The Committee’s Blog

Long standing member Hughie Horn is going in to hospital today for a major operation. The Committee would like to wish Hughie a successful outcome and speedy recovery.

BEST WISHES THE COMMITTEE LLAIA

INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS ONLY

CRAIGBELL FISHING’S

Full members are aware that fishing on the Craigbell pool is ONLY ON  A TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY /THURSDAYS

These days would normally be available by pre-arranged booking through the secretary.  We have found that throughout July the fishing’s can lie un-fished and many members do not turn up for their arranged booking. As an experiment for

FOR THE MONTH OF JULY ONLY

We will allow any full membetr to fish the Craifbell on the dates mentioned above with the following conditions attached.

MAXIMUM TWO RODS ON AT ANY ONE TIME

CATCH LIMIT ONE SALMON AND ONE  SEA TROUT

MAXIMUM TWO VISITS DURING JULY BY ANY FULL MEMBER.

TIMES ARE:  FIRST LIGHT TILL 12 LUNCHTIME

1PM TILL  6PM

7PM TILL DARK.

DARK TILL 4AM

all members must carry their permit with them at all times.

Please act sensibly and avoid arguing with fellow members.

Tight Lines  The Committee LLAIA

Following the run up to the EGM, LLAIA Members had reached a crossroads.  At stake was the future of the Loch Lomond System and the prosperity of the LLAIA as an Angling Association. The Association has to balance the interests of its members in all parts of the system they fish, whilst at the other end of the equation has to effectively manage the system with the limited resources available to most fisheries and Associations these days.

 Following a full debate, carried out in an orderly and democratic fashion, the outcome of the vote was 116 votes to 110 in favour of the present Committee. So six votes separated the two sides and were the difference between success and failure.

This is the second defeat in two years for the Alternative Committee, although after last years election they claimed they were not given a fair opportunity. This time it was they who did a lot of the canvassing and preparation with the Present Committee being content to send all members their election document without any canvassing. We felt strongly that if we could not get a majority on the back of our past record, then why continue.

The Constitutional Amendments to adopt postal ballots was defeated by the smallest margin possible (one single vote). When Michael Brady and Gary Weir did the counting on their side of the hall, Gary had counted one less vote than Michael. The count was disputed by Michael who added the extra vote. On reflection perhaps it was just as well given that a significant number of people had left the hall after the first vote went against them.

 A new beginning with a brighter future for the Loch Lomond System?

One member summed up his observations by a simple fact.  If both groups were combined just think how well the association and the system could progress.

The almost disastrous two year long acrimonious dispute which has cost the association a fortune in lost revenue, amongst other things, has hopefully now ended.

The choice has been made between “A VISION FOR THE FUTURE” or   “TO REALISE OUR DREAM AND COMPLETE OUR WORK” with the majority of members taking the view that the present committee have done well enough throughout the years to be given the opportunity to realise their dream. That is to complete the Smolt programme and get the salmon numbers increasing again on the Loch Lomond system.

 The Committee now has three years of what they fully expect to be “uninterrupted peace” to realise their ambition.. 

Although assurances were given from Malcolm McCormick that he will not return and will leave the present committee to get on with the job, we as a Committee intend to instigate sensible changes in the way we do things. Hopefully this will give recognition that there are some improvements that ought to be considered in our reform of how we operate. 

That said there are valid reasons for not making certain changes and the whole thing would benefit from a more considered approach than has been possible to date.

 Luss Estates Factor Mr Iain Sheves is to be congratulated for conducting a difficult meeting in a fair and professional manner. The LLAIA owe a great debt of gratitude to Luss Estates for allowing Mr Shivas to chair the meeting.

One major stumbling block remains however: the individual behind the website that was responsible for most of the bad feeling and contempt, Mr Robert Beacon,  has to decide on his future. Presently he along with another River Leven angler remains banned from fishing all Association waters, and a Court Action against him is being pursued by the LLAIA committee.

The Association lawyers have put a stop to the sometimes vile, defamatory. derogatory comments and false allegations aimed at LLAIA Office Bearers and members on this website. The Rules set out by Internet Providers were broken and serious breaches took place that ANY Court would take a dim view of should the Association proceed. The costs are likely to be high but the loss of business has also been high.  It should be noted that the Web Site was actually closed by the provider following a threat by Mr Beacon to sue them.

The Association will no longer allow defamatory or derogatory comments and false allegations to continue in any future website, regardless of the source. 

Mr Beacon will be offered the opportunity to meet with the Committee. He will be asked to give a legal undertaking guaranteeing that should he open another website he will fully abide by the Rules of the IP organisation. No further false allegations, derogatory or defamatory comments will be tolerated on his website. Following a suitable undertaking, himself and the other banned angler will be given the opportunity to fish the River Leven again with immediate effect. 

We know that there are a lot of misgivings within those who supported us as a Committee that Mr Beacon would abide by such an undertaking. Likewise there are similar feelings on the other side towards us or individuals within our Committee. However, there is NO future for the Association if we cannot all accept each other without rancour and get on with things regardless.

