Although showers seem to have constantly rolled in, river levels were generally steady during the last 2 weeks of June.
The bird song has noticably reduced however there’s been a flurry of fledglings! I’ve been watching young swallows balancing on wires, wren fledglings bouncing around the undergrowth and I bumped into a song thrush fledging (see photo) when out for a walk one evening. Fledglings have little concept of danger and as such are incredibly vulnerable, so for the dog owners out there, it’s advisable to keep dogs under close control to allow fledglings time to get out of the way.
River North Esk
Although there have been no catches at Edzell Fishings, Garry reported that salmon are now present in the head waters of Invermark after a fish was lost before it could be landed.
Stracathro Beat saw the most activity on the River North Esk with two salmon, one grilse and six sea trout caught. The first salmon, weighing 8 lbs was caught in the Upper Junction Pool on 13 June on a Green Highlander fly. The second was an 11 lb salmon caught in the Dam Pool on a Moc’s Cert fly on 20 June. The grilse weighing 4.5 lbs was caught in the Dam Pool on 26 June on a Mallard Silver fly. The sea trout caught weighed between 2 and 4 lbs and were all caught in the Lower Junction Pool and the Dam Pool.
Downstream at Canterland Beat, one salmon and one sea trout were caught.
Finally, although there have been no catches to report on Kinnaber Beat yet, three have been lost and a shoal of grilse weighing 2 – 3 lbs have been observed.
River South Esk
It’s also been quiet on the South Esk with two sea trout caught on 19 June on Kirriemuir Angling Club Beat and a good number of sea trout catches reported downstream, on Inshewan Beat.
Members of Kirriemuir Angling Club have also been busy installing a new bench, kindly donated by Ian, which overlooks the Ellie Pool (see main photo).
The week ahead (6 – 11 July 2026)
The week begins cloudy on Monday and Tuesday. Sunny spells, with some prolonged sunshine, are forecast for Wednesday, Thursday and into Friday, before showers arrive on Friday afternoon. Saturday currently looks cloudy…. Could summer finally be on its way……
North Esk
Stracathro – 2 salmon, 1 grilse & 6 sea trout
Canterland – 1 salmon, 1 sea trout
Total salmon for the fortnight: 3
Running total for the season: 137
Total grilse for the fortnight: 1
Running total for the season: 1
Total sea trout for the fortnight: 7
Running total for the season: 23
South Esk
Kirriemuir Angling Club Water – 2 sea trout (see photos)
Total salmon for the fortnight: 0
Running total for the season: 27
Total grilse for the fortnight: 0
Running total for the season: 2
Total sea trout for the fortnight: 2
Running total for the season: 23
If anyone has caught a salmon or sea trout on the River North Esk, River South Esk or the Bervie Water, and would like to share, please get in touch.
Photographs: (top down)
New bench overlooking the Ellie Pool on Kirriemuir Angling Club Beat © Ross Mackinnon
Song thrush fledgling © Ann-Marie MacMaster
Many thanks to the proprietors, ghillies and guests for sharing their photos and catch details.
