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.

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

Punta Allen, a former lobster fishing community on Mexico’s Ascension Bay in the Caribbean…….. where the road ends and miles of flats and big skies begin. Seven hundred square miles to be precise. What a venue, and what a special slice of pristine tropical paradise. This trip had been a long time in incubation. Conversational snippets with my globe trotting boat partner had crept in to our annual reservoir trout fishing trips to Chew Valley Lake, including descriptions of turbo charged bonefish, that he assured me, went ‘like trout on steroids’. Images from his earlier forays of chrome plated Tarpon and slab sided Permit with their dramatic black sickle tails, tantalised me further. I was never convinced that a trip would ever happen for me, and the UK game and saltwater fly-fishing scene seemed to be the limit of my horizon. Now my ‘note to self’ at the start of 2013, is to ensure that this wasn’t the ‘trip of a life time’, but my initiation to a thrilling new branch of the sport. During the week I enjoyed close encounters with most of the main flats species, but left unfinished business aplenty in Ascension Bay..

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 

Fly fishing for trout has mostly been about quantity.  In some of the earliest recorded trout fishing competitions, mainly carried out on border streams and rivers, the weight to number of fish ratio captured was astoundingly low, with an average size of a mere few ounces.  It is obvious from these reports that anything, and I do mean anything, with spots was fair game.  Some of the fish recorded must have been barely parr.

Things have changed a lot since then.  The law, of course, has changed and it is now a criminal offence to kill trout of less than 9 inches.  But the motivating force still lives on.  Last season, on Leven, when things were particularly dour (round about July time) a year class of fish, averaging about 11 inches in length, surfaced in the area between the Reed Bower and St Serfs.  I was out on Leven on a regular basis during this phenomenon and quickly became aware of the situation.  The first time I spotted the boats gathering over these fish, I didn’t realise what was happening, but when I pulled up over the area I sussed it out in a matter of minutes.  Two at time; I was beginning to understand the almost unbelievable numbers some guys were reporting.  I dropped down the drift about two hundred yards and snagged a good fish of about 2½- 3 pounds.  To each his own, but I would rather have one fish over two than a dozen 11” fish.

Darren Woodmass & his 11lb ferox from Arkaig

Nowadays, with stocking policies being what they are, the bulk of fly fishing has become a numbers game.  This, unfortunately, does not transfer happily to wild trout fishing.  There are a few waters where reasonable quantities of modest-sized, sporting fish can be expected.  The Harray Loch, Boardhouse, Watten and Eye still produce good quality fish in large numbers.  These lochs are shallow, fertile, productive waters, and as such are not the norm in Scotland.  Many Scottish wild trout waters tend to be on the infertile side, and if its numbers you want from them, then don’t expect quality as well.

I have always said that I’d happily spend a fishless day waiting for that big ‘un, the trophy fish of a lifetime.  I understand that I’m in a very small minority, but there are a growing number of like-minded souls out there who believe that big is beautiful, first, last and always.  Salmo International will be catering for trophy trout hunters in the forthcoming season and I am pleased yours truly will be hosting the first of these adventures this coming spring.

There are two types of big fish waters – deep, infertile waters where trout grow big on an exclusive diet of charr and small trout; and then there are the shallow, highly productive waters where food is in abundance and big trout thrive on crustacean, molluscs and insect larvae.

The former exist throughout the highlands of Scotland, mainly in the form of hydro-electric dams, although a good number are natural lochs.  Big, pisciverous trout from these waters are often referred to as ‘ferox’.  Popular belief is that these fish can only be caught by trolling at depth.  While this is a popular method of fishing for them, there are lochs in Scotland where trout of this type are regularly, and daily, caught on fly, and not at depth either, but on floating or intermediate lines.  I know, I’ve done it.

A ‘small’ ferox from Arkaig

Lochs Arkaig and Lochy, up in Inverness-shire have been famous for well over a century for providing enormous trout to fly fisherman, and I am hoping to explore some other lochs which may well provide similar sport.

These trout can grow to immense size on a fish diet and fish of up to 20+ lbs have been recorded from Arkaig & Lochy, and the basic technique is traditional drifting in specific areas with traditional trout fly gear and size 10 & 8 flies.