We note the new website set up by the Alternative as part of their campaign, which gives anglers and permit holders a different outlook and perspective in the Loch Lomond scene. It  is always a good thing and is healthy for an Association of our size, to learn from different viewpoints as long as it is kept within the boundaries of common decency. It also serves to keep us on our toes, which is no bad thing. So far it has remained in keeping with the general spirit of the Associations aims and aspirations, whilst putting out an alternative viewpoint which no one can complain about.

Democracy is about allowing people to have their opinion and take opposing views if they feel they want to without feeling that by doing so they will be punished.

This committee has never had any problem with people or groups having a difference of opinion. Problems arise when someone or any group for that matter start to make false allegations and defamatory comments in public or give false information to others. Personal attacks are not in the spirit of angling and should be pounced on by others as out of bounds. If you can’t put your real name to it, don’t write it , and don’t send it

We are all anglers and hopefully over the coming three year period we can all come to realise that there have been mistakes on all sides. In the interests of the system and our association, we should all cast them aside and start to move towards greater things for the LLAIA. Those who show concern that our Fishery Manager and Secretary are paid should not bother themselves with this simple fact.

 Far better to KNOW that both persons are providing excellent value for money,. and that is all that really matters. 

 An opportunity now exists for a new beginning. Let’s hope the majority of sensible and caring members put a stop to further disruption and strive to create unity with the objective of improving our fishing.

The Committee LLAIA

The following legal advice has been posted as a result of the proceedings at the recent AGM…

Legal_Advice.pdf

The Committee LLAIA

LOCH LOMOND ANGLING IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION (the “Association”)

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

The Association held its AGM on 19 March 2009.  At the meeting a resolution purporting to be a vote of no confidence in the Committee was put to the meeting and received the support of a majority of the members present at the meeting.  The Chairman then closed the meeting, indicating that an EGM would be called in due course to clarify the position.  Certain members then purported to (a) re-open the meeting; and (b) pass resolutions removing the Committee and replacing it with a new committee.

The Committee has taken legal advice with regard to these matters and that advice is that the purported resolutions were not validly passed and consequently the Committee remains comprised of the following:-

M Brady

P Lyons

A Mair

D Sunman

E McGrandle

D Ferguson

A MacRitchie

C McCrory

The representatives of the Colquhoun Trustees and the Montrose Trust

Meantime the Committee are taking further legal advice.

LLAIA 2008-09 AGM

19 March 2009

Report on proceedings.

A turbulent and acrimonious AGM concluded with a vote of no confidence in the Committee and the termination of the meeting having addressed only 5 Agenda items. Following the vote of no confidence, the meeting was closed by the Chairman, and notification given to those present that an EGM would be arranged at the earliest opportunity to elect a management committee.

Approximately 160 members attended the meeting.  Various items of literature were handed to members attending by a group of members offering an alternative to the sitting committee.

A proposal from the floor that they be provided with a microphone, was initially resisted by the chairman and committee, but conceded by the committee. The mike was provided and was used by speakers from the hall throughout the meeting.

Following numerous interruptions, the proposal by the committee to ratify the meeting as a legal and binding AGM was approved by the members attending Proposed by Malcolm McCormick and seconded by Kevin McCormick.

The minutes of the previous AGM were read as per previous convention but following a vote, were not approved by the members present. Craig Ferguson, who stated that he was in fact asked by the committee at that time to take minutes, contended the veracity of the minutes. The committee replied that a number of them took notes on the night and that Alastair Mair compiled the minutes. The motion to approve the minutes was rejected by a vote of the membership present on the night.

Numerous interruptions by various members ensued, prominent amongst which were Malcolm McCormick, Kevin McCormick, John Clark, Gary Weir, Craig Ferguson, Stuart Ingles.

An assertion by Mr Ryan and seconded by Gus Miller that a free vote would be impossible due to the unruly conduct of the meeting whereby a loaded vote and intimidation were obviously present. A full and democratic decision by all members could then take place. This resulted in his proposal that the meeting agree to an independently scrutinised postal ballot, in accordance with Electoral Compliance. This proposal was subject to an amendment proposed by Jim Day seconded by Andy Campbell to the effect that the Status Quo should stand and a vote be taken at this meeting by a show of hands. This went to a vote and the amendment was approved.

Item 5 Chairman’s Report was presented by M Brady to a background of interruption and ridicule with many of the above prominent in their disapproval.

By this time it was obvious that certain elements of the members present were dissatisfied with the present committee and intended that they be removed.

The Committee proposed a vote of Confidence, which was subject to an amendment proposed by Alan Millar seconded by Davy Thomson that the members present had no confidence in the Committee. This went to a vote resulting in the vote of no confidence being approved by 83 for 69 against.

The Chairman then declared that as a result of the vote an EGM would be called and notification of date, time, etc notified by the secretary to members at the soonest possible date. Nominations should be notified to the Secretary in the usual manner.

The meeting was then closed and the Committee and a large number of members left the hall.

