Lower Kinnaird - River Tay

We had our annual January gathering at the Lower Kinnaird beat of the River Tay on Saturday. This is when me and a group of good pals from various parts of Scotland meet up and blow away the winter cobwebs and attempt to catch an elusive January springer. The river was sitting at 2ft on the gauge and the weather was cold but otherwise it was a perfect early spring day for being out fishing.

Group photo. L/R - Alan, Me, Martin (ghillie), Kenny, Andy, Bill, Charlie and Craig

I was to travel down to Tayside with fellow Donsiders, Bill and Charlie. After rising at 5.00am to pick up Charlie and meet Bill we set off for the Tay just after 6am. The drive down to Tayside took much longer than normal due to persistent thick fog which made driving difficult but we arrived at the beat hut just before 8.30am. After the meet and greet in the fishing hut over a cup of coffee and a bacon roll it was time to get down to business and work out where we were to start fishing for the day.

Kenny and Alan enjoy a bacon roll and coffee before starting the day.

The well equipped fishing hut at Lower Kinnaird.

I was to fish the Guay Pool with Charlie and Andy drove us round and showed us the water. I opted to start with the fly as did Charlie. I tackled up with my 15ft Mackenzie DTX shooting head rod with a Guideline PT Scandi F/H/S1 shooting head line and a 10ft 5.6ips versi tip.. Fly of choice was a 2" Black and Yellow conehead tube. I was to start about half way down the pool with Charlie 50 yards below me. I waded out to just above my knees as instructed and began lengthening line out. After only my third cast I lifted into a fish. The initial take was quite subtle and I applied a bit of pressure once the fish began to pull some line off the reel. I set the hook and carefully began to make my way back to the bank. No sooner had I started moving into the bank the fish was off. I didn't see the fish so there was no way of knowing what it was but it was best not to think about it too much and I was back fishing again immediately. Charlie and I fished the whole pool several time with both fly and spinner but neither of us had any luck so it was up to the Ash Tree pool to meet the rest of the guys and have a bite to eat.

Andy points out the likely spots of the Guay Pool to Charlie.

A very large carcass of a salmon lies on the bank of the Guay Pool. Would have easily top the scales at 20lb plus.

Fishing down the Guay Pool shortly after loosing a fish.

On arrival to the Ash Tree pool the guys were standing round a wee fire willing the soup pot to start boiling. It was soon hot enough to serve and we sat down to some of Kenny's home made Ham Hock soup and bread. The hot soup went down a treat and after discussing the morning's proceedings we were allocated our pools for the afternoon session and set off for another crack at catching a January Tay springer.

Looking upstream to where the River Tummel meets the River tay.

Looking across the Junction pool. The big coloured fish was splashing about just up from the seat on the bank.

Fishing down the Junction Pool. Would love to fish it in April/May time.

Martin, the ghille drove Charlie and I round to fish the Junction Pool. The Junction Pool is where the River Tummel meets the Tay. The Tummel itself is a very productive river and we could fish the lower pools of the river if we so wished. Charlie went in a the top of the pool this time and I went in half way down. I changed lines over to an I/S2/S3 shooting head as this pool held a good bit of depth and was much faster flowing that Guay. Almost as soon as I waded out into the pool a big coloured fish jumped out of the water. This was obviously an old fish but it was easily 25lb. Charlie and I fished through the pool without a touch and apart from the older fish we didn't see anything moving despite how "fishy" the pool looked. Just as we were making our way back to the top of the pool Martin arrived to take us back to the hut as it was nearly 4.30pm. Time doesn't half fly when you are fishing!

A 2.5" Willie Gunn tube flutters in the icy cold River Tay

We arrived back at the hut and met up with the other guys. Nobody had any luck but Bill and Alan were still to return. We sat in the hut with a cup of coffee discussing the day we'd had when Bill drew up outside the hut and announced he'd landed a cracking fish of around 9lb from the Guay Pool. this was great news and we we all delighted for Bill as it was his and the beat's first fish of the season. \it was also Bill's first ever January fish he'd caught in all the years he had been fishing. Kenny presented Bill with a bottle of Fettercairn single malt whisky for catching the first fish and we all congratulated him on getting his fish. It really was the perfect end to a great day on the river in the company of good friends. Here's to the next time we all meet up which will be late March, again on the River Tay.

