Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2019 i Trout & Salmon

…but sometimes words muttered in the pub by a river are intriguing. Many of us will understand what’s meant by these -ings — bugging, dapping, dibbling, gaffing, hanging, jigging, pulling, tailing and trolling — but at a time when game-fishers face more and more restrictions what if you overheard someone whispering they’d been doing the following? ■ Odging (to cast and step along the river, and repeat) ■ Bushing (dapping a fly over a rising river trout while hiding in a bush) ■ Ginniling or guddling (catching a fish by groping under the stones or the banks of a stream) ■ Cocking (presenting the wings of a dry-fly in an upright position) ■ Spiling (weaving willow rods between willow posts to form barriers that prevent bank erosion) ■ Burring (melting…

I’VE BEEN IN THIS BUSINESS FOR MORE than half a lifetime; when I set out, Margaret Thatcher was still living at No. 10 - that’s how many Prime Ministers ago? I hesitate to count them because the number might easily change between me writing this column and publication day. Over that time the political hues may have altered a great deal, but fly-fishing has remained remarkably unchanged. Yes, the kit may have become whizzier and our destinations more exotic, but we still do essentially the same thing in the same manner as our forebears. Excepting one thing: catch-and-release. The change has been gradual. In the early days of my company, Fishing Breaks, catch-and-release was far from being the norm. There was little demand for catch-and-release generally and compulsory catch-and-release beats…

LIKE MANY ANGLERS of my generation I first got to know Bob through his regular column in Angling Times. It was a must-read for a 13-year-old who had begun trout fishing at Eyebrook Reservoir. I was inspired by Bob’s tales of epic battles with big silver rainbow trout, ones that with a flick of their tail could strip your reel of its backing. Having been tying flies to earn money while still at school, and after persuading the great Richard Walker to be a customer, I decided to contact Bob. In that first phone call, spurred on by the arrogance of youth, I told Bob that the flies he was selling were not very good. This conversation could have gone one of two ways. I was 16 and he was…

FOR FOUR YEARS, PETER Hayes, author of Fly Fishing Outside The Box, and I have spent our fishing time experimenting and recording our results. One interesting experiment took place on the River Till, a winterbourne tributary of the Wiltshire Wylye. It is a strange stream, full of fish while the water level is high, but large sections of it dry up and disappear in high summer. The Till holds good brown trout, though they were not in evidence as we crept along behind backside vegetation carefully checking the river with our polarising glasses. Failing to find more than modest trout, we headed upstream to a pool where grayling frequently hold. Peering over the bankside bushes we spotted a shoal of more than ten grayling, some of them large fish, holding…

FAMOUS FOR A spectacular gorge, privacy and stunning, hard-fighting spring and summer salmon THE FINDHORN flows through the north-east of Scotland into the Moray Firth. The river is medium sized and has excellent runs of salmon and grilse on all beats with the lower reaches offering good sport for sea-trout. Spring fishing Cold snowmelt water from the Monadhliath Mountains keeps early spring fish bottle-necked in the lower beats, which are fished by Moray Estates, Altyre Estate and The Forres Angling Association. All the beats above have to wait for the water temperature to rise above 42 deg F to allow the fish to ascend the Poolie Falls at Sluie. Therefore, given a long cold winter with good snowfall, the prospects of catching early spring fish can be excellent on these…

FAMOUS FOR Good numbers of sea-trout, some into high double-figures THE DOVEY, or Dyfi, is possibly the best of the Welsh sewin (sea-trout) rivers. It is known for producing a remarkable number of big fish. The river rises in southern Snowdonia and meets the sea in Cardigan Bay at Aberdovey, flowing through beautiful Welsh countryside. As befits a premier fishery, it can be difficult to get day tickets. Salmon While the Dovey is primarily known for its sea-trout, the river also has a good run of salmon. The back-end is the prime time, but day and week permits are hard to come by from September to the end of the season in October. August therefore offers the best chance for the visiting salmon angler when double-figure salmon regularly appear…

