As part of the Tweed Trout & Grayling Initiative (TTGI) an angler questionnaire is currently being circulated; the questions posed are wide and varied and range from time spent fishing to perceived changes within the rivers fished. The data we gain from this angler survey will provide us with information on what anglers think of their rivers and what they want from their rivers and will also let us tap into the wealth of local knowledge possessed by Tweed anglers.

If you wish to fill in one of our angler questionnaires they can be picked up from most local fishing tackle shops, requested directly from the Tweed Foundation office or downloaded from the downloads section of this web site.

Completed questionnaires should be posted or handed in to –

The Tweed Foundation
Drygrange Steading
Melrose
Roxburghshire
TD6 9DJ
Tel: 01896 848 271
E-mail: kgalt@tweedfoundation.org.uk

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

Listed below is a sample of the results from the questionnaires collected in the first five months since its circulation. Approximately 40 questionnaires were filled in covering anglers from all 13 angling associations involved in the TTGI.

The Trout & Grayling Anglers of the Tweed

•The average Tweed Trout & Grayling angler has 39 years of angling experience.
•The majority are male (we haven’t had a questionnaire filled in by a female angler yet).
•Most regard themselves as either social or serious anglers and generally rate their angling ability as good intermediate.
•They fish once a week or more and fish for around 1-3 hours.
•Almost two thirds vary the beats they fish but consistently return to their favourite beats. Less than a tenth greatly vary the areas they fish.
•All fish for wild Trout with less than half fishing for Grayling and just over a third fishing for stock Trout.
•They catch 1-2 takeable Trout per four hour fishing trip and the majority either don’t fish for, or don’t catch, Grayling.
•Over half release all the Trout they catch with a further quarter releasing most of their Trout. The majority of anglers that catch Grayling release all of them.
•Of those that expressed an opinion well over half thought that there should be a bag limit of two Trout per fishing trip.
•They think the size limit for Trout should be 10 inches (approx 26cm) and the size limit for Grayling should be 11 inches (approx 28cm).
•Half tie their own flies.
•Most anglers think you can have a good day’s fishing without catching a fish, provided there’s decent weather, company or surroundings/wildlife (one angler stated that simply coming home with dry waders constituted a good day’s fishing).

What They Think of Their Angling Association Waters

•Three quarters think that there are less Trout in their Angling Association waters than in the past and that the Trout have got smaller.
•Just over a quarter think that there are less Grayling in their Angling Association waters than in the past, with just over a quarter being unsure and just under a quarter thinking that Grayling numbers have increased. Most either think that the Grayling in their Angling Association waters have stayed the same size or are unsure about any size change.
•Half think that the fly life in their Angling Association waters has declined.
•Of those that expressed an opinion, approximately two thirds thought that there was less deep water than in the past, half though there was more bankside collapse and most thought that there hadn’t been a loss of trees, bankside vegetation or in-stream vegetation.
•Two people noted an increase in the numbers of Yellow May mayflies. We know from a previous study that in 1974 the Yellow May was only found in tiny numbers from Kelso upwards. The Yellow May can now be found in good numbers as far up as Peebles and has considerably expanded its range over the last 30 years.

Watch this space for the next set of insights into the anglers of the Tweed