What we are all after. Bill's 9lb January salmon from the Guay Pool at 3.30pm. 

With the customary blowing off the cobwebs cast on the River Tay now over, my attention turns to the opening of my local river, the Dee. It opens again for salmon fishing on the 1st February and I really can't wait to get out for a cast there again. My first outing is at Park on opening day with good pals. Fingers crossed I can get off to good start like I did last season. Another opening day springer would do me just fine. Camera will be at the ready if I do!

Salmon Fishing Highlights 2016

Another salmon fishing season has come and gone this year and although it's been tough at times, it has however, on a personal level been a good one. Despite not fishing as much as I normally do and my local River Don having no water for most of the season, I finished up with 13 salmon landed and a I lost a good few along the way too. I also landed several good sized sea trout during the summer months with the biggest being 3lbs. The weights of salmon caught were 12lb, 15lb, 10lb, 10lb and 14lb which was very pleasing and the grilse sizes were also good with most fish ranging from 3-7lbs in weight.

A fresh run 10lb salmon from the River Spey back in June. One of many particular highlight from my fishing season in 2016. 

I'll happily admit that I am pretty obsessive in my pursuit of Atlantic salmon so every time I venture out onto the river I class that as a highlight but on this Blog post I have tried to single out a number of days which stuck in my mind for one reason or other. I have also included photos of the fish I have been fortunate enough to land this season.

Having lunch with good pals in the Lower Kinnard hut during our first outing of the season on the 16th January.

My season started off way back in January on the River Tay at Lower Kinnaird. The first trip of the season is always one I look forward to as it's spent with good pals I've met through the Salmon Proboards Forum. It was also the first time I had fished the beat and it was great water for fly fishing. The lunch was also memorable as was the numerous drams of home made gins which we all take along to share. Although none of us caught the coveted January springer we all crave, there were a few kelts landed to keep the enthusiasm going. Looking forward to January 2017 when we all start over again. More details and pictures of the day can be found here Lower Kinnaird Blog Post

Dougie Vipond makes the first cast under the stewardship of Waterside and Ferrar ghillie, Craig McDonald.

The 1st February signals the opening of the River Dee season and I always make a point of going to the Opening Ceremony. This year, the river was opened by Deacon Blue drummer, Dougie Vipond at the fabulous Banchory beat. It was well attended as it usually is and the weather was kind. It's always good to meet up with ghillies and fishing friends again and to look forward to what we all hope is a successful season. More details of the day can be found here River Dee Opening Ceremony

The biggest fish to come off the Dee on Opening Day. Me and my cracking 12lb sea liced fish from the Durris Stream at Park. 

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to have a cast on opening Day thanks to my pal Philip Black who kindly invited me along to fish at Park. I didn't have to wait long for my first fish of the season when I landed an cracking fresh fish of around 12lb from the famous Durris Stream. The fish took a 2" Willie Gunn tube fished off and Intermediate line around 4.30pm. I was absolutely delighted to see the fish go into the waiting net of ghillie Keith Cromar. We were all buzzing and headed back the hut to celebrate with a dram or two. This fish turned out to be the biggest fish caught on Opening Day and it was also the first fish landed from the Park beat for which I received a bottle of Park Special whisky and a box of flies. Will be back in 2017 to see it there will be a repeat of this year. More detail and photos of can be found here Opening Day Salmon 2016

The amazing fishing "hut" on C beat at Tulchan. I could quite happily live in it!

