Tuesday 7th May 2013 is an historic day for Loch Leven.  Around 6pm, Alan Campbell from Kirkcaldy arrived back in the harbour proudly displaying the largest brown trout ever caught on Loch Leven.  He hadn’t just broken the all-time Loch Leven record, he had smashed it!

The fabulous brown trout weighed in at an official 11 lbs 5 3/8 ozs. Confirmation can be seen below.

Weighed in at 11 lbs 5 3/8 ozs

Alan had actually landed the trout around noon and so it almost certainly would have weighed several ounces more if done then but 11 lbs 5 3/8 ozs will go down as the official weight.

Alan is a Loch Leven regular, fishing more or less every Tuesday, and so everyone here connected with Loch Leven Fisheries is delighted for him.  He sought to give credit to Willie & Michael Wilson for recommending he tried Hole ‘o’ Inch and that is exactly where he caught the fish, using a Black / Red Buzzer, again on their recommendation – I suppose the law of averages suggests they will get it right occasionally!  Luckily the fish went deep rather than making a break for it, when there could have been problems, and fought for 15 minutes or more before being landed.

Alan Campbell with his record-breaking brownie

Those with a knowledge of Loch Leven history will know that the previous record had stood for over 101 years in the form of the 9 lbs 13 ozs brown trout caught by Colonel Bob Scott on 8th September 1911.  More recently, and almost exactly 100 years to the day later (4th September 2011), Michael Mackenzie had gone close with a lovely specimen weighing 9 lbs 6 1/8 ozs but nobody had ever reached double figures until today.

Congratulations Alan – you are in the history books!

One of the first lochs in Scotland to stock the now prevalent rainbows, Lindores quickly became a firm favourite for trout devotees. With 90 acres of water, nestling in the Ochil Hills and easy striking distance for the central belt, it’s not difficult to see the attraction.

These halcyon years came to rather an abrupt end when an infestation took hold and, what with one thing or another, it’s been lying fallow and unfished for the last eight years.

Lindores Loch looking west

To the rescue came Steven Wade of nearby Woodmill Shootings. Not content with his assorted game bird plucking, stalking and agricultural contracting interests, this enterprising fellow has taken on managing the fishery and rejuvenating the loch.

Tests were carried out….the water quality’s good, the green light was flashing, so earlier this month it was stocked with 1,000 rainbows.

Fresh from a Dumfriesshire hatchery, these are the real deal: top grade, hard fighting, fully finned, sporting trout.

Weighing in at over 2Ibs, they’ll be dining royally on the water shrimps, hitting 3Ibs by July and rising steadily.

Many a great evening spent on Lindores in my youth, where at times the evening rise was fantastic.

Back in its dizzy days, Lindores would have been teeming with stocked fish, but Steven is clear in his intention that this is an experiment in sustainability. There’s no catch and release policy, quite the opposite. You’re encouraged to keep your catch as he actively wants to monitor the fish.  And the more support the fishery receives, the more he will scale up over the seasons.

The six boats have been re-conditioned, there’s a wood burner in the bothy and fishing is available by the day or the long summer’s evening.

It’s always good to see a pheonix rising from the ashes, so let’s hope that enough locals get behind Lindores to return it back to its former glory.

Steven Wade who has now taken over the running of the Loch

And you like to think that the monks of Lindores Abbey who used to catch their Friday fish dish on the loch will be beaming with approval too.

For all the chat and details on bookings, call  Lindores on 01337 810 428.

Until next time, 

Tight Lines,

Greig

P.S. For those of you who have not seen the latest episode of popular fishing show – Hooked UK, please find the link to watch.  In this show we are out chasing early season trout at Carron Valley near Stirling.

Valiantly casting aside my fair weather fishing principles in order to give you loyal readers first dibs, I donned the thermals and bombed up the A9 to find out more.

For the Cronart is a fly inspired, conceived and tested on the majestic River Findhorn.

And it’s the endearing story of two chaps, two Davids, whose paths fortuitously crossed.

