Latest from Lethen Estate
Weekly Report Monday 23rd September 2024
The Dunearn party reported the start of the week was difficult with low water. They all had follows but no connections on hitch flies, a Red Frances and a shrimp fly. The downpour arrived on Tuesday and on Wednesday afternoon Gordon Cameron caught a 6lb salmon that was in good condition and swam away strongly. It took a Skull Head tube at the bottom of the main Garden Pool run. This on a day when the river rose 3 feet and dropped about an inch an hour and the fish were seen running. On the Daltra Beat George Middlehurst caught a 6lb Salmon at 10am at the tail of Dalnashaugh pool on a red Ally Shrimp. After a good fight it came beautifully to the net and swam away strongly. David Watson followed this with a 3lb sea trout on a 3" Orange Tube fly at 11am at the tail of Daltra pool on his last cast and while he was reeling in to move on. It was released and swam away strongly. Jason McCruden was out on the Altnahara Beat after work and reported the river was a perfect height for the tail of Boat, where he netted 6 fish between 4pm & 7pm. Three were grilse with two around 5lb and another at 4lb. Then there was an 8lb and 10lb salmon and finally a 13 pounder. All were on a 5ft intermediate tip and small Findhorn tube. Jason said it took him 5 years to get his first Findhorn fish and 20 years to get 5 or more in a day on Altnahara!
Thursday on the Daltra beat George Middlehurst landed 3lb grilse on a red Ally Shrimp from the tail of the Loop at around 6pm, and it was safely released. Jack Christison reported an exciting day on the Dunearn beat with 5 fish landed. First Jack Christison landed a 6lb fish in Peter's Pot on a small Orange Pig and then he landed a 10lb and a 12lb salmon in Lady Mary's on a size 8 Shrimp double. Scott Mackenzie landed a 7lb salmon in Morgan's Haugh on a size 8 Cascade and then another 7lb salmon in March Stream on the same fly. All fish were safely released.
The unsettled water levels on Friday put the fish in a difficult mood, they were just pulling the fly gently and wouldn't fully commit. On the Daltra beat on Friday Harry Pickering had an exciting and frustrating day. First he lost an estimated 10lb salmon in the throat of Dalnashaugh at 10am after plenty of acrobatics, and then he lost a very large 17lb+ salmon in the middle of Whin pool at 1pm. Later in the day George Middlehurst landed a 9lb hen fish in the tail of the Whin pool at 4:30pm on a Willie Gunn tube and it swam away strongly after a quick picture. On the Dunearn beat Jack Christison had more success with a 6lb salmon in March Stream on a 1" Junction Shrimp and Scott Mackenzie scored again with a 7lb salmon from Tinker's on a 1" Willie Gunn. Both were safely released.
Saturday on the Dunearn beat Jack Christison landed a magnificent 14lb salmon in Green Bank on a 1" Willie Gunn and Iain McInness landed a 10lb salmon in Polnachesse on a 2" Sunray Shadow. Both were safely returned.
On the morning of Monday 30 September Glyn Phillips managed a 9lb salmon from Loop on the Hitch fly, before losing one in White Stream. The river was fairly quiet but it was an enjoyable end to the season.
It was an excellent end to a promising season. The cooler temperatures and mixed weather have benefited the river and our season total of 208 is our best since 2016.
Latest from Ian Neale, Altyre Estate, Summer report
Through-out July the FIndhorn has enjoyed superb runs of grilse & large summer salmon moving through our beats at Altyre Estate and Upper Home at Darnaway, on the back of excellent river levels and conditions. The fish have been in pristine well fed condition and have offered some great summer sport to all of our guests.
I recently had the pleasure of guiding Mark Hammond for his first ever fishing trip. Having never been salmon fly fishing before, Mark soon got to grips with the spey casting technique and landed his first ever salmon (grilse) of around 5lbs from Palamore Pool. On day two, good numbers of fresh summer salmon were running through Altyre following rainfall in the Findhorn catchment the previous day. Mark hooked and lost four fish from the Upper beat before lunch, but was rewarded with a cracking fresh grilse of around 5lbs from Roan Pool on Altyre Estate, lower beat in the afternoon. A great first experience of salmon fishing for Mark!
Ian Neale, Altyre Estate, River Findhorn.
www.speycaster.net
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