Another highlight for me in the early season was fishing on the hallowed waters of Tulchan on the River Spey as part of Ian Gordon's group. It was great to fish such a wonderful stretch of river in such good company and it really was such an enjoyable day. I was lucky enough to have a cast on beats B, C and D during my day. More photos and my original Blog post about my day can be found here Tulchan Blog Post

Looking across to the famous Linn Pool on the mighty River Tay. What a place and one I am really looking forward to visiting again next season. 

The next highlight I have was when I went fishing at the Stobhall beat on the River Tay back in late March. I was to fish the famous Linn Pool and it was such a daunting place. The volume of water and the numerous currents which flow through the pool are quite incredible. Although I didn't land a fish for my day it was good to say that I've fished the pool but I did however have a brief encounter with a springer in the Major's Cast later on in the afternoon. I can't wait to return again in March 2017. I have attached a link to view my Blog post from my day Stobhall Blog Post

Charlie's first springer of the Tulchan Meet.

Charlie with his second fish of the day from Tulchan.

Early April saw me back at Tulchan C. I was fishing as part of another meet which was organised through Facebook. It was all guys I already knew from previous meets so it was good to see them all again. Although I didn't have any joy on the day, my good pal Charlie Robertson managed to land 2 cracking springers for his day. Both fish were fresh as paint and we were all delighted for him. Tulchan C Blog

What a great bunch to spend a day's fishing on the River Tay with. Roll on next year!

Although I wasn't having much luck with catching salmon on my trips, I can honestly say that I was really enjoying casting a line on places that were new to me. Another of these was a day on the Tay again but this time at Murthly 2. I was kindly invited down by ghillie Tony Black as part of a group I'm in. It's not often we can all get together with many of us living in all parts of the UK and Ireland so it was great to meet up the guys I spend a lot of time interacting with online. The craic was first class and the fishing was good too. I managed to hook a nice fish under the guidance of Tony's brother, Philip but unfortunately it threw the hook not long after hooking it. I couldn't make the return leg in October but by all accounts, another great time was had by all who attended and I will make sure I am available for any future meets in 2017. Murthly 2 Blog Post

Looking upstream towards the Hydro Dam at Pitlochry. Probably one of the most prolific spring salmon waters owned by an angling club.

At the end of April, I had a day booked on the Pitlochry Angling Club stretch of the River Tummel, which is a tributary of the River Tay. This is usually a prime time to be on this particular beat and I was eagerly looking forward to it on the run up to my day. An early start was required to get to the beat for 7am and I arrived to be greeted by two local rods who were very helpful and willing to share pool info etc. One of the rods did however inform me that the water was the lowest he'd seen it in 37 years of fishing the beat and this wasn't really ideal levels for success. There were a few fish splashing around the pools as expected but sport was thin on the ground and I landed nothing. Again, this was another beat I could scratch off my to do list and I'm glad to say I've fished it. I will also make a point of returning again soon. Have a look at the link for my original Blog post about my day Pitlochry AC Blog Post

All geared up and ready for another day on the River Don at Castle Forbes. 

The end of April also marks another highlight in my angling calendar, the Castle Forbes Proboards meet on my local River Don. Water conditions were as to near ideal as we could have hoped and there were two springer landed by my good friend Bill Cook. Unfortunately, no one else managed to winkle out a fish but it was good to see the Don show us what it can do in the Spring. My pal Paul Pritchard produce a cracking video of our day and it can be view by following the link Castle Forbes Blog Post

The famous Bargie Stone pool on Murthly 1. A pool that will forever be etched in the salmon history books. It is a lovely cast with the fly rod and the anticipation of hooking another monster fish is there at all times!

Next up for me was a day on the Murthly 1 beat on the River Tay. This beat shares it's pools with Glendelvine and this is the beat where Georgina Ballatine landed her record salmon all those years ago. It was a privilege to fish on such fabled pools and I'm glad I can say that I have fished the same water as she did. The day was also spent in great company and we shared many a laugh over a few dram and Donald the ghillie was on great form. No fish landed by myself but there was a nice fish landed by Paul McIntyre from the very pool where Miss Ballatine landed her fish, The Bargie Stone. More photos and a report can be read here Murthly 1 Blog Post

My first River Spey salmon from the Bridge Pool on Tulchan C. Not a bad place to open my account!

