River Information 2006

Update 2 December 2006.

Hatchery news.

The Deveron Hatchery is now under new guidance and a large input is coming from experienced people who have run neighboring hatcheries for years. The electro -netting for brood stock took place as usual by the Spey Bailiffs and around 50 fish were taken. This has resulted in the laying down of around 350 000 eggs in the Hatchery.

Under the new regime the future looks bright and I spent a most enlightening day with these chaps.  I would like to appeal to all anglers who fish the river to donate a little money to the Trust, so as we can continue and indeed improve upon habitat restoration and counter any pollution or other potential problems that crop up . It is not expensive and a membership of ����25 per year is very little to ask to help preserve our wonderful river.

I will post this appeal as we get into next season again but in the mean time I have some packs to send out if anyone is interested please telephone me on 01888 562428 or e-mail me through this site and I will post out a pack.

Update 1 November 2006

Levels opened at 2 foot above normal. The water was a little peaty and the temperatures reached 16 degrees- it felt like summer.!! Turriff Anglers had around 5 fish - small skinny grilse - fresh and still running, Mountblairy reported a fish at 15 lb to go with one at 18lb caught on Saturday. A couple of clean fish also came off the same beat. Other beats struggled a good bit and wondered where all the fish were- up river I suspect out of harms way!!

The last day could not have been more of a contrast- Levels were at 1 foot 9 inches- however we had a howling northerly and wintry showers of hail and sleet!!- Winter has arrived. I spoke to many fishers who decided to stay indoors and of those that did venture out they did not catch much. Even the higher beats were a bit surprised at the lack of fish.

I will put some Trust and Hatchery news on here over the close season and there will be some new features on the site to look forward too for next season. Remember in the mean time that if you are looking for Christmas presents - we do mail order so do not forget about me and just buy from the big boys! the site costs money to run and  - I do not see them giving you Deveron reports !!!!!

Thank you for your custom this year and I look forward to being of service - in 2007.

Update 29 October 2006

Well the last week opened full of excitement and levels at 1 foot above normal. Clarity was very peaty and a struggle for the fly. However fish were caught and  Avochie posted 12 to three rods, Mountblairy 3 Forglen 5 and Scatterty 11. Tuesday saw levels at +9 inches but it howled a gale and rained all day. Avochie posted 8 and Scatterty 8 and Turriff Angling Club had a 10 lb sea-liced fish. Wednesday saw levels at 1 foot 6 inches and rising to  1 foot 9 inches. Avochie posted 8 and Scatterty another 5 but most beats struggled in the dirty water on the lower river. Very heavy rain overnight on Wednesday saw levels open at five foot above normal on Thursday and this eventually peaked at between 7 and 8 feet. Levels began to drop early evening but more rain overnight saw levels rise again and by Friday they were at around the 6 foot mark again. Saturday was a better day with levels at 2.5 foot and the colour was fine. A clean fish of 9lb came off Castle Water Huntly and Turriff Angling Club had around ten but only one kept. A couple of hours heavy rain on Sat am did not take long to alter levels and at Turriff it went up 3 inches and dirtied up by 4 pm.

Update 22 October 2006

Levels opened the week at around normal and many beats had an excellent couple of days. Lower Inverichnie had 6 , Inverichnie the same, Mountblairy had 8 to two rods , Marnoch Lodge had 5 and Kinnairdy had an 18 lb fish to C Innes. Turriff Angling Club had sea-liced fish on Monday and a 15 lb red fish returned on Tuesday all on the fly. Lower Inverichnie then had a 20 lb fish returned on Tuesday and M Lodge returned a 20lb + fish which fell to N Bryant. Heavy rain on Wednesday saw levels rise to 1 foot 6 inches on Thursday and heavy rain again on Thursday pm saw levels at 4 ft on Friday. Levels dropped to 2.5 ft during the Day and Turriff Angling club saw a few fish on spinners including a clean fish of about 7lb to  S. Atkinson from Suffolk.  Very heavy rain overnight on Friday saw levels rise to 5 foot on Saturday so the end of the week was a bit of a wash out. Levels today Sunday are at 1.5 ft and peaty.

It looks like we will get a couple of days in next week before the rain comes again on Wednesday. Hopefully not too much so we can have a great end to the season.

Update 15 October

Another cracking week- at least for the most part although a few moans and groans from some beats about lack of fish. Levels opened the week at 1 inch above normal but dropped by Tuesday. Carnousie saw five come off in the morning to G Pirie and R Breakell and Turriff Anglers had two sea-liced fish in the afternoon. By Wednesday all the lower beats were in or near double figures and most were fresh. Indeed Wednesday saw one beat land 13 fish of which only two or three were coloured. Scatterty had a 13 lb sea-liced fish and B Barton returned two at 15 lb off Mountblairy.  Wednesday saw gale force winds and in the evening this brought heavy rain to some places up and down the river but not all. As a result levels at Turriff were plus 5 inches but plus two feet at Rothiemay. This eventually gave 2 foot three inches at Turriff by 1pm. However although most beats were washed off Turriff managed 9 before it got too bad. Thursday saw levels down to +9 inches and very peaty. Turriff Angling Association again had a good day with around 12 fish coming off - with a total of 6 and lost six to D Coull. The rest of the river worked away and by Saturday levels were again below Normal.

Most of the fish are coloured and the really large autumn fish have not arrived yet. Forecast is to be dry until mid week so another rise in water may be on the cards for the end of the week.

