A Couple Of Salmon From The Don

I had the day off on Monday and spent fishing the River Don up near Alford. The river was sitting at 20” on the gauge following a 2” rise the day before. It was frosty in the morning on arrival but once the air temperature warmed up a bit this seemed to bring the fish on the take.

An Autumn hen salmon from the River Don. 

Ready to go back. 

My set up was my 12ft 6in LTS Explosive with a floating line and a 6ft 7ips tip. My fly of choice was a size 10 Red Ally’s. This combo worked well and I was fortunate enough to land two fish. The first being a 10lb hen Salmon and the second being a 5lb cock Grilse. Both fish were safely returned.

A feisty grilse posing for a photo.

Back he goes

The Don has fished well this season and hopefully the improvement in salmon numbers will bode well for the seasons to come. Here hoping it’s a good spawning year too.

A Summer Salmon From Ballogie

Last week I had on the Ballogie Beat of the River Dee. The water was on the low side but it was nice to land a cracking fish around the 13lb mark in the morning. It put up a helluva fight in the fast current and I was delighted to finally land it a good distance down stream from where I hooked it. It hammered a Sunray Shadow as it swung round in the current. Great fun on the 12ft 6in LTS Explosive rod! 

A fine, summer salmon from the Ballogie Flats last week.

 Later on in the afternoon I lost a big fish just above the falls at Potarch. It grabbed a size 12 Cascade just on the lip and I couldn't do anything with the fish. I held into it as much as I could and it thankfully opted  for running upstream and not over the falls. I had the fish on for several minutes and I thought I had got though the hardest part of the fight but with the fish just opposite me and about 8ft from the bank, it turned into the white water again and with a fierce slap of it's tail, the fly came loose undone and the fish was off. Having seen the fish a few times it look to be around the 18-20lb mark and was a bar of silver. I would have loved to have seen that one on the bank but it wasn't to be. The fish have to win sometimes!

Cortachy Castle - South Esk

I had a day on the Cortachy Castle beat of the South Esk with good pals Bill Cook and Kenny Carr last week. The water was on the low side but it had risen and dropped quickly during the night. When we arrived the gauge was reading 4". After a good chat and a catch up we all set off up to the Sawmill Dam pool.

A nice salmon from the South Esk.

Kenny Carr and Bill Cook.

The road down to the Sawmill Dam pool is only suitable for 4x4 vehicles so we all jumped in with Bill. The views looking across Glen Clova from the high ridge down to the pool is worth the money alone! On seeing the water, I set up with my 12ft 6in LTS Explosive and matched it up with my new SCS shooting head. I decided to fish a full floater and opted for a small size 14 Red Frances.

The view from the top of of dirt track down to the Sawmill Dam.

I was first to tackle up and as Bill and Kenny enjoyed a Cuban cigar on the bank I took the initiative and made my way down to the pool. Bill's advice to start short and lengthen without moving was still fresh in my mind and began casting as short line across the stream. I'd had no more than a dozen casts when my line went tight and I lifted into a decent fish. As the pool is very rocky and the water was low, I was weary of keeping the fish on a short line and played it hard to avoid disturbing the rest of the pool. After a good tussle, Bill was on hand to tail out a cock fish around the 7lb mark. On removal of my hook, I noticed there was in fact another fly in the mouth of the fish. Someone had hooked this one before but was not fortunate enough to land it. There was no line attached to the fly so it looked as though poor knot tying resulted in the loss. The fish was quickly returned with both flies removed! Good start to the morning. I fished the remainder of the pool but apart from a follow at the tail just above the Dam, there was no further action. Bill and Kenny both had a go but neither had any luck.

A good start to the morning at Cortachy with a 7lb salmon. Above is a video taken by Bill of me playing and landing the fish pictured.

We headed back to the hut to decide our next plan of action and fish some of the other pools. Buoyed by the fact that there had been a few fish caught the previous day we set off to our allocated pools. I was to fish the Meetings and then follow Kenny down through the pool below which was called Downie Stream.

The run above the Meetings Pool

Looking across the Meetings Pool where the Prosen enters the South Esk.

The Meetings is where the Prosen meets the South Esk. I'm told this used to be a fantastic pool but given the damage caused by Storm Frank and the fact that the water was very low, there was not many places where a salmon could hold up. I fished it down more in hope than expectation and alas didn't connect with anything. After I carefully fished through the pool I waded across at the tail and crept up the bank to see if I could spot any fish lying under the bank in the deeper part of the pool. Unfortunately, I didn't see any fish and my stealthy efforts whilst fishing the pool seemed to be in vain.

