We have a superb deal here on back end salmon flies in 3 options ( doubles, trebles or bagged with no hooks ) These tubes are perfect for your late fishing trip to the Tweed, Dee, Tyne etc and of course the Helmsdale. Monkeys, Feeler tubes, Flamethrowers and Cascade pig Tungstens - all deadly proven killers in the Autumn. Buy here right now while stocks last + 2 free spring Chartreuse feeler flies - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1341

The season is fast coming to an end and with only 2 weeks to go it would appear that we have had a fairly decent one. The Helmsdale has not always been big on numbers in competition with other rivers as a high percentage of anglers are first timers or in the novice bracket. This is due to the structure in place and lodge party numbers which seem to be on the increase. Recently the fishing has been fair with a sprinkling of welcome sea-liced fish turning up. Torrish rods had the top week 2 weeks ago with around 20. last week the results were more spread around and if you hit the right beat after the 2ft spate then you were in the money. Things should hot up for the last two weeks as salmon set their sights on spawning.

I had a cast recently myself on beat 2 above and whilst backing up the Shepherds pool I hooked this hungry little fellow on a Kazcade double 10 on the dropper. If you look closely at its mouth you will see the webbed feet of a semi digested toad! I pulled it out but obviously I was too late to save it...brown trout are very opportunist when it comes to feeding, I wonder how many salmon eggs, fry and par it has eaten so far this season? it will not be eating anymore!

Finally, we have some 2nd hand Hardy Marquis No 2 spare spools available for £60 each - first come first serve on these handy beauties. You can buy them in our Salmon reels section.

Last week was unspectacular but over 100 fish were still recorded. Good water levels once again helped keep fish interested mainly on the upper half of the river. Coneheads in Cascade Dog, Ally Dog, Willie Dog & Temple Dog all fished well as usual.

The Association water struggled a little as there are very few fresh fish on the coast but with 3 weeks to go we could have a flurry, don't put the rod away quite yet!

We have some hot new fly-tying materials in stock for a winter of experimentation and the tying of new Tiger style flies which are starting to really gather pace in the salmon fly world. Strips of supersoft dyed rabbit fur look superb as wings and tails - give it a go and check out one of our deadly Flaming Tigers below as an example - you need a few of these in your flybox by the way as Autumn starts to set in.

Some new materials in from the states, beautiful dyed hackles for all types of modern salmon flies.

Red hot Tiger tail rabbit strips sourced in the USA also.

Another hot new fly which I can tie to order taken from the famous Kinnermony Killer fly designed on the Spey by Ghillie Jock Royan. We have tweaked it and configured for Autumn salmon fishing. It is tied on 0.5" tungsten tubes perfect for getting right down in front of fish making it very easy to snap up!.

One more random pic from July which you may enjoy from Helmsdale regular and friend David Hodgekiss (on the left) - 56lbs fresh! I don't need to tell you where that little beauty came from but it was probably one of the biggest salmon ever released (and not on the Helmsdale) Steinfossen pool...Green Highlander tubefly - dream on!

We also have some superb reels in stock right now which are not always easy to get hold of. The superb new Webster reels which are made in Caithness, Loop Classics in 811 and 1013 and the last new silver Loop Evotec you will ever see for sale!

The Helmsdale river suffered from very unsettled water levels last week but the fishing did not suffer too badly. I had first hand experience helping out on Achentoul rods for the week with George Hardy Sutherland. A good week was had and 23 fish were recorded, the biggest was s super 37.5" 21 pounder for Anthony Barton from slippery Rock pool beat 1 in high water. In a week full of action a few firsts were also had, Bella Foster took to salmon fishing like a natural landing her first two fish at 6 & 5 lbs fron Craggie bend bt 5 and the Point pool bt 2 both on an Alistair tube fly. Husband Toby also hit a purple patch in Long Mile pool bt 2 catching his first salmon and landing another 2 soon after. Anthony's son in law Michel also had his first cast of the week and duly landed his first salmon from the Lodge pool beat 1 at 9lbs. Conehead flies caught all our fish apart from 4 on the Alistair tube when  water levels dropped back a little.