Update 8 October 2006

The rain finally appeared on the Deveron catchment and away we went. Levels opened on the Monday at about a foot but rose steadily all day. Heavy rain overnight gave us a level of 4 foot above normal so a rise of nearly 5 foot from the previous week. This meant that the first two days were a wash out for most but at 2 foot on Wednesday only the fly only beats suffered a bit. Red fish were in abundance but not in a taking mood as we would have expected. Sea-trout were in abundance and the grilse continued to run. The river was very black and most of the fish bombed through without being seen. Brown-trout to 4 lb put in an Appearance and I had three to 2lb and a sea-trout and lost a grilse on Wednesday all on flying "c". Thursday saw levels open at around a foot and they dropped back to 6 inches . Fish were coming off most beats that were spinning and even the fly only beats were picking some up. By Friday we were still holding at 6 inches although we dropped back to 4 inches-- and rain overnight Friday saw levels up to  plus nine inches on Saturday  and some feeder burn very dirty which washed some beats off on the lower river. The number of fish and anglers are too many to mention but highlights are a 19 and 20 lb fish off Kinnairdy, 16 off Marnoch Lodge all but two returned, upwards of 40 fish caught off the Turriff Angling Club - biggest 15lb - and mostly all returned and for my three hours on Saturday I had three sea-trout and two salmon to 10 lb and lost another in the teens all on the fly and all returned . Levels will settle down this week as not much rain forecast which should help us catch a few on the fly. The river was full of fish now it is stuffed- however the big clean fish have not been seen or caught- are they there or are they late like the grilse were ?? - time will tell but please return all coloured fish as a dead fish can not ensure future stocks.

Update 1 October 2006

Another hard week . Levels opened around  minus 8 inches but despite no rain in Huntly or Turriff the river went up on Tuesday in Huntly and by Wednesday it arrived in Turriff giving a rise of four inches BUT it brought the peat stain and put the fish off again!!!! Fish were caught up and down but not in any numbers. Fresh grilse continue to be caught with Turriff taking some on Friday and Saturday.

May I ask if you are fishing to be sensible about spinning. I have had nothing but complaints about anglers spinning in these low conditions and this will do nothing to halt the cry for the river to be fly only. We have had another couple of hours rain this morning but nothing like forecast- as usual. Hopefully during the week we will get a little more.  

There are 4 rods available with a cottage at Marnoch Lodge fro w/c 8 October. Cost ids £500 for the cottage and £45 per day for the fishing. Contact me if interested.

Update 24 September 2006

The season has not long to go and we are desperate for some water. The river has "held up" well this week at minus five inches!!!!! The River is for the most part stuffed with fish from 3 to 30 lb and from stale to sea-liced ones. It is hard work fishing seeing all this fish but not connecting with many. The water temperature still hovers around 60 -62 degrees F and cooler weather with substantial rain , is not on the horizon or the long term forecast either. Many beats are still managing to produce double figures with Forglen, Mountblairy, the Netherdales and Carnousie leading the way. Laithers managed a 14 lb sea-liced fish last Saturday and Harvey Grant had a red 25lb fish off Lower Netherdale on the same day. B Woods lost a fish around 25-30 lb at Muiresk in the week after an hour and 20 minutes and fish have been seen steaming up the lower river at dusk. We can only hope that some rain comes out of the blue and we can all get a crack at some fish.

Update 17 September 2006

Well some week. The river started off at around 8 inches below normal and again the weather was warm and bright. Fish came off most beats and upper Netherdale had a sea-liced fish of 4 lb to K Barron.

Tuesday saw F Arrowsmith take a grilse at Muiresk and A Winton a 7lb fish returned off Turriff. Laithers had a couple of double figure fresh fish on Wednesday but the cry was of a river stuffed with fish but not many takers.

The forecasted heavy rain lasted all of two hours and was a bitter disappointment. In all the river rose 2.5 inches by tea-time and was no higher on Friday. Forglen had  a decent week with some double figure fish and R Breakell had one and lost two at Upper Netherdale.  Then around 30 hours after the rain the river jumped about eight inches in an hour and levels briefly reached 3 inches above normal. The river remained clear and tailed away during Saturday. The highlight of the week and congratulations must go to D Griffiths who caught ten fish for his week including a fresh 5 lb sea-trout. Most were returned and this was his second week in double figures. His fishing companion managed only one!!!  Closely followed by Ian King with nine from Lower Netherdale. Hopefully a little more rain forecast next week but some cooler temperatures would go a long way to improving the catch numbers.

Update 10 September 2006

Monday saw Upper Netherdale take four and Fish came off Turriff Angling Club and a 13 lb fish came off Forglen. Tuesday saw rain for around 5 hours which was around half of what was forecast. Chris and Lynne Woolliscroft had two 8lb sea-liced fish off Mountblairy and F Bunce had two grilse. Turriff Anglers again picked away with a 5lb fish to L MacTavish.  The river was up three inches on Wednesday morning and around 11 am it jumped a further six inches. This gave us around three inches above normal so all in all it rose about a foot. The Mackies took 4 off Marnoch Lodge and Laithers had 6 with Upper Netherdale taking four. The fish headed up river quickly and on Thursday Huntly AA saw R Breakell take a grilse and Avochie reported 4 sea-trout, 2 Grilse and two salmon to 8 lb. Friday and Saturday saw catches tail off a little in peaty water but most beats reported  in double figures for the week with the usual beats in good numbers. Not many big fish in the totals - mainly small grilse.

