How I love March 15^th.  When I lived in the North, regardless of snow, ice, gale or whatever, I would venture out for the first cast of the new brown trout season.  It was like a first meal to a starving man and I could, at last, put the winter behind me.

Nowadays, with the availability of year-round trout fishing (if only for trans-Atlantic aliens) many don’t get the full relief effect of that wonderful spring day  Because the boats wouldn’t come out from hibernation until April, I would stand in freezing water, clumsily tie some favourite patterns with chilled fingers, and make that first cast with more hope than expectation.  It would always be hard work, but it was a poor opening day when I wouldn’t enjoy a meal of wild trout at the end of it.

Many think that opening day fish must, of necessity, be poor, thin, kelt-like things not worthy of the table.  I never found this to be the truth.  Feeding, for trout, doesn’t start on March the 15^th, and what you will probably find is that anything caught in March is more likely to be fish that were not only fighting fit, but hadn’t spawned in the previous winter.  These ‘maiden’ fish would make up the bulk of the catch, if not all of it, and had probably been feeding, off and on, throughout the better weather of the winter.

Of course, some lochs were better than others for producing prime trout in March.  In my Orkney days, Stenness and Harray were my favourite lochs for a first of the season fish, which was handy as at their nearest point they were only a matter of a few yards apart.  The tactics for Harray were to stand, with the wind at your back, well back from the edge and search through inches of water for fish feeding on shrimp.  Great patterns were long-shank Worm Fly, Invicta, Jersey Heard and Green Peter.  On Stenness, there was little change from standard tactics, fishing through the bladder-wrack with hideously bright patterns with lots of tinsel and materials of red, orange and pink.  The only nod towards the spring weather would be to fish areas where a reasonably gentle breeze was following the sheltered shoreline.

I would always try Stenness first because if I was going to keep a trout for dinner, this loch produced the best eaters.  Harray fish were good enough but not a patch on those from her sister loch for table-worthiness.  Once a fish was caught and consigned to the bag, I could travel where the fancy and expectations of sport took me.

It was amazing how close-in those early spring grazers would feed.  There are those who think that deep water is where you should hunt for spring fish, but that is not the case.  Food production in the form of weed and algal growth upon which the small invertebrates feed is triggered off by weak, early season sunshine, and the less water this light has to penetrate the greater its effect.  Once the growth is underway and the aquatic bugs have started to feed, trout will enter ridiculously shallow water to take advantage of this cold buffet.

So, that’s what happens in the Far North.  How does that extrapolate across the nation?  Several rules for early season trout fishing are suggested by these revelations:

1. It is misguided to think that during the spawning period that all trout, even all mature trout, will spawn.  Nature doesn’t put all her eggs (no pun intended) in one basket.  At any given time only a proportion of trout stock will hazard the spawning burns.  Should a disaster occur then there will only be a proportion of the stock endangered.

The fish remaining safe and secure during the spawning season, commonly referred to as ‘maidens’, are the fish which can be expected to be most active in the very early months of the year.  Recent spawners will tend to be dormant until plenteous food is available, a period somewhat later in the year, coinciding with May or June.

2. Always explore regions where a good level of fish food can be expected.  In Harray these are the very margins where water temperatures and accessibility to good levels of sunlight ensure that invertebrate activity is assured; in Stenness, the weedy shallows are full of life; Loch Leven aficionados tend to head for the Hole o’ the Inch.

 

The ‘Hole’ contains all the factors already mentioned plus one vital feature.  Because it is sheltered from most quarters, water temperatures in the early months can be a degree or so higher than that in the main body of the loch.  This slightly elevated temperature will almost always prompt early insect activity.  Last year, in late March, there were significant buzzer hatches in the Hole, and above average sport was to be found there through April and into May.

3. Another lesson learnt is avoid deep water in the early months, unless of course, that is where the food is.  Always explore shallow water before the deeps. Although the name ‘Hole o’ the Inch’ gives an impression of great depth, it is on the whole generally quite shallow, and on the slopes into what depth there is generally prove to be the best locations.

