by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 22, 2020 | Conservation, Electrofishing
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,...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 21, 2020 | Conservation, General
Last week we performed a sizeable fish rescue on the Powgree Burn at Glengarnock. Story Scotland were about to replace a low rail bridge with a large culvert and the site required dewatering. Struan and I turned up as the dam builders were putting the last touches to...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 21, 2020 | Conservation, General
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...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 20, 2020 | Electrofishing
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...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 18, 2020 | Conservation
Over winter, we reared brown trout in a micro hatchery at Glenbuck near the source of the River Ayr. This project was designed to overcome the water quality and habitat issues that affect the lower reaches of the burn where trout from the loch spawn unsuccessfully...
by Stuart Brabbs | May 27, 2020 | Conservation, General
We record water temperature data across the Ayr catchment that feeds into the Scottish River Temperature Monitoring Network and helps identify areas on rivers that would benefit from such actions as tree planting. Follow this link for much more detail...
by Stuart Brabbs | May 22, 2020 | Conservation, fishing, General
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...
by Stuart Brabbs | May 14, 2020 | General
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...