On this subject there is an effort on many rivers to take scales from skinny grilse . You can put these in a paper envelope and contact me for the address to send it to. I will post the address up here  later in the week.

Fishing is available this week on Turriff Angling Association, The Glebe and Castle Water Huntly.

Update 3 September 2006

A good start to the week which then tailed off as did the water height.. With eight inches on Monday fish were taken up and down the river  With Turriff AA taking 2 and K Barron taking 2 fish, one sea-liced 8 pounder at U/Netherdale. I managed a four pounder on Tuesday off TAA and Forglen had 6 to 10 lb. I managed another 4lb fish off Upper Netherdale on Wednesday and S Cockersoll had 2 off Turtory on Thursday. Many beats were nearly into double figures for the week but it was hard going as the water hit eight inches below normal by the end of the week. I saw a lot of big clean fish on Thursday night running the river so they are there but all beats reported seeing fish but could not tempt them. On Saturday night in half an hour on TAA I lost 2 large fish and pulled 6. They would not get a grip and I saw no fish  apart from one of the ones I lost. Forecast is for heavy rain of about an inch on Tuesday so if it happens we should see a rise in levels this week- lets hope so.

New products in stock this week- Bill Drury Spey lines, Snowbee 1D lines  Michael Evans twin arrowhead lines in standard and mini- head lengths- ideal for the Deveron and Scott MacKenzie rods

Update 29 August 2006

Well things seem to be shaping up for a good week. We had an eight inch rise in water yesterday for a couple of hours and this has stirred things up a bit. Nearly all beats have had a few fish with Turtory on 7 for Monday and Montcoffer standing at 13 for two days so the fish are there. We are still not catching many double figure fish but some have been seen and a large number of fish all over 8 lb were seen coming off the tide and running on Saturday evening so they must be somewhere in the system.

I have a daily rod on the Glebe for the rest of the season and one rod at Turtory next week. Also three rods fly only at Muiresk for next week as well. There are also some rods available with a cottage if required at Avochie in September. Please ring me for more details.

Update 27 August 2006

I understand a few of you may have had some problem logging on to my site in the week. Everybody who has e-mailed me about the problem has been using AOL and I am informed that it is probably an issue with the browser AOL use. Please inform me if anyone else has any problems. The people using AOL have been able to use Yahoo search engine to get through ok. In many instances clearing the AOL browsers cache will often resolve most issues.

The fishing was as we expected- excellent on Monday but patchy after that.

Monday saw R Henderson and K Barron take three grilse and loose as Many. The Glebe, Carnousie, Inverichnie, Inverkiethny, Marnoch Lodge, Turtory all took a few fish per rod and Turriff Angling Club had seven all before 10 am. D Shaw had a 10 and 14 lb fish - both sea-liced on Tuesday. Kinnairdy yielded two to K Barron on Wednesday but the river was very peaty and not too hot. Thursday saw the river nearly un-fishable below Turriff as SEPA were called to investigate. A quarry was found to have a flooding issue. Friday saw R Breakell loose 4 grilse before landing one and A Winton had a 6lb grilse off Turriff AA. This was followed by another to L McTavish on Saturday.

In all a good week with most beats having double figures- including David Griffiths party at Mountblairy. There are lots of grilse in the system but if they are not on your beat you miss out. Weather is unsettled for the week and we have had thunder storms in Turriff Today. I do not expect the river to rise much if any and we continue to be below summer level.

If of interest the new Scott MacKenzie series Daiwa rods arrive this week. These have been advertised heavily in the press. I will have a cast and report my findings. The costs etc are available on the Shop page under the Scott Mackenzie rod heading.

Update 20 August 2006

Monday saw a good head of grilse in the river and a few salmon beginning to move on very peaty water. M MacDonald had three at 8,9 and 3lb for his morning at Upper Netherdale and R Henderson had two grilse and lost two for his evening  . R Wood had a 9lb coloured fish at Turtory and B McDonald at 4 lb and Myself at 3lb took fish off Turriff Angling Association. Other beats reporting fish on Monday were Forglen, Wrack and Montcoffer .

Tuesday saw D Plumpton return sea-trout and salmon one sea-liced off the Castle Water Huntly. Upper Netherdale reported 3 grilse , D Coull had a 9lb fish off Inverkiethny and Montcoffer reported another 4 to 13 lb.

Wednesday saw R Henderson take a grilse off Huntly AA and I had one at 3 lb above Turriff and Carnousie reported five in as long as it took to play and land them. H Phillip had a grilse at Turriff AA but the river remained very black and levels fluctuated a couple of inches during the day. Friday saw R Breakell with a grilse at U /Netherdale and S Cockersoll reported a couple of grilse and a few losses before 11am as a run went through Marnoch Lodge- indeed his total for the week was 9. Heavy rain overnight saw the river up 6 inches early am and P Lagadec took an eight pound fish off Forglen A Duthie had two off Mountblairy and R Leake at Turtory had three in a couple of hours before the river rose rapidly to reach around 3 feet above normal by 5pm. Turtory saw Rod take 9 for his fortnight.

Prospects for next week are mouthwatering. We have not had this level of spate since 10 April and this will have flushed the river clean. If the reports of fish off shore are accurate we could be in for some week and set up for the next few weeks- here is hoping.

