Finavon Castle Bulletin

After the big spate earlier in the month the level fell away and the water cleared with the result that salmon were less keen to take the fly. Despite the reduced chances of catching a fish there were plenty to be seen, an autumn kaleidoscope of the Atlantic salmon’s freshwater livery. The main pools where salmon were lying in numbers are Tyndals (unfortunately just downstream of the webcam’s wide angle!), Volcano, Flats, Red Brae, Beeches, Haughs, Indies and House Pool. It is difficult to estimate numbers of fish in our pools, but an educated guess might suggest that there are upwards of 250 salmon in FCW pools as I write this on 16/10/2010.

Derek Strachan, fishing late on Friday, caught two nice grilse in the House Pool. Earlier in the week Donald Mowatt did well to catch three fish in Lower Boat Pool and the Flats. There hasn’t been much wind to lift the leaves off the trees which means, like our national debt, we have a massive input of all varieties of tree leaf over our heads to turn our clear South Esk water into something more like minestrone soup. Last week ended with six salmon and grilse. We also completed work on the refurbishment of our suspension bridge and hut at the Red Brae. The hut, with its shingle roof, now looks more like a Canadian log cabin than it ever did with its synthetic corrugated roof!

Tail of Indies Pool at Finavon on the South Esk

Prospects for the last two weeks depend on rain. The forecast suggests showers and intermittent, but not heavy, rain. If most of that falls in the hills we may get a 6″ lift in the river, which should suffice to stir up the resident fish, bring a few new ones into the pools, and – perhaps – into a taking mood. If you keep an eye on the webcam you will notice the “Armchair Rock” which is the best level marker we have at Finavon. If the water is bulging round the sides of the Armchair Rock, and there is a good stream on the North side of it, then conditions are good for the fly. If the water is occasionally slopping over the top of the boulder, as well as bulging around the sides, the fishing is likely to be excellent. And if the Armchair Rock disappears completely you are into spate conditions when, if the water clarity is good, you should expect to catch fish in Willows and both sections of the Boat Pool, as well as Indies Pool of course. A good way of seeing what is happening to the river level is to click on the different times in the boxes below the live picture, which depict close-up photographs of the Armchair Rock. By comparing the levels shown at different times over the previous 24 hours with the current level in the main photograph you will see whether the river has risen or fallen. Another way of checking the level is to use Fishpal’s section on river levels on the Fish Esk website. 

If you want more detailed information on catches and conditions, you can of course phone Moray Macfarlane on 07835 717 150.

TA

The tug of a big sycamore leaf as it catches your fly in the force of the stream can be a heart-stopping moment. Yesterday our flyfishers at Finavon had ‘sycamore false alarms’ and the real thing in about equal measure. It gets frustrating when false alarms dominate a day’s fishing, sometimes to 100%. But yesterday was a good autumn day. The wind was light, the cloud cover even and, at times, the salmon (plus one fine cock sea trout in full spawning colours) took keenly. The river had held its level well since last week’s mega-spate. The water was running clear, cool and deep, with a tinge of an islay malt (I’m thinking Laphroaig): just about perfect conditions for the fly on Finavon’s two and a half miles of pools and streams. The biggest factor of all was that the river was (and still is) very well stocked with salmon and some residual sea trout. The range of colours and sizes of the salmon is astonishing, with at least five sea liced grilse up to 6lbs and three ‘kypie’ and red cock fish defending their territory with power and aggression. One 15lb cock (easily returned without leaving the river) was hooked in the tail of Beeches on Castle Beat. Everyone who was fishing yesterday reported sightings of big salmon – some very big, I mean well into the twenties – and, I keep reminding myself, the South Esk has a proven record of large salmon. There’s no reason at all why a Finavon rod shouldn’t catch a real monster, especially at this time of year.

Autumn Sycamore Leaf

Our visiting rods, Martin Busk and Peter Veniard, were fishing Milton Beat. They saw big numbers of salmon, especially in Volcano. Their four fish – to 8 lbs – came from Lower Boat Pool and the Flats. They had 5 for their three days, three of which were fresh-run. All the beats fished well, with honours going to Milton and Castle Beats. With 106 salmon and grilse and 117 sea trout caught during this season to date, we have nineteen more fishing days until the season closes. The river is still holding a reasonable level but we will need some rain, not too much, by the middle of the coming week. With last week’s total of 24 salmon and grilse and quite a few sea trout, we are hoping that the quality of the sport stays good, but with salmon fishing you never really know! The encouraging thing about this year is the number of fish in the river, and the continuing trend of a proportion of fish caught in October being fresh-run, silver and carrying those ambiguous biological indicators of freshness, sea lice.

