A couple of bursts of decent rainfall arrived in the last few days of September, greatly improving conditions and allowing fish to move upstream.
In terms of Water Scarcity, both the North and South Esk Rivers were upgraded to ‘Alert’ on 1st October. Further information can be found here: https://beta.sepa.scot/water-scarcity/previous-reports/01-october-2026/
We are now coming into one of the most colourful times of year; the leaves are turning, the squirrels are busy gathering and hiding supplies for winter, and the robins are singing their hearts out.
River North Esk
The welcome rise in water levels allowed fish to move much further upstream than they have been able to in recent weeks. At Edzell Fishings, this resulted in a 7 lb salmon being caught at Invermark together with a grilse landed at Edzell.
At Stracathro, six sea trout, weighing between 2.5 and 3 lbs, were caught from the Lairds, Upper Dam and Upper Junction pools. Six grilse, ranging from 4 to 7 lbs, were also landed, taking flies including the Sunray, Red Ali Shrimp and Red Devil. Eight salmon were caught, with the majority weighing between 6 and 12 lbs however, one exceptional fish stood out from the rest – a remarkable salmon measuring 44 inches in length, with a 22-inch girth and weighing an impressive 32 lbs. This superb fish was caught by Gary Chambers in the Upper Dam Pool, on a Gary Dog fly.
Further downstream at Gallery, five salmon and one grilse weighing between 6 and 12 lbs were caught on a selection of flies, including the Gizmo, Silver Stoat’s Tail and Red Francis.
At Canterland, approximately twenty salmon were landed over the course of the fortnight, making for a much-improved period of fishing throughout the river.
River South Esk
The Kirriemuir Angling Club Beat saw a good week of fishing following the welcome rise in water levels, with approximately half a dozen salmon landed.
At Cortachy Beat, eleven salmon were caught, the largest weighing 7 lbs, along with four sea trout, the largest of which weighed 3 lbs.
Further downstream on Inshewan Beat, six salmon weighing up to 8 lbs and five sea trout, weighing up to 3 lbs, were caught.
An 8 lb salmon was caught on Justinhaugh Beat, taking a size 14 Dunkeld.
Finavon Castle Water produced 15 salmon and 15 sea trout over the course of the fortnight. Of particular note among the sea trout was a scattering of late-running, clean fish, alongside a number of sea-liced fish.
Finally, four salmon, ranging from 6 to 20 lbs, were caught on Kinnaird Upper Beat, whilst a further salmon weighing 9 lbs was landed on the Middle Beat.
The week ahead (5 – 10 October 2026)
We’ll have a cloudy and windy start to the week, before a sunny and dry day on Tuesday. Wednesday will be sunny and dry but colder than it’s been of late. We’ll see a cold start to Thursday before strong winds move in bringing a chance of some showers. A warm front moves in on Friday, bringing sunshine, showers and windy conditions. It looks like Saturday will be the windiest day of the week. Daytime air temperatures are expected to reach highs of 12 – 14 °C (53 – 57 °F), with overnight lows of 3 – 8 °C (37 – 46 °F).
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)
Hatton Pool, Gallery Beat, River North Esk (main photo) © Neil Anderson
Sea trout from Stracathro Beat © Jouni Rauha
5 lb grilse from Stracathro Beat © Jouni Rauha
8 lb salmon from Stracathro Beat © Jouni Rauha
12 lb salmon from Gallery Beat © Neil Anderson
Sunrise from Gallery Beat © Neil Anderson
8 lb salmon from Hatton Pool, Gallery Beat © Charles Kinsey
Salmon caught on Inshewan Beat © James Orbourne
8 lb salmon from Justinhaugh Beat © John Mitchell
Many thanks to the proprietors, ghillies and guests for sharing their photos and catch details.
