River Nith Salmon Fishing Season Opens

As we have slowly emerged from the global pandemic, life is starting to return to a new normal. So, it was with great pleasure on Friday the 25th February that we saw the opening of the Atlantic salmon fishing season on the River Nith. There was a good turnout of guests for the day and they were blessed with glorious sunshine, which raised the spirits and will hopefully be a good sign for the coming season.

Mr Jim Henderson (Nith District Salmon Fishery Board Director) welcomed the assembled guests, before introducing Mr Ben Rush (Management team at Friars Carse Country House Hotel) who took the opportunity to welcome guests and explained how important anglers are to the hotel and the wider community.

The NDSFB Chairman, Mr Percy Weatherall, gave a speech highlighting the problems being faced by the Atlantic Salmon, whilst also praising the work of the Nith District Salmon Fishery Board and Nith Catchment Fishery Trust. The Chairman made particular reference to the work conducted in relation to the Salmon Smolt Tracking Project and the contribution it is making to a much larger project, which is gathering information on what is happening to the smolts in river and at sea. The information gathered will hopefully enable fishery scientists to offer solutions that can be used to reverse the current decline in Atlantic salmon numbers.

Our piper in attendance, Sandy Dunlop, then piped the guests to the riverbank where Mr Finlay Carson MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries gave a speech and blessed the river with a dram.

Following the ceremony and speeches, Mr Jonathan Morris (AAPGAI casting instructor) gave a demonstration on how to perform circle and roll casting before offering free instruction to any of the guests who felt they may need some ‘fine tuning’.

A huge thank you must go to the Friars Carse Country House Hotel for not only hosting the event, but also for providing refreshments, including a wee dram, and free fishing for all guests on their river beat for the day.

Tight lines to all for 2022!