River Tay Opening Day 2017

Thanks to a kind invitation from Tony and Philip Black I found myself fishing on the fantastic Murthly 2 beat of the River Tay on it's opening day which is January 16th. The river was sitting at 4ft 6in on the beat gauge but was running clear considering the rise the night before. Regardless of the river height it was just good to be out on the river banks again after the long winter months.

John Fyfe fishing down through Willie's.

The evening before the trip was spent sorting out all my fishing gear in anticipation of fishing the Tay on Opening Day. I had never fished the River Tay on Opening Day before and couldn't wait to get there. I set off at 6.30am to get through the Aberdeen traffic and I arrived at the gates to Murthly Castle at 8.30am where I was greeted by Philip Black and fellow Aberdonian, John Fife. I followed on behind John and Philip along the castle road down to the hut where toasted in the new season with a wee dram of whisky. After a good chat about how excited we were for the new season and how we fared in 2016 it was time to set the rods up and get out on the water.

The entrance to the long driveway which leads up to the fishing.

My first cast of 2017.

Philip showed us the pools on the beat and where to concentrate our efforts and I was to start of in the Meetings Pool. This was a lovely bit of water even though the levels were on the high side. The water an along the side of the an island where it met the flow coming down the far side of it. This created a lovely seam through the centre of the river and it was in this area where Philip pointed out as a good spot to pick up a fish. I firstly fished through the pool with a 30g Toby Salmo but I didn't temp anything. I had another quick run down the pool with my fly rod and a 2" Willie Gunn but again to no avail.

Looking out to the Meeting's pool. Can be a very productive pool.

The next pool down was Willie's. This was another nice looking stretch of water and I opted to begin in here with the fly. John was fishing the tail just in front of me and landed a wee kelt just as I was starting. About half way down the pool a kelt had a go at my fly but it didn't take properly. It was good to know the fly was fishing attractively though. By the time I fished out the pool it was lunch time so it was off back to the hut or a bite to eat.

Fishing the fly on the Tay. I had a good offer from a fish just of the point of the corner, It didn't stick unfortunately.

One of the well equipped fishing huts at Murthly 2.

After lunch we didn't do much fishing to be honest as we spent most of time chatting and catching up after the winter. Having said that, I did have a run through the pools again and despite my best efforts with the fly rod and Salmo I couldn't temp anything. At this time of year though, fish are few and far between but it was great to be out on the water again.

Fishing a Salmo down through the Meetings Pool.

I find myself heading back down to Tayside this weekend for another go so we shall see what happens there, but again, it's more of a social gathering than a proper fishing trip. Any fish caught will be a bonus.

Catholes - River Tay

Last Saturday I was very grateful to be asked to fish a spare rod on the Catholes beat of the River Tay by expert angler Jim Coates as a thank you for tying him some of my KS Shrimp flies. I jumped at the chance to have another crack at the "Mighty Tay" and as there are a few fish getting caught at the moment I was easily sold on the idea.

The River Tay. Looking downstream from the outside the hut.

I set off from my home around 6.30am and made my way to the town of Stanley which is a several miles just outside Perth. It had been pouring with rain a few days prior to going and the river had started rising and was sitting around 2ft 8in on the Ballathie gauge when I arrived. The river would rise slowly all day but remaining clear throughout.

The hut on the Catholes beat.

After the usual meet and greet with ghillie and fellow rods over a cup of coffee I was allocated to fish from the boat with John for part of the morning as we would be spinning. I don't really do much spinning but I had bought a few Tobys and Salmos for the trip just in case. It's better to be versatile on a huge river such as the Tay just to maximise chances of catching something. Jimmy the ghille showed the other rods to their pools and came back to take us over to fish Black Stones pool from the boat. Black Stones is a nice bit of water and it fished very well with a 30g copper Salmo. Jimmy worked the boat down the pool but neither John nor I had an offer so Jimmy took me over to have a run down Back Dam and Eric's with the fly.

Anchored up in Black Stones during the morning session.

Looking down Eric's from Back Dam.

Back Dam and Eric's were very good for fishing the fly and fellow rod Danny said he'd had an offer near the tail of Eric's as we swapped pools. This was encouraging so I made my way down the pool with a float/intermediate shooting head and a 5ft fast tip. My fly of choice was a 1 1/4" Park Shrimp conehead. The pool was fishing beautifully and just where Jimmy had said the hot spot was I had a good pull. Sadly it didn't stick but at least I knew I was doing something right. I covered the lie several more times but to no avail.

Fishing down Eric's. A cracking pool for fishing the fly.

Looking downstream from the bank at Eric's.

