Good evening all
Spey Board report that despite dangerously low water levels, SSE continues to abstract water from the Spey. How can this continue whilst the ecological system of the River Spey is starved of water?
The Spey Board also reports that one the new water monitoring sensors, bought from the proceeds of the Spey Auction was deployed at Easter Elchies this week. Dissolved oxygen (RDO) was only 10.08 to 10.1 and the healthy range for salmonids is 9-14. So we are very much at the bottom end of the range, where fish can become stressed.
The counrtyside continues to head into the next part of summer, crops continue to ripen as the 2026 harvest for most farmers comes closer but it has alreayd begun in other parts of the country. However the ongoign dry weather has resulted in some areas of the UK declaring drought conditions which has a knock on effect to what is harvested. Some crops have had to take a back seat due to the inability to watwer them so we may see reduced potato crops and other root evgetables later this year.
Of course the big ongoing talking point in the local area is the devastating wildfire that continues to burn in the upper reaches of the Spey Valley. This has destroyed a huge part of the countryside and its not out yet. The fire situation took a drastic turn on Saturday with changing winds resutling in the evacuation of Nethy Bridge, Thankfully the damp overnight conditions have settled this down and the residents were allowed back to their homes. Ariel suupport eventually arrived to try and bring things under more control and I am lead to believe that 2 choppers have been involved today in the continued water bombing of areas.
Some support seems to have come well into the situation, rather than earlier when more control could have been exercised and today I hear that Military support has been requested, but in my opinion this should have happened days ago to give those on the ground a fighting chance of bringing this blaze under total control.
I can only but pay tribute to the Scottish Fire Service, Gamekeepers, Local residents, contractors and whoever else has been fighting this fire for days- Your courage and determination is very much admired and I hope I am not the only one who feels this.
Indeed Spey Board Operations Manager, Duncan Ferguson was displaced from his home as a result fo the fire, thankfully he is now back at home but he has been out for a considerable period helping on the front line- many thanks for your efforts Duncan.
Once again Loop Tackle are supporting us by way of a generous prize each during the season for the weekly Report. The week one of their G5 Reels is up for grabs in any size that the winner chooses. These are pretty bombproof reels, having one myself and the drag shystem can hold fish comfortably.
Right lets see how the fishing has been on the river.
Starting at Castle Grant where Simon Crozier reports this week we had the Lionel Main fishing course at Castle Grant. This was the third time that the course held in Lionel’s memory has been run at Castle Grant.
The students, 8 of them, 5 boys and 3 girls ranging from 14 zo 17 yrs of age came from all over Scotland and as far afield as Canada! With two students and their teacher joined us from New Brunswick .
The course was a great success with the students learning all aspects of both angling for salmon , ghillieing, entomology, casting and much more .
They all left with an SQA qualification that will be of use to them should they chose to pursue a career in the field.
As well as casting instruction we of course also did a lot of fishing ! And we got fish !
Fishing across our beats the students had 9 seatrout to 5 pounds and 3 grilse ! A great return giving the challenging conditions .
It was a really fun week for Ghillies, instructors and students alike and was great to see so many youngsters invested in and enjoying and learning about our great sport and industry.
At the end of the week there is a cup awarded to the student who has shown the most improvement during the week , the students had a varied degree of casting ability and fishing experience when they arrived but I think they all left with an improved knowledge and technique .
This years winner of the Lionel Main trophy which was awarded by Lionel’s daughter Louise was Holly Stewart , a local lass from inchberry and a member of Fochabers angling club .
Well done to Holly and all the other students for a truly memorable week.
Thanks to All involved .
Siiping downstream to Lower Pitchroy where Andrew Hall advises like most of the river, this week was a struggle. We managed to get one solitary fish of around 10lb which was caught on Tuesday evening by young Jamie Hurrel. It wasn’t Jamie’s first fish but I believe it was his biggest so far and he managed to beat his dad (not that it’s a competition) so he was a very happy young man. Let’s hope next week Is better.
My next stop is to see Archie Baillie at Knockando, who reports that it was a week of two halfs for us. After hooking, playing and oosing five fish from Monday to Wednesday. Our luck finally changed on Thursday evening when William Simmons finally got us off the mark with a fresh grilse from the Draw of Vrennan. Not to be out done his brother Alastair Simmons managed a fresh grilse from the Neck of Vrennan on Friday morning. Alastair followed this with an 11lb salmon on Friday night from the Draw of Vrennan. On Saturday morning the biggest cheer of the week went to David Holt who, after loosing one or two at the start of the week finally managed to land a fresh grilse from Craigsteele
On to Carron next where Neil Borthwick reports that they had 2 fish at Carron this week, both landed on Tuesday. Les Tyson had one in the morning out of Big Griggle & David Tisdale had one in the afternoon out of Doctors Stream.
Delagyle also got in on the fish front this week advises David Smillie but it was just One grilse for the week Charlie Rafferty from Pol Mac.
Wester Elchies also mamnaged a fish this week reports Malcolm Newbould with Joe Dewhirst landing one in Pol Shaun.