Looking downstream from the left bank of the Downie Stream.

The next pool down was the Downie Stream. I fished this off the right bank as the depth of the pool lay on the left bank of this pool. It was a lovely bit of water and the top half of the pool fished really well. Despite my best efforts I didn't get a touch and it was back up to the hut for a spot of lunch.

The fishing hut at the Cortachy Castle beat.

Kenny cooking the burgers as Bill looks on.

It's always a pleasure fishing with Kenny and Bill where ever we go and this time was no different. We had a good catch up over lunch which was expertly cooked by Kenny on his mobile gas stove. Top quality burgers and bacon butties Al fresco washed down with a cup of coffee. Magic! Our thoughts soon turned back to the fishing and Bill and I decided to venture back up to the Sawmill for another go thorough it.

Bill fishing down through the Sawmill Dam after lunch.

As I had first run through the pool in the morning, I let Bill fish first on our second visit to the Sawmill Dam pool. I decided to change fly from the wee Red Frances and opted for something with a bit more orange in it. A newly tied Silver Ally tied on a size 12 Esmond Drury treble immediately caught my eye so on it went. As I was second run through the pool, I also decided to change leader from my trusty brown Maxima to 12lb Fulling Mill Fluorocarbon just to allow the fly to fish that little bit deeper.

My second fish - A 9lber from the Sawmill Dam. Above is a video of the take, fight and release.

The fly that did the damage. The deadly Silver Ally.

I entered the pool at the top again just as I did in the morning session an began fishing a short line lengthening each time my fly fished round. I was covering the same lie that I hooked the fish this morning with a steady figure of eight retrieve. The fly was almost fished out when I had a ferocious take! I lifted into what felt like a decent sized fish. It wasn't keen to come up to the surface and had my line sunk as it tore off across the stream into the deeper part of the pool on the far side. A dogged battle lasted for a few minutes before Bill managed to tail a fish of around the 9lb mark. Just like this morning, another good start to the session! Bill and I both fished through the pool another once each before we headed off back to the hut to meet Kenny again.

Fishing down through the Meetings.

Looking upstream in the Meetings.

The sky was pretty much cloudless and the sun bright which made fishing in the low water that bit more difficult. We chatted for a while before having a token cast in the various pools near the hut. Kenny decide to head home after that and Bill and I were thinking the same. As we walked back to the car we decided to have one last cast in the Sawmill before calling it a day. We set off down to the pool to give it a go.

The middle part of the Sawmill Pool.

On arrival to the pool we immediately saw a fish show about mid way down. This spurred us on despite having fished the pool twice before earlier in the day. Bill and I covered the whole pool with various flies and tactics as we tried to find one more fish willing to take our offerings but it wasn't to be. We didn't move anything and with that, we called it a day and set off back up the road.

My springer from the last time I visited the beat back in 2013.

I had only fished at Cortachy once before and that was in May several years ago where I was fortunate enough then to land a lovely fish around 11lbs. It was great to be back and it was equally great to maintain my 100% record on the beat! Fishing is not always about catching fish though. Spending time in beautiful surroundings and in good company makes for a fine day out. Catching fish is an added bonus in these circumstances and I was very grateful to have landed two for my day. I'll be back at Cortachy in a few weeks time to try it all again. Fingers crossed we get a bit more water and we might just have one of those days where everything goes right! 

River Dee Grilse

I was out on the River Dee for a cast last Saturday for a few hours and despite the low water conditions, I was fortunate enough to land a nice fresh grilse around the 5lb mark. The fish hammered the fly just as I was lifting it off the water to recast. It's always good to get a bonus fish when you least expect it! Hopefully the rain forecast for the coming weeks will get the river on the rise again and encourage a few more of these feisty grilse to run.

A cracking River Dee grilse in prime condition.

The same photo as above but turned round.

An underwater photo of the salmon being returned.

A Trip To Remember! Carlogie - River Dee

I had my annual couple of days fishing on the Carlogie beat of the River Dee at the beginning of last week and what a few days it turned out to be!! Philip and I always take the first few days of the week and in recent years we have been very unlucky with the river conditions. The rain has usually arrived midweek and gave the lads fishing the tail end the best of the sport so you can imagine our delight to see heavy rain over the catchment a few days before our arrival. In fact, it rained right up until Sunday night. This was just what we needed after a prolonged drought.