Update 13 August 2006

The water at the end of last week tailed away quickly and things settled down. A better number of fish were reported off most beats. Mountblairy had a few grilse as did Dunlugas and Turtory. Scatterty saw J Nichol take a few grilse and M Lock had a 12 lb salmon. Jim also managed a brownie of 5-6 lb . R Henderson took a 4 lb grilse off Huntly AA which shows they are running the river in low water .Thursday saw heavy drizzle interspersed with heavy showers and these continued despite the forecast saying it should be dry. This resulted in a rise in levels on Friday of a few inches . The water continued to rise slowly during the day and indeed the river at Huntly was a raging torrent on Friday tea- time for an hour but settled back down. In all we got around 10- 12 inches of a rise but it was clear- until Saturday when the Deveron became very black in the upper reaches but with all tributaries ran clear so this was well diluted by the time it came down stream. Fish were seen running in the middle reaches on the higher water with Euchries picking up an 11lb salmon and two brown trout over 4 lb. Indeed the trout seem to be a bit more active as I had one around 2lb on Saturday and Forglen continue to report a few over 4 lb as well.

Levels are dropping away now but we are still having showers despite all weather forecasts saying it will be dull but dry. Beats available this week on daily basis are- Turriff AA , Euchries, Turtory, Castle Water Huntly and Marnoch Lodge.

Update 6 August 2006

A better week and a rise in water second half of the week. Things started slowly with M McDonald taking a grilse at U/Netherdale and K Eastwood taking two at Forglen. Tuesday saw grilse come off Muiresk and Mountblairy.

Wednesday opened with heavy rain till around 2 pm and the river rose around 6 inches by 7pm. This obviously livened a few fish as I had four sea-trout from 1 - 3 lb off U/Netherdale in an hour and pulled many more. Thursday saw the river up a little more but still clear to around normal level. Laithers returned a salmon around 9 lb M McDonald had two grilse at Huntly AA , Montcoffer saw a salmon at 12 lb, the Wrack one at 12 lb and I managed a grilse at around 3 lb and a sea-trout at over 4 lb and pulled around 9 for an hour on Turriff Angling Association. D Greenwood and a visitor also managed  a sea-trout each off TAA. Friday saw J Tate take two grilse at / Netherdale whilst four fish including two to me were lost off Turriff on Friday. I rounded off my week with another sea-trout off a beat above Turriff on Saturday giving me a total of 6 sea-trout and a grilse for the week- just goes to show they are there if you can be there at the right time.

The river is down again now and no real sign of heavy rain for the week ahead- we really do need three feet to wash it out and bring in numbers of fish.

If anybody would like details of any special offers coming up on tackle in the coming weeks could they forward me their e-mail and I will send them the details as and when click here.- Special Offers

Update 2 August 2006.

Last week was a complete waste of time .A few fish came off but it was more than hard work with temperatures again hitting 32 degrees. Thunder on Thursday saw levels rise a foot at Turriff but it did not touch normal level on the gauge. This did nothing to bring in any fish. Euchrie saw two grilse and a salmon Whilst Mountblairy saw six for the week. Hopefully four hours of steady to heavy rain today will move something if we get a spate.  

I have three rods and a cottage available at Avochie for week commencing 11 September. Please call or e-mail if interested.

Update 23 July 2006

Toooo hot. Temperatures ranged from 22-32 degrees in the week and the sun shone brightly. Levels dropped off again from Wednesday but a thunder storm on Friday pm gave us four inches on Saturday. This has all but gone now. Water temps ranged from 67 to 74 f and we have had reports of some fish going belly up due to lack of oxygen. All beats report poor conditions except Avochie which is working away each night with a few fish. Other lucky anglers with grilse in the 3-4lb mark were J Brock, R Breakell and D Shaw.

May I be so bold as ask anglers that in these very hot conditions you seriously think about dispatching any fish you catch and limit your fishing accordingly.  If you play a fish for a period - in low oxygen conditions it may swim off but fail to recover.!!!

Update 17 July 2006

Well it is very hot and dry.. Not fishing weather. Very few fish reported last week. Monday saw Forglen take a 10 lb Salmon and K. Barron had a sea-trout at Upper Netherdale and J Woodhead had two sea-trout and lost a grilse at Scatterty on Tuesday. Tuesday saw R Breakell land two sea-liced grilse at Carnousie and loose three sea-trout whilst on Wednesday K Kesterton had a grilse off Turriff Angling Club. R Breakell managed another Grilse at Carnousie on Friday and J Whittet and M Kitchen had 6 sea-trout for their week at Mountblairy.

A few grilse came off today but they are all small in the 3lb category. It is very hot and the water temperature at 8am this morning was 67 degrees f. We are in desperate need of a lot of rain as levels are at around 10 inches below normal and the algae and muck is a big problem

Update 9 July 2006

A very hot and humid week with temperatures up to 28 degrees c and river temps in the high 60'sF . Not very good for fishing but a number of sea-trout came off and some grilse have put in an appearance. I f you fish early and late - or through the balmy nights you should pick up something. Beats picking up fish were Wrack, Montcoffer, Turriff Angling Club , Laithers, Upper Netherdale, Inverichnie and Mains of Mayen. Mayen is top score card with over 20 sea-trout for the week - all returned between 2 and 2.5 lb and fished over night only.

