River Information 2007

Welcome to another season.

May I take the opportunity to give a plea on behalf of the River Trust. Basically we need more members willing to give some of their hard earned cash to the Trust. We currently have around 70 members. That is really not very good considering there is a potential 200 rods on the river every week from June through  until  October. The trust runs the Hatchery and it is under new management this year. We have 350 000 eggs laid down and we have for the first time expert help from experienced hatchery management. This has been a huge boost since we electro- fished for broodstock in November. The trust also does habitat improvement work and juvenile fish surveys. There are many pollution issues affecting our river and tributaries at the moment and with low flows in hot weather and "flash floods" when the rains come we need to give the spawning grounds as much help as we can- and you can all help by joining the Trust. Please get in touch with me and I will send you an information pack.

Update 22 November 2007

The Spey bailiffs came over early November and conducted the electro netting of fish for the Hatchery. It was a terrible day with winds to 90mph and snow. The River Isla at Grange was netted and although we got a few fish the numbers were poor and the majority were cock fish. We moved to the Deveron in the Afternoon and had 11 hen fish - many in double figures in the first pool . This set the tone and the next three pools resulted in enough fish. These are in the hatchery and many are now stripped and returned to the river with the eggs laid down.

This is invaluable work and even more so given that we have had over 48 hours of torrential rain which has given us over 18ft of water. This will have scoured the river bed and many of the redds that have been cut will have washed away . Let us hope that there are still some fish left to spawn and some still to arrive in the river to help out.

 A little below normal at Turriff.

 The River today 22 November 2007

 And if you scroll down to 8 August 2007 this picture is taken from the same place.!!!!

Update 6 November 2007

Well despite the river rising to 2.5 feet above normal on the Sunday the last three days did not excite many.

Levels on Monday fell back to plus 9 on opening and it was very dirty. G Noble managed three of Turriff Angling Association and D Coull had one at Netherdale. Tuesday was a better day with Turriff landing 11 and any hens were donated to the hatchery. Mountblairy had fish at 10lb sea-liced and two at 17 and 18 lb. Wednesday saw a change in conditions and although there were plenty of fish running hard not many were tempted to take and the season went out with a whimper.

Electro netting for the hatchery is due to take place this week and maybe next . There are plenty of fish but the weather is of severe gales and snow!! . We hope we get them before the river rises and we loose our chance.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for using this site and for the kind comments I receive from you through the year. Over the winter I will update the site if I have any Trust or Hatchery news and enhance the other pages . We will add more to the web shop but remember in the meantime that we offer a mail order service and you can ring and pay by Credit Card for all your Christmas or start of season needs.

Frank

Update 28 October 2007

Three days to go and it looks like going out with a bang. Heavy overnight rain has raised levels to over two feet this morning so things look all set for a great end. Please just remember to put ALL red fish back and all hens as well . We need to look after the future.

Last week again pulled a few surprises. Low water and sun spelled a bad time for many upper beats although not all. Lower beats fished away and again some were nearing 30 for the week by Saturday morning. It was hard work but there were still a few fresh fish caught as far up as Huntly and many saw them pushing upstream on the lower beats. Patrick Meikle caught his first salmon on fly at Mountblairy- 15lb , which made up for his week being cut short as he had to fly home to Austria.

The River Deveron, Bogie and Isla Trust held its AGM in Huntly- where biologist R Miller gave a very interesting and informative talk on his work on the river and the plans for the future. If not already done so please consider joining the trust for £25 per year . The money will help ongoing projects to enhance the Deveron for the future.

Update 22 October 2007.

The week turned out to be a bit of a surprise. Levels remain below normal and the overhead conditions were bright. However the fish kept coming off the tide and a lot of sea-liced fish were taken on the lower river. Many of the beats recorded over twenty fish and some over thirty for the week. Alan Bruce got his first salmon at 6 lb and his 12 year old son Aaron took his first at 8 lb off Montcoffer. C Robertson had two - returned off the Turriff Angling Association and D Coull had eight for his day of Upper Netherdale and Carnousie. In fact these two beats fished very well - with A Kavanagh taking two to 15 lb on Thursday and D Coull had one and lost four.

A few big fish were caught with A Walker landing a 22lb fish at Muiresk. Mrs. Fox landed a 21 lb fish at Forglen and Jon Tassell landed a fish over 30lb at Lower Netherdale.

This week has started off again with plenty of fish in the pools and some action has been reported up and down the river.  

Trust News

The River Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Trust is holding an AGM at the Gordon Arms Hotel Huntly on Friday 26 October 2007 at 7pm. Members and Non members are welcome to attend.

Update 14 October 2007.

Summer arrived this week and the temperatures went over 20 degrees C and the sun shone brightly. As such catches were a little subdued for some but not all. F Henderson Snr. returned  4 for the morning at Dunlugas on Monday and most other beats managed one or two after a frosty start. Carnousie produced 2 returned and 6 lost to R Breakell for Tuesday morning and Upper Netherdale produced 5 to K King on Thursday. Most other  beats plugged away with the odd angler getting 4 or 5 for there day. Lower beats faired best and clean fish still continue to run the river with levels around normal level. We could really be doing with another rise to bring in some new fish and flush the margins which are getting pretty slimy. Our back end run has not arrived yet and it looks like it will be after the season ends before we see any significant rain.

