Looks like it will be a nice run and pool to fish in falling waters.

The run and pool both looked much better for the removal of the weir and I expect fishing will be much improved if allowed in the pool in future.

The pool and run

Completion of the Black rocks weirs has again been delayed by the weather. The contractor needs one week of low levels to finish the job. I visited the falls yesterday during the spate to see how things looked. Bearing in mind that the fish pass precast sections have yet to be fitted, the final levels should be raised by at least 1.2m (in the upper pool) which has got to help the fish over the falls. I dropped in again this evening to see how it looked as the levels dropped back . Lets just hope that the rain stops soon.

During a spate

Another smolt about to disappear

I has a look at the Giant Hogweed along the left bank and noticed these two Goosanders taking what I presume to be a well earned rest. For anyone unsure, the female Goosander differs from the Red Breated Merganzer in the shape of the beak, crest and the transition between the neck and breast feathers (less defined than the Goosander). The males of the two species are similar but overall the Merganser is less defined in it’s markings. (If I’ve got this wrong someone let me know but this is how I learned to distinguish them).

Female Goosander

Male Goosander

Once the Ayr, Annick and Irvine catchments are completed, focus will turn to the coastal burns and the River Garnock.

Qualified volunteers intending to assist once the contractors have completed their efforts should contact Gordon at the Trust to ensure that your names have been added to the SEARS licence.

The three day course in Stirling taught us how to assess weirs, dams, culverts, waterfalls etc in relation to fish passage and to determine a score that could quantify the problem.

Assessing the porosity of a fish pass. This one had issues for some migrating species but not all.

Of course up to now we have relied on experience, local knowledge, electrofishing etc, but the difference with the SNIFFER method is it allows us to daw conclusions and prioritise action for  barriers based on measured flows, depths, heights etc. It can even be used to score the effectiveness of fish passes at differing flows and for different species.

SEPA now require SNIFFER assessments to support applications for Restoration Funding for barrier removal or alteration. Ideally I’d like to establish a program of barrier assessment across our River catchments to allow us to continue with the removal/mitigation work that we have been undertaking over the last few years. We will need to fund a flow velocity meter to allow us to do  this (approx £2000), but I’m sure before long we will have this in hand. Each survey requires 3 people so it is labour intensive and anyone with time on their hands and willing to assist should let me know.

A tributary of the Earn in Perthshire where we used the SNIFFER tool to quantify the scale of the problems at this site.

The new run into the old weir pool. This looks great (from both a conservation and an angling perspective)

What remains of the weir on the right bank will help to stabilise it

To say this was a Darvel Weir is perhaps misleading as it was located between Newmilns and Darvel forming the boundary between the two town’s angling club waters. I don’t suppose it matters anyway as it has now been demolished and no longer poses a health and safety risk to anyone. SEPA allowed Lanfine Estate to demolish the weir after it became undermined a couple of weeks ago and there was a serious risk that someone could become trapped and drown under the ‘bridge’ type structure that remained. See older posts for photos of the dam soon after it became undermined.

Going down for the third time. Only when he surfaced did I realise he was in trouble

When I visited the weir this evening to see the final results, a young man was pushed into the water and nearly drowned. His friend thought he could swim, so was just having a laugh but things rapidly took a turn for the worse when his head bobbed under for the second or third time (it was only when I saw the look on his face as he surfaced that I realised this was serious).

As I  was turning towards the van for a lifejacket, he managed to find a footing and clambered out. I was relieved as I though I was just about to get wet! He sat down, exhausted and obviously in shock for about 5 minutes as his friend laughed it all off. I suggested he should go for swimming lessons to which he relpied ” I can swim, but I couldn’t because it was so cold!” I think this is a lesson for us all, especially those wading. Splash out on a lifejacket, it may just save you one day. Just imagine if this had happened above the old weir yesterday. Well done to all involved for getting rid of  it so quickly.

Once the next big spate redistributes the loose substrates, it will be interesting to see things develop and how angling improves in the area. I’ve no doubt that this will be a significant improvement for the fish that will have free movement to their spawning grounds. Next weir upstream is the weir upstream of Ranoldcoup Park which is a different kettle of fish altogether. Perhaps we should try once again to do something with the fish pass there.

Jimmy Mair from Darvel sent me this photo of the machine in action. I wish I'd been there to see this happen.

Back on his feet after thrashing and splashing his way to the bank....doggy style