Levels are around 10 inches below normal but we did have a 2 inch rise for about one hour on Friday between 5am and 6 am after some thunder. A heavy thunder shower moved down the river this pm so hopefully we might get a freshen up if nothing else over night. Forecast is dry and hot for the week so again early and late will be the rule.

However grilse will be caught in the height of the day if you venture out.

Update 2 July 2006

Levels have continued to drop. However it has been a day of heavy thunder showers and although Turriff has escaped lightly we are praying that the high catchment has caught some sharper ones as a wee rise in levels would give us a boost. Monday 26th saw sea-trout fall to D Coull at Inverkiethny plus a 4 lb brownie. A Seed and J and L Slater had sea-trout off Forglen and Muiresk. Tuesday saw R Breakell have two sea-trout and loose a salmon at Carnousie, T Lawson had an 11lb salmon off Upper Netherdale and Mr. Drewes from Hamburg had a 5 lb sea-trout off Turriff Angling Club. K Kesterton had two and lost two sea-trout for 15 minutes fishing on Turriff Angling Club on Wednesday.
Whilst Laithers posted a few sea-trout and some losses as well. I managed a Spey Salmon on Wednesday then came back to Upper Netherdale and lost a sea-trout in the dark. J Donald returned a sea-trout at Turriff on Thursday and on Friday R Breakell returned a salmon of around 7 lb at Carnousie. Another sea-trout fell to a visitor on Turriff Angling Club and the members lost a further five - some in the 5 lb area. Upper Netherdale continues to fish well with R Henderson returning a sea-trout and a 3lb Brownie and a further salmon at 10lb came off on Saturday.

If we have missed the heavy showers things will look a little drastic this week with temperatures set to reach the mid to high twenties. Hopefully the few grilse that have been caught will be the start of a large run and that will help as they will run the river in low water. Again early and late will be the times to fish in low conditions and I have several beats available on daily tickets for w/c 3 July.

Update 25 June 2006

Another strange week. Levels opened on Monday up 6 inches after heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday evening. S Baird had 3 sea-trout to 3 lb and a 6lb Salmon off Conniecleugh on Monday. G Noble had two sea-trout on the Wrack and C Anderson had one while M Peacock had a salmon and sea-trout at Forglen. R Henderson had 3 sea-trout  and lost a few whilst K Barron had a brown trout of 4 lb all off Upper Netherdale. Tuesday saw levels constant but no fish reported. Wednesday saw levels down again and Montcoffer had 3 sea-trout R Breakell had a salmon and Sea-trout off Castle Water Huntly, T Novak had 3 sea-trout off Turriff Angling Association and several were lost. Muiresk had 4 sea-trout and I had a salmon at 8 lb with long tailed sea-lice off Upper Netherdale. Levels dropped away on Thursday but on Friday they were up another 4 inches on the back of heavy showers in the upper catchment. This saw the fish continue to run but they were not seen on many beats. Other lucky anglers this week were the Guikan party with around a dozen sea-trout / salmon for their 7 rods at Mountblairy and Scatterty the Slater party were in double figures at Muiresk and Lower Inverichnie saw the Chalmers party take a salmon at 10 lb whilst Upper Netherdale continued to fish well with R Breakell taking a sea-trout and T Lawson a fish at 14 lb and a 13 lb fish off Carnousie. D Henderson had Five sea-trout  and lost two off Euchries to end the week on Saturday.

Next week is forecast to be getting hotter and dry until Thursday. Sea-trout will be the target and again early and late will be the advice. Fishing is available on a daily basis next week at Marnoch Lodge , Euchries, Turriff Angling Association and Castle Water Huntly. All of these beats have produced fish last week and the river continues to be full of fish.

Update 18 June 2006

The river opened on Monday at around three inches below normal . The weather remained hot all week with some bright days and  4 hours of rain on Saturday followed by showers today, Sunday. Levels by the end of the week had reached 8 inches below summer level.

Monday saw T Lawson take an 11lb fish off Upper Netherdale, Forglen a sea-trout and a Salmon. Turriff had a sea-trout to S Barnes and Muiresk lost a few sea-trout.

Tuesday saw T Lawson again take a fish at 9 lb off Upper Netherdale and R Breakell had a sea-trout at Carnousie. Reports of sea-trout came from Dunlugas Muiresk, Lower Netherdale and Rothiemay. Wednesday  saw further reports of sea-trout caught and lost. Turriff had three, and salmon were caught at Forglen and Huntly AA by R Henderson @ 10 lb. A large run of fish went through Turriff at 9pm on Thursday night and beats up river had some luck. Carnousie had a salmon and Sea-trout and Netherdale managed a couple of sea-trout. Day break on Friday saw Carnousie take a salmon 9lb and a small sea-trout to R Breakell who then fished U/ Netherdale for a 5 lb sea-trout all before 7 am. A further sea-trout came off Netherdale later in the morning. Saturday saw Inverkiethny and Upper Netherdale take  sea-trout and D Wallis had a 10lb salmon- all early doors and I saw a movement of fish on Saturday night after 11pm and managed a 7 lb salmon .

Forecast for next week is a little better for fishing with a little rain forecast throughout the week. However early and late will still be the order of the day unless we get a rise in water.

Update June 10 2006.

