Typically, September blows hot and cold and this September was no exception, with fish well spread throughout the system the question was whether they would take or not.

Generally speaking, beats nearer the sea tend to do better than those higher up; the reason for this is that fresh fish, so late in the season tend to hold back in the lower half of the river.   This said, there are always some exceptions to the rule, and over the past three seasons there seems to be a slight, albeit very slight, shift in the trend, with sea liced fish being caught as high up as Knockando.   However, fish in this area tend to be older, fish which have entered the river in spring or early summer and are by this time well out of condition and have seen every fly on the planet.   It is strange though, having not been interested in a fly for weeks or even months, how suddenly they will come right back on the take. Most Ghillies would put this down to a change in conditions, such as a sharp frost or a lift in the water. 

There is no doubt that, given the option of where to fish, I would pick the Brae, or Gordon Castle Water during this month, but even here, with pools full of fresh salmon, the curse of September can strike and only lady luck can explain why some rods will catch a fish when it would look like everything has gone dead. 

One such person was Mr Chris Shepherd, having arrived on the Lower castle water quite late in the day, Mr Shepherd, who spends his life manufacturing fly-lines, and who it must be said, had never fished for salmon before, was asked by the Ghillie to fish a pool which had already been fished hard by four very good anglers. Low and behold, within five minutes of starting he was into a fish, ten minutes later, he had the 8 lb fish landed and wondered what all the fuss was about, a typical reaction from a novice who has landed his first under that circumstance.   That however is what happens in September when the fish “Go Off”, it always seems to be the beginner, or the rod throwing a nice short line that catches the fish.   Why? Well we all usually put it down to luck, although after a few celebratory drams, Chris had decided there must have been a fair element of skill involved!

Although figures are not available just yet, it looks very much like the total catch for the year will be over the 10,000 mark, with spring catches showing a slight drop, whilst summer and autumn catches showing an increase.

I will report full on this next month. Although not as good as last year, it would appear that the Five year trend is still up-ward. 

As highlighted in a previous report, all talk now is whether or not, because of bleeding vents, fish which are carrying the parasite will in fact have the ability to spawn, there is a certain amount of concern both here and elsewhere in Scotland and only time will tell, again I will report on this in a later issue.

The sighting of a very large fish during the final week of the season provoked much speculation as to the actual size.   The fish, which was seen in the Upper Arndilly area, was estimated, by it has to be said, very experienced eyes, to be well over 40 and very fresh.   These fish, although not overly common, at one time were caught on a fairly regular basis during September and October in the lower half of the river.   We can only hope that the cycle is beginning to change in favour of these four sea winter giants and that they will again be the talk of the salmon fishing world in the future.

As a foot note to the statement above, most of the fish in this weight bracket were caught in the mid to late 19th century, and mainly caught in early October.   The results of experimental fishing which took place after the season had finished over the past three years, although yet to be published, would suggest that there may be food for thought in keeping the river open, at least the lower half of it, for a further 2 weeks, finishing on the 15th Oct. Now there’s a can of worms!!!

Ian Gordon
Speycaster