Another perfect fishing day but with the low water the Spey has had for weeks and weeks. Lots of stale fish in Pollwick and just the odd stale grilse jumping elsewhere if you put a fly over it. With fantastic encouragement by Simon, we put big flies, micro flies, skated flies and anything else we […]
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River Spey, Castle Grant 3. 5th September 2025
The Spey, like all Scottish rivers is still desperate for water. SEPA have even stopped all extraction because of the drought! None the less it was a joy to come to Castle Grant 3 and meet Simon Crozier again after nearly 30 years, on this magical beat. As ever this year, tales of stale fish […]
River Shin, 3rd September 2025
The much promised heavy rain today turned out to be a quick shower. Typical. Nothing this morning from lower beat but this afternoon I managed to suitably annoy a stale grilse of about 5lbs in Cottages 4. At least it was one more for the book in a very tough season. I don’t know if […]
River Shin, 2nd September 2025
Still none of the promised rain. I really wonder if the Met Office do little more than look out of the window and post the current conditions. So still hard work and no sign of any new fish reaching us. Despite that, I did manage to winkle out a hen fish of about 11lbs from […]
River Shin, 1st September 2025
Nice day, overcast with occasional sun but none of the promised rain, just an irritating strong upstream wind. A few stale grilse seen in the river but none showed the slightest real interest in anything. We really need rain and lots of it to bring up some new fish.
31st August 2025 Lairg Lodge, River Shin
Just arrived at Lairg. Reports of spates in rivers on the west coast over the weekend, but no serious rain has reached this catchment all summer, as yet. Fortunately the Shin has compensation water from the dam and so is still fishable but it badly needs fresh water to bring the fish up. Alec reports […]
Disaster! I have had to abandon my trip to Norway.
I am really pissed off! I returned from Spain last week and was all packed and ready for my trip to Norway and the River Verdal, staying with John Olav Oldren. Then two days ago I went down with the latest Covid/man-flu/lergy – They don’t even bother to test you to say which these days. […]
Return to Norway Wk 22-29th June 2025, River Verdal
I have just booked a week at the Tingvoll Lodge on the River Verdal in the Trodelag region of Norway. Bit last minute, but John Olav Oldren, who I haven’t seen for many years, offered me an opening at what I think is a very reasonable price. A lot of rods had their fishing cancelled […]
Dalmarnock, Tay, Wk 7th – 12th April 2025
The weather never ceases to amaze. Last year a bitter-cold, overcast week with lots of water. This year it was hotter than Spain. We barely saw a cloud all week and the sun bought temperatures in the mid 20s every day. As ever with bright sun on low, gin-clear water, the fish were either just […]
Dalmarnock, Tay 11th April 2025
More of the same… Another day of baking hot sun from a cloudless sky. Water 1″ on Dalmarnock Gauge now – that’s about 6″ on Caputh gauge. I have never seen it this low, even in September. The talk now is a worry that there is no snow melt to come and the water is […]