Another slow week with water levels on the drop and the temperatures on the rise. Monday saw D Wallis take a 10 lb sea-liced fish at Inverkiethny. Dunlugas saw two salmon and two sea-trout, Forglen a sea-trout and a 7lb salmon at Montcoffer. Tuesday was hot and early fishing was required. R Breakell had a 7 lb fish at Carnousie returned and J Ross had fish of 14,8 and 7lb as well as a sea-trout in an hour off Montcoffer. J Nichol had an 8lb fish off Scatterty and lost a couple. Wednesday saw J Slater take an 8lb fish at Boat of Turtory and E Kublin had two sea-trout at the Wrack. Lower Netherdale reported an 18 lb salmon and a sea-trout. Thursday saw no reports and Friday saw two salmon come off Turtory. As the tides get higher we are hoping for a few more sea-trout to run the river. Levels are just below normal and the water is 60 degrees F or more. A little rain is forecast for the week but still temperatures will be around the 20 degree c mark. Fishing is available at Turtory, Marnoch Lodge , Euchries, Castle Water Huntly and Turriff Angling Association this week.

Update 4 June 2006

Monday opened with a flourish as a run of fish arrived in the river. T Lawson had a 10 lb fish off Upper Netherdale I Humphrey had one at 12 lb off Euchries and J Brock had a 10 lb fish off Inverichnie. T.MacDonald had a sea-trout off Muiresk and S Cockersoll had one off Turtory.

Tuesday saw the weather turn and we had a howling north wind and temps of only 5 degrees. Wednesday saw Steve Williams from The USA land his first ever salmon - on trout gear off Castle Water Huntly at 12 lb and D C Smith had a 12 lb fish off Kinnairdy. Thursday saw more excitement as large numbers of fish entered the river off the tide. Lucky anglers included D Coull - lost 6 and got a sea-trout off the Wrack, R Breakell returned an 11 lb fish at Marnoch Lodge, J Jack had two at 7 and 8 lb along with F Watt 10 lb off Upper Netherdale, Allan Cavanagh had a 14 lb fish at Carnousie and M Will had one at 12 lb again off Carnousie. D Coull managed another fish in the dark at 11lb. Friday and Saturday saw D Campbell take one at 11lb off Upper Netherdale S Stephen had one at 10 lb off Mountblairy and T Lawson take two again at Upper Netherdale. S Cockersoll ended his week with nine off Turtory and L Netherdale had five up until Thursday morning. M Watson rounded his week off with a 12 lb fish at Muiresk . Large numbers of fish were seen in the middle river on Saturday but were very reluctant to take.

Now that warmer weather has arrived and the river at Normal level the lower beats will be looking for a few more sea-trout this week .

   
                                  Allan Cavanagh , Carnousie                                             M Will , Carnousie                                   

Update 27 May 2006

Levels remained just above the normal mark but fish were coming in off the tide in the dark. Turtory had two 10 lb fish on Wednesday and a sea-trout came off Montcoffer with three coming off Muiresk. Thursday saw Montcoffer take two salmon at 11 and 13 lb. Friday saw R Breakell take a 10 lb sea-liced fish and an 8 lb fish - both returned off Upper Netherdale and after loosing a fish estimated over 20 lb G Noble landed a sea-liced 12 lb fish on the Wrack. D Coull lost six fish before landing a sea-trout also on the wrack.

Saturday saw the river rising and dirty with heavy thunder showers and hail all day. R Henderson managed an 11 lb fish off Huntly AA and D Campbell had five for his week on Upper Netherdale. The river has dropped a bit today and is clearing out. Lets hope we do not get the black water we had for several days last week. It puts the fish off.

Forecast is for blizzards in the hills until Wednesday and then summer is arriving Thursday onwards.

Update May 24 2006

Levels have remained around the 6 inch above normal mark and the water is very peaty. Fraserburgh angling club had their outing to Turriff Angling Club on Saturday and managed a 10 lb sea-liced fish along with brown trout of 3 and 4 lb. S Cockersoll managed an 11 lb sea-liced fish with brown trout at 4 and 5lb off Marnoch Lodge. By Monday the river had got blacker in colour but a two inch rise moved a few fish. Lower Netherdale had a 6lb fish and S Barron at U /Netherdale took two sea-trout at 4 lb - one returned and lost four Salmon. R Henderson lost a double figure fish at the net but redeemed himself with a 12 sea-liced fish - again at U / Netherdale. Lorna Smith had her first double figure salmon on fly at 13 lb off Kinnairdy.

Tuesday saw W&S Stephen take one each at 7 and 13 lb off Mountblairy and A Watt had a 9lb fish at Montcoffer. The weather remains bitterly cold and yesterday and today we have had heavy hail showers and frost at nights.

Update 19 May 2006

Another slow start to the week. J Brock had two at 7 and 9 lb off Lower Inverichnie on Monday and Montcoffer managed a 15 lb sea-liced fish on Tuesday. F Watt had a 10lb fish off Upper Netherdale on Tuesday whilst Forglen lost a salmon and had a 5 lb brown-trout on Wednesday. Rain overnight on Wednesday saw levels rise on Thursday to just over one foot and by Friday they are at  six inches above normal. John Brock lost a sea-trout on Thursday and G Noble has had a sea-trout at the Wrack today (Friday).

I have a cancellation on Forglen for 6 rods w/c 29 May £181 per rod- cottage available at Muiresk.

