Jo was accompanied by Provost Mike Robbins, local schoolchildren and pipers for the ceremony in Callander. Dozens of keen anglers joined the traditional parade through the town to the river banks where Jo launched the season by throwing the traditional quaich of whisky into the water.
Provost Robbins said: “The opening of the fishing season is one of the highlights in Stirling’s calendar and we are delighted to see so many people turn out today to celebrate this wonderful event. The ground-breaking conservation work by our Fisheries Team means that anglers and visitors alike can enjoy the river as well as all that the area has to offer. I would like to congratulate the team, led by Fisheries Officer Scott Mason for the sterling work that they do.”
The Teith is publicly owned and managed by Stirling Council who use a range of conservation measures to protect fish stocks, including the introduction of tagging alongside catch and release to maintain numbers of migratory fish. The river was the first in Scotland to employ both tagging and catch and release jointly.
Stirling Council Environment Convener Danny Gibson said: “We are very proud of our publicly owned fisheries and the work our teams do to preserve the river and its fish stocks so that generations can come can enjoy the type of event we have seen here today.”
Jo Stephenson was introduced to fishing at 17, and while travelling in New Zealand eight years ago, discovered an aptitude for fly tying. She now demonstrates at shows around the UK and Ireland, and in 2015 was a contestant on BBC’s ‘Earths Wildest Waters: The Big Fish’ – a competition which sent eight anglers to spectacular locations around the world to utilise their existing fishing skills and learn new ones from the locals.