Opening Day 2004
The season opened with the river running
at around three
feet 4 inches above normal and the weather mild and bright.
Afternoon temps reached 14 degrees.
Many kelts were taken some in double
figures.
However a fresh springer of 8lb 2 oz was
taken off Marnoch Lodge.
The first opening day springer in many a season.
Update 25/2/04
Water levels have fallen away to around
normal as we have had a dry spell of weather.
However we are now under a blanket of
snow and it is forecast for more up until the 1st
March. This will rise levels when it thaws.
Many kelts have now made their way to sea
but a rise in level will probably bring some more down from
the upper reaches. We should see some fresh fish coming off
the river around mid March.
Some 80 000 sea trout eggs have hatched
and 1500 salmon eggs are due to hatch mid March. These will be
released into the river around October to give them a better
chance of survival. This
must be good news for future catches.
Update 4 March 2004
No more catches to report and we have now
had some heavy rain,which has triggered our thaw of up to 12
inches of snow.
Water levels were at +2 ‘ 6” this
morning and rising.
Update 13 March 2004
Water levels rose from the 5th
onwardsand peaked at just over 4 foot on Monday 8th.
Levels then dropped to 1’6” by Friday but it has been
bitterly cold with easterly winds.
However Brian Johnston came up trumps
with a 7 lb 8 oz springer off Inverichnie on Friday 12th.
Forecast is for more rain so levels will
rise next week.
Update 20 March 2004
Temperatures rose to 12 degrees at the
start of the week and snow melt rose levels to 2 feet 6 inches
above normal. As levels dropped some colour came into the
water and Two fish came off Laithers 7 and 12 lb on Thursday.
Friday saw another fish come off Forglen of 8 lb.
Today Sat has seen heavy rain and snow on
the high hills so levels will rise again.
Update 27 March 2004
Levels rose over the week as we had some
heavy rain at night during the week. Levels peaked at 3 feet
above Normal on Friday. It was fairly dirty for most of the
week and not many anglers ventured out as it was still cold
for the first half of the week.
However another fish came off a lower
beat on Thursday bringing the total to 6 – one better than
this time last season--- indeed we were stuck on 5 until April
24 th last year. But levels were at normal or below in 2003
where as this year we are well above normal. Milder weather at
the end of the week should help water temperatures so
hopefully more fish to report next week.
Update 31 March 2004
Total now standing at 12 . David Watt had
a 10.5 lb sea-liced fish off Avochie today and I had one of
7,5lb off Carnousie. Water level around 1’6” but mighty
cold with easterly winds.
Update 3 April 2004
Friday produced very heavy rain and
levels rose to 2’ 9” on Saturday and it was dirty. Two
more fish were taken in the week. Jim Smith had a 7 lb fish
off Kinnairdy Castle water and Mark Robertson had an 8 lb fish
off Lower Mountblairy.
Update 8 April 2004
The April showers keep coming and levels
have risen again this week and standing at +2 ‘ today.
Five more fish have been reported this
week with the biggest one of 14 lb taken on a fly. Hopefully
with a few more anglers out over Easter we might see some more
catches.
Update 12 April 2004
Another six fish to report since last
Thursday.
Two off Marnoch Lodge one a 10 lb sea
liced fish and Turtory 1, Dunlugas 1 and Carnousie 2
.including one to Ian Masson of 7 lb
Water has dropped back to + 10 inches and
anglers report seeing fish moving up river. Also a few flies
hatching and a small trout rise in the warmer weather.
Update 17 April 2004
At least 14 fish have come off the river
this week, 5 from Avochie 2 from the Corniehaugh area, 1 from
Marnoch lodge, 1 off Inverichnie and two from Lower
Netherdale. The level has dropped back to +6 inches but fresh
fish were seen steaming through the lower beats this afternoon
off the tide. I have also a report of a 7 lb brownie but have
no confirmation yet.
Check out the availability page if you
are looking for some fishing.
Update 24 April 2004
Water levels peaked at 4 feet
above normal on Monday so the river was out of sorts for a
couple of days. Wednesday saw better water but gales made
fishing very uncomfortable. Avochie yielded another on fly
late evening and David Plumpton took a sea liced specimen of 8
lb off his Castle Water on Friday and a 14 lb fish was taken
off a beat quite well up. Levels today (sat) are back down to
+6 inches and milder weather might encourage the trout to
rise.
Update 27 April 2004
Further reports of fish at the
end of last week include Upper Netherdale 1 Inverkiethny 1
Inverichnie 1 and
Lower Netherdale 2 best 13 lb.
Monday saw Lord Morison take a
12 lb fish off his beat at Montcoffer as well as a 3 lb
Brownie and Tuesday saw Richard Breakell take a 113/4 lb fish
off Carnousie on a yellow ally’s.
Water levels have risen today
and seem to have peaked at 1 foot above normal this evening.
New beats with availability
have been added on the Fishing availability page. We are now
well over the 50 fish mark and a few sea-trout are putting in
an appearance on the Banff club water.
Update 30 April 2004
Levels are up to over 4 feet
above normal so it looks like Monday May 3 rd before the river
will be back in condition for fishing.
