Weekly fishing reports

WeekEnding 27th August.

It was a very changeable week on Speyside, heavy rain in the catchment caused the river levels to change on a daily basis. These changes seem to make the salmon keener to take and most beats had some memorable days. There is less rain forecast for the coming week and on the tidal front there is no new water till the end of the week. With the overcast conditions fishing should be reasonable. Can I take this opportunity as we approach the last month of the season to remind anglers to return all coloured fish, large red cock fish do not make good smoked salmon and are much better returned to the river to spawn.

Catches. Delfur had over fifty fish for the week with two days into the mid-teens. Mark tells me they were a proper mixture with some fresh grilse, some summer salmon and a few large coloured salmon, with a few damaged by the seals.

Rothes I understand were around the thirty mark with another large salmon over twenty pounds. Craigellachie had over fifteen fish with Saturday being the best day of the week.  Wester Elchies had thirteen by tea-time on Saturday so the final total might be a little higher. Carron also finished around the mid-teens. Laggan had their best week of the season with the new owners, the Spence party getting close to thirty. Again I get very little information from further up the river, if anyone has any information or pictures please get in touch with me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Week Ending 20th August.

It has been a tragic week on Speyside. Widower Dr Bill Richmond, 68 lost his life whilst fishing at Tulchan Estate. His body was found at Blacksboat following an extensive search by Police, coastguard, Glenmore Mountain Rescue Team and an RAF Lossiemouth helicopter along with local gillies and estate workers. Clinical biochemist Dr Richmond grew up near Cupar, Fife, and went to St Andrews University. He first worked at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, but later worked in hospitals in the London area, and became head of the department of chemical pathology at St Mary's Hospital. He was well-known for inventing the cholesterol test, called the Richmond process.
Dr Richmond was a keen fisherman and enjoyed his regular trips to Speyside.

Catches, Delfur had forty-five by teatime on Saturday. At Rothes Dan Drew’s party had twenty-five including a 25lber caught by Roger Ward. Craigellachie again had over twenty.  Wester Elchies managed 12 At Laggan Mr. Gilchrist’s party started the week with 9 on Monday with Mr. Gilchrist having 4 to his own rod.  Over the water Carron started at a much more sedate pace but finished the week with nine.

Week Ending 14th August

 The weather forecast was particularly accurate last week and the heavy rain at the start of the week made the river virtually unfishable on Thursday. Some fishermen ventured out at Delagyle but I’m not sure what the fly was called!

The forecast for next week is for the fine weather to start the week followed by heavy rain towards the end of the week. Temperatures are expected to remain in the high teens. Tide wise there will be no new water all week. Hopefully there will be plenty fish moving up the river.
Catches, as I said Thursday was almost a total washout and Wednesday afternoon was not great as the levels were rising pretty quickly. Delfur finished the week with forty including five first fish for some lucky anglers. On Friday sixteen fish were landed including two over 20lbs. Upstream at Rothes the Fletcher/ Jack party had another good week with over fifty fish landed. Again Friday was the best day of the week with seventeen landed including a twenty-five pound fish for Mr. Bill Jack. Craigellachie started the week well and finished strongly with over six on Friday. Wester Elchies had the second best week of the season with twenty –seven fish landed.  Will Weaving had his first ever salmon from the Brock, his host James Carr insisted that it had to be released. 

Dave Sadowski managed three for his two days including this one from the Rhynd.

Carron enjoyed the higher water and had sixteen by Saturday teatime.  Grantown have reported fifteen though I expect they will have had plenty more on Friday and Saturday. Again I will be grateful for more information and pictures from other areas of the river.

Week Ending 7th August 

It has been another reasonable week on Speyside.  The weather forecast was reasonably accurate and the localised heavy showers kept the water levels up. This week is forecast to have heavy showers at the start of the week and lighter showers towards the weekend. The tides are building all week, and hopefully this coupled with the fresh water will encourage more fish to run.
Catches, Delfur had a good week with forty two fish landed. The week started and finished well with a slower middle. What was really pleasing was the number of first fish landed.  Four beginners all got there first fish and continued to catch afterwards. Rob Allen caught his first fish and six others and his twin Richard caught his first and three others. William Bromfield caught his first fish and his second and his younger brother, Theo, caught his first and two others. I hope to get some photos of the happy anglers. Rothes had a quieter week with just over twenty landed.  Craigellachie also got over twenty and seems to be having a reasonable spell. Wester Elchies had a poorer week with just eleven caught. Carron did slightly better with a baker’s dozen by teatime on Saturday.I recieved this picture of Mrs Gwyeth Jack and her salmon from last week.

Grantown Angling Association also had a reasonable week with over twenty salmon and as many seatrout caught. Can I again ask for any stories and pictures from the Avon and above, contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Can I just remind you that some of the grilse being caught have the Red Vent Syndrome which is caused by the Anisakis Larvae, remember that it can be passed to humans unless the fish are frozen for 24 hours or cooked for at least one minute at 60 C. See picture below.

Week Ending 31st July

 Once again it has been a good week on Speyside; most beats have been getting good catches of grilse with the odd better sized fish just to spice things up. The showers on Saturday afternoon arrived as forecast and were particularly heavy, around four-o-clock getting into the Coop in Aberlour required Wellington boots as the drains were unable to cope with the deluge. This of course was not unexpected as it was Dufftown Games day, and as everyone knows it always pours with rain on Dufftown Games day. Next weeks forecast is for rain showers at the start of the week and sunshine later. Tidal wise there is no new water till the weekend.
Catches, as I said earlier there were plenty of grilse on the go, Delfur finished the week with fifty-eight mainly grilse but with some better sized fish earlier in the week.

