Opening day 2015, River Tay, Dalmarnock
The story behind the first salmon caught in the UK in 2015!
The alarm clock on my phone made its usual dreadful screeching sound. I had just fallen asleep; that could not be right; I must have set it incorrectly. I reached over and picked up my phone from the bedside table and looked at it; unfortunately it was right. It was 0245 in the morning and we were in a hotel in Darlington. I could hear the wind howling outside and the rain was beating on the hotel room window. My wife was in bed beside me asleep and dead to the world. I turned off the alarm and rolled back over to get another hours sleep. It then dawned on me that it was the 15th of January and the opening day of the salmon fishing season on the mighty River Tay.
Opening day on the River Tay is very special. There is a great sense of anticipation among anglers around what the new season will bring. It’s a day when old friends meet again after the festive period and new friendships are made. It is more of a social event and a day out as often very little fishing is done. My wife and I had booked the Dalmarnock beat for the day. Our good friend Colin Mcfadden had recently just taken over the beat. We have fished the beat for a number of years and thought it would be great to invite some of our friends for a cast on opening day. We had organised a piper for the opening ceremony and a BBQ at lunchtime. We hoped that everyone would have a good time.
I had finished work the previous night and had a four-hour drive down to Darlington. My wife had been in Darlington all week and the only way she would get back in time for the opening ceremony was if I came down and picked her up. We planned to stay in Darlington overnight and then leave very early the following morning, to get back to Scotland in time.
We had to leave early as we were meeting one of our friends in Perthshire at eight. I shook my wife to try and wake her up. My wife did not respond, so I decide to give her a sharp jab in the ribs. To be honest with you this did not go down too well, but it did have the desired effect. She got up rather swiftly and said in an exasperated fashion “we must me be either dedicated or mad!”
Within twenty minutes we were washed and ready to go. A four-hour drive lay ahead of us, so armed with two coffees, we set off. I have to say the weather was atrocious. We drove through heavy showers of sleet and snow. If that was not enough, strong gusty winds were regularly buffeting the car. I did on a number of occasions question whether we were both sane. Why would anyone want to stand knee deep in a cold river on a day like today, trying to catch a fish that does not even feed in freshwater?
As we crossed the border into Scotland, the weather was actually getting worse. A quick look on the SEPA river levels page confirmed that the river was likely to rise through the day. We got home just in time and after a quick shower, we were both raring to go in spite of the weather.
We met our friend Grant who was going to be fishing with us for the day and then drove to the beat. We arrived just before nine. Some of our friends had already arrived and were setting up their rods. It was great to see Colin again. He seemed quite optimistic about the days fishing prospects in spite of the weather and water conditions. The river did appear to be rising, but at least it was reasonably clear. We all sat in the hut enjoying a piping hot cup of coffee and a biscuit. We could hear the wind whistling outside. If anything the wind was getting up. The faces in the hut showed a mixture of emotions. Some of our friends were looking forward to having their first cast of the new season irrespective of the weather, while the others were looking at the people looking forward to having a cast, thinking we were mad!
The Dalmarnock 2015 opening day ceremony
There was a lot of snow on the ground and our piper, Bob, having a coupe could not drive down the track to the hut. Bob for this reason decided to park in the nearest layby and walk the quarter of a mile back to the hut along the A9, in his full Highland dress and with his bagpipes. It was lashing with rain and a number of motorists on the A9 took pity on him and asked him if he wanted a lift, thinking he was a hitchhiker dressed in a kilt! Full credit to Bob, as he appeared at the hut looking as immaculate as ever. All the guests were present, the piper had arrived and the drams had been poured. We were ready to have the opening day ceremony. We all walked down the hill to where the boat was anchored, rods in hand, following the piper. Bob was excellent and added to the atmosphere of the ceremony. The rain was now falling horizontally because of the fierce wind, so conditions were challenging to say the least. After a quick speech and a wee dram to toast the salmon, my wife had the first cast of the season. The 2015 salmon fishing season on the Dalmarnock beat was declared open.
Most of us were concerned about getting back into the warmth of the hut and having another coffee than actually fishing. We all enjoyed another coffee; the craic was good and the hut was lovely and warm, with the log fire roaring. It was the perfect tonic for a cold January morning. From the hut we could see that the river was rising. Colin did not accept this as an excuse and insisted that we all have a cast in spite of the weather. Colin suggested that three of us should fish the upper beat in the morning and then swap with the other guests at lunch time. My wife and I, as well as Grant were allocated the upper half of the beat.
We could not physically get down to the car park on the upper half of the beat. There was so much water that even a four wheel drive vehicle would struggle to get through. We therefore had to park on the track itself and try and walk down to the river. We were wading almost chest deep just walking through the car park. To say that the conditions were against us was a bit of an understatement. We managed to get up on to the high bank. The river was very high and still rising. It was opening day and we owed it to ourselves to have a cast at least for an hour. Due to the high water we were restricted to where we could fish. We decided to fish the very top half of the Dalmarnock pool. The Dalmarnock pool is a great spring pool and regularly produces springers in all heights of water. It can be particularly productive in high water, but surely this was just too high?
