Dairsie Bridge stands proudly with its 16th century stone arches – but the River Eden’s waters running underneath look brown and uninviting.
It is a grey Thursday afternoon in north east Fife and 14 members of the Eden Angling Association (EAA) have gathered at the bridge near Cupar.
They are here to bless the 45-mile long river and perhaps make a cast or two.
It’s an event steeped in tradition for the association, which was founded in 1911.
Recent rainfall has thankfully subsided, but a dowsing of whisky doesn’t alter the river’s unfortunate colour.
But it does mark a significant day in the Fife angling calendar.
Why do the anglers bless the River Eden with whisky?
Whisky is the vehicle for blessing the river and marks the start of the salmon and sea trout season on the Eden.
This season runs from 15th February until Halloween, with the Brown Trout Season commencing on 15th March.
Scott MacLeod has the honour of emptying a quaich into the river for the first time+ this year. He is the EAA chairman.
A quick flick of the wrist and the quaich has been emptied. Its contents tumble into the murky waters below.
There is some ambiguity over why whisky is tossed into its waters in a practice replicated across Scotland’s other fishing rivers.
Blessing the River Eden with a dram ‘very much a Scottish’ tradition
Honorary EAA president William Wardlaw knows about about the tradition’s background.
He is standing by the river, watching the ceremony, walking stick in hand. He suggests the practice may have originated in Speyside.
“If you think about it there is some great whisky being made there beside the Spey and it is a great river”, he says.
“And it’s a combination of the both that maybe meant it gathered arms and legs.”
William has taken part in many of these blessings.
“If fishers were maybe out on cold day they might say ‘right, we’ll have a dram before we start’. It’s very much a Scottish thing.”
He also shares the hopes of the other anglers that this will be a successful fishing season.
“It’s always a nice social event and it marks a new year for anglers”, he explains.
“You’ve got high hopes for lots of fish and the water being good because last year was tough. You want flowing water, rising barometer pressure and plenty of fish.
Michael Farrell is the EEA’s Secretary and Treasurer.
“We have a membership of around 250 and most of them are local”, he explains.
“But our members come from across Fife. We have anglers from Tillicoultry and down south that fish here as well.”
This reflects the nature of the River Eden, which runs west to east across the county for 45 miles.
It begins its journey near the Perth and Kinross council border at Burnside and joins the North Sea near Guardbridge.
What challenges are the River Eden and its users facing?
The EEA own fishing beats along large swathes of its course, starting at Ladybank.
However, both William and Michael have concerns about the state of the Eden.
“One of the worries nowadays is what is happening to the fish because the numbers are being cut tenfold”, says William.
Indeed, there is an atmosphere of cautious optimism in the air at the opening ceremony for what lies ahead.
This after the association revealed that only 17 salmon were caught on the Eden in 2023 during an especially challenging year.
“Last season was very difficult because we had a low flow and an increased water temperature”, says Michael.
“October was a wipeout and that is when most people go fishing in the river. It was wetter in the winter and drier in the summer.”
The River Eden’s water quality and declining fish numbers have both been flagged as significant issues in recent months.
Storms Babet and Gerrit also brought flooding to the Cupar area in October and December respectively last year.
Meanwhile, the EEA watches the growth of invasive species with growing concern.
These including giant hogweed, pink salmon, himalayan balsam, mink and north american signal crayfish.
The absence of the essential weed ranunculus from the river is also a worry.
This plant is also known as water crowfoot. It helps provide cover and shelter for fish, which the association hopes will be more abundant this season.
There is a River Eden Sustainability Partnership: River Eden Day. meeting on March 2, from 10.30am-3.30pm, The Old Parish Centre, Short Lane, Cupar, KY15 5EQ.
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