Doubles success
| Duggie and
George triumph at
STONEYFIELD Lochs held their March
Doubles competition last weekend.
THE Loch Ness Singles Charity Fishing
Competition also took place at the weekend.
THE River Oich’s Glendoe Beat accounted
for two more salmon with John Straiton taking one of 13 lb on a black/red/gold
Minnow in Camelon on Monday. Friday’s fish at l0.5 lb came from the same
pool and fell to a Ruby Minnow to Bill Malcolm, who finished off a fine
week grassing three springers.
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WITH an encouraging
number of springers running the Ness system, it was only a matter of time,
river levels permitting, before the first salmon would come off the river
and it happened on Saturday March 20 on the Laggan beat. Henry Dalgetty
took a bonnie 8 lb sea liced fish off the Green Bank on a Waddington in
fairly high water. This first salmon was duly returned to the river.
Last year’s first fish came off the Dochfour beat and, not to be outdone for long, this produced the river’s second and its first of the 1999 season last Monday to ghillie Tom Rattray. fishing a Darter in Culbuie. That one weighed in at 10 Ib. If the river continues to drop, the other beats should see a salmon or two on the bank in April. With the clock change and some milder weather, a little more evening fishing can now get underway. At the top of the system, the River Garry recorded another salmon at 8.5 lb, which was caught by Mr Smith fishing a yellow and black Devon in the Estuary Beat. However, concern has been voiced over the number of salmon taken from the upper Ness system which were carrying seal attack wounds. THE River Moriston is enjoying an excellent
early start to the season with 54 salmon and one sea trout of 7 lb until
March 27. A healthy number of those have been released, which is in keeping
with estate manager Annie Girvan’s conservation message to those fishing
the river. On Monday Douglas Miers was delighted with his first Moriston
salmon of 8 lb, which came to a 2.5 inch Waddington. John MacDonald had
a cracker of 17 lb on a Toby, an excellent sea trout of 7 lb and returned
a salmon of 10 lb. His son Kevin, fishing a small Tube Fly, had two at
11 and 8 lb, the latter also returned.
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 ON
THE Kyle of Sutherland, the Carron is enjoying encouraging runs of springers
with about 70 for the season so far, some 25 or so of those last week.
To date, 14 of those rod caught fish have been retained and taken to the
sparsely populated spawning areas above the Glencalvie Falls in the hope
that they will remain there and spawn successfully later in the year.
This long-term experiment is to assist and enhance spring stocks as the Glencalvie Falls are only passable to salmon if conditions are just right, making this ‘leg up’ a super idea and I do hope it bears fruit. In saying that, they could all drop back in the late autumn and spawn lower down if the mood moves them, but perhaps they will be quite content to stay where they are and spawn successfully in those higher reaches. FURTHER north, the Helmsdale saw a dozen
or so on the bank for their week.
On the Halladale Alan Munro grassed two
last week. The season s total there is now three and remarkably he has
caught all three.
THE Thurso, improving slowly with nine
last week, has fairly good water and adequate stocks behind the Loch More
dam.
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These reports are written and compiled byKenny Macdonald and published every Thursday by,
the Highland News Group, Henderson Road, Inverness IV1 1SP,
in the Highland News, the North Star and the Lochaber News.