One other piece of news for enthusiasatic river watchers. Yesterday Glynn Howells and his technicians from Farson Digital came to Finavon to install a web cam at Tyndals Pool on Milton Beat. We have positioned the wide angle, exceptionally high quality camera so that you look upstream towards the ‘Armchair Rock’ at the head of Tyndals Pool. The idea is to show people thinking about coming to fish FCW what the river level is and, for those who have not fished the South Esk before, some idea of the size of the river and its energy and streaminess. The webcam produces about 16 frames per second, so you should be able to see the occasional fish as well as moments of embarrassment when anglers get caught up in the trees at the head of the pool (a bit like capsizing your racing dinghy in front of the clubhouse!) When fishing Tyndals don’t forget the world is watching you live on the Internet! The web cam goes live on Wednesday.

People fall in love with the South Esk because of its trees and clear water streams and pools, and the lovely surrounding countryside. It is an intimate river without being so small that there is no mystery in its depths. And the wildlife… well, you need to see that for yourself, from otters, and the occasional marauding seal, to ospreys, kingfishers, watery wagtails, roe deer and red squirrels in abundance. Each two-rod beat has a comfortable hut overlooking the river. What better Christmas present for your partner, fishing mate or family member than three days of complete privacy fishing your own salmon beat at Finavon! If you like that idea why not contact me? 07748 634 658.

TA

The last two weeks has been wet. Autumn has arrived early with some trees in full colours. And the South Esk has run big and dirty, making it impossible to fish for a large part of the last week. Despite this, some of our local anglers have managed to catch the occasional salmon. Nothing big, but last Friday my brother, John, and I caught 4 nice salmon up to 12lbs, three of them in Willows and one in the Red Brae. Two of these fish were bright silver; genuine autumn-running salmon. There have been one or two MSW salmon in the teens of pounds showing in the main pools, with Marcus House Pool as good a place as any for an exciting encounter. A big spate over last weekend flooded the woodlands along the banks of the Red Brae and Nine Maidens. Bankside benches were moved around by the flood, and a small boat was stranded in the wood below Indies. We are claiming salvage!

At this time of year we see the proportion of silver salmon to coloured fish diminish rapidly. By the end of October you can expect one fish in four to be silver, whereas at the beginning of the month it is more likely to be one to two. People ask me whether catch and release has made it acceptable to fish for gravid salmon, whilst in the past people placed the emphasis on firm-fleshed, fresh run fish. The truth is that a large cock salmon, defending its territory aggressively as a precursor to spawning, will fight hard and long for its life, perhaps better than a fresh-run fish exhausted after its upstream migration to the pool of its capture. In terms of sport therefore, as many people define it, the red cock fish offers the angler a real battle.

7lbs Fish Ready to be Released

I have always felt a bit uneasy about fishing for salmon that are close to spawning, but as salmon fishermen we have to accept that this is a facet of autumn salmon fishing. In other words, if you are going to catch one of those glorious fifteen pound sea-liced autumn salmon, we must accept that to do so will involve catching and releasing an increasing number of red fish as the last month of the season wears on. Our responsibility as conservation-minded anglers is to return these neo-spawners to the water so that they survive to complete the purpose of their migration.

Returning a fish safely can be a cold and lengthy process. If you can possibly manage to unhook the fish without taking it out of the water you will greatly enhance its chances of survival. If at all possible you should bring the fish to the net quickly, unhook it in the net and then gently hold the fish, with its head facing upstream, until it swims away from you. It is important to hold the fish gently, and not to squeeze its body. One very successful way of reviving an exhausted salmon is to place your finger laterally across and inside its mouth. You will feel the rather pleasant sensation of the fish chewing your finger with its cartilage mouth (no teeth!) in rhythm with the working of its gills. This action seems to revive the fish and restore its will to escape. Try it: it really works! It is also worth noting that to catch and release a salmon successfully it is important that the fish should not have its slime ‘envelope’ broken or get sand and grit in its gills. It is therefore not a good idea to beach a fish, although sometimes, with very big salmon, this method is necessary.

The pools at Finavon are now all full of fish and as the water level drops and the nights become frosty they will be easier to catch. The next three weeks, if the falling autumn leaves and water levels allow, we should see some of our best catches of the season. The wild geese are back, the swallows have gone and the nights are drawing in. These are the last days of the 2010 season, and I hope my next report will tell of some good fish landed. As I write this on the 4th of October our season’s catch is 84 salmon and 112 sea trout.

TA