Fishery conditions
Dalbeattie Angling Association extends a warm welcome to all its visiting anglers, and encourages visitors to ask Members for advice and guidance if required. There are a number of Rules and Guidelines, designed to promote safe and sensible angling, and we would respectfully ask visitors to abide by these. Transgression of Rules will lead to suspension of your Permit!
1. Your Permit is not transferable, and must be carried at all times - on demand it must be produced for inspection by the Water Bailiff or any Member of Dalbeattie AA.
2. The Water Bailiff or any Member of Dalbeattie AA has the right to inspect your bag or fishing tackle whilst you are visiting Dalbeattie AA waters
3. Trout fishing commences on 1st April and ends on the 30th September.
4. Fishing may commence at 0700 and must finish no later than Dusk (one hour after sundown.)
5. Wading in the reservoir is not allowed, except only for the purpose of freeing a fouled line, or in order to get beyond the weeds.
6. It is likely that there will be livestock in the vicinity of the reservoir at times during the season - please therefore take the greatest care not to discard bottles, cans, paper, tippet material or any other waste on the bankside, water, surrounding fields or parking area.
7. Anglers must not wander through fields, disturb stock, break down fences or damage walls around the reservoir.
8. Fly rod and fly equipment only to be used.
9. Sunday fishing allowed at the reservoir.
10. All fish under 10" in length must be returned. All Brown Trout must be returned (we are trying to re-establish the natural population of Brown trout)
11. Limit of 1 fish per rod per day (catch and release allowed once limit achieved - please use barbless hooks at this stage, and take great care when handling and releasing fish).
12. If you are fishing for more than one day in any week (0700 Monday until dusk on Sunday), you must also abide by the Weekly limit of 3 fish, but you are still limited to 1 fish per day.
13. No camping or fires
14. Dogs are not allowed, under any circumstances
ANGLERS FISH AT THEIR OWN RISK, and are advised to provide their own Buoyancy Aid and eye protection when fishing the reservoir. Care should also be taken when using the paths and stiles around the reservoir, which can be slippery underfoot.
Anglers must make a return (including nil returns) of their catches, describing number and type of fish retained/returned and approximate weight of each.
GYRODACTYLUS SALARIS Gyrodactylus salaris (GS) is the single greatest threat to wild salmon in the UK's rivers and lochs, including the River Urr. GS is a parasitic freshwater fluke originally confined to rivers in parts of Russia, Norway and Sweden, where salmon evolved a degree of resistance to it. However, GS gradually has spread to other rivers in Norway, also to Denmark, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal where native salmon have no resistance, resulting in mass mortality of juvenile fish - if left untreated, this will result in total "wipe-out" of an infected rivers salmon population within 5 years. The only "approved" treatment is to poison infected rivers to remove all fish hosts, thereafter erecting barriers to stop any salmon entering the river to spawn and generating more hosts. Even this radical treatment cannot guarantee against reinfection, and would render the infected river obsolete as a fishing resource for an absolute minimum of 10 years, more probably 15-20 years. The most likely cause of GS arriving in the UK is via imported live fish, for instance Rainbow Trout and Carp, but since GS can survive for 5 to 7 days in damp conditions (eg. angling clothing, waders, wet reels, lines or landing nets), it is vitally important that anglers take precautions to prevent accidental introduction. If you have fished in a location outwith the Urr catchment within 7 days prior to fishing the River or Buittle Reservoir, then potentially you could be carrying the GS parasite and be capable of introducing it into our waters!! (GS introduced into the Reservoir will reach the river within a few weeks, via the outlet stream!) Currently the UK is entirely GS-free, but if it did enter the UK it is calculated that it would spread throughout the whole country within 3-5 years. The economic and ecological consequences of GS entering the country would be catastrophic. Please do your part to prevent GS from decimating the UK's and the Urr's wild salmon by taking appropriate measures, as detailed below - wherever possible,
BEFORE FISHING Note: This is a "rolling" requirement, i.e. if you fish the River Urr (Dalbeattie) or Buittle Reservoir regularly during the season, you are requested to consider whether you need to DISINFECT before each visit; (the most effective "remedy" is simply to get into the habit of routinely taking anti-GS measures, as detailed overleaf, after each and every occasion when you may have been in an "at-risk" situation).
DISINFECT BEFORE FISHING The most effective practical disinfection measures are as follows:
- 1. Drying equipment / clothing at 20C or more for at least 2 days
- 2. Heating equipment / clothing at 60C or more for at least 1 hour
- 3. Deep freezing equipment / clothing for at least 1 day
- 4. Immersing equipment / clothing in a Saline Solution (minimum 3% Sodium Chloride or equivalent) for a minimum of 10 minutes.
- Note: This is a "rolling" requirement, i.e. if you fish the River Urr (Dalbeattie) or Buittle Reservoir regularly during the season, you are requested to consider whether you need to DISINFECT before each visit.