My Kitchen Sink shrimp which did the damage. Really was the perfect way to break my River Spey jinx. A cracking 15lb salmon caught on my own fly from Tulchan. Does it get any better than that?

My second fish of the day. A fresh run 10lber from Upper Bog caught just before finishing time.

I finished the spring with just the one fish but it was an opening day fish from the Dee so I was more than happy with that. Near the end of June I received an exciting call from my pal Paul Pritchard who was inviting me to fish with him at Tulchan C. This was an offer I could not refuse and I was more excited than a wee kid at Christmas at the thought of fishing there at a prime time in their season. I was very fortunate to land a cracking 15lb salmon just before 10am which took the pressure off right away! I also managed to land a fresh run 10lber just before 5pm. These incidentally were my first ever fish landed from the Spey and I was very grateful to Paul for his kind invitation. What a place to break my long standing Spey hoodoo and to land my first using my own fly pattern, the Kitchen Sink Shrimp was a perfect way to do it. to do it. Not only that, but to land tow fish for my day was the icing on the cake for me! More pictures and a detailed report can be found here Tulchan C Blog post

A fresh run 10lber for the Ballogie Flats taken on a small Monkey fly.

My next fish wasn't too far away and I was grateful to Sean Stanton, the head ghillie at Ballogie for giving me a day's fishing on his beat on the 5th July. The beat was beginning to pick away nicely and I was delighted to add to that tally by landing a fresh 10lber from the Flats which hammered a 1/2" Monkey tube. Ballogie Blog Post

As you can see the fishing for our trip was slow. The low water really hampered our chances but the drinks were flowing thick and fast!

Early August saw me back on the Dee but this time at Carlogie. I was fishing two days as part of a party hosted by good pal Ade Warburton. There were decent numbers of fish present in most of the pool but due to a prolonged spell of low water they were proving very difficult to temp. We found other ways of enjoying ourselves though and we all had a great time. Really looking forward to next year. Carlogie Blog Post

A small but very welcome grilse taken on the River Feugh in August.

As luck would have it, and just like last year too, the water rose the day after my fishing days were finished at Carlogie. I was off on holiday for the whole week and took advantage of the fact by fishing a day on the River Feugh which is the largest tributary of the River Dee. I soon hooked a fish which unfortunately came off but not long after I was in again and duly landed a small but very welcome grilse. This was also my first ever fish off the Feugh so I was delighted regardless of it's size or condition.

A small grilse from Ballogie taken on a Junction Shrimp Snaelda.

My next fish landed was from Ballogie. I had earlier lost a very good sized fish after playing it for several minutes but I was glad to hook another and get it landed. It wasn't a big fish of just around the 4lb mark but I really don't care what size the fish I land are!

My dad fishing the Little Turn. Excellent conditions for fishing but we had no luck on the day unfortunately. 

My Dad had not fished the Spey for nearly 20 years so we thought we'd have a go at the end of the fishing season. The Spey had been doing really well in the summer and I was hopeful my dad would see some sport. The Spey is a difficult river to tempt fish in September apparently and needless to say we didn't land any fish but it was still good to be out on the river with dad and he really enjoyed his day. More details and photos of our day can be viewed by clicking on this link. Wester Elchies Blog Post

My first fish after only 3 casts! A 7lber from the Top Gannets.

My second fish, this time from Middle Gannets. Not bad for just fishing for an hour. it's good to be in the right palce at the right time for a change!

October is always my most productive month of the season and this year was no different. For my week off I managed to do fairly well and landed a few fish. The first one was a lively 7lb hen fish from Ballogie and this was quickly followed by a 6lber. I captured both fish on my GoPro camera and as I was only fishing for an hour, it was very pleased to leave having landed two fish. To view my GoPro clip and to read the report of my day click on this link. Ballogie Blog Post and Go Pro Clips

My first fish of the day ready for release. A hen fish of around 7lb ready to be released.