According to various sources and information available on www.robbieredball.net  the stage was then taken by M McCormick as spokesperson for an Alternative Committee. This illegal and unconstitutional meeting proceeded to elect Malcolm McCormick as President of the LLAIA, with Gary Weir as Vice-President  with a committee including John Clark, and others as yet unknown, they also appointed a secretary and treasurer

THIS IS THE LEGAL POSITION

 Anyone not complying with this stands in legal breach of the terms of membership of the LLAIA and stands in peril of the law.

In accordance with the constitution any members intending to stand for the committee have to notify their intentions by 31 December prior to the AGM. No such notifications were received.

The recently deposed Committee were elected at the EGM of 2008 all with terms of office of 3 years. The Chairman and Vice-chairman were elected at exactly the same time and for identical terms.

None of the sitting committee was therefore due for re-election at the AGM nor had any notification of any intention to stand by others been intimated.

It is therefore impossible that any alternative committee could be elected prior to an EGM and without due notification to every member of the LLAIA in accordance with the Constitution.

Until an EGM can establish and elect a new Committee and Office bearers, any attempt by anyone other than the bona fide Secretary of the LLAIA to interfere in LLAIA matters, EITHER PROCEEDURAL, CONTRACTUAL, FINANCIAL, OR LEGAL OR ANY OTHER VEXATIOUS ACTS WHICH DAMAGE THE REPUTATION, BUSINESS, PROPERTY OR ASSETS OF THE LLAIA WILL ATTRACT ON THE PERPETRATORS THE SEVEREST PENALTIES LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE.

Every member will be contacted by the secretary to notify date, time and place of the EGM and will receive confirmation of all nominations for election to the committee. The secretary and only the secretary shall set a date and venue for the EGM.

The secretary can still be contacted as usual but can engage only in matters not prejudicial to the conduct of impartial elections. He can engage in no activities not related to enabling the EGM or normal LLAIA business and can use no LLAIA resources for anything other than official business.

We will keep all members abreast of develpments as they occur.

                                                                                                                           Michael Brady Secretary LLAIA

AGM / EGM

The AGM was due to be held on 24th February but has had to be postponed due to fire damage at the Partick Burgh Halls. This despite it having been booked shortly after the day of last years AGM. It will now be held on Thursday 19th March 2009 at Woodside Halls.

Apologies to members for the delay but it was completely out of our hands.

There has been a constitutional amendment proposed by a member.  The constitution states that any proposed amendments have to be received by the secretary before 31st Dec ie 30th Dec is drop - dead date.

The member’s e-mail was received on 1st January 2009 and by post on 6th January 2009

The view of the committee is that the member’s proposals are largely designed to remove Michael Brady (Chairman and Secretary and Angus MacRitchie (Fishery Manager) from office and by inference the whole committee. We do however agree that the constitution requires to be modernised and as such have called an EGM to deal solely with that subject.

It is therefore the intention of the Committee to present a number of Constitutional amendments to the forthcoming EGM in 2009.  These amendments will be submitted for consideration well in advance of the EGM along with the already proposed amendments and any other proposals submitted in writing four weeks before the date of the EGM. They will be constitutionally competent and will be approved by the LLAIA lawyer prior to presentation to members.

We feel this is the only way to get the Constitution modernised sensibly rather than have a single vote on the proposed amendments at the AGM – even if it were rejected by the membership there would still be a real need to modernise the constitution and an EGM would be required for that purpose anyway.

The date of the EGM is still to be set and is dependant upon booking a suitable venue but it will be some time after the AGM. Members will be informed at least one month before the date of the EGM.

                                                                                              THE COMMITTEE LLAIA.

It is always greatly satisfying for your committee to see the LLAIA going from strength to strength as each year passes by.

It is also nice to see fish stocks producing good sport for anglers on the loch for a change. Increasing our stake in the fishings by purchasing stretches of salmon fishing is crucial for us to ensure that whatever work we do for the system we have not done so without at least ensuring we have guaranteed fishing for our members in the future.

Increasing migratory fish stocks is uppermost in many fisheries agendas nowadays. Achieving success by carrying out planned improvements whatever those improvements might be has never been easy, in fact very few fisheries have managed to significantly improve their salmon and sea trout stocks over the years. Whatever method or combination of methods are used to improve the fish stocks, there will always be those who think you have got it all wrong and they have the answers. We believe you only get out of the fishery what you put in, unless your fishery is blessed with extensive and outstanding areas for fish to spawn and a habitat that is suitable for the purpose.

For a number of years now we have carried out our own stock enhancement work and have been quite pleased with progress despite the set backs we have mentioned in the past (SHEEP DIP) which are happily sorted and less likely to occur in the future.

The main challenge for your committee now is to see if we can up our game in the face of increasing negatives in the marine environment and closer to home in the freshwater environment and do what most other fisheries have not been capable of doing and start to significantly increase our fish stocks on a year on year basis with the odd mishap that is naturally occurring in nature.

We hope to ensure that our current good years are our poor years and that the good years are much better than anyone could envisage under the current climate.

