Turbo Grilse

We have had a real mixture of rods over the last nine days. From highly experienced fishing machines to first time salmon anglers. Luckily for the latter we have had a really good run of fish come in. Including some amazing fat grilse.

One fish weighed just under 3kgs but was only 63cms long. Short and chunky with a broad shoulder it fought like a much larger fish. Whilst this year we are seeing a much higher number of grilse than last season we are not without bigger fish. The very big ones still avoid the net but plenty of fish are still being caught fresh between 80 and 90 cms.

The team fishing 16-19 July landed 126 fish with fishing becoming more and more evenly spread throughout the beats. A real mix of clients lead to a great vibe in the lodge and also a variety of experience on the river meaning the river was really tested.

With water temperatures sliding between 6 and 8 degrees most days the fish were often taking gently and on the dangle. This lead to a lot of long line releases. We have lost some really big fish due to a mix of heavy cold water, light hook ups and inexperienced anglers.

There is heavy rain forecast which could have a detrimental effect on the fishing but we are hoping it will turn out to be a lot less than expected.

Jack M had some truly beautiful fish and lost an utter hog just at the net. Manuel P had some wonderful fish during his stay. Marina G fished really well and hardly had a blank session.

The odd beat has produced a bonanza with Axel G catching 11 from beat 1 and beat 7 having some really good results. But none are a sure thing with one beat switching off an another on with very little explanation.

The last group had over 270 fish for the 5 days but I will update here with a more complete report in the next few days.