A nice salmon from the River Dee at Carlogie last week.

I ventured over on Sunday night to meet up with good pals, Philip Black and Ade Warburton at the cottage on Ballogie Estate. It was great to catch up and have a laugh with the lads again but as the river had just had it's first proper rise for months, the drinks, for me anyway, were limited to a handful of beers. Knowing that the Pumphouse Pool down in the tidal reaches was stuffed full of fresh grilse and that Park had had a decent week prior to our arrival, we knew the fish would be on the move so it were off to bed around midnight to get up and at them fresh in the morning.

Philip enjoying a dram on the Sunday evening in the estate cottage.

As we had all tackled up the night before so it was just a case of putting on the waders, so after a coffee and a bacon and egg roll we headed off down to the hut around 8am. On our way to the beat I stopped off to check the gauge on Potarch Bridge and was delighted to see the river sitting around the 1ft mark. This was as near to ideal as we could have hoped for so it was a quicker than usual drive down to the hut at the Calm Pool!

The main hut on the beat at Carlogie.

After the customary dram to toast the river, we made the draw as to what pools we were to fish. I drew the middle part of the beat to begin with and that included the Calm Pool outside the hut. As were were preparing to start, Philip noticed a fish show and encouraged me to go and have a cast at it. I grabbed my 12ft 6in LTS Explosive matched up with a #8/9 Floating shooting head and a 10ft 5.6ips tip. As the river was a bit dirty and carrying a heavy peat stain, I opted to tie on a Sunray Shadow.

My first fish of day 1 - a sea trout around the 2b mark.

I entered the river about 50 yards above where the fish showed an begun fishing my way down the pool. I could have only made about a dozen casts when I had a good thumping hit on my Sunray. A nice sea trout soon made itself known and Philip and Ade were on hand to slip the net under it. It weighed around the 2lb mark and was swiftly returned. A good start to the week!

Success! A nice salmon comes to hand on Monday morning.

A quick photo before returning it.

After returning the sea trout I continued my way down the pool. Just around where Philip had seen the salmon show a earlier, I made a long cast and began slowly stripping in the fly. I pulled in all my running line and was slowly raising the rod to fish out the remainder of the cast when I had a boil at the fly. At that point, the fish grabbed it and took off across the stream! I held on tight to set the hook and the began trying to get some of my running line back on to the reel. Thankfully the fish was fighting hard so it took a lot of the running line with it as it ran down stream. I soon had the fish under control and was enjoying the battle on my 12ft 6in Explosive rod. I was hoping it would stay and as I hadn't landed a fish on the rod yet. Stay on it did and after a good scrap Philip slid the net under a slightly coloured salmon of around the 9lb mark. It was still only 10.20am and I had caught more fish in an hour than I had the 3 years previous years put together!  fished out the remainder of the pull without a touch.

Philip with his first fish of the trip - a nice salmon also around the 8/9lb mark.

Philips second fish on quick succession. A wee coloured grilse.

Philip had went to fish his allocated pools and had returned having not touched a fish. Ade soon returned and had landed a salmon from the Mill Pool. I invited Philip to have a cast in the Calm Pool as I had a beer and minutes after starting he was bent into a good fish. Ade and I made our way over and the fish was soon in the net. Another slightly coloured fish around the 8lb mark but a very welcome one! It was quickly returned and Philip carried on down the pool. No sooner had he started fishing again when his rod buckled over and he was into another one. This was a slightly bigger fish and it was soon subdued and in the net. Again, a slightly coloured fish this one being around the 7lb mark. What a morning!! 4 salmon and sea trout and it was just 12 noon! Not wanting to be outdone I headed back out into the Calm Pool for another go and began stripping my Sunray across the pool. I couldn't believe my luck when it was wolfed down by a fresh looking fish. I played the fish hard and had it beat and ready for landing. I attempted to pull it onto the shingle when the hook came out the the fish sped off back into the deeper water! It was right at my feet and I was cursing not landing it. Still, it was hard to be too down beat given the morning we'd had. At this point, lunch was not high on our agenda but we had a quick bite to eat before heading off to fish Alan's Pool at the top of the beat.

Looking down Alan's Pool from the high bank.

Ade with his fish from Alan's Pool.

An underwater photo of the fish ready from release.

