20/9/10

Another two consistent weeks have passed on the Helmsdale with the highlight being a superb 31 pounder released on the Borrobol rods. Johnny Hardy was the ghillie in charge when the fish was hooked in the Dyke pool on beat 6, after a long struggle the biggest fish of the season ( which had only recently entered the river ) was landed in the Groyne pool below. On the Association water, visitor John Asworth and William Jappy had fish from the Flat pool. Good water is still holding up after a 5ft spate midweek which washed out most beats for a day. Tickets are still available on the Association water and with only 10 days of the season remaining it is well worth a last gasp cast for salmon.

5/9/10

There are still good numbers of fish getting caught on the Helmsdale and reports are suggesting an excellent season with all rods up on the last two years fishing. The luxury of steady compensation water from the dam is keeping the river at a very fishy height and the word is that the dam will be cranked open for the remainder of the season. The forecast for the week ahead is for heavy rain on Wednesday & Thursday and this should provide the river with yet another boost in catches.

Lots of different flies are proving successful from Sunray's on the surface to Snaelda's fished deep and Coneheads are also fishing great. Amazingly The first 2 fish of the season have been caught this week on the Loch by Badanloch rods who also had a super sea-trout of 7lbs on beat 3.
The Association water is still giving fish in the good water conditions and local anglers are catching an odd fish most days, most of which are fresh with a few old boys being tempted from time to time. With heavy rain set for mid-week it will be well worth a cast here later in the week for visiting anglers. There is plenty availability on this water at the moment and tickets as usual can be picked up from the Tackle shop on a daily basis.

We have cracking offer this week on selected flies - Buy one get one free on the list below. Yet another chance to stock up on some of your favourite flies!

Buy one Get one Free deal flies - please call the shop or e-mail us on this offer. It will run on these flies for the next two weeks.

 Black Boar treble – Yellow, Black, Sunburst, Orange most sizes available

Black Boar Green double – 6, 12s

Black Boar Green Tungsten tube – 1”, 0.5”, 0.25”

Black Boar Green Copper tube – 1”, 0.5”, 0.25”

Black Boar Orange Copper tube – 1”, 0.5”, 0.2

Ally’s Red shrimp treble – 10, 12, 14s

Ally’s Shrimp treble – 8, 10, 14s

Black sheep silver treble - 10, 12, 14, 16, 18s

Blue Sheep silver treble – 10, 12, 14s

Collie Dog silver double – 14s

Collie Dog Silver Treble – 10, 14s

Collie Dog Black treble 8, 10, 12s

Red Frances Gold Treble – 10, 12, 14s

Red Frances Silver treble – 10, 12, 14s

Red Frances Tungsten conehead – Medium, Small, Micro

Munro killer Longtail gold treble – 10, 12, 14, 16, 18s

Silver Sheep silver treble 14s

RS Ally’s Shrimp Tungsten tube – 1”, 0.5”

Black & orange JC copper tubes – 2”, 1.5”, 1”, 0.5”

Black & orange JC Aluminium tubes - 2”, 1.5”, 1”, 0.5

Green Highlander Conehead Temple Dog tube - 0.5”, 0.75”

RS International Torrish Morangie Copper Tube – 2”, 1.5”, 1”, 0.5”

RS International Torrish Morangie Aluminium Tube – 2”, 1.5”, 1”, 0.5”

RS Silver Wilkinson copper tube – 2”, 1.5”, 1”, 0.5”

RS Silver Wilkinson Aluminium tube – 2”, 1.5”, 1”, 0.5”

RS Baby Temple Dog Silver Stoat - 0.5”

RS Baby Temple Dog - 0.5”, 0.25”

16/8/10

After a frairly quiet first week in August with low water conditions the Helmsdale scored well again last week. Heavy thunder showers shot the river up over 1ft 6 on more than one occasion but fishing was superb once things settled down - particularly if you were on the right beat! The Association water provided occasional sport when fresh fish were moving through but the main run is well past and stocks are good up the glen.

1/8/10

Well it looks like the Helmsdale is back on track with a big run of grilse and fair mix of salmon with the top week being July 19th - 24th. Well over 200 fish were reported with 16 from the Association water. This week past things have slowed a little but over 100 were caught again including 11 from the Association water. Prospects for the week ahead are good again with great water levels still holding after heavy rain showers. We would expect some bigger fish to arrive now so get on if you can - there are a few spare day tickets available on the Association water from 9am.

On the tackle front I have taken delivery of a 15ft Loop Opti Power Spey rod ( these were voted best on test in the trout & Salmon in the spring ) Loop have found it very hard to keep up with demand on these superb rods since. A unique patented adjustable reel seat makes the rod very special and the most versatile rod on the market able to deal with Skagit, Spey and overhead casting. I will offer it on a first come first serve basis for £599 + a dozen deadly summer salmon flies and a New Carron Jetstream Twin Proline 10/11 line for half price ( what an unbelievable casting combo ) call me FAST if you want this rare powerhouse of a rod on 01431821372. Being 5pc it also packs away very neatly and is perfect for overseas travel.