Borrobol rods reported 25 fish and most rods had decent action throughout the river when conditions were favourable. I have not had a reoprt from the Association water but water levels were high so I would assume the fishing was good in the Flat pool all week.

Anthony and 21 pounder which was landed in high water and on a steep bank, the fish was quickly revived and returned safely.

The tail of Slippery Rock pool at 1ft 6 where Anthony also had a 9 pounder. Set up for the day was a 6ft Rio medium sink tip and large Ally Dog conehead.

First fish for Bella Foster in Craggie Bend pool where she pulled one, lost one, then landed one, a fast learning curve! the fish was released unharmed.

The Alistair tube which caught both fish for Bella

Ally Dog conehead which caught the 21 & 9lbs fish from slippery Rock pool beat 1.

The Association water has fared well over the last two weeks with 2 good rises in the river of 1ft and last week 2.5ft. Some of the lucky anglers are pictured below, two of whom caught their first fish, Mrs Butler below and Mr Martyn junior second pic down. Most fish were taken on Alistair tubes and coneheads. Green Highlander and Cascade dog connecting with the fish below. Mr & Mrs Butler in particular had a super morning guided by yours truly catching a fish each and losing another in upper Allan pool, they will definitly be back! August can be very good on the local water as there is a little more room and fishing availability. Ian Muir was also amongst the fish on Friday with a grilse from upper Allan and a super 12.5 pounder from the lower. Around 12 fish were recorded for the week.

The beats struggled a little over the last two weeks but sport spiked along with the two rises in the water. Kildonan rods fared best in w/c 6 August and last week provided decent sport if you were on the right beat after the midweek spate. It is good to still see numbers of fresh fish running well into August.

The Highland games North of Scotland fly casting championships took place at the weekend and Gordon Sim from Loop tackle was on hand with myself and all the latest rods and reels on show. A big thank you to Gordon and Loop for providing all the casting tackle. We also had a 15ft Mackenzie rod on demo and Carron Jetstream lines which were very well received. The rod which cast the longest on the day was a 15ft loop Classic Spey and 10/11 Carron Jetstream line with 85ft head.

The overall casting champion was Helmsdale river head water baillif Peter Quail who gathered most points in all events and also won the top salmon distance casting event with 145ft. Next year we hope to crank up the event by adding a professional salmon casting for distance competition with bigger prize fund to lure even more top anglers. Findlay Addams was the junior champion.

The new Loop Cross S1 rods performed superbly and everyone commented on how light and powerfull they were. Call me if you want to demo any of these exceptional rods - we have a 12 & 14ft available at the shop.

Peter on his way to winning the championship below.

The clan at the games

As I write this report I hear thunder and the rain is lashing down - prospects look very good for next week! the Association water has good availability for £25 per rod per day, oap's £12.50 and under 16s free of charge. Stock up on coneheads and get on the water, tight lines.

We have a Loop demo day at the Helmsdale Highland games fly casting competition on Saturday 18th August.

Come and try your hand at casting for distance and accuracy using the latest rods from Loop.

We will have the new 3M Loop Cross S1 models on show to try out.

There will be prizes in Open and Confined competitions for the following

Salmon for distance
Trout for Distance
Trout Accuracy

Competitions start from midday, be great to see you there.

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We can now say with confidence that the peak of the summer run was the second week in July on the Helmsdale and Brora, just like old times but the last two weeks have been pretty good if not patchy and nothing to write home about. The Association water has fished steadily and anglers who are putting in a good shift are being rewarded. Visitor numbers on this water peaked in the last week of July and regular Robert Orr probably had the best of it with steady action and landing 4 on Baby Tds and Alistair tubes. Tim Piers Gamble visiting from the States had his first Atlantic salmon in Lower Allan after only 1 hour on the water at 6lbs and he had never cast a double handed rod or fished for salmon before. He was expertly guided by yours truly ofcourse but he did a great job after rising the fish twice, it was landed in 5 minutes and very much enjoyed in La Mirage in the evening. The killer fly - Alistair tube.