Alan's Pool is tricky to fish and even more tricky to land a fish on your own so we all headed up to the pool to assist whoever was fishing it. Ade fished down the pool first and he was half way down when his fly was taken by a good fish. It fought hard in the current and with the high bank behind, playing the fish was proving difficult as is kept coming into the deep water on our side. Thankfully we were there and Philip slid down the bank just in time to net a good fish of around 8lb. Again, it was a coloured but it was a good gauge that the water temperature had dropped and the fresh water coming down the river had turned the older fish on again. Philip and I both took a turn of fishing the pool but neither of us could get anything to stick so we decided to make our way back down to the hut for a drink.

Philip ready with the net as Ade guide the fish within striking distance. 

Another sea trout. This time taken on a 3/4" Pink Frances.

On arrival to the hut, I decided to skip the drink and have a cast with a heavier fly since the pool had been fished several times before. I opted for a 3/4" Pink Frances and worked it down the pool. Not long after starting I had a good take and lifted into a fish. It was another sea trout but good to get another bend in the rod. It was quickly landed and was slightly larger than the other one I caught and we estimated it around the 3lb mark. It was not raining heavily again so I stopped fishing to sit it out in the hut for a while.

Worth getting wet for! My second salmon of the day. This time from the Lucky Hole.

The rain was failing hard and showed no signs of stopping. I thought this might have got a fish or two excited so I put on my jacket and headed back up to the top of the Calm Pool for another go while Ade and Philip took a time out in the hut. I fished out the Calm Pool with moving a fish but as I entered the Lucky Hole I had a cracking hit on the Sunray and I lifted into a good fish. I shouted to Ade and Philip that I was into a fish and the duly appeared to assist me in the pouring rain. I played the fish hard and soon had it near to the bank where Ade was standing with the net. The fish obviously didn't want it's photo taken and headed off back to it's lie at a rate of knots! As it did this, it swan through Ade's legs and this caused much hilarity as he tried to free the line and I held on to the fish. Thankfully the fish didn't come off. It was back under control and I slipped it into the waiting net. Another coloured fish around the 8lb mark was quickly photographed and released. What a day!

Ade and Philip drying out in front of the fire in the hut. 

We sat in the hut toasting the incredible day we'd been having but we felt there was still a fish to be had before the day was out. As we had all fished Alan's Pool and seen a few fish showing, Philip was keen for another go so we headed off upstream to have one final run down the pool before dark. I was content with my day so decided to ghillie for the other lads. Ade entered the top of the pool whilst Philip started half way down. Just as Philip neared the hot spot in the middle of the pool his line went tight and he lifted into a strong fish. The fish fought hard but Philip soon had in in the net. It was another slightly coloured fish around the 7-8lb mark but we weren't caring what colour they were, we were all just delighted to see the Dee on top form whilst we were there.

Philip into a fish in Alan's Pool on Day 1. He landed a nice fish around the 7/8lb mark not long after this photo was taken.

To finish Day 1 with 7 salmon and 2 sea trout was a fantastic tally for three rods. We couldn't have wished for better conditions after a prolonged drought and it was great to see the fish were on the move and willing to take a fly. We headed home for some celebratory drinks and to reminisce about the day we just had. The FishDee beats finished up with 42 for the day with Carlogie sitting top of the table. We were certainly looking forward to the next day!

Looking upstream in the Boat Pool.

Our second day started the same way as our first - with a cup of coffee and a bacon roll. This set us up for what we hoped was to be another good day on the river. The river had dropped slightly and was sitting at around 8" on the bridge gauge. The colour had also came out of it although, it was still a nice peaty colour. Just how I like it on the Dee. We arrived at the beat around 8.30am and got our gear on. We toasted the river with another dram and headed off to our allocated pools. I was to fish the Boat and Village Pools down the bottom of the beat.

Looking downstream from the Boat Pool and into the Village Pool.

After only a few casts in the Boat Pool on Day 2 I landed this grilse around the 5lb mark.

The Boat Pool is a nice bit of water with a fast flowing neck which cascades over bedrock and large boulders before slowing down and leveling off in the Village Pool. I started off up at the big stone on the bank which is named - Elephant Rock. I tore off a few yards of running line and cast out my Sunray Shadow across the stream. I got as much line out as I needed a few casts later and as soon as my Sunray came out the faster water, it was hit hard by a lively fish. The fish used the current to it's advantage and bore into the bed rock in an attempt to free the hook. It's not the easiest place to land a fish on your own but I managed to subdue it enough to beach a nice wee grilse around the 5lb mark between a couple of rocks. Just like yesterday, it was a good start to my day. I fished out the remainder of the pool without a touch so I headed off back to the hut.