Some day tickets are available for the Turriff Angling Association until the end of the season and some on The Castle Hotel Water at Huntly on the final week. There may also be some weekly tickets for the last full week but they will be last minute - so keep in touch if you are interested.

Update 7 October 2007

Another week of reasonable numbers of fish. Levels have hovered around the plus 2 inch mark but are very clear. Lower beats have had the best of the fishing this week but the river has fished well as far up as Upper Netherdale . Some big fish are starting to appear and J Carrick had one weighed at 19lb before going back. I had one over 17lb and D Coull one over 15 lb .

 May I remind everyone that the River Board recommend that you should "only" retain  two fish per day- however in addition to this they state that all hen Salmon and Grilse should be returned after the 21 August . There is some disquiet from fellow anglers that neither of these are being observed. Please be responsible in the conservation of future stocks.

Update 30 September 2007

Levels opened at plus 3 inches on Monday. C Wyness had a  sea-liced 17.5lb fish off Turriff Angling Association , T Lawson had two to 6lb at Upper Netherdale and M McDonald had three to 12 lb at Muiresk. Tuesday saw levels rise a foot in about two hours and for most it was no use. By Wednesday the river was at 2 and a half feet above normal and dirty. Things looked better on Thursday with levels at 1 foot three inches and Turriff had seven to 9 lb , Upper Netherdale produced fish of 9 and 14.5 lb to A Kavanagh, whilst B Fletcher had fish of 12 and 14 lb off Turtory. With levels at plus 9 inches on Friday many beats hit the jackpot with some recording double figures for the morning alone. One angler landed eleven and lost five off Upper Netherdale and Carnousie whilst another landed 7 including a 15 lb sea-liced fish which was returned as it was a hen fish.

Indeed with two days lost in the week many beats around the Turriff Area recorded between 14 and 35 fish for the week. The upper river is not fishing so well but the fish are going through. May I just remind anglers that the River Board recommends that you only keep two fish per day and in addition to that they ask that all hen fish be returned after August 21. Difficult perhaps to swallow when there are "plenty" fish but we must all do our bit to conserve stocks for the future.

Update 23 September 2007

Monday saw levels at 1' 9" and rising. The river was fishable first thing but as it went up it got very dirty. We also had very heavy showers all morning. The only reported fish came off Turriff with two to 7lb. Tuesday saw levels at 3 feet above normal , very dirty and the day was a wash out. Wednesday saw levels at 1' 3" and most beats had a bonanza. In fact for the next three days it was fast and furious sport with plenty of fish screaming up river and many caught were sea-liced. Many beats caught double figure catches per day and lost as many. Turriff Angling Association had over twenty for the week - biggest 14 lb to L Stewart and beats above and below took more and they are fly only. Things slowed a little by Saturday as levels were at plus 4 inches but there are plenty fish in the system and again we have a little rain forecast for Monday.

Update 16 September 2007.

A much slower week with levels keeping around normal level. However the sun shone and the water is very clear. Fish continued to come off the tide but after the first two beats they were hardly seen and if you were lucky enough to be in a pool when they arrived - you still caught very little. Monday saw Turriff Angling Association take two at 5 and 6 lb both sea-liced to J Lorimer, whilst Carnousie and Forglen had fish.

Other beats reporting a few fish were Avochie, Upper Netherdale and Mountblairy. In-fact many beats struggled to hit double figures but Mountblairy and beats around the Netherdales seemed to fair well. We really need a freshen up water wise and despite rain on Saturday we saw no rise in levels. It has rained through the night and all morning today and at 7 pm we have a rise of 4 inches on the gauge. How far it will go we will have to wait and see but anything will be welcome.

Update 10 September 2007

THE PROPOSED WIND FARM OF 40 TURBINES SITUATED IN THE  CLASHINDARROCH FOREST IN THE DEVERON CATCHMENT HAS BEEN TURNED DOWN BY THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE.- HOORAY.!!!

Update 9 September 2007

Levels went up about two inches during Monday am to + 6 inches. However we stayed dry all week and levels are now around the +2 mark at the end of the week. It was much slower this week with most beats just managing the double figure mark. Highlights would be K King with two over 13 lb from Upper Netherdale , Mr. Bursall had his first on fly at 12 lb , while his wife took 5 and R Leake took fish of 18 and 14 lb off Turtory. Forecast is for more dry weather all week so we should see levels dip below normal this week for the first time sine early June. This will slow up the fish and the lower beats should be better off.

