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Fishing Report Oct 2011
NORTH ESK
Report to 31st October 2011.
Writing on the last day of the season the river is at a good height and has been fishing consistently during the last three week period. The autumn runs so present in previous years has failed to materialise and all we have been seeing in the way of fresh fish is a very small run of grilse, some are very small and others up to about 5lbs.
Upper Kinnaber had a fine finish to the season with no less than 66 salmon reported. Pert continues to fish well with David Swanson reporting around thirty fish per week. He does not think he has reached the totals of last year, putting it down to a very poor sea trout run and for most of the year a total lack of grilse. He was finding a few very good grilse in the last two weeks but said that this in no way compensated for the main run failure. With a best fish of 28 lbs being taken last week this has been another great year for anglers on Pert.
Stracathro has also enjoyed a good finish with 21 salmon reported, the river was holding a huge stock with the bulk of them heavily coloured, again there was little sign of a late run. It was indeed proof that the river has had its best run of spring and summer salmon for many a year. Hugh Campbell Adamson said he was very encouraged by the spring run and delighted with the superb run of early summer salmon but again was worried about the grilse situation.
The Burn beat has had a lot of fish but few fresh and catches were a bit disappointing, however a fine overall season has been enjoyed there.
On the West Water which is a main tributary of the North Esk the fishing has been poor with much of the stock well past takability and what is fresh being very difficult to catch. It has been a disappointing year on the West Water with sea trout and grilse very scarce.
SOUTH ESK
Report to 31st October 2011.
Conditions on the river have been good with excellent fly fishing levels on most days with the exception of a sharp rise last weekend. This rise in water took most of the fish from the lower beats well upstream and little or nothing has come in by the way of a late run. The late runs of the past few years have been exceptional and it is curious as to just why things have changed this season.
Kinnaird has had one of its poorer periods reporting 18 salmon to 20 lbs and 15 sea trout.
Brechin Angling Club members fishing above the Balbirnie Dam have struggled with very few fish reported. On the Brechin Town water fishing has been quite good with several fish being caught each week.
Tony Andrews on the Finavon beat said that the spring run was the best he had seen for years and his neighbour Colin Gibb at Inshewan was of the same opinion.
This may be due to the fact that there has been no spring coastal netting for the last six years allowing more fish into the river.
On the downside the sea trout catch for the year, at 101 it is less than a third of the previous season for the beat.
This was also confirmed by Andy Yates the ghillie at Dowrie Park and Cortachy, he has figures of 138 sea trout for the season compared with 280 last year.
Some of the fish being caught are exceptional Peter Kelly 20lb cock fish on a Cascade conehead, Stephen Kingsley 22 lb cock fish on a Park shrimp cone head, Jamie Lewis 24 lb cock fish on fly and to top it all John Hobbs 28 lb cock fish (his biggest ever fish) on a Cascade, all on fly and all returned. Andy also commented on a much better spring run but as with all beats on the river very few if no grilse and what there were being small and emaciated.
