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! 

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.

Orton - River Spey

Last Saturday saw me back on the River Spey and this time I was accompanied by my good friend Charlie Robertson and ADAA Junior Sean Rennie. We were fishing on the Orton beat which is situated about 8 miles from the mouth of the river. The water had risen a good bit due to snow melt a few days prior to us arriving and the wind had really whipped up making casting a fly very tricky at times. The water temperature was still on the cold side at 36f. Due to the high, and slightly coloured water, my set up for the day was my 15ft Mackenzie rod, Hover/Intermediate shooting head with a 10ft super fast sinking tip and a 6ft 7ips tip on the end of that. Heavy flies were on order just to try and get down to the fish quicker due to the fast flowing river.

The lunch hut over looking the Cooperee Pool.

We arrived at the hut about 8.45am to see the river sitting at around 3ft 6in on the gauge. After a sausage roll and chat about tactics we were allocated our pools for the morning by the ghille, Andrew. I was to start my day in the bottom half of Upper Cairnty with Sean and Charlie starting down below in the Lower Cairnty.

The hut midway down the Cairnty Pool.

ADAA Junior member Sean Rennie fishing the Lower Cairnty opposite the hut.

By mid morning the gusty wind was really making things difficult. Trying to cast a fly into the teeth of a gale isn't the easiest thing to do but we battled on regardless. Sadly, it was to no avail as neither of us had a touch on our first run down the pool. Andrew suggested to Charlie to have a go in Willows so Sean and I had another run down the Lower Cairnty. Again, this proved fruitless but it was fishing really nice when you could get the fly out straight!

Cooperee Pool looking downstream.

Fishing down through the Willows Pool.

After lunch Sean and I headed up to give the Willows a go. Fishing this pool effectivly involved wading out 20ft or so to cover the water just that bit better. By this time though, the water clarity was worsening all the time and we could hardly see the river bed. We did however see a fish show near the tail of the pool and gave us a bit of encouragement but try as we might, neither of us had an offer so we made our way back down river to have another crack in the Lower Cairnty.

Charlie and his dog Bracken take a break from the howling wind on the Cairnty Pool.

Sean, Charlie and ghillie Andrew Hall watching the logs floating down the rising river in the afternoon.

By mid afternoon conditions were really against us and we didn't really fish that much. The water had risen about 8 inches since morning and had coloured up a good bit. The gusty winds had now turned into a constant wind so we decided to sit on the bank and have a good blether with Andrew instead. We called it a day around 4.30pm but probably could have left long before that with conditions the way they were but you don't catch salmon without having your fly in the water so we made the most of it.

Looking upstream into Cooperee from Upper Cairnty.

Sadly, nothing doing for any of the rods apart from Charlie landing a well conditioned trout about 1.5lbs in the Willows. I will be back in a few weeks time to give it another go and with a bit of luck the fishing conditions will have improved and I will have the chance of catching my elusive Spey springer.

Finavon Castle - South Esk

It rained heavily all day on the Friday before we arrived to fish the Finavon Castle Water which gave Kenny, Bill, Davie and I some extra encouragement for our day on the River South Esk. We planned an early start and I set my alarm for 4am so we could meet at the beat for 5.30am. We arrived just before 5.30 and made our way down to the hut on the Castle Beat. The water was sitting around the 9" mark and was running clear which signaled that the water had not risen as much as we'd anticipated. Still, we were all confident that there would be fish running.

The Castle Beat Hut at 5.30am.

The interior of the hut with wooden fish on the wall as a reminder of good catches of days past.

It was still dark when we arrived at the hut so we lit up a few candles in the hut and contrary to popular opinion, Kenny produced a bottle of 25 year old GlenFarclas so we had a wee dram as we waited to get going. I tackled up with my 13ft Hardy Uniqua, Floating line and 10ft intermediate tip. My fly of choice to begin with was a 1/2" Silver Ally. Kenny and I were to fish the Milton Beat in the morning whilst Bill and Davie were to fish the Castle Beat.

Kenny and I decided to start at the top of the beat and work our way down. The first pool we were to fish was the Bridge Pool. I started at the croy and Kenny went above and started just below the bridge itself. Just as I entered the water a fish showed just next to a boil which the handy beat guide suggests you will pick up a fish. I covered it several times but nothing doing. That was the only fish we saw in the pool so we made our way down to the next pool which was Tyndals.

Looking upstream at dawn in the Bridge Pool.

