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Why fish the Spey

 

The River Spey is a jewel amongst some of Scotlands finest salmon rivers, not only for sport, but also for its picturesque scenery and its famous Whisky distilleries.

It is one of Scotland's big four rivers and anglers come from all over the world to fish here, many wanting to visit the home of the famous 'Spey cast'.

The river starts to fish from opening day, with good runs of fish coming in from the end of March and run consistently until summer.

September is an interesting month with many salmon in the river, but can prove very difficult to catch!!

 
 

About the river

The River Spey is one of the largest rivers in Scotland, having a total catchment of 3008km2. The river network extends to some 36400km2 of which the main stem comprises 157km. From its source, Loch Spey (350m above sea level in the Monadhliath Mountains), the river travels in a northeasterly direction to discharge into the Moray Firth at Tugnet. In comparison with other UK rivers the Spey is ranked eighth in terms of mean annual flow, seventh in terms of its length and ninth in terms of catchment area.

A feature unique to the Spey is its rejuvenated character. The upper catchment is relatively steep as is the lower river downstream from Grantown. However, the middle part is characterised by a broad meandering channel, wide flood plain and is relatively slow flowing due to the low gradient. This area, known as the Insh Marshes, is more similar to a lowland river in form.

The Meteorological Office currently monitors rainfall throughout the catchment at 26 sites. Mean monthly rainfall indicates that rainfall is generally highest in the upper catchment and lowest on the Moray coast. In general most of rainfall occurs from August through to February and is driven by frontal systems. Much of the precipitation during winter can lie as snow, which in the higher altitudes can become semi-permanent snow packs. These play an important role in maintaining flow levels well into summer and give the Spey an essentially alpine flow regime.

The famous Telford Bridge at Craigellachie.

Water quantity and river flow is extensively monitored by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) using an array of gauging stations throughout the river. The range of flows experienced by the Spey is considerable, from 9.6 cubic metres per second to 1675 cubic meters per second (recorded during a major spate in August 1970). The lowest flows are generally recorded in summer although severe frosts can also considerably reduce winter flows. There is no general season for floods.

In common with many Highland rivers, the waters are low in nutrients and, with a lack of major industrial developments within the catchment, the Spey has remained fairly free of pollution. Indeed the catchment of the Spey is considered to be almost 'pristine'.

 

Anglers fishing the Castle Grant beats near Grantown upon Spey.

 

The Spey is similar to many Scottish Highland rivers and supports only a limited number of fish species. These include: Atlantic salmon; trout as migratory sea trout and resident brown trout; European eel; Arctic char; pike; minnow, three-spined stickleback and flounder. In recent years a number of local lochs have been stocked with rainbow trout, which have subsequently found routes into the Spey itself. However, there is no evidence that they have established a breeding population.