Update 3 September 2007

The week opened with levels at plus 8 inches and fairly clear. Fish were taken from the word go and most people on the river took fish. Upper Netherdale , Carnousie, Dunlugas, Forglen and Euchries all took fish. N Cowie had 4 grilse at Euchries , J Ewen Had two to 9lb at U/Netherdale and F Watt had three. The theme continued into Tuesday and Wednesday and to give an indication of the fishing for Two hours fishing on Wednesday evening My Father took three and lost 6 whilst I lost 3 although I did manage an 8lb fish in the afternoon and lost another from another beat. Turriff Angling Club had 4 to 11lb on Thursday but for some -things slowed a bit. By the Friday Scatterty had 21 Mountblairy 3, Montcoffer over 30 U/Netherdale and Carnousie - over 35 and Dunlugas had 24, 18 To G Wilson the best 18lb and the biggest returned at over 20. 13 year old Tom Carter landed his first ever salmon - 7lb at Marnoch Lodge and Returned it.

Most of the fish taken were covered in long tailed sea-lice and for  the early part of the week they just kept coming in high numbers. Now above Marnoch bridge they are not so prevalent and even scarcer the further up you go so maybe the lower water is holding them back a little. However a few fish have been taken today But nothing like last Monday. It would be surprising if we saw the same numbers of fish this week ; as last week really was something else but at least they are there now to give encouragement to the angler.

Update 26 August 2007

A week opening at 2.5 feet above normal after 6 feet on Sunday. This gradually dropped away and held at around +10 inches by the end of the week.  Well it will be - should have been here this week-  for many beats. The lower beats struggled but by the time the fish hit Scatterty up to Upper Netherdale- it was -phew what a week. Scatterty had an 18 lb fish amongst their haul and Mountblairy managed 11 whilst Forglen hit it just right and were well into double figures by Wednesday and indeed one rod had over 10 by then . Kinnairdy saw J Smith with 5 by Tuesday, while R Breakell fished hard early week for no reward and then took three sea-liced grilse in an hour on Thursday morning.  P Geddes managed his first salmon in 12 years - a 12lb fish of TAA and Shaun and K Barron managed fish at Upper Netherdale.  Indeed most beats caught their fair share as grilse and a few salmon piled through early week. Things slowed a little after the sun came out and summer appeared for three days. Normal service was resumed on Saturday with a little rain but nothing to raise levels.

Can I draw your attention to the problem of fish with swollen or bleeding vents. The fisheries laboratory are investigating but basically the fish have worms inside by the vent. Advise is to not cold smoke fish as the worms will still be alive. You must cook or hot smoke the fish.

Secondly the number of fish caught with this must be recorded and the information handed to your beat to allow them to collate the numbers and report on to the Trust. Scale samples would also be appreciated - kept in dry packets and sent to our Biologist R Miller at the Trust- Avochie Stables Rothiemay AB45 7YY.

Thirdly we do not know if this damage to and around the vents will affect spawning. As a high percentage of fish seem to be affected- think before you despatch a fish in the last two months.!!!!

I have posted a page on the new fishing's available at Carnousie and Netherdale and will get it finished as soon as time allows. However I have paper information and a PDF file if anyone wants information to allow them to book next year. It is fishing with accommodation- no fishing by itself..

Update 19 August 2007

Levels opened at three feet on Monday after rain on Sunday. It was not too dirty and fish were tempted on spinner. B Ewan had a 12 lb fish off Turriff Angling Association and the Stephen brothers had one each at 10 and 13 off Mountblairy. I Masson had an 8lb fish at Avochie, L McTavish had a sea-trout and I had a sea-trout and 10 lb red fish all returned. Tuesday again saw Turriff take fish to 12lb and most beats began to get amongst fish. We were at one foot above and quite clear by Wednesday. A  14 lb fish came off Upper Netherdale and a 7lb one off Carnousie. Thursday saw the start of a grilse run and many beats exploded with fish. Many beats had double figures for the day with as many lost. Unfortunately some saw nothing. Beats in heaven included Forglen, Carnousie,  Netherdale, Turtory and Muiresk. Things continued on Friday and Saturday. Long tailed sea-liced fish are being taken well up river so they are running hard. As has been the case since mid June we have had a rise of water every weekend and heavy rain Saturday night has seen the river peak at 6 foot today although it is down two feet this evening at 4 foot.

Let us hope the grilse are still in the bay in numbers and we get another shot at them next week- a carbon copy would go down well with most.

Update 12 August 2007

Well from 12 foot above normal down to 4 foot on the Tuesday . Anglers ventured to the river and there were some fish about as the river had lost all the mud colour. Turriff Angling Association saw A. McDonald land two at 10 and 17 lb whilst Marnoch Lodge took a sea-liced fish at 11 lb. By Wednesday we were at 2 foot and Lower Netherdale, Marnoch Lodge and Turriff all got among the fish. By Saturday we were down to + 10 inches and running clear.  Lower beats in the week took around a half dozen fish with highlights being 8 at Scatterty with the first Deveron Salmon to two young brothers Andy and Mick Lock who took 5 between them to 12 lb. Further up river Both Lower and Upper Netherdale and Marnoch Lodge  had a good week -  getting well into double figures with I Gill setting the pace at L/Netherdale and A Kavanagh had a 12 lb fish at Upper Netherdale. We are still not getting fish in huge numbers although the higher water is giving them the chance to run straight through. Forecast is for heavy rain on Tuesday so the river will rise again as we have light rain today and the ground is not getting a chance to dry up.

