Caaf Reservoir not really fishing as we know it

Today was my first outing as a volunteer with the Ayrshire rivers trust. The objective was to remove all the fish from Caaf reservoir and relocate them to Kilbirnie Loch. The water board are mothballing the reservoir and draining it so fish get moved or perish. There is a burn that runs from the top end and it is hoped that the channel will remain after completion of the works. The water board cannot drain the reservoir fully until they overcome the issue of the released water flooding the Garnock with the silt from the reservoir potentially damaging the wildlife in there. Yesterday the trust carried out a similar exercise at Pundeavon reservoir and successfully relocated just over 1000 fish. Although they were told that the water was stocked with rainbows only brown trout were captured.
Sadly today was to be a different scenario. I had a really enjoyable day out but the trust could not achieve their objective. 

The burn comes in from the top

The reservoir had already been well drained to a level that the trust could work at but yesterdays heavy rain increased the water level by 2 metres and it continued to rise during today, approximately another foot.
The second issue was the silt content in the water. It was the colour of dark brown tea and far from an ideal fishing condition.

Looking to the dam

You can see from the photos that the sides are steep and at the waters edge it is gloopy mud, sinking in up to your knees, getting back out again was fun.
We got both boats down to the waters edge and then bad luck started when the small dinghy drifted downwater to the bank edge at the far end. It should not have been a major issue but the mud was so dangerous we could not risk wading to the dinghy so the bigger boat had to be sent to retrieve it, going into shallow muddy water in the process.

The drained section with the burn showing

We managed to get the boon net across the water attaching it to the other bank. This not would block off an escape by the fish but on the return journey the engine was spluttering and cutting out.
At the dam end we optimistically got the boat net, fish cage and gear down the steep embankment which being mostly stone lined was easier.
The problem with the engine was a serious issue and after stripping it down it was felt that the muddy silty water was the culprit and had choked the engine. Without it we could not trawl the water with the net and sadly the project had to be abandoned today. It might happen in the future if the water drops and the manpower available.

The steep slopes stand out

The biggest disappointment was for the trust as this was a business day for them and as such a cost without return. 
For me I enjoyed my day out and met some great people.
An alternative fishing story but just like fishing you don't always get the day you hope for.

The disabled boat in the corner