River Spey - Delagyle
It was early April and Easter was just around the corner. We thought it would be nice to go away for the Easter weekend and fish a river further a field. We had heard reports that the River Spey had been fishing well over recent weeks. As we had not fished the River Spey this season, we decided to make this our chosen destination. We booked two days on the Delagyle beat, which is located just upstream from Aberlour. We had booked to fish the Saturday and Monday and on Sunday, we were planning to explore fabulous Speyside. A few days prior to our trip, there had been significant snow fall over the Scottish mountains, but the weather for the upcoming Easter weekend was forecast to get milder.
We left early on Saturday morning to head up to the Spey. The conversation between my wife and I during the drive was dominated by melting snow and the possible impact it may have on the river levels. Temperatures had risen by eight degrees, from the previous day. We were hoping that the river wouldn’t be rising because of this. We had already suffered a similar fate on the River Dee a few weeks earlier. Driving up the A9, we could see an abundance of snow on the mountains around Drumochter. We were just hoping that the Cairngorms weren’t as snow laden. As we headed towards Grantown on Spey, we looked towards the Cairngorms and could see a fair covering of snow. With temperatures of 11 degrees, it was more than likely that the snow would be melting.
We stopped in Grantown to get some lunch and a coffee, from a friendly bakers shop and then sat by the Old Spey Bridge, enjoy our morning caffeine fix and admiring the River Spey in all it’s finery. It was only a short drive to Aberlour.
We drove down the track to where the fishing hut was located. We were immediately struck by how secluded the beat was. I caught a glimpse of the pool in front of the hut and said to my wife that I would be more than happy just fishing that pool for the next two days.
David, the ghillie on Delagyle, was already at the beat, with the kettle boiling. He was so welcoming and immediately put us at ease. He was very enthusiastic and said that the water was at a perfect height. There had already been a number of fish caught from the beat over the past few days. Unfortunately though, as we expected, the river was rising slowly and this had to be because of melting snow.
David suggested that we set up two fly rods with sink tips and tube flies, as well as a spinning rod as the water was high. I opted for a two inch gold bodied Willie