PROMINENT north-east businessman Mike Stephen officially opened the 2010 salmon fishing season on the River Deveron yesterday.
The man behind the Celebrations store at Turriff toasted the river with whisky before making the first cast.
A large group of anglers were joined by pupils from Markethill Primary, Turriff, to greet the new season at the Turriff Angling Association beat. The ceremony was organised by the association with the Deveron District Salmon Fishery Board and the Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Trust.
Mr Stephen, who is a keen angler, said he was honoured to be allowed to make the first cast of the new season.
He praised the trust’s work in helping to improve the quality of fishing on the Deveron and urged continued support for its work.
Mr Stephen said: “We at Celebrations give a donation to the trust every year and I would like to encourage all businesses to contribute because it is a worthwhile cause worth supporting.
“I don’t think we appreciate how lucky we are in having the Deveron.”
Trust biologist Richie Miller said 2,843 salmon were caught in the Deveron last year, which represented a drop of almost 40% from 2008. He said it had to be borne in mind that 2008 had been the best year since 1952, however.
Salmon released last year totalled 1,559 while the spring catch of 115 between February and April was the best for 10 years.
The total sea trout catch last year was 759, which was an increase of about 65% on 2008, and 609 sea trout were released.
Mr Miller said floods on the Deveron last year, which may have changed the nature of the river and its pools, made forecasting the prospects for the new season difficult.
He said: “There could be changes in the river and that will make it a bit more challenging.”
Meanwhile a pool on the River Don was yesterday renamed in honour of a gillie who died after working on the beat for 25 years.
Around 50 people gathered at the Grandhome Estate on the outskirts of Aberdeen as the fishing season opened on the river to pay tribute to Bob Dempster, who died in December, aged 65.
In a ceremony attended by his wife, Margaret, the former Pigfence Pool was christened the Dempster Pool as new gillie Paul Hance cast the first line of the season.