A New Season Awaits
Well, the mulled wine is now finished, the turkey has been demolished, the decorations have been put away for another year and parties are merely a sore memory. Yes the fun of the festive period is over and it is back to reality!
Well, not if you’re a salmon fisherman……….
Yes, for me personally the end of the festive period signals the time to get really excited. In just less than one week we have the the first of our rivers opening, followed by the first of the big four the following week.
This Friday we have our rivers in the far north opening, namely the Helmsdale, Naver & Thurso. For those of you that are looking for that early cast then the Helmsdale Board offers the first few days of the season free of charge. All anglers need to register with the Helmsdale Company at Dunrobin Street before 9.30am prior to the opening ceremony.
As usual the Helmsdale Company is offering the prize for the first springer caught but you must register to qualify. The Helmsdale Companies Ron Sutherland himself has the honour of opening the 2013 season and as such will be providing a full report on the opening. For full details and to stock up on his range of first class flies please call Ron on 01431 821 372 or visit his website www.helmsdalecompany.com
The local pipe band playing at the Helmsdale opening ceremony
Next week, we see the River Tay open on the 15th with the main ceremonies taking place at Kenmore & Dunkeld.
The traditional opening of the salmon season on the River Tay has been held at Kenmore since 1947, normally on the 15th January (unless it’s a Sunday). Join the parade of fishermen to the river bank with the Vale of Atholl Junior Pipe Band, the 1st cast of the season will be made to mark the opening of the River Tay and a guest speaker will wish the anglers ‘tight lines’ for the season. Salmon fishing permits are available from the hotel on the day. Tel 01887 830205
The Hilton Dunkeld House Hotel will also again host a riverbank gathering on the main stem of the river to celebrate the opening of the Season. The hotel is hooking-up with the The River Tay DSFB and Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, along with the Dunkeld and Birnam Tourist Association, Angling Associations and The Tay Foundation, to host a Business Breakfast on Tuesday 15th January 2013. The breakfast event costs £15 and is open to all. To book call Wendy Wisher or Terri McAllister at Hilton Dunkeld House Hotel, on 01350 728369.
A typical Spring Salmon from the Tay
As usual there will be individual beat ceremonies up and down the River with Taymount having a ceremony over two days for both top and bottom beats. We will have our photographer Glyn Satterley joining us on the day along with Field2StreamTV filming the days events for the new series. With the recent mild weather and high water we should see a few Springers caught from Stanley up to Lower Kinnaird and Loch Tay.
The RS Dee Monkey, a fly not to be without when chasing springers.
Moving forward to February 1st we have the heavily anticipated opening of the River Dee. The opening ceremony this year will be at the Potarch Bridge with a special guest speaker/celebrity throwing the first cast on the day. The Dee always scores well on opening day provided there is decent water and no grue. Again with the mild weather and high water, we can be sure to see fresh fish spread well throughout the system. We are up on the Dee on opening day and on the 2nd so a full report will follow shortly after that date.
On the 1st we will also see the opening of the River Tweed which again should see a decent amount of springers on opening day.
Anglers enjoying a dram at the 2012 River Dee opening ceremony
The Spey and Angus Esks open on the 11th & 16 February and as such we will report nearer the time.
If you would like a full list of all river openings in Scotland then please drop us an email at info@salmofishings.com and we will email the list to you.
We will have the Helmsdale report for you on or just after the 11th from our man in the north, Ron Sutherland.
For those of you venturing out to the openings, we wish you tight lines and best of luck on the day.
On a final note, early season fishing for salmon can be daunting at the best of times. If anyone is needing any last minute advice on tactics or tackle, or help with booking suitable early venues, then please do not hesitate to contact us via email at info@salmofishings.com or drop us a line on +44(0)845 8381936. Alternatively you could visit our main website using the links above. We will be delighted to help.
All the best,
Greig
Amazing article, thanks, I will visit again now.