River Findhorn Fishing Report – July 2025

River Conditions and Initial Success (July 21st)

After many weeks of low river levels and prolonged dry weather, The River Findhorn was finally blessed with a period of heavy rainfall for the week commencing July 21st. The river levels had started at 6″ on the Forres gauge that morning but slowly soon began to rise from the upper Findhorn and by late afternoon had risen to 1’4″, which we hadn’t seen for many weeks!

Mark Rodick and Greg Stone Party – First Day Success

The Mark Rodick and Greg Stone party had booked 2 rods, for 3 days, to fish at Altyre Estate, through successfully bidding at the Atlantic Salmon Trust auction last October. Having never fished at Altyre previously they booked David Johnstone to guide them for their first day at Altyre. As the river was rising steadily and by late afternoon, Greg managed to hook and release a fine fresh Summer salmon of around 7 lbs from Palamore Island pool and Mark was rewarded with a feisty sea trout of around 2 lbs from the tail of Palamore.

Challenging Conditions and Recovery (July 22nd-23rd)

High Water and Unfishable Conditions (July 22nd)

By Tuesday July 22nd the River Findhorn had risen dramatically overnight and was reading 4’2″ on the Forres gauge and running extremely dirty and unfishable. However it started falling away and clearing slowly throughout the day and by late afternoon it had fallen by around 1′. So fishing conditions were looking promising for the next day!

Improved Conditions but Tough Fishing (July 23rd)

By July 23rd river levels had fallen reading 1’4″ on the Forres gauge and with water clarity was much improved. Reports from Mark and Greg had suggested that they had seen good numbers of fresh salmon and grilse running, but unfortunately no offers!

Exceptional Grilse Fishing (Mid-Week Success)

Ian Neale’s Outstanding Session at Soldier’s Hole

Ian Neale was fishing on the upper beat after lunch and headed up to the Soldier’s Hole, where, fishing off the upper ledge, he soon hooked his first fish, a cracking fresh grilse of around 5 lbs on a ¾” Purple Cascade tube. Shortly afterwards, another fresh grilse of around 4 lbs was hooked, also from the ledge.

Continued Success at Soldier’s Hole

By mid-afternoon, there were some good numbers of fish running through the pool and another strong fresh fish of around 6 lbs was hooked from the very tail of the Soldier’s Hole. What an amazing great few hours of sport and wonderful to see our beloved River Findhorn producing such good numbers of grilse once again.

Craig Alexander’s Success at Palamore

Craig Alexander managed to hook and release another fresh grilse of around 5 lbs from the tail of Palamore on the following day.

Falling Water and Continued Success (July 25th)

By July 25th river levels had fallen away and reading 6″ on the Forres gauge. David Johnstone was fishing with Scott Broad, who had never fished on the River Findhorn previously. They both managed to catch and release another couple of grilse of around 3 lbs each between them, which was Scott’s first fish of the season, after several blank outings on the River Dee and Spey earlier this season.

Weekly Summary

It had been a truly impressive week for the River Findhorn overall, with a total of some 75 salmon and grilse up to 18 lbs, being caught and recorded from the Fish Pal, River Findhorn, subscribing proprietors.

Richard Ashby’s First Salmon Experience (July 28th-29th)

First Day Success at Roan Pool (July 28th)

By Monday July 28th, and with no further rainfall over the week-end, river levels had fallen back to 4″ on the Fish Findhorn Forres gauge. I was delighted to welcome another newcomer, Richard Ashby to the River Findhorn at Altyre Estate. He had been only salmon fishing for the last two years but had clearly mastered the skills of competent Spey casting. We started off at the top of the Roan pool on the lower beat, with a small cone head black and orange tube on a 5′ intermediate sinking tip line. It was soon very apparent that the pool had some good numbers of fresh fish running through. So, It wasn’t too long before he hooked into his first ever salmon, a very hard fighting fresh grilse of around 5 lbs and just off the last high tide. He was truly delighted!

Second Day Success at William’s Run (July 29th)

By Monday July 29th and river levels were falling away a little further, just 3″ on the Forres gauge. Another start at the top of Roan pool, but it was a little quieter and the fish had obviously moved on upstream. As the day progressed after lunch, it was also getting a little brighter and warmer! I thought that there should still be a good chance in William’s Run on the upper beat and sure enough within a couple of casts and another solid take and it was “Fish On”! Always a challenging place to hook a fish here with all of the hidden underwater sandstone ledges, but Richard played it well keeping a good tight control and before long I was able to slip the fish into my waiting net. Another cracking deep fresh grilse of around 5 lbs for Richard and the big smile said it all!

Looking Ahead

River levels continued to fall away throughout the week and with daily air temperatures rising again with bright sunshine, there were no other fish recorded. As we move into the first full week of August we still have another two months of the salmon fishing season ahead of us here in Speyside.

Booking Information

We still have some availability for between 2 – 4 rods at Altyre Estate, River Findhorn, so please do contact me [email protected] for information of costs and available dates. We are also now taking enquiries and new bookings for the 2026 season on the River Findhorn, River Spey and the River Dee.