Tim with first fish, Lower Allan pool in the background

Another highlight from last week was an unforgettable day on beat 1 for local twins Alistair & William Jappy fishing Badanloch rods for the day with 15 salmon mostly fresh, some estate rods dod not come close to this total for the whole week! great to see locals getting a cast on the private water and boy did they make the most of it. Baby Tds once again doing most of the damage.

I have not missed out on the action either as you can see here - https://vimeo.com/46907736 a nice 6 pounder lunging at the dropper ( Loop double Kazcade ) was duly dispatched for the successful Harbour day Lifeboat raffle. Tackle was once again the super light Loop Cross S1 14ft and Carron Jetstream line. I have never used such a light and powerful salmon rod, it really is a serious step up from all other rods and an absolute joy to fish with.

Prospects for the week ahead look good with more heavy showers forecast to keep the river topped up. We have a better quality of fish running the river now so the Association water is a very good bet at only £25 per rod per day with over 65s half price and under 16s free. Availability is good so get yourself out on the water.

Derek Macrae  searching for a fish on the local water

The deadly Kazcade fly is turning out to be a real fish catcher, especially if fished on the dropper. Buy online right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1124

The numbers arriving in w/c July 9th (approx 170 caught) did not hold up last week but the fishing was good all the same. Sport was patchy on the beats and quite tough at times if you were not amongst the pods of runnng fish. The Association water had a slightly better week as visiting anglers increased, around 20 fish were caught taking the total for the river to just over 100 or so.

Water levels remain quite low and I would expect the Association water to fish well again in the coming week. There is still availability although it will be quite busy. Catches have been mainly small grilse with a sprinkling of fish between 5 - 10lbs, there are better and bigger to come.

This weeks pics are from Mr Green with a nice 12 pounder from the Style pool on the Association water.

The awesome new Loop Cross S1 14ft with Loop Evotec, Carron Jetstream 8/9wt and a 5 pounder on the new Helmsdale mirage shrimp.

Our deadly little Mirage Shrimp designed by Ron which works a treat - order here now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1218

The fishing is improving each week on the Helmsdale as grilse arrive in good numbers. last week reported the best score of the season providing excellent sport throughout the length of the river. The Association water struggled however, partly due to high water levels early in the week. Visiting anglers boosted the catch on Wednesday with 7 off, myself included, the total for the week was around 15. Once again coneheads scored heavily in the peat stained water but the river is set to fall steadily in the week ahead with very little rain forecast. Lower water is preferred for the Association water and I would predict that the next two week will be the peak scoring weeks of the season.

This week there are few photo's but I have acquired a GoPro so we have a link to some action from the Association water here - https://vimeo.com/45763675 - In the short film I am testing the superb new Loop Cross S1 salmon rod and a new budget salmon reel from Vision - both were quite superb in action and for £60 the vision Deep reel was as good as many more expensive reels on the market, good capacity on a u shaped arbour, tight drag system and it looks the part. The loop S1 is as good a rod as you will ever cast, http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1271 so light you can cast single handed and the 3M technology (same as in Hardy Sintrix rods) makes it super strong when a big fish turns up and effortless when you need to cast that extra long line. We also have a full range of budget 4pc Loop XACT rods in stock from £277 - 12ft 6 - 15ft.

Ron's new Rainbow conehead Flamethrower tube which is working great right now.

I note the Helmsdale District Fishery Board have gone live with a new website here - http://helmsdale.dsfb.org.uk/ However, the current river information is a little baffling stating that it is the second longest river in Scotland with a main stem of 107 miles?

The Helmsdale sprung into action last week with the arrival of more grilse. Good water levels encouraged fish to run in numbers and as a result the Association water produced over a dozen fish. Gordon Sim had 3 in the short time he spent on the water and most of the locals scored. The upper river fished well with estates generally faring well. I would estimate well over 100 fish were caught on the river including the Association water score, probably the best week of the season so far.

Coneheads fished great and anglers fishing a dropper over the nect few weeks will maximise their chances. The grilse seem in good condition overall and we are probably heading for a better run than last season if numbers stay on the increase.

