 Visitor lands 12lbs 10ozs salmon
AMERICAN visitor Rickey Welsh, over from Tennessee, boated a 12lbs 10ozs salmon on Loch Ness while trolling a black/silver Rapala off the Old Coal Pier some 500 yards short of the canal entrance at Fort Augustus.
Rickey was out with John Northcote on his boat Augusta which caters for anglers wishing to fish Loch Ness.
Local forester Graham Clark, who was out with John recently, landed a cracker of a brown trout from virtually the same spot.
His brownie weighed in at 10lbs and was a lifetime best.
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THE River Ness didn't fare as well as of late and the only report that I have from the river was of Billy Orrock taking a broad deep-set salmon of 15lbs from Burnmouth on the Dochfour Beat on a size eight Ally's Shrimp.
A visitor did lose a salmon at the Little isle Pool on the Club water, and lain Cameron unfortunately lost two on the Laggan Beat further up river.
Anglers on the Laggan were, however, entertained by kingfishers in all their finery zooming back and fore, and particularly by an otter in the stream above the hut.
It lay on its back, tail in the air, and ate its lunch quite mindless of the interest it was creating.
On finishing a small trout, it then produced an eel of about 12 inches in length which proved to be quite a handful as it wrapped itself round the otter's neck - but it eventually followed the trout.
it was a sight not everyone is privileged to witness!
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ON THE Helmsdale it only took a couple of inches of fresh rainwater to spark off the best week of the season so far.
Ninety fish were successfully landed, of which 72 were returned as the spring restrictions still remain at three per beat per week.
Most of the fish caught had been resident in the river and just came on the take because of the fresh water.
A good number were in the 14-16lbs class but there are no real signs of the grilse runs proper as yet.
Incidentally "springers" ended on May 31 and the catch limit doubles up to six from now on.
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ON THE Kyle of Sutherland rivers sport was a bit dour despite the spates there.
Perhaps the salmon sitting in the Kyle itself had been there just too long and hadn't shaken off the lethargy of the brackish water. Who can tell - salmon!
The Lower Brora picked up and about a dozen were caught there last week.
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THE Averon (Alness) produced its first-ever salmon of the year to young Rikki Golabek who was worming the Bridge Pool. His springer weighed in at 12lbs.
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THE Halladale rose a couple of feet, dropping back slowly over the week and resulting in 16 fish being caught which almost doubled their total spring catch.
Three of those caught were released. On Tuesday Colin Adams had one of 10lbs in McBeath's.
On Wednesday Ray Hunter caught a brace at 11lbs and 10lbs (one of which he returned) in Hugh's Pool and Bridge, and Sandy Harper grassed a cracker of 15lbs in the Run Out.
On Thursday Angus Ross, the Achintoul keeper, had a brace at 10lbs and 12lbs both in Haugh's on the Craggie Beat and both on a Joe Potterton (I haven't a clue what it looks like!).
Friday saw Sandy Harper with another fine fish of 10lbs in Hugh's, Elizabeth Hunter one of 11lbs in Munro's and her husband Ray one of 13lbs in the same pool.
John Salkeld took one of 8lbs from McBeath's, and Angus Ross returned an 8lbs fish at Haugh's.
On Saturday Christopher Smith had one of 10lbs at Forsinain, and Matthias Gresser took the season's first grilse at 5.5lbs and sea-liced on a 1.5-inch Tube Fly also at Forsinain with the river sitting nicely at plus 18 inches.
Thoires Ihde fished a Temple Dog to effect in Glen-a-Gobhair for an 8lbs salmon and followed up with one of 10lbs.
Ronnie Adams, on his final cast of the day, made amends for losing possibly the fish of the week a day or so earlier by landing a 10lbs salmon in the Run Out.
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THE River Thurso rose to plus 20 inches midweek as the Little River spated into the top of Beat Nine and the resulting fresh water stimulated salmon to run into the main river - 27 made the net as a result.
Des Hunt grassed three fine
salmon in the Corner Pool on Beat Three, a brace of 12-pounders and one at 13lbs.
His wife Nicky took two at
14lbs and 16lbs from Beats
Nine and Seven, and her sister
Julie Lister grassed a brace of
12-pounders on Beat Eight.
Terry Dobbs managed a couple of hours on Beat Seven and was rewarded with a fine 12lbs salmon.
Local angler Donnie MacKenzie had a 12lbs fish and
one of 7lbs from the Upper
Suilag and Red Braes on Beat
Three.
Tom Plumley took a brace at 13lbs and 11lbs from the Hoy Pool on Beat Four, and Jamie McCarthy one of 11lbs from the same spot.
Although about six week of the spring fishing was lost due to the foot and mouth epidemic, 133 springers were landed for an average weight of 11.8lbs which is good going in anybody's book.
* LOCH Achilty held its Trout-masters competition the week before last and Gordon Stewart from Bishopbriggs won the competition with five rainbows for 12lbs, taking about 20 over the day.
Robin Watts was second with five for 8lbs, having caught 10 over the day, and Mrs Billie Robertson was third with two for 5lbs.
The following day Gordon
Stewart caught another 20, up to
6lbs in weight, on Damsel
Nymphs on both floating and
intermediate lines.
Alan Scott on a recent outing had eight averaging 3lbs.
Achilty, a fairly large fishery, is always worth a visit as it provides plenty of scope for the anglers and - given the conditions - will provide excellent sport and good catches.
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I JOINED my friend David
Graham on the Dee on Saturday
about two miles below Aboyne at
Mill of Dess.
David had four for his week, all salmon in the 9-11lbs range, of which a couple were sea-liced.
His son David Jnr caught his first-ever salmon which took him over half an hour to land - and at a spanking 11lbs he was over the moon.
Me? I lost the only fish I connected with after three or four minutes and shortly afterwards took an impromptu early bath ... that's salmon fishing!
The Dee is a beautiful river to fish, although the weather wasn't too kind and a rising river not the best of conditions.
However, despite getting wet and losing a fish, I thoroughly enjoyed what was a super day out.
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