FAMOUS FOR Huge runs of grilse ALTHOUGH THE Blackwater has been a close contender in recent years, the Moy system is still Ireland’s most productive salmon fishery. It is a large watershed, extending from the Ox Mountains in the east to Castlebar in the south, and it drains both Lough Conn and Lough Cullin. It is famous for its salmon and grilse runs. Salmon There is a prolific grilse run that in a normal year begins in June, peaks in July and continues through August. When conditions are right, more than 1,000 fish can be caught on the river in a week. There’s good news regarding the spring salmon, too, as the numbers seem to have increased in the past few seasons. The way fishing is organised on the Moy…

Evolution, not revolution It’s always exciting when a new flagship product arrives in the office. Will it live up to expectations? What struck us first about Grey’s GX1000 fly reel was that its industrial-looking design has been achieved by complex CNC machining. The more time it takes to turn a reel, the more expensive it tends to be — but the GX1000 is reasonably affordable and it’s made with quality materials. There’s a lot of porting, reducing weight — even the line guard and reel seat are holed to shave off every fraction of an ounce — while the intricately designed struts and curved surfaces maintain rigidity. It’s built to last. The large-arbor spool — 4½in on the 8/9/10 model — has a V-shaped bed for extra capacity and reduced…

…and counting. That’s how many people have signed a petition addressed to the governments of Iceland, Norway, Scotland and Ireland calling for “a halt to the devastation of wild fish caused by open net salmon farms”. The extraordinarily successful petition “Stop Europe’s Dirty Fish Farms” was set up by Patagonia in support of its hard-hitting film Artifishal, a documentary that exposes the threat posed by aquaculture. The film has been screened throughout Europe where Patagonia says audiences have been “overwhelmingly younger, environmentally active … and non fishing”. Patagonia says the film’s total reach on social media was 12 million people. The petition was presented by Patagonia and Salmon & Trout Conservation to the Scottish Parliament in September.…

Releasing a salmon quickly and preserving the memory with a photograph can be tricky. Follow these guidelines to make sure your fish has the best chance of survival. Before fishing a pool, identify where you can land the fish safely. Somewhere without sharp rocks or grit, which can harm the fish’s protective mucous and scales. Play and land fish quickly to avoid exhausting them. Using a net is preferable and keep the fish in the water at all times. Do not drag it up the bank. Use a net with fish-friendly small mesh. Never lift the fish by its tail or gills. Ensure your hands are wet. Use long-nosed forceps to remove the hook quickly and minimise contact with the fish. If a fish is deeply hooked, near its gills,…

NOVEMBER 6-7 Introducing the Feather Bender: Barry Ord Clarke Fly-tying demonstration and book launch at Orvis Regent Street (6th) and Orvis Stockbridge (7th). Time: 3pm-7pm. NOVEMBER 7 North Atlantic Salmon Fund Auction More than 100 lots from flies to River Alta days. Oslo dinner and global phone bidding: 6-10pm. reddvillaksen.no and villaksauksjonen.hooked.no NOVEMBER 9-10 Irish Fly Fair & Angling Show Galway Bay Hotel, Upper Salthill, Galway. irishflyfair.com DECEMBER 11-12 Owned by Everyone Two-day salmon conference at Pembroke College, Cambridge, inspired by poet Ted Hughes. Contributions from storytellers, scientists, anglers, conservationists, anthropologists and more. yearofthesalmon.org…

YOU SHOULDN’T PINE OVER A LOST fish, but you do, especially after you lose it at the end of a tough week when you’ve begun to doubt yourself and the nearest you’ve had to a take is one of those teasing trout that fool you as they tighten the line and, for all of a second, you think you’re in. But this one wasn’t a trout, nor was it a grilse or one of those solid 12-pounders that give you the run around. The hardest part is the not knowing, but I had a glimpse of the tail and knew it had size. It was one of those that, for a while, until you come to your senses, grows in your imagination as much as the memory of what you…