Update 5 May 2004
Water levels are running at
just below 1 foot above normal with a peat stain. Three fish
have come off the river to my knowledge one at Kinnairdy and
one opposite at Marnoch Lodge and one off Carnousie.
All were taken on the fly.
Check out availability for Forglen and Muiresk on the
availability page.
Update 7 May 2004
Levels rose on Thurs to one
foot 6 inches but are now down to
14 inches. Two more fish to report – one off Dunlugas
7 lb sea –liced and another off Marnoch Lodge art 10 lb
Update 10 May 2004
Levels are at
plus 10 inches to start the week but the weather
remains dull and misty with max temp today of 10 deg C . The
weekend saw A. Murray take a 9lb sea-liced fish off Turtory,
another sea-liced fish came off Inverkiethny and Laithers took
another 9 lb fish. A bit of heat might help us get a few of
the sea-trout now in the river.
Update 13 May 2004
Levels now at +6 and holding
with some sunny spells warming things up a bit. Fish off
Euchries, Laithers and Lower Inverichnie so far this week.
Update 18 May 2004
After a few days of sun and
heat we are back to cloudy and chilly. Levels have held up at
around +6 with a wee tinge of colour—infact perfect conditions. Fish
off Glennie and Avochie with many more lost up and down the
river. Sea-trout are now putting in an appearance in the lower
beats. Total
salmon catch is now over 100—the best spring in many a year.
Update 23 May 2004
Things have gone a little slow
with the lower levels although a small short lived three inch
rise took place on Friday. Turtory had a lovely 10 lb fish and
the party fishing at Netherdale had at least 7 for their week.
Two seatrout were taken just
off the tide and although the catches have slowed plenty fish
have been seen coming off the tide making their way up river.
We are now into the sea-trout
time so lets hope it is as good as the spring salmon run .
Update 27 May 2004
Catches have picked up again as
levels hold steady at around +4 inches. The water is now
clear.
I Masson took a 8.5 lb
sea-liced fish off Carnousie , Colin Anderson had a cracking
15 lb sea- liced fish above the tide and Montcoffer had one at
12 lb.
Inverkiethny , Lower Netherdale
and Laithers have all had fish between 7 and 13 lb and Avochie
saw N.Mchardy and R.Fraser take a fish each at 9 and 12 lb.
Sea-trout are now spread through out the river but not
in any numbers yet. Beats being fished by weekly guests are
reporting that fish jumping and fish are seen running through
most days.
Update 3 June 2004
The Sea-trout have now arrived
and are well spread out through the river . Montcoffer
Inverichnie, Forglen, Turriff, Muiresk and Upper Netherdale
have all encountered sea-trout. Salmon continue to run and
weigh between 8 and 11 lb.. We have had a little rain and
levels have risen a couple of inches Wednesday and today
Thursday but fall back by nightfall. Levels are still at +2
inches and reports off the river tell of seeing plenty fish.
Update 11 June 2004
The river is running at around
3 inches below normal although heavy thunder showers today may
induce a rise over this weekend.
I must say that being on the
river in the late evening is like old times. The pools are
full of Salmon and are now being joined by the sea-trout.
These have been caught from Montcoffer to Avochie at Rothiemay
so are well spread out up the river. We have also had a couple
of Grilse off the river which is very early.
Beats fishing well include
Forglen ,Muiresk, Carnousie, Glennie and Netherdale. Many
lower beats do not see any weekly visitors until next week so
pressure has been light lower down.
However middle to higher beats
are mostly either full of fish or at least seeing fish run
through.. I fished Carnousie on Wednesday and the beat
opposite had a fish in the morning but had not seen any fish
and thought there was very little doing. At 11.30pm when they
were all away the fish went on the move and the place came
alive with big double figure fish but would not look at
anything I had to offer.
There are three rods available
on the Wrack w/c 21 June (a prime week)- please ring me if
anyone is interested. Tight
lines if you are on the river.
Update 18 June 2004
Levels have kept up again this
week and heavy showers have added a few inches for a few hours
until the rain stops filling the ditches.
Sea-trout have been caught in
reasonable numbers around the Turriff area with beats picking
up between 5 and 10 up until last night..
Sea-liced salmon have been
taken off Lower Mountblairy and Ardmiddle as well as Forglen.
Lower beats are not seeing any
of these fish as they run straight through their beats and
higher beats are not seeing the same fish numbers as they were. However
next week should be a prime sea-trout week for mid beats and
as a few grilse have appeared from Mountblairy to upper
Netherdale things should be buzzing.
Update 20 June 2004
After heavy showers Friday and
Saturday the river has peaked at 18 inches above normal and
running dirty. This should bring ideal conditions for the
start of the week as the water fines down.
Update 24 June 2004
Monday saw levels at 12 inches
above normal.
Fish this week until today are
as follows.:-
TAA- 3 sea-trout, Laithers 1
salmon 5 Sea-trout, Carnousie,
one salmon 12 lb (Robbie Henderson) Inverkiethny 1
salmon two sea-trout, Avochie 10lb salmon, Eden 17.5 lb salmon
2 sea-trout, Upper Netherdale at least- 3 salmon to 16 lb and
four sea-trout. Muiresk 4 sea-trout Lower Netherdale 4 salmon
and four sea-trout (salmon to 13.5 lb) and Mayen beat at least
30 (a mix of salmon and sea-trout).