Looking upstream in Alan's Pool just as the sun was going down.

On arrival to the hut I was met by Philip who was on his way up to fish Alan's. I jumped in his motor to join him. I ghillied for Philip as he waded down the edge of the pool but unlike yesterday, the fish didn't seem to be showing the same and the journey up proved to be a fruitless one. We made our way back to the hut and were greeted by Ade who had a big grin on his face. He had just landed a couple of fresh fish fro Jock Rae! Three salmon before lunch was another great start to our day.

Walking down to the Mill Pool. I never tire of this sight and always take a photo of the old mill.

An old sea trout around the 3lb mark from the Mill Pool.

Fishing down the Mill Pool.

After lunch, I headed upstream to fish the Mill Pool. I took two rods with me and I opted to fish the pool down first with my trusty Sunray shadow. I waded out a bit at the neck of the pool and cast the fly over into the slack water at the other side of the run. I began to strip the fly back and it was immediately snaffled by a fish! It was splashing about a bit and it was soon apparent that I was into a nice sea trout. After a brief tussle, I beached the sea trout which would have tipped the scales at around the 3lb mark. It was quickly returned and I went back into the pool where I came out. I had another dozen casts or so and my fly was hammered again! I lifted into, what felt like a good fish but no sooner had it took my fly, it spat it out again. I carried on down the pool but didn't connect with anything else so I headed off back to the hut to see if I could meet up with the the other lads.

Philip with his fish of around 10lb from the Mill Pool.

I met up with Ade at the hut and we had a drive about to see if we could find Philip. He was nowhere to be seen so we ended up back at the hut. No sooner had we arrived at the hut when Philip phoned. he was into a fish up in the Mill Pool so we jumped back in the motor and made our way up. We arrived just in time to get the net under a nice fish of around 10lb. That took our tally to four for the day. This time, we did end up back at the hut where we enjoyed a sandwich and a drink before deciding what to do next.

Philip launching a Snake Roll cast in Pitslug.

I had to leave the river around 6pm to head home so I offered my rod to Bill Cook to fish as he was over to stay the night in the cottage anyway and just enjoy the craic. He duly accepted and it wasn't long before he had his name in the book with a nice clean fish from Jock Rae. As it happened, that turned out to be the last action of the day. We finished up with 5 salmon and a sea trout. Another good day!

I think this video sums up our couple of days very nicely!

Despite the decent river conditions, the rest of the week wasn't as productive as the first half. The cloudless skies and bright conditions had returned but I believe there were 11 fish hooked on the Wednesday with only 1 landed by David Macdonald. Some you win, some you lose but at least the fish were still running it seemed. The water temperature was creeping up again as well which didn't help either.The final tally for the week was 16 salmon/grilse and 4 sea trout which is pretty good going for a 3 rod beat. I was just lucky to have been there when the water came and the fish got excited. It hasn't happened for us these past few years so it was good to be there at the right time for a change. Here's hoping we get more of the same next year!

The Burn - North Esk

Last week I had an evening's fishing on the Burn water of the River North Esk in the company of Alan Mowat. Alan is an old friend from my days on the Salmon Fishing Forums and I've known him now for a few years now. We have fished together numerous times at various outings etc but never on his local river. We had discussed doing this for a number of years and we finally got round to it last week.

 Fishing on the North Esk last week.

The beat is located slap bang in the middle of a deep gorge not far from the village of Edzell. I have visited this location plenty times just to watch the salmon from the high banks as they make their way up river to negotiate "The Loups" which is a water fall situated mid way along the beat. From the Loups, the North Esk then flows through the narrow gorge before widening out further down stream on it's way to finally emptying near Montrose. Having the agility of a mountain goat is essential for this beat as the fishing is not for the faint hearted in places! Staring into a deep gorge from high above takes a bit of getting accustomed to.

Looking down the river from high above the water. Such a cracking vantage point for fish spotting.

Looking upstream to where the river enters the narrow gorge section of the beat.

Looking downstream from the same spot.

