Countrywide disease brings
angling to a halt
 DUE to a responsible approach
to foot and mouth 'containment', angling in the north has been brought to a virtual standstill.Some rivers and fisheries are however still open but observing strict control and disinfectant measures. Managing the situation is very difficult and as circumstances vary from place to place, one can only confirm to 'best practice' guidelines and hope for a positive outcome. Fishery owners can ill afford the loss of revenue and in many cases are caught between a rock and a hard place. They are trying very hard to make the best of a bad situation and our assistance, co-operation and understanding is of vital importance to them. On the salmon front I heard of only two being caught last week. One was the season's first off the Kyle of Sutherland system, at 10lb it came from the Oykel having been in the river for a few days. The other salmon (again,a resident) fell to the rod of James Coutts of 'Fishing Scotland' on the River Garry. At 12lb it came to a 2.5" yellow belly Devon in the Estuary. Federation of Highland Angling Clubs and Associations- Brown Trout Competition: The date for the 2001 Competition is Saturday, May 26. There was a gratifyingly large entry last year and it was good to see that the weather did not deter people from taking part and that most seemed to enjoy the day. The popularity of the competition does mean that we do have to find a considerable number of boats from a number of sources. Norman MaeLeod does a remarkable job finding enough boats to get us all afloat but even he cannot work miracles! The sooner we can have all entries the easier it will make Normans' task. Could you therefore contact Keith Lorimer your entry as soon as possible. The entry fee for this year's competition is once again held at £20 to cover the hire of the boats and other expenses. I hope you are all looking forward to an enjoyable and successful brown trout season and I look forward to seeing your teams at Watten in May. NB: the brown trout season opened on March 15. | Here are a few simple guidelines on catch and release recently issued by the Ness District Fishery Board: do not use treble or multiple hooks - they are difficult to remove; do not play a fish to exhaustion reel it in as soon as possible; do use single or barbless hooks - they are easier to remove; do use a landing net, preferably knotless - keep the fish in the water; do not remove the fish from the landing net or the water; do not attempt to weigh the fish estimate Its size; knotless nets with inbuilt weighing scales are now available if actual weights are required. Also: do not remove the fish from the water for photographs; do remove the hook while the fish is in the water; do not release any fish that are bleeding: do not release fish that are hooked at the back of the mouth or in the gills; do record all fish whether kept or returned. Remember all fish that you successfully release should spawn and by doing so, you will have helped to conserve the stocks. Please take care when handling fish being released, as improper handling is likely to lead to fungal problems and disease. Always wet your hand prior to handling a fish. The Board will shortly he sponsoring a seminar at which practical demonstrations will be given on how to handle fish which are to be released and details of this seminar will be forthcoming shortly. Loch Lochy: following the recent meeting in Achnacarry an eleven member Loch Lochy Improvement Association has been formed chaired by Stewart Cannon owner of Kames Fish Farms. The secretary/treasurer post has been accepted by James Coutts and minutes of their first meeting should be posted out shortly and will provide interesting reading to those directly involved with the loch.
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