Cramond Angling Club (CAC)

The River Almond is a river historically abused and heavily affected by industry, pollution and mining relics, and overlooked by most that live or travel near it. Even still to this day, we can cross it several times a year, or even in a day and not realise what it offers us as anglers and the wider community now that it is on the trajectory to full recovery. The migratory fish barrier easement project run by the Forth Rivers Trust under the ‘RiverLife’ banner was when many of us today first really noticed the river. It takes exploring it to truly get a feel for the incredible and beautiful secrets it holds. Considering the urban environment the River Almond runs through, just a short walk and you’ll forget you’re in Edinburgh. Oh, and the fishing for wild brown trout, sea trout and salmon is exceptional, forget driving three hours to get to a good river, you have one right here on your doorstep.

Find out the extend of the beat by downloading the map below. This can be printed as a hard copy for when you go fishing.

The fishing for Cramond Angling Club is from the Cramond Beach breakwater all the way up to Old Newbridge Village, the M9 at Newbridge. Mostly double bank fishing, but check the map please as there are a few sections of single bank fishing only to be aware of. The three beats of the Cramond Angling Club fishery are named as beats simply for anglers to break the extensive fishery up. There was a 4th beat, but that no longer exists within the Cramond Angling Club fishery. Beat 1 and 2 are wooded, fast in parts and bouldery, beat 3 is slower and more canal-like but with some beautiful riffles and fishy runs. You can fish any and all of the three beats on any given day for brown trout, and no migratory species on Sundays. Beat 1 is no fishing on Sundays, for any species. Note: many anglers use the bus to fish this fishery, a rare opportunity and making it more accessible to anglers.

The Cramond Angling Club section of the River Almond is fished by all walks of life at an affordable price, and there is always a chance of a fish. A community driven fishery, for the community. The fishing is exceptional, mainly a brown trout fishery with excellent sea trout ranging from finnock to 6lb on the rare occasion, and a humbling 4lb being a more regular catch. Salmon can be caught throughout the fishery from mid to late summer on, when the rains start to come and the temperatures cool. Give it 2 days after a spate in autumn when the river is dropping and the colour clears, and you will see salmon. Salmon do require a bit of work, but now that the barriers are being eased, it is sure to get better. Exceptional brown trout fishing with dry flies is to be had here. The difficulty with this section is access through the ever challenging undergrowth of wild rhubarb, willowherb and brambles as the year goes on. The club does as much as it can with limited resources to help, but generally it’s a case of looking at the map, or exploring and finding a place to get in to fish some likely water. Don’t dismiss this beat if you struggle on your first attempt to find good water, you will be rewarded with some fabulous fishing and a chance of a brownie of a lifetime on the dry fly, stick at it. Even make a point of walking the river in winter when the weeds are low and find sections you could fish during the season. Sea trout and salmon are seen and caught here and it’s considered that downstream of Kirkliston is really your best bet on Beat 3 for migratory fish. As explained above in the ‘Boundaries, Beats and the Water’ section, this is a mostly wooded and gorge-like section of river with fantastic access and a variety of excellent pools of all targeted species. The left bank upstream of the A90 Queensferry Road is just idyllic. Whatever you are fishing for, you are bound to have a bit of fun in both of these beats. Finnock in late spring onwards, good sea trout in May, June and July, grilse in July and August, salmon August onwards, and trout are readily fishable all season long. However, the trout here don’t average the same size as Beat 3. This is a good place to fish dries through the summer and early autumn for trout, but fish deeper with Czech style nymphs in the early season as the pools are much deeper here and fish generally don’t lift until the olives start to appear as the water warms in late spring. The sea trout fishing can be very exciting day or night with large dry flies on the surface.

There are no facilities attached to the club, so it’s a case of using a map to find whatever you need. Physical permit outlets, listed on this page, should provide a wide range of refreshments. The committee meetings are held in the Boat Club in Cramond, new members and committee members are welcome, but get in touch via email, Facebook or Instagram before coming along as the meetings are only held every so often.