What a difference
…a little water and warmth can make to a day’s fishing. Monday started with both rivers falling away to rain over the previous weekend, and with temperatures on the rise towards the end of the week all the stars were aligned. It is good to here that the upper reaches of both the North and South Esk are starting to catch. On the North Esk estates above the Loups have been reporting some good catches of salmon and sea trout. The furthest up that a salmon has been caught so far and that I have heard of is on the Water of Mark, caught by Calum Roberston one of the keepers at Invermark. Staying on the North Esk for the moment, the sea trout and grilse have most certainly turned up, with Gallery catching 10 sea trout, mainly all at night, and Pert 29 with the biggest being 7lbs. Just down river at Canterland, young Alex Taylor caught his first grilse on a small Willie Gunn. He casts a better line than you or I! Edzell has been quiet of late but James Fairly managed to bring a salmon to the net, it is a lovely spot to fish and I should think a good spot for the sea trout. Over on the South Esk, Kirriemiur Angling Club member Ivor Duffus had a salmon and a sea trout before heading home for breakfast, both caught on a Claret and Gold. Kinnordy have had their first two fish of the season, a salmon of 10lbs and a sea trout of about 3lbs both caught by Tom Sampson. Finavon Castle Water had 6 sea trout up to the 4lbs mark. Overall, a good week on both the North and South Esk. There have been talk that the sea trout numbers are down. I feel that as the weather over the past few weeks has been colder than is normal for the time of year, the sea trout are off so to speak. This week and the coming weeks as life warms up will hopefully prove otherwise.
The Week Ahead.
Floating lines and long leaders are going to be the order of the day for the coming weeks. As the rivers warm up, we can start to fish the hitch more along with sunrays and my favourite fly the Collie dog. When fishing the Collie Dog I like to fish a small fly on the dropper, a single Stoats Tail or a dabbler, to be honest anything you have confidence in. If you can fish more in the mornings and evenings and rest the river in the middle of the day. Dry flies for sea trout also work a treat if you see them rising, try to match the hatch if you they are brown trout at the end of the day. Dries for salmon can be a lot of fun if you like surface action, a bomber fly dead drifted over a known lie can work wonder when all else has failed. Be careful not to strike to soon!! Above all watch the river more in summer, I think one has to think a little more rather than just cast and swing when fishing in the summer.
Tight Lines.
North Esk
Kinnaber. 1 grilse 5lbs, 1 sea trout 2lbs.
Canterland. 3 grilse up to 4lbs.
Gallery. 10 sea trout up to 4lbs.
Balmakewan.
Pert. 4 salmon/grilse up to 10lbs, 29 sea trout up to 7lbs.
Edzell. 1 salmon 8lbs.
River Mark. 1 salmon 8lbs
South Esk
Kinnaird Upper. 1 grilse 5lbs, 1 sea trout 3lbs.
Finavon Castle Water. 4 sea trout up to 4lbs.
Kinnordy. 1 salmon 10lbs, 1 sea trout 3lbs.
Kirriemuir Angling Club. 1 salmon, 1 sea trout 2.5lbs.
Total Salmon 7 , Grilse 6, Sea Trout 47
Grand Total 62
If anyone has caught a salmon or Sea Trout within the North or South Esk and would like to share please get in touch.
Photographs (top to bottom)
A grilse from Canterland North Esk .
Young Alex Taylor with a grilse from Canterland North Esk.
Photographs 3,4 sea trout from Gallery North Esk.
James Fairly with his 8lb salmon from Edzell, North Esk.
Calum Robertson, 8lbs from the River Mark.
Tom Sampson’s 10lb salmon from Kinnordy South Esk.
Photographs 8,9 Ivor Duffus’s sea trout and salmon from the Kirriemuir Angling Club water on the South Esk.
Lastly I should say thank you to the gillies and guests who send the photographs to me, with out them the report would not be complete and certainly not as colourful!!
