The River Annan is well-known for its large trout and grayling and Newbie Beat provides great fishing for both species.  The trout fishing season runs from 15 March to 6 October and there is no close season for grayling, but anglers are requested not to target them in April and May when they are spawning.

In the right conditions, the early season sees prolific hatches of fly generating a sustained dimpling of the surface on the part of feeding trout and grayling.  Both dry fly and nymphs are successful, with good daily bags of fish in the 1lb to 3.5lb range. Sea trout between 1lb and 1.5lb are often found feeding on the hatch in broad daylight amongst the residents, and they too avidly accept the artificial flies. The Annan also has a good run of spring salmon in March and April and fresh fish are evident in the beat most weeks.

The fishing pressure in the earlier months of the year has historically been low and all but exclusively concentrated on spring salmon and seatrout. Early season rods may be bought or rented at prices that are very reasonable, but as well as benefitting from fishing for our trout and grayling, spring-time rods have the potential bonus of a spring salmon or early sea trout as a real prospect.

Throughout the river Brown Trout have always been regarded as the progenitors of the more highly valued sea trout and it is known that 90% plus of returning sea trout are female, relying on the indigenous browns for fertilisation. For this reason brownies have been returned as a matter of course for many years, leading to the big population of wild brown trout across many age groups that we see today.

All this represents a great opportunity for the brown trout angler to become a riparian owner in perpetuity for a relatively small outlay and not only to enjoy high quality wild brown trout fishing but also with the prospect of early sea trout and spring salmon as a bonus.