Conservation Guidelines

Fisheries Management Scotland have issued the following guidance.
The KOSAA Committee appeal to all members and visitors to follow these guidelines during
this period of exceptional weather.

Fisheries Management Scotland remain concerned about the current stress fish stocks are under, due to the combination of prolonged dry weather, high river temperatures and water abstraction in some areas. With daytime river temperatures in some areas currently in excess of 19c and hot weather set to continue, we recommend that our members consider issuing the following guidance for fisheries and anglers in their area:

• Cease fishing when river water temperature exceeds 18°C
• Use strong tackle
• Play the fish quickly
• Always use a knotless net
• Keep the fish in the water at all times
• Use long-nosed forceps or a hook releasing tool to gently remove the hook

Catch and Release Best Practice can be found HERE:

Happy Visitors

Copied below are messages sent to the club by visiting anglers Dave and John.

Hi Richard

Myself and friend Dave enjoyed a good day on the Kyle today. We got our permits from the store in Ardgay this morning at 7am sharp. High tide was 6.37 , we did not buy tags as we were happy to catch and release.
I had two nice grilse at 8lb and 6lb and Dave had one around 4lb.
We had a good chat with Kenny the bailiff and he gave us some more information about the Kyle.
We handed our returns into the store on the way home.
Thanks again for your help and information.

Kind regards
Dave

hi just to say thanks to kenny for a great day at bonar bridge last thurs made us feel so welcome

caught a wee grilse and had a great tme
kind regards john
And this is a photo of John’s fish
John's fish
John’s fish
If you are fishing in the Highlands and are struggling with the drought, why not give the Kyle of Sutherland a try. Visitor tickets for KOSAA are available from Ardgay Stores & Cafe, FishPal or from our river watcher Kenny at the old ice house next to the road bridge.

Scottish Govt – Conservation Status Assessment 2018

A reminder that the point at which the Oykel outflow (Kyle of Sutherland) category 1 classification ends has been moved to a point approximately 300 metres downstream of the road bridge at Bonar Bridge where the Kyle widens into the Dornoch Firth (for OS grid references see KOSDSFB 2018 Conservation Policy document here Updated Conservation Policy for the 2018 Season.pdf).

Upstream of this point KOSAA rules on catch limits and tagging apply.

Downstream of this point will remain as category 3 and all salmon and grilse caught must be released.

2018 Season Opening Week

The KOSAA season got off to a successful start last Friday with 3 salmon caught and released on the opening day. A good turn out of members fished the early tide and the first fish of the new season, estimated at around 14 lb, was caught by Stephen Airey from the Gangway and then, at the very end of the tide, John McRorie caught a further 2 fish of around 12 lb in the Honeypot. A number of anglers reported losing fish throughout the day.
On Saturday a fish of around 8 lb was caught and released in the Gangway.
Visitors are very welcome to fish the KOSAA waters and tickets are available from Ardgay Stores, FishPal and Kenny Campbell, our river watcher, at the old ice house adjacent to the bridge.

Invercharron Beats 2018

The Invercharron beats on the Kyle have now been secured by KoSAA for up to the next 5 years.

This means that the fishing available to members and visitors this season remains the same as last season and is shown on the Maps page.

Membership renewals and applications should be sent to Julia (Mimi) Campbell at 2 Meikle, Lairg Road, Bonar Bridge, IV24 3AW.

KoSAA AGM 2018

The AGM will be held in Edderton Community Hall on Tuesday 30 January 2018 at 7:30pm. The guest speaker will be Scott MacKenzie who will give a talk on new materials available for rod manufacturing, matching lines to rods, and casting techniques.

Pacific Pink Salmon Advice Note

There have been several reports of non native Pink Salmon being caught in Scottish rivers including the Oykel. If you catch one of these fish please follow the advice below issued by Fisheries Management Scotland. You do not need to use a tag on a killed Pink Salmon.

Identification

Pacific pink salmon, when fresh from the sea, are steel blue to blue-green on their backs, silver on the flanks and white on their bellies. There are large black spots on the backs, upper flanks, adipose fins and tail – some of the spots on the tail can be as large as the fish’s eyes. They are very uniform in size, reaching only 40 to 60cms in length.

Breeding males are immediately identifiable because of their humps and they will almost certainly be running milt at this time of year. Their black tongues and heavily spotted tails are also very obvious. Females will show heavily spotted tails and be pinkish-brown on the flanks.

What should you do if you capture a Pacific salmon?

As above, Pacific pink salmon are usually clearly identifiable from their Atlantic counterparts – particularly when mature and in spawning condition. If you are confident that you have captured a pacific pink salmon, it should be humanely despatched and retained. It would be helpful if captures are reported to the relevant district salmon fishery board and fishery trust. If it is practical to do so, please pass the fish to the relevant personnel at the DSFB or trust for further inspection and analysis.

The full Fisheries Management Scotland advice note can be read here.

New KoSAA Loch Boat

The KoSAA was delighted to receive funding from the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) project team at Loch Buidhe Substation which has enabled us to purchase a Highlander Club 15 fishing boat to replace the old leaking boat on Loch Cracail Mor.

The new boat has already been used by members and we are very grateful to SSEN for this generous sponsorship.

SSEN Project Manager, Russell Stewart, said:

We are delighted to be able to support the Kyle of Sutherland Angling Association by providing a new boat and hope that this will help retain the tourism and visitors who come to Loch Cracail Mor, located to the south west of Loch Buidhe substation, to go loch fishing.

As a responsible developer, we try to work actively with local communities to show care for the environment where we are working and to minimise disruption and support long term economic benefits.

 

KoSAA Committee members at the official hand over of the new boat

Salmon Conservation Status 2017

Members and visitors are reminded that below the road bridge at Bonar Bridge is designated as Category 3 for 2017 and all salmon caught must be released.

The Kyle above the road bridge remains as Category 1 and the current KoSAA rules and tagging policy apply.