I expect to break my fast in late March, and it will probably be on Leven, but if I was back in Orkney I’d be out on the 15^th casting into 6” of Harray water, or crunching mussel shells on Stenness.

Stan Headley

 

P.S. Check out our latest Hooked UK episode from the North Esk opening. Click the link below to watch the full 30 mins

Anglers were greeted with what can only be described as near perfect conditions at the opening of the Spey last Monday. New Sponsors Glenfiddich’s Global Brand Ambassador, Ian Millar said a few words on behalf of the anglers and declare the river open, followed by a lament on the pipes from keen anglers Alan Sinclair. To complete the formalities, Rev Shuna Dicks, Minister for Craigellachie & Aberlour, blessed the river and last year’s Spey Quaich winner Bruce Cameron poured a bottle of 12 year old Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky from the suspension bridge at Aberlour into the river as a toast to bring luck to all those taking part.

Before heading out in search of the spring salmon, anglers were offered a small dram of Glenfiddich Single Malt Whisky along with some delicious Walkers shortbread. The mild weather resulted in most beats being fully rodded and the conditions ensured that the majority of anglers connected with fish although admittedly, mostly were Kelts.  In recent years around 4-6 fresh fish had been caught on average and this years opening day was no different.

At the presentation, held in the hospitality suit at the Glenfiddich distillery, 4 fresh fish were confirmed. 2 were landed at Rothes & Aikenway, the largest of which weighed 11lbs and earned Bill Lasseter from Craigellachie a bottle of Glenfiddich18 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky a luxury Walkers of Aberlour hamper. Head Ghillie Mike Ewan was also presented with a bottle of Glenfiddich 15 year old and a Walkers hamper. The other Rothes fish was caught by Bill’s son Ross which incidentally was his first ever fresh Salmon! A fantastic achievement especially at this time of year and a very worthy entry for our Glenfarclas Fish of the month Competition.

Delfur also registered a 7lb fish caught mid way through the afternoon by Alex Robertson in the Holly Bush.  There was little surprise that Delfur registered a fish and again few surprises that Alex landed it as his spring record speaks for itself.

The first fresh fish of the season however was caught at Kinermony by 80-year-old Davie Leith, who incidentally won the Quaich in 2006.  The fish weighed 8lbs and was caught on a Kinermony Killer. Along with the Anniversary Quaich, Davie was also presented with 2 bottles of Glenfiddich; 21 and 18 Years Old respectively and a Luxury Walkers of Aberlour hamper.  Along with Davie, I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and was delighted to receive a bottle of Glenfiddich15 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky together with a Walkers hamper.

Currently we are experiencing pretty mild weather on the whole, therefore I’d encourage all fair weather fishermen to visit the river. There is a variety of availability from Spey Bay to Grantown which can be seen on fishspey at very realistic prices. You will always be made welcome the team of very knowledgeable and welcoming ghillies.

 

 

If you’d like further information or have any stories to share, please let me know at speyghillie@hotmail.co.uk.

Salmo International also run hosted trips and packages on the Spey amongst other rivers. Should you want full details on these packages then please contact them on 0845 838 1936. Alternatively you can email them at info@salmofishings.com or by clicking the links above.

This coming Saturday, the North & South Esks in Angus open their doors for the 2013 season. Greig will be on the North Esk with the film crew hoping to catch the first North Esk Springer. There will of course be a full report on here from both rivers once we compile the reports.

In the meantime tight lines to all who are out on the river in the coming days.

All the best,

Jock Royan

 

The sharp ones amongst you will have worked out that Greig, and esteemed guest bloggers, are the real deal: fanatics of the fly and sages of the salmon. You’ll also have noticed that I rarely talk about my own catches (ahem, funny that) but am happy to prattle on aimlessly about a myriad of subjects tenuously related to our fine sport. A bluffer blogger, if you like.

