River Annan

[elwyman]

just realised that the chap holding the nice brownie in the bootom photo was one of the crown bailiffs I encountered last weekend.
www.fishannan.co.uk/pages/recentcatches.asp?dom=FishScotland


He was a good spey caster as well.

[hoppy]

The River Annan District Fishery Board has issued a total ban on taking sea trout in 2007,due to the drastic shortage of them in the last few years.

Anglers may fish but must exercise catch and release.

The river doesn't have a hatchery to stock fry on a regular basis.

Is this the shape of things to come?

Hoppy

[hoppy]

It was originally posted on my website by an Annan angler, and when i rang fish Scotland they confirmed it.

However

I have sought clarification of this with the fisheries board, hopefully Nick Chisholm will respond. My understanding is that it is compulsory until 1st June, then its down to proprietors to decide after this, however they are strongly suggesting Voluntary C&R, if this is not followed, then the fisheries board may take action to make the whole river Complusory C&R.

Hoppy

[hoppy]

This is somewhat different to what i was told

Page 6 - of this report shows the total ban

www.rivernithfishings.co.uk/2007.rpt.pdf

Hoppy

[salmonscotty16lb]

sorry guys but i totally think this is a great idea? the catches on the annan in last 3years have crashed! my total 2005 4 sea trout last year 0! now I'm no superstar sea trout angler nor put serious time on the river but fish numbers are down. i must say i have never seen a greedy angler on the annan for sea trout and most fish are returned.
ps i have never killed a sea trout in my life. they are a wonderful creature and the fact they multiple spawn makes them so important to the river in my view.

[elwyman]

From Fishannan site:

Sea trout fishing
The legal season is the same for sea trout as salmon but realistically almost all the fish that are caught after mid August are unclean and should be returned. Many beats have a prohibition on killing sea trout after the beginning of August. Whilst the majority of the fish caught are taken on the fly at night bait fishing is also allowed on a great many beats.

Over the last 4 years the numbers of sea trout caught on the Annan has reduced somewhat, although it is still a very good sea trout river compared to many others. As a precaution the Annan DSFB is introducing a new sea trout angler's code. All sea trout caught before 1st June must be returned (by law). After this date we would like all anglers to return the first fish they catch, consider taking the second one, return the third one and so on. Also large sea trout are proportionately the most important part of the spawning stock so we would like to ask all anglers to return all fish over 3lb. In addition to these measures the Annan DSFB will be spending several hundred thousand pounds on improving the habitat in sea trout spawning areas.

[hoppy]

Please see reply below from Nick Chisholm, who has responded in a very timely fashion...

I thought that as the architect of the catch and release policy on the Annan I had better clarify a few points as Chinese whispers can sometimes distort the facts. On the Annan we have seen a dramatic down turn in the recorded catches of Sea Trout. This situation is mirrored on other rivers in the Solway – and it would appear to me throughout the western parts of the UK. What is more worrying is that we are seeing significant drops (60 – 80%) in the numbers of fry in known sea trout spawning areas. I suspect that this is mirrored elsewhere but has not been looked for or published. This is a strong indication that there are insufficient adult fish surviving to repopulate the burns. In this scenario it is therefore important to maximise the number of adults by killing as few as possible so we have decided to try for a code of practice that at the moment has no regulatory teeth and get as close to possible 100% of all the fish released. We would prefer to go down the non-regulatory route as it affords much more flexibility should the situation change in the future.

We are fully aware that it is highly unlikely that angler (or netting) exploitation is the reason for the decline and that other pressures at sea are the most likely causes of the problem. We are trying to look for research methodologies to find out what is the most likely cause and will be lobbying our government and other agencies hard to carry this research out. We are also advertising for a member of staff who will be tasked with the daunting task of carrying out an inventory of the different trout populations within the river and looking for in river problems such as habitat degradation, pollution and obstructions. In addition to this, although I must admit that I am sceptical about the worth of this, we will be making some of the space in the hatchery that is currently devoted to salmon available for sea trout ova.

Meanwhile though I think that catch and release has a very important role to play for us. In fact catch and release for sea trout may well have a far more dramatic effect than it does for salmon due to the sea trout’s ability to multi spawn. A schoolies sea trout that you catch this year may well, after completing its spawning duties return to the sea and come back as a much larger fish next year. There is some evidence from rivers elsewhere in the world that catch and release of sea trout not only increases the number of spawning fish but increases the numbers of large fish that are caught in the future – and as an avid sea trout angler myself that is a very interesting prospect.

I am aware that the actions that we wish to take are more draconian than is the picture elsewhere but we do not mind being out of step with the mainstream of thinking as although catch and release my divert anglers to other rivers and hurt us economically in the short term our eye is not on the short term financial gains we could have by allowing anglers to kill fish but is instead on the prospect of having a thriving sea trout fishery for the future.

You can keep posted on the situation by checking out details on our marketing web site www.fishannan.co.uk

Nick Chisholm
Fisheries Manager Annan DSFB

[dunbar]

ibrox said:

Its thanks to Nick the Annan is in the state it is .

ATB a local Annan angler

What an outrageous thing to say. How can the state of the sea trout stocks in the Annan be pinned down to one person?

