Yes, I know its been a very, very long time, suffice it to say illness and injuries have taken their toll over the past year.Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Yes, I know its been a very, very long time, suffice it to say illness and injuries have taken their toll over the past year.Tuesday, 19 May 2009
RODS AVAILABLE RIVER SPEY 1 TO 6 JUNE
2 Full rods available for the whole week.
It may be possible to do this on a daily basis, and if you are nice enough ( blond, buxom, can cook and preferrably female (sic) !!!! ), Accommodation may be available in our Cottage as part of the deal.
Cost of the fishing is £360 for week, or maybe £60 per day. As above, Accommodation can be thrown in.
If Interested, send mail to fishmorvern@aol.com or call me on :-
0774 3894199
01967421690
Not a lot to report from God's Country. Weather has been dreadful, water still very cold, and unfortunately not a lot of fish. ( In truth, not a lot of fishers, but maybe, like me everyone is tightening their belts ! )
Stalking wise, plenty of Deer about, and at the moment, we are concentrating on the Roe Bucks. - 6 so far, and hopefully a lot more to come.
"Camrach" now in the water after a major engine overhaul - off after Cod and Pollack this afternoon !!
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
We're Off !!
It was cold, wet, windy, and none too pleasant. Despite this Brian and I set off for Arienas for an afternoon on the first day. Water was very cold and fish were likely to be deep. Interestingly enough though, in sheltered bays away from the wind, there were significant hatches of Olives.
Brian put on a weighted Montana, whilst I, ever the optimist stuck with a traditional team of flies - though unusually for Arienas, on the small side - 14's and 16's.
Much flogging of the water later, Brian got into a fairly big fish which was lying deep in about 20ft of water. A bend of the rod, tightening of line followed by slackening of the line and a few curses, and the fish was off.
I had the chest waders on ( and about 15 layers underneath ) and was inching my way slowly down the bays on the south side of the loch. One or two touches kept the interest going, but with cold hands, and a new leak in the waders, was starting to get uncomfortable.
You know the old saying - "just a couple more casts" - well that's the way it was ( honest ). Anyway, with cold hands and shrinking bollocks, I was ready to call it a day when at last a fish. Definitely not the biggest, and once I got it in, definitely not the fattest. nevertheless, a welcome wee brownie of about 1lb, on a size 16 Greenwell Spider. - returned of course - we don't keep anything under 2lb here !
Some other news, one of my friends, a master craftsman, has started to make cane fly rods. These are state of the art, and for the purists a must. He will be making one up to my specifications, and I'll then post some pictures etc. Anyone interested in what will be a work of art, please let me know.
Off to the smoke on other business today, and when I get back time to get the boat sorted out and back in the water.
Oh - and I need a new camera !
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
NORMAL SERVICE IS NOW RESUMED

Cameron started his schooling in Spey casting, and here he is above with a nice wee grilse about 5lb that I took on a size 14 Tosh !! Oh - and the school - restricted to only 2 this year as I was somewhat immobile, but both left with a good level of expertise in Spey casting and salmon fly fishing.
As for the River Aline, what can I say - no rain from April through to August meant that none of the usual early big sea trout appeared - though the seals at the mouth were having a field day. A similar situation for the salmon - what ones there were before any rain just couldn't get up, and if it wasn't the seals, the low oxygen in the water killed quite a few off. The odd one was picked up here and there ( and sadly retained by some of the Estate guests ). Until October however the Fishmorvern total was Zilch !!
The last week in the season changed matters however as I got the chance to wet a line myself, and to our great pleasure, Cameron got his first salmon on the fly - nothing spectacular, but his smile said it all.

Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Rain at Last !!
After what seemed like an eternity - well actually nearly 9 weeks, the rains have arrived in Morvern. The river is not quite in full spate, but as seen at the tail of the Middle Pool above, plenty of water to allow the fish to make their way up from the sea.