20/7/10

The river is fishing very well at the moment and the grilse run is in full swing. Over 30 fish were caught on the Association water last week and water levels are excellent. Conehead tubes are catching most of the fish particularly for Alistair & Willian Jappy who are catching more than most. Good summer salmon are also running - Donald Sutherland had a 15 pounder in Roaries pool and Alistair Jappy had fish up to 12lbs. Day ticket anglers are also starting to catch a few. Euan ( Torrish ) Sutherland had his first two Helmsdale fish within an hour in Roaries pool at  5 & 10lbs, A Cascade Conehead did the trick for him. Here are the top killing patterns available to purchase on-line.

http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=884

http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=621

http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=657

http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=160

http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=660

11/7/10

The grilse run would appear to have arrived a little earlier this year after a good week on the Helmsdale Association water. Around 16 fish were caught and next weeks prospects look excellent after a good rise in the water.

4/7/10

We have gone through a fairly quiet period on the Helmsdale for salmon which can be the norm for the time of year. However, sea-trout have arrived in numbers and sport has been good at night due to low water levels.

The Association water has provided around 6 salmon over the last 3 weeks taken mostly by avid local angler William Jappy and Ghillie Martin Grant had a tiny grilse of 1lb fishing for sea-trout. Sea-trout catches have been excellent locally and I have had 25 of the approx 65-70 caught recently on a deadly new fly that you will see and read about in the next issie of the Trout & Salmon magazine....don't miss it!

Heavy rain is forecast and the river in general could do with a freshen up to kick start the salmon fishing again.

13/6/10

Not a single fish off the Helmsdale Association water this week and only 1 salmon reported last week. Not many anglers are fishing this water at the moment so that may explain the lack of action. However, sea-trout have been seen in the tidal water and with a bit of luck they will fill the void until grilse arrive in numbers.

To prepare for your summer fishing we have a great offer available NOW for 1 week on Summer salmon & sea-trout flies ( below ) This superb fly selection is full of all the best summer patterns and you can purchase them right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=970

We now have a great new line of sea-trout flies available all with the deadly jungle cock eyes and many are in the selection box on offer. RRP on these flies would normally be £60 but you can purchase them all ( boxed ) for just £43.99

30/5/10

It has been a good week on the Helmsdale with most estates landing around 15 - 20 salmon. The surprising thing is that we were running on compensation water of around only 5" and this is not usually a turn on for the salmon. However the weather has been excellent for fishing with a cool North Westerly blowing downstream for much of the week and this has obviously been drawing in the fish.

The Association water has been quiet probably due to the fact that the high tides have been through the night with most fish entering the river under the cover of  darkness. Only 3 fish were been reported last week.

The great news is that as I write the river is rising fast after many hours of persistent heavy rain. The week ahead is all set to be very good with superb fly fishing conditions. The Association water will be a great chance if you fancy a cast as the whole stretch will be in fine fettle and with the high tides edging towards daylight early in the week there are sure to be fish caught. Tickets are available from the Tackle shop as usual and at only £26 per rod per day they offer great value.

The most exciting news this week is the arrival of the long awaited new Carron Jetstream Twin colour Spey lines. These lines have been tested and researched to the max by world Spey casting champion Gordon Armstrong and Carron product design Guru James Cameron who indecently can also throw a line huge distances. The new 65ft 10/11 is set to be a best seller as this will be a very comfortable easy loading line which will suit many anglers ( there are 4 65ft lines in this range 8/9, 9/10, 10/11 & 11/12 ) They have also launched a new more specialist line called the Proline which has a more advanced and versatile profile. This line will bridge the gap between more rods as a 10/11 will balance 14ft, 15 or 16ft rods.

We have all these lines arriving this week so be one of the first to impress and enjoy and pre-order one now right here on-line.

There is also a special offer on all our Green Highlander tubes so please stock up on these if you are heading abroad this summer. The green Highlander fly is especially affective in Russia & Norwa

25/05/10

It has been tough fishing on the Helmsdale this week with only around 20 salmon caught. Water levels have remained low with some compensation water keeping the river on the fishable limit. 3 salmon were caught on the Association water on Monday/Tuesday but the most successful angler as usual has been the big seal patrolling the estuary.

Day after day there are reports of salmon being thrown around and slaughtered and frankly anglers are fed up with the situation all around our coastline. A new government is now in power so maybe fisheries will get more power to protect their declining salmon & sea-trout stocks, after-all, game angling is only worth 120 million a year to the Scottish economy so why should we want to protect that at the cost of a couple of over populated seals!!