With a break in the forecast today we managed to get our waders on and get out. We were monitoring the fish and invertebrate populations in the Haw and Pullower Burns in Killgallioch today. These two burns drain into the the River Duisk which feeds down into the River Stinchar. We’re battling with water levels at the moment and these small burn really were the only option today. Scroll down the images for more details.
A cracking, well fed burn trout.
Another well fed fish, it really is a delight to go out to a far flung burn and record multiple brownies like this.
A very dark trout, the burn is naturally very peat stained. I didn’t realise this was in my net until I drew it from the water!
A small but very distinctly marked trout fry.
Muir battles his way into the site through long grasses. Not a big watercourse but there are trout. Lots of draped vegetation and undercut banks offer excellent cover. As we fished through the site it was apparent that there are plenty of worms in this watercourse. The kick sample didn’t produce masses of invertebrates yet the fish are well fed here….perhaps worms are making up a portion of the diet in this burn.
Even in the middle of nowhere you can find litter, it’s a great pity someone couldn’t have just taken it away with them. We did….
A rhyacophila larvae (free living caddis). These caddis larvae are capable of living in a variety of habitats, occupying everything from fast flowing freestone rivers to slow, deep burns. The Americans refer to these as ‘net spinners’ as they spin a net, akin to spiders to catch their prey.
A small damsel fly nymph. There were plenty of these nymphs in the Haw Burn which is largely deep and slow flowing. We know the burn to be very acidic and our only fish capture was a single European eel.
