Latest from the Annan
April was mostly a very wet month although the weather quickly shifted to hot, sunny, and dry weather towards the end of the month. Despite having plenty of water since the opening of the salmon season, at times too much water, the salmon fishing has been very slow. Fresh salmon have been seen running through the lower beats, but reports of fish caught have been scarce with the only recently reported fish being Phil Blackburns 7lb fly caught fish from Newbie (Phil also lost a fish the same day) and Ian Haworths 10lb salmon from the Island, also on fly.
The recent hot, sunny, and dry spell has seen the river quickly drop off to typical summer levels as May arrived and a good flush of water is now needed with current river conditions less than ideal for salmon, although perfect for trout fishing, especially on the lower and middle river beats.
With all the water we had during April, as well as the cold winds and lower than average air temperatures, the trout fishing has also gotten off to a slow start. Towards the end of April, the grannom started to make an appearance on the lower river beats and most recently, on the upper river, but we are yet to see the consistent big hatches appear. Once they do, the best of the trout fishing will be on and around the surface.
With small showings of grannom recently and steady trickles of olive uprights, the trout are looking up, and rising fish have become a bit more consistent as they await the larger grannom hatches. Also on the surface are black gnats and hawthorn flies, especially when windy, and over the next few weeks there will also be steady hatches of blue duns as well.
Typically, the blue duns tend to hatch during unsettled weather, often when the water is up with overcast weather and occasional rain, and with an unsettled forecast over the next couple of weeks, we should see grannom during the better weather with blue duns hatching during some of the worst.
Sea trout have been around in small numbers with the larger sea trout usually running during May. Once the weathers settles again and we start to get warm and muggy evenings, nighttime sea trout fishing will come into its own, likely from late May with the lower river being the best option during the first few weeks into June.
Tight lines
Michael Fearns
07710331079
We would like to thank the beats, angling clubs and owners who have contributed to this report by providing their time and information as this report would not be possible without your help and support. If you would like to share any interesting stories or pictures from your time fishing on the River Annan for the purposes of this report, please feel free to contact us here.
