20/6/08 

Things have slowed down slightly on the salmon front on the Helmsdale at least. The last two weeks have fished quite well and good numbers are still running however fluctuating water levels have made scoring a hit or miss depending on which beat you fish. Two grilse have been reported but generally excellent salmon of between 7 – 16lbs have been the norm.

The Association water has struggled slightly as fish are flying through the lower river but a couple have been picked up by locals, we are now on 25 fish for the season, Tommy Bird & Alexander Cowie catching the latest both at 9lbs.

The sea-trout have arrived in good numbers and I had one of my best sessions on Saturday night before the bells at midnight rudely stopped the bonanza! I had 7 super sea-trout up to 3lbs from 10,30pm – midnight mainly on a silver stoat double size 14. Last week provided another 25 for the week but rising water levels spoiled the fun midweek and the trout are sprinting up the system now.

Heavy rain on Wednesday last week offered long awaited fresh water to most highland rivers and after an e-mail from the Sutherland estate office informing me of available fishing on our neighboring river Brora I was on close alert to the water levels over there. A quick decision was made and I was on the lower Brora by 4am next morning with brother Andy. To cut a long story short we had 6 fish between us and it was one of the most enjoyable few hours fishing I have ever spent on a river, smallest 9lbs biggest 14. All my fish came to a Willie Dog conehead set up with a new Guideline tube double. One fish came out of the Ford, 2 from lower Fannich and one out of lower Madman. Andy had fish from the Lower Stoney and Corner pool.

The Guideline doubles are superb new hooks and the best I have seen for sharpness and style…they are going to be massive!!! Check them out on this site.

Here is the deadly fly below with Guideline double inset, I keep going back to this fly in slightly coloured water and it never fails to produce the goods – you really need some of these in your box!! It is my original and most killer design to date and I highly recommend it to anyone fishing any river for Atlantic salmon. This fly has proven beyond doubt that it works extremely well all season in all sizes. 

7/6/09

Following the spate last reported here we had some excellent fishing and the best week of the season so far. Good sport was had right through the system and 70 fish were reported from the week beginning May 18^th. Since then another two good weeks fishing has ensued and perked up hopes of a revival. The poor figures in March & April were a disappointment but May is way ahead on last year’s weather & performance with what would seem a good consistent run of fish. Last weeks fishing was also fairly steady and one or two grilse were caught and lost.

Sea-trout should be arriving soon in decent numbers hopefully, Alexander Cowie had one last week but few have been seen as yet.

On the salmon scene locally we are up to 20 off now, the latest being landed yesterday ( Saturday ) after a fresh rise in levels. Alistair Jappy had a great morning with a fine brace up to 11lbs and Archie Miller rounded off the weeks fishing by catching a 10 pounder from Roaries pool late in the evening. Salmon are running daily now so chances are good on this water.We have a few more great new flies on-line and the deadly Park Shrimp double would be the most recent along with more sea-trout flies – get stocked up for a busy summer season!

We also have the very latest now rod from Loop on offer with a free Quattro tip multi-tip line. The Loop Opti Power Spey has a unique new adjustable reel seat which you can alter to find the best balance for the rod & line….click on the link and see it in action. At over £500 it is not cheap but at half the price of the best Hardy rod it is an absolute steal! Awesome power/balance and lightness that you will cast out of sight with.

http://www.salmonfishingforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10159

Please call me direct at the shop on 01431821372 if you need any assistance or advice before buying any tackle or flies, we are happy to help and it is all part of the service to get you on the water with the correct outfit.

16/5/09 

The Helmsdale has semi-bounced into action in the last couple of weeks. The week beginning Monday 4^th May finally gave up a respectable 50 fish. A small rise of only 3ins in the river and good fishing conditions stimulated some action all through the system. The Association water also provided sport and 3 were landed, 2 by P Macmillan and one for Alistair Jappy - all in all a good week and the best this season.

This week was never going to top the previous as bright sunshine and easterly winds were persistent. However fish were caught early and late but only one more was recorded on the Association water by Hector Mackay.

Today Saturday 16^th we have a 3ft spate rushing down the glen so the lucky rods fishing next week are in for some excellent sport one would think, lets hope there are lots of fish in the sea to come in.

Latest news…2 off the Association water this morning ( Mon 18^th ) before breakfast – William Jappy and Ron Sutherland had nice fish on gold Ally & Willie Gunn TD coneheads. The river level is around 10ins this morning and perfect, this water will be well worth a cast this week, call the shop for bookings on 01431821372…we have lots of cracking coneheads on-line so fill your boxes!