Fishing down the Bridge Pool. A fish shown just as I started in the boil about half way down but it wasn't hanging about.

Tyndal's is one of the most productive pools on the beat and looking through the catch book, it produces fish all season long. It is fished from the North bank so a wade across the river just above the pool is needed to fish the pool. Bill and Davie had fished this pool whilst we fished the Bridge and said they had seen several fish, mostly coloured showing up near the neck of the pool. Kenny and I fished down through the pool, covering the likely spots but to no avail. Kenny did however see a fish show on his way down but we couldn't temp anything. 

Tyndals Pool. A nice easy wade all the way down and the depth is over on the opposite bank right down the pool. Most of the fish seen were just off the current towards the North bank.

The next pool down was Willows but at this height of water it looked really shallow and when the sun was out, you could see every stone so we decided to leave it for later and see if we got some cloud cover. We headed off down to fish Volcano and Lower Boat pools. Both were clearly defined pool with fast water at the neck which tapered off as the pool widened out. This time, the deeper parts of the pool were on  the North side and they were to be fished from the South bank. As tasty as these pools looked, neither Kenny or myself touched anything in either of them. By this time, the sun was high ain the cloudless sky and conditions were starting to go against us. Kenny headed back to the hut for a cup of tea and I headed back up to have another crack in the Bridge Pool. Sadly, I didn't see or touch anything on my second run down so I headed back to the hut around 11.30am to join Bill, Davie and Kenny for an early lunch.

Looking downstream from the footbridge towards the Red Brae Pool on my way over to fish the Castle Beat.

Looking upstream from the Bridge into the Castle Stream.

After lunch, Kenny and I were to fish the Castle beat and Bill and Davie were to fish the Milton beat. The first pool on the Castle beat is the Castle Stream so I started off in the whilst Kenny headed down to the Red Brae pool below. The water looked a bit on the low side for the Castle Stream but I fished down it regardless just to give it a go.

Castle Stream. There are groins either side at the neck of the pool which gives it a nice flow down the far bank.

I carried on down stream to fish the Kirkinn pool which is really just the tail of Red Brae. There is a nice looking run down the far side which fishes the fly quite well but I didn't get an offer in here and carried on down to the next pool. I had a quick run down through Pheasantry on my way down to fish Nine Maidens

Kirkinn. Looks like an excellent summer sea trout pool.

The hut overlooking Pheasantry which is named David's Tree House Hut. As you can see, it's built around an large tree.

Next pool down was Nine Maidens. This pool had a good bit of depth to it and looked like it could hold a fish or two up near the neck. I concentrated on this area and slowly made my way down the pool but as much as it looked a likely place for a fish, I didn't get an offer so it was onto the next pool.

Kenny Carr sitting on the croy at the neck of Nine Maidens deciding what fly to try next.

 The bottom pool on the beat was called Beaches. It was a long pool in comparison to the others on the Castle beat and also looked like it would give a good chance of a fish. Kenny and I both fished our way down to right under the Viaduct without an offer so we decided to head back upstream to have another go in Red Brae.

The Viaduct at the tail of Beaches. Below the bridge is the Haugh's Pool on the Finavon Bogardo beat.

As I never fished Red Brae on my way down I was eager to give it a go and on arrival we were met by regular River Esks fisher Alan Mowat who was taking with Bill and Davie. Bill said he had seen a fish show up thear the neck of Red Brae so I went up to give it cast. I changed to a Sunray Shadow and worked it through the pool but I didn't get so much as a boil from a trout. It was a very fishy looking pool and one, which I 'm sure, given better conditions would produce plenty fish. Just a pity the sun was water and overhead conditions were not in our favor today.

We all headed back to the Milton Beat hut for a cup of coffee and a farewell dram before heading home. We had a good chat in the hut about all thing fishing and it was good to catch up with Alan again who we fished with on the River Don back in April. We said our goodbyes and left for the journey back up the A90 around 5.30pm.

I really enjoyed fishing this cracking part of the South Esk. We were lucky that there were 4 rods fishing in our party which gave us a bit more pools to fish given the lowish water. We all agreed that it was a good day and with a few more inches of water, we could have had some decent sport. The overnight rain, although heavy, didn't come to much but as it has rained all day today (Sunday 7th) I'm sure there will be fish caught this week if the water goes up. I will look forward to seeing the catches and what these beats can produce.

Left to Right - Kenny, Bill, myself and Davie pose for a picture before heading home.

For more info please visit the very informative Finavon Castle Fishings website.