Annan - River management

River Management

The River Annan Trust (RAT) was set up in August 2010 to continue to improve and protect the rivers environment, engage in research towards better management of the resource, generate sustainable access to the river and to educate the general public on the importance of the river.

Whilst the trust is one of the newest river trusts in Scotland, it is in the fortunate position that it is able to build upon a wealth of work carried out by the River Annan District Salmon Fisheries Board. The Trust is currently actively involved in a number of projects some of which are listed below.

The removal of problem non native species has been funded by a number of organisations including Leader ERDF funds, SEPA, Patterson's Quarries, Scottish Government, RADSFB and Shanks Waste Solutions and SNH. Invasive non-native species pose a threat to the ecology of the river and tackling them is best done on a catchment scale, exactly the scale that a river trust operates on.

We are currently involved on the eradication of Japanese knotweed, the eradication of giant hogweed, the control of Himalayan balsam and the control of North American mink. This project has been very successful with an 80% reduction in the amount of Japanese knotweed in the catchment and reduced area of infestation, the treatment of all of the known giant hogweed stands and the eradication of North American mink in the top section of the river.

To continue the success of this programme we still require more information from anglers about the whereabouts of new untreated stands of knotweed, balsam and giant hogweed, please look at the invasive species page on this website for further identification features and information. We also require more information about mink, the Trust is taking a strategic approach to their removal and is working from the top of the river south. Each year we have to go over the ground that we have already covered to ensure that they are still absent and any that are seen by anglers should be reported to the Trust.

Citizen science

One of the biggest issues when managing a fishery is the collection of large amounts of good quality data. This project seeks to harness the capacity of trained volunteers and get a better understanding of the invertebrate populations in the burns around the catchment. The use of invertebrates to measure water quality has long been understood and using simple methods developed by the River Fly Partnership (this page enables rivers trusts to understand where the problems are and investigate solutions.

Fishing for knowledge:

Working with local schools and a local charity this page the trust is helping children in local primary schools to gain a better understanding of the freshwater environment and introduce them to the sport of angling. The trust introduces the children to water life, the fish, the invertebrates and the habitats that they live in whilst Borderlines coaches the children on angling methods and arranges a school trip to the river to undertake an angling day. The project is being piloted this year and will seek to gain funding to make it a permanent feature of the schools in Annandale. The majority of the activities take place in an after school club.

Rassp

The River Annan Small Stream Passport has been developed to increase the access to unknown parts of the river in an affordable yet sustainable way. The project means that small amounts of income can be generated by farmers which will make the river at the bottom of their fields more valuable. Please go here for more information.

Other projects

RAT is engaged with a number of organisations at the moment to build its capacity to deliver habitat improvement schemes; historically on the Annan, prior to the formation of the Trust, we have spent some £800,000 through the Fisheries Board and partners or so in the last few years on fencing river banks and removing barriers. . This work needs to continue as the benefits to the local ecosystem, the fish and angling are huge. In particular we want to concentrate on the tiny burns, unfortunately often called ditches. These burns are extremely important for sea trout in particular and whilst the river is generally in good heart for brown trout and salmon it is no secret that sea trout numbers have slumped in recent years.

Getting involved

We always need and welcome help be it financial, labour or advice. If you want to join the trust please contact Email Us for more information.

Fishing regulations

From the 2020 season the River Annan has been entirely 100% catch and release for all salmon and grilse.

A voluntary code for releasing all sea trout on the Annan will remain in effect again this year while the Scottish Government consider their conservation status as part of the ongoing Wild Fisheries Reform.

Salmon and seatrout fishing

For the salmon fisher the season opens on 25th February and continues through to the 15th of November.

Guidance Notes for New Regulations on the Annan Fishery

It is an offence to kill any salmon caught on the river. Even if a fish appears to have been hooked badly it must be returned to the water. If, in the unlikely event, a fish actually dies on an angler that angler must contact the District Salmon Fisheries Board immediately. A member of staff will retrieve the fish as soon as possible and the carcass will be used for scientific purposes. The legislation on killing fish only applies to Salmon and sea trout may be taken. We would however like to make it clear that whilst the situation with sea trout is better than it is with salmon that the River Annan District Salmon Fisheries Board would like to see as many of the sea trout landed by anglers on the river returned as possible. As a bare minimum anglers should return all fish over 3lb and not take more than a brace of fish smaller than this.

