Scotland's Hidden Gem

The Deveron rises in the hills of West Aberdeenshire in the remote area known as the Cabrach, and flows north before being joined on its left bank by the Blackwater. It then swings in a north-easterly direction as it flows through Strathglass to Huntly. This upper section consists of fast gravelly runs, rocky cascades interspersed with deep, holding pools which is ideal for the early running spring fish.

As it flows through Huntly it is joined on its right bank by the River Bogie which drains the hills of Clashindarroch Forest and the rich farmland around Gartly Moor and the Coreen Hills.

The middle section, some 22 miles, is to Turriff via Rothiemay where it is joined by the River Isla on its left bank. The Isla flows through Keith which has several distilleries which draw water for such well known names as Chivas Regal. Other distilleries in this middle section include Glendronach on the Glendronach burn and Knock which is on the Shiel burn which rises on the Knock hill. 

At Turriff the Idoch Water flows in from the right bank. Finally it flows 11 miles through fertile agricultural land to its final destination to Banff/Macduff taking in the King Edward burn which flows from the east and is a productive sea trout/brown trout tributary.

Details of some of the River Deveron's beats are on this website. You can read about these, and book fishing by email or telephone.

Click here to choose an area to fish and for details of booking.

Latest updates of catches can be found at www.fishingthedeveron.co.uk

Latest news

Opening of the Angling Season on 11th February, 2010

10:00am at Turriff Angling Association Lodge

By kind permission of Turriff Angling Association

Press and Journal Article

 

River trust saves fish eggs after collapse of hatchery

team battle through snow and ice to rescue stocks as structure buckles

By Alistair Beaton

Published: 13/01/2010

A trust that cares for north-east rivers has saved more than half their fish stocks of the future after a hatchery collapsed near Keith.

Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Trust staff and volunteers managed to rescue around 100,000 fertilised salmon and trout eggs from the snow-crushed hatchery on the Drummuir Estate.

Around 3.5ft of snow had built up at the tunnel-type hatchery, before it gave way despite desperate attempts to support the structure with timber.

“It was like trying to prop up the Eiffel Tower using matchsticks,” said the trust’s fisheries development officer, Alastair Fenn.

“More than 1.5ft of snow fell on one night, and built up on ice coating the structure. It was an immense weight.”

Along with senior biologist Richie Miller, Mr Fenn struggled through deep snow last week to clear the roof of the five-year-old hatchery.

As the build-up of snow and ice made 80% of the building unsafe – and blocked the water supply that kept the eggs alive – a team of five people dug through the side of the buckled structure to save the trays of 180,000 eggs.

Then after an hour-long trip on wintry roads, the salvaged wild salmon and trout eggs were delivered by four-wheel-drive vehicles to the Forgue Fishery, near Huntly, where farmer Bob McWilliam had offered to house the vital stocks.

Mr Fenn said last night: “There is bound to be some further loss of eggs. If we had lost them all it would certainly have been a disaster for the local economy.

“We will be closely monitoring the rescued eggs over coming weeks – fortunately they have reached the stage where they are fairly resilient – and also trying to recover equipment from the hatchery which is a total loss.”

Mr Fenn, of Avochie Stables, Avochie, added: “Fortunately the River Deveron is in a very healthy state, reaching its highest catch rates in recent years with more than 4,000 salmon landed last season.”

The 27-year-old Ulster University graduate has only been in his new job for 10 weeks, and said the rescue operation had been challenging and unforgettable.

He admitted: “The most snow I had ever seen in my life before was around two inches in Northern Ireland.”

Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1559304#ixzz0cVHsHaK2

The Open AGM of the Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Charitable Trust will be held at the Huntly Hotel, Huntly on Wed the 16th of December 2009 at 7pm. All welcome.

The Deveron,Bogie and Isla Rivers Trust has produced a new Biosecurity plan for the district. Please visit www.invasivespeciesscotland.org.uk to view.

The river suffered another huge spate on Friday 4th September which caused a great deal of damage to banks and pools, many of which have been filled with shingle, whilst some are now more fishable. Some huts were lost as well along with fishing tackle.

Here are some snaps of the spate  

Mains of Mayen/Corniehaugh - the green fishing hut now 30 metres from its original site!

Upstream view from Rothiemay bridge looking towards Avochie

 Downstream view from Rothiemay bridge

Marnoch Lodge

To assist with the prevention of the deadly parasite Gyrodactylus salaris entering the Deveron system, all Anglers should complete a Declaration form before fishing. The declaration form is available for download form the 'Current Issues' page.

Download an article on the River Deveron from Atlantic Salmon Trust Journal, January 2007 by Malcolm Hay and Robert Shields.

The Board & Trust are pleased to be collaborative partners in a recently formed project ' The Moray Firth Sea Trout Project'. This combines the efforts of river Boards and Fishery Trusts and many angling associations (including Huntly Angling and Turriff Fishing Association) within the Moray Firth to address the imbalance in sea trout management, collate existing information on sea trout stocks and identify where further data is required to facilitate improved management practice.

For a full description please refer to the newsletter page.