The effectiveness of using flies with slight differences may explain the success of flies with so-called trigger points. The value of trigger points is often overstated. Bright beads, reflective or fluorescent materials and small spots of vivid colour are probably not imitating any characteristics of a fish’s natural prey. But they may make your fly look sufficiently different to flies previously encountered by the fish for them to regard the fly not as a threat but as food. The development of competition nymph patterns supports this idea. There are a multitude of competition patterns that are non-imitative or only roughly imitative of naturals but differ sufficiently from flies well presented to the trout by highly competent anglers who may have fished the water only hours before you.…

Andy Bowman marks your card for the Leven Tickets: All in all, the amount of fishing available to the LLAIA season ticket-holder is astonishing. Three salmon and sea-trout rivers, mighty Loch Lomond and miles and miles of saltwater in which to hunt sea-trout. I struggle to think of another system in the UK that offers so much fishing for so little money. Based on an eight-and-a-half-month season (February 11-October 31), it’s approximately £1 per day. Yes, one pound for salmon, trout and sea-trout per day. If you can’t beat that, join them! Find membership details at lochlomondangling.com Tackle: The trick on the Leven is to intercept running fish as they temporarily rest on their short journey. Most of the time a floating line with a selection of poly-tips is all…

SALMON CONSERVATION In England, catch-and-release (C&R) is mandatory up to June 16 and voluntary thereafter, but the Environment Agency is seeking 90% C&R on Probably At Risk rivers in 2020 or it may impose mandatory C&R in 2021. A few rivers, classed as At Risk or Recovering, are already C&R all year. Check river status at gov.uk (search: National rod fishing byelaws for England). In Wales in 2020, all rod-caught salmon must be released. In Scotland, no salmon can be killed before April 1 anywhere. Thereafter, salmon rivers are categorised 1, 2 or 3. Salmon may legally be killed in category 1 and 2 rivers. C&R is promoted in category 2 rivers and is mandatory in category 3. However, further local bylaws and policies may apply (notably extending spring C&R until…

Highlands FAMOUS FOR Classic spate-river salmon fishing, stunning views and celebrated loch trout SUTHERLAND IS blessed with thousands of trout-filled lochs and lochans as well as wonderful rivers and estuaries home to migrating salmon and sea-trout. It is so diverse that it is difficult for an angler to know where to start. To the west, the landscape is topped by majestic mountains with a rugged coastline and countless lochs and rivers; sandy beaches and forestry are highlights of the  north; while central Sutherland offers vast open skies where the famous rivers of the Kyle of Sutherland (Carron, Shin, Oykel and Cassley) flow from high moorland to mingle at Bonar Bridge and course onward into the Moray Firth. Salmon and sea-trout Small and medium-sized spate rivers are the bread and butter…

FAMOUS FOR Boat fishing, huge salmon and how big it is THE LONGEST RIVER in Scotland, the Tay's mighty flows are bolstered by a number of important tributaries, many of which are excellent salmon fisheries in their own right, such as the Earn, Isla, Ericht, Tummel, Garry, Dochart and Lyon. The Tay is also the first of Scotland’s famous four salmon rivers to open, on January 15. Fresh salmon will enter the river every month of the year, making the Tay a popular early-season destination for anglers in search of an elusive springer. Salmon The chances of connecting with a bright bar of silver increase as the weather warms and the season moves into spring and early summer. Early season fishing on Tayside starts at around £30 a day, and…

FAMOUS FOR Being the best wild brown trout river in England WITH RUNS of spring, summer and autumn salmon, excellent wild brown trout stocks and a good run of summer sea-trout, the River Eden is one of England’s finest game-fishing rivers. For the winter rod, its good head of grayling — with plenty of fish over 1lb — provides great sport in the colder months. Salmon The early days of the season give the salmon angler a really good chance of a prized Eden springer, some reaching 20lb or over. Given the right conditions, springers can be caught from opening day on January 15, building to April and May. In recent years the spring run on the Eden has been good, and with a day’s fishing starting from £25 it…

