Musselburgh District Angling Association (MDAA)

The Esk as part of the Musselburgh District Angling Association is thriving as a fishery. The new tenants that lease it from the East Lothian Council are making a tremendous effort to tell the angling communities locally how good the river really is. With the club offering 3 miles of fishing along the lower stretch of the Midlothian Esk there is something for everyone just 25 minutes from Edinburgh. The club also offer grayling tickets during the winter and salmon, sea trout and brown trout fishing during the open season. The stocking stopped, they changed it to catch and release and it’s now fly only. I knew then that these guys are thinking things through properly for the future of the river, they changed the lease to allow Sunday fishing. The Esk has had it's issues but is a very surprising & resilient urban river..

The River Esk, aka. Lothian Esk, rises as the North and South Esks separately. The rivers converge to form the Lothian Esk. Downstream of the A1 fly over the MDAA fishing begins and continues through the village of Inveresk and the town of Musselburgh to meet the Forth estuary. Musselburgh is within a 25 minute drive from Edinburgh.

The Upper reaches of the MDAA fishings is marked by a sign at the end of an estate wall downstream of the A1 flyover. The fishing includes both banks of the river through to beyond the mouth in the Forth estuary, see rules on permit for details. The best bank to fish from is the right bank, looking downstream.

The fishing on the Esk is primarily for Brown Trout right through the traditional season. The Trout fishing starts to excite anglers from April and May onwards as the hatches start to develop and the river comes to life with a bit of heat in the air. The Sea Trout arrive in May also, and if there is a spate after a dry spell the Sea Trout fishing can be very exciting, especially in September. Anglers can hope to expect some very good Grayling throughout the season but also within the Winter permitted season of 26th December to 15th March. Bugging for Grayling in Winter, and for Trout during the season has become extremely popular on the Esk with very impressive results. There are a handful of salmon caught each year as a bycatch of Sea Trout anglers. Some Sea Trout anglers also use the bugging technique during the height of the season in May and June to great success. The top of the fishing really starts in the section just upstream from the footbridge at the top of the golf course. The pools and runs below this are nameless, however there are some really lovely sections of water that line the golf course, fields and the affluent housing estates. The path follows the river all the way down to Musselburgh weir and on through to the parking in the industrial area on Station Road. Fish the structure and riffles in the necks of the pools for best results with wets traditionally, or upstream dries or bugging Euro Nymph style. There are restrictions on where you can fish at the weir, please obey the rules on your permit. The river below the weir is faster and has some very impressive runs and short pools. It is recommended to spend the majority of your time fishing here from May onwards as this is where most of the Trout and Sea Trout are caught. Navigate your way through the overhanging branches from the path and explore the runs to discover good fish sitting in unlikely spots. This is an excellent section of water for novice to experienced anglers and it is quite social if fishing with a friend due to access from the path. Some find the town section a little too public for fishing, so they head upstream above the Olivebank Rd bridges and this is ideal for most anglers. The pools and runs below the Olive Bank Road bridges are great Sea Trout runs and it pays to investigate the pools in advance before a cast in the evening to maximise your chances. Below the park section of the township is difficult and rarely fished.

There are no physical facilities within the MDAA fishings, however Musselburgh can offer a range of services from the Tesco and services to bakeries, cafes and restaurants. Seats are located up and down the public path overlooking the river. Musselburgh and surrounds have many accommodation options. There are no obstructions to the fishing areas like fences or walls.