October Newsletter - Scotland
Via Michael Koch
Lystfisker-liv.dk og Dansk Laksefiskeri.dk
Dear AnglerAs days begin to shorten the salmon season is drawing to a close on many rivers around the country. At long last the colder weather, and a welcome drop of rain, has changed the fishing conditions in favour of the angler.This month's newsletter focuses on late Autumn fishing to suit all budgets and being prepared for your salmon trip. Would you go into an important meeting without the right information? Congratulations to Tillmouth beat, winners for the 3rd consecutive month of the largest salmon caught on Tweed. This week the beat have caught a 33lb salmon, which places them odds-on favourite to win October's too. We start the first of six fishing features about Iceland. Jon Sigurdsson from FishIceland shares with us his favourite places to fish in Iceland for salmon and trout. Whether you are wetting a line or enjoying talking about the 'one that got away' have a great week and remember we are only a telephone call or email away to help you book your next fishing trip. Tight Lines. Anne Marketing Director Channel 4 Filming FishPal have been advising Channel 4's 'Walking Through History' production team. Programme presenter Tony Robinson spent an enjoyable morning filming and fishing on the Tweed at Bemersyde, with head ghillie Ian Farr. Gift Vouchers If you want to give someone a really special present, why not consider a fishing gift voucher from FishPal? They can be used to buy any of the fishing in our booking database and the extent of this can be checked by using any of the search forms on any FishPal powered website or calling our help desk - read more. Largest Salmon Winner Tweed's largest salmon competition for the month of September has been won for the third consecutive month by a rod fishing Tillmouth beat. Andrew Clowes' 30lb salmon wins the Borders Gun Room FishTweed Fish of the month for September - read more. Fish over 20lbs may be contenders for the Savills Malloch Trophy and all fish to be considered for the Award must have been safely returned in order to qualify. An independent judging panel will meet in December to decide the 2013 winners. To enter please follow this link. London Diary DateA celebration of the River Dee will be held in the Saville Club, 69 Brook Street, London on Wednesday 6th November between 6.30 pm and 8.00 pm.Anyone who is interested in coming along to this free event should contact Ken Reid - read more . Accommodation If you are considering visiting any of the rivers on our site for a few days then please remember to look at the range of accommodation on offer in the where to stay section on each website - read more .  For the latest fishing news visit the FishPal Facebook pages. Alternatively share your fishing photographs on our Facebookpages. FishPal App To keep up to date with the latest news from FishPal download our new fishing App here - it's so easy to use. Photographs Top Tip: If you are taking a photograph with your fish, the best shots are typically with the water in the background and holding the fish just above it, hopefully just about to be returned. If you are out of the water, make sure the river is in the background and the fish is held horizontally, not vertically. Please send us your latest catch photographs to |
Autumn Availability The arrival of cooler weather, shorter days and a welcome fire in the fishing hut sees our thoughts turning to Autumn salmon fishing.With rods/permits on popular beats disappearing quickly, we recommend you book a rod alert if you would like to be contacted by email if & when late availability is added to the website. To see the full list of rods available, please go to the top of our Find Fishing page and click the relevant river button. Autumn Affordable FavouritesWe asked our office manager Tom Carter to suggest rivers worth considering for a visit to cast a line for salmon this Autumn.There is excellent fishing throughout Argyll to suit all abilities and at an affordable price, the River Orchy has day permits starting from £25 - Find Fishing. Ayrshire has a wide range of productive salmon rivers. The River Irvine is a spate river with Galston in the mid to upper reaches of the river. There is easy access from Glasgow and the central belt via the M77 which is close by. The river is open until the 16th November and day permits are priced at £22 -Find Fishing. The Galloway system in Scotland's 'forgotten corner' offers some superb sport right up to the 30th November. With rain and falling temperatures the Cree, Bladnoch and the Urr can offer anglers some excellent sport, a day's fishing starts from £20 - Find Fishing. Laxa in Leirarsveit with FishIceland