The rise obviously helped the
higher beats but fish ran through the lower and mid beats
quickly. It has rained heavily from 5 pm last night right
through until 7
pm today.
The river stood at 5 foot this
morning and was rising at 15 inches per hour and was at about
13 foot above normal at 5 pm but still rising.
This makes the rest of this
week except sat a wash-out but as long as we do not get too
much bank damage and a large fry kill we should be set for an
excellent spell as levels will hold up well now that the
ground is saturated.
All beats the whole length of
the river will now have fish either holding or running
through.
Next week looks like being a
corker !!!
Update 28 June 2004
The river was barely fishable
below The Isla after
the spate of last Thursday. Some Salmon were taken on fly
around Huntly but only the worm managed some sea-trout lower
down.
With things looking set for
Monday – heavy thunder storms left the river at around four
feet above normal and very dirty on Monday but by 10 pm it was
down two feet.
Again only the worm has had any
success with the TAA taking numbers in double figures.
Funnily enough it is all
sea-trout – no Salmon to be seen. The rest of the week looks
good as long as we have no more rain.
Update 1 July 2004
The river continues to yo-yo
and it is dirty in places dependant on which burn is in spate.
Fish continue to run the river
off the tide in large numbers but with coloured water they are
running hard. The whole river is producing fish with around 60
sea-trout reported since Monday and Salmon in fewer numbers
but ranging from 4 lb Grilse to a 28 lb fish. Most are around
the mid teens in poundage with the best reported being a 20 lb
sea-liced fish off upper Netherdale. Some beats are having red
letter “hours” when the fish stop for a breather.
Gordon Dublonski at Lower
Inverichnie took 5 and lost four sea-trout in two hours on
Wednesday and 9 fish were lost in three hours at Carnousie on
Monday evening. They obviously missed the 15 .75 lb
fish taken off the beat on the Tuesday. As levels are up
slightly today it will stay up
this week as we continue to have very heavy showers.
Levels are at +18 inches at
Turriff this evening.
Update 4 July 2004
Levels have dropped away to +8
inches and the clarity has cleared . All in all it is just
perfect.
Salmon , sea-trout and grilse
continue to come off the whole system- with most beats picking
up two or three of something every day.
Sea-liced grilse have fallen to
K Kesterton at Turriff and R.Henderson at Avochie so they are
well spread and running hard. Light showers are forecast with
no real rain until Thursday so prospects are mouth watering.
Update 8 July 2004
Again levels have been up and
down- even within 12 hours- up 3 inches at noon from 8am and
down again by 6pm. This has unsettled the fish and the colour
has been black- too black for the fly and spinning, the worm
has accounted for sea-trout but the salmon and grilse have
headed up river. Huntly area is producing good numbers of
fresh fish. Lower down Dunlugas had an 8 lb sea-trout and a
17lb Salmon on Tuesday although the first few beats are not
seeing any fish as they run through. Turriff, Forglen, and
Laithers continue to fish well. No rise in levels today so
with the water clearing things should improve for the fly
fisherman by the weekend.
Update 12 July 2004
Fish , fish everywhere. !!!
The last few days have seen
large numbers of grilse arriving and heading straight
for the headwaters. Many anglers have had red letter
days. Murdo Watson on a beat above Turriff hooked fifteen fish
on Friday and landed four, whilst another angler at Kinnairdy
hooked 18 for his week and landed six.
T .Lawson took four sea-liced
fish at upper Netherdale, best 11 lb and took another fresh 5
lb grilse for his morning, whilst Turtory had nothing all week
until Friday when they had 6 sea-liced grilse.
Although levels rose about 5
inches over sat into Sunday Sea- liced fish have been picked
up all over the River today. I Masson had two at Carnousie at
4 lb and J Gardiner had a sea- liced 7 lb fish at Turtory.
The colour is peaty but not
black and although a little rain is forecast for Wednesday
things should remain in top condition for the rest of the
week.
Update 15 July 2004
Fish continue to run the river
in large numbers. Anglers out early around 5am are picking up
fish.
John Wittet had a 12 lb sea-
liced fish off Lower Mountblairy and T Lawson had
four best 7 lb -
two within half hour of Starting
at 5am. Dunlugas and Lower Inverichnie have both had fish over
15 lb this week. As the water drops to 5 inches above normal
today and clears out – the lower beats are now getting a few
fish. Many beats are reporting weekly totals well into double figures. Anglers
hitting pockets of fish are asked to bear a thought for future
stocks.
3 days fishing have become
available on The Wrack beat on 22nd, 23rd and 24th
July.
Please ring me if you are
interested.
Update 20 July 2004
The numbers of fish running
continue. It would be fair to say that around 200 fish per
week are currently being caught off the whole system. Many
beats are taking between 10 and 30 fish for a week. However
some are not seeing fish stop and are having difficulty
catching any number. Levels remain just above normal and
clarity is very clear.
Cascades and silver ally’s
are taking most fish.
The majority of fish caught are
also sea- liced.
Beats fishing well are Lower
Mountblairy, Scatterty, Dunlugas, Turriff Angling Association,
Muiresk, Both Netherdales, and most beats above the Bridge of Marnoch. Carnousie
yielded a 14 lb Salmon to Richard Breakell as well as a 5 lb
grilse and the loss of two others.