David one climbing down to fish the Findhorn

David One is a local gent and Findhorn veteran.  David Two is an accomplished fisher who recently upped sticks from Lancashire to the Highlands.

Quickly bonding over their mutual passion, they pooled their resources: David One’s intimate, almost scientific, knowledge of this spectacular river carving its way through rocky gorges, and David Two’s fly tying mastery.

Fuelled by local malts, it took many an evening and several prototypes before they reached their Eureka moment.

And I don’t use the E word lightly either. Between them, they caught a whopping 64 Findhorn salmon on this remarkable fly last season.

The Cronart tied on bottle tubes

The original idea was based on the need to achieve depth quickly in the narrow, bottomless gorgy pools. With a very respectful nod to both the Willie Gun and Alastair, it’s tied on a heavy bottle depth to give it this rapid ‘sinkability’.

The tying is designed to give consistent body and shape to what is effectively a shrimp pattern. Furthermore, it’s dressed according to the month, sporting light summer attire and a heavier early season look.

Stunning as the Findhorn’s craggy landscape is, the novelty soon wears off after your fly has distintegrated having clattered off another solid rock face.  So the Cronart has been designed as the Land Rover equivalent: a robust fly that takes the rough with the smooth and ploughs on in all conditions; a real discovery, if you like.

Your intrepid correspondent, unaccustomed to wintry March conditions, was forgiven a blank few hours by his hosts. Too early, too low and too cold.

David two casting below

Should I ever be asked back in more temperate climes, there’ll be no excuses, I’m sure.

They say the female of the species is more deadly than the male, but when it comes to killer flies, I reckon the duo of Davids has got it nailed.

At the moment they’re tying for friends only, but ask them nicely at info@cronart.me and you might just get lucky.

Until next time…….

Will

P.S. Join Greig & Stan on Hooked UK for some opening day antics at Lake of Menteith

George Edward Mackenzie Skues didn’t hold back, that’s for sure. When contributing to the sporting press he wrote under an eclectic array of names including: A Butt, Current Colonel, Simplex Munidishes, Spent Naturalist, W.A.G and Unspoiled Child. Marvellous.

GEM Skues, the second in our occasional series of legends, joins Hugh Falkus as one of the finest fly fishers and writers of the twentieth century.

Skues on his beloved Itchen

Born 1858 in Newfoundland, Skues was shipped over to his Aberdeen grandparents aged just three. It was whilst at Winchester College that his zeal for fishing came alive. With four and half miles double bank of the famed River Itchen, the Hampshire college has inspired many a fisherman (my octogenarian father-in-law included).

As the Oxford University Press chronicles: “Skues’s place as one of the greats in fly-fishing history centres on his discovery that trout in chalk streams feed largely on nymphs, even during hatches, and not on the adult, emerged flies. His dressings of artificial nymphs specifically to represent larvae were new and radical.”

He began exploring his theory on the Itchen, after noticing that trout weren’t taking the floating natural fly. These discoveries culminated in the publication of his first book, Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream (1910).

The River Itchen at Abbots Worthy

This forward-thinking approach directly challenged the dry fly wisdom of Frederic Halford (pseudonym Detached Badger), the oracle of the day.

The Halfordian school claimed that upstream nymphing, although effective, was unethical and bad for the chalk streams, and in 1938 the ‘nymph-debate’ was staged at the Flyfishers’ Club of London. Skues valiantly fought his corner but with Halford’s dry fly doctrine reaching cultish levels, the club found against the new fangled nymphs.

The disillusioned Skues, at the age of eighty, published a final defence with his 1939 book Nymph Fishing for Chalk Stream Trout. Simultaneously, with his modernist thinking putting syndicate noses out of joint, he despondently switched his allegiances to the local River Nadder.

Dr Andrew Herd, the eminent British fly fishing historian, describes Skue’s impact on the sport: “He was, without any doubt, one of the greatest trout fishermen that ever lived. His achievement was the invention of fly fishing with the nymph, a discovery that put a full stop to half a century of stagnation in wet fly fishing for trout, and formed the bedrock for modern sunk fly fishing.”

