River Findhorn Salmon Fishing Season Review 2017

This season review for 2017 is part of my archive series, gathering my original week-by-week fishing reports from the River Findhorn into a single record of the year — the conditions we fished through, the fish we caught, and the people who caught them.

First Silver of the Season

Our first fresh fish came on March 2nd on Altyre Estate. While Leslie Tyson, Ian Gordon and I stood blethering on the bank enjoying the craic, Tom Brown quietly went fishing — and promptly hooked the first fish of the season right in the hot spot of the Roan Pool. A cracking plump sea-liced spring salmon of around 8 lbs., taken on a 1″ Blue Angel tube fly he had apparently borrowed from someone else’s fly box!

Two days later, persistence through a wet and miserable Saturday paid off for David Tisdale, who released our second springer — a classic deep fish of around 10 lbs. from the Roan on his favourite Willie Gunn tube — before heading home for a hot bath and a well-earned dram.

A Superb Spring

March fished beautifully whenever the water settled. On March 10th, Geoff Holloway hooked a magnificent fresh spring fish of around 18 lbs. from the Roan Pool on a 1″ Tigre tube. And on March 15th came one of my own most memorable fish of the year: wading carefully onto the ledge at Soldiers’ Hole, extending the line cast by cast, a solid take mid-stream — and after some long, hard runs, a cracking sea-liced fish of around 17 lbs. carefully beached. Truly the most perfect spring salmon.

Late April felt more like December — gale-force winds, sleet and snow, positively Baltic. Yet it brought one of the happiest weeks of the season, when a party of Norwegian anglers fished the Findhorn for the first time. Johan Peter Oren opened their account with a lovely 9 lb. springer from Palamore Pool on a small Black and Yellow tube, and Morten Taule was rewarded on the last day with a fresh 10-pounder from the top of the Roan.

Low-Water Craft in May

May brought very low, bright water — early starts and evening sessions were the order of the day. Lukasz Materek showed just what patience and versatility can do. On May 8th, after moving a fish to a stripped Sunray Shadow on a single-handed rod in the shallow water of Upper Roan, he watched the whole take unfold before his eyes: a spectacular fight, several jumps, and finally a cracking 14 lb. sea-liced Findhorn springer measured, photographed and released. He added a fresh 12-pounder from the neck of Roehillock the same afternoon on a mini Dee Monkey.

Summer Salmon and Grilse

July opened with the river at a fine height and fresh fish running in good numbers. David Tisdale took a lovely deep summer salmon of around 10 lbs. from the tail of Roehillock on a 1″ Altyre Dog tube, then on July 3rd a superb 16-pounder from the Roan, covered in long-tailed sea lice and straight off the tide. Leslie Tyson kept the scoreboard ticking with fish of 7–8 lbs. from the Roan and a deep grilse from the Meads Stream.

August rain over the Cairngorms and Monadhliaths gave the rivers a welcome lift. The pick of the month was August 21st: David Tisdale released a cracking fresh 15 lb. summer salmon and an 8-pounder from Palamore, and Leslie Tyson added a 9 lb. fish from the same pool — with two more hooked and lost in Roehillock and Roan for good measure.

An Autumn Finale

When the September rains finally broke a dry spell, the river came alive. On September 8th at Glenferness Estate’s Levrattich beat, I stood at the Chain Pool watching fresh fish running through — sometimes two or three in the air at once. The fish had running on their minds rather than taking, but a move down to Altyre brought a heavy fish hooked and lost in the Roan before dark. On September 12th, fishing with David Tisdale as the water fell into order, I finished the season’s reports with a lively cock fish of around 8 lbs. from the Roan Pool.

If you’d like to experience a season like this on these same pools, have a look at my guided salmon fishing on the River Findhorn, or drop me a line about availability.