DREGHORN ANGLING CLUB

FOUNDED 1925

Holmsford Bridge

These pages are provided to keep members updated on club business throughout the season.

For competition results click here

2008 PERMITS

This seasons prices will remain the same as 2007.

ADULT SEASON purchased at a sale of ticket nights - £25 - In the Townend Community Centre, Dreghorn on Friday 29th February, Friday 7th March and Friday 14th March from 7.30pm till 9.00pm

ADULT SEASON purchased after 14th of March 2006 - £30 - From the outlets listed below

O.A.P. - £5

JUNIOR aged 10 - 16, £5

JUNIOR under 10 - free, but in the interest of safety must be accompanied by an adult.

DAY TICKET - £5 - From the outlets listed below

All Dreghorn permits are available from Dreghorn Post Office, the Dreghorn Inn, Alyson's Flowers Bank Street Irvine and Drybridge Stores.

Dreghorn A.C. water on the Rivers Annick and Irvine

A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO THE RIVER IRVINE

New members or day ticket anglers coming to fish Dreghorn A.C. water on the Irvine are advised to access the river at the following places. Park at Drybridge on the B 730 and follow the small path down to the bridge carrying the large black pipe. From here it is a short walk upstream to Drybridge Dam pool. On the B 730 between Drybridge and Dreghorn just past Holms Farm a small road on the right leads through a wood to the Holms Bridge. There are a few nice runs that hold plenty of trout in this area. Nearing Dreghorn the Holmsford (Red) Bridge takes the B 730 across the river and just downstream from here are more streams and pools. Turn left at Drybridge onto Shewalton Road and drive about three quarters of a mile. Directly across from the GlaxoSmithkline (Beechams) factory is a large parking area. The river is slower here but is also sheltered and good sport can be had with dry fly.

When the season starts on March 15th there are plenty of stockies around and these are quite easy to catch. Anglers should always consider returning these fish to the river until they become a little more streetwise. At this time Large Dark Olives will be hatching at intervals during the day and trout soon switch on to this early season food source. Into April and then May olives will still be on the menu and wets such as Partridge and Orange, Greenwells Spider and Gold Ribbed Hares Ear will do the trick. As the weather warms up in May good hatches of Black Gnat and then the larger Hawthorn Fly keep fish looking up and dry fly can be spectacular when these flies are on the water. During June and July water levels can be low and it is better to fish in the evenings. Sedge hatches on certain nights bring fish up that are not usually seen during the day and a ginked up Balloon Caddis can be deadly cast in and around Water Crowfoot weed beds.

Any spates in August will bring the first runs of grilse upstream. Bait fishing for salmon has almost disappeared with the favoured methods now spinning lures like tobies and flying condoms. Fly fishing is always popular and the Stoats Tail family of flies do well in the Irvine. September is the best month for salmon and as the month draws to a close large trout are taken on spinners and big flies fished by salmon anglers. Brown trout fishing finishes on the 6th October and sea trout at the end of October. As sea trout are now quite rare anglers should consider returning them to help stocks improve. Salmon fishing on the Dreghorn A.C. water ends on the 14th November and anglers are asked to return fish that are not freshly run at this time of year.

 

 

 

 

 

Zak Purdie with a 4lb 10oz brownie from the Red Bridge pool at Dreghorn. Zak hooked this big stockie as he was being taught to cast a fly by Hugh Skeoch. It will be many years before he catches another like this from the Irvine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Club member Billy Wales from Ayr caught this magnificent brown trout from the River Irvine just below the Silver Pipe. Billy who has only been fly fishing for a couple of seasons hooked his fish on a Magpie Tail, a traditional Clyde pattern. The fish is one of the biggest taken from our stretch for many years and weighed in at 3 : 07 and was just over 20 inches long. It had been feeding hard on snails, one of the top items on an Irvine trouts menu and had obviously packed on the weight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ayrshire Rivers Trust biologist Brian Shaw with a nice bright grilse aroud the 5lb mark from Dreghorn A.C. water on the River Irvine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Club secretary Tam Campbell with a 9lb fish from between the No.11 and the Carmel Mouth. Fishing on his own for trout with 3lb nylon, a size 12 Balloon Caddis and no landing net it was 35 minutes before this fish could be tailed out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ron Chesney (left) nets a grilse for Bill Hunter downstream of the Holms Bridge during the Ramsay Cup and the happy angler (right) with his prize

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evan Reid with a nice brown trout taken from the River Clyde during the club outing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craig Osborne releases one of the summer stockies into the Red Bridge pool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Hek and son James release brown trout stock in the upper Annick in February 2005

 

 

 

This year (2008) we managed to arranged for our stock fish to arrive closer to the start of the brown trout season. In doing so we hope more fish will be left for our members to catch instead of feeding an ever increasing number of cormorants and saw bill ducks. Both rivers were stocked with quality brown trout from Welham Park fish farm in Malton North Yorkshire. We have been buying fish from Bob Booth at Malton for many years and although the club could probably source fish closer to home we think the extra expense is more than worth it when you see the quality trout Bob produces.

 

 

John Lindsay makes sure the Irvine gets its share

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interested spectators at Middleton road bridge on the Annick

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of season 2003 long serving club treasurer and past president Sandy Tweedie confirmed he would be steping down from the committee as he was moving to Bathgate.

 

 

 

Sandy on a drift at North Third Reservoir

 

 

 

As a token of our gratitude for the many years of hard work Sandy had given to the club the committee purchased a leaping salmon figure to present to him on behalf of the membership. This gift was handed over by Keith Lynch and John Lindsay at North Third Reservoir. Sandy has since written to the club to thank everyone for the kind gesture.

 

 

 

Keith (left) and John present Sandy with his gift.