Update May 14 2006

Things became a bit desperate during the week. Monday saw S Henderson take a 10 lb fish at Lower Netherdale and Mr. Fosebury had three at Mains of Mayen. Tuesday saw S Henderson take  another fish at 12 lb but the sun came out to play for a few days and temperatures rose to the high teens and water temps reached 60 degrees f.

The end of the week saw temps back down in single figures and we had rain on Thursday night into Friday which gave us a rise of 6 inches by late Friday night at Turriff. This welcome rise coupled with 4m tides would surely bring us something and a 13lb sea-liced fish came off Inverkiethny on Saturday afternoon. Reports indicate that sea-trout are as far as Huntly but none have been caught yet. Warmer evenings will be required to tempt them.

Stanley Henderson 13 lb

Update 7 May 2006

Levels remain at NORMAL level at Turriff so up river they are getting a bit on the low side. However Muiresk had a 9lb fish on Thursday and U/Netherdale a 10lb fish on Friday. Wrack also had a fish on Friday to G Noble and it was fresh but not sea-liced indicating that they are hanging back in the low water.

Despite this I have been out twice this week and have seen fish in both the beats and indeed many anglers report seeing fish now. A couple from last week to report- Ardmeallie had two last Saturday and I believe that Glennie had a fish of 22lb.

Update 3 May 2006

Levels have remained around Normal and we have missed the rain forecast for the last two days.

However water temps are climbing slowly although it would help if the wind died down.

Monday saw a few fish come off Upper and Lower Netherdale as well as Carnousie. I believe fish off Carnousie and U/Netherdale were returned. It is of interest to note that more than a few sea-trout have put in an appearance so perhaps time to get the small rod out. Please bear in mind the River Boards code of two sea-trout and only one over 3lb. This may well help to maintain stocks. There are some excellent sea-trout beats available - some right into June- so check out the availability pages.

Update 30 April 2006

Levels have dropped to around the normal level mark and the river is very clear.

Catches have dropped off this week to at least one third of last weeks total. Both Upper and Lower Netherdale had fish  earlier in the week . Mountblairy , Forglen ,Muiresk  and Wrack then had fish later in the week- reflecting the lower water levels- although these  fish were all sea-liced. It is also of note that the first sea-trout at 4lb came off Inverichnie on Friday. The tide is at peak this weekend and we have rain forecast for Monday. Hopefully a few more fish will be encouraged to run the river.

Update 23 April 2006

Levels have remained around the +6 inch mark and fish continue to run the system. Scatterty had one on Wednesday and Mr. McCord returned a 10 lb long tailed sea-liced fish at Dunlugas on Thursday. D Watt had a 13 lb fish at Montcoffer and Huntly and Laithers continued to produce fish. Friday saw Montcoffer land another and G Rose had a 9lb fish at Turtory. No reports of anything on Saturday yet but with better weather there were plenty of rods out so no doubt reports will filter in early next week.

Update 19 April 2006

Levels opened at +11 inches on Monday and fish continued to be caught. B. Hughes had a 10lb fish at Upper Netherdale and K Barron had one at 8lb from the same beat. Ian Robertson also landed a 9 lb fish at Marnoch Lodge.

Tuesday continued in the same manner with J. Donald taking a cracking 10 lb fish straight off the tide on a fly on the Wrack. A watt at Montcoffer had a 10 lb fish and two fish of 13lb and 9 lb came off Upper Netherdale. on the fly. and M Chalmers had two at Carnousie. Early reports in tonight for Wednesday see R Henderson with a 9lb fish off Huntly AA. Fish continue to be caught at Laithers and many other beats. We really are having a cracking season- but just remember to return a few-- Draconian rules are awaiting us !!!!!!!!!!

Update 15 April 2006

Thursday saw a couple of fish reported- both around 11 lb. Bob Parkin at Avochie had a sea-liced fish and K Mair had a fish at Turtory. Friday saw another couple - S Cockersoll had a 10 lb fish again sea-liced at Marnoch Lodge and G Rose had a 7lb fish off Turtory. Today Saturday levels are at 1 foot 4 inches and Tommy Lawson had an 8 lb 8 oz fish off Upper Netherdale and this was followed up with Jimmy Jack taking a 17 lb fish on a Gold Cascade on a full floater with a slow sink tip.

Jimmy Jack 17lbs

Update 13 April 2006

Levels on Tuesday were 1 ' 6 inches and just ideal. G Noble had an 8lb sea-liced fish off Scatterty, Ian Masson had one at 8lb  8oz off Mains of Mayen. F Watt had a 9lb fish off Upper Netherdale and M Chalmers had a 9lb fish off Carnousie. Even the Wrack just off the tide- are picking up sea-liced fish with Stacey Marsden out fishing the "boys" with two fish best 11lb sea-liced. Unfortunately heavy rain up country on Tuesday put levels up to 2 foot 6 inches for Wednesday and it was very dirty. Levels were at 2 ft today and clearer but the wind made it near impossible to stand up let alone cast a fly.

Update 10 April 2006

Levels opened today at 1 foot 9 inches and it was a little dirty. It was good spinning water and clarity did improve slowly during the day. From last week there was a few more reports B Wood had three at Scatterty- two returned and kept one at 9lb 8 oz and R McDonald managed one of 9lb whilst Marnoch Lodge added another to their total.

Today Monday has seen R Henderson take a 9lb 8oz sea-liced fish off Upper Netherdale and R Seed take a 16 lb sea-liced fish on fly off Turtory.

