River Information 2014

Salmon and Sea-trout season-  11 February 2014 to 31 October inclusive.
Brown trout season  15 March to 6 October Inclusive.
 
CASTING INSTRUCTION
 
We can now offer tuition to anglers on a one to one or group basis from a fully qualified instructor.
 
Learn to Spey cast, cover that spot where fish are -but is always just out of reach or just brush up on your skills.
We can arrange it for you or if your beat gillie has no objections it can be done on your beat at a time to suit you.
Please ring Frank on 01888 562428 to book a slot- it will improve your "luck"

We can also provide shooting instruction for both rifle and shotgun- again from a fully qualified instructor- again contact us if interested.
We have some interesting developments in this area so keep looking back for the exciting news -hopefully around March/April time.

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Update 7 November 2014

The last week of the season was a bit of a non starter. Levels were great at around plus six inches- but the water temperature was over 10 degrees and what little fish you saw in the pools were simply not interested.

Most beats were being fished by owners guests but those that were let connected with very few fish. My effort for the three days I fished was a sea-trout of just over 1lb and fresh. In fact better than what I had in June and July. In keeping with all other Rivers we are well down on numbers . It will be into spring next year before we see the final tally but it will struggle to break 1000 in my opinion. Well down on the 3500 that is the 10 year average.

Update 25 October 2014

This last week has been as poor as the end of the previous week.  Week ending 18 Oct indeed saw the better beats land mid teens in numbers and indeed one beat landed 29- an exceptional result- and given that 14 of those fell to an angler that had never caught a salmon before the Monday morning. For most beats the action slowed right down from Wednesday onwards.

This has continued this week with many beats struggling to get on the score sheet – even those that had numbers last week. Avochie landed three early week to 9lb- again all to one rod with the others blanking. Middle beats saw a few mainly stale fish landed and lower beats struggled to get off the mark. Again beats below Turriff saw a few long tailed sea-lice fish and one beat was well into double figures on the fly.

Week 27 October sees the last 5 days of fishing for 2014. We have rods at Turriff , Upper Netherdale ,Castle Water (Mon/Tues only) and Dunlugas. Please give us a call if you want a day out.

Update 20 October 2014

Levels hovered around 1 foot 3 inches all week as they fell to 1 foot 1 inch on Thursday they went up a couple of inches on Friday. Beats below Turriff had a decent week with most around the 15 mark with fish from 5-20+ pounds reported- some of them sea-liced. Lower beats struggled a bit and above Turriff I know of one beat with high teens in numbers but others struggled to see fish let alone catch many.

Levels this week are still around the foot mark and really look spot on. Lets hope we get a few more fish. We have some availability this week at Castle Water Huntly and Lower Netherdale.

Next week we have only 5 days and fishing is available at Dunlugas and  Upper Netherdale on a daily ticket basis.

Update 15 October 2014

The last few days of September and the first few days of October turned out to be another rather slow week with little fish caught. One lower beat seemed to buck the trend and reported 12 for the week whilst others never got off the starting blocks. Kinnairdy reported a 25.5lb fish to Mike Judge on a yellow cascade .

Week of October 6 saw a couple of fish at 16 and 18lb off a lower beat and Castle Water Huntly reported two grilse. Montcoffer reported fish at 15.5 and 17lb and most beats had some luck on the Monday.

Tuesday saw the river rising first thing and it was dirty. By Wednesday this had peaked between 12 and 15 foot above normal. It dropped on Thursday to just under 4 feet and was very dirty below the Isla. In fact the Isla was very close to the height seen in the spate of 2009. However Castle Water Huntly reported  2 grilse, Marnoch Lodge had a salmon, Sea-trout and Brown Trout and J Cole landed a 4lb grilse at Upper Netherdale. Friday saw levels down to 2 feet 10 inches  and Harry Mackie 11 yrs old landed a 12lb salmon down river. Indeed most beats despite loosing most of the week ended with around 7 for the week and Kinnairdy landed another fish at 23.5 lb.