As an aside if you are washed off why not try some sea-fishing. Mackerel and cod are abundant around  the coast and the pier at  Peterhead is a fantastic spot at the moment .

Update 8 August 2007

Levels kicked off on Monday 30 July at +10 inches and peaty. A few fish came off but nothing spectacular. J Jack took one at 10 lb sea-liced and A Urwin took a long tailed sea-liced fish at the Wrack. Tuesday saw a few more off the lower beats with L/Inverichnie taking one at 13lb. Wednesday saw levels at +9 and Marnoch lodge took two to 10lb and J Brock and K Eastwood had a sea-liced salmon each at Forglen. Thursday saw L/Inverichnie take one at 14 lb and some grilse began to be caught in numbers at the Wrack and Scatterty. Lower beats faired better in the lower water which cheered them up but any fish getting past them seemed to evaporate as they got further from the sea. All in all a poor week seeing as the conditions were better and the water a bit clearer.

However maybe the fish knew we were in for a battering on Sunday evening when 1.75 inches of rain fell in 6 hours and the river peaked somewhere between 10 and 12 feet above normal !!! on Monday afternoon.

 The Deveron at Turriff. The water beyond the fence posts and trees in the background  is the golf course.

Update 29 July 2007

Well another week where some people were lucky but the conditions defeated most. Monday saw levels at 2 feet and very dirty. R Breakell managed a 5lb fish but very little else reported. Tuesday and F Watt took a 9lb sea-liced fish off Carnousie. Wednesday had levels at 1 foot three inches and still very black. I took a brand new grilse at 6 .25 lb and lost two at Upper Netherdale and Muiresk reported a 14 lb fish. Thursday saw levels at +10 inch and clearing slowly. R Breakell took grilse of 5lb.4lb and lost one at around 6lb at Carnousie Whilst A Kavanagh landed four fish of 11lb 12lb 12.5lb and 15 lb on a size 8 Cascade off Upper Netherdale. S Sneddon took a 10lb fish off the Cemetery pool at Marnoch and J Meikle took a 9lb fish at Lower Inverichnie. Heavy showers in the afternoon saw the river rising by 9 pm and it was at 2 foot three inches on Friday and very muddy. However above the Isla Avochie reported some fish Mr. Planis landed one at 11 lb and R Henderson took a sea-liced fish of 6lb at Upper Netherdale and his fishing companion K  Barron took two sea-trout. With levels at +13 inches on Saturday very little was reported but I returned a liced  fish of 31 inches - about 11lb on Saturday off a beat above Turriff.

If forecasts are right this may be the first week in eight that we do not see a rise in levels. If the colour goes out then we may have a chance of getting a few fish and with lower levels the fish will not be so keen to travel so fast. With grilse in the system we may be looking at our best week for some time.

Update 22 July 2007

Monday opened at  1 foot above normal and very peaty. D Shaw took a 12 lb fish at Scatterty and A Ross lost 5 . E Brassey took a sea-trout at Forglen and Euchries managed two salmon - 6lb to B McDonald and a 14 lb fish to S Sneddon. Heavy rain for a couple of hours on Monday saw levels at  one foot nine inches on Tuesday. Catches were down but T Burgess Managed a sea-liced 11lb fish at Mountblairy .Levels were on one foot on Wednesday and again catches were very slow. As levels dropped three inches on Thursday  and began to clear a few more were reported. B Potter had a 6lb sea-trout at Mountblairy whilst S Nicholson took a 14 lb fish. Forglen managed some fish in the teens of pounds and Muiresk also reported fish. Conditions were better on Friday and Upper Netherdale saw two salmon a grilse and  a sea-trout - three of which fell to K Barron. Turriff Angling Association also took a couple of grilse. Saturday again saw T Burgess strike lucky with a 16lb fish off Mountblairy.

Most beats managed a few fish last week but anything over six was a good week. Not really what we should expect with the water levels - or indeed the time of year. A few grilse are on the go - but only a few- as yet. Another worry is that Lower beats are reporting grilse as low as 1 lb and 1lb 8 oz- not skinny but just small. As for this week - levels are running at 3 feet above normal and muddy after heavy overnight rain on Saturday. We will be looking at the end of the week for it to clear for fly fishing and more rain is forecast for Wednesday - with heavy and thundery showers the rest of the week !!!!!- we must just plough on , put the hours in and hope to be rewarded with a nice sea-liced fish over 10 lb !