At Macallan things are not much better reports Richard Whyteas they had no guests this week. My usual guest this week sadly passed away a few weeks ago.
I had a grilse yesterday and a sea trout late on last night and Atticus the board biologist had a good brown trout around 3lb.
Down to Easter Elchies next where Orn Sigurhansson reports a week of low water and some pods of fresh summer salmon. The beat was rested for the first half of the week, and only limited fishing towards the end of the week. The young team again on the score sheet with James Robertson and Finlay Smith both landing fish from Red Craigs. Cooler weather forecast next week, which is welcomed.
Slipping down to Arndilly next to see Euan Reid, who reports that this week we welcomed March Hollingbery and her team to Arndilly. The low water continues and it is now getting very close to last year’s lows. Good overhead conditions kept us dreaming and the team worked really hard to get to 5 for the week which is respectable given the season we are having.
Joe Sansom got us started on Monday morning with a grilse from the tail of the Long Pool. On Tuesday Octavia Cooper had a lovely 14.5lb sea liced fish from the right bank of the Cobble Pot.
We then had to wait until Friday and Marina Carrick had a lovely grilse from the same spot as Octavia. Rufus Wallace had a grilse from the left bank of Cobble Pot on Saturday, ably netted by Rowan.
So not a record breaking July week for Arndilly but we had a lot of fun among a lovely bunch of people.
Rothes and Aikenway ghillie Robbie Stronach is my next port of call where he advises that they landed three for the week. David Harvey was the lucky fisher with one from Town Road, Long Pool and Geantree. Lost a few as well.
At Delfur, Mark Melville gets a week off from reporting in, party host David Wood reports that the party enjoyed another lovely week in Strathspey this week. Overhead conditions were for the most part very good although the water temperature remained stubbornly warm. In terms of catches, the most productive day was Wednesday with four fish and we (narrowly) avoided a blank on each of the other days. The fish caught were predominately fresh grilse, with one or two summer salmon for good measure.
The ladies topped the charts this week, catching more than half of the fish. No first fish this year, but Heidi Stewart caught her first ever Scottish and Spey salmon. Oliver Brant (11) came down to Delfur from Ballindalloch for a cast one evening and managed to catch a beautiful 10 pounder.
Many thanks to Mark Melville, Grant Morrison, Davie McIntosh, Mike and Alec Robertson for their positivity, patience, stories and amazing help during the week. It is a unique or virtually unique feature of fishing at Delfur in the summer that if the afternoons are hot and bright, the ghillieing team will return and look after the rods late into the evening. This requires huge commitment but adds immeasurably to the experience, both in terms of optimising the fishing chances, but also regarding spotting and identifying the birds and wildlife which appear along the river bank late into the evening when the heat of the day has evaporated. We saw otters, pine martens, ospreys and young ospreys, peregrine falcons, roe does and bucks as well as red deer and many other birds. Some of the party had a game of golf or two on the hotter afternoons. Speyside has some beautiful golf courses and Grantown, Rothes, Ballindalloch and Spey Bay golf courses were all in very good condition considering the drought and all make visitors very welcome. The whole team is very much looking forward to heading north to the Spey next year.
My penultimate stop this week is to see Andy Gunn at Orton who reports of another week of exceptionally low water. According to the SEPA gauge at Boat o’ Brig, the river has now reached its lowest recorded level since the station opened in 1952.
Despite the challenging conditions, 14-year-old George Randall enjoyed a memorable Monday morning, landing his first-ever salmon—a fresh sea liced fish of around 6 lb from the Turn. Just an hour later, George added a grilse from the Junction to complete a fantastic double.
There was little further action until Thursday, when Jamie Phillips landed his first-ever Spey fish:- A 5 lb grilse from the Junction.
Matt Randall also completed a double on Friday morning, landing two grilse from the Turn.
Mark Everard caught the biggest fish of the week, an 8 lb salmon from the Turn.
Another grilse was landed on Saturday evening, bringing a quiet but encouraging week to a close despite the exceptionally low water.
My final stop is Lewis Webb at Gordon Castle/Brae Water where he reports of a more productive week with better overhead conditions and cooler water temperatures making life a bit more enjoyable for both anglers and fish. We caught a nice mix of grilse and salmon, with some proper barrels of grilse among them. The low, clear water still kept everyone on their toes, especially when the sun broke through, but the teams stuck at it and were rewarded with some good sport. It was also great to see a couple of first fish landed this week, no mean feat in what’s been a challenging season so far.
It was definitely a struggle agin this week with water levels and temperatures playing a bit part in the outcomes. The week ahead loloks as if they is some rain forecast, with TUesday possibly the wettest day. We can only but hope it rians enought o give us some fresh water and helps to extinguish the wildfire.
I am delighted to asdvise that this weeks winner oif the Loop G5 reel is Holly Stewart– congratulations and I will be in touch to see which model of reel you would like.
Tight lines if you are out and about this week.
Sandy
