1/3/09

At last the river Helmsdale has woken up. After a big thaw and spell of high water last week a few fish have appeared in the river. Things got moving on Monday when Lance Hacker landed the first Achentoul fish - a nice fresh 7lbs fish on Baddy Wood ( bt 4). Thursday saw Alan Stone fishing Borrobol rods land their first, a fine 10 pounder from Pilkingtons Point on beat 5 then the same fellow returned a super 18lbs fish from Lower Torrish on beat 3 on Saturday aided by Johnny Hardy. Johnny commented that he had not seen so many sea-lice on a fish in years.

With 3 springers off this week, predictions should be good for next – lets all keep our fingers crossed. We are now on 4 for the season.

Other Highland rivers are giving a fish or two now also, the Naver had 5 last week, Thurso 1 and Brora 1

All rods will be fished hard this week on the Helmsdale - Paul Young will be here, Andrew Thomas & Local Robert Mackay will also be on the water, if there is a fish about these guys will find them! Let's hope it is the start of a good spring run and all rods score.

Don't forget to stock up with flies from our site if you have a fishing trip organised and please place your order in good time.

Once again we have added new patterns so take time to surf through what is on offer.

I will be at the massive Tweed Angling Fair in Kelso again this year ( May 2nd + 3rd ) in the Atlantic Salmon Reserve tent tying Russian killers for the Kharlovka, Litza etc Please pop along and say hello and check out the fabulous fishing and flies on offer. We will have lots of flies for sale, tips on fly-tying and information/films on screen about salmon fishing specialising in Russia.

Oh....and you can bet I'll be tying loads of those deadly new Monkey tubes which seem to be catching fish all over the place recently ( pic below ). I had three of my 4 springers on the Dee last week on my version pictured below - 1" Tungstem body with 6.5" hairwing...AWESOME!

23/2/09

The river Helmsdale is still dead at this time...please click on the link to see what the Helmsdale lads are doing in the meantime http://www.salmonfishingforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7837

22/06/2008

The Helmsdale had a welcome freshet last week

08/06/2008

This season has so far taken a similar route to last in many ways

06/05/2008

A dour spell on the Helmsdale river

A dour spell on the Helmsdale recently has led to a lack of information via the fishing reports - however, there have been a few bright moments and at least 3 fish of over 20lbs have been reported. Fish have been caught over the falls of Kildonan since the 19th of April but the upper beats have generally been poor on numbers overall. The Association water has given 4 salmon since the 13th, Sonny Jappy and Tommy Bird landing the latest 3. As we approach the second week in May we would expect the Spring run to be in full flow - lets hope it happens!

16/04/2008

The Helmsdale suffered this week.

06/04/2008

Springers on the Sunray

Springers on the Sunray

They say variety is the spice of life, well, I think I we can safely apply this thinking to salmon fishing after my latest evening on the river Helmsdale!

The call came through – the shop was vacated and beat 5 was my destination for the last couple of hours of daylight. On arrival I was happy with my intermediate line and copper tube set up but I had forgotten my mitts and suffered until I acclimatised to the sharp north westerly wind racing down the strath.

I decided that the bottom half of the beat would offer the best prospects as a fish had come off the Breakwater pool on this section earlier in the day. The Kilearnan bridge pool was duly backed up first but no sign of a fish. Next it was up to the Breakwater and whilst fishing opposite Pilkington’s point a fresh fish jumped about 20yds below. I braced myself for action and fished hard but no interest was shown in my favourite Willie Gunn – the position was noted and maybe I would cover it again later if there was still time. The Clay Bank was fished next followed by the Ewes Neuk but still no action. Time was running out as the beats change at 8pm so it was back to the breakwater for the last run through. I was half way down the pool and a fish head & tailed in the same spot as I had seen the fish earlier, by this time it was 7.40 so I quickly worked my way down to the fish to give it another look at the Willie Gunn – nothing! There was only one thing for it as I was almost sure this was an active fresh fish in front of me, the 15cm Sunray Shadow was deployed against all odds.

Everything was wrong – the light was bad by now, my fingers were almost numb so the temperature was far too cold for skating a Sunray - right? – WRONG! I waded out below the point and cast a square short line over the fish, raised the rod tip and proceeded to draw the fly across the fish. On my second cast an explosion almost induced a heart attack and a fish was on, I have never witnessed anything like it in temperatures so cold – A 10 pounder was landed and released safely by 8pm. I sat down, gazed across the pool and thought to myself – Wow that’s what I call hardcore fly fishing!

