify my previous thread and you are not too offended by salmon anglers catching kelts on opening day. If there was a way of targetting springers and avoiding kelts I am sure most or all anglers would employ such tactics.

[sealicer]

Yes clwydman you are totally off the mark. Totally agree with your comments Fruin & Graham, fresh fish will often lie in a pool if there are kelts there, the kelts seem to hold up the springers. Catching kelts is unavoidable, but keeps you going on the numerous spring days when you don't catch a springer. The important thing is to get them back in the water asap, i've seen too many kelts dragged up the bank & then left there gasping while the captor decides if it is indeed a kelt or not. At least a kelt has done 'the business' & with a bit of care could do it again. If it wasn't for us anglers fishing in the spring, then how would we gauge if the spring run is, as we hope it is, recovering?

[clwydman]

Having read my first comments, they may appear a little harsh and negative for which I am happy to apologise however I cannot accept that what I am getting at is, as you describe 'Sealicer' as 'Totally off the mark'
To cast a line on opening day and hook into a few kelts, I have no problem with whatsoever and indeed would attend myself to mark the start of another season.
Here is my point though. All of the previous comments on this thread identify the fact that there is little to no chance of a spring fish at this time of year, a FACT supported by Trout and Salmon river reports which, as previous contributors have stated it will be Mid March before a reasonable chance to catch a springer occurs in the river Leven. My point being Is the start of the season too early on the River Leven?

I do think we as salmon anglers have a duty of care as to what we print in public places. I live in North Wales but have caught and kept salmon from all over Scotland as well as returning a good few, so I am not one of the return them all brigade!
Our angling club have in the last two years seen fit to issue members with advice as to what to do should we be approached by the dreaded 'Anti's' indeed some signs and cars have been damaged.
These same anti's are sure to be monitoring sites such as these and if I as a committed Salmon fisher am finding threads such as this a little near the mark as it were, then it is sure to provide narrow minded individuals with what they would think as justification to target anglers .
I am in no way saying you are wrong to fish, I am merely asking the question about season times basically as we should be protecting ALL stocks of salmon not just the ones on the way up the river, but those returning to sea too.

[sealicer]

Fair enough clwydman, i was probably a bit hard on you, in the Leven's case you are probably right, if their is a history of no springers being caught before march then the kelts should be left alone. But there are many rivers, not only in Scotland, that have a reasonable early run and also have many kelts in the pools. Surely we do not want to bow to 'antis' by changing the seasons. My point is that if the season on the Leven is changed to, say, the 1st of march and, as we hope, the early fish come back in numbers, then there is no one fishing to find this out. Therefore the anglers who fish the Leven will miss out on some early sport in the years to come, because as we all know, once these things are changed it is very hard to reverse them. Also, kelts are already protected by law & must be returned. I'm glad to hear you are not in the total catch & release brigade, i agree totally with returning the majority of fish, but the right to kill odd fish for the pot should never be taken away.

[johnmac]

Kelts are part and parcel of fishing at this time of year..... I have never caught one myself.... but i would say that the mention of how many Kelts were caught in the beginning of a new season might well be an indicator as to how successful the spawning may have been.

I know for a fact that there were some Kelts caught on my local river on the opening few days... and im sure that there will be more to come! but there were also three springers taken. UnfortunatelyKelts dont get the respect and support up here that i think they deserve....... "snigging" is a way of life up here for some people and it is regularly done openly during the day. But little or nothing is done by either the police, the baillifs or the courts ( on the rare occassion that they are convicted!) I think there are literally hundreds if not over a thousand fish caught by this method on my stretch by this means every year.

Its very sad to see as the result is that a tiny percentage of fish return to spawn again...... possibly its also a reason why fish aren't as large as they used to be?? But thats merely speculation!

[juniorspey]

I think kelts are often good at keeping the hopes of young anglers up, what got me 'hooked' at 6/7 yrs old was catching the odd kelt! now, my 12yr old sister is the same. the same goes for wee broonies too!!!

Blair