The big news this week was a front page article in our local paper the Northern Times. The article was spotted by the NT in the June edition of the Field magazine and they asked me if I wanted to comment on it, I did and you can read it below. If you need a bigger copy to read properly let me know. The day after (on Friday) the final report and reccomendations from the Land Reform Review Group were published and what they are proposing to do with fishery management soon will shock! I'll report on this next week.

Read the Northern times article here by Jon Gibb - http://www.northern-times.co.uk/News/Row-over-claim-that-river-owners-are-stifling-Helmsdales-economy-23052014.htm

After our best week of the season, the river failed to ignite again last week. By Sat lunchtime only around 30 fish were reported and 5 came from a superb morning on beat 6 for Achentoul rods, Conehead Temple Dogs were the trending fly again. Water levels have been very good if a little unsettled and sit at a superb 1ft today. The Association water was also quiet but not for Mick Buttery who managed to celebrate his Birthday in style with a 10 pounder from Roaries pool. A Home tied Temple Dog worked the magic this time for Mick.

Prospects for the week ahead should be very good if weather and water settle down, I would expect a 50+week as this is primetime! There is good availability on the Association water and your chances of hooking a salmon are very good. Tickets are available from the Tackle shop and we have all the gear and flies required to ensure you have a successful day on the river.

This week we have 2 very interesting short underwater films for you to check out from Andy Richardson. The first shows how our flies swim and the other looks at the transparency of leader material.

Flies film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY993eQl2OI&feature=youtu.be

Leader material film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw_cbIk-U6E&feature=youtu.be

Mick's cracking 10 pounder

Before we get into the stats for last week I would like to post here an article from the latest June edition of the Scottish Field Magazine. It was written by well known fishery manager and respected angler and comemtator Jon Gibb. Many anglers are now calling on the Helmsdale Board to ditch the highly restricted river rotation of 12 rods over 24 miles to a more modern system of 2 up 2 down from April onwards with a lunchtime changeover from upper beat to lower or vice versa. This would offer so much more enjoyment and variety for parties and give kids more chance of a cast and tuition. The whole river would be utilised, more ghillies would be employed and no beats would go unfished as under the current rotation. To ensure stocks are not harmed by extra rodding the Board could maintain the commendable high catch & release rate in operation at the moment, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, anglers/fishing parties wishing to fish the Helmsdale should have the choice to reside anywhere they want in the area. Chances are that most would chose to return to lodges and estate accom but a few would stay in the village and that's how the local economy will begin to regenerate.

The Freshwater Fisheries Review has a remit to open up salmon fishing, I fear if the Helmsdale Board do not make a plan and decide to let more rods fish this marvelous natural asset then the Government will. From what I am hearing from the Review so far it would seem River Boards will soon have much less control of their fisheries.

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Jon Gibb article

Fishing for trout, salmon and sea trout in Scotland is big business. A study in 2001 by Glasgow Caledonian University concluded that freshwater angling adds over £112 million to the Scottish economy every year and supports up to 2,800 jobs in some of the most fragile rural areas in the country. Over £50 million of wages from angling related businesses are paid into rural households, the vast majority supporting families in remote parts of the Highlands.