My second fish of the day from the Ballogie Flats. This hen fish was around the 14lb mark. I captured the fight on my Go Pro camera and the clips can be viewed on my Ballogie Blog post on the link below.

My final fish of the day. A cock fish fish about 3-4lb from the Top Gannets. A nice way to round of my day.

As luck would have it, I was back on Ballogie a few days later and I was fortunate enough to land three fish for my day. The first fish was a coloured hen about 7lb from the Top Gannets. The second fish was a cracker of 14lb from the Ballogie Flats and my final fish of the day was a cock fish between 3-4lb from the Top Gannets. A great way to fish off my 2016 River Dee salmon season. Ballogie Blog Post

Bill's salmon from the Willows Pool at Kildrummy in low water conditions. A nice looking fish for the time of year and water levels.

I had a day on the lovely Kildrummy beat of the River don with my pal Bill Cook. The water was fairly low but there were fish present in the pools and Bill managed to land a nice fish around the 8lb mark. I didn't have any luck and could only lose a nice big fish from the Crooked Pot pool just before leaving for the day. It lead me a merry dance up and down the pool taking yards of line off my reel before finally freeing itself in the shallows opposite me. I didn't see the fish but it felt very heavy and it would have been good to land it just to see what size it was. It wasn't to be though but there is always another day.

My first River Don salmon of the season finally landed two weeks before the end of the season.

My second fish of the day. A 7lb hen taken on a Junction Snaelda.

The River Don was not keen to give up much fish for anglers this season and runs have been pretty poor these past couple of seasons to say the least. Having said that, the anglers who fished most days and put in plenty hours inevitability seemed to do ok but fish were few and far between this back end which is historically the most productive time on the River Don. From a personal point of view, it has never taken me so long to land a Don salmon and I was grateful to finally land not just one, but two for my day on the middle river in mid October. I was very pleased to have ended my season with a couple of Don fish to my name. Hopefully next season will see the beginning of a recovery for the Don as things have been pretty grim these last two seasons. I am always hopeful though and will be out on her banks come 11th February next year trying all over again!  River Don Salmon Blog Post


Well, that's my highlights from my fishing season just past and I hope anyone who took the time to read about them enjoyed it as much as I did reminiscing over the photos. I'm already planning my fishing for 2017 and have some good days booked up again. Hopefully it will be another good season for me again in 2017 and I will look forward to sharing my trips and photos here on my Blog for anyone who is interested in looking in. My attention now turns to tying flies and restocking the boxes in time for the new season ahead. I will do a few blog posts about the fly tying over the course of the winter since there will be no fishing to write about. Keep a look out for them and tight lines!

Pitlochry Angling Club - River Tummel

Back in January I booked a days fishing for the 29th April on the Pitlochry Angling Club stretch of the River Tummel. The last week of April, first few weeks of May are usually prime times for the beat and I was eagerly looking forward to going. As I had never fished the River Tummel before it was all new to me. the water was dead low for the time of year and was hovering around the 1" mark on the gauge. Not really ideal to encourage fish to take but catches earlier on in the week were encouraging and I was looking forward to getting started.

My first glimpse of the fishings at Pitlochry AC from the Pitlochry bank.

Fishing the beat involved an early start for me and I set my alarm for 4.45am to give myself plenty time to get down and give the water a good going over as I had to leave at 3pm. The journey down was fine until I hit Stonehaven where the roads were covered in snow and slippery which made driving treacherous. This continued all the way to Forfar where the conditions thankfully improved and allowed driving at speeds of more than 30mph. Not ideal driving conditions when eager to get fishing!

Looking upstream towards the Loch Faskally Dam from the Marker Stone.

I arrived at the beat later than I had expected at around 7.45am and tackled up. My rod of choice for the day was my 13ft Hardy Uniqua and I matched this up with a 8/9 Rio Scandi Shooting head and a 10ft 4ips tip. My initial fly of choice was a 3/4" Monkey tube.