The man himself, a forward thinker of his day.

Skues died aged 90 and his ashes were scattered on the banks of his beloved Itchen by his old friend William Mullins, the long-serving head keeper of the syndicate.

A modest and humorous man, he subsequently had the last laugh as his nymph techniques were widely adopted by trout fishers both sides of the Atlantic.

Skues even has his own Facebook appreciation page, click here to show your own appreciation.

With the Tay experiencing record spring catches, join Greig next time for some Tay talk.

And yes, before you ask,Will Holt is my real name.

Until next time….

Will

P.S. For this of you who have not seen our Hooked UK series, here is the link to the latest show from the River Helmsdale in Scotland where Greig discusses spring tactics and Ron Sutherland ties the Super Snaelda.

It takes great pleasure to see the Tay having what appears to be a red letter February with March looking like it’s going the same way. The Tay is without a doubt a tremendous spring river and it is always a true pleasure to see spring catches excel, not mentioning the impeccable standard of the fish themselves.

A typical River Tay spring salmon.

What is interesting is that we have heard that the few rods that have been out on the upper Tay between Kenmore and Aberfeldy have been scoring well although not reported online. We have heard that one beat landed 6 fresh fish in a week for only a very limited rod effort. For those of you who prefer the small to medium sized rivers then the Tay below Kenmore should offer you something of interest not to mention the cracking scenery. 

Yours truly into an opening day fish on the North Esk

Given the modest mid week fishing effort on the Tay and the affordable fishing that is available. If you have not fished the river so far this season then I would get booked up to get in on some of this 1st class action.

As many of you may already be aware we have been out filming over the few months for Hooked UK for our online fishing TV channel (www.flyfishingchannel.tv). We are humbled by the uptake on these shows where only in the last 30 days we have had in excess of 17,500 views! This certainly bodes well for the future and we are taking pride in using these shows not only to help build Salmo as a brand, but to help develop Scotland and the UK as a global fly fishing destination. We have some exciting sponsorship in the pipeline which in time can only help us raise the standard.

Our latest show from the South Esk can be views at the foot of this blog or by visiting the channel link at the top of this page.

Andy filming at the Kinnaird Dyke on the South Esk

Some of our forthcoming shows include, Spring Salmon  on the Helmsdale, Loch Leven, Harris and Lewis, The Tay, Lake of Menteith, North Uist, The Tyne, The Spey. Additionally, we will also have much more from the Dee and Esks with some nice surprises lined up along the way.

We have a sister channel also (www.fromfield2stream.tv) which although will still feature Hooked UK shows, will also feature other fishing disciplines. FF2S will also feature hunting, shooting, gun dogs as well as country affairs and more. Both these channels are free to subscribe to so if of interest, please join the many other viewers and subscribe to keep up to date with our shows.

Kayak fishing on the west coast for a forthcoming show.

Lastly, as the spring salmon fishing is now in full swing being mid March, for some of us, thoughts now start turning to the opening of the Trout fishing season.

Although still likely to be very cold given the whiteout conditions outside my window today, next Friday will give the green light for trout anglers to hit the rivers and lochs as it will be the 15th March. Our first trout fishing trip of the season will be on the one and only Loch Leven at Kinross. This year Michael Wilson has advised that he will open the loch for business from the season outset. This is a few weeks earlier than normal so it will be interesting to see what turns up in the catches. Never one to turn down a challenge, Myself and Stan Headley will be out onto the loch to hopefully catch that early season trout from this fantastic loch.

A 6lbs Loch Leven trout caught by Colin McGlone. This a classic example of why Loch Leven is as prestigious a loch as it is.

The NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) have been carrying out ongoing extensive research on Loch Leven in order to try to get a better feel for the fish population of the loch in terms of trends in numbers and sizes of fish. Last week, they produced the an update with what made some very interesting reading. Click here to read the update.