We all fished in close proximity of each other. My wife was fishing between myself and Grant. Both Grant and I were using Salmo lures while my wife was fishing with her favourite Vision 110, the Western Clown. The wind was howling down the river and it was quite difficult to cast even with a spinning rod. The salmo lure was swinging around at great speed in the raging torrent that was the Tay. We had been fishing for around ten minutes when my wife said that she was going to have a few more casts and then go back to the hut to warm up. It was just getting too cold for her. I was sure that I would be not too far behind her. The lure of some hot soup and a log fire was becoming more appealing than fishing in a gale. I had not been paying attention and had managed to get my lure stuck on the grassy bank at my feet. I released my lure and cast out again, at which point my wife shouted “Fish!” I looked upstream and her rod was bent double. She had hooked a fish.
Playing the first salmon of 2015
I started to reel in my lure and got it caught around her line with the fish on. This did not impress my wife. I told her not to worry, as it would only be a Kelt. I started to pull at her line with my hands so I could untangle my lure from it. At that point, she swore at me a number of times and said some bad things! I quickly freed my lure from her line and walked up to where she was playing the fish. By this time, Grant had also joined us. I hoped that she would be able to get the fish in quickly as it was freezing cold. I did not want to spend all morning watching my wife playing out an old Kelt. The fish sat and sulked in the main current for a few minutes and then started to strip line of the reel purposefully. It appeared to be a strong fish. Every time my wife got the fish anywhere near the bank it would slowly and steadily swim back downstream. After fifteen minutes of cat and mouse, I finally got a glimpse of the fish and then froze. I looked at my wife with a smile and told her to be careful with the fish. She knew what this meant. This was no Kelt; my wife had just hooked a springer on opening day. To be honest with you, I should have said nothing because this made her even more tense. I could see the mixture of excitement and anguish on her face and she was visibly shaking. The fish then decide just to sit in the main current a third of the way across the river. My wife could not move it. Eventually though, after a further run upstream the fish showed again on the surface. This time there was no doubt that the fish was fresh. The fish then came towards our bank and on to the high bank that was now covered in around three inches of water. This was my chance and I bent over, reached out and grabbed it firmly by the tail. I knew as soon as I held the fish it was an opening day springer. My wife let out an all might roar of delight, which was so loud that it must have been heard in Kenmore!
the first declared salmon in the UK in 2015
We phoned Colin to come and have a look at the fish while we revived it in the water. Whilst this was all happening, Grant was furiously taking pictures. My wife was still shaking whilst holding the fish. Colin arrived five minutes later, but it felt like five hours. He confirmed that the fish was fresh. It had a hard belly and was solid. The fish had been in the river for around a week. After a few more photographs, the fish was returned, swimming away strongly into the murky depths of the magical River Tay. My wife could not hide her delight; she had just caught a salmon on opening day. Colin called the Crockarts tackle shop (where fish caught on opening day are declared) in Blairgowrie. They confirmed it was the first fish of the day reported. I made a few calls to some of my friends who are ghillie’ s in the Highlands, who also said that there had been no fresh fish caught from the Helmsdale and Thurso rivers, which had opened a few days earlier. It was looking like my wife may have caught the first salmon in the UK in 2015. What an achievement, if this proved to be the case!
We got back to the hut and the good news had spread fast. Everyone was over the moon with my wife’s fish. The door of the hut was closed; the log fire was roaring and spirits were high in more ways than one! We enjoyed some homemade soup and burgers. There was much laughter and hilarity, with fishing stories exchanged among us. Colin was on a mission; he wanted to try some harling in the afternoon. The water had risen about a foot but Colin still felt that were was a chance of another fish. Grant, the hardy soul that he is volunteered to go out and fish again. Our friend John, took a little more persuasion but was soon wrapped up and ready to go. The rest of us stayed in the warm confines of the hut for the rest of the afternoon. My wife could not stop smiling which was understandable. It was just after four when the boat got back to the hut. The brave, hardy souls had no success, but at least the beat had been covered well. We all sat in the hut with the light outside fading, reflecting on an amazing day. Everybody had a great day and to catch a springer among the party was the icing on the cake.
When we got home, my wife still could not believe what she had achieved. She said that she was feeling almost numb, as it had not sunk in yet. Not only had she caught the first salmon in the UK in 2015, but it could also be the first time in history the first salmon had been caught by a woman. We lay in bed that night both shattered and it did not take long for us to fall asleep. We were both woken up by a dreadful screeching sound; it was the alarm clock on my phone again. It was 0245, and I had forgotten to turn it off from the previous morning. My wife rolled over still half asleep; eyes closed and mumbled, “I have just been dreaming that I caught the first salmon of the season”. I smiled to myself realising just sometimes dreams can come true!