Looking downstream towards the bridge from the Pitlochry bank.

There were already a couple of rods fishing when I arrived so started off mid way down the top part of the beat. My first cast had no sooner hit the water and three or four fish showed right in front of me simultaneously. This gave me great confidence that I was fishing in the right place, at the right time for a change and I concentrated hard on how I was fishing. I fished all the way down the pool and into the Burnmouth covering where the fish were showing but I got the impression that the fish were not going far in the low water conditions and had probably seen numerous flies for the last few days. Tempting them was proving to be more difficult than I had imagined. Sadly, I didn't get an offer so I headed up to the top of the beat to work my way down from there.

Looking across to the Port-na-Craig restaurant. 

I was fishing with two local rods from the angling club called Kenny and Roger and they made me feel very welcome. They were keen to give me advice and point out lies etc and I was grateful for that. I know with being in an angling club myself that members are not always forthcoming with advice on how to fish the water. Fortunately this was not the case here and I was even offered a cup of coffee and a bar of chocolate while we stopped for a wee break mid morning. I would just like to thank them for making me feel very welcome and they are a credit to their club. Roger had said that he had never seen the water as low as this in the 37 years he had been a member so as usual I had arrived at the wrong time! Still, there were fish showing and fish had been caught and I was still hopeful I might connect with something.

Looking upstream from the footbridge half way down the beat.

At 12.00 noon anglers must change side and fish the opposite bank. I made my way round to the Port-na-Craig bank and stopped for a chat with the anglers coming off the water. One of them was fortunate enough to land a nice fish of around 8lb from the top of the beat so again, I was confident that another fish could be landed before I left. I was hoping that I would be that lucky angler!

fishing down the Bluestones at the top of the beat on the Port-na-Craig bank in the afternoon.

Looking down stream from the footbridge.

I took a walk up to the fish ladder at the dam for a look since I was in the area and check out the number of fish going through to Loch Faskally. I was informed by one of the locals than only a single fish had went through the counter in the last 24 hours so the fish in pools didn't seem to be going very far in the low water.

The viewing station at the salmon ladder up at the dam. There had been 297 fish through the counter so far when I visited.

Looking downstream from up at the dam.

Looking over toward the dam.

Since I had never fished the beat before I thought I'd start at the top of the beat and work my way down. The top part of the beat was called Bluestones and there had been a few fish showing in here earlier on in the day and I was looking forward to covering them from the opposite side. I changed flies over to a Sunray Shadow as I thought I could maybe provoke a fish into taking the fly in the low water conditions. I fished all the way down to the Greenbank with moving a fin which was surprising as I knew that I was covering plenty fish.

Looking upstream from the Summer Stones. 

Plenty fish showing in this area of the Greenbank but they just weren't for tempting.

 The river fished well form this bank but I just felt I covered the fish better off the opposite side at this height of water. The pool seem to be deeper over there but it was still a pleasure to fish. The Greenbank is a lovely cast with the fly but as time was running out I decided to give the last hour a cast with the spinner. I set up my spinning gear and tied on a Vision 110 but I fished the length of the pool down to the footbrige without an offer and it was then I had to call it a day. Fishing has to stop at 5pm anyway so I wasn't missing out on too much fishing time. I hadn't had an offer all day and with my very early start I was kind of glad to be heading home. Not before having a nice, cold 1/2 shandy in the bar though!

Looking downstream along the Greenbank form Port-na-Craig

Looking upstream towards the dam from the Port-na-craig.

Time for a half Shandy before hitting the road!

I really enjoyed my day on fishing the Pitlochry Angling Club water of the River Tummel. They are blessed with a fantastic stretch of water and it was be fantastic to cast a line through here when conditions are favourable. Unfortunately, as per usual, conditions were against me and I caught nothing but it was still good to fish here. The local members, Kenny and Roger were very helpful and the club should be proud to have their likes on their membership list. Hopefully I'll be back again next year to try again.