But with another economic assessment of angling recently announced by SNH, a sweeping review of freshwater fisheries currently being undertaken by the Scottish Government and a Land Reform Bill just around the corner, just how much and exactly where anglers in Scotland spend these millions has recently been attracting attention.
Although the success of website booking services such as www.fishpal.com and www.rodsonrivers.com clearly demonstrate that there is a wealth of angling opportunities out there of hugely varying degree depending on the depth of your pockets, there are also examples where the economic rewards of what is arguably some of the best fishing in the world is not filtering through to local communities.
Take recent events in the Sutherland village of Helmsdale for example.
You would have thought that with some of the best salmon runs in decades in this part of the country local businesses which thrive on visiting anglers would be booming. Not so the Bridge Hotel in Helmsdale.  Once a mecca for salmon fishermen the hotel was put on the market in 2008 at a price of £1.25 million. There were no takers. The hotel has recently been put back up for sale at less than half the original asking price. And in spite of extensive modernisation over the years (and I am told one of the  original casts of Georgina Ballantine’s British Record 64lb salmon in the bar) the agents CKD Galbraith are hardly being inundated with interest.
The reason that this historic landmark is lying empty appears fairly simple – the fishing on the Helmsdale is controlled by the Helmsdale River Board and, with the exception of a small Association stretch, to take fishing on one of its six exclusive and lengthy 2-rod upstream beats you must also rent one of the owners’ shooting lodges in the strath. Clearly this is well beyond the budget of the average holiday angler. Therefore although the opportunities for angling on the River Helmsdale are immense, the potential economic benefit is being limited by a reduced number of available rods coupled with arguably an over-burdensome exclusivity.
Strangely though I recently came across the very opposite situation on the other side of the country, where one could be excused for thinking that with decimated salmon and sea trout stocks opening a fishing hotel on the West Coast would only be for the foolhardy or the insane.
Once one of the most thriving highland fishing hotels, the Loch Shiel Hotel (www.lochshielhotel.com ) went into rapid decline as the sea trout disappeared from the River Shiel back in the early 1990’s. It has seen a succession of inexperienced and disillusioned proprietors ever since who have had little interest in attracting fishermen.
But just last year local couple Andrew and Katherine Maclean were quick to see an opportunity. Over the last few seasons, while salmon and sea trout have been making a slow comeback to the Loch Shiel, trout of enormous proportions have been recorded throughout the 18 mile length of the loch. Last summer I heard of at least 2 trout of over 15lbs taken by local rods. The loch is now one of the best and relatively unknown trout destinations in the country. Two brand new Orkney Longliners now clink against the hotel pier waiting for word to catch on in angling circles and local ghillies have been engaged once again to take to the oars amongst the loch’s myriad of bays and skerries.  I predict that it won’t be long before parties of dedicated anglers will once again be crowding the famous Loch Shiel Hotel bar.
And the simple reason that the economic benefit from this welcome upturn in angling fortunes is being felt locally is that the riparian owners in the Shiel catchment have had the foresight to make all fishing opportunities available at very reasonable prices to visiting anglers and, importantly, with no rigid requirement to stay in estate cottages or lodges. While the phrase ‘community empowerment’ has become fairly tired and abused in the Highlands in recent years, this is surely an example of the very best of the concept in action.

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The same edition of the Field has another bigger article which explores the future of shooting and fishing in Scotland, it put us all in the picture with the current state of play and how things may change soon. Buy a copy if you see one, this edition is well worth the read, or, you can read it online if you purchase a single copy on their website for around £3.60.

The Helmsdale swung into action last week at long last. The Association water started to fish early in the week with Mick Buttery grassing a well deserved fish in Roaries, his 1" home tied Alistair UV did the trick. Another 4 fish followed for visitors and local anglers and there was a couple of losses and good numbers of fish running. The water was good and the Beats naturally started to benefit, Achentoul rods had 17 by Friday, the biggest was a 23 pounder from Red Brae. Borrobol rods had a super 18 pounder on beat 6 and fresh fish were fairly abundant. Around 50 fish were caught for the week and that would suggest we may have some good sport in the following weeks. Coneheads were deadly in all shapes and forms as usual in the peat stained water and some were taken on the explosive Sunray Shadow tube.

The deadly RS SuperSnaelda and Loop Cross S1 salmon rod/reel combo on the Association water

Sewerage pool, one of our best Association water casts in lower water.

A nice new pattern I tied up this week for grilse in the summer on a lethal Fulling Mill silver Magni double.

The Helmsdale River Board are in total denial that there is a problem with overgrazing by sheep along the banks of the river. Trampled areas and accelerated erosion all leads to the silting up of spawning areas (this is a well documented problem backed up by extensive academic research). With salmon stocks in constant decline all rivers must do their utmost to protect stocks and keep habitat and key spawning areas in prime condition. Significant erosion and poaching of any land within 5 meters of any watercourse river or burn must be prevented, this is a SEPA regulation.