As stated before please bear
conservation in mind if you have a good week. Fish stocks will
only remain healthy if we leave some to breed.
Update 25 July 2004
People fishing this week have
been a bit secretive over what they are catching!!. Maybe it
is because they have been told to say nothing or are
embarrassed at the numbers of fish they are catching.. I have
reports of some beats last week taking over 50 fish and others
in the thirties. This is not good news if they are all
kept.
However the river is now around
normal level and the weather remains bright with temperatures
around 17 to 20 degrees. There is no rain forecast for the
following week so lower beats should start to keep hold of the
fish.
Mr. Calvert fishing Turtory has
had several grilse and a 16 lb Salmon at Turtory whilst Robbie
Henderson managed an 11lb fish there on Thursday. Colin Innes
has had several Grilse and sea-trout off Euchries and lost a
fish after 50 minutes - estimated at around 25 lb.
Lower Mountblairy has seen
sea-liced grilse come off with all anglers getting some action
whilst John Brock continues to do well at Forglen and Muiresk
is consistent with grilse and Salmon catches.
Scatterty has seen one rod take
28 for his fortnight – with all sea-trout catches returned-
but the rod had lost the last six he has hooked, so thought
his luck had changed--- majority of fish
fell to the Silver Ally.
Update 29 July 2004
With levels around or just
under normal things have cooled a little the last few days .
Day temperatures have hit the 20 degree mark and it has been
very humid.
Grilse have come off Scatterty
, lower Mountblairy , Forglen and Dunlugas.
Infact a large run of grilse
went through low beats on Monday Morning.
Scatterty have had a 13 lb fish
and Eden a 19lb fish this week.
Fishing Euchries on Tuesday
evening a run of Sea-trout went through just before dark- so
they are there just harder to catch this week.
Forecast for tonight and am
tomorrow is rain , a little rise would help us no end at the
moment.
Update 5 August 2004
Thing have continued to be on
the slow side Despite lower beats seeing plenty of fish coming
off the tide.
Scatterty and Lower Mountblairy
have picked up grilse as have the lower beats. Mr Planis has
had 5 grilse and a salmon this week and the Hanson party have
all had fish – even a few first caught salmon.
The Scatterty total is now in
double figures.
Our rain did not last long BUT
we did get a 2 inch rise for the Wednesday this week. However
between leaving the river at 5 pm on Wednesday and returning
at 8pm it had risen nine inches. This will freshen things up
and bring us some more fish off the high tides this week.
Update 7 August 2004
The rise on Wed/Thurs turned
dirty during the course of Thursday pm and the river is now
heavily peat-stained. Many low beats are reporting loads of
small grilse running up river.
Montcoffer has had 16 up until
Friday which is better than most but reports suggest that
Lower Netherdale have had an exceptional week with near 50
fish caught.--- The majority returned in the interests of conservation. One
rod caught 10 for his day whilst his fishing partners
blanked—that’s fishing!
Prospects look good for next
week especially if we get the forecast rain on Monday-
although the web forecasters do not tell of rain.
But with levels back at normal
the fish will still run.
Update 14 August 2004
The rain never arrived this far
north so the river has struggled this week as the level fell
to around Three inches below normal.
We had mist early and late but
temps around 18 to 24 degrees in between.
Forglen saw a few grilse on
Monday and Wednesday but most other beats have been very
quiet.
Forecast rain for Wednesday
night again never hit our corner but must have hit the high
Cabrach as the river rose about a foot in a short space of
time Thursday. As it dropped it became very black and peaty on
Friday.
This stirred a few fish and
Beats around Marnoch saw a few fish.
A large run of grilse was
reported going through beats below Turriff on Friday evening
but would not look at anything anglers offered.
By Today Saturday the river was
at Normal level and a fine colour. Next week looks a little
duller with some rain. Let us all hope this is the case.
Update 17 August 2004
Monday saw the river open at
normal level for the lower half but +12 inches for the upper
half. This eventually made its way downstream during the day
and as it was clear at first a few fish were taken up and
down.
Simon Stephen and his brother
had a few grilse off Lower Mountblairy and a 17 lb salmon in
the morning, K.Murray took a 6lb fish off Avochie and K.Dyer
took a grilse off Euchries. As the day progressed the water
got very peaty and things went dead.
Looking forward to Tuesday
anglers woke to find that the lower river was running at +7
inches at 7.30 am. By 8am it had risen to +17 inches and was
very black again.
Turriff had three grilse for
the day – all on flying “c”s but a few fish were seen
running in pockets but were not very interested.
Talk of floods for
Wednesday—we will wait and see.
Update 19 August 2004
With heavy rain on Wednesday pm
and severe thunder storms overnight into Thursday the river
has yo-yoed between 7 foot to 4 foot and back to 7 foot above
normal. It is now dropping and standing at 5 foot at 8pm
tonight.
Before this rain came S
.Stephen and brother Willie have had 24 fish off Lower
Mountblairy- many to the fly – best I believe at 16 lb with
long tailed sealice. Other beats below are also in high
figures as the rise on Monday and Tuesday has encouraged fish
to come off the tide.
