Novar Fishings

Location

River Alness, near Evanton

Summary

Five year average: 424 salmon and grilse

6 beats, averaging 1.1 miles long with 15 - 20 named pools per beat

4 rods per beat

Price range: £25 to £80 per rod/day ex vat.
A 7% discount is offered for full rod weeks.

Description

The Novar Fishings are split into two sections: the upper beats comprising Beats 1 and 2; and the lower beats comprising Beats 3, 4, 5 and 6. The upper and lower beats are separated by about 2.5 miles of water. The six beats are fished on a rotation such that anglers fish a different beat each day of the week.

The average length of each beat is 1.1 miles, with typically 15 to 20 named pools per beat allowing for 4 rods. Both banks are included; however most of the fishing is from the southern (right) bank.

A number of rods are syndicated or let out for the season with holiday accommodation, some fished for only a few weeks during the year. 2010 was another excellent season, with 557 salmon & grilse caught on the Novar beats including 33 'first salmon'.

Up to date reports on the fishing can be obtained by clicking here

Each beat can be reached by a saloon car, but a 4 wheel drive vehicle is required to access the full length of each beat.

The beats are:

Beat 1 - Beat 1 is the uppermost beat on the river, starting below Loch Morie. The top half of the beat lies in a wide open valley covered with heather moorland, coniferous plantations and native birch woodland. The lower half has steeper sections culminating in a section of gorge. While there are some excellent holding pools, for much of the season this is primarily a 'running' beat, producing fish when salmon and grilse are travelling through to the loch. From September, fish start to hold up here in numbers as the spawning season approaches.

Beat 2 - The beat starts below Strone Falls, and there is some superb fly water on the upper half particularly from the Junction Pool through to the bottom of the Meadow Flats. The lower half starts with the Slip Pool, from where the river goes through a section of gorge with many pots and glides, and ends at the Blackwater tributary.

Beat 3 - Beat 3 starts below the Ardross Castle water. This section is characterised by conifer plantations, mixed woodland and permanent grassland, with many good holding pools including the March Pool, Ace and Stones (the latter two amongst the best high water pools on the Novar beats) as well as numerous small pools and runs throughout the beat.

Beat 4 - Beat 4 starts at the Dalreoch Bridge pool where the river once again begins a steeper descent as the river cuts through sandstone and conglomerate creating large deep holding pools such as The Hoch, Holly and Minister's with backdrops of cliff faces and giant conifers. The beat ends with Raven's Rock, one of the most spectacular and productive pools on the river.

Beat 5 - Beat 5 starts below Raven's Rock. From the top of the beat the river tumbles down through a series of good pools fished from the left bank to Aggie's bridge, one of the best high water pools on the river. The beat then continues with a succession of excellent holding pools including the Upper and Lower Robertsons and the Crag Pool fished from the right bank down to the road bridge on the B9176 Evanton - Bonar Bridge road. Below the bridge there are 3 pools fished from the left bank.

Beat 6 - Beat 6 runs down to the boundary of the angling club water next to the golf course. Much of the beat runs through more sandstone and conglomerates with the river creating sections of gorge and pots. This an excellent beat for grilse with some very productive low water pools including the Dam, Miller's, Pool na Poach and the Pot, and along with Beat 5 offers the best chance of a fresh run fish from the firth.

Although the season on the Novar Fishings starts at the beginning of March, the runs of spring salmon are normally from mid-April to early June. The main grilse and summer salmon fishing generally begins in late June/early July, peaking in August and September, but fresh run fish can be caught through to the end of the season in late October.

The Alness is not a wide river, and a 12 to 13 foot double-handed rod is generally sufficient. In summer months, great sport can be had with a 10 to 11ft single-handed rod. Favourite flies for low water conditions are shrimp patterns such as Ally's Shrimp, Yellow Ally's, Cascade Shrimp, Stoat's Tail (and variants), Munro Killer, Willie Gunn and Collie Dog (and variants). Towards the end of the season and in higher water conditions, 1" to 2" tube flies such as Willie Gunn, Findhorn Killer, Ally's Shrimp and Garry Dog are preferred.

There are two cottages available for weekly letting on Novar Estate as well as Ardtalla, a superb sporting lodge that sleeps 18. The estate also offers a high quality driven partridge shoot as well as driven pheasant, rough shooting, duck flighting, walked-up grouse and deer stalking in season.