If any of you are looking to book fishing of spend a days guided fishing on Loch Leven or indeed any of our rivers with one of our guides, then please email us at bookings@salmofishings.com or call us on 0845 838 1936 for details.

As always, we wish any of you who are braving the elements over the coming week, whether it be on the river chasing silver, or fishing for trout, Tight Lines!

Until next time,

All the best,

Greig Thomson

                         Here is the latest Hooked UK from the South Esk in Scotland chasing Spring Salmon

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.

A tasty brace from the salty waters of Loch Stenness

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.

A perfectly conditioned ‘maiden’ fish from L Leven in March 2012

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.

A ‘belter’ from the shallow water off the Gabions, Hole o’ the Inch
April 2011

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

Alan Sinclair on the pipes and Brucie Cameron, captor of the first Spey fish of 2012 pouring good whisky into the river!

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.

Delfur Ghillie Grant Morrison with Alex Robertsons 7lb fish from Holly Bush today.

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.

80 year old Davie Leith with the first Spey Salmon today at Kinermony.

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.

Another angle of Davie Leith’s fish prior to release.

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.

Ross Lasseter with his first ever Salmon caught on opening day at Rothes & Aikenway. Well done Ross!!

Bill Lasseter with the largest fish caught on the Spey on opening day. Caught at Rothes & Aikenway.

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.”

Hugh Falkus with Niko Tingerben. Image courtesy of Larry Shaffer/Chris Newton

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.”

The man himself working in his study. Image courtesy of BBC History.

“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.

Tight Lines wherever you may be Hugh!

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.

Alastair Hume Blessing the river with Ballogie Ghillie Sean Stanton in the background. Image by Glyn Satterley

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.

The Ballogie rods on opening day. Image by Mark Paterson

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.

Much loved Dee Ghillie Ian Murray chatting to Gary Weir at the opening. Image by Mark Paterson

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.

Lower Crathes fist spring salmon of the season taken from the Bridge Pool. The Fish was caught by Geoff Fisher just after lunchtime. Well down that man! Image by Glyn Satterley

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

Lower Crathes ghillie Robert Harper speaks to Andy Richardson

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.

Yours truly Into a fish at the Greenbank at Lower Crathes. Image by Glyn Satterley

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.

Tay ghillie Cohn O’dea fishing with his companions late afternoon. Image by Glyn Satterley

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.

Yours truly about to fish the final hour of the day at Lower Crathes. Image by Glyn Satterley

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.

A kelt caught within 10 mins of the Teith opening

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

The Punta Allen skyskape

For me, that ten second blast with a marauding ‘Barracuda was the ‘oh my god moment’ of the week. I cast a flashy blue and silver lure on my nine weight during a lunch break on day two, having spotted the ‘Cuda 50 yards away tracking lazily across the flat towards the boat. It hit the fast stripped lure like a guided missile, and then took off with blistering acceleration before shedding the hook 50 yards away….I could spend a few days specialising in them quite happily, however bizarre that may be to many experienced flats anglers. Most go to Ascension Bay to patiently stalk the enigmatic Permit, as it is one of the worlds best venues for this most prized species, as I was to discover… Generally, Barracuda are not particularly revered, which is a real puzzle. I guess all branches of our sport develop their own culture which takes newcomers some time to unravel. Of the species that I encountered, this was the one that really took my breath away. I was pleased to jump two baby tarpon of about 4lb, after a long stalk in the crystal clear waters of a channel that penetrated deep into the mangrove, as they were scarce during our week, and a high priority,. And boy, can they jump! Next time one will stick, and I can imagine that the aerial battle that will ensue will be a nail biter in the tight spaces that we fished. My first Jack was hooked accidentally whilst blind casting a chartreuse lure  into likely looking shoreline pockets for Snook, on the fringes of a mangrove island. They can turn up anywhere on the flats, or in the deep water channels I was assured. A real blood thirsty marauder. It was a modest fish of several pounds, compared to the 20 pound bruiser caught by one our party that took an hour to land!