FAMOUS FOR Big spring salmon — fish of 20lb-30lb are common THE WYE, or Gwy, forms part of the border between England and Wales. Indeed, most of its lower reaches flow through England — though it is “born” in Wales, on Plynlimon mountain. It is also the fifth-longest river in the UK, flowing into the Severn Estuary. The Wye also has a number of significant tributaries that are great fisheries in their own right, such as the Irfon, Ithon, Monnow, Lugg and Arrow. Salmon The Wye is a rare thing in salmon fishing in that it retains a good run of large spring salmon. Fish of 20lb are regularly caught in the early months of the season, fish of 30lb occasionally show up in the catch returns, and in recent…

FAMOUS FOR Mayfly and daphnia sport over craggy skerries, and island lunches LOUGH MASK is the wilder and lesser-known neighbour of the famous Lough Corrib, but for all that it is no less productive and is rightly considered one of the great loughs of Ireland. The 20,500-acre lake holds very good stocks of wild brown trout, though it is deeper and more exposed than Corrib so weather can be an important factor in determining success. Brown trout The primary quarry of the Mask angler is the hard-fighting brown trout. This is an entirely wild fishery with no stocking. The hatches may not be as prolific as Corrib, but they are steady and follow a similar pattern. Fishing begins in March with duckfly, which continues to May when mayfly appear and…

In 2018, my wife was due to fly to Inverness airport to join me for my brother’s significant birthday party. Before her arrival I had arranged ten days of trout fishing in Sutherland and Caithness. While packing her gear, I suggested that gaiters were necessary in case there were adders about, even though it was probably 30 years since I had come across one. My brother and I fished in the Achiltibhuie area for a few days and on a trek from the campsite to the village passing various lochs, including Vatachan, I spotted an adder curled up a few feet in front of me. I scrambled for my mobile phone to get a picture but within seconds it was gone. Rats! I had missed the chance to show confirmation…

CZECH NYMPHING, as it became known, emerged in the UK during the 1990 World Fly Fishing Championship on the Welsh Dee. The tactic of fishing teams of heavily weighted nymphs and bugs at short range was followed by the French method of using long fine leaders, fished at medium range. The secret weapon for both methods was a long and sensitive rod, capable of keeping line off the water and in direct contact with drifting flies. Because there’s no real casting involved, just the flicking or flipping of a long nylon leader and weighted flies upstream, line rating is less important than other criteria when choosing a rod for what has commonly and collectively become known as Euro nymphing. WEIGHT AND BALANCE are very important when raising the rod at…

Spey mansion with opportunity for holiday lets What can you get for £2 million and change? In the heart of whisky country in Moray, on the east bank of the lower River Spey, is the Cairnty Estate, a central feature of which is a contemporary house built in the Georgian style. Rothes is three miles, Fochabers is five and Elgin 12. It is situated in a superb position overlooking the river. The house was completed in 2012 and provides three reception rooms, a study, office, kitchen with breakfast area, master bedroom with dressing room and ensuite bathroom and a further seven more bedrooms of which two have ensuite and four other bath or shower rooms. Outside are terrace, extensive lawns, parkland with an ornamental pond, workshop with rod room, kennel,…

Holylee, River Tweed This beat lies one mile east of Walkerburn and is easily reached via the A72, the main Peebles to Galashiels road. It is most attractive with one and a half miles of fishing. There are nine pools: Bar Stream, Bar, Willows, Avenue, Kaimknowe, Scrogbank, Birkie, Cootstone and Stump. It is all bank fishing or wading with some interfering trees, therefore the ability to roll or spey cast is an advantage. There is one gillie provided to look after the four rods allowed to fish. He will meet you each morning, and advise you throughout the day. There is a hut and access to the beat is from the car park off the main road. Day tickets for salmon start from £50 plus vat. Contact: Tom Carter, FishPal.…

IT OCCURS TO ME THAT IN ALL THE years that we have been having these conversations I can’t recall us ever having discussed wading. Which, given that wading tends to be something that we actually do before the fishing has ever begun, seems a bit of an oversight. Many of you will say, of course, that there is really nothing to be said about wading. “There is nothing to be said about wading!” I hear you cry over the ether. “We no more need a discussion about wading than we need to be taught how to suck eggs!” And I dare say that is true for many, or even most, of you but — and it is a big but — what about those for whom wading is a mystery?…