       
Fish from Marnoch Lodge

Update 9 April 2006

Well what a week. It must be a record for this time of year. The count for this week - reported to me stands at 25 and I am sure there will be a few more not reported. Avochie, 9lb, Marnoch Lodge again at 10lb and Huntly AA had fish on Thursday. Then Friday saw R.Ewen take two 9 and 12lb both sea-liced off Kinnairdy, G Dublonski had a sea-liced 9lb fish off Lower Inverichnie on an Ally and W McDonald had an 8lb liced fish off Turriff Angling Association. M MacDonald had a 7lb fish at Turtory.

Levels remained steady at around 1 foot 6 inches but Saturday morning saw up to 5 inches of snow in places and the fish went off the take. W McDonald had another fish of 6lb 8 oz off Turriff Angling Association on Saturday and that was that for Saturday at the moment.

Heavy rain , sleet, snow, and hail overnight Saturday have pushed the river up to two and a half feet above normal today so next week does not look to promising for the early part.

Update 6 April 2004

Well we seem to have a head of fish in the system now. B Goodlad had a 14 lb fish from Lower Netherdale on Tuesday. George Anderson had another 9lb sea-liced fish at Turtory on Wednesday and I Masson had two - 9lb and 7 lb off Avochie on Wednesday and S Cockersoll had an 8lb 6 oz fish off Marnoch Lodge Today on a Waddington.

Update 4 April 2006

With a little snow on high ground on Monday Levels were up 3 inches today but still running clear at 1 foot 9 inches.

George Anderson managed a 9lb sea-liced fish at Avochie on Monday, whilst Mel. McDonald lost two at Turtory. Richard Breakell also took a 9lb fish today off Carnousie and again it was sea-liced. Reports also suggest that Laithers continue to pick up fish and that at least one sea-liced fish has come off the Huntly AA stretch in the last few days.

Update 2 April 2006

The river was up again on Saturday and took a lot of colour- some people ventured out but most had given up by Lunchtime. George Slater had a lovely 10.5lb fish off Laithers on Friday- pic below. So as I said get out after them.

Update 30 March 2006

River has dropped to under two feet tonight but heavy rain forecast for Friday and wintry showers for next week. Stanley Henderson had a nine pound fish at Mains of Mayen so the high water has moved a few fish- we just need a few anglers now to get after them.

Update 28 March 2006

Levels are now running at between 2 feet and 5 feet at Turriff. There has been limited angling activity in the last ten days. Mark Robertson had a 9lb fish at Laithers about 11 days ago and Colin Smith had a long tailed sea-liced fish off Corniehaugh last Thursday. Most local anglers have turned their attention to the Spey and Dee where they seem to be picking up fish. Indeed I had a visit to Arndilly last Thursday and picked up fish of 8lb sea-liced and 7lb for my day.

Update 18 March 2006

Levels are running at 1 foot 4 inches and fairly clear. A fresh fish was lost by the keeper on the Wrack on Thursday afternoon and Turriff Angling Member Roy Wilson had a cracking 11 lb fish off Muiresk this afternoon.

They are obviously there now. Just need a few more anglers out.

Update March 14 2006

The weather can not make up its mind  if it is winter or spring. One day it is snowing the next it is raining. This has given us fluctuating water levels and indeed from a peak of 5 foot last week we opened this week at 1 foot 10 inches but  levels were up slightly today.

Another fresh fish came off the same lower beat as the first fish. This one is reported at 12 lb. Obviously the higher water has enticed a few in. So lets hope we get a few anglers out after them this weekend.

Update 4 March 2006

Not much fishing this week as we put up with blizzards and blocked roads. A few hardy souls ventured out today Saturday as the river ran at +9 inches and was clear. Nothing was reported. No doubt we will get a fish or two when this all melts. Mid March is usually a banker for a fish.

Turriff Angling Club.

 The Country roads March 2nd 2006

Update 25 February 2006

Well the river rose a bit this week after some wet snow on the hills last weekend. This was then helped by a wet day on Thursday. Levels were around the one foot above normal level then peaked at two feet on Friday. This rise was fairly dirty and the peaty colour was still there on Saturday with levels at 1.5 feet above normal.

I have a report of a fresh fish from a beat below Turriff who do not like publicity- it came from the keeper so will be genuine. Some false reports also came in the week but I have spoken to the anglers concerned and they confirm kelts.

By way of the forecast it looks like we will have a couple weeks of Snow so things will be slow for a while.

At least it will help levels if it does not all thaw at once.

Do not forget I have a syndicate for early fishing to put together for next spring. Ring me if you are interested.

Update 19 February 2006

A couple of small rises of about 6 inches in the week. One on Wednesday which kept the water clear but a dirty rise yesterday (Saturday). However not much kelts this week and no clean fish yet.

Update 11 February 2006 

Well we are off and running for another season.

Today opened cloudy but cold and an overnight frost left the ground hard and the puddles frozen. Temperatures peaked at around 5 degrees c and the water was gin clear, cold at 32 degrees F and at normal level. I have not heard of any fresh fish yet but Turriff Anglers had three kelts at Muiresk- myself included. Two on fly and one on a Devon. Mine fell to a Willie Gunn Pot bellied Pig. We really need a drop of water and the forecast is for some tomorrow and Monday so we are one day in and already looking for rain.