Two of the examples I used, there are many more...below is a disgraceful bombsite of overgrazed and trampled riverbank caused purely by sheep. I'm getting a little fed up of showing examples like these but nobody is listening.

Perfect buffer strip (fence) letting the riverbank regenerate free from the overgrazing of sheep.

The Open Board meeting had a poor turnout of approx 20 people of which 95% were Proprietors, and their employees. Incredibly, the only positive thing to come out of it all was that the board have invited me to come along and watch some electro fishing to see how that all works? The Board did say however that they are going to give locals a chance at more fishing in “January” which frankly they have good access to already. In the opinion of many, January should be open for local fishing anyway with 4 rods per beat minimum – the Association water which is 1 mile long has permission for around 60 local members + 12 visitor rods per day…What I want to know is the results of the electrofishing over the last 40 years, watching it happen is not going to help stocks. At what rate are juvenile salmon populations decreasing? when did electrofishing begin on the Helmsdale and what were the densities then and what does this tell us now, what effect is overgrazing having on habitat along the river, how is this affecting juvenile fish populations? Only when we know cumulative trends can we make educated decisions on management policy.

It is obvious that recent juvenile fish counts are not going to be remotely near counts of the past as in the early 1900s there were 2 hatcheries on the river restocking 1 million fly. Now we have one hatchery stocking only 160,00 fry. Couple this with a river left open to livestock access and all the damage they cause and you will find that electrofishing only tells us what we have in the burns now and not what levels used to be. What baseline data are we working from?

Then, step in special guest, the internationally renowned salmon geneticist of the rivers and lochs institute, professor Eric Verspoor who currently works with the University of the Highlands and Islands. Mr Verspoor was asked if he thought a 10 year research project on trying to find out what genetic return we get from the Helmsdale restocking programme was a good idea, his answer was that there has been a significant amount of money spent on a similar project on the Spey over the last 8 years and the results at are inconclusive at best and that the return of hatchery reared fish was minuscule. He intimated that regarding the Helmsdale river in his his opinion money could be better spent on other things but it was not his decision at the end of the day, that was up to the Board.

I agree with him and would say that if there are funds available Eric should be asked to consult on appropriate habitat restoration improvements which he believes would best suit the river and the genetics of our indigenous salmon stock. I believe he would be very forthcoming on this matter.

On the fishing front, and at the risk of sounding like a perpetrator of doom for most of this season, yet again there is not much to report. As an example, I have personally fished the Association water this week on numerous occasions to no avail and I have yet to see a salmon break the water or hook one this year here. The only action reported last week was a tough loss for Mick Buttery who hooked a heavy fish and lost it after a 20 minute battle.

The beats had around 20 with beat 6 giving 3 fish on 2 days. Water levels were good but have been unsettled to be fair with the river rising around 3 times in the week to over 1ft. There is a very distinct lack of fish running the river compared with many previous years and we don't need fish counter numbers or weekly catch stats to tell us that, just ask the ghillies and locals whose eyes are on the water every day.
Question is, what can we do about it?

The Governments "root and branch" Freshwater Fisheries Review is very timely and will result in radical changes for fishery management in Scotland, strangely this matter did not even make the Agenda of Board meeting!

You are now invited to have your say and are urged to do so. Please click here - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0044/00449300.pdf and give share your ideas on how you think rivers should be managed, who should run them and any other aspects you think that could be improved. Go to the bottom of the page on the link and click on the email address supplied.

We begin with a press release from this weeks Northern Times.

The head of a Highland fishing tackle business has dramatically called for restraint from salmon anglers who use his fishing flies.

Ronald Sutherland, partner of the Helmsdale Company is trying to help raise awareness of dwindling salmon stocks by calling on anglers to return as many salmon as possible caught on his salmon flies. Ronald was taught to tie flies by the late Megan Boyd and said that his business sells large quantities of deadly salmon flies every year which catch thousands of salmon worldwide but he does not want to be responsible for the killing of salmon!