This extraordinary rock ramp was officially opened on the River Almond at Livingstone, West Lothian in September. The 85m-long “staircase” has pools and low-flow channels that will enable salmon, trout and lamprey to pass a major weir and reach spawning grounds in the upper reaches for the first time in almost 200 years. Some 9,000 tons of rock were placed over a three-month period. Howden Weir was originally built to power a mill that made wrapping paper. Notable clubs on the Almond that may benefit include Cramond AC (day and season permits) and West Lothian AA (annual memberships).…

NO. 16 RODERICK HAIG-BROWN (1908-1976) Wessex chalkstreams through a lifetime of fishing the steelhead rivers of British Columbia. It is my favourite. The list below are all really good reads, but if you can only afford one, make it A River Never Sleeps. First editions in dust-wrappers can be scarce and expensive, but many of Roderick Haig-Brown’s books have been reprinted and can be bought inexpensively. I have made a habit of asking people about their “Desert Island Books”. There are a small number of names that crop up again and again: Negley Farson; Harry Plunket Greene; Justice Kingsmill Moore; but the one that is everyone’s favourite is Roderick Haig-Brown, author of the marvellously evocative A River Never Sleeps. Haig-Brown grew up in the English countryside but as a…

Permits Brampton AA controls a substantial stretch of the Gelt. A day-ticket costs £7.50, yet a full week will set you back only £16.50. Excellent value for money. Buy permits from Brampton Post Office on weekdays. Tel: 01697 72301. At weekends, contact Steven Marks. Tel: 01697 72359. Web: bramptonangling.co.uk Where to stay The Blacksmith’s Arms, Talkin Village, Brampton, Cumbria CA8 1LE. Tel: 01697 73452. Web: blacksmithstalkin.co.uk Howard Arms Hotel, Front Street, Brampton, Cumbria CA8 1NG. Tel: 01697 742 758. Web: howardarmshotelbrampton.co.uk Oval House B&B, Main Street, Brampton, Cumbria CA8 1RS. Tel: 01697 72106. Web: ovalhousebedandbreakfast.co.uk…

I FIRST CAME ACROSS JOHN Kennedy in September 1983 when I went on a fishing trip to South Uist. Immediately on my arrival I had the great pleasure of watching him catch a succession of specimen sea-trout in one drift of Loch Roag. John was already well known as a brilliant fly-fisherman; he had just published his classic book on brown trout fishing in the Uists: 70 Lochs — A Guide to Trout Fishing in South Uist. It was also at around this time that his tour of duty, as a captain in the Army stationed in Benbecula, came to an end and he was posted to the Falklands as captain quartermaster in the Royal Corps of Transport, which oversaw the installation of the floating coastels used for temporary accommodation…

HUMPHRY DAVY was born in Penzance, Cornwall, on December 17, 1778. Much of what we know about his early life is set out in Memoirs of the Life of Sir Humphry Davy, written by his younger brother, John Davy MD FRS, in 1836. For at least 200 years before Humphry’s birth, his father Robert’s family had resided in Ludgvan at Mount’s Bay in Cornwall. On their tombstones in the parish churchyard the terms yeoman and gentleman are used to describe them. Humphry’s mother, Grace Millett, was also from old Cornish stock. Born in 1752, she was just 14 when she married Robert Davy. Robert had expected an inheritance from his uncle, but the money went to a cousin. This left Robert with just sufficient to farm, which sometimes made money,…

Q I don’t find grayling easy to catch. Can you give me a few tips that will improve my confidence when fishing at short range? Bartholomew Jones, by e-mail A I understand how you feel. For such an obliging and sometimes easily caught fish the grayling’s moods combined with unhelpful river heights can make winter fishing a frustrating experience. Winter grayling fishing used to involve trotting a worm under a float. This changed in the mid-1990s when word of the success of Eastern European teams at the World Championships in Wales spread throughout the UK. Their technique, originally termed Polish nymphing (or the rolled nymph) involved roll-casting a short line with two quite heavy nymphs on the leader. By the time I experimented with the method, it was called Czech…

