Five of us met for a couple of drams, a picnic lunch in David’s Treehouse, and about 3 hours of opening day (which means not very serious/glad-to-be-on-the-river) fishing. The result was four kelts! My guess – and I have no grounds for making this statement except for a sensation in my waters – is that there aren’t any fresh fish at Finavon. For mid February that is the norm, although over the last 130 years there have been a few instances of fresh fish caught on the opening day. I caught one myself, in 1990 as I remember.
David Ramsay fishing through the Haughs Pool (Bogardo Beat) which is one of Finavon’s best spring pools. On the 16th of February the pool produced two well mended kelts.
The river was at a perfect height but on the cold side with the water temperature at about 36 F. No fish were seen, but a convivial day in perfect late winter surroundings was enjoyed by all.
Michael Dawnay with Tally Labrador on the bank of the Haughs Pool 16/2/2013
This is Ryan Balcombe of Gow’s Fishing Tackle & Guns in Dundee fishing through the Red Brae. The pool looked terrific, with clear, light amber coloured water flowing over clean cobbles and gravel. If there was a fish in the pool it gave no sign of its presence!
Michael and Ryan discuss the conditions on the veranda of David’s Treehouse, the Castle Beat fishing hut.
The day ended early after some desultory afternoon fishing and a discussion about bank maintenance over lunch in DTH.
Another season underway!
TA