Spring on The River Spey

The wonderful Cairnty Pool on Orton, River Spey

Brass Monkeys sprung to mind on Tuesday, when again, I was lucky enough to be invited to fish Delfur. There’s not many beats where, subjected to 70 mile an hour gales, it’s still a pleasure to fish, but I have to say, Delfur is one. Twa Steens [Two Stones], Beaufort the Holly Bush and Sourden, for anyone who have not fished them, are, well, fly-fishing heaven; to swing a fly in those pools is such a real privilege and to be savoured under any conditions. Unfortunately with conditions the way they were, it was fairly obvious from the beginning that contacting a fish would be difficult, just a shame the weather had to change for the worst, mind you, that’s salmon fishing, especially in the spring.



Casting a line over the tail of Sourden, Delfur, River Spey

Water temperatures throughout February had fluctuated between 40 and 44 degrees, but the change in weather on the 7th saw this drop back to 37oF, and the wind swing round from a southerly to a more northerly direction. So how many fish have been caught on the Spey until now? Well, a whole lot more than this time last year. Probably around 40 fish, with at least 90% returned.
Those drops in temperature have never been a good thing for salmon fishing, in fact, of all the really good bags of fish I have ever seen caught in the Spring, none have been caught during those conditions of quick drop in temperature and strong wind. Yes there are odd fish caught during those conditions but personally, I have never seen a “bag”. Come to think of it, all my big days salmon fishing, and by big days I mean between 6 and 12, have under similar conditions with little or no wind. I wonder if any one out there has ever made a proper “Bag” of salmon in the UK during those adverse conditions. I would be really interested to hear?
Rods fishing the Brae have been limited to say the least. It would seem the demand for good salmon fishing is poor at this time, that or we are all getting soft and expecting too much from our fisheries! Irrespective of where you fish and other than a short spell between the 1940s and the 1970s, historically, spring fish have always been a challenge and a wonderful prize for dedicated fishermen. Those fishing the Brae will have noticed much more action this year, fortunately for those few, not many others have cottoned on yet! All those lovely fly pools, with a Ghillie to yourself, for £30 per day. And they say fishing in Scotland is expensive!



The Author - Playing a fish in Pol-Ma-Cree, Wester Elchies, River Spey