Update 15 July 2007

Another week full of highs and lows. Monday opened at one foot 10 inches and very peaty. However R Breakell  managed a 14 lb fish on fly at Turtory, F Watt managed a 10.5 lb sea-liced fish at U/Netherdale, Forglen managed a long tailed sea-liced 11 pounder and Muiresk managed a 9 lb fish . Tuesday saw levels at + 10 inch and still very black. Montcoffer managed a 14 lb fish to S Lewis and Muiresk one sea-trout. Wednesday saw the levels at + 8 and the colour dropped out mid morning to leave the river in absolutely ideal condition. It did not disappoint for some. T Lawson had a 12 lb sea-liced fish at U/Netherdale, Montcoffer took a fish at 14 lb , a sea-liced grilse and sea-trout, While Turtory saw two Salmon to A Ross at 10 and 8 lb while A Watt took a sea-trout and Grilse. Avochie took grilse and lost three salmon T McInally took a 11lb Salmon at Mountblairy and Dunlugas managed a 10 lb fish. I had two hours in the evening at Muiresk and pulled three fish , lost two salmon returned a sea-trout over 3 lb and landed a sea-liced fish of 13 lb. Thursday tailed off but R Breakell managed another at 10 lb Turriff Angling Club saw a visitor land and return a 12 lb fish and R Wood landed a 9lb sea-liced fish and lost a fish estimated at 25-30 lb after an epic struggle at Dunlugas. Friday saw Dunlugas take a 4lb sea-trout and Huntly continued to pick up sea-trout and Salmon to 20 lb.

Rain overnight saw the river rise to 4 foot on Saturday and running like mud. However tonight it is at one foot 6 inches and the colour is peaty but not black. Providing the forecast rain is not too heavy we should have an excellent week if we get some fish in off the tide.  

I have daily tickets on Dunlugas this week.  I also have fishing with superior accommodation available on Carnousie and Upper Netherdale for the remainder of this season and the whole of next season. I will have a page on the site when I get all the information but both beats  average around 120 fish per year. If you are interested give me a call. These beats have not been let - other than syndicated in the past.  It is a chance to get on excellent beats with prime weeks available- i.e. all of September and October are available.- so Hurry.

Update 8 July 2007

 What a week - the river will not settle. Monday saw levels at 2.5 feet and very dirty. Mains of Mayen , Carnousie and Upper Netherdale reported salmon and sea-trout while J Eden took two grilse and Salmon of 12 and 15 lb at Scatterty. Tuesday saw levels at 2.75 ft and a few fish came off again. R Breakell had two sea-trout in the dirty water on a pot bellied pig. Laithers took one at 13 lb and Marnoch lodge and Kinnairdy saw a pod of fish stop and saw 5 salmon come off the beats. Wednesday morning had levels up again to 3 ft - not so dirty but very black and very few fish were caught. By Thursday levels had dropped to 2.5 feet but heavy rain in the Turriff Burn catchments area virtually made the Deveron un-fishable below Turriff  all the way to Banff. Forglen reported a fish of 12 lb. Friday saw levels at plus two feet and this fell to 1.5 feet by evening but on Saturday a.m. it was back up to two feet and still very black. Today Sunday it is still at two feet after yet more rain overnight. It continues to be very black and peaty and flies or lures are hard to see once they are 4 inches into the water.

 I do not know if the fish have run straight through the river as not many have been caught up river and conflicting reports are coming out from around Huntly. Some say "nae fish" and others "heaps of fish" !!!!. We need the water to settle and the very dark peat stain to wash out and we may be able to get a hold of some that are there. Reports from the Findhorn suggest they have now got some decent numbers of Grilse. If the Spey get them this week then we should see some at the tail end of this week and into the following week. Lets cross our fingers that this will be the case.

Update 1 July 2007

 Levels opened on Monday at 4 foot and very black. Turriff Anglers managed a sea-trout and Mountblairy took  salmon at 12 lb and sea-trout and a grilse, but other beats struggled in the dark water.

Tuesday saw levels at 2.5 feet and Upper Netherdale had a 9lb salmon and Turriff again saw some sea-trout including one of 9.5 lb. By Wednesday levels were at 1.5 ft but still very black as rain in the hills kept the peat stain in the water. Avochie and Marnoch Lodge both posted salmon. Thursday was the best day of the week with the colour diluted. and levels at + 10 inches. T Lawson took another salmon at U/Netherdale at 11 lb, A Kavanagh had another 11lb fish , sea-liced off the same beat and Forglen saw a salmon at 10 lb to G Hepburn and a sea-trout to my rod. Again heavy rain overnight saw levels at 3 feet on Friday and this peaked at 6 foot again by 5 pm. Saturday levels ran at 2 foot 7 inches and dropped a foot during the day. Lower beats reported some good catches for the week on spinner but fly only beats were a wash out except for Thursday. However an 11lb sea-trout came to the fly at Mountblairy in the week. Today saw levels at just under 2 feet at 8am but were running at 3 feet at 7pm after heavy overnight rain again on Saturday/early hours of Sunday.

If levels settle down then higher beats should be holding fish that have run off the tide and the lower beats should pick some up as /if levels drop away.