The timely call comes in the same week as acclaimed film documentary "Kiss the Water" by Eric Steel is released. The film entails the life of worldwide fly dressing eccentric Megan Boyd who was also an avid salmon conservationist; ironically she hated the fact that her beautifully tied flies killed so many salmon". Ronald wants to carry on Megan's conservational ethos as salmon stocks decline in the hope that his business can help turn things around for the wild salmon by encouraging more fish to reproduce naturally.
"Salmon are on the end of an unprecedented rough deal right now as it would seem that along their whole life cycle, every animal that preys on them is protected heavily by law. Quality salmon angling is critical to the rural Scottish economy and all anglers must do their bit to sustain stocks, if that means releasing most of the salmon we catch then so be it, we can sleep easy knowing we are all helping an important cause.

As an addition to the press article above..
In my opinion is not technically possible to return all salmon safely due to the unpredictability of hooking damage and angler handling ability, ( more education is required in this department ) some fish are just too badly damaged and may fatally bleed but I firmly believe that to preserve something (a species) you need to protect it and look after it.
Owning a fishing tackle business gives me the opportunity to soak in very topical feedback from a huge pool of anglers and fishery managers and the line I am getting is that a seasonal long mandatory 100% C & R would not be welcome especially in the Highlands as there is a great fear that for starters, the Anti Bloodsports Brigade would have cause to step in with a rather large axe to grind. There is however an appetite for returning all spring salmon until stocks are seen to be recovering. The Association of Salmon Fishery Boards are calling for all salmon to be returned in Scotland up to May 15^th, I think this may well be followed by all District Fishery Boards next year.
Due to the heritable rights of costal netsmen you cannot stop them netting just as you cannot stop a landowner with heritable rights from salmon fishing if he happens to let anglers kill fish on his own river beat. This is the reality of the world we live in so we can only work with what we have on offer. Netting will never be eradicated by law and bad practice in salmon farming can only be chipped away at. The only real hope anglers and salmon have is from the big money buyouts of netting stations and that is where we need to be concentrating most effort. This of course needs to be of high priority to quell posture as the Faroese are coiled and ready to spring back into full netting mode at sea.

The open Helmsdale River Board meeting takes place this week on Saturday 10th at 2.30 in Kildonan Hall. The Agenda is an interesting one and we will know soon how serious the Board are with regard to various issues.

On the fishing front things are flat lining a little. A good catch barometer in low water is Association water feedback, one fish only was caught by William Jappy on his trusty Willie Gunn. Few fish are running and around 15 were reported for the week, the highlight being a super 16 pounder on beat 4 above for Graham Robertson Wick fishing Kildonan rods. Things can only get better.

The Loop Cross S1 army move on, these awesome rods continue to outsell all others due to a revolutionary technical jump in quality with their incredible 3M blanks. Let me know if you want to try one as I have demo's in the tackle shop, if you are serious about fishing, don't buy another rod until you have tried these first! However I must say that in a lower price bracket the huge favourite is the Mackenzie rod & line range who also have all sizes available.

With conditions still on the low side it looked like last week was going to be hard going, sport was indeed very patchy for some and non existent for others. Almost 30 fish were reported including 3 off the Association water from the usual suspects. The highlight was a 22 pounder on 3 above to Borrobol rods who finished with 7 for the week. Heavy rain on Friday/Saturday filled the lower catchment and raised levels to over 1ft. This spoiled most of Saturday but may have encouraged some good sport on the upper beats late on.

The week ahead should be good if the run gathers pace and the Association water will fish nicely.
Coneheads and Baby TDs will fish well this week in all forms, we have some superb proven killers on offer - check them out below and pop a few in your box if you are fishing soon, these work everywhere!

RS Ally Dog - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?_a=product&product_id=1761

RS Willie Dog, buy here now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?_a=product&product_id=1762

Cascade conehead, buy here now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?_a=product&product_id=1842

RS Baby TD, buy here now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?_a=product&product_id=1759

I had a cast on the Brora last week which only provided 3 fish from the lower river for the whole week. Unfortunately the river lost its water very quickly and few fish were running. Andy Sutherland and Vince Kaney had a fish each from the South bank and another was taken from the North all on the Monday.