Not one for the record books, but a fish all the same

Eventually, I hooked my first Snook, all ten inches of it! It took nearly three hours of landing the fly into pocket water to track it down. Other larger fish were seen, but often not soon enough, as they left a puff if silt in the water as the punt almost drifted on to them.

There were a few proper Snook caught during the week. They are wonderful looking predatory fish with a striking black stripe along  the lateral line. They are reminiscent of the Zander, and commonly the guides take them home, as they are very good for the table and big enough to feed a large family.

A nice Snook from the Mangroves

To be able to develop my bone-fishing savvy was great, and learning to sight them and predict their movements was the first and most important skill to develop. The guides helped greatly in the early stages. Casting to and catching tailing fish in shallow water without spooking them and hitting a few at long range quickly built my confidence, and I landed fourteen on the most prolific day. In terms of my flats fly fishing apprenticeship this was just perfect, with plenty of shots, thanks to my partner leaving most of the bones to me.  They feel familiar tactically, and are quite cooperative, but far from a give away, especially if tailing with their nose down in shallow water, when both accuracy and delicacy must come to the fore. Bone fish on the move can be intercepted, but you have to be quick and decisive, and they often catch you out by changing direction more drastically than a trout would, just as you release your line!

Our guide holding a bone fish caught after a stalking tailing fish late one afternoon

I was pleased that the Permit arrived, in impressive numbers on the last day for my partner. This species is his holy grail theses days, and I was keen to see what all of the fuss was about. He felt we were very unlucky not to boat one, but, then my ‘semi trout strike’ on the first Permit I have ever cast to didn’t help!  Keeping a low rod, with a direct contact with a taking fish, and strip striking is by far the most important lesson for a newcomer to learn, otherwise fish will be missed for sure. Getting the fly on target from all angles in a stiff breeze, including fast moving fish as they disappear upwind, is a real test of skill, and an exciting challenge that a good trout angler can readily rise to. After an accurate delivery, a Permit may slightly turn towards the fly, briefly. At other times they may follow it to the boat and even balance the fly on the end of their snout! Often, they never flinch. Just occasionally one will engulf the crab or shrimp imitation in earnest, and then the strip strike must be reliable. To be honest, although the guides were great generally, they can be a mixed blessing when hunting Permit, because most of them get so excited!. It was interesting for me as a trout angler to note that their retrieve instruction did not vary whether we were drifting onto the fish or away from them and casting up wind. This made no sense at all., as the speed and depth of fly presentation varied enormously as a consequence, and I expect reduced the number of takes. Every time a permit didn’t take a fly the guide would change it, as if the fly pattern was the only possible cause of rejection. Now, we trout fisherman know better than that don’t we? I developed a sneaking suspicion that being prepared to selectively ignore the guides may have helped for Permit, especially when it came to the retrieve. On that last day my partner counted 19 Permit shots in total! Typically on many Permit flats, several shots or so in a day is considered par for the course. It was a fascinating game of cat and mouse, and we came very close to fish taking, several times.

Permit Flies

I understand how a seasoned flats angler could get preoccupied with Permit, and why there are Ascension Bay’s forte.. I was pleased that they were a part of our week, but for me, it was the variety within the week’s hunt, the technical demands and subtleties of bone fishing, the short lived blast from the Barracuda, and the daily anticipation and excitement of being in that vast wilderness that will draw me back. We saw wildlife in profusion aside from the fish, Frigate Bird colonies, nesting Ospreys, Spoonbills, Herons, Horseshoe crabs, Spiny Lobsters, and were able to share our sandwiches with Iguanas on an island at lunch time. One of our party even came across a juvenile Manatee in the mangroves.

It was worth the twenty years or so wait, and a hugely inspiring introduction to an enthralling branch of our sport. If like me you are a regular still water trout fisherman, if you possibly can, spoil yourself at least once, and follow the road to where the land ends and the big skies begin…You will more than cope, and you won’t be disappointed.

Martyn Haines