See each day's largest fish and individual beat catches on our Latest Catches page which is updated each time a ghillie uses our automatic telephone reporting system.

Last week

Last updated: Thursday 10th May

Another very quiet week although not without its successes. Brian Haining caught and returned a 3lb Sea Trout and another angler caught and returned a 13.5lb sea-liced Salmon on Dumfries Burgh water. We have heard that 4 x 1.5lb Sea Trout were landed on DGAA water but we are still waiting for confirmation.

Howard Rankin landed a 2.5lb Sea Trout while spinning a small Mepp at Barndennoch and Roger Simpson landed 3 Sea Trout up to that size as well as a 10lb Salmon at Closeburn, all on fly. A 2lb Sea Trout was reported on MNAA water but no verification received as yet.

The river has been well down all week without the expected rain early on, although as I write, the rain has never stopped all day. Fish are however making their way slowly upstream and with cloudy conditions fishing should improve.

Photos from any lucky fishermen would be gratefully received for display on this site. Please send either to bhardie@buccleuch.com or direct to info@fishpal.com with 'FishNith Photo' in the subject line.

*Catch details are reported in good faith.

Reported by Barry Young and Ed Baxter
Compiled by Barbara J Hardie

Loch & Coarse Fishing

The lochs have been fairly busy this week. Mr Taylor and Mr McKenzie fished Farthingbank with a catch of 8 Rainbow Trout averaging 2.5lbs, the largest at 3lbs. At Coldstream, Mr McKelvie caught 7 Rainbow Trout, all at 2.5lbs.

Kettletonhead had Mr Frater and Mr McBride each fishing. Mr Frater caught 7 Rainbow Trout all approximately 3lbs and 7 Brown Trout averaging 2lbs. Mr McBride caught 19 Rainbow Trout on Sunday averaging 3lbs with 1 Brown Trout.

Mr Brown fished Starburn catching 3 Rainbow Trout, again averaging 3lbs along with 3 Brown Trout, while Mr Forshaw had 7 Rainbow approximately 2.5lbs each at Hillhead, all in excellent condition. Mr Pendergast caught 6 Rainbow at Morton Castle again around the 2.5lb mark.

Any photos from our loch fishermen would be gratefully received for display on this site. Please send either to bhardie@buccleuch.com or direct to info@fishpal.com with 'FishNith Photo' in the subject line.

Report by Buccleuch Sporting

Beat catches reported
(week ending 12th May)
SALMON & GRILSE: None reported
SEA TROUT: Dalswinton 3.
Total: 3 Largest: Dalswinton 4lbs
TROUT: None reported

Recent photographs
Been fishing this week? Send us your best photos, suitably captioned and dated for inclusion above to info@fishnith.co.uk

Season review

2011 Review

The 2011 fishing season was certainly one of the wettest experienced for many years and this proved challenging for fishers trying to intercept salmon and sea trout throughout the River Nith catchment.

Runs of fish were sporadic throughout the year and those fish in the system penetrated high into the catchment early in the year and did not stop to linger in the fishing beats in the mid river. This resulted in frustration among some anglers in the mid river. On a positive note the prolonged spate episodes denied the opportunity for poachers to ply their trade. In addition fish were able to access spawning areas of tributaries that they were denied to, during the freeze up experienced during the spawning season in 2010.

In common with the other rivers throughout Scotland, grilse were present in low numbers but salmon were present early on in the spring and we actually did experience a spring run. The average size of salmon was increased by approximately 2lbs and the presence of large fish was observed all season.

The Board continues to work with the mining companies in the upper catchment with extensions planned on all three sites. Indeed, the Board's involvement is essential due to the plans which involve the diversion of important spawning tributaries of the Nith. Renewable energy proposals are being considered throughout the catchment and these can potentially be to the detriment of fish. It is important that the Board monitors fish stocks in the vicinity of these proposals in order that we can determine if they are producing detrimental impacts on the fish communities.

Research continues into sea trout and we are involved via our inclusion into the Celtic Sea Trout Project. During 2011 we have continued to collect samples from the river and within the sea jurisdiction of the Board. This is 'cutting edge' research which we are in collaboration with Wales, Ireland and England. It is hoped that this research will enlighten fishery managers and steer future management to assist in protecting this species. Sea trout are vital for our fishery and that of many others and they remain the Board's number one priority.

At the time of writing this we are experiencing very large floods and they are causing damage to the river banks at various locations throughout the catchment. The repairs will no doubt result in challenging decisions to be made regarding effective works and compliance with the European Water Framework Directive. Rather worryingly, we have witnessed how these floods have completely gouged out the spawning beds of some tributaries and it is reassuring that we have some stock from these tributaries in our hatcheries.

We seem to be getting the extremes of weather conditions and this has resulted in traditionally productive times of the year for fishing, being unreliable at best and often unfishable. Similarly, managing stocks of fish in the river is equally challenging in that we can no longer rely on the river being low during the summer to enable survey work or suitable for the capture of brood stock during the winter. Challenging maybe, but the Nith District Salmon Fishery Board are meeting that challenge to ensure that the stocks of fish are maintained and where possible improved throughout the River Nith system.

Report by Fishery Director - Jim Henderson.