FAMOUS FOR The most prolific salmon runs in Scotland, remarkable sea-trout fishing and huge trout and grayling FOR A long time, few would have disputed the reputation of the Tweed as Britain’s best salmon fishery. In recent years, there has been a fall in the number of salmon returning to the beats, particularly towards the back-end of the season. However, it remains one of the most productive rivers in Scotland. Salmon Early season usually offers the best value for money, and the Tweed offers a good chance of a fly-caught springer. Similar to the Tay, fresh fish enter the river throughout the year. Towards May the number of fish grows and water height plays a vital role in determining whether the middle or lower river will have the best sport.…

FAMOUS FOR Its unmatched number of hatches, fishing methods and specimen brown trout and ferox PROBABLY THE most famous fishery in Ireland, and certainly its greatest limestone lough, Corrib has been attracting anglers to the Emerald Isle since Victorian times. At a staggering 44,000 acres it is the largest lake in the Republic — a vast expanse that’s characterised by sheltered bays, rocky shores and a huge number of islands. Salmon Although it’s notable for its trout fishing, Lough Corrib receives a considerable run of salmon. The River Corrib, which flows out of the lough, is home to the famous Galway Weir salmon fishery. Every year, thousands of salmon head for spawning grounds in the Clare and Cong rivers, which can give visiting anglers tremendous sport from May onwards. Many…

Anger unabated in Wales I read with great interest your excellent Editor’s Letter (Autumn). You totally encapsulated the feelings of river anglers in Wales. I used to chair fisheries in south-west Wales for the Environment Agency and the National Rivers Authority. I also sat on the Salmon & Trout Association committee at Fishmongers’ Hall. I fished with a worm at three, but at seven my father said it was time to use a fly; now, approaching 82 years, I realise how fantastically lucky I have been. I am appalled by Natural Resources Wales’s attitude to the rivers in Wales and its lack of grass-roots knowledge. We, local anglers, are well aware of the needs of our rivers. With fewer anglers in the future, and few bailiffs, the predators — humans,…

How ironic to read Billy Plummer’s frustration with Ronnie Glass referring to fishing in the past (Trout Surgery, October) when what I considered to be my bible as a boy of 14, G.P.R. Balfour-Kinnear’s A Boy Goes Trouting, was reviewed in the September issue. Rivercraft, keeping a low profile and fishing the margins first are a great example of what to do now, just as they were then. Billy has more tackle reviews, access to places to fish anywhere in the UK, access to first-class flies tied on top-quality hooks, information on rivers and where to get permits than we ever did. Word of mouth from someone who had fished a certain river is all we had. We used the same casts (leaders) week after week when we were kids.…

England & Wales BORDER ESK THE Esk catchment experienced plenty of wet weather since my last report and the river came away on a number of occasions. Anglers out on the river as levels began to fall and clear did well. Spinning tactics were the go-to methods in big waters. Fish were caught in numbers on the river. The Burnfoot Beat below Longtown has had another good season with catches of salmon made on a regular basis. Total number of salmon caught to September 19 was 144 plus 141 sea-trout. Several around and over 20lb have been caught so far this season. The Willow Pool fishing produced some good sport during late August and September. Richard Booth landed a 14lb 8oz salmon spinning and Ian Hampson caught a 10lb salmon…

Dalswinton, River Nith The Dalswinton Estate, seven miles north of Dumfries, has more than two miles of single-bank fishing. It is a particularly attractive stretch of the river and in recent years has benefited from good sea-trout returns in the spring and late summer. In the autumn, the river is known for its runs of famous greyback salmon. The Malloch Trophy-winning 34lb fish was caught here in 2011. Dalswinton has a variety of pools for sport in low and high water. To make the most of the fishing, anglers should be prepared to adapt their tactics. Day tickets for salmon start from £20. Contact: Tom Carter, FishPal. Tel: 01573 470 612. Buy online: fishpal.com/Scotland/Nith/Dalswinton…