Update 25 June 2007

Most anglers around Turriff picked away this week. Lower beats did not do so well but some hooked sea-trout and salmon but could not keep hold of them . Many a beat did not see a fish and some of those that did not see anything still managed fish whilst others blanked. Monday saw success for J Slater at Muiresk with a 4 lb sea-trout whilst Laithers, and Mountblairy all managed a few sea-trout. Tuesday saw the river turn peaty after rain in the very high hills. J Slater trumped his 4 lb sea-trout with one at 5.25lb off Muiresk and U/Netherdale saw a 4lb sea-trout and Turriff Angling Club had four on the Tuesday night.

Wednesday's heavy rain lasted for about two hours but there were no reports of fish and no lift in height. By Thursday the river went up from -3 inches but back down again as quick as it got there. Sea-trout were reported at Forglen and R Partridge took four sea-trout at Muiresk. Friday saw the river again rise due to rain in the highest hills and it was very peaty again. However levels were back down to normal by evening. These quick - short lived rises combined with the peaty colour have unsettled fish and those that are running have done so in quick time. Reports suggest Huntly have had sea-trout and salmon this week. Saturday saw the rain arrive around 4pm and it has lashed down until 5pm Sunday. The river now stands just below the six foot mark but appears to have peaked . This will no doubt put an end to the sea-trout which will shoot through now - so we have to hope there are plenty grilse waiting to come in. Only time will tell and this week will prove interesting as to fish numbers as the water drops.

Update 17 June 2007

Put the hours in and the rewards are there. Beats have plugged away this week with most having a couple of sea-trout and the odd Salmon. The fish are not showing and this tends to put people off and they fish less as the week goes on. The water went up three inches on Wednesday to Normal level but then quickly dropped to around the 3 below mark. Montcoffer had two sea-trout and a 9lb Salmon on Tuesday and they report fish moving through the beat as what little dark we have at the moment descends. Forglen managed a few sea-trout and Turriff Angling Association managed a couple of sea-trout to 6.25 lb and a 10.25lb fresh salmon to A MacDonald on Friday. Beats up from Turriff struggled a wee bit But U/Netherdale worked away with several sea-trout and Salmon including a 3.25lb sea-trout and a 10.5lb sea-liced salmon to my rod. The forecast for next week is for things to remain dull and cold with some rain on Wednesday. We really need to see some salmon in a hurry as with little heat and decent levels the sea-trout are heading for the hills rather fast and not giving much sport.

Update 10 June 2007

Things are a little better but to talk to some it is all doom and gloom. The river level is now 3 inches below normal from six feet above just over a week ago. The catches are nothing like we should have as far as salmon are concerned - they are just not there. Sea- trout continue to enter the system but are missing the lower beats. Stopping in the middle and then going straight through the rest of the system. Salmon were taken at Forglen and Boat of Turtory and two large salmon over 20 lb were lost on a lower beat and at Muiresk. Turriff Angling Association took three more sea-trout to just over 4 lb , R Wood at Turtory had two sea-trout to 4 lb as did E Bowie. Muiresk managed another three towards the end of the week and U/Netherdale managed two to R Henderson. Montcoffer managed a salmon and a sea-trout and Avochie the same, including some big brownies to 4 lb. Dunlugas managed a few sea-trout and two Grilse. As is the case with sea-trout many more were lost. Hopefully more will come in over the next few weeks to give us some much needed sport to make up for the lack of Salmon. Remember that the River Board ask that you take only two sea-trout per day and only one over 3lb.

Update 6 June 2007

 Saturday saw the start of the sea-trout with around 6 reported. Monday saw the levels at normal and it would appear that the sea-trout have passed through the lower beats and settled in and around Turriff, although a few have been reported up river. F Watt opened the week with a sea-trout at 7 lb off /Netherdale and J Nicholl had a salmon first cast at Scatterty and lost another in the morning. Dunlugas took two and lost two while Mountblairy reported three and the loss of several sea-trout and a salmon. Forglen took two and lost two, Kinnairdy reported two sea-trout and Muiresk and Turriff Angling association caught and lost fish. Tuesday has continued the pattern with beats between Scatterty and just above Turriff fairing best. Turriff Anglers reported J Lorimer with a sea-trout at 4.5 lb and K Kesterton with one at 3 lbs and I have lost a sea-trout around 4lb and caught two brown trout at 2.5 and 1.5 lb this week. The river is clearing slowly and levels keeping around normal. The weather is dull and a bit cool at 14 degrees with some mist and drizzle over night. These conditions are ideal for fishing during the day if you are unable to fish early or late.

Update 3 June 2007

The rain arrived and fell heavily for 24 hours. The river was rising all day on Wednesday and peaked at 6 foot above normal. This will have given the system a good clean out in time for the sea-trout --- as long as they were not in the bay - in which case they may be in the headwaters already.  On Thursday levels were at 4 foot at 8 am but by 6pm had dropped to 2ft. I took a sea-trout over 3lb off Turriff Association after loosing one at Montcoffer in the rain on Tuesday evening. Friday saw levels at + 14 inches but very black in colour. Montcoffer reported a sea-trout at 3lb Turtory a salmon at 8 lb and Turriff Community water had a 6lb salmon. Saturday saw levels at +6 inches and only a sea-liced salmon at Netherdale has been reported so far. The colour is still in the river today but surely we will see a few more fish this next week.