Lures can used used that only have one set of barbless or de-barbed hooks. This could be one single hook, one double hook or one treble hook.

This means that certain lures such as Rapalas that have multiple sets of hooks must have all removed bar one and the one that is left must have all the barbs removed. Barbless hooks are readily available but are commercially tied flies and lures are rarely supplied on them. It is relatively straightforward to resolve this issue by taking a pair of pliers or forceps and squeezing the barbs down. This will, to all intents and purposes, make a barbed hook barbless.

It is important that anglers when returning fish to the water do so in the correct manner. Survival from being caught can be remarkably high but poor handling by anglers can compromise this. There is already some excellent guidance for this that has been produced by the Association of Salmon Fisheries Boards.

The following actions are the most important.

• General Fishing times on the beats will commence from 8-9.00am and finish at midnight. These times are within the booking permissions issued from Fishpal, unless the Estate has other day timings.
• Use tackle that is strong enough to subdue a fish as quickly as is reasonably possible.
• Play fish hard and get them to the net as soon as possible
• Remove the hooks as quickly as possible and have a set of long nosed forceps on hand to do this. If the hooks cannot be seen, a rare occurrence with artificial lures, the line should be cut as close to the hooks as possible.
• Try not to remove the fish from the water.
• If you need a trophy shot support the whole of the fish over the water and take the picture quickly.
• Never, ever, under any circumstances pick a fish up by the tail; this can dislocate the vertebrae in the back.
• Whilst returning the fish hold it in quiet water orientated upstream. When the fish has recovered it will swim off.

Clean fish can be caught right to the end of the season throughout the river but anglers should make sure, particularly as the season draws to the end that they return all coloured fish. Be careful as hen fish in particular may not always colour greatly but will be very soft and unpalatable come late October and November. These should also be returned.

Many beats are fly only or fly only except during high water when spinning or bait fishing maybe allowed. Some beats allow any legal method at any time of year or water height. Anglers should make sure that they are familiar with the beat rules before they start fishing.

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 it is frowned upon to deliberately fish for them. Having said that there are often a number of fresh fish caught accidentally by salmon anglers towards the end of the season. If the salmon fishing is slow there is no reason why anglers shouldn't scale down their tackle and fish for these.

Brown trout fishing

The brown trout season starts on 15th March and finishes on 6th October. As with sea trout the fish are getting progressively softer as they get closer to spawning so many beats have a prohibition on the killing of trout before the end of the season (normally mid September).

Many beats are now operating a 100% catch and release policy for Brown trout. Brown trout on the Annan are not remarkably common but they do grow to remarkable sizes. If fisheries were killing everything it would not take long before there was little left in the water for other anglers to fish for.

There is still a misunderstanding amongst a minority of anglers that fish die after being released. This is not true. The mortality will increase however with poor handling; this is particularly true in warmer water. If anglers take care and release a proportion of the fish they catch they are genuinely assisting the river by increasing the numbers of spawning adults.

Other species

All other species have no statutory close season in Scotland. In general the rules on the Annan are very much more relaxed than on many other rivers and we rely, successfully, on good angler etiquette instead of regulation wherever possible.

Biosecurity

For more information on how you can help, please contact the River Annan Trust:

The River Annan Trust (RAT) was set up in August 2010 to continue to improve and protect the rivers environment, engage in research towards better management of the resource, generate sustainable access to the river and to educate the general public on the importance of the river.

Whilst the trust is one of the newest river trusts in Scotland, it is in the fortunate position that it is able to build upon a wealth of work carried out by the River Annan District Salmon Fisheries Board. The Trust is currently actively involved in a number of projects some of which are listed below.

The removal of problem non native species has been funded by a number of organisations including Leader ERDF funds, SEPA, Patterson's Quarries, Scottish Government, RADSFB and Shanks Waste Solutions and SNH. Invasive non-native species pose a threat to the ecology of the river and tackling them is best done on a catchment scale, exactly the scale that a river trust operates on.