I had two in successive casts
at Carnousie on Wednesday- 4.5 lb and 6.5 lb and a few fish
have come off beats at or above Marnoch.
Today has been a wash out but
Turriff Anglers have managed around 7 on worm although they
were mostly sea-trout and all returned.
Reports of very large fish
running this week
have been borne out by Mrs. Webb loosing a fish estimated by
the Keeper at Netherdale to be 26 lb.
As we drop in height next week
could be another exceptional week.
Update 21August 2004
The river fell on Friday
morning only to rise again just before mid-day. It then fell
away again during the afternoon to be around the four foot
mark by Dark.
Saturday morning saw levels at
two and a half feet above normal. Turriff Anglers again saw
over 12 fish but only took one Salmon at 7 lb and Ian Masson
and D.Alexander had a grilse each. The afternoon saw no
catches and anglers became despondent. I have no reports from
other beats as most anglers went home on Saturday –but beats
below Turriff that allow all Methods seem to have been just
below or into the 20’s on numbers of fish caught for their
week. Turriff Angling Association have had over 30 since
Wednesday but all Sea-trout have been returned.
Monday looks like the best day
next week as heavy rain is forecast for Monday and it will not
take much to put the river in spate again.
Update 25 August 2004
The river was at 1 foot above
normal on Monday and peaty. Most beats
got off to a good Start with most reports indicating
many sea- liced fish.
All beats below Turriff took between
3 and 7 fish for the day. Tuesday saw levels at +10 inch
but some localised heavy rain resulted in a rise of 2
to 4 inches depending on where you were. Again most beats
reported fish with R Breakell taking two at 9 and 12lb off
Carnousie , with T Lawson and F Watt taking fish at Netherdale
and S McLean taking a 13 lb sea-liced fish.
Today Wednesday sees heavy rain
and the water up 8 inches on yesterday at around the +15 inch
mark first thing. No doubt it will rise and the forecast is
for more rain.
Lower Mountblairy has 1 rod
available w/c 6 September at £360 for the week- please
contact me if anyone is interested…… it should be a good
week.
Update 26 August 2004
The
river rose steadily on Wednesday and saw levels peak at 6 foot
above normal by 8 pm.
This fell to 2 foot 6 inches
for Thursday morning and the river was alive with fish again.
Turriff Angling Club managed 12
for the day – all clean fish and the biggest a 13 lb fish.
The only thing with the levels
up and down is that there are no fish stopping in the pools
for any time- you have to be fishing as the shoal goes through
or you miss out.
It is now raining heavily and
the forecast is for it to produce local flooding.
The river will be well up by
Friday I suspect.
Update 30 August 2004
Surprisingly levels did
not rise after the rain .
Fish continued to run in large
numbers and most beats recorded figures in the twenties for
the week. Heavy rain overnight on Sunday saw levels open at
+13 “ on Monday but this steadily rose to 1 foot 9 inches by
tea-time.
Reports indicate again many
fish on the move and with levels taking time to drop we should
again see many fish as this high water coincides with a full
moon and a high tide this week
Update 3 September 2004
Levels went up to two foot on
Tuesday although we had no rain !! This put some dirt in the
water and most beats ended up spinning where allowed.
After using the fly all day to
no avail on Monday George Wilson had to spin due to the water
clarity on Tuesday and took two fish in twenty minutes 15lb
and 22 lb. Scatterty have had 14 up to Thursday – largest 14
lb sea-liced.
I lost four and then finally
kept one on all in 15 minutes on Thursday- it was 17.5 lb on a
bottle tube.
As you see some beats have had
a great week but not so many of them this time. Although the
average poundage is up. R.Henderson R. Breakell and I Masson
have all had fish at Carnousie this week and Upper Netherdale
is fishing well as is Euchries, Five on Monday and an 18 lb
fish on Tuesday.
Levels are now dropping slowly
and with no rain forecast for a few days the river is in
fantastic ply for fly fishing.
Update 4 September 2004
I have seen a few anglers today
as they head home and for most it has been a fantastic week.
Numbers of fish caught and
returned are too embarrassing to mention. It has become to
easy for some of them and now return of clean 15 lb fish and
upwards were common on a few beats as they were not
sea-liced!!!! .
It looks like a dry and warm
week in prospect with levels falling to normal by mid week I
would think. This will favour beats below Turriff so lets see
what happens to catches this week
Update 7 September 2004
Levels are still at +5 inches
today but day temperatures are between 18 and 23 degrees and
not a cloud in the sky- too bright for fishing. Night temps
are as low as 4 degrees and although most pools are full of
fish they are not suicidal like last week. It is a hard slog
and looks like it will stay this way for the rest of the week.
Update 10 September 2004
Levels today are at Normal..
The last few days have been
difficult as pressure has been around 1038 millibars and there
has not been a cloud in the sky.
Early and late has been the
order of the day and a few fish have been caught. A fair
number of fish have been running though.
My father Frank Snr lost two
last night and today Friday hooked eleven, landed nine and
returned seven of them- all of them fresh grilse of between 5
and 8 lb. All in the space of one hour. I followed up by
returning one of 5 lb in my lunch break and Carol lost a
double figure fish tonight ( her first ever ).