Update 29 May 2007

A few more fish taken this week but nothing to get too excited about. Forglen had a sea-trout at 3 lb and L/Netherdale a salmon at 12 lb and a sea-trout at 4 lb. Heavy showers and hail gave us a couple of inches on The Monday 21 May and Euchries had a 5 lb brown trout , Dunlugas two sea-trout and one off Montcoffer. Turtory had a sea-trout in the week and F Watt managed another fish this time a sea-liced one of 9lb at U/Netherdale. This week has seen sea-liced sea-trout at Laithers and  a sea-trout at Carnousie. It is Trying to rain but as yet we have not had what was forecast. The river tonight stands at Normal. That is up four inches.

Update 20 May 2007

The rise in levels saw a small run of fish head for the hills early in the week with Huntly AA reporting at lease three sea-liced fish on the Monday. A 6lb sea-trout was taken on Mountblairy and returned by R Wood. Marnoch Lodge and Glennie saw a couple of fish in the middle of the week and Forglen reported a 7lb Sea-trout, again returned. The only other fish reported came off Carnousie on Friday- a 7 lb fish to F Watt. Levels are now down to 3 inches below Normal again  but hopefully the very heavy showers today will rise levels a wee bit for the new week.

Update 14 May 2007

By Saturday levels were back down to around normal and a few fish were seen running including some sea-trout but only one 9lb sea-liced fish was reported and that came off Turtory. J Donald at the Wrack and Myself at Turriff both had 2lb brown trout on the fly on Saturday and G Forbes had one at 2.5 lb at Dunlugas today. We had some un-forecast heavy rain Sat. night into Sunday AM and levels were up on Sunday and stood at + 5 inches this morning. With more rain forecast this week levels should hold up well and more fish should enter the system.

Update May 11 2007

The rain came and we got a rise of 12 inches, from -3 to +9 on the gauge. There is a lot of dirt and slime flushing out and we could have done with more water to help flush the system. However fresh fish were seen going through Montcoffer off the tide this morning- these are the first that they have seen this season so no doubt a few will be caught in a day or two.

There are still some prime weeks available in July , September and October. Please check out the availability page and daily tickets are still available at Forglen until the end of this month.

For those of you into fly tying I have some ostrich herl and Long Temple dog hair  from Norway for  your  Frodin coneheads and turbo cones.  Give me a call for colours.

Update May 9 2007

At last some good news to report. J Mann took an 11 pound fish off Mountblairy on Friday, F Watt had a 12 lb fish off U/Netherdale Monday night and the first sea-trout at 2lb fell to R Breakell off Carnousie on Tuesday. Today S Henderson had a 10lb fish at Lower Netherdale. Levels went up half an inch on Tuesday but we are still 3 inches below normal. Heavy showers today and heavy rain forecast for tonight may well help us out.

Update May 6 2007

The weather remains dry and the rain on Saturday night was virtually nil. We have now gone a fortnight without a fish being reported. The odd one has been seen but they can not be tempted. We hope that the showery weather forecast for this week will give some water.

Update April 29 2007

Ray MacDonald managed a 6 lb fish off Muiresk on the Monday evening and I have not heard of another fish off the river. We had two inches of a rise on Wednesday but it made little difference to the fishing. The weather remains warm and the sun is far too bright. Even the trout fishing is suffering. Forecast for the coming week is more of the same dry weather so no doubt things will remain very difficult.

For those of you who will be in past the shop in the next six weeks - Castle Street is closed for Gas Main works and I believe the car park next to the shop will be closed- please use the car parks next to Somerfields or the Wynd which is less than 100 yds away.

Update April 23 2007.

 Well not much rain over the weekend although the river did move a couple of inches on Sunday but back down today. Saturday saw fish to G Slater at Laithers 10 lb, another 10 lb fish came off Upper Netherdale and K Kesterton had one just over 9lb at Muiresk. He repeated this on Monday with another fish at 10lb. Both came to small size 12 trout hooks and 4 lb nylon.

Update April 20 2007

Well not a fish since last Wednesday although the weather has cooled down to around 10 degrees from the tropical 24 degrees c we had last weekend. Levels are at normal and the river is still running crystal clear. Rain is forecast for this weekend so lets hope we get enough to raise levels around 6 inches or so.

Update April 11 2007

Levels have dropped away to a couple of inches above normal and the river is crystal clear. Good numbers of trout over 2lb continue to be caught up and down the river. As to salmon Laithers , Ardmeallie and Marnoch lodge all reported fish last week . This week saw Monday kick off with fish reported on several beats. S Ramsey had a sea-liced fish around 9lb at Forglen , G Boyne had a 10lb fish at Scatterty, Euchrie reported one at around 8lb and Huntly AA one at 9lb. All these fish fell to visiting anglers. Turriff Angling Association report a 6lb fish to another visitor K McLeod- his first go at Salmon Fishing.