We are pleased with the Douglas project so far. We now have five miles of water utilised with young salmon fry. We are very pleased with our current progress this year with our other plans. The whole committee are confident that what we are doing now will give us the best opportunity to increase our fish stocks and to enable us to do so on a year on year basis. Our target is to beat each decade of catch returns moving from the lowest decade to the next highest until we reach the seventies and who knows even the sixties. Many of our members laughed when we first took over the running of the LLAIA and the system and declared that we would pay off our debts and eventually start to buy our own fishings. No one laughs now ……..do they.

As each year moved on we were making good progress and every year since then we have continued to make progress. Last year some members became impatient believing that the money the LLAIA had saved each year was not being spent. Patience is a virtue, little did they know that we were indeed making every effort to secure fishings and any setbacks we had would eventually be overcome.

Now look at the LLAIA. We are fast becoming a far more professional organisation gearing up for the future with confidence.

The new LLAIA van signage: A more professional image now standard.

This is the first van to get the signage. The rest are following within this next few days. All three vans will help to promote the association and the system. Spreading the word that the association offers some of the best fishing available for the price and a well run management team ensuring that the waters are well looked after compared to other waters.

The sign of a well run organisation: The new look LLAIA vans.

This new image and professional look is now standard throughout our operations with the new bailiffs patrol boat and engine looking the part. Our members must surely be starting to be very proud to be part of this association.

Investing for the future: The new LLAIA Bailiffs Patrol Boat 2008

This website continues to improve with absolute cracking articles on trolling for salmon with tobys. How to fish the sprats and how to dye them. A classic article on dapping and how it is done. The latest edition how to fly fsh loch lomond for sea trout.

The killer flies? What works and how to fish them: See the article on fly fishing.

We hope to have more articles to cover the Endrick and fruin and the river leven. We are developing and improving all the time. New members can now access vital information.

Fishing loch lomond is made easier now by the deal made between LLAIA and the boatyard at Balmaha. No need to purchase a boat or worry about moorings. For £300 per year we can get you a hire boat to use virtually every day between a maximum of three members joining together. That works out at £100.00 per season! Grab the deal now and enjoy some superb fishing for the next 14 weeks.

The hire boats at Balmaha: Boats that are reliable just use your own engine or hire one.

IMPROVEMENTS TO THE RIVERS:

RIVERBANK WORK: The bankside work that was carried out out on the river leven earlier in the year has highlighted the ever increasing needs place upon the llaia when managing such a huge area of riverside.

Riverbank Work is one area that can only be addressed by the llaia committee or bailiffs when time allows. Hence a lot of good work was done recently on the river leven. Some people seem to forget that the committee function is not to see that all the stretches are all manicured for members to fish. Nice as it might be there are far too many more important things to deal with that take priority.

The committee will balance the cost of all work to be done and all necessary preventative work. crucial work such as bailiffing and enhancement type work such as hatcheries and stocking take priority and rightly so.

There are projects that are important though and require our attention. That is why we continued ahead with the Cowdenmill fishings parking for our members this year.

We used 40 tons of type one aggregate: Making the car park at Cowdenmill fishings 2008

A member tries out the new car park: July 2008 Cowdenmill fishings LLAIA owned.

As well as the 20 tons of stones and 40 tons of type one we also laid down galvanised wire mesh to lay the stones on top. The area was all strimmed and weed treated prior to the laying of stones. Though we suspect that annual weed treatment will be required.

The entrance area at the barrier has been cut and pruned/strimmed to improve viability.

There is still plenty of work reqired to do on this new stretch now owned by LLAIA but that will wait for the time being as other matters get attended to first. It is important that members can park their cars now and at least fish the stretch which is over one and a quarter miles long.

We will be extremely busy over this next couple of weeks. Night bailiffing patrols and so forth are essential. So please do not expect the incidental work to be attended to over this period. Currently the runs of fish have been most encouraging this year so far. It looks like the summer salmon runs are continuing and could even merge nicely with the arrival of our grilse runs and sea trout runs. Things are indeed looking good for the rest of the season. We will give another report in the next couple of weeks but please appreciate the committee has its hands full with the new project well underway.

THE SCOTTISH GAME FAIR: The Scottish game fair was held last weekend. We are pleased to report that member Ryan Brady (chairmans son) entered for the Juniors Trout distance /salmon distance and trout accuracy competitions on the Saturday and won the Juniors distance salmon casting competition and the accuracy casting competition. The tackle used was supplied by the sponsors Orvis.

The trout distance was won by a cast of 38.3 yards, Ryan was second with a cast of 38.2 yards. the rod was an 9ft 6 inch Orvis and Orvis wonderline.

The salmon distance was won by Ryan with a cast of 49.6 yards. The salmon distance was with a suppled 15ft Orvis rod and standard Orvis spey line. As far as we gather no junior has ever cast more than 42 yards at previous competitions.

On the Sunday competition the organiser’s decided to change the rod used for the salmon distance to one of 13ft. This was because the marker buoys only extended to 45 yards which would make it difficult to judge any distance beyond that. Long distance casts would then be restricted by the rod length. Ryan’s cast on the Saturday prompted this change of tactics.

