The second and biggest “recorded” fish of the day was a nice 10lb fish, caught by Mr Andrew Toft at Carron, for which he received a bottle of Glenfarclas as well as a Walkers Hamper.   The final one of the day was caught at Rothes and weighed in at 12lbs.   However, this was not registered in Munro’s tackle shop so was not entered in the competition.   A fact which seems incredible to me given the Ghillie also receives a bottle for heaviest fish. Ghillies refusing free whisky, I’ve never seen it written in the same sentence!!   Anyway, the guy’s loss was Andrew’s gain.

The size of the first fish was small raised some uncertainty around the river as to whether it was indeed a fresh fish.   The fact it was witnessed by the Ghillie, and the size in itself, although small, is not overly unusual, suggests to me there was no doubt at all.   Follow this link for a photo taken of a similar 4lb fish caught in March 09, the scales of which were read by Spey Biologist, Mr Bob Laughton and verified as a 2SW fish.   All of us have seen the condition of Grilse over the past few seasons so it should come as no surprise at all to find smaller MSW fish, especially early springers. 

Although a number of Kelts have been caught, particularly up-stream of Delfur, it would seem there is little sign of any number of fresh fish at the moment.   A far cry from the 21 fish caught by 2 rods fishing below the Fochabers Bridge on opening day 1967!   One interesting fact about this particular day, and the reason I make the analogy was the river was running at a similar level, with the air and water temps similar to that of 2010. Air - 45oF and water 38oF. Obviously this fluctuated somewhat during each day, but, apart from the fish, the similarities were there!   1967, was an interesting year because this was the year everything begun to change with regard to spring fish.   The Greenland fishery had peaked at 850,000 fish, whilst UDN reaped havoc with the remainder of the run.   Anyone interested can read more on this in my Blog.

On what has been, to say the least, a stormy month, the river has produced precious few fish. The final week of the month was in fact heading for a blank throughout the whole river, something I have very rarely witnessed during my 12 years of writing this report, but fortunately was averted by a solitary fish caught on Rothes on Saturday. 

Extremely cold conditions have meant not only few fish running, but also, very short spells during any given day where one could actually fish.   Not so much fish, but “That dammed Grue” has been the main theme of text messages, with jungle drums falling unusually silent during February. Of the dozen or so fish landed, I have not heard of a single one up-stream of Carron. This would follow what some would consider “an old wives tale”, but most would agree with, that fish are held back due to cold water. 

Most fish which have been caught have been taken in the area now commonly known as the golden 5 miles.   It would seem, come rain or shine, ice or not; this is the area most fish have the desire to stop in.   Exceptions to this have been the opening day fish at Carron and another, later in the month, on the Aberlour town water.   The fact of the matter is, historically, every river has beats which perform better than others, something which is totally natural and can be directly linked to the number of Parr being produced in that particular area.   Of course exceptions to this, caused by extreme weather/water conditions exist, but generally speaking, over time these places will always produce the lions share.   Does it surprise, given similar fishing effort throughout the river, most fish are caught here?   Not in the least. Irrespective of the number of fish in the river, Pro Rata, and given “totally natural conditions”, these will always do better than others. 

A few Ghillies have noted that Oystercatchers have not yet started ascending the river in any numbers also.   Anyone working on the river will tell you, on a normal season, the appearance these birds coincide with the beginning of the fishing season.  The fact we are now into March and they have still not appeared in numbers is a sure pointer to the influence of the weather on all things wild.   Taking this on board I feel we should be looking forward to a reasonable spring and with it reasonable runs of Salmon. 

Finally, I would like to mention the revamped Spey Fishery Board Website www.speyfisheryboard.com  which is now being up-dated on a weekly basis, providing readers with a much greater range of information with regard to all aspects of the river, including late availability and a weekly report on fishing’s.

All in all, February 2010 will be remembered for freezing temperatures and not vast quantities of fish running the river. 

April Prospects –
Because of the incredible amount of snow, anglers can expect to find conditions not seen for many years, i.e. Given warm weather, the river will start rising mid way through the day, rods will notice the river turning cloudy, but generally no more than that.   Only a rapid thaw will result in very dirty water.   Take care when wading onto islands or through backwaters to fish as the river can rise quickly on a mild warm day, particularly if accompanied by a wind.   Snow water also has a cooling effect on the river, in such conditions, a good range sinking of lines, as well as flies are a must.   Although feeling warm, the river will resemble Feb /March rather than late April!

Some good Spey Spring patterns can be viewed here on my Gallery and on my Blog.