FishIceland are offering salmon fishing on Laxa in Leirarsveit, with full board accommodation, starting from £2,100. Laxa in Leirarsveit is one of Iceland's most prolific salmon rivers, offering excellent fly fishing opportunities across a variety of pools. It has a strong and loyal following of both American and British anglers who come back year after year. The high average catch per rod makes it one of Iceland's top 10 salmon rivers. The river is very "fisherman friendly" with good access across 7 beats to most of the 45 pools. Each beat has both slow and fast running water within a changing landscape. Some of the pools are full of fish throughout the season and are therefore considered by some as Iceland's best 'fly fishing pools' - read more.  Flies to bring At this time of the year the pursuit of Autumn salmon usually requires a fly selection that tends to veer towards brighter colours. As well as traditional patterns, modern fly tying techniques have also inspired a new breed of deadly flies like the Temple Dog and the ever-evolving family of deadly shrimp patterns. Some of the most widely used patterns are Junction Shrimp, Willie Gunn, Comet, White Wing, Garry Dog, Yellow Tosh, Ally's Shrimp, Cascade Shrimp, Plop Fly, Temple Dog, Purple Shrimp and the Thunder & Lightning - checklatest river reports. Each individual beat will have their particular favourites where the boatman or ghillie will be able to advise not only which pattern, but equally important, the correct size of fly to use for a given day. Contact your beat's ghillie, boatman before you visit for the latest news on conditions, flies, and lines. Fishing The River Tyne Anglers Lodge have gained a well deserved reputation among salmon anglers as the number one shop to call for advice about flies, lines and rods to use when fishing the River Tyne. Not only does the shop offer advice to local anglers, international customers telephone too. We contacted Anglers Lodge owner Sandra Hayman and asked her the all important fishing questions. What flies would you recommend for the River Tyne? Size 11 & 9 are the most popular in singles and doubles. Ally Shrimp, Park, Munrow - read more. On the subject of lines, what's the most popular? If a customer is looking for a new line we recommend they bring their salmon rod with them to try the line, we have all our popular lines sitting on reels, ready to try - read more. With availability disappearing quickly, anglers who would like to fish the Tyne before the season closes at the end of the month should visit the FishTyne Find Fishing page. New Advice Leaflet - Catch & Release With stocks on many salmon rivers under pressure, catch and release (C&R) is now widely practised by anglers across Britain. In 2012, 74 percent of rod-caught salmon were released by anglers in Scotland, and 65 percent in England and Wales. .A new leaflet which provides advice on C&R has been produced. This advice is to help anglers ensure that the salmon they catch survive to spawn and boost future stocks -read more. Tay AvailabilityConditions are now Autumnal which has seen catches on Tay improve. With the dip in temperatures and more rain forecast this will benefit the river, but, in general everyone still has to work hard to gain results. The Tay is currently enjoying another impressive season so far.The Tay has entered its trial extension period for the last 2 weeks of the season. It has not been a bad start with over 70 registered on the first day, all fish are being returned - Find Fishing.  Star Tweed WeeksHorncliffe, like the adjoining Ladykirk Fishings, is essentially a low water beat which excels in dry conditions. Its position next to the tidal waters often allows large quantities of fish to build up as they are forced to wait for higher water.Junction - rarely do rods become available on this famous and iconic Tweed beat, this being one of the most prolific beats in Scotland which boasts the famous Junction pool. Anglers fishing this week will have the first option to renew their fishing for the 2014 season. Bemersyde. This beat combines excellent fishing on one of the most stunning locations on the river. Bemersyde are the current winners of the coveted Malloch Trophy, when Jim Reid with the help of the beat's ghillie, Ian Farr, caught a 42lb fish of a life time last November. Please follow the links for the Tweed availability and the latestFishTweed newsletter. Stillwater Trout FishingRainbow trout fishing continues to provide great sport for those anglers who have been flooded off the river and wishing to cast a line.At FishPal HQ we have created a new still water section for each river. Tweed Still waters. Tay Still waters. English Still waters. |