The keeper on the beat we were
fishing returned a fish of around 11 lb with long tailed sea-
lice so the fish are still running through the river. Most
beats have now got pools full of fish- and I mean full – so
hopefully the duller weather will help catches.
Forecast for next week is of
rain and gales- we will have to wait and see.
Update 13 September 2004
Once again we have missed out
on any great rainfall and the river stands at +2 inches this
morning.
It is however very , very clear
but there are still plenty of fish and they are showing in the
pools.
There have been a few fish
taken off lower beats this morning and the grilse are still
running.
The forecast continues to tell
of rain so we will pray we get a little to freshen thins up a
bit.
Update 16 September 2004
The rain never really hit our
corner but we did get another 2 inches to add to the 2 on
Tuesday so all in all Wednesday and today we are at +4 on the gauge.
It is still quite clear from just above Turriff down to the
sea but has a hint of peat further up. Most beats are
absolutely stuffed with fish on the middle to lower river.
It has been difficult to tempt
them into taking anything but if you persevere you usually
connect with at least one
R Breakell took an 8 lb fresh
fish at Carnousie and lost a further two, the Griffith party
at Mountblairy have had several fish with two over 18 lb
included. I only managed an hour at Carnousie this week but
pulled one and returned a fresh 6 lb fish for my limited time
and the beat was full of clean fish as well as the odd red
fish..
A little rain would help stir
things a little and move some of the fish holed up in the
lower beats.
Please show a little restraint
on keeping hen or red fish- it will help to ensuring we have
future stocks.
Update 19 September 2004
As levels remain around normal
we are looking for a little rise to freshen things up.
Many beats below Turriff have
had another good week with a double figure tally and some
large fish amongst them.
David Griffiths had twenty to
his own rod with seven between 18 and 21lb off Mountblairy.
This is in contrast to the
higher river where things are very dour.
Forecast for next week is not
encouraging but then again they got forecasted rain wrong this
week. We might settle for a little cloudy weather and hope we
can entice one of the many fish in the pools to take.
Update 20 September 2004
Especially for the Ipswich two
at Mountblairy this week here is an update.!!
The river is around Normal
today and it has been bright but a few showers pm.
Turriff Anglers had an outing
today and seven salmon were taken on fly. I had the biggest at
7 lb. Fish were returned at Turtory but as I was out for most
of the day I have not caught up with any others – yet. It is
raining heavily tonight – where I stay but not raining in
Turriff. The way the rain has come along the moray coast and
then down towards Aberdeen I suspect that any beats below the
King Edward Burn might see a lift in the water height am
tomorrow.
Update 23 September 2004
The river has risen four inches
today but remains clear. Anglers from Muiresk to The Wrack
report good catches of fish with only a few exceptions. The
largest reported so far is 17.5 lb on fly , closely followed
by one of 15 lb which melted the chaps trout fly reel and he
ended up having to hand line the fish !!
Upper beats are struggling
although Euchries has reported five so far this week to 13 lb.
The fish continue to come off
every tide and hole up down river so a rise of water would be
of great benefit to those beats above Forglen.
However conditions are the best
in many a long year so we should not be to downhearted, the
rain will come to give the higher beats some more sport before
too long.
It would appear that some fish
have started to spawn and Anglers are asked too look out for
Reds and not to trample over them.
Update 25 September 2004
The river peaked at around +9
inches and coloured up with algae yesterday which put the fish
down but as it fell today and became peat stained fish began
to move and several have been reported up and down the river.
The Jungle drums tell me that a
fish measuring 51 inches was taken on a red Ally today .
This fish at that measurement
would be around FORTY POUND + !!!!!!. It IS to the anglers
credit that this fish was returned.
It looks like next week is
going to be fine and sunny- so early am and evenings will be
in order and probably Monday will be the best day with the
fish moving again tonight- they will be fresh in the pools and
likely to grab a fly.
Update 28 September 2004
The sunshine has not appeared
and we have had rain overnight on Monday which has given us a
rise of 8 inches today.
Plenty of fish have moved and
amongst them are some good sea-liced fish. Turriff Anglers had
7 on Monday and one today. J Whittet has had six off Lower
Mountblairy ( 4 returned) and some lower beats reported a good
start with many having five or more on Monday.
The water is still clear but
should colour up as it falls- as it has done this season and
maybe some of these fish will be more receptive to the anglers
offering.
Update 03 October 2004
The water went up a couple of
times last week but not by a great deal. The last lot of heavy
rain we were forecast came and went and only gave us two
inches.
However there are still plenty
of fresh fish running although the upper beats are not seeing
many. The lower beats continue to fish well with most well
into double figures for their week.
A substantial amount of these
are now colouring up or are hen fish and are mostly being put
back to allow them to spawn.
Although a few fish are coming
off to small flies the majority are falling to large flies
fished deep.
I have had five fish in five
outings and only one on a spinner, the rest to bottle tubes
fished on a sink tip. Others are fishing intermediate lines
with a sink tip. Please remember that you need to roll the
cast to the surface before casting this combination –
otherwise your rod will not take the strain..
Forecast is for a storm with
heavy rain tonight and it has started to rain as I type so
fingers crossed for if you are fishing higher up the river.