With that in mind, may I quickly introduce Hugh Edward Lance Falkus, as the first of an occasional, sideways glance at fly fishing legends.  Not that he needs any introduction, thanks to his 1984 book Salmon Fishing which has become a bible for a generation of anglers.

When it came to writing, the man was a fanatic, sitting up half the night, fuelled by huge slugs of whisky. He was zealous to the cause, always observing, never missing the minutiae.

As his Sunday Times obituary in 1996 noted: “Falkus went at life full-tilt. He caught his first fish when he was 4, learnt to shoot when he was 6 and was an expert helmsman at 15. By 18 he had learnt to fly, by 19 he was married and by 20 he was a pilot in the RAF.”

The thrice-married gent was a renown author, naturalist, helmsman, marksman, actor, film-maker and TV presenter. Not only is the seminal Salmon Fishing still in print, but with his first volume Sea Trout Fishing (1962), he virtually invented the modern sport of fly-fishing for sea trout at night.

Oh, and he was a champion advocate of the Spey cast, refining techniques with carbon fibre rods and aerodynamic lines, whilst running his legendary courses.

On top of this all, his war exploits are totally Boy’s Own stuff: “One night he was scrambled to intercept enemy bombers and managed to shoot down two and damage a third before running out of fuel over France. He was taken by the Germans, who surmised that he must be a spy because of his kenspeckle dress . . . pyjamas under his flying suit. He was interrogated, beaten, and taken out to be shot.”

“As the firing squad raised their rifles, Falkus turned his back on them in a gesture of defiance and concentrated his attention on a trout rising in a nearby stream. The expected shots never rang out as, at the last moment, an English educated Wehrmacht major-general drove up and took Falkus away. He spent the evening drinking champagne with his saviour, but the following day was taken to a prison camp.”

“He suffered the horrors of four years in camps in France, Germany, and Poland but always there was his characteristic flash of spirit. He caught and cooked the camp Commandant’s favourite cat and added further insult by making himself a pair of cat-skin mitts. Naturally, he was in solitary confinement for much of his time, but when he mixed with his fellow prisoners, he worked tirelessly on methods of escape, including the famous Wooden Horse tunnel.”

Did the man ever have a stop-button? Let’s raise a glass of his favoured Scottish nectar (Speyside malt, anybody?) to the elder statesman of fly fishing experts. Times and techniques have moved on, but his presence is still felt by many an enthusiast the world over.

PS.  Hmmm, my riverbank inadequacies aren’t helped either by his mantra: “Whatever species you’re fishing for, the angler who cannot speycast can never realise his full potential.”  Where are you Hugh, when I need you?

Until next time,

Tight lines,

Will

P.S. For those of you who have not seen our 25 minute opening day feature on the Dee, here is the link below. If you like what you see then please subscribe to our channel. Hope you enjoy.

 

The River Dee salmon fishing season commenced yesterday on the 1st February which saw a  group of around 280 people assemble on the banks of the River at Potarch Bridge to attend the annual opening ceremony. There were a number of keynote speeches made by Mark Bilsby who informed the audience that the river would be opened by Alastair Hume this year. Mr Hume has served the board for 50 years and was a founder member of Aberdeen angling association in 1946 which today has over 1100 members.It was very fitting that Mr Hume had the honour of opening the river as it is the 150th birthday of the River Dee Board. Mr Hume made an excellent speech which entertained the audience which skillfully covered his passion, involvement and hopes for the future of the River. His anecdote about fishing for sea trout during the war and losing fishing because of air raids by german aircraft was very humorous.

 

There was the presentation of the Park Trophy for the largest salmon caught in 2012 to Malcolm Tocher who collected the trophy on behalf of Reid Hagelin and Dunecht Estates from Park Estates Proprietor William Foster. The winner of the trophy Mr Hagelin landed a 35 lb salmon at Lower Crathes in October however he could not attend as he was working in Spain. There was an announcement that there would be the Callum Mackenzie Cup presented annually to the best fish caught by a youngster under 16 years of age. Callum was formerly a Ghillie at Ballogie Estate and taught many youngsters to fish over the years. There will be a more comprehensive press release about this trophy in due course.