[stoater]

A-A, I speak as someone with little local Annan knowledge, but fairly reasonable knowledge of your sister Solway rivers, The Nith and Border Esk.
The latter two mentioned rivers have also experienced an almost mirror image decline in sea trout catches, and probably, stocks. At exactly the same time too..... just look back and the records show that the earliest years of the 21st century showed a fairly optimistic sea trout Solway picture.
It is beyond coincidence that all local rivers (or indeed less local rivers) can have all suffered the same in-river problem that you so vehemently accuse Mr.Chisholm of causing.
It is obvious...to me at least, or maybe I'm stupid..... that the crash in stocks on the Annan is NOT due to Mr.Chisholm. It is a problem outside of the river that is common to all local rivers( i.e. AT SEA). Hardly rocket science.
Without wishing a torrent of abuse upon my cyber-doorstep, what exactly have you done to examine and manage the Annan's stocks? It is easy to critisize, less easy to improve upon the efforts of those who really are trying to find causes and/or solutions. Do I whiff a personal dislike of Mr.Chisholm? I have met niether of you, but let's not have more unnecessary vitriol poisoning the forum. Helps nobody, least of all the sea trout!

[dunbar]

Annan angler, thanks for the apology.

Its a bit daft to make assumptions about anyone on a web forum. I have been a season ticket holder on the Annan before I moved away, but as usual 'the locals' know best. The same locals that, in my experience, step right in front of you with spinning gear, knock well coloured fish on the head and generally don't give a toss about other fishers.

I am just interested to know how you can pin the decline of the Annan sea trout on one person. If you could be more specific, that would be a great help. If you want to wade onto a public forum and make accusations like this, please provide some foundation.

[salmonking]

Guys sea trout stock are dwindeling everywhere in G B,as Stoater says the problem is at sea,probably the same problem we have with thin grilse.

[hardygem]

Sea trout levels have been down on many rivers recently despite salmon numbers being up.
Blaming individuals for the decrease in fish stocks in a river system is a ridiculous concept.
I'm sure Nick has done some good work on the Annan during his time there
He's got my seal of approval

[hardygem]

Yes i agree it can be very frustrating when people who know what is going on feel that they aren't being listened to and are powerless to do anything to change things .lets just hope that all concerned have now got the right answer and things start to improve on the river .

I fished through the night on four occasions last summer and never saw or heard a fish once in all the time i was there,not a very encouraging sign for a great sea trout river

[salmonscotty16lb]

hardygem i fished only 2 nights last year and never seen or felt a fish it saddened me and put me off plus reports of no fish!
it takes me about 1hr 20mins more or less depending on beat to fish the annan, and i can fish a crap local river in 10 mins after backshif and have a better chance of a sea trout?
this season i might not fish the annan only due to low catches

[elwyman]

Nobody seems to bother fishing the Annan for salmon in spring, shows it is worth a cast if conditions are good.

[edenman]

35 haaf netters caught 45 sea trout dont make me laugh . if they lie like there english counterparts that figure could be anything .the e.a. say the haaf netters on the eden and esk are under declaring by anything up to 60 % for both salmon and sea trout.

[kingfisher]

I must say that we should welcome this move from the Haaf and poke netsmen.
Its easy for rod-fishermen to release the fish because people will still travel far and wide to catch and release sea-trout. There is nothing in this decision to benefit the netsmen, other than to try and allow sea trout stocks to recover. It is a very positive step and one which should be applauded.
Years ago the netsmen and rod-fishermen would catch lots of sea trout but now they catch very few. There are far less haafnetsmen fishing these days because there is no money in salmon or sea trout, but the lack of fish caught has been astonishing. The decline of Solway sea-trout in the last 3 or 4 seasons has been catatrophic and its not overfishing which has caused it either by rod or netsmen. However allowing the remaining stocks to recover is an excellent idea.

[edenman]

no money in netting if there is no rain haaf netsmen can make an absolute packet 3000 salmon alone out the eden. low water between july and sept 10 whitch happens a lot they cane them. i know a haaf man who had 22 salmon up to 22lbs and made£1000 in 1 tide . these people take holidays or go on the sick or dont work at all to make good money by killing the king of fish. they dont care for it like anglers they are just means of filling there pockets.

[barkingcollie]

Anyone been out on the Annan recently ? Pretty low water I guess but I'm thinking of having a go tomorrow on St Mungos to see what has happened to it during the close season and maybe get hold of an early gullible seatrout.

OK, I'll confess, I am one of the syndicate rods that Fishannan doesn't tell day ticket holders about.On the chat at the end of last season there was a bit of comment about day tickets turning up here and Brockelrigg and finding the syndicate rods out. I can only speak for St Mungos, where I have been a syndicate member for the last three seasons, and I'd say you'll be "lucky" to meet more than 2 of us on the water and we are pretty well house trained. I spent a good part of the few days I was on last year showing day rods the beat and best lies and the other regulars I know do likewise.

This is a decent bit of water but struggles if it is low with only a couple of pools worth bothering about however if the water is in good ply, its a gem.

If anyone wants to know more about the beat, drop me a line.

BC

[jock]

Hi Barkingcollie I know you lads are well trained I've fished there for over 20 years not as season rod just a day ticket. Moving rivers to the Deveron this year.
It was Brocklerigg that they did not say there were syndicate rods, and 2 turned up one day I fished there. They moved to a different bit which they could fish if day rods were on Brocklerigg. However it was no good and they left to return home to Yorkshire! Just as well your on St. Mungo's and not Brockelrigg.

Keep us informed of your trips to the Annan there a good few on the forum who fish there and would be interested.