Ever since first fishing the River Kelvin I have been fascinated by the astonishing beauty, wildlife and the amazingly tranquil surroundings on this little river all despite it being bordered within the hustle and bustle of Glasgow.
After climbing down to the water’s edge one could be forgiven for thinking you were fishing some northern Scottish river rather than casting a line on the River Kelvin at Kelvingrove within Glasgow’s city centre. Even as a relatively new angler to The Kelvin I already have many memories of magic moments when a kingfisher or dipper enters your casting view, or a deer decides to join your coffee break.
The Kelvin at The Glasgow Vet School and at Balmore are probably my favoured stretches and each of these stretches yet again never fail to disappoint in terms of beautiful scenery, wildlife and of course the occasional fish.
Never one to choose the easier path my goal has been to land my first Kelvin salmon on the fly and despite the constant disparaging advice from fellow anglers that this is not the best method for salmon on the Kelvin I remain stubbornly resolute to continue the challenge this season. The angling is managed by The River Kelvin Angling Association who offer several permit options at great value. For detail go to www.fishkelvin.com
An added bonus is just how easily and quickly accessible the river is for those times when you may only have a few hours of an evening or morning to fish. If you have not yet discovered this little piece of urban wilderness then I encourage you to do so.
With recent reports of fish now being landed or lost on the upper Kelvin I decided it was time to spend a few hours this afternoon on the Kelvin at Balmore, the first time this season. Despite the water height was showing as at only around 0.4m at Killermont I was keen to give it a try anyhow. After setting up during yet another thundery downpour I headed to the river crossing the field of the “cows with attitude” (long story) who duly obliged by surrounding and following me! Yes wimp I know.
A brief walk this afternoon along the Kelvin at the Glasgow Vet School stretch (Garscube) showed just what the online water level gauges were saying only in a much more graphic way. Albeit a relatively new angler to the River Kelvin I don’t remember ever seeing the river just so low. On almost every stretch you could easily paddle across, except of course for the two deep holes on this stretch. On this subject I came across two teenage boys swimming and having fun at the top pool and in talking with them I explained that I didn’t wish to spoil their fun in any way but that they should be aware that the pool that they were swimming in became suddenly very deep within just a few steps therefore they should take care. I showed them the area in question and they seemed genuinely grateful. They asked about fish in the river and didn’t know that this was the River Kelvin. I bored them further by explaining the type of fish “normally” found and where the river ran before joining the Clyde at the Riverside Museum before wishing them well and heading back downstream towards the bridge and playing field section.
Passing the “Pool with the Sandy Beach” (aka Dead Man’s Pool: no disrespect for the souls lost) I nodded to a Mum with two you children playing on the sand. Continuing downstream to the end of the playing field stretch I couldn’t help notice the amount of weed that had accumulated since my last visit and fly session for trout session, hardly surprising I suppose given the low water and strong sunlight. Plenty of small rises in the normal runs and glides but no river monsters.
The Dogged Angler 