Thomson focused on making the River Almond an asset

However, he believes he can change that and make the river a real asset for those who live near its banks.

Thomson, chairman of the West Lothian Angling Association, one of the largest angling clubs in the Lothians, is masterminding a clean-up in a key stretch of the river which runs from near Breich to enter the River Forth at Cramond.

The date is Saturday, August 2, the time 10am and the venue is the Civic Centre at Livingston, an area Thomson believes has great potential, not just for fishing.

Fraser Thomson at Pottishaw Fishery

Currently, he claims locals feel unsafe in the area, which has extensive parkland, but benches are in desperate need of repair and the banks are overgrown. Litter is commonplace.

The clean-up from Alderstone Road to the Almond Valley Bridge is a part of an initiative which he calls Arms Around the Almond and Thomson, who owns Pottishaw Trout Fishery near Whitburn, aims to attract hundreds on the day.

Every participant will have a tree planted in their honour and Thomson, who lives in the former New Town, said: “The Almond is badly affected by all sorts of debris, but I believe that the area we are targeting has great potential for local people as a recreation area.

“It is near the town’s extensive shopping centre, and it is one of the spots which is badly affected by litter of all sorts. Yes, this is a clean-up on the Almond in Livingston, but I strongly believe that this model can be transferred to other waterways affected by unsightly debris.”

He added: “The river is a major asset and my aim is to translate my passion for it to others. We can affect change if we show we really care.”

Elsewhere, Gus Brindle is the Scottish Canal champion having defeated nine other anglers in the one-day event on the Forth and Clyde Canal between Wyndford and Dullatur.

The Dunfermline-based angler, who also organised the championship, totalled 810g to edge Andrew Potts who had 745g.

Third was Tyler McAlpine with 350g and fourth Krzysztof Wojtoeicz five grammes behind.

Competitors faced testing conditions for the second year running, bright sunshine on a gin-clear canal and those who drew higher numbers had a tricky wind to deal with.

The lack of boat traffic over the last few months due to work being done on nearby Lock 20 resulted in most pegs being full of grass-type weed with few gaps to allow fishing.

Brindle said: “The top three weights all came from the three pegs below the narrows down towards the lock where they were more sheltered from the wind and able to get better presentation.”

Meanwhile, the first leg of the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling (SFCA) float only series takes place at Strathclyde Park on Saturday, July 5.

The series are being run as individual open events so there is no need to commit to them all.

The location is from the first bench past the sluice to the north of Car Park 4 towards the top of the loch and the draw is at Car Park 4 at 9am. Fishing is from 11am to 4pm.

Pike, eel, grayling and trout don’t count and it is a barbless hooks only event. All trolleys, luggage and spare tackle must be placed inside the anglers peg and off the footpath.

The entry fee is £4.50 for a day ticket to Strathclyde Park and the second leg is on Sunday, July 20. The third leg is on Sunday, August 31. Full details are on the SFCA Match Fishing page on Facebook.

Edinburgh and Lothians Coarse Angling Club plan to run a sweep on Sunday, July 6, on Orchill’s Snake Lake and bosses suggest that entrants can use it as a practice for the club’s rod and reel match the following Saturday.

A spokesman said: “The sweep is open to anyone, not just club members, but it is a rod only sweep.”

On to fly fishing and Newlands Tweeddale report that James Fleming from Elphinstone tempted 11 on top hat patterns and Cameron Gibson (Duns) had eight on dry flies.

Tam Easton enjoyed his day at Linlithgow Loch with 15 fish up to 5lb in a four-hour session on the dry fly.

Nearby, at Bowden Springs, John Kearney had nine with pink snake doing the damage while Gerry King had eight including a fine 10lb rainbow trout. His pattern? Pink egg.

Drumtassie Trout Fishery bosses host a night competition from 7pm to 11pm on Saturday, July 26, entry £30. This will include pizza and the winner will receive £100 and the second-placed entrant a rod. This is a catch and release event and you have to book.

Congratulations to Fauldhouse-based William Crawford. The 86-year-old landed a 16lb rainbow, the second biggest of his angling career, and received a Drumtassie mug from manager Leeanne Aitchison.

Finally, sea fishing and Aquamarine Charters of Eyemouth advertise six-hour fishing charters this weekend. See their Facebook page for availability. Boss Derek Anderson said mackerel fishing was currently red-hot.