Mr Bilsby also announce to the audience that there will be an annual bursary award made by the River Dee Board and Trust to encourage a young person to gain employment on the river as an apprentice Ghillie. He stressed the importance of bringing a new generation of young people to the river to learn the skills of a Ghillie from our hugely experienced Ghillies who work on the river. The event also saw the launch of a fundraising raffle for the River Dee Trust where there are a number of lovely prizes available for holders of winning raffle tickets. The tickets which cost £5 each were eagerly snapped up by many people at the event and there will be opportunities for the public to purchase raffle tickets over the next few months before the draw is made in June.

Thanks to Ken Reid of the River Dee board for providing this information and to our own photographer Glyn Satterley and Mark Paterson for images.

Down river at Lower Crathes we were out ourselves in full force trying to catch that elusive springer. We arrived to the river at a perfect height and running clear.

We were in little doubt that a spring salmon would be caught that day and as such we were not disappointed. Geoff Fisher was the star of the day after landing a lovely 10lb fish from the bridge pool just after lunch.

It goes with out saying that early season fishing throws up all sorts of beasts from the depths, opening day was no exception.

Between the group we had well over 20 very well mended kelts and 3 large baggots. We had plenty heart stopping moments as all the fish fought very well! In fact on more that 4 occasions the head ghillie and our rods were convinced we had hooked a springer.

So one fresh fish caught and lots of last years models. Overall this made very enjoyable day. It was back to Banchory in the evening to visit the other rods for a few (lots) drinks in the Stag as always. The craic is always 1st class along with the tales of catches up and down the river.

The Dee as a whole had a modest opening day compared to recent years and  although the figures were still very respectable given the time of the year, we expected more to be caught given the conditions.

What was encouraging was to see decent catches as far up as Aboyne. As predicted the mild winter has helped spread some of the early running fish further up river which as you will agree bodes well for the early months.

The Dee opening day tally was 20 fish in total taking into account the beats that do not report online.

Now as you know the Tweed and Teith seasons also kicked  off on the 1st.

Unfortunately due to the heavy thaw the Tweed was for the most part un-fishable due to high water and as such we have heard of no fresh fish caught.

The Teith also opened its doors for the new season on Friday where more than seventy anglers celebrated the first day of the Salmon Fishing Season at Callander Meadows.

And joining the celebrations was world-renowned fly caster and salmon fisherman Peter Anderson who at the age go 86 performed the official toasting ceremony along with Stirling Provost Mike Robbins on the River Teith.

The 2013 fishing season parade left Ancaster Square in Callander at 9.15am led by  Bannockburn and District Pipe Band and proceeded along Callander’s Main Street to The Meadows Car Park for the official toasting ceremony and opening day competitions.

Deanston Distillery in partnership with Stirling Council provided prizes for the first salmon and heaviest salmon caught and released.

Anglers have to adhere the Council’s strict new catch-and-release rules for all salmon and sea trout caught on the Rivers Forth and Teith before June 1st. The new rules were agreed in 2011 in an effort to stop the decline of spring salmon and sea trout on the strong recommendations for the Forth District Salmon Fisheries Board.

Provost Mike Robbins:  “I’m delighted that Peter could join us to officially start the 2013 salmon fishing season.  Although the river was in spate the anglers seemed to be enjoying the first day of the new season.  Conservation of salmon and sea-trout is vitally important to both the Council and anglers to protect stocks so this great sport is enjoyed by everyone and future generations”.

No doubt both these rivers as well as the Dee will fair well next week with the forecasted spell of cold weather which will hold the water back.

Lastly, our new You Tube Channel www.flyfishingchannel.tv has launched and will feature monthly (sometimes more) shows from Scotland and abroad. Our fist show features opening day on the Dee. You can watch this by clicking the link below.

Hope you enjoy!

Until next time folks,

Tight Lines

Greig Thomson