Dalmarnock - River Tay

I spent Saturday on the Dalmarnock beat of the River Tay with my pal Paul Pritchard in pursuit of a prized January springer. The water was on the high side to the warm temperatures causing snow and the gauge was sitting around 7ft. Paul and I were to be fishing from the boat and because of the water heights we were restricted to harling as the boat would be have been impossible to anchor with the river at that height.

Getting the boat ready for a day harling with boatman, Lee Fisher.

Looking up towards the Dalmarnock hut from the boat.

We statred off in one of the Dalmarnock hot spots underneath the wires in the Inch Stream but with the water levels as they were, we were restricted to fishing the slower edges of the pool and despite Lee's best efforts we didn't connect with anything so we headed off down down stream for a go in Sowerby.

Ready for action. Lee positions the rods and the boat to harl under the wires.

Lee positions the boat on the opposite bank of Inch Stream.

Sowerby was another pool where we were restricted to the slower parts because the high water. With 7ft on the gauge the Tay really is a different animal and the force of the water was apparent when a logs or sticks floated by on their way down stream seemed to be travelling at a fair rate of knots. The fishing was hard going but Lee tried his best to get a rod bent but unfortunately the fish had other ideas so we carried on further down stream to try the top part of the Ram's Horn.

Harling the Sowerby pool in the morning.

A tree which has be decimated by the beevers. The tree will probably die as a result.

On our way down to the Ram's Horn we noticed a tree which had literally been eaten alive by beevers. The tree was showing large areas of bark missing as high as four to five feet off the bank. The Tayside beevers, in my opinion, are causing a lot of damage to the surrounding burns and stream and they can likely be linked to the recent floods in the town of Alyth where a small burn burst it's banks and flooded large parts of the area. The beever dams part of the stream causing the area above to flood and when large spates occur during winter then the water has to go somewhere which evidentally results in flooding. The banks of the main river are also littered with stripped branches of tree and as the beever has no natural predators in the country then their numbers are more then likely to increase and flooding in rural areas will become more and more common as a result.



Fishing down towards the Ram's Horn.

The Ram's Horn is situated on the inside of a large curve in the river and these areas are normally good holding spots in high water as the pace of the water slows a lot in comparison to the outside of the bend. We had a quick sweep with the boat before lunch but to no ovail and we headed back to the for lunch.

Jim, Paul and Lee pose for a photo in the Dalmarnock hut.



The Dalmarnock hut interior.

The fishing hut at Dalmarnock is very well equipped and the fire was more than handy as it was pretty cold in the boat during the morning. Colin kept everyone topped up with coffee and after a sandwich or two it was time to get going again. This time we were to try the pools below the bridge over the A9. Beech Tree and the Carrot Fields.


A rod on the Dunkeld House water into a kelt.

We arrived at the pool and got the rods set up aagin and ready for action. This part of the beat was much slower looking and more siuted to fishing in the high water. Sure enough and not long after starting again there was a fresh looking fish porpoised down the edge of the pool. This got the excitment levels up and Lee positioned the boat to cover the fish. We covered the lie for ten to fifteen minutes but the fish was either long gone or not interested in our offerings. The light was beginning to fade by this time but Lee wanted to try the area right at the bottom of the beat before calling it a day. We headed downstream and harled the area close into the Greenbank at the top of the Dunkeld House water. Try as we might we had no luck in here either but a rod fishing the fly on Dunkeld beat landed a kelt from the slack water inside the bend. We wound in the rods and headed back to the hut about 4pm.

Paul getting ready to pack up for the day.

It was good to be back at Dalmarnock again as I really enjoyed fishing it he last time I was there. Despite the fact hte water was big and coloured we enjoyed the day even though the fish were playing hard to get. I am going to return to Dalmarnock again later in the year and hopefully the water levels will be low just to give a better chance of connecting with a River Tay Salmon.

For more info on fishing at Dalmarnock have a look at their website by clicking on the link. It's well worth a visit.

Cortachy Castle & Downie Park - South Esk

Early last week, I booked a day on the South Esk at Cortachy Castle and Downie Park. It turned out I was to be the only rod fishing the beat today and given the conditions, it was a bit surprising. I met the Andrew the ghillie at 8am and we set off down to the hut. The beat gauge was steady at 11" and the water was in really good order. I tackle up with my 13ft Hardy Uniqua and a Airflo Quick Spey Multi Tip Line and a 6ft 2.6ips Rio polyleader. Andrew suggested a Monkey fly would be ideal for the current conditions.

A stunning view over Glen Clova taken on my way down to the Sawmill Pool.

Andrew suggested I started my day off in the Sawmill pool and just on arrival, a fish showed near the tail which was good to see early on. It was not for the taking nor any others and I fished through the pool without a touch. A cracking pool and it fished the fly very well.

Sawmill Pool.

The next pool I was to fish was the Dairy. A lovely streamy run on the far bank but again, nothing touched so we moved on down stream to the Meetings. This pool is where the South Esk tributary, the Prosen join the main river. I fished the length of the Meeting without any offers so Andrew took me down to the next pool. I carried on down to the Laundry and although very "fishy" I didn't see or touch anything.

The Meetings. Where the Prosan meets the South Esk.

The Laundry Pool.

The Downie Stream was next to be fished and not long after starting the wind caught my fly and sent it into the trees on the far bank. I couldn't free the fly and eventually my leader snapped and my Monkey fly was gone. This was the third 3/4" Monkey fly I had lost in the trees already! I went to my fly box to tie on another one but had none left. I chose a 3/4" Dee Sheep and with-in a couple of casts it was hammered by a strong, lively fish. After some unstoppable runs and acrobatics, Andrew slipped the net under a 10lb "Bar of Silver". No sea lice present but it could have only been in a few day at most. Great start to my day.

Downie Stream.

Safely in the net!

A quick picture for the scrap book before releasing the fish.

I fished on through Beech Tree and the Drain pools with no joy but I saw a big fish jump right out of the water feet from where I was standing in the Beech Tree. We stopped for lunch as the sun was now high and bright so resting the pools was the better option.

Beech Tree.

After a good chat over lunch, Andrew took me down to fish the Kaimbridge Pools. Before we started fishing them, we looked down from the high bank and as the water was crystal clear, we could see if there were any fish present. We couldn't spot any fish moving but went down to give them a good go anyway. After fruitless runs down through Upper and Lower Kaimbridge, we headed back upstream to fish Carrity Moo.

Lower Kaimbridge. Looking down from the steps above the pool.

Carrity Moo is another lovely looking pool but not seen or touched in here so we headed back to try the Drain and Mary's as the sun had dropped enough to take the shine off the water. I changed fly to a Sunray Shadow but nothing looked at it as I stripped it across the pool. The wind had really whipped up and made cast difficult as it lifted the fly and I caught the trees a few times. There was a few fish splashing up near the gauge but they were not interested or had ran further upstream.

Carrity Moo.

Tail of the Drain Pool.

The conditions were starting to work against me and we decided to give the Beech Tree anther run through before heading home. I didn't see anything this time or touch anything as the wind really made casting dangerous so we called it a day about 7pm.

I had never fished the South Esk before and was really impressed by the fishing. I saw fish showing in several pools and to land a cracking fish was a perfect way to start my first foray on a new river to me. I will certainly be heading back to fish it more often. Andrew the ghillie is a top bloke who went out of his my to make me feel welcome and he even waded into the river to retrieve a fly for me which was snagged round a log! Being the only rod fishing was a bonus and I picked away at his knowledge of his beat and hope to use it next time I'm down fishing the South Esk.