Update April 6 2007

Another fish came off Lower Inverichnie on Tuesday- a sea-licer at 9 lb. Since then it has been a bit slow despite a lot of Anglers out this week. We have had around about the 25 fish taken so far so we are doing well.

I have added some prime weeks to the lettings page for Forglen and Muiresk. Please check it out and get in touch if interested . The most expensive rod is still under £400 per week.

Update April 3 2007

Well we seem to be getting there now. Two fish at 8 and 9 lb came off Upper Netherdale on Saturday on the fly and a 7lb fish came off Turtory. Monday saw levels at +7 inches and an 11lb fish came off Glennie and a 10 lb fish off Lower Netherdale both on the fly. Today we saw B Garden take a 10 lb sea-liced fish off Montcoffer. Trout are also in good condition and are common in the 1-2 lb range with a good few at 3 lb and some over 4 coming off at the weekend.

 B Garden 10 lb sea-liced at Montcoffer.

Update 1 April 2007

Two more fish to report on Wednesday. One off Scatterty at 10lb including a 5lb Brown Trout to G Anderson and on to S Cockersoll at Marnoch Lodge. However rain in the hills on Wednesday night raised levels on Thursday to about 2 foot and they were at 10 inches above normal on Saturday. This has put catches down again but a fine few days in prospect weather-wise so we will see what the next week brings. This is really the time things should get going.

Update 27 March 2007

Levels are holding steady at plus 10 inches and clarity is good. Gordon Dublonski had a sea-liced 10 lb fish off his Lower Inverichnie water on Monday and Alan Kavanagh had this 10lb 9 oz fish off Carnousie Today Tuesday. Both fish were taken on the fly.

A. Kavanagh 10.5lb

Update 25 March 2007

Water levels have been a bit erratic towards the end of the week. Snow in the higher reaches melted as milder weather arrived mid week and levels peaked around two foot and were dirty on Thursday. Ian Masson had an 8lb fish off Avochie on Wednesday and Nick Bryant had a sea-liced fish off his Marnoch Lodges beat on Saturday. This now takes the tally to 11 for the season - ahead of our usual count at this time. Hopefully water levels will drop to below a foot this week and as long as we have anglers out a fish should be taken in lower levels.

Update 18 March 2007

A mild week that saw levels tail away during the week but rise a few inches on the Saturday. Levels bottomed out at around +6 inches and the river ran very clear but cold at around 4 degrees. Two sea-liced fish came off on Wednesday one at Turtory and one at Laithers. With the wind now in the north and a spell of winter back with us we will have to see if we get enough snow to raise levels once again.

Update 12 March 2007

The river has slowly fallen and is now steady around the one foot mark and running fairly clear. We have had some warm sunshine although some days the wind has been cold. There are no reports of any clean fish but now that the Spey seems to have had a run of fish we usually get a few around two weeks later.

We must hope that we get no more rain for a day or two.

UPDATE 4 March 2007.

The river has been out of sorts for all but one week since the opening day. Heavy rain every few days has kept levels up around two foot or above and this last week has seen it very dirty. However on the week that was any good we had another three fish.  12 Year old Simon West had one off Montcoffer and this was followed up by Neil Cowie on Wednesday with a 7lb fish again off Montcoffer. Then on Friday 23 February Edwin Wilkie had a 7lb fish off the Wrack.

Levels today are around 2 foot but heavy rain is predicted over night and indeed all week we are forecasted dry days and wet nights. Hopefully when levels settle we will get more anglers out and get a few more fish.

For those of you who are interested in hooks be it tube hooks or to tie on I have M Frodin salar hooks at amazing prices. Please ring for details. They are going fast.

Also genuine Temple dog hair from Norway will be available in a couple of weeks - this is top quality stuff and will retail around £12. Please do not forget we offer a mail order service and our web shop  has some popular items on it but we have many more items in stock such as Vision Koma Reels, Vision Extreme and Radipor breathable waders, Rio Fly lines, Snowbee 1,and 2 D lines along with the new Redington salmon rods- cheaper in the UK than in America.

UPDATE 19 FEBRUARY 2007

The river continued to run high at 4 ft on Tuesday and down to 2.5 ft on Wednesday. By Friday it was back up to 4 ft as fine weather melted the snow on the hills. Saturday saw levels at 2.5 ft and I have reports of a fresh fish coming off Lower Netherdale but unconfirmed as yet.

UPDATE 12 FEBRUARY 2007

Well the river has ran between normal and plus six inches since November 06 and three days before the season opens the heavens open. We did not see much snow around Turriff but had a fair bit in the hills. Around 6 pm on Saturday the forecasted snow arrived and quickly turned to heavy sleet then torrential rain. It did not stop raining all day Sunday resulting in opening day level at plus 5 foot. So a wash out with not many anglers venturing out. It has rained off and on all day today so we may not see any improvement until later in the week.