On arrival to the beat, the water levels were sitting at around -3 on the Edzell gauge. Not really ideal but it proved to make the fishing all that more exciting which I'll go into later. Alan pointed out that we finally had some cloud cover and rain over the hills but the clouds were almost "pressing down" on the hill tops which Alan said puts the fish off the take. I took his word for it and we set off down the gorge to walk the beat prior to starting.

Looking downstream as I was about to begin fishing for the evening.

Alan and I walked the length of the gorge and he pointed out the various pools and lies as we went. We could see a few fishing milling about in some pools but they were easily seen due to the white fungal growths on them. Thankfully, this fungal growth hasn't been as bad as it had in previous years but it still seemed to be effecting one or two fish. Having said that, there were also a few fresher looking fish hanging around which was encouraging. Alan suggested starting at the top part of the beat and working my way down covering the hot spots as I went and that's what we did.

A fresh looking grilse which for whatever reason has died.

Trying to make a stealthy approach as I fished down a small pool above the falls.

The names of all the pools on the beat escape me but the first pool I fished was not far above the Loups. At this current height, the pool was no more than a few cast as the fish are easily spooked. I covered the water as best I could with my 12ft 6in LTS Explosive and full floating line. The wee size 15 Executioner was my fly of choice to begin with. I didn't get an offer in here so me moved on to the next pool down which was a below the falls.

Looking upstream from the falls. Still fish moving upstream despite the river levels. 

This pool looked the part in the current water conditions and we could see one or two fish lurking in the deep rocky ledges taking shelter in the low water. Covering them effectively was proving to be difficult but I tried several methods but nothing would get even a slight reaction for either fish.

Covering a few fish from high above the pool. It really is fascinating to see their reaction to the fly or usually, lack of it!

Spot the salmon?

You can see the fish but my fly was covering a couple of double figure salmon here. No luck with them though.

Alan and I covered the rest of the pools on the beat without a touch but I was intrigued with being able to fish high above the salmon and to gauge their reaction as the fly fluttered by them. Alan soon let me know that was was commonly know as "Loups Disease" and I had it bad! I covered the fish with almost every fly in my box without so much as a sniff. The fish seemed to flash their flanks at them as the swam past as if to try and scare them off. Some fish even looked as though they were slashing their tails at the flies. It was amazing to see and the time seemed to fly in.

Looking downstream from the high vantage point on the gorge. We stood watching several fresh looking fish enter the pool here.

Same pool but closer to the tail. 

The next pool down. Really can't think of their names unfortunately!

The arrival of a few fresh looking grilse seemed to stir up the residents in the pool and we could clearly observe the fish entering the tail of the pool. The residents began to get a bit move agitated and we thought this might have made one attack my fly out of frustration.

Looking upstream in the pool where I contracted "Loups Disease".

There is a video on YouTube were some Icelandic anglers had an underwater camera in a pool and they watched the reaction of fish to their flies as the attempted to catch them. This was much and much the same just without their success! However, the Icelandic anglers switched to a Red Frances and it worked almost immediately. I did the same and cast out a small 1/2" tube which sunk deeper than my dressed doubles did previously. My fly entered the lie where the salmon were holed up and one fresh grilse came up and grabbed the fly. I never felt a thing but could see it all unfold in front of my eyes. I lifted the rod in an attempt to hook the fish but it let go no sooner than it took it. Almost with that, my chance had gone.

Looking down to the tail as we watched a few grilse enter the pool.

Alan had a go after me efforts and he also had a fish grab his lure. Again, it didn't stick but unlike me, Alan has managed to cure his "Loups Disease" and showed a bit more resilience than me and gave up soon after. I couldn't do that. It was just so fascinating to see the fish and their reactions to a fly.

Looking upstream round the back of the high gorge which towers over the pool.

Despite knowing the fish weren't in the mood, I carried on for at least another hour fishing over the same fish as "Loups Disease" had me firmly in it's grasp. Although one or two did seem to be aware of my fly's presence, most of the fish never moved a muscle. It really makes you wonder just how many times a fish will move to a fly, lure or bait but not actually take it. Must be hundreds.

Another picture of the fish still sitting ion the same spot.

At 9.00pm I finally gave in and we called it a day. We walked back to the cars and I was honestly like an excited little school kid who was allowed into the sweet shop. It was such a thrill fishing in this way and I would love to do it again with just a bit more water on the gauge. That might just make all the difference in turning those stubborn residents into aggressive tackers. Hopefully it won't be too long until I get me next "fix".