Monday this week has seen some clean fish come off Mountblairy, Forglen, Avochie, Castle Water and Muiresk to 18lb and indeed Tuesday saw a 21 lb clean fish off Forglen as levels are now running at just over one foot here at Turriff. Conditions are as near perfect as you could wish for and most but not all beats are seeing and connecting with clean fish.

Marnoch lodge also report another fish at 22lb. Question is, as Kinnairdy and Marnoch share the same water on opposite banks and the salmon weight is off the measured length are these three fish the same one at 37-39 inches ? depending on the scale you use or is this bit of water full of “crocs” ?

Update 30 September 2014

Carrying on from my last update the river fell to 2 foot on September 9 and a few fish were reported off Netherdale and Lower Inverichnie had 2 at 14lb and one at 18lb to one angler. By the end of the week the highest reported catches were around 7 or 8 off beats and the largest reported at 20lb. Monday 15 September saw levels at 8 inches above normal and it held up fairly well all week. Again lower beats faired best with fish off to 25lb. Mountblairy reported 4 sea-liced fish on Wednesday but again around the 7 or 8 fish were the highest beat totals reported.

With levels around two inches above normal on Monday 22 September a few sea-liced fish were reported off Muiresk 8lb, Turriff 6lb, Avochie 5lb and Dunlugas reported 4 sea-liced grilse.
Muiresk landed 4 to 15lb and again lower beats reported around 6-8 for the week with another reporting 9.

As we kick off this week Monday 29 September has seen Montcoffer, Inverichnie, Eden Lower Netherdale and Laithers all report at least one salmon or grilse.
The river temperature is cooling but the air temp is still peaking at around 19-20 degrees c so the fish are on the bottom and need to be dredged out. Forecast is for cooler temperatures and perhaps some rain as we go forward into October.

Update 9 September 2014

For the end of week 25 August levels hovered around plus 6 inches. A reasonable week was had by most beats . Most were in double figures and Dunlugas reported a fish at 22lb. Mountblairy reported a great week with approaching 30 salmon and grilse. The river began to rise during Saturday and with rain on Saturday – very heavy in the catchment , the upper river went up over 2 feet during the night.

By Monday September 1st the river was down to 1 foot 4 inches. A few fresh salmon were caught around the 9lb mark but in general it was a slower week than the last few. Friday and Saturday saw a few more fish caught and the more productive beats ended the week just into double figures and a 10lb sea-trout was reported off the river as well. Sea-trout continue to be caught in reasonable numbers and The Castle Water at Huntly had one 6lb salmon and 9 sea-trout to one rod on Saturday.

With river levels reaching around 6 foot overnight Sunday the river opened around 4 and a half feet on Monday. It was very dirty and nearly unfishable. Today, Tuesday, it is down to two feet and although still very peaty there are a few fish coming off the middle beats- whilst others are bemoaning catching nothing.

Update 28 August 2014

The season continued to be non existent right up until August 8th. July continued to see water levels at least a foot below normal , the sun shone brightly- temperatures were in the mid 20 degree C and the river temperature got dangerously close to causing problems for the fish. There were next to no fish caught in the river. Sea-trout were still moving up stream and a few continued to be caught on upper beats.

Hurricane Bertha came through on the weekend of 9/10 August and the rain left us with a river opening at 9 feet above normal on Monday morning rising to around thirteen and a half feet. By Tuesday we were down to 6ft  and Wednesday saw two feet  4 inches and fishing got underway. Levels began to rise again during the day but fish seemed to have been washed down river and as they moved up again some middle to higher beats caught a few to 12lb but very few fresh fish came off. Thursday saw levels up at three and a half feet and fish again came off to the spinner to 15lb. Friday saw levels at 2 foot 4 inches and again very few fresh fish came off but upper beats were still landing sea-trout. Saturday saw a few fresh grilse come off the lower river and sea-trout still off the upper river. Rain again saw levels up on Monday August 18 at three feet three inches rising through the day to four and a half feet. Tuesday saw levels at 3 feet 11 inches and Fish came off many beats.

