Orton - River Spey

My first trip to Speyside of 2018 saw me fishing on the Orton beat which is situated around 8 miles for the sea near Fochabers. River levels for our day were sitting at 2ft on the beat gauge and this was falling away nicely after a rise earlier on in the week due to melting snow. The beat had recorded it's first fish of the season on the Monday prior to our arrival and hopes were high. The water temps were still very cold and we were hoping that this cold water would slow a few running fish down as the made their way up river.

Looking upstream from the til of Lower Cairnty.

Charlie and I arrived at the beat around 8.30am to be greeted by ghillie, Richard Hold. We had a chat about tactics etc as we put on our waders so after taking Richard's advice, I opted for a I/S1/S2 shooting head with a 4ips versi leader. My initial fly of choice was a 1 1/2" gold body Willie Gunn tube with a red cone.

I started my day of fishing the Suicide Run.

After a brief introduction to the fellow anglers it was time for the draw. I was to be fishing the Suicide Run first then up to fish the Willows. Once that was fished through I was to have a cast in Upper Cairnty after that. Charlie was to start in the Lower Cairnty and continue down in to Arns.

Looking upstream from the Willows.

Suicide Run is just a small corner of a pool but you can see why a fish would stop in the quite bay for a rest before pushing on through the Willows and House Pool above. Kevin, the head ghillie had advised me to fish with a bit of stealth in the pool as the fish tend to be easily spook if you walk along the high bank above. This is what I did and despite my best efforts to fish the poll with minimal fuss, I didn't connect with anything but it was fishing really nicely with my current set up.

Fishing down through the Willows.

Looking upstream from the tail of Willows.

After a short walk upstream, the next pool I was to fish was called The Willows. The Willows is a fast flowing pool with the current predominately running down the south bank. My set up was ideal for this pool as it required getting the fly down through the stream quickly before being swept away by the strong current. I carefully fished my way down the pool trying to keep the fly as slow and deep as I could but the fish, if any there, were not interested in my offerings so I headed off down for another run through Suicide Run. This proved to be fruitless but you were just waiting for the line to tighten after every cast.

Looking upstream into Cooperee from Upper Cairnty.

Fishing down Upper Cairnty shortly before landing a well mended kelt.

The Upper Cairnty, as the name suggest, is the top part of a large pool which is probably around 400 yards long. With the river running the height it was, there was a good chance a fish or two might be holding in here. With Richard's advice fresh in my mind, I waded out into the pool and began fishing my way down. I continued to use the same set up as before as the pool was fairly deep in places. I got to about half way down the pool when I had a subtle take of my fly. I lifted into a spirited little kelt which was very well mended. Sadly, it wasn't the springer we were looking for but at least it gave a bit more confidence in what I was doing. Unfortunately, That was it for me during the morning session so it was back to the hut for a much needed heat up and some lunch.

Fishing the Upper Cairnty.

After lunch I was to start where I had finished so I made my way back down to the Cairnty Pool. The lower half of the pool was to be fished off the bank and I fished my way down stream. There were a few more kelts starting to show themselves but my heavier set up was proving to be too heavy for this section of the pool. I changed lines over to a F/H/I and a lighter 3ips tip. This seemed to be fishing much better and my fly boxes breathed a sigh of relief as one after another, I lost a fly to the bottom of the Spey. The howling wind and snow were not making casting any easier though and it was a real struggle at times just to get the line out straight. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't temp anything to take my fly so I headed off down to the Arns for a quick run through before having another go in Cairnty.

The Arns. Charlie had a well mended kelt from this cracking wee pool before lunch.

The Arns is another faster flowing pool on the beat and the little bay half way down looked like another spot where a fish might rest up. Charlie managed to winkle a kelt of it during the morning session so there were definitely something lying in it. By this time the cold snap had sucked the life out my phone battery and I never got a picture of the pool on the day but the photo below is one a took a few years back on a previous visit. There was nothing to report from fishing the pool for me anyway.

Having another run through Lower Cairnty.

I decide to give the Cairnty another go just before calling it a day so I switched back to the I/S1/S2 set up but opted for a 2" Black and Yellow tube with a silver cone. Almost immediately after restarting the poll I had a good take and lifted into what felt like a strong fish. It began taking a few yards of line off the reel and for a brief minute or two Charlie and I thought it might have been a fresh fish. Unfortunately though, it was just another very well mended kelt. It would have certainly been a good fish when fresh but not what we were after. It was quickly returned and I began fishing the pool down again. Several casts later I felt my fly snag the river bed and try as I might, i just couldn't free it. After a bit of gentle persuasion, I managed to free the line but the river bed had claimed yet another one of my flies! This was the ideal time to call it a day so I would the line back on the reel and headed off back to the hut.