We are currently involved on the eradication of Japanese knotweed, the eradication of giant hogweed, the control of Himalayan balsam and the control of North American mink. This project has been very successful with an 80% reduction in the amount of Japanese knotweed in the catchment and reduced area of infestation, the treatment of all of the known giant hogweed stands and the eradication of North American mink in the top section of the river.

To continue the success of this programme we still require more information from anglers about the whereabouts of new untreated stands of knotweed, balsam and giant hogweed, please look at the invasive species page on this website for further identification features and information. We also require more information about mink, the Trust is taking a strategic approach to their removal and is working from the top of the river south. Each year we have to go over the ground that we have already covered to ensure that they are still absent and any that are seen by anglers should be reported to the Trust.

Riparian invasive non-native species (inns) project

The INNS project began in April 2010 and aims to take a catchment approach to tackling invasive species. The main objective is to reduce the spread of Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed along the river bank improving the diversity of native species and improving access. Control work is carried out in a top down approach, starting at furthest upstream colony and working down river. This reduces the chance of any areas controlled downstream being re-colonised by infestations further upstream..

Himalayan balsam control

Controlling Himalayan balsam has been carried out in partnership with the Criminal Justice Service who have supplied community service work groups to cut areas of balsam along the river bank. The work has focused on the area between Three Waters Meet and Woodfoot Bridge and large areas have been cut and hand pulled. Himalayan balsam is an annual plant and the aim of the control work is to prevent seeding resulting in the depletion of the seed bank. Research has shown that this can take between 12 - 18 months.

Identification:

Stems are hollow, jointed and brittle. Plants can grow up to 3 metres tall. Leaves are spear shaped with serrated edges and grow in whorls of three.

Flowers are slipper shaped on long stalks and vary from purplish pink to pale pink.

The plant flowers between June and October.

Seed pods are produced between July and October and explode when touched

Japanese knotweed

Work to control Japanese knotweed started in July 2010 on Birnock Water in Moffat. Japanese knotweed is a perennial plant which grows from an extensive underground rhizome system. Although Japanese knotweed in the UK does not produce seeds it is highly regenerative and can grow from a tiny fragment of stem. Treatment has largely been carried out using a stem injection system delivering a shot of herbicide directly into the plants water reservoir. Where stem injection is not an option the plant will be treated using a knapsack sprayer. So far, approximately 1500 M2 of Japanese knotweed have been treated with last year's treatment showing encouraging signs of success.

Identification:

Stems are green with red or purple specks and can grow up to 2-3 metres tall in dense cane like clumps.

Shield or heart shaped green leaves..

Creamy white clusters of flowers appear between August and September.

Catch and release

Conservation on the Annan

Rivers and Fisheries Trusts spend a lot of time and money improving the environment for fish and other wildlife in the river but anglers also have a role to play. Catch and release of all fish is now more popular than it has ever been, although on some fisheries the take-up has not been as good as on others. The release of salmon, sea trout and brown trout can and does have a major impact.

Our rivers are busier than ever and it may surprise anglers how high the proportion of fish that are in a river get caught each year. Some studies have shown that as many as 35% of the salmon entering a river can get caught, of course on lightly fished rivers this will be far lower. If all of the fish caught were to be killed it is a huge amount of ova that is lost for future generations. It is worth remembering that a 10lb hen salmon may have somewhere between five and seven thousand eggs inside her. If we release 1000 fish on the river and assuming that 50% of them are female, that is something in the order of 2.5 million-3.5 million ova secured for the next generation. Despite a lack of evidence of success, many anglers like hatcheries, yet releasing more fish will always generate more fish over the long term than any hatchery can ever hope to deliver.

Almost everyone likes to take a fish for the table on occasion, after all salmon and trout, cooked properly, are a delicacy. Some stocks are however still in a very perilous situation, spring salmon for example, and we need as many of these fish to successfully spawn as possible. Wild brown trout in rivers as well can be under pretty high pressure at times and the most prolific fisheries for these tend to be the ones where fisheries operate under a 100% catch and release.