Member Ryan Brady wins the Challenge trophy at the Scottish Game Fair July 2008
Ryan chose to enter the mens section on the Sunday giving another Junior the opportunity to win something.

The mens salmon distance casting competition on Sunday was won by Ryan with a cast of 41yards. Ryan also won the mens Challenge trophy for the most points on all three categories. The rod used was 13ft supplied by Orvis with an Orvis fly line.

Well done young man.

PROMOTING THE LLAIA: Several new members took advantage of Ryan’s offer to give them free tuition when they join the LLAIA. It is important for our association to encourage the right type of new member to our association and we are certainly moving in the right direction in this area.

New Memberships taken out through the secretaries (generally about 90% of total) are up from the previous year. The committee fully expect the association will prosper in the years to come.

Tight Lines The Committee LLAIA

All rights reserved. No reproduction without permission.

The accounts have now been completed and will when time is available be sent out to all of our members as a proper report and newsletter combined perhaps. Your committee has been busy moving the LLAIA forward and since most decent minded members are happy with this approach as well as being delighted with each years accounts there was never any panic to get this years accounts completed. The accounts show another excellent year for the LLAIA as members have come to expect these days. It is only those with their own destructive hidden agenda that thought otherwise and attempted to place doubt in the minds of our members.

During this period there have been several unnamed persons who have contacted our accountants asking about the accounts and additional items they wanted information on. The information concerned private matters that simply should not concern them. The bailiffs wages is one instance which are a private matter between the committee and our bailiffs.

These culprits had tried to claim that our Michael Brady had told the accountants not to tell anyone anything with regard the accounts. This was simply not true, the woman they spoke to when they first made contact with our accountants was the same lady they made contact with the second time! Our accountant lady told them that neither Michael Brady nor anyone else connected with the LLAIA had made any comments at all with them regarding the accounts.

Not content with being found out to be lying the person then told the accountants the conversation was being taped. At this point the accountant lady passed the phone to the owner who informed the person that recording a conversation was illegal and he would inform the police of such conduct. The culprit then said he was only kidding the conversation was not being taped.

Another person who spoke in a polite voice attempted to obtain similar information. We make no comment with regard such instances other than they threaten our business relations with our accountants which is both professional and impartial. It also suggests that we have permit holders that are behaving unacceptably and have nothing better to do with their time than cause mischief and resentment. Information from the RRB website inferred they knew when the accounts would be finished etc.

We get our accounts done at a very competitive rate and this type of conduct puts that at risk. It will be members that will foot the extra bill AGAIN if we have to change accountants.

Specific members of the previous banned list were also spreading malicious rumours that Michael Brady had given the accountants specific instructions and that the stretch of fishings we were going to buy called “Wilsons” had been sold to someone else. They were also emailing the secretaries asking for information about Wilsons informing us that they wanted to fish Wilsons for “spring salmon fishing! and did not want to be prosecuted if the stretch was no longer ours. Such immature behavior does not warrant a reply.

We also had comments from specific members on the previous banned list with regard the accounts and why they were not ready and making ludicrous statements. When Michael Brady hands the accounts over to the accountants he does exactly that, there is no discussion or comments made or reference to the accounts other than when we require them to be finished.

This year because of the rants and raves of certain individuals the accounts were not completed in the time required. On this occasion Michael Brady did not give any deadline to the accountants for the completion of our accounts. In fact because of the lies, inferences and despicable accusations leveled at the secretary and his honesty and the committee with regard the accounts and transparency Michael Brady felt that it would be useful to inform the accountants of such allegations, perhaps the accountants would then be even more stringent to ensure the accounts were in order as they have always been year after year since we took over.

NEW TREASURER IS APPOINTED

Alastair Mair who is on the committee is the new treasurer. Alastair is a fully qualified accountant and will be dealing with the accounts and items relating to the treasurer in his capacity. This will allow the treasurer to attend the AGM and deliver the set of accounts instead of the chairman doing this. The association had saved money over the years doing this but with one of the committee now the treasurer this allows the treasurer to answer all questions relating to the accounts.

Since Alastair Mair has been on the committee he has listened very carefully in the first year of being a committee member and thereafter gave excellent input. We are positive he will make an excellent treasurer.

WILSON’S STRETCH IS NOW OWNED BY THE LLAIA

We can now report that Wilsons stretch on the river endrick has now been signed sealed and delivered. The LLAIA now owns another stretch of the River Endrick. This particular stretch is very important for us to own for a variety of reasons which will become clear in the years ahead.

Wilsons above Ballochruin Bridge now owned by LLAIA 2008: A superb stretch

This has been another ground breaking milestone in the history of the LLAIA which will be remembered for years to come.

We now OWN three stretches of the River Endrick that all of our members can fish forever more.

The Committee would like to thank everyone involved and hope that all members appreciate that we now have complete control of another stretch of fishing on the main spawning stream of the Loch Lomond system the River Endrick.

Whilst it is remarkable that we are in a position to be capable of purchasing any stretch of the River Endrick it does not mean we act stupidly and buy stretches at any price. That would be wasting members money which is something we could never be accused of doing period!