The tail of Lower Cairnty basking in a brief period of sunshine.

It was great to be back at Orton after not managing the past 2 years due to being slow off the mark when booking rods. The Cairnty Pool is a cracker and you can see why it would produce lots of fish on it's day. Hopefully one day ion the not too distant future I will return again for another crack at landing a Spey springer. Tight lines!

Orton - River Spey

I had another crack at the Orton beat of the River Spey yesterday. Unlike the last time I was there a few weeks back when the water was big and cloured, the river was in near perfect condition this time and was sitting around 14in on the gauge. The water temperature was creeping up too and was 39f. My set up for the day was a Floating Shooting head and a 10ft slow sink tip. I only used one fly all day and that was a #6 Kitchen Sink Shrimp.

The crystal clear River Spey at Orton yesterday.

I arrived at the beat around 8.30am and after a discussion with ghillies Andrew and Kevin I tackled up with their floating line/sink tip recommendation and smallish fly. There was no need to be down deep in these conditions as the water was crystal clear.

Looking upstream from half way down the Cairnty Pool.

The Solar Eclispe shortly before is disappeared behind the clouds

I was drawn to start half way down the Cairnty Pool and to fish the opposite bank from the boat with Andrew later on in the morning. A Solar Eclipse briefly brought darkness upon us for ten minutes or so and it was during this time that I saw two fish show near the tail of the pool which was encouraging. I had been fishing for around 30 minutes when Andrew came down to have a chat. Ghillies seem to have this sixth sense as to when to arrive and speak with fishers as soon after his arrival I had a firm offer from a fish. I lifted into it but it soon became clear that it was just a trout but thankfully, a nice, long range catch and release did the trick and was able to carry on fishing without having to land the fish. I fished on down the rest of the pool without an offer so it was onto the boat to try the opposite bank.

Looking downstream from the opposite bank of the Cairnty.

Andrew working the boat down the pool but sadly I didn't get a touch.

I had only ever fished from a boat twice before but it's something that I enjoy doing. It's a great way to have a one to one chat with the ghillie although I do tend to rabbit on a bit when talking about fishing. I warned Andrew about this but he ensured me it was fine as he enjoyed the craic too. We fished on down the pool from the boat but as nice as it was fishing, I never had a touch. By this time it was stopping time for lunch so we headed back across the river and made our way to the hut for a bite to eat.

Doctor's Hole.

After lunch I was to fish the top part of the beat with head ghillie, Kevin Greensill. Kevin took me and fellow rod, Stuart of to the opposite bank in the boat. Staurt was to fish the Cooperee Pool whilst I was to fish the House Pool. On our way up to the House Pool, Kevin suggested that I have a cast in a pool newly formed by the high water last year. This was called Doctor's Hole as the first fish landed from the "new pool" was by a doctor. It was a nice streamy run which fell away into a deep channel which every fish running the Spey would have to navigate. As fishy as it looked I didn't get a touch but there were two kelts caught from the pool a few days previous.

Fishing down the House Pool. Has to be my favourite pool on the beat.

Fishing down Cooperee. The tail of this pool is very "fishy" looking at this height.

The House pool was next on the agenda. This a cracking bit of water and a pool I really enjoy fishing, especially the tail of the pool. Kevin accompanied me down the pool pointing out all the hotspots but as inviting as it looked, I didn't get an offer so we made our way back down to the Cooperee where I had a quick run through before heading back to the hut for 5pm. Sadly, same result as the House Pool.

The Willows. Looking downstream about 6pm just before the rain started.

I was toying with the idea of staying on after 5pm so after a chat with the ghillies I decided to bite the bullet and have a go in the Willows. The Willows is another very good looking piece of water on Orton but try as I might, I didn't get a touch. By this time, the rain was lashing down and the temperature dropping as the light started to fade so I called it a day. It was great to be back fishing at Orton as I always enjoy it there. The pools are superb for fly fishing but sadly on this occasion, the salmon were not playing ball for any of the six rods out. A Spey Springer is still eluding me but there is always next time and I'll look forward to returning to try again in the near future.