THE River Ness was running fairly high over the final week of the season which finished last Saturday (Oct 14) and the Red Braes on the Inverness Angling Club water came into its own.

THE River Oich's Glendoe Beat produced 13 springers, 1 summer fish and 6 in the back-end giving them a total of 20 for the season.
    Protracted periods of low water and an absence of real fishing effort resulted in this rather low return and certainly doesn't reflect its true potentiaL

NESS-SIDE brought its season's total to 133 with nine last week, eight of which were returned.
    Davie Hulme grassed five over the week with his biggest a Salmon of 15lb which took a 3" red/gold Devon at the Birch Tree; head ghillie Scott MacKenzie had three with his largest 8.5lb, also at Birch Tree; Jimmy D'Ollier had one of 8lb at Above Bay on a 3" Devon.
    With the river swollen, spinning at the top of the Beat was the only real option.
    All in all it was a reasonable season at Ness-side and considering that 1999's total was only 66 it was a vast improvement overall despite August being a bit of a disappointment due to the lack of water.

THE Laggan Beat upped its 1999 total of 29 to 38 with young Christopher Wright taking their only fish of the week. His first ever salmon weighed in at 9.5Ib and came to a Toby off the Green Bank. Two other salmon were lost during the week.

DOCHFOUR anglers enjoyed their second best week of the season with 31 salmon being caught all of which were released, including one sea-liced salmon.
The river rose from plus 4" to plus 33", the highest it has been since the spring of the year. Willie Armstrong accounted for a brace with his best 8lb from Two Stones; Billy Orrock had one; B Kaka 3; D MacDonald 1; J Hamilton had 2 with his best 12lbs. D Fraser grassed 2; Bill Blackhall 1; Gordon Fleetwood 2 and Mike Hassea an excellent salmon of 20lb in Culbuie. Moira Stewart had a couple which included her first ever, a 7lb salmon, in Andrews.

THE Averon was "wall to wall" most of the week but was very fishable on the normally long slow pools by Saturday. I went back there on Saturday and fished Beat 1 with Gordon Hines and we enjoyed a repeat of the previous Saturday by equally sharing four salmon all in the 6lbs class.
    Gordon caught both his fish on worm with mine coming to a 2" Temple Dog brass tube and a red/copper 2" copper tubed fished on a Wetcel 2 - hardly lightweight stuff!
    John MacGow was fishing a sunk line also and a 2" Garry; Dog tube, his favoured fly.
    He hooked three, lost two and released the one he got, a fish of about 6lb.
    Simon Dukes had three fish all about 6lb in the Polnaharrachie down on Beat 3, they all came to a small Shrimp fly, two of them he returned.

LEACHKIN Angling Club are to hold an Open Pike Competition (Singles) on Sunday, October 29 on Loch Oich with many valuable prizes to be won. Entry fee £10, Juniors £3. For details send an S.A.E. t Leachkin Angling Club, c/o 13 Abban Street, Inverness IV3 8HJ

WELL. That's it for this year and I would like to thank all my friends and colleagues in the angling fraternity for assisting in the compilation of "Tight Lines" over the year.
Without their time and effort the column just could not survive to everyone. Many thanks!
Remember your Catch Returns!