There have been substantial some works done to the lower river over the winter and 2 nice new pools have been constructed, unfortunately one of them at the cost of another. The rocky Grilse streams below the Pot pool have been rearranged into one very fishy looking lengthened pool. The legendary Madman pool has also been worked on and this is where it looks like things have gone badly wrong in my opinion. The rather non descript Surprise pool which flows from the madman runoff has been improved by having its shallow bed and large rocks dug out, this pool is now much longer and deeper and will offer a much improved cast for the angler. The problem lies in what has seemingly happened to achieve this, the tail of the Madman pool has been been flattened, its as if the plug has been pulled out!, the water normally retained in this pool has dropped by about 1ft and rocks, ledges and lies never seen before are high and dry. A real shame, the pool has lost all its capacity and depth. For those of you who know the pool, here is a pic of it now with a good 7” on the guage, it is not a pretty sight and as a regular Brora angler I will be writing to the river Brora River Board on the subject and I would advise others to do the same, the tail of the Madman pool needs reinstated.

The Surprise run has been moved way over to the North bank and this has drained the life out of the Madman pool.

An early start captured on Monday morning looking back East to Portgower.

In what should probably have been the best week of season going by the condition of the river, the fishing was an epic fail. Mid April with 1ft 3 on the gauge on Monday morning is as good as it gets but the whole river blanked. Cloudy water due to the rise could have been reason for a poor Monday but things did not really improve for the rest of the week, a lack of fish was obvious. Averaging less than 1.5 fish per day is frankly dire for the time of year.

I was in Glasgow for a few days last week and took the chance to call in at the mega store Glasgow Angling Centre, impressive but a very clinical arrangement. I did however see lots of my Fulling Mill fly designs selling well and as usual, the Rs SuperSnaelda was sold out! we have the same problem here very often. It is a fly like no other and has taken the salmon world by storm, I am currently looking at more tasty options for this best selling tube, see it here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?_a=product&product_id=1541

I have mentioned this slow burn downward trend many times in recent seasons, it is something we should not settle for and an increasing number of paying guests are getting rather fed up with poor sport from spring fishing. To be fair the problem is not unique to the Helmsdale, the trend is national, the question is, what can be done ( if anything ) to reverse or stabilise the situation? Unfortunately I think most of the solutions are out of Fishery Managers hands at the moment so tough talking may be the answer in the current Freshwater Fishery Review.
SNH state that Grey Seal populations have been increasing by 7% per year since 1994, what chance do returning fresh salmon and kelts lucky enough to survive have against a massive firewall of lethal costal marine predators? Furthermore, much of the carnage is becoming more common well up river estuaries where fish have little chance to escape the overpowering speed of marauding seals. Incredibly, in the last 2 weeks seals have been spotted above loch Brora and as far up as the Park pool Helmsdale on Torrish estate, I have also heard of other rivers with seals seemingly taking up residence miles from the sea, this madness cannot go on and Fisheries must be handed more powers to redress the balance. If seals enter freshwater, they must be taken out! "Save the seals" and the public will be up in arms I hear you say, but a real effort must be made to protect our fisheries this time round before it is too late.

The fishing instruction season has also begun and I had 3 keen gentlemen out on the water for a morning of instruction and tactics. We have rod and wader hire to help out if you are a total beginner and want to try out the sport for the first time, call us to book a lesson.

We have another superb new salmon fly on show on the Helmsdale Forum and some interesting discussion on all Helmsdale river topics. If you have anything to say - say it on the Forum! The hot topic is the Freshwater Fisheries Review. We have also had notice of the next open River Board meetings ( notice below ) if there are any questions for the Board, please contact me and I will put your views across if you cannot make either of the meetings.

Don't forget that we are still taking orders for the superb Megan Boyd film documentary, it is released next week so contact us to secure your copy.

Tight lines.