Timing for this style of fish is critical.  The best times are from mid-April – June, and then September to the end of the season.  During high summer (if we get such a thing in Scotland) these fish are only catchable during the last hours of light.

The other loch type, as mentioned above, is totally different.  These lochs are almost always very shallow, fertile and very productive of fish food.  The trout they produce are magnificent creatures and can achieve double-figures in weight.

A 12 lb trout from a small, fertile loch.

Because they are small, fragile environments, I tend not to give their names away as they are very susceptible to over-fishing and abuse.  Their fish populations tend to consist of a small number of very big individuals with a reasonable number of modestly sized fish.

Again, the methodology is traditional gear, tactics and flies, but on many of these small waters boats are not available so a good set of breathable waders is a necessity.  Timing is again critical.  Almost all of these environments are prone to weeding-up, and once the weed has grown productive fishing is nigh on impossible.  Generally speaking, they give of their best from May to the end of June, which is a small window of opportunity.

Of course, there are always big trout in almost every loch trout population, but seeking them out is a hit or miss (with an emphasis on the miss) venture.  Loch Leven, for example, throws out some stunning fish, but you’d never know when one was going to come along.  Your next cast could catch an 8 ounce fish or an 8 pounder.  There is no sure-fire way to improve your chances of catching bigger than average fish.  The biggest fish will more than likely take the smallest fly.

So, how do you go about catching trophy fish.  Simply by going where they live will vastly improve your chances, and we know where they live.

So, who’s joining us……….???

You gotta know where they live.

Stan Headley

IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU READ AND WANT TO JOIN US IN MAY 2013 CHASING THESE BIG BOYS, THEN PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR FULL PACKAGE DETAILS OR EMAIL US AT BOOKINGS@SALMOFISHINGS.COM.  

ALTERNATIVELY YOU CAN CALL US ON +44(0)845 8381936 OR VISIT OUR MAIN WEBSITE WWW.SALMOINTERNATIONAL.COM OR USE THE LINKS ABOVE.

This post is a toast to our four legged friends. Fishing with dogs, whether bank or boat, has been a lifelong pleasure for me.

On the rare occasion I connect with something, they’re equally cock-a-hoop, and when I’m busy de-fankling or retrieving flies from a bush, they look on with resigned bemusement. Thank heavens the pooches can’t talk.

I always smile when I see a well-trained dog on the bank, following their master downstream.  You can almost smell the anticipation, the dog pricking its ears at a rise willing the fish to take.

And to be quite frank, a dog is a finer companion than one or two fishers I’ve encountered over the years; patient, hardy and not prone to bragging.

Nuka, my faithful old hound, is a veteran of many an outing. Sometimes shivering, eternally patient, she’s always been a wonderful buddy.

The ever hopeful Nuka surveys the scene (C’mon, c’mon, he must get one next cast)

There’s been the odd blip though.  As a puppy years ago, I took her on the early morning shift on the Oykel. With little sleep to my name, and after an hour or so breathing Macallan fumes on the water, the previous night’s excesses eventually took a hold, and I retreated to a particularly appealing mossy mound for 40 winks.

Drifting in and out of slumber, I heard a curious crunching sound, but thought little of it.  Big mistake.  I woke to find that Nuka had been breakfasting on the tip of my brand spanking new Bruce and Walker Norway rod.  The air was blue for quite some time, trust me.

Bizarrely, when I took the remnants into Nick at Gamefish in Edinburgh on my return, there was a fella there with a broken rod recounting how he’d just caught a bat.

And then there’s the late, great Dougster.  He belonged to an old pal Ed, our host on the Shin for many a year.

Wonderful dog, but when a salmon was on the line, he was in the water, barking and biting.  Anything for a sushi fix.

After the Oykel chewing incident, I was in a huff most of the day, until I hit a purple patch landing three splendid silver bars in sixty minutes in the evening light.

Dougster guarding the Falls of Shin

That’s as good as it’s ever been for me. Must be a moral in there somewhere.

Next time our trout man Stan Headley shares a few words on the leviathans that lurk in our waters, plus an interesting invite to join us catch them!

Until next time,

Will