Last week showed some promise as grilse arrived in pods. Borrobol rods had the best week ending in the mid 20s however, the majority of fish caught were still not grilse. If you were lucky and in the right place at the right time sport was good but it was not the norm. It would appear that the main grilse run is destined to arrive very late or not at all this year. Latest reports from as far North as Iceland indicate that grilse are few and far between with numbers well down on the last two years at this time.

The forecast is for little rain in the next week with high pressure set to dominate, I fear the pickings will be lean for a while yet and we should really be in the absolute thick of things by now. The Association water is giving the odd fish daily but low clear water is making things difficult, early mornings and late would be the preferred taking times. Availability is very open this summer on the Association water, lots of room! the run must arrive soon so I would advise getting over for a cast in the next two weeks.

We have just taken delivery of the new Mackenzie DTX Spey lines which I tested on the river Ewe on an earlier report here. If you want to get the best out of what we have remaining of the season, I would highly recommend you treat yourself to one of these amazing lines. These are the most technically advanced lines ever made, and for £69.99 they are an absolute revelation. Overhead casting is also easy and i have never witnessed turnover on a line like it before apart from when using the world record breaking Carron Jetstream lines. Incidentally, The World Spey casting record was beaten this week at the CLA Gamefair. Irishman Gerard Downie surpassed the 70yd mark for the first time ever in competition using a Carron Jetstream line. Call us anytime to order these lines.

We have all the top lines available here at the Helmsdale Company, we pride ourselves in quality products and service. Don't scrimp on cheap nasty lines, they will do your fishing and fly casting no favours, trust me!. Don't forget you can call us anytime for expert advise on all aspects of fly fishing, we love chatting to customers to help improve their fishing. We also have the biggest selection of killer flies on the net - order anytime at your leisure or call us to discuss patterns for your next fishing trip wherever it is.

Tight lines