6/5/09 

Just back from the Trout & Salmon Tweed Angling fair in Kelso at the weekend and its all doom and gloom on the salmon fishing front - all over Scotland . I was staying in the Ednam House Hotel looking over the famous Junction pool on the Tweed and I have yet to see a salmon jump! Many ghillies were milling around the show on Sunday from far and wide and the word was unanimous – the spring run is over and it never really started!

It also looks like the ASFBs ( Association of Salmon Fishery Boards ) in Scotland are about to cry a national call for 100% catch & release for the next 2 months to try and protect what’s left of this years worrying and feeble spring run – please read the attached article link http://www.fishandfly.com/articles/20090501 People may say it won’t make much difference to stocks as the problem is all at sea – well nobody has found out yet what is happening at sea and until they do I think we as anglers need to do our bit for each individual river, “every little helps” as they say!

On a more positive note it was great to meet and discuss all the latest tackle & fly-tying trends with the biggest and most clued up names in Atlantic salmon fishing, Mikael Frodin, Scott Mackenzie & Gordon Sim the list could go on for a long time! A big turnout saw superb fly-casting exhibitions, fascinating fly-tying demos and stands full of all the latest tackle on the market. A superb presentation by the Atlantic salmon reserve also lifted the event on Saturday night by raising funds for the Tweedstart kids angling programme in the Ednam hotel.

We also launched our unique and exciting new Sunray Tsunami tube fly which went down a storm – fistfuls are on their way all over the northern hemisphere with team Guideline & Loop etc and I look forward to the explosive feedback. This cracking new fly invented by yours truly will be for sale for the first time on-line this week; you need one in your flybox along side your Sunray Shadow. I’ll let you into a little secret – the Tsunami has been field tested from the Kola Peninsula to the Helmsdale on loch and river recently and results have been phenomenal.

Onto the fishing on the Helmsdale – The Association water continues to fish fairly well due to the low water conditions and local William Jappy had a super double last week with 2 cracking fresh fish up to 12 lbs within an hour, Tommy Bird also grassed his first, a nice 8 pounder today on one of his new home made Alasdair tubes. The total is now 9 for this water and it is well worth a cast for visitors. The upper river is steadily giving fish but not anywhere near the seasonal average.

One final thought to ponder – course fishing throughout the UK is extremely popular and sustainable and generates millions of pounds worth of income for the economy in many ways – all fish are returned.

Tight lines

26/4/09 

Fishing conditions on the Helmsdale this week have been reasonable despite the Summer water levels but numbers of salmon seen and caught have been poor. Once again the spring salmon run has really not materialised and this is not just the case for the Helmsdale, it is the same worrying statistic all round Scotland .

However the Association water provided sport for Alexander Cowie and Alasdair Jappy who had a couple of fine fish up to 11lbs. One fish caught on the Sunray Shadow again and one on a small cotton bud tube.

Prospects for the week ahead are not looking too great as most of the rain forecast is for the South. Small flies will be the order of the day again unless you set up with the Sunray Shadow.

I will be at the Trout & Salmon Tweed Angling Fair in Kelso on Saturday & Sunday this week so if you are in the area why not pop over for a chat. I will be in the Atlantic Salmon Reserve tent with the team tying salmon flies (or at the casting competition!!) I will also have lots of flies on display and for sale – The new Sunray Tsunami is getting its official launch and that is a fly well worth seeing.

By the way, The ASR still have a few amazing slots available for salmon fishing on the Kharlovka/Litza/Rynda rivers in Russia . The full team will be on hand to discuss all the last minute deals and there will be refreshments and a superb slide show of the incredible salmon fishing on offer.

Hope to see you there

20/4/09 

It’s been another dour week on the Helmsdale but weather conditions were partially to blame. An easterly airflow and high pressure offered poor bright and dry fishing conditions all week. However the water temperature did rise sufficiently to coax fish up and over the falls. The first fish was taken on Saturday by Kildonan rods on beat 2 above in the Suisgill pool. Another 2 were to follow today on 2 and 3 above so most of the fishing will be focussed on the upper beats from now on. The Association water provided another fish - William Jappy had a nice 12 pounder from the Horseback pool on that deadly Sunray Shadow again! Prospects look good for rain by the end of the week so hopefully this may raise water levels again and coax in a few fresh fish. The Association water should be well worth a cast again and you can get your day tickets from the Tackle Shop. Members of the Helmsdale Angling club have 4 rods on the Lower Brora next week. Last year we had a super week of sport with 22 salmon up to 14lbs, let’s pray the rain comes!