Update 04 October 2004
Heavy rain overnight and up to
mid morning today have seen levels rise through today. The
small burns are really dirty but the Deveron has been much
slower to rise and cleaner.. Levels tonight stand at + 11
inches and rising.
This has encouraged fish to
move and I saw plenty of red fish running hard tonight. Some
fish have been taken today although most were red..
Scatterty . Turriff and
Netherdale all had clean fish so they are mixed in with the
red fish.
Two rods have come available
at Dunlugas for next week at £240 per rod (no daily tkts)
.Please call me on 01888 562428 if you are interested
Update 06 October 2004
Tuesday saw levels at 15
inches above normal and still very dirty. It was too dirty for
some beats and very little was taken.
However Turriff Anglers managed
around 7 and some of these were fresh fish.
Wednesday saw levels at
six inches above normal and peaty. Again many beats
struggled for any numbers of fish. I saw plenty of
red fish at Carnousie and managed a fairly fresh fish
of about 6 lb which was duly returned.
Scatterty managed one as did
Lower Mountblairy. But Turriff Angling Club struck it
lucky again and had around 20 for the day – most were very
fresh and several were sea-liced.
All visitors on the beat today
had fish -one had 4 to his rod. We have had heavy showers
today so levels should not drop too dramatically in the next
few days.
Update 07 October 2004
Levels have opened today at
1 foot 2 inches and risen to over three foot by 5 pm.
The colour is filthy- virtually un-fishable today.
Next week is the last week that
tickets are available for the Turriff Angling club and there
are only three left per day or the week.
Dunlugas has two rods available
. Likewise Avochie has 4 weekly rods available at £241 per
rod.
Nothing is available the last
week- so take a rod next week if you want to get in on the
best action the river has seen in years.
Update 10 October 2004
We will be looking forward to
the new week as levels now settle down although we are very
peaty . Fish have been running hard the last few days and are
now spread right up into the headwaters. Sea- liced fish have
come off the Turriff water on Saturday so fresh fish continue
to run. Some very clean and fresh sea-trout have been returned
and a number of finnock have been caught which is a healthy
sign
The forecast is excellent for
fishing so lets hope for another exciting week
Update 11 October 2004
Levels opened at + 9 inches and
a wee bit of colour which run itself out during the day..
Most beats had some fish . P
Huntly had two at Dunlugas whilst his young son (12) lost one
, H Phillip had a clean fish of 6 lb at Carnousie and Turriff
anglers returned a couple of fish today after their great week
last week which saw over 60 fish caught. Most were returned
but a few sea-liced ones were kept.
Update 14 October 2004
Heavy showers yesterday and
overnight rain added 10 inches to the stick this morning.
Levels peaked at 18 inches
above normal and the colour came in about 11 am and began to
leave at around 5 pm. The middle part of the day today was too
dirty and only the Turriff Club have posted some returns for
today so far. Most were returned but P Smith had a lovely
fresh 9 pound fish.
So far this week many beats
have again been into double figures for the first two days
with only Wednesday being a slow day. I saw over 40 fish for
my few hours at Carnousie but only managed the one 5 lb hen
fish duly returned—on a small loop tube- these have been
very good takers of fish for me this year and also some other
users- L McTavish was convinced by me to try them and took two
fresh fish on his first outing with them and asked me to make
some tied as he wanted and they took him a 12 lb and 15.5 lb
fish one evening last week- Even Ian Masson converted and took
fish.
A fly only beat below Turriff
have had 25 so far this week – including a 28 lb fish—all
have been returned.
Fish are now being caught for
the Hatchery and Turriff Anglers will be joining in this next
week. A full time person is now looking after the project and
seems very committed- lets all hope the thing is a great
success.
Update 16 October 2004
Heavy rain over Thursday night
pushed levels to peak at 5 foot above normal and conditions
were un-fishable. Rain again on Friday night has today pushed
levels to around the eight foot mark- so again no fishing.
With the ground now sodden it will take time for this to clear
out and any more rain will see things soar again.
Let us take it with good grace
as the season
Has been fantastic. We have to
be happy that the water will let the fish get right up into
the highest burns and allow spawning to take place for the
good of the future.
Update 17 October 2004
Levels are up again today to
over 6 foot.
This will mean a wash out for
Monday and more heavy rain is forecast for Tuesday. If this
happens it looks like we may loose the whole week to high and
dirty water.
Update 18 October 2004
Levels opened at 3 foot 11
inches above normal. The bulk of the dirt had washed out and
by 5 pm it had dropped another 11 inches to three foot.
The wrack lost a fish and
Turriff Anglers returned two and had two fish of 4 .75 lb and
one of 10 lb – both fresh fish.
Levels look to be perfect for
Tuesday but the forecast is for heavy rain Tuesday pm.
Update 20 October 2004
Thankfully the very heavy rain
has missed the headwaters and we only got a rise of 3 inches
today. Levels were 2 foot 6 inches this morning and dropped
the three inches by tonight.
Catches are patchy as high
water allows fish to scoot through. Turriff Anglers had only
one on Tuesday but six today of which two were clean fish. I
managed to loose two before landing a small cock fish of about
5 lb today at Carnousie- duly returned. Highlight this week is
of a weighed, photographed and returned fresh hen fish of 30
POUND off Lower Mountblairy
The Lucky angler Des Wood also
caught and kept a
sea-liced 15 lb fish.