Some of our deadly new coneheads below -

Park Shrimp

Ron's most famous and deadly design, the Willie Dog

Cascade Dog

As we said last report, we are stocking up on Loop rods now and on the amazing new Cross S1 rods http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1271 we are offering part exchange. Call us if you want to trade in your current rod for these state of the art models with 3M technology. We will also do part exchange on Mackenzie DTX rods.

Most Highland rivers seem to be coming to life where rain has fallen, the Oykel reported over 100 fish last week. As I write, the River Helmsdale is up to around 1ft 6" so the week ahead should be very interesting indeed, with a bit of luck grilse numbers will keep improving and the whole river will have a super week. The Association water should provide good sport once again and for £25 per rod you can have a great day out with every chance of hooking a few fish.

I had an e-mail from a rather chuffed friend of mine, Susan Capper (below) who this week who got off the mark with a cracking 10 pounder. The little river Strathy was the destination. Her partner Ric Marr hitched up the fish and Susan moved in to seal the deal on a Flamethrower fly, what a devilish double act!

Another one for the ladies, Fiona Muir releases a super 14 pounder from Sand pool beat 1 on the Helmsdale.

The Helmsdale doggedly keeps producing good catches throughout the traditionally quiet month of June. Water levels have been unsettled to say the least but rods are still finding steady sport. Fresh salmon are being caught in the teens of pounds regularly which is a good thing I guess but let's hope it is not once again at the expense of a decent grilse run, it's early doors yet so hopefully the summer run will grow week on week from now on. The total for last week would be around 100 but only a disappointing 2 came from the Association water which generally favours low water.

The Tackle Shop are now getting kitted out with all the latest gear from the cutting edge Loop Tackle brand and are the latest Loop Pro Shop on the international platform - 3M technology is the new buzz on the fishing rod scene and Swedish tackle geniuses Loop have one of the only two licenses available to sell it. 3M allows rods to be built much lighter and stronger than before, the technology really is a major step forward in rod building and should totally eliminate any breakages under normal use. Read all about it here http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1271

Our flies are making big news again, this time in Russia. The new RS Super Snaelda is murdering fish all over the place and proving to be a huge success for many anglers - call us if you want some, we have them available in limited numbers in sizes 0.5, 1" & 1.5" they will suit the current high river levels in the UK so get one on the end of your rod! below is just a snippet of what's going on.

Dee McColgans 29 pounder on Yokanga river on the RS Super Snaelda

We also have a great offer available on some of our unique Feeler tubes including some RS Super Snaelda below - superb high water flies totally exclusive to the Helmsdale Company and designed by Ron Sutherland. Buy them here now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1278 and only 10 sets are available so its "first come first serve"

Many thanks for tuning in - tight lines

In a week when the river was twice boosted with spate water catches did not really spike. I had the luxury of guiding all week on Achentoul rods last week so I had a front line view of proceedings. As it happens the Dugdale party on Achentoul had the best of the sport ending on 19. David, Alan & Mike had the bulk of the fish with Mike's wife getting in on the act between rounds of Golf for her first Helmsdale fish from the Whinnie pool beat 1 below. Mike Timmis ended his week with a super sea-liced 14 pounder from the woody pool 1 above to take his personal total to 13 salmon and 6 sea-trout. The killing combination was a size 10 Kazcade double on the dropper and an Alistair hitch tube (fished conventional) as the tail fly, an unbeatable combo last week.

Torrish and Borrobol both had 12 for the week and the total was around 70 including 5 from the Association water, the ever present William Jappy scored with 3 and brother Alistair 1.

The breakdown total of salmon seemed to be 50% stale 40% fresh and a sprinkling of grilse.

A few pics from the week - Michael Timmis with a 9lbs fish from Dempsters pool beat 4 on a very bright sunny day with Easterly wind.

Playing another fresh one in lower Caen pool beat 1 below

The deadly Kazcade double on the dropper

Mike fishing beat 1 above in good water.

Alison Timmis with a sparkling tide fresh grilse from Whinnie pool beat 1 below

The Alistair hitch tube which just kept on catching fish

To order these flies simply click on the links below and enjoy the action you are going to have! they will catch atlantic salmon anywhere.

Alistair Hitch tube - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=877

Kazcade double - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1124

Tight lines.