Around 15 fish were reported from the Helmsdale last week. Achentoul rods topped the chart with 5 as fish were caught right through the system from the Marrel pool beat 1 below to beat 5 above, RS TD coneheads fished on floating lines were catching the fish along with the odd one on a Cascade double hook. Fish will certainly be in the loch now and it is well worth a cast, unfortunately this water will probably not see a fly until June even though beat 6 is the only beat which currently has a 3 rod option - if anyone wants the spare rod fished, give me a call!! It would be fitting if the same 3 rod option was offered on all the beats as there is so much fishing available when the fish are known to have ascended the Kildonan falls. The argument for resting water is a non starter when fish are constantly running hard, you will pick them up anywhere and often second time down a pool.

RS Willie Dog

I had the pleasure of teaching the art of fly-tying to some of our keen young anglers last week in the Tackle shop, Jordan Marshal, Josh Booth and Ewan Gordon all showed great promise at the vice and I have no doubt that they are going to have good times on the river. I will run a few more classes before getting on the water for some casting and tactical instruction.

The boys concentrating hard.

The results

The boys and finished flies

Fly-tying is also making the news this week in the form of the big release of the long awaited Megan Boyd movie DVD "Kiss The Water". As you may have heard, I feature in the film and take part in many of the fly-tying scenes. There are also appearances from other friends and locals who knew Megan well. It's a beautifully made film documentary which is like nothing else out there with its mix of amazing animation and story telling from some of the most iconic names in angling like Orri Vigfusson.

To mark the occasion I have revitalised the "Megan Boyd" classic salmon fly and tied my interpretation of it as a modern hairwing. The Megan fly was for years the most successful fly on the Helmsdale and no ghillie would be seen fishing without it as the pount point fly of a dropper setup, it was best fished as a tube and the dressing was simplicity itself, a plastic tube of around 1/2" in length, a hairwing of black squirrel or stoats tail tied all round topped off with a blue cock hackle and black head, no flash, no frills, just deadly in the summer! we have them for sale in our "Helmsdale Specials" category.

Here is the Megan Boyd 2014 which I have modernised to coincide with the launch of the DVD - we are taking PRE-ORDERS on this DVD right now so please contact me via email, and facebook or call the shop this coming week on 01431821372 to book your copy, due to huge worldwide interest this one is set to sell out...

I have also been tying some interesting flies lately amongst designing new flies for the New Fulling Mill catalogue.
Some feathers and hair are very expensive indeed and tying our new Elver Monkey using the striking Vulturine Guineafowl feathers and vintage Monkey hair is hugely expensive to say the least. So, due to demand for these beautiful flies, I have been forced to create a new category of RS Specials where premium flies can be purchased for the appropriate price whether they are the "all the rage" new fashion brooches for weddings and functions or fishing flies or collectors items - our most expensive fishing flies will be individually numbered and personally signed.

This is the "Lily fly" one of our new brooches which was commissioned as a fashion accessory for a wedding.

Prospects on the river for the week ahead look good as we have had a slight rise in water levels due to a hammering of heavy showers over the weekend. Association water tickets are available and this beat is an excellent height. Fish are running every day and you have a very realistic chance of hooking a solid springer.

The river slowed right down last week as low water and more Easterly winds set in. Around 7 fish were reported including a 12 pounder from the Association water for Alistair Jappy on a Temple Dog Achentoul rods had the second fish in 4 days out of the Black Hole pool beat 4 for the Nutting party. Badanloch had a fish in Clays beat 1 and one came from beat 5. Serious rain is now desperately required and as luck would have it the weather is changing and winds are backing Westerly for the next week threatening bands of rain.

Alistair Jappy returns his fine Association water 12 pounder from the Sewerage pool.