Today I'm going out to the boat to give it a good clean - a bit like a crime scene at the moment after all these fish - tonight, the big pool at Claggan beckons I think - still to land my first salmon this year from the river !
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Spey Delights
Yes folks, the one doing the rather elegant pose holding a lovely fresh run salmon is yours truly and faithful pup Tara. ( Oh - about the mop - I'm going through a Bohemian period at the moment so am somewhat more hirsute than normal ) I am just back home after what has been my best ever week on the Spey, fishing with friends Kevin & Colin Franks, Peter MacGregor, Tom Fergusson, and for 2 days, Tom's son in law Gordon.Spey weeks are always fun whether I'm holding the Salmon School, or as in this week, just fishin' and chillin' out with mates. With little opportunity to get on my local River, I was perhaps looking forward to it more than ever. This year however I decided to change the habits of a lifetime, and do the following :-
- Fish as many hours of daylight as I was physically able to ( getting old after all )
- Just put up one rod as opposed to my usual 2 each with different lines
- stick to a floater with either an inter or sink tip
- most revolutionary esp for me - use just one fly all week - in this case, a fly designed by my good mate Sandy from Aberdeen - the Sandy Special !
On arrival the River was about 8 below the summer zero mark. 4 fish had been caught the previous week, and with little rain forecast, we should have been fishing a slowly falling river. Apart from a few hours rain on the Tuesday, which brought the river up an inch or so, that is indeed how it worked out over the week.
Monday therefore brought great expectations. Alas however, all I seemed to be catching was smolt, though in amongst these I did get a sea trout of about 2lbs. Apart from that however - zilch ! Things did not improve, and indeed got worse as in the evening I got into a big fish ( honest !! ) on the Lower Slabs, fought it for 15 mins and was "broken" after it set of on what looked like a fairly gentle run - after a few blue words, inspection of the 15lb nylon showed some fraying, and I can only surmise that I had caught the bank at least once as I casted from the rocks on this pool. Needless to say for the rest of the week, I was inspecting the nylon with great frequency.
Tuesday saw me on the River at 0600 to try things before the fish had the sun fully on them, and on the Green bank Pool, I am pleased to say it worked - 2 salmon, each of about 10/11 lb taken by 0700, both from what is know locally as the "White Post" ( Actually a bench on the opposite bank that has collapsed and lies at a strange angle on the bank ). 1000 saw number 3.
I suppose I could now go on to wax lyrical as they say and give a blow by blow account of the rest of the fishing. I will not however, partly as my keyboard skills mean it will take me for ever, and partly because, on reading the "cartel" of fishing authors in some magazines that will remain unnamed I shall restrain myself( yes, indeed a closed shop - have you noticed how few writers there are who seem to appear everywhere, and if any of you have tried, how nearly impossible it is to get anything published unless you are a close associate of the chosen few ? )
Anyway, suffice it to say that my total for the week was 6 salmon, and the 1 sea trout. And - the experiment was a true success. - This will now be my policy for the future. It may not work every time, but it certainly paid off last week. Not so much luck for the others unfortunately though Colin did get a nice 12lb salmon - seem to be a few gaps in my fly box though after I think at least one "raid" by persons unknown !!
Time to sign off now - the joy of being away is that I come home to 2 acres of grass that badly needs cut - all done and now I'm knackered - time for bed
PS - Tara was excellent, and behaved herself at all times (thankfully ) - she was happy to just sit on the bank whilst I waded.
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Just for you doggie lovers out there, Tara is now 1 year old, and a real cracker - biddable, easy to train, quick as lightning, and follows her daddy everywhere. Just a wee bit of fine tuning to go on the training, and she should be ready for the birds this season. 
Eventually however a Loch Ordie on the top, and 2 black spiders below did the trick, and I landed 6. Always wanting to be in on the action however, just as I was releasing one, Tara grabbed it, and swallowed in one gulp ( not a big fish ). Suitable remonstrated, she didn't even attempt this with any of the others.