Laithers also had a sea-liced
fish of 10 lb today.
I have been busy these last
weeks off to all the tackle trade shows. Product Highlights
for next season include Ian Gordon Partridge Spey Fly lines at
£57. Demonstrator lines will be available for you to try.
Daiwa have replaced the whisker Rods with new excellorators-
these look superb and cost the same as the old Whiskers .They
also have a new range of waistcoats and fishing bags. Shimano
have a new range of spinning reels including a new Baitrunner
and the shop will have a new range of Shotguns and rifles in
mid November.
Hopefully I will be able to
upgrade this web site in the close season but keep it simple
and retain this all important page.
If you have any suggestions
please e-mail them to me and let me know if you would like a
photo page where I could post your pictures of your fish.
Update 22 October 2004
Well- it rains all day Tuesday
and nothing happens – then it is nearly dry all day
Wednesday and the river opens at 2 feet 3 inches and ends up
rising to over five foot last night. This obviously put paid
to fishing, but Ted Wherry managed an 18 lb fish of lower
Mountblairy. Marnoch Lodge have had 16 clean fish so far this
week and Mr. Poulton had a 20lb fish of Turtory today. Peter
Smith (17) has had a fantastic season off Turriff Angling Club
and took another three today (levels are down to 2.5 feet
tonight) – one at 14 lb and a spanking clean fish of 8 lb.
Colin Prise also managed a sea-liced grilse. John Brock and
Nephew had 4 each off Forglen on Wednesday and G.Wilson has
had three off Dunlugas – best 18 lb whilst Upper Mountblairy
have had plenty fish with 5 on Wednesday. The weather outlook
is dry for next week so we may be looking great for the last
week.
As I was off on my show travels
Thursday- I have a new range of clothing available . Some will
be in stock but it is a huge range and I will be able to order
items quickly. The prices are unbelievable—a wind /
waterproof and breathable fleece for less than £50. For a
look of the range visit www.seeland.dk
. Also for all
you shooters a few shotguns and rifles will be arriving in the
shop in the next few weeks- along with all the usual cammo
gloves, tape and masks. If anyone wants any geese decoys get
your order in ASAP to ensure supply.
Update 24 October 2004
The week ended with levels at 2
foot above normal. Reports reaching me on Saturday suggest
that many of the upper beats have had a fantastic time of it.
All report catching fish although half were past it and were
returned.
Marnoch lodge had over 30 for
the week- its best ever week of which 9 came off Sat am before
the guests left at noon. including a 20 lb fish to a young lad
of 12.- fantastic.
Scatterty were well into the
teens and many fresh fish were lost. Nick Bartlett had his
first salmon at 6 lb then took his second at 20 lb – despite
falling in whilst chasing it downstream when it took off .
We have some rain today but
nothing like what the south of Scotland has had today – lets
hope it misses our corner for the final week.
Three days might be
available on the Wrack for Thursday to Saturday- please ring
for details.
Update 25 October 2004
Levels opened at 3 foot at 7 am
reached 3 foot 9 inches by 8am and held until 11 am when they
went on the up and have peaked at over 4 foot.
Things are on the drop slowly
at 5 pm and frost is forecast for overnight. Needless to say
today was a washout
Update 28 October 2004
Tuesday saw levels still around
three foot but plenty fish were taken up and down the river-
even on fly- R Breakell had two and lost 4 – one of which
was a big fish over 20 lb am off Carnousie and then pm on
another beat hooked , played for an hour and landed another
fresh fish of 20 lb in the dark.. Wednesday saw better
conditions and Carnousie saw three to K Hunter and Two to
me—all returned and other beats picked up between 3 and 9
for the day. There are some clean fish amongst them if you are
lucky to hook one.
Early morning rain lasting till
lunchtime gave us a dirty 4 inch rise today so put things off-
but still plenty of fish
moving- with no more rain forecast and the river
clearing again tonight the last two days look promising- as
the river is really stuffed with fish.
Final update
2004
If you managed a rod on an
upper beat then you should have had a fantastic end to the
season.
Many anglers hooked into over
10 fish per day despite the high water conditions. Many were
lost but a plenty saw the net and most were returned. The
middle to lower river struggled a bit as the water went up on
Thursday fell during Friday but was dirty and then it went up
again Friday night to give us 3 foot three on the gauge—just
about the same as opening day!!!
The colour was ok and despite
plenty of fish – they were reluctant to take.
I fished the Wrack and it was
hard going- Thursday saw plenty of fish but no takers- Friday
was a wash out and Saturday looked perfect despite the high
water. My father and I shared a rod and managed one clean hen
(returned) and lost 4 all in an hour before it went dead.
Avochie had a fantastic week
and the total catch- up until Sat am was an amazing 40.
Six were kept and the rest were
donated for brood stock or released.
All in all an absolutely superb
season and if next year is half as good we will still be
delighted.
Anyone looking for fishing can
let me know over the next few months and will be given notice
before I post it on the letting page.
Please take care over the
winter and I look
forward to keeping you all up
to date next year.
Frank
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