The deadly Willie Gunn Temple Dog designed by Ron, buy it now here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?_a=category&cat_id=12

 It's been a tough week but not as tough as the season on the lower Brora which blanked for the whole of Feb & March! This is unprecedented form and is quite baffling for a river with a renowned early spring run and the upper river has only hit double figures this week. I'm sure the situation will change very soon but it is worrying none the less. (stop press!) I have just received some information and pics from David Raper of the Lochaill Guest House on the banks of the river Brora, the situation has changed to the tune of 5 off the Lower river in the last few days with 2 North bank fish for Duncan Stewart and another 3 South bank fish for Ian Reynolds and Les Cope. Les is pictured below with a stunner at 19.5lbs from Upper Stoney pool which was returned. The fish was caught on a Gold Bodied Willie Gunn double size 9 ( what else on the Brora!! )

Les Cope shows off his stunning Brora fish with Upper Stoney pool in the background.

In the net, peak condition.

The picturesque Lower Brora above the Ford bridge

Looking up to the lovely Well pool on the lower section.

People have a habit of absorbing negative stats too easily nowadays, the spring run is in marked decline but the slow burn effect of this seems to make it acceptable to many. You only need to listen in to conversations with some of the old ghillies to realise that the early fishing sport has dropped off the scale. Great catches on the fly in February and March constantly crop up,(some of my own included ) those days are long gone but is it completely mortality at sea that has caused the car crash? Maybe a large part is indeed to do with commercial netting but I think the current Freshwater Fisheries Review must address fishery protection on a wider scale. Everything in nature which has salmon on its menu is heavily protected, this imbalance must be redressed. There are seals (population increasing annually) living way up the river Tay, a seal was reported above loch Brora this week, they are patrolling the Helmsdale estuary for most of the season, this is not on and makes a mockery of meaningful fishery management, fishery managers should not have to jump through hoops to control obvious threats like this. Salmon farm production is on the increase, more costal netting stations are cropping up, the problems for salmon are well versed and growing, make no bones about it, the king of fish is up against it!

And now we hear from the big conference last week that all along hatcheries have been doing the exact opposite of what we had thought. A monumental statement from the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards and Rivers and Fisheries Trusts Scotland, the advisory lights in Scottish fishery management have specified that due to the degeneration and weakening of each hatchery reared fish, we must cease all artificial stocking and pour all resources into habitat restoration. A huge statement indeed but one carefully based on many years of scientific evidence. There is no doubt that “natural selection” in nature produces the strongest and fittest, it is as simple as that, Charles Darwin has long proven that theory. Give nature the best chance to go forth and multiply and abundance will probably return. We know salmon are swimming further to access adequate feeding grounds nowadays therefore smolts must be in better condition for their perilous and exhausting voyage - a hatchery tank is not best preparation.

This situation needs to be eradicated asap. Sheep with full trample access to the river banks and silting up of the best spawning grounds, fences required!

Severe riverbank livestock damage which will openly aid the silting of the river when it rains. This is completely unacceptable in this day and age.

Sheep running riot, both banks with full access to the river.

A perfect riparian "buffer zone" with fenced off graze free river banks regenerating and strengthening the watercourse.

Discussion must begin, habitat restoration is on the Agenda for the next River Board meeting, it is time to make some grownup decisions and I for one as proprietor of the Helmsdale Company am willing to donate hard cash towards this important cause and I will call on all who fish this superb river to follow suit. We need to launch a Fund and fastrack a radical habitat project which prioritises the river and all its tributaries. Every inch of spawning gravel must be protected from livestock and other threats. A catchement survey is required and critical spawning zones identified and fenced off. This won’t happen overnight but the campaign begins here right now! If anyone has views on this matter, please feel free to comment in the Club Helmsdale Forum "Habitat restoration" thread and don't forget to check out all the latest news on our facebook page Helmsdale anglers.

Raw Easterly winds and low water made the going tough on the Helmsdale last week but for those who stuck it out the rewards were there. 14 fish were recorded last count but surprisingly no fish were taken above the falls even though water temps held in the 40s and hit 46 for a short spell midweek. Beat 1 also failed to produce any action apart from a few kelts. Torrish, Borrobol and Badanloch rods all caught 4 fish. Jean, Richard and Jimmy Bain all scored for Torrish rods in Baddy Wood, Clay Bank, Lower Torrish and Falls pool, an Ally's tube doing the damage for Jean. Borrobol rods David Macleod party had a grand day on beat 2 landing 3 with 2 from the Park pool. Yours truly had 3 out of 4 fish on Badanloch rods with Hugh (Shug) Wilson returning a fine hard earned 13 pounder in the Flat pool beat 6 caught on a copper tube Monkey, All were released.