By now some upper beats were now reporting excellent numbers of sea-trout with the Castle Water Huntly recording their best numbers in ten years. Levels fluctuated all week between three feet and two feet which kept unsettling things but salmon continued to come off the river with many beats taking between 6 and 20 for the week with many between 10 and 15lb.

This Monday August 25 levels opened at 1 foot three inches and salmon seem to be fairly well spread throughout the river. Upper beats are catching mainly stale fish but lower beats are catching clean fish to 18lb but not many are sea-liced.
So overall an improvement but still nowhere near where it should be for this time of year. There is a lack of fish just like everywhere else – however some grilse have arrived up north this last week so fingers crossed they arrive here soon. It would not be the first year grilse have arrived in September. We have also lacked any Mackerel but they arrived this week to some coastal areas as well so things look late in general.

Now that we have some fish and prospects are looking brighter- we do have fishing available right up until the  end of the Season. Rods are available at Castle Water Huntly- both Lower and upper beats, Avochie,Marnoch Lodge, Upper Netherdale, Turriff, Mountblairy and Montcoffer. Some of these have accommodation available, and some you must take the accommodation but others have rods on their own. If you are looking for anything from now please get in touch. We are also starting to look at bookings for next year so again call for details.

If you follow us on twitter the fishing news will be updated nearly every day and on facebook you will get all the shop updates on any new lines in stock- such as the Zoli game gun 12g shotgun along with new season shooting equipment as it arrives. Our Wednesday pm clay shoots are now finished for the year but we will have one every third Sunday during the winter – next date 21 Sept again ring for details. Lessons and gun fitting can still be arranged with our instructor and these will carry on at any time .

Update 15 July 2014

Unfortunately the “lack of a season” continues. We have very little salmon but we do have a few sea-trout. Not enough to make a decent fist of it but a bit more than last year. Things are so bad we have no seals or Dolphins in the estuary or immediate area- so we cannot put blame their direction .

We had a couple of salmon in the middle of June around 6lb and then the last reported “fresh” salmon fell to Liz Slater at 9lb. her first salmon in 40 years. (she mainly fishes all night for sea-trout in her two weeks every year).
Most beats are picking up a few sea-trout to 7.5lb and these are spread out right through the river. A few grilse around 3-4lb in weight  entered the river in early July – but I do not think numbers reported reached more than eight or nine.
River levels are below bare bones and even a rise of 4-6 inches last Monday July 7 did nothing to help fish numbers. Then in any case it was gone within 2 days. Water temperature on Sunday July 13 was 19 degrees C.  Any sea-trout or Brown trout caught were gasping for breath and needed some time for revival.

This week has started off a little cooler with cloud cover and a salmon was lost at Forglen and an 11lb salmon landed at Muiresk- both were fairly coloured.
All northern rivers are the same – low water and no fish. We can only wait and hope some fish arrive around Scotland’s coast sooner rather than later and that we get some water to allow them into the rivers.
If things improve I have fishing available with accommodation in August, September and October- please ring for details.

Update 17 June 2014

Doom and Gloom hangs over the river but at least the consolation is we are all the same- very few rivers are having an average time let alone a great time.

We should be well over 200 by now and we have not reached 50!!. The river levels remain low and despite a rise of 2.5 feet on 5 June to around 1.5 feet on the gauge the salmon have not appeared.
Locally we are hoping the severe floods in 2009 with many juvenile fish washed up and stranded in the fields is the cause. However summer runs of fish this year should be a different year class so things should improve from July onwards if the flooding is a factor. With less anglers out what fish did enter the system shot up the river and a few trout anglers well up the river were shocked to tangle with salmon. As we have watched levels drop away to at least 4 inches below summer level- those out have reported some sea-trout and amongst the best to date are some 5 lb fish . These last week were well spread out from below Turriff to Rothiemay . Salmon are in short supply but one at 6lb came off the Lower Castle Huntly beat. Again this week I have no salmon reported but sea-trout have been lost to the dedicated angler out all night.