Fellow rod Tom Brown was fishing down the pool behind me and we stopped just before lunch to have a good chat about all things fishing. Tom let me try out his Hardy Sintrix rod, which I have to say was a delight to cast. Meeting new and like minded people on the river banks adds to the whole experience in my opinion and I have made some good pals in this way. I will look forward to having a cast with Tom later on in the season.

Time for lunch.

Beat ghillie, Jimmy Chin ferries the rods across the river after lunch.

Looking upstream from Catholes Stream.

After a very enjoyable hour in the hut at lunch time, it was back to the fishing. I was to fish the Catholes Stream with John with Tom and Danny fishing Eric's and Black Stones. The Catholes Stream was another fine looking pool and despite the ever increasing gale force wind, I opted to have a first run down with the fly. I kept the same set up as before as "if it ain't broke" and all that. Despite my best efforts cating into the teeth of the wind, I didn't get an offer so I had another run down the pool but this time with a 28g silver Toby. Again my efforts proved fruitless. By this time it was nearing 5pm and with the strong winds and rising river, we decided to call it a day.

Tom Brown fishing Black Stones from the boat.

Fishing down Catholes Stream. A lovely pool for fly fishing.

I really enjoyed my trip to the Tay and I am very grateful to Jim Coates for letting me fish his rod. I was a fine change having a cast with the spinning rod and with the strong winds I'm glad I brought it along. Fly fishing was almost impossible at times and I did actually hook the back of my hood when a cast was grabbed by a gust of wind and blown behind me! It was only my third time on the river but I will look forward to returning to Tayside again in the very near future. The size and sheer power of this river is not to be underestimated but despite this, with the help of the talented ghillies and their boats, the pools can be covered with a lot more confidence.

Looking upstream from the tail of the Catholes Stream.

My next outing is on the River Spey again so fingers crossed for good conditions and for the fish to play ball! Tight lines.

Aberdeen & District Angling Association Junior Day

The Aberdeen & District Angling Association held an open day on the Altries & Lower Drum beat of the River Dee. It was set up by my uncle Stuart Fleming and ghillie Kevin Fleming along with proprietor of the estate in order to encourage younger members to branch out into salmon fishing. With the aid of top casting instructors Jim Fearn and Ben Dixon, the young lads were soon inducted, tackled up and raring to go. Some of the lads were already keen fishers but had never caught salmon before and it was great to be able to help out and try to pass on tips or be on hand to offer advice when required.

The morning session started about 10am and the first fish of the day was soon landed. A lively wee sea trout kelt was netted which was caught by Matt. He soon followed this up by landing 2 more kelts of the same species and losing another. This sparked a bit of healthy competition between him and his pal Shaun.

I took a couple of the older lads down to a pool called Donal' Garth but apart for a hit on a toby which came to nothing, we didn't manage to connect with any fish. We went onto fish the Pike Hole and Greenbank without any joy either.

After a quality spread of bacon butties (expertly cooked by Benny), sandwiches, sweets and juice, we were back on the water. Kevin and Jim took a group of lads over the river on the boat and up to fish Alfred's Pot. Whist fishing the Pot one of them landed a salmon kelt which Jim netted and photographed for, I think his name was Conner? Apologies if I got the name wrong! Although a kelt, having never hooked a salmon before this made his day and you could see his delight in playing and landing the fish. This is exactly why the day was put on in the first place and these moments are never forgotten. They enthuse the youngsters to get out on the river fishing on a regular basis and hopefully onto become the next generation of anglers filling rods on the Dee and Don. Shortly before this, in the Hut Pool, another lad called Shaun hooked a big salmon kelt which after a good scrap was netted by the ghillie Kevin.

By the end of the days fishing, between 9 youngsters, 5 kelts were landed and many of them learned new techniques which will come in useful during their fishing careers. Even some of the adults were taught new things and how to cast double handed salmon rods! Overall, I think everyone left the beat eager to get out fishing again and hopefully keen to get out on the many miles of fishings the Aberdeen & District Angling Association has to offer.

Here are some pictures from today.

The group of youngsters and volunteers pose for a photo along with Jim Fearn (centre), Ben Dixon (far right) and ghillie, Kevin Fleming (5th in from right).

Kevin ferries Jim Fearn and a few of the lads back to the hut after fishing Alfred's Pot.

Back ashore to tell of catches from the other bank.

Looking downstream toward Maryculter House Hotel from the Highbank pool. I had a cast in here with the fly before heading off for lunch.

Looking upstream  into Donal' Garth from mid river. Stuart Fleming shows the lads where to cast in the Pike Hole.

Altries Hut Pool looking downstream. A lovely pool which fishes the fly very well and where Shaun landed his big salmon kelt.