An angler fishes the Bridge Pool above the iron bridge at Ballochruin:Wilsons Stretch.

Therefore it is even more pleasing that we have managed to purchase this stretch at a good price that represents excellent value for the LLAIA and a very good deal for the owners. We will NOT pay overinflated prices for any stretch of fishings whether it is offered for sale or not.

Wilson’s: The whole stretch is about 525yds long. The Oak Tree Pool.

The Oak Tree Pool is the best pool in this whole area. A popular destination for Endrick members.

Note: The permitted fishing areas we have in our current maps remain unchanged. Members have full permission to fish these stretches throughout 2008.

THE STOCK IMPROVEMENT WORKING GROUP

The SIWG (Stock improvement working group) will be doing an update on the web fairly soon. It will be full of news and information. For that reason we will simply say well done to all the guys who help out and well done to Angus who has to work under restricted conditions with anything but a plentiful supply of water. Stocking our streams with salmon and sea trout fry has been taking place over a long period of years. We continue to improve with each years passing.

Hatcheries don’t work!!! The LLAIA Hatchery Fry doing well: May 2008

We firmly believe that hatcheries have a major part to play in certain fisheries that do not have an abundance of natural spawning available.

Peter Lyons our hard working Vice Chairman has continued to make a slow recovery after his stroke some 15 months ago. Hopefully Peter will get out on the loch soon and show us all how it is done with the modified lures he uses.

THE DISRUPTIVE ELEMENT WITHIN
Your committee had made a concerted and unanimous decision to ignore certain individuals some of whom were previously banned and whom we collectively felt were making a nuisance of themselves asking for information which was in our opinion done to slow the committee down and prevent continuing progress. They even had their friends emailing the secretary asking for ludicrous items that have little to do with them. We will continue to ignore such individuals, they offer nothing to the LLAIA and their constant undermining of this association is unacceptable to your committee. Those individuals were never an alternative and their recent ramblings only serve to enforce that view.

CATCH AND RELEASE OR CATCH AND “YOU DECIDE” TO RELEASE OR NOT?

When fish stocks reach critically low levels there can only be one option open to our membership and that is total catch and release. Thankfully we have no evidence to suggest that this is the case at present on the Loch Lomond system.

Last year we had one of the best grilse runs for many a year, hardly a reason to adopt catch and release is it?

Sea trout stocks have been under grave pressure for some years now which is why we acted sensibly and quickly applied a conservation protection policy many years ago. Our sea trout runs have up until last year been much reduced BUT far healthier when compared to many other Scottish Rivers and lochs that have sea trout runs.

Carrying out any conservation measures is pointless if it cannot be enforced. The ban on killing sea trout until 1st May has been very successful generally. Enforcement is always the difficult part and the most expensive part as to be expected. The Clyde Estuary is likely to be the first section to show signs of any recovery which was possibly why we were a little slow off the mark last year with effective enforcement in that particular area. This year we recognised in advance the need for more stringent enforcement in the Clyde Estuary with the appointment of another water bailiff. Our increased enforcement has worked a treat and has prevented many sea trout from being killed. It also ensures that all anglers have permits in that area.

Angus MacRitchie returning a big sea trout 2007 Loch Lomond

So it can be said that the LLAIA committee put in place measures that worked and gave much needed help at times when the negative effects of marine life such as sea lice infestation wreaked havoc with our sea trout stocks in particular.

Last year we saw a resurgence in the sea trout stocks and this year it appears to be continuing.

The latest news on the fish farm threats is that the slice treatment (sea lice treatment method) on the Clyde Area is currently been given glowing reports by those responsible for its administration on the fish farms in this region.

Apparently it is very successful and unlike other areas where it is anything but successful it has to be welcome news indeed, not quite so welcome as their closure would be but welcome nevertheless.

Over this last few years we have had quite decent rainfall over the spring months. Perhaps this has also had its effect on our sea trout fry in some of the small burns around the lochs basin. Some of us are of the opinion that once our sea trout fry start to gain weight in these smaller burns they make their way to the loch to enable them to survive on what would be a drought affected small burn.

This years spring drought might well affect our smolts as well as our fry so we can never afford to be complacent. The sheer number of Herons in and around the river Endrick this year has to be seen to be believed! It is rarely ever all good news is it!

Spring salmon stocks: How do our present spring salmon stocks compare to say twenty years ago? Does anybody really know for absolute certain? We have been waiting patiently now for about five years to find out this and other items that could help us to make a calculated and careful decision with regard our spring salmon stocks. Sure we can just rush in and make conservation measures such as catch & release throughout the whole spring. Will it conserve what stocks we have? Will those measures solve the problem? It is all very well carrying out such a policy in a strictly controlled fishery with a sparse population, try it in an area that has a large association and a large population in and around the area and then you will quickly realise that it is a different ball game altogether. Where does the income arise to allow the management to enforce such measures? Are there special grants available from the government to ensure such extreme conservation measures work? It is patently obvious that to be successful you have to ensure that  the measures that  work in theory also work in practice. If you make it catch & release without enforcing those measures you are either playing politics or you are managing the fishery by pretense.

