WINTER PERMIT HOLDERS FOR THE RESERVOIR PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PERMIT HAS NOW EXPIRED AND A PERMIT IS NEEDED TO FISH AGAIN. THANKS .. DDAC
News
River Ruel – help sought!
Dear members, you maybe aware that Bob Clark (Convener) and the Committee have been pursuing a lease of another bit of the River. The Minister’s Pool is actually in the middle of our existing beat and is one of the biggest and significant pools on the River. The Club has secured the lease for 3 years initially. The pool is limited however by a large dead tree lodged in it and to maximise our fishing of the pool we would like to try and remove it if possible. I am appealing to the wider membership on behalf of Bob and the Committee for help with this. Do you have experience in this area of work? Do you have access to equipment or an off road vehicle with a winch? Could you provide the labour the task might need? Can you advise on the best way forward here? Any help would be greatly appreciated. The pool will make an excellent addition to our beat and is something we will all be able to utilise!



A wee reminder to members that fees are now due.
Change of address, or if you are wishing to defer for a year or resign, please contact membership secretary.
Fees can be made by BACS – name and membership number
sort code: 80-13-46
account: 00303503
On Sunday 23rd October an impressive crowd of family, friends and D.D.A.C. Members gathered at the Clachan of Glendaruel , for the unveiling of a memorial plaque in remembrance of Colin MacDonald (senior) and his wonderful commitment to the River Ruel.
Mrs. Hazel MacDonald, her son and Club member , Colin (junior) and their extended family and friends joined with D.D.A.C. Members , all of whom wished to commemorate and celebrate the tireless work carried out by Colin (senior) over his years as bailiff of the River.
D.D.A.C. President Davy Landsburgh welcomed those gathered before sharing a touching account of Colin’s work to improve salmon and sea trout stocks and his determination and ingenuity in finding solutions to overcome the challenges faced. Davy included an emotional and personal account of how Colin had helped him develop as an angler and clearly many others present shared this sentiment of a man who was always willing to offer assistance and share his knowledge and expertise.
Colin (junior) was then invited to unveil the memorial plaque that has been mounted on a large stone on the bank of the River. Colin (junior) then gave a both factually interesting and lovely dedication to his late father.
After the ceremony the MacDonald family kindly invited all in attendance to come to the Marine Hotel in Hunter’s Quay for lunch allowing more stories and tales of Colin’s role as bailiff to be enjoyed.
Fittingly the rain stayed away for this occasion to celebrate the life of a gentleman angler and true custodian of the River Ruel.
(Thanks to Davy for making and fitting the memorial plaque and to Bob Clark for clearing the ground around the stone.)
Duncan F MacGillivray
Secretary.
Duncan F MacGillivray

The final day of competition for the Mackenzie Shield and the Club Championship took place on
Saturday 13th August. Falling in a mini heatwave this afternoon Competition was looking like
being a tough challenge. One concession on the conditions was a decent breeze from the east.
There was also a little cloud cover early on before the strong sun broke through. Four anglers
started the competition with three weighing in fish. The result was as follows;
- Lee Lindop. 6 fish 4lb 5.3oz
- Graeme Hendry. 1 fish. 0lb 9.9oz
- Duncan MacGillivray. 1 fish. 0lb 9.4oz
This final result saw Lee Lindop take the Club Championship. He had begun the day with a slender lead over runner up Graeme Hendry and extended this lead on the day with a very decent bag given the difficult conditions. Lee’s consistency across the Competitions is to be applauded and he ran out a worthy winner. Congratulations Lee!
Graeme Hendry also deserves praise for some great bags of fish and staying in contention throughout. Graeme also had the consolation of catching the biggest fish across the Competitions, with a fish of 1lb14.7 oz. Well done Graeme!
As well as displaying considerable skill with a fly rod both of these anglers adopt an approach that requires a huge physical effort to cover water and seek out fish in rough terrain and a variety of weather conditions.
Duncan F MacGillivray,
Convener, Loch Tarsan.
Weather started with a goodly blow from the west, reducing eventually into a very warm afternoon. The water was very cloudy especially on the east banks, which made the fishing a bit more challenging.
There were 10 members came to the outing, with five only catching.
D. Halliday 1 fish for 2lbs
D. Landsburgh 1 fish for 4lbs 4ozs (Largest fish)
R. Ganley 2 fish for 5lbs 8ozs
L. Lindop 2 fish for 6lbs (Largest bag)
D. Penman 1 fish for 3lbs 4ozs
The next outing is on the 10th September.
Work is underway on improving access at Otter Ferry Road Bridge. If using the lay-by please park at the extreme end away from the river to allow vehicles to pass each other. A stile will be erected when the new fence is in place.

Finally we had more seasonal conditions for a Tarsan Competition with higher temperatures, a light westerly and even some sunny spells! Around a half dozen Club members turned out and with some guests from Dunrod A.C. using our boats it was good to see the Loch a little busier with anglers.
Results were as follows;
- Lee Lindop. 10 fish 13lbs 14.4 oz
- Graeme Henry. 10 fish. 10lbs 7.2 oz
- Duncan MacGillivray 5 fish. 5lbs 0.7 oz
- Colin Brown. 3 fish. 2lbs 9oz
- Keith Mackenzie. 2 fish. 1lbs 15.3 oz
Well done to the top two competitors whose efforts now see the Club championship go right to the wire with very little between them going into the last Competition on August 13th.
All competitors are asked to be back at the boat house to weigh in by 6.15 pm please.
Convener.
D.F. MacGillivray
New bridge and stile over ditch and fence near top of our water, above Clachan of Glendaruel Road Bridge. Please note creosote is still tacky.



Tonight was the last committee meeting for Peter Menzies, long standing club member and committe stalwart for Health & Safety. Peter is off to start a new life South of the border, but he says he will continue to keep his membership running for any future visits to the town. He was presented with a signed card and a gift from President Davy Landsburgh. We wish Peter all the best for the future.