After a long slow spring the fishing seems to be showing signs of improvement recently. Last week saw the first two fish off the Association water on the Helmsdale. Chris Cook didn’t take long to grass the first one (9.5lbs) in the Style pool after picking up his day ticket only 10 minutes before. The fly used was the Alistair which seems to have a habit of catching firsts! Andy Sutherland added to the total on Friday in the Flat pool landing an 8lbs fish on a black & orange Sunray Shadow.

Tickets are available for £26 per rod per day for this cracking fly water at the Tackle Shop.

The upper river was mediocre by all accounts and no fish have been caught above the falls of Kildonan yet. With water temps hitting the mid 40s it must only be a matter of time before one is found above.

I would get your supplies of Sunray Shadows ordered ASAP as the water temps keep rising, This fly keeps on producing explosive action when all else fails. Remember to fish it pretty fast and square on the surface for best results.

A delighted Chris Cook with the first fish from the Helmsdale Association water

22/3/09 

Water temperatures were up as high as 45 degrees on the river Helmsdale last week and 18 salmon were recorded. Sink tips and intermediate lines were the popular choice with a range of fly density.

Make sure you are fully equipped for your fishing trip by having a range of sinking poly-tips and fly sizes available which can be attached easily to your floating line. The weather can be very changeable in the coming weeks and the angler who adapts to conditions best will catch most fish. Personally I wouldn’t fish anywhere without a choice of tungsten, copper, aluminium & conehead tube flies. Sinking tips in fast and slow sinking options between 5 & 15ft should cover most eventualities.

Be prepared and get an edge…tight lines.

15/3/09

Yours truly (Ron) returning a solid 14 pounder last week from Upper Torrish on beat 3 ( full report below )

As predicted the weekly total on the Helmsdale increased again last week from the previous. The river rose constantly on Monday by 13ins so the day was basically washed out apart from an early Achentoul fish from beat 4. Tom Plumbly lured an 8lbs fish from beat 1 on Tuesday, Graham Robertson had a 6 pounder from the Craggie stream on 5 and Tackle shop owner Ron Sutherland returned a gleaming 14 pounder from Upper Torrish on beat 3. On Friday 2 fish were reported, a cracking 16 pounder returned by ghillie Donald Sutherland on beat 1 and George Sutherland returned an 8 pounder in the Vale of tears on beat 6. Suisgil rods had another from the Little Rock pool on beat 6 on Saturday bringing the weekly total to 7 – 17 for the season so far.

All things considered the fishing was not too bad as rods were practically blown off the river on Thursday & Saturday. Most of the fish were returned which is very pleasing and hopefully this will help boost future spring stocks.

Water levels are excellent and running at approx 1ft so the week ahead should produce around 8 – 12 fish if conditions are favourable. 

Borrobol ghillie Glen Macdonald with Mike sheply returning a nice 7.5 pounder in the Whinnie (beat 5) 10 days ago.

8/3/09

Ben Jukes signed off last Saturday by returning a super 18 pounder on beat 6 in the Little Rock and this brought our tally to 5 for the week.

With good water, reasonable weather conditions and all ghillies back on parade we were expecting an increase in numbers for the week beginning March 2^nd. However results did not pan out that way. Kildonan rods got off to a good start with a fish on Monday, Ross Mackay landing a sea-liced fish in Upper Caen on beat 1 and Tuesday with Don Mackay returning a good fish over 12lbs in the Flat pool on beat 6. This would indicate that some fish are already over the Kildonan falls.

Suisgill rods had a fish from beat 5, Andrew Thomas (Achentoul rods) christened his new Loop rod with a 10 pounder from the tail of the Marrel on (bt 1) and Mike Sheply fishing Borrobol rods had a 7.5lbs fish from the Whinnie on beat 5. That was it for the week and we are now on 10 for the season.

I would expect 10 springers to be caught by the end of February a few years ago but this seems to be another sign that the salmon seasons seem to be running later now and we simply have to get used to it.

I will be on the river this week fishing the Torrish rods, I am not making any predictions, but water levels should be good all week and I would expect more than 5 salmon to be reported.

On the Helmsdale Co front we have another Forum fly deal up for grabs – please check it out on http://www.salmonfishingforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8124

This is a great opportunity to purchase a deadly set of cracking coneheads at a special knockdown price. Coneheads are very popular and the set we have on offer ( for one week only ) will fish all season for atlantic salmon anywhere…I would advise you to snap up a set as they are not nearly this cheap normally!

Tight lines