One example of the theory which does not work in practice and lacks proper enforcement is clear for all to see on Loch Lomond!

The Park Authority has, quite rightly so, imposed speed restrictions on various parts of Loch Lomond. The Park Authority and rangers along with the presence of Strathclyde and Central Police combined have set about trying to enforce those restrictions. They have spent a huge amount of money in doing so. It is turning out to be an expensive operation. The Park Authority suggest they need much more resources (that means more money in our language) to properly enforce these restrictions. Their biggest problem is that their attitude to offenders is deeply flawed. They both have a NON CONFRONTATIONAL POLICY……. enough said.

Relate that to our current situation and it is clear that enforcing catch & release on all our permit holders would not be successful on a large area like Loch Lomond. We could make it partly successful if we decided to ban all members that broke the catch & release policy. Is that what we want?

There is a long tradition on Loch Lomond to go out on the loch and put in the hours to attempt to catch a springer. No one can suggest it is an easy thing to accomplish……well a few of our members this year might argue with that but you have done well if you catch a springer on either the River Leven or Loch Lomond in any season!

A large part of that pleasure is not only related to playing and landing the fish but it is a great pleasure to pass other boats receive the BIG O and be able to hold up the springer. The more boats you pass the greater enjoyment for all who are out fishing the loch that day. Thus the successful angler not only gives himself a large confidence boost but he injects a part of that enthusiasm and confidence to all the other boats. All of that disappears when you introduce catch & release. Do we really need this measure?

The committee of the LLAIA is divided on this issue. Possibly in equal measure which makes it even more difficult to come to a conclusion.

One of the main key issues is on choice. Some of us return almost every fish we land. We also return all coloured fish that are well past their best. If we want a fish for any particular reason we want to take it and feel perfectly entitled to do just that. We do not want that choice taken from us by anyone UNLESS it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the fish stocks of that particular species is seriously in danger.

Every anglers definition of a coloured fish is different, so returning only coloured fish presents its own set of problems. That does not mean the committee are against any proposals to adopt catch & release of say coloured hen fish in October. It is whether we make it all fish whether they are coloured or not and can we enforce the measure on all areas. By the time October is upon us most fish caught are coloured whether they are caught on the loch the leven or the Endrick or Fruin. It is near impossible to enforce on the loch therefore do we concentrate on the tributaries then? Is that fair? Both the loch and the leven anglers have had a fairly lengthy season by the time October arrives.

A fish killed is a fish killed but a coloured fish landed on the tributaries might be the only class of fish available to our members who solely restrict there fishing to that particular stream! If we made it all hen fish to be returned then how would the members who fish the tributaries feel if they land a fresh fish?

Over this last few years we have had fairly dry years and the opportunity for sport on the Endrick and Fruin could be restricted to a matter of weeks. In those circumstances coloured fish may be the only fish available. Again we ask is it fair to remove the CHOICE from those members who fish only that stream yet pay the same as everyone else?

The majority of our members who fish the Endrick and Fruin return most fish caught. But FORCING them to return the fish is a different matter altogether. Is it fair?

Others on the committee feel that we are simply playing into the anti blood sport hands when we use fish as play things and start to adopt mandatory catch & release forever more.

With the sea trout we knew that the sea trout stocks would become seriously endangered by the fish farms and sea lice fiasco so we acted in advance of the expected impact and we believe it has saved our sea trout stocks and kept them at decent enough levels that they could make a quick recovery should conditions in the marine environment improve as they appear to have done with the slice treatment etc.

The Loch Lomond Fishery Trust was set up to research items that would/ could give us a clearer and better understanding of our fish stocks. Unfortunately it has had to spend this last five years establishing what the likely numbers of fish are in the system in general and to form a database to use in the future.

There is a huge difference between experimenting to gather useful information rather than gathering specific information that assists the fishery managers to protect/enhance or improve the fish stocks in the system.

We do not as yet know which direction the trust will proceed or give preference to but we hope they will give preference to projects and work that will improve or enhance the migratory fish stocks.

The other side of having a properly run Fishery Trust in our view is there has to be a proper code of conduct set up to ensure that any engineering works anywhere near the system (waterways) cannot be started without a proper survey carried out by our fishery trust. We must then have proper enforcement on those rules and on the work carried out. The trust must also inspect all the habitat to ensure there is no previous negative engineering work carried out and if so steps taken to reverse such negative works if at all possible. The recent fiasco with the building house scheme at Bonhill on the river leven whereupon no safety measures were taken when moving a large diesel tank which resulted in a major diesel spill on the leven which could be seen for miles out on the Clyde Estuary could have been avoided as could the illegal cutting of the trees that form good cover for the fish in that section of the river. Overseeing such works in and around our rivers is just as important as getting the preparative works done. In the case of the illegal tree cutting it should be noted that West Dunbartonshire  Council had stipulated in the planning application that the trees were to remain in the area, yet the sub-contractors cut them down! Did the well known building firm use sub-contractors  to enable them to achieve their objective (houses sell better if they have a nicer viewpoint) knowing that they would not be punished if the planning stipulations were broken by others and not them or was it just an unintentional error on the part of the sub-contractors?

