Esks River Trust

[Wildfisher]

I have been very impressed by the work done by the Esks River  Trust, not only on the North and South Esks but also on commercially low value waters like The Lunan and Bervie that are fished by ordinary anglers like you and I.  They get things done and in my opinion  they genuinely  deserve the support of anglers. They employ no full time staff (jobs like hogweed and knotweed eradication are done by professional contractors), have no vehicles or similar overheads, so all of the money raised goes into improving and looking after the rivers.

Here is the latest news letter from the Scottish Mink Imitative, sent to me by the Esks River  Trust

http://www.wildfisher.co.uk/specials/August_2012_SMI_Newsletter_(COMPRESSED).pdf

[hopper]

It really is amazing how far the mink will travel. I would say to any angler or club to get involved with this project the more of these little killers we can get rid of the better

[Wildfisher]

It really is amazing how far the mink will travel.

It is astonishing, I would not have believed it. That document is well worth a read. Thanks for passing it on Eric.

You guys in The Esks Trust really do a great job of looking after these waters. The work on the Lunan Water blew me away. I learned to  fish there, that wee river is very special to me. 

[burnie]

As you may know I fish the Esks a fair bit and they really are boonie wee rivers,that if you look around,do offer some reasonably priced and accessable river fishing. The Esk trusts work is vital in maintaining the environment and water quality.The Lunan that Fred talks of, is I am told a shadow of it's former self, with water abstraction a cause of concern.In the short time I have known this river that flows past my village, I have seen it suffer from the  bankside weed infestation,it made me stop fishing it as it was dangerous to try and walk the bank.

[Wildfisher]

I have seen it suffer from the  bankside weed infestation,it made me stop fishing it as it was dangerous to try and walk the bank.

Sounds a bit like the  giant hogweed on the upper Don, but that's just the obvious hazard.  Worse are the impenetrable banks, fields often ploughed to within a few feet of the water, barbed wire,  head high vegetation hiding  farm rubbish and dangerous rocks dumped out of fields. Not everywhere of course, but you don't  know where until  you stumble over it and rip your waders, break a rod or a perhaps even injure yourself. Risky and not worth the very high permit prices imo. One might reasonably expect that some of this money would  be spent  improving access or removing these hazards,  so like you on the Lunan, I have stopped fishing it altogether.  IMO it's just not worth the money, the hassle  or the risk.

The  Lunan is a low energy  lowland stream flowing over the coastal plain for its entire length, water levels can be a problem with or without abstraction but that does not help for sure.   Seriously, you should see the work done at Boysack dam, quite impressive and  the Esks Trust have also all but eradicated knotweed on The Bervie which  I would not have believed possible.

Dealing with tunnel vision farmers cannot be an easy task, but in spite of this the work of the Esks Trust is clearly visible for all to see and not just on valuable salmon waters either.

[burnie]

If the river banks become accessable again I would love an Arbroath ticket for the Lunan as I can walk from home for an hour or two after work. Hence I fish the Esks as my next nearest water is the Isla and the Backwater. The Luther is however a water I wasn't aware of and may have a walk for a look see this next week as I'm on holiday. Got a day on the South Esk after Salmon and Sea-trout on thursday.