Fishing Report 1st - 13th June 2026 | Esk Rivers Hub - Fishing on the North and South Esk Rivers

Fifty Shades of Green (but it’s still baltic!)

River levels have fluctuated significantly over the last two weeks due to frequent, isolated downpours. It’s fair to say that late spring/early summer air temperatures have fallen short of seasonal expectation, leaving the sunseekers amongst us wondering if summer is ever going to show up and contemplating emigrating!

Parent birds are still furiously foraging for their demanding chicks – those still in the nest as well as those who have recently left – it’s impossible to ignore the demands of the recently fledged starling chicks where I live! Bird song has noticeably reduced however the blackbird continues with his evening melody, for a wee while longer.

River North Esk

Starting at Edzell Fishings, three sea trout were caught in the Lynn Martin and Cobble Pools; two weighting 2 lbs and one weighing 1 lb.

Stracathro was the place to be if you wanted to catch a salmon – a total of 9 salmon were caught, and one sea trout. Three salmon weighing between 6 and 15 lbs were caught in the first week of June in the Cruik and Junctions Pools, all on a shrimp fly. The six salmon caught in the second week of June all weighed upwards of 6 lbs. Bill Findlay landed the heaviest fish – an 18 lb salmon from Lower Junction Pool, on Green Highlander fly. Two days later Bill landed another salmon, sea-liced and weighing 17 lb, from the same pool on a Park Shrimp fly. Gary Chambers landed three of the six salmon, from Dam and Upper Junction Pools, weighing between 7 and 11 lbs. In addition, a 2.5 lb sea trout was caught in Upper Junction Pool.

Downstream at Gallery Beat Louis Sandground worked his magic and landed a 10 lb salmon on a wee Red Francis. A 2 lb sea trout was caught on a Silver Stoat, from Hatton Pool.

River South Esk

Kirriemuir Angling Club beat has seen some action over the last few weeks in terms of both sea trout and salmon. Three sea trout were caught in Elie and Caravan Pools weighing up to 4 lbs. A 4lb grilse was caught in island Pool on 6th June, followed by an 8 lb salmon from Mill Pool on 10th June and a 10 lb salmon from Island Pool on 13th June.

Downstream on Cortachy Beat a 7 lb salmon and three 3 lb sea trout were all caught in the Meetings Pool on 4th June. A further 1 lb sea trout was caught on the 8th June in Dairy Pool.

At Inshewan ten sea trout (weighing up to 4.5 lbs) were caught on Butchers and Stoats Tails flies. A special mention goes to Andy Dobbie Jr Jr, who landed his first ever salmon — a superb fish weighing 11 lb! The fish was temptingly taken on a size 16 Silver Stoat, a moment he won’t forget in a hurry. The Silver Stoat remains one of the old favourites on the River South Esk, a variation of the traditional pattern that has accounted for countless salmon and sea trout over the years. The original Stoat’s Tail is believed to date from the late 19th century, with some references suggesting the 1870s–1880s. One historical source attributes the pattern to James Wright of Sprouston-on-Tweed during that period, while others maintain the Dee-origin story connected to George Copper.

On the 5th June two salmon weighing 10 lbs and 6 lbs were caught on Kinnordy Beat, together with a sea trout, weighing 3 lbs.

And finally, Finavon Castle Water reported that several beautiful sea trout, weighing up to 3.5 lb, were caught together with another early grilse from Melgund Poll, weighing 4 lbs. A good number of sea trout hwere seen moving through as the water started to drop after a big lift on the 8th, however the river levels have been very unsettled ever since and are often too coloured to fish.

Kirriemuir Angling Club members had an enjoyable day’s fishing, despite the wind, at Loch Shandra on 7th June. Nine brown trout were caught, each weighting around 1.5 lbs.

The week ahead (15 – 20 June 2026)

Low pressure continues to dominate our weather systems and as such the weather remains unsettled. Expect cloudy days with lower-than-average air temperatures. Showers will roll through and will be, at times, prolonged. Friday looks like it will be breezy! Daytime air temperatures are expected to reach highs of 14 – 19 °C (52 – 66 °F), with overnight lows of 9 – 13 °C (48 – 55 °F).

North Esk

Edzell – 3 sea trout

Stracathro – 9 salmon, 1 sea trout

Gallery – 1 salmon, 1 sea trout

Total salmon for the fortnight: 10

Running total for the season: 134

Total sea trout for the fortnight: 5

Running total for the season: 16

South Esk

Kirriemuir Angling Club Water – 2 salmon, 1 grilse, 3 sea trout

Cortachy – 1 salmon, 4 sea trout

Inshewan – 1 salmon, 10 sea trout