If anyone ever says to me again “there’s no point in changing the fly he’ll take anything if he wants it” I’ll smile broadly and beg to differ! This was a big result for perseverance and a change of tactics.

The Sunray Shadow effect is not a new way by any means and explosive takes are induced by the many who are now equipped but I have to say I did not expect this result with the water temp only 39 and a biting chill in the wind.

The moral to the story – He who does not own a Big Sunray may well go home empty handed!

Tight lines – I hope you enjoyed the alternative fishing report but I had to tell someone!

- pics below Look closely and spot the Sunray

The deadly fly - 15cm Sunray Shadow

Fish returned safely.

Published on Sunday 6 April 2008 by Ronald Sutherland
Last edited on Sunday 6 April 2008 by Ronald Sutherland

02/04/2008

Things have quietened down

Things have quietened down just a fraction on the Helmsdale since the last report. The monster fish reported last Wednesday was verified at 30.5 lbs and I saw him with my own eyes just hours after seeing a 29 pound Spey fish - what an incredible double to witness, I still can't quite believe my own eyes! Last week began with Adam Macdonald landing a nice Springer in the snow on the Bay beat 3 but ended up with surprisingly only 9 off the river. On Monday 31st March the Helmsdale produced its best day of the season with 8 fine fish and the best return of 3 from Suisgill rods on beat 2. Tuesday was quieter and I would have to report that the highlight was my 8lbs fish from Wigans' draw on the Association water at 7.45pm. We now have 3 fish off the Association water ( brother Andy taking the first two ) and it is very much worth a cast for visiting anglers as salmon are on the move daily. The Helmsdale & District AC have their first competition on Loch Ascaig on May 18th for members and members have also acquired a week on the river Brora - 4 rods at the end of the month.

Don't forget to call the shop for some great deals on tackle & flies...the Spring salmon are here so get out on the water where ever you are!

Published on Wednesday 2 April 2008 by Ronald Sutherland

31/03/2008

The river has swung into action.

The river has swung into action now and last week recorded another 17 with the best a 22 pounder on beat 6 to Borrobol rods. This week has seen some steady sport but today (Wed 26th) a huge fish was reported to have been caught on beat 2 - word has it at over 30lbs minimum as the ghillies scales only weigh up to 30lbs but we await verification. There are some super fish turning up on other rivers now also and a great example was caught by Andy Sutherland on a day out to the Spey today at 29lbs on Arndilly - I was landing a 20 pounder on the opposite bank at the same time! Keep shopping on-line here and call the shop for some great deals on tackle. Get your rod out for a cast in the meantime - salmon fishing in Scotland is hotting up very fast and there are some real monsters around.

Published on Monday 31 March 2008 by David Mason

17/03/2008

High water spoiled fishing for most of last week on the Helmsdale.

High water spoiled fishing for most of last week on the Helmsdale. Only the very top of the gauge at Salscraggie was in evidence until around Thursday when things began to settle. Robin Gardner however did manage to find a fish in the torrent on Tuesday fishing the South bank of Kilphedir pool on beat 2. Towards the end of the week Lower Torrish (Bt 3) provided a fish for Torrish rods and Beat 4 recorded its first 3 fish of the season for Suisgil & Badanloch. The Graham Robertson party saved the blank for Kildonan on beat 2 on Saturday netting fish in the Park and Kilphedir pools. The river has dropped to 1ft now so prospects for the week ahead look excellent, total now 17.

With Spring fishing in full swing, now is the time to make sure you get the best out of your set up. If your casting is letting you down you can improve it fast by checking you have the correct line for your rod. Half of the pleasure in fly fishing is in watching your fine line turnover across the water covering all the best lies (catching a fish is a bonus!). To maximise your chances of hooking up with a power packed Springer make sure you have the correct line rating for your rod, this might sound very simple but all to often I see people having to struggle badly to force a line out when infact this should be almost effortless - at the end of the day the rod and line should bare the load of all your efforts - not your shoulders. If you prefer to Spey cast, Rio & Carron have a range of amazing lines designed to make casting very easy for all abilities. For overhead casting a good quality double taper will suffice, obviously I have all these lines at the shop and some on-line (the new Skagit Spey lines are awesome!). If you want some advice on the most suitable lines for your rod or would like to try out some new salmon rod combos please call me as I have rods rigged up with some great demo lines. Shop 01431821372 - Mob 07780861466. Tight lines and get the max from your fishing.

Published on Monday 17 March 2008 by Ronald Sutherland