There must also be a proper survey done on the number of fish eating birds in our system but mainly in our spawning streams and to work closely with the respective bodies to ensure the numbers are acceptable to the available sustainable food supply chain (numbers of small fish available) otherwise we have problems within the freshwater environment.

Herons appear to be increasing on the Endrick (2008)

Gravel extraction and the effects on fish has already been carried out by SNH. However it is currently left to the anglers and the LLAIA to monitor and report any contraventions. The fishery trust should also be ensuring that SNH are making a positive effort to see that none of the land owners are breaking the rules and extracting gravel at either the wrong times (throughout the close season) or when they are illegally breaking the rules and extracting when they do not have permission. Such enforcement does not go down well with some owners but that is not a reason to ignore it.

As can be seen the situation is rarely ever simply black or white. But we need action on these fronts NOW not further down the line. The fishery trust relies solely on grants. Grants are rarely available for the type of work that we feel SHOULD be done and so we either learn to live with this or we try to change that viewpoint.

Our top priority would be for the trust is to present us with the required information that indicates where exactly do our spring component stock reside within the system. If we can get that information it will allow us to concentrate on the spring component which most of us believe require the greatest protection.

We believe that current fishery trust management policy in a general sense has flaws that are deep rooted. Until they are improved upon we have to look at other ways to improve our fish stocks and relying on the fishery trust networks to do that for us is just not going to happen soon, it at all. That said we do believe that the fishery trust will start to obtain grants for items that will in time give us more information and that might well be vital in the years ahead. Anglers invariably expect a magic wand to be waved and somehow all problems will be solved….we wish. We have had to endure five years of getting all the required electro-fishing surveys completed by the fishery trust. Now hopefully we will start to see some kind of benefit, we hope so.

Whilst the mortalities in the current marine environment remain high we believe our hatchery policy over the years has managed to prevent our stocks from reaching critically low levels in any given year. We have yet to see any signs that the fishery trust is going to do anything to offset this, though it is early days yet in the greater scheme of things.

We also believe there are other ways to increase the fish stocks. We are currently working hard on this front…enough said!

The Committee LLAIA

All rights reserved. No reproduction without permission.

The Tweed Festival held last weekend was an important milestone for one of our junior members. Ryan Brady is just sixteen and entered his first competition at the Tweed show at the weekend. There was no junior competition category this year, so Ryan had to enter the mens “Distance Spey Casting Event”

Ryan Brady casting at The Tweed Show on May 2008

The preliminaries took place in the first half of the day with only six competitors being allowed to qualify for the finals. Amazingly Ryan managed to qualify for the finals even though he was up against some of the best distance spey casters in the world.

With the finals underway later in the afternoon, Ryan Brady to the amazement of everyone took “Third Place” in the event and was mighty pleased with himself as he was not expecting to qualify for the finals let alone be placed!

Casting champions with Trout & Salmon editor and the Duke of Roxburghe.

Right to left: Andrew Flitcroft, Ryan Brady, Gordon Armstrong (current world spey casting champion) and Norwegian champion Knut Syrstad and The Duke of Roxburghe.

The week before the event Ryan was brought into the exclusive world renowned Carron team who compete throughout the world. That is quite an achievement. We spoke to Ryan and asked him for his thoughts once he got back home. This is what Ryan had to say:

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would like to thank everyone for making my trip so enjoyable. There are so many people to thank throughout the whole weekend and in the short period of weeks i have started to learn distance spey casting. i would not know where to start. Jimmy Jack of Carron for giving me a variety of lines to use. I would like to thank the “Quarry Boys” they all know who they are but every one of them have been so kind and helpful to me, so thanks guys.

I also met Ian Gordon who spent a day with me and took me round to see the ghillies on the Spey and kindly gave me tackle to practice with. The kind person who gave me an invite up to the Tay at Cargill. This allowed me to practice whilst wading AND enjoy the fishing.

One special mention must go to James Chalmers Carron’s rod and line design specialist and organizer of Carron Team. James has unselfishly showed me everything he has learned in all his years of casting and i owe him a huge big thanks!

Ryan casting on the Tay at Cargill with the ghillie at his side.

The organizer of the Tweed festival Eoin Fairgraive has asked Ryan to demonstrate at the event for next year. Eoin was commenting on Ryan at the show and reckoned he must have been born with a rod in his hand, he said said that he had been watching Ryan practice casting in the morning and was hitting the other side of the bank on the Junction Pool which is probably over sixty yards!

There are many anglers in America, Canada and other parts of the world who travel over to get expert instruction from members in the Carron Team. Getting top class instruction particularly if you are new to the sport is money well spent!

Anyone who joins The Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association as a new member from the 1 st June 2008 will be delighted to learn that Ryan (Carron Team Member) has indicated he will give new members full instructions on casting with either single or double handed rod completely free of charge provided he has the time available and the new member wants to take the offer up.

On behalf of the Committee of the LLAIA and all of our members we would like to congratulate Ryan in his achievement.

Well Done!

THE COMMITTEE LLAIA