The Muck Water, Dalmellington

We ended the day on the lower Muck Water at Dalmellington where we placed boulders in the site a few years ago to try and improve the habitat for salmon and trout. Placing boulders is not something we recommend due to SEPA CAR regulations however when done carefully,...

Turnberry Fish Rescue

The Milton Burn at Turnberry was the focus of our fish rescue yesterday. Reputedly a sea trout burn, we had little data from this burn in the lower reaches so it was an interesting experience regardless of a rather poor result. W & A Gilbert contractors working...

Timed Electrofishing 2020

The third week in July is the week we always commence timed electrofishing surveys across the 4 District Salmon Fishery Board controlled rivers. We do this as part of the work we deliver for the DSFBs annually and it’s a rapid assessment of spawning success as...

Trout rising to the hatch

We often hear complaints that there are no trout in the Ayr despite what we would consider to be a reasonably healthy population. The calls we hear in support of stocking aren’t unique to the Ayr and it seems this strategy is the first option for some clubs and...

The first spate in May takes the smolts away

Total rainfall so far in May is just 2.4 mm (recorded in the middle reaches of the Ayr catchment). April had a total of 16.6 mm. Since the 18th March we’ve had a total of 24.9 mm or just over 1″ of rain. This isn’t good news for smolts that are...