Rothes finished in the mid thirties with the end of the being quiet. Craigellachie had another good week with 27 again the start of the week being better than the end. Wester Elchies had the best week of the season with thirty fish landed the majority coming from the top off the beat.  Carron had a reasonable week nudging into the mid-teens. I heard that the Knockando fishers were having some success using quite large Green Highlander tubes, you can never tell with grilse.

Some of the grilse being caught have the Red Vent Syndrome which is caused by the Anisakis Larvae, remember that it can be passed to humans unless the fish are frozen for 24 hours or cooked for at least one minute at 60 C.

Tuesday 27th July.

Sorry this weeks report is a day or two late but I’m just back from the CLA Gamefair which was held in Warwickshire, the organizers seem to be keeping them in the south of England and not venturing north at all. The Speycasting event was won by Andrew Toft (Carron Rod & Case) who has featured a couple of times in my reports this season. Blair Banks the gillie on Brae 1 made a brief appearance on Sunday but the wind was against him and he was unable to qualify, it is a shame he could not be down when conditions were better earlier in the weekend, it would be nice to see a Spey gillie winning an international Spey Casting event.

It was a reasonable week apart from loosing two days due to high coloured water following the heavy rain on Tuesday evening.  This weeks forecast suggests there will be more heavy rain at the weekend. The tides are building all week which should hopefully keep the runs of fish coming.

Catches, Delfur had thirty-two for the week and considering they lost two days because of the high and coloured water, it was a respectable total. Mark tells me that the grilse out numbered salmon by two to one. He also told me that his daughter Molly had her first salmon on Saturday night having been given an evenings fishing by Mr N Mountain.

Craigellachie had another good week with thirty landed, Mr Frank Whitley 89 years young was again in among the fish.

Wester Elchies had 14, both Ed Sharply and Will Agnew both caught their first fish from Delene.  Upstream Mrs Gwyneth Jack had her first two fish from Carron with a grilse on Friday and a salmon on Saturday, the salmon was caught on a Carron rod and line a Carron fly and of course from the Carron Pool.  I have it on good authority that a pike was landed at Ballindalloch which normally would be one of the most unusual catches but I also heard that a sheep was hooked near Craigellachie but managed to free itself before being “landed”.

Week Ending 18th July.

Well at long last it has been a reasonable week on Speyside, it is rumoured that some gillies were even smiling, I hope it continues. The forecast predicts more heavy rain, but I’m starting to take this weather forecasting business with a large pinch of salt. The tides have peaked and there will be no more new water till next week.
Catches, I’ll start this week with Craigellachie as it appears to be the top beat on the river with thirty three fish, of which thirteen were caught on Friday! I understand there was roughly a fifty percent split between salmon and grilse. Downstream again Delfur were close behind with almost thirty fish, again Mark tells me the split was almost 50/50. Things might have been better had not most of Thursday been lost to turbidity.  Just upstream Rothes managed into the high teens. Another beat which seemed to be fishing well was Kinermony which had the best week of their season with close to twenty by Friday night. Across the water Wester Elchies could only manage seven. Upstream Carron struggled at the start of the week with just a fish a day; it was not till I left on Saturday that the fish arrived with seven taking the total to twelve, I understand than Laggan had maybe a couple more.

Josh Walker was the star at Ballindalloch catching at least 50% of the catch. I also heard an even younger lad was doing well at Knockando but I have no more details. If anyone has any more stories or pictures, please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Next weeks report will be late as I'm attending the CLA Gamefair.

Week Begining 12th July.

 I have just returned to Speyside from the south of England, I see the weather conditions up here were totally different from down there where the sun shone the entire time. The rain here has freshened up the river and it is looking in good shape for the rest of the week. I see there is some more rain forecast for the rest of the week; hopefully this will continue to encourage the fish to run.
Catches, I am a little short of information this week, but I hear Brian Reid’s party had twenty six for the week. Richard Found took to salmon fishing like a duck to water having four in two days, the best at 16lb hooked in Pettycoatlane but landed in Holly Bush.

 Rothes managed to get into the mid teens but I have no other details. The low water conditions do not really suit Craigellachie but they still managed 5. Carron had three, Huston McCollough who landed the 36lber from Delfur earlier this year  returned to the Spey at Carron, unfortunately he did not catch a fish but managed a hole in one whilst playing golf!

Week Ending 3rd July.

The long forecast rain has not yet arrived on Speyside, as I write this the sun is shinning although there are some clouds, let us hope some rain falls in the catchment area even if it just freshens up the river a little.  When I have been out and about I have noticed that the Bird Cherry trees have a very eerie appearance. I have discovered that it is caused by the caterpillar of the ermine moth (Yponomeuta evonymellus).

Every now and then there is a population explosion and almost all the trees are affected, I now just need a fishery scientist to write a paper showing how the population explosion of the ermine moth is mirrored by a strong grilse run!

Catches, back to reality, I hear that the Castle Water though lightly let managed a few at the start of the week. Upstream Delfur had a dozen including a superb 20lber covered in sea-lice. Rothes also had a dozen, most caught towards the start of the week.  This week Craigellachie had a lean week but I have received some photos from last week and the week before.

Wester Elchies started the week well with four on Monday but were unable to keep it up and could only manage seven for the week. At Carron new tenants Mr and Mrs David Bate introduced a few of their family and friends to salmon fishing. Their youngest son Tom managed his first salmon from Delchapel late on Tuesday evening. Sarah Cowcricke also had her first salmon from the neck of the Carron pool on her second ever cast!

There were a few fish caught a Knockando including this one caught by Alan Williams from Pol Arder.

Again I’m struggling to get stories and information from above the Avon if any one has information, pictures or stories please get in touch with me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Next weeks report will be late as I'm away for the weekend.