Update 14 May 2014

We have seen some rise in levels since the 1st May. Friday 2 May saw levels up 3 inches and after heavy showers on Wednesday 7 May the river at Turriff showed plus 5 inches and with the torrential showers it was full of mud from just above Turriff to Banff. Above it stayed fairly clear. Thursday saw a fresh fish of 12lb come off Upper Netherdale and two old fish were reported at Mayen, Turriff reported another “old” fish at 15lb and a sea-trout on the Friday
Levels fluctuated between 3 and 5 inches until yesterday when they dropped away to around normal.

Obviously these small rises have done nothing to bring in fish and we now stand around a total of 23 off the whole river for the season so far. The number of anglers out this spring has been the worst for a long long time.
With fluctuating and very muddy rises in levels even the trout have gone off at the moment- so with regards to the fishing I really have no happy news at the moment. Dust off your single hander and go out after an early sea-trout.

Update 1 May 2014

Letting availability updated with the below lets.

Avochie week 29 September 6 rods plus flat or Avochie House.
 
Muiresk 7 July 3 Rods with River Cottage (sleeps 2-4) or Fishing Lodge ( sleeps 3- 6).

For a list of all current available lets, please click here.

Update 27 April 2014

Opening day saw the river at 1 foot 11 inches and running clear. It was cloudy overhead and air  temperature was around 2 degrees C. Unfortunately the weather forecast was correct and our opening ceremony saw rain and sleet in Turriff with a light covering of snow on higher ground. Catriona Shearer presented the Morison Trophy to Stuart Cockersoll for the heaviest salmon caught on Fly in 2013 and she then blessed the river before Stuart took the first cast.

The river fluctuated over the week and it was February 17 before the first fish came off. R Ewen landed the first fish at 6.5lb off Forglen and R Brown landed another at 6.5lb off Conniecleugh later in the day with the river at 2 foot 6 inches. The next fish saw R Brown land a fish of around 15lb on Wednesday February 26. This was followed up by J Fraser with a 7lb fish off L/Netherdale on March 1.
With levels at around 1 foot on Monday March 3 a 7lb fish came off Rothiemay. It was the following Monday before we saw a 7lb fish to G Slater at Laithers and R Mair saw one at 8lb on the Wednesday. Saturday March 15 saw J Fraser land another fish at Forglen of around 14lb.
 
R Cardno landed a fish of 8lb at Forglen on Wednesday 19 and Friday saw R Ewen with an 8lb salmon at Muiresk. Laithers and L/Netherdale landed a couple of fish on Tuesday 25 March and M Ashton landed a 6lb fish at Scatterty on Saturday March 29 and G Duglonski a 7lb off Eden at 7lb on Monday March 31. We have now dropped away to 3 to 6 inches below normal depending on what gauge you look at. In any case we are very low and absolutely gin clear. It has basically knocked salmon fishing on the head and it is the worst start to a salmon season in 10 years. Three salmon came off Glennie this week –
 
On a cheerful note the brown trout fishing has seen some great catches and we are challenging the Don as a premier destination for this magnificent fish in April and May with many fish caught between 3 and 5lb to the dry fly. Some heavy rain showers on Saturday 27 April has seen levels rise around one inch. Obviously not enough to cheer us up and again forecasts are not showing any great rain until the end of May. Hopefully as we live in Scotland – not known for too many droughts the rain will come.
We do have weeks still available for fishing right through until October so call us if you are looking for any fishing- or visit our availability page for some details.

Update 05 February 2014

Welcome to the 2014 Season