Casting was tough most days with a challenging wind but I have to say that the new Loop set up I have been using has been an absolute powerhouse. 3M technology is very much ALL that it has been made out to be in lightness and strength, when the power was needed it was there in abundance, most other rods would have struggled badly. The rod does not do it all of course, the new GDC shooting head balances the rod perfectly and feeds power like a bolt of lightening. If you want an idea of what I am talking about please step into the Loop experience right here, check out the amazing filming of the line in action - http://vimeo.com/68340715 This combo will make casting easy for anyone and in more experienced hands it is quite phenomenal.

Enough about the gear, here are loads of pics from a great week with Ghillie Alex Fraser and Hugh Wilson on Badanloch rods including my 3 fish of 11, 12 & 15 from Johnny Gordons, Breakwater and Black Hole.
Another star this week was my new Tiger Monkey ( on trial ) which caught 2 of my 3, my other fish was caught on a Skullhead Cascade tube.

Hugh Wilson shows off his 13 pound bar of silver from the Flat pool beat 6. The black & yellow Monkey 1/2" coppertube did the business.

Cousin Derek Macrae up for the day on beat 5, as you can see by the toggs - not the warmest day in the world!

Beat 5 with Hugh Wilson

Alex Fraser returns Hugh's fish in the rocky Flat pool beat 6

Rons new Tiger Monkey

Hamish Macrae searching for a springer on the upper Helmsdale

RS Fulling Mill Cascade Skullhead

Another clonking springer heading back to fight another day.

My fish from the Black Hole pool beat 4, been in a few weeks.

My fish from Johnny Gordons beat 2 which took the Cascade Skullhead

My new Tiger Monkey conehead and outstanding Loop combo

Another day on the river, beat 4.

A thumper from the Breakwater pool safely in the bag on the Tiger Monkey.

Take good care of your fish before releasing!

Beat 2 fish

Cascade Skullhead firmly in the scissors.

Team selfie, Ron, Hugh (Shug) Wilson and ghillie Alex Fraser. Thanks for a memorable week Alex.

Look at the shoulders on this sea-liced beauty, Tiger Monkey does the job again.

My new Bottle tube Tiger Monkey.

Prospects for the week ahead are not great, we are not getting rid of the chill upstream wind and it is due to strengthen as the week goes on. The river also needs more water as we are down to summer level. Every cloud has a silver lining - these conditions really suit chances on the Association water so come on over and fish the big tides this week, fish are running daily now.

Unsettlerd Conditions lead to a few blank days last week but a few good days also. 5 fish came off Tuesday and the first fish from over the falls was caught by William Jappy on 2 above at 15lbs on Badanloch rods.  Thursday produced another 3, 2 of which were to the rod of Kevin Steel amazingly from the Groyne pool beat 6 at 10 & 12lbs. Kevin had a 12 pounder from Beat 2 earlier in the week fishing Badanloch rods along with William. The river was on the rise again on Friday so it was not until Saturday that the river settled once again. Torrish rods had been blank for the whole week until Andy Sutherland once again got amongst the fish. Fishing the foam pool on beat 5, Andy took a 9 pounder on his first run through. He then decided to "back up" the pool and duly hooked a 10 pounder. In the afternoon his form continued when he landed a 14 pounder in the Craggie bend to round off a great day. Another fish came off the Woody pool beat 3 to take the total for the season to 46.

7 of the fish caught last were on Monkey tubes and RS Willie Gunn Temple Dogs.

This is the RS Willie Gunn Temple dog copper tube, we have them for sale right here in the website!

The deadly Monkey fly. (black & orange and black & yellow are best )

The wife releases a lovely Carron fish from the weekend. Caught on her own fly again the Kazcade.