Attention: as part of the TTGI’s catch log book scheme two anglers who filled in multiple returns on the on-line log book were randomly selected in our prize draw and have won prizes. However the TTGI has been unable to contact them on the e-mail addresses they supplied. Would Michael McCosh and James Milne please contact the TTGI via the contacts page on this website?

As it is impossible to count the number of resident Trout and Grayling within the main rivers we fish, angling catches are the only way we can assess the health of our adult Trout and Grayling stocks. Unfortunately very few Trout and Grayling anglers record their catches. This means that we have virtually no data that will allow us to detect whether there are changes in our adult fish populations. The Tweed Trout & Grayling Initiative is therefore planning to set up a large scale recording scheme aimed at getting as many anglers as possible to record their catches. An extensive account of angler catches will allow us to detect changes in our adult fish stocks (and can even detect changes in fish behaviour). In contrast to the Trout and Grayling, extensive Tweed Salmon catch records have been kept for many years and have provided invaluable information.

Most anglers are unaware of the importance of recording their Trout and Grayling catches
 

Any angler can help us to monitor the resident adult fish stocks in the Tweed catchment, or in their own river, by filling in and returning one of the three types of catch log books that are being handed out by the Tweed Trout & Grayling Initiative.

The first log book (shown left) was designed by the Scottish Fisheries Coordination Centre (SFCC). It is the more detailed of our three log books and takes longer to fill in. The results from this log book go towards a national catch recording scheme, which is why it is more complicated as it has to cover many types of fishing.

The second log book (shown right) was designed by the Tweed Foundation and is only used locally. It is a simplified version of the SFCC log book and was designed for anglers who prefer to only fill in brief catch detail.



A third log book has been produced specifically for anglers fishing for Grayling during the trout close season. The log book provides the information needed to monitor our adult resident fish stocks (as angler catches generally tend to reflect the number of fish in our rivers).


The log books are also ideal for anyone wishing to keep an angling diary as all log books will be returned to their owner after a copy has been made of the information they contain.

Alternatively you can fill in your catches on-line by clicking on the following link –

On-line log book

The on-line log book is ideal for visiting Tweed anglers that fish on day tickets.

Note: if you fill in any catch log book whether local, national or on-line you must record unsuccessful fishing trips as well as the successful ones. Only providing catch records from successful fishing trips will give a biased account of the trout & grayling angling on the river Tweed.

Prize Draw

Any angler fishing in the Tweed catchment who fills in and returns one of our catch log books by the end of the 2007 Trout fishing season will automatically be put into a prize draw. Prizes include:-

•A selection of flies tied by Scottish international anglers (5 prizes)

• A morning or afternoon netting for trout & grayling on the River Tweed with the Tweed Foundation as part of their study into Tweed trout & grayling stocks

• A trout and salmon flies framed picture

• Fly boxes donated by local angling associations

• A selection of day and season tickets for the association waters of one of the angling associations involved in the Tweed Trout & Grayling Initiative (13 prizes)**

• A bottle of whisky

• A Tweed Foundation baseball-style cap

• A Tweed Foundation sweatshirt***

All log books returned will receive a TTGI badge

*   The prize is dependent upon being able to find a date that suits both the winner and the Tweed Foundation and therefore may be exchanged for another prize if parties are unable to find a mutual convenient date
**  The TTGI will try to organise the tickets so that winners get to fish association water they haven’t fished before
***The prize is dependent upon whether the sweatshirt fits the winner and therefore may be exchanged for another prize of equal value


Collection/Returns

The 13 Angling Associations involved in the Tweed Trout & Grayling Initiative are handing out the local catch log books with their local season tickets. However if you want to help monitor adult resident fish stocks and for one reason or another you don’t have either a local or national catch log book, they can be sent out on request by the Tweed Trout & Grayling Biologist.

Click here to request a log book

You can also download the national log book as a pdf file below –

Full logbook with instructions and recording pages pdf (883 KB)

Logbook with recording pages only pdf (203KB)
 

Completed catch log books should be posted or handed in to –

The Tweed Foundation
Drygrange Steading
Melrose
Roxburghshire
TD6 9DJ

Or dropped off at one of the following fishing tackle shops

Border Angling Centre
97 High Street
Galashiels

Borders Gunroom Ltd
Main Street
St. Boswells

Cast Around Peebles
20a Northgate,
Peebles

Forrest of Kelso
1 Bridge Street,
Kelso

Game Fair
12 Marygate,
Berwick upon Tweed

Sanfords Country Sports
6 - 8 Canongate,
Jedburgh

J&A Turnbull
30 Bank Street,
Galashiels

Tweedside Tackle
36 – 38 Bridge Street,
Kelso

R. Welsh & Son
28 Castle Street,
Duns