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The Association

The Dumfries & Galloway Angling Association is based in the town of Dumfries in south west Scotland. Dumfries lies 33 miles from Carlisle, Stanraer is 73 miles to the west and for rail travellers the West Coast Main Line at Lockerbie is 12 miles north east of Dumfries.

The Association controls over seventeen miles of Salmon, Seatrout and Brown Trout fishing
on the River Nith and it's major tributary the River Cairn. The Nith, a medium sized river, 45 miles long, flows south through Sanquhar, Thornhill and the town of Dumfries before emptying into the Solway Firth near Southerness. The river is tidal downstream of Dumfries. The river Cairn joins the Nith one and a half miles upstream of Dumfries on the RH (West) bank. It is generally accepted that the Nith is the most productive of the Scottish Solway rivers. The annual Nith rod catch for Salmon and Grilse is approx 3000 fish of which the Association catch is approx 590 fish per season. In common with many other West coast rivers there has been a decline in Seatrout catches in recent years although there are now signs of a recovery.
The Association water on the Nith starts two miles upstream of Dumfries and extends upstream for 2½ miles. There are numerous holding pools for migratory fish and access to the water is good. The Association fishing is on both banks.

The Association water on the river Cairn starts 2 miles above it's confluence with the Nith and extends upstream for 15 miles. With the exception of a few short stretches the fishing is on both banks. The Salmon fishing season on the Nith system is one of the longest in the UK. The season starts on February 25th and runs until November 30th. For conservation reasons part of the Association water on the river Cairn finishes earlier (see rules).

Although fish are caught in the early months of the season, the Salmon fishing is at it's best from August onwards, especially when the bigger autumn fish enter the river.