Martin’s Cut

Martin’s Cut has always been something of an enigma. By reading the water, it could easily be taken as one of Finavon’s finest low water pools, but for some reason it has never held the number of fish one might expect from such a feature. The turbulent, oxygenated water at the head of the pool, giving way to a main body with plenty of depth, cover and structure and a gliding tail, should be the ideal recipe for a low water fish holding pool. 

Try not to let this put you off, however, as fish are sometimes taken here and when hooked, can give an explosive account of themselves within the narrow, fast confines of the pool. Most of the salmon to come out of Martin’s cut are taken either between the mid-point and tail of the pool, whereas most of the sea trout are taken right up in the white water. 

One point to keep in mind when fishing the pool is that fishing from the loose cobble which makes up the South bank, from where the pool must be fished, will put you on the skyline. Wading is not always an option either because of the narrow width of the pool and quite sudden drop off into deeper water. 

This is something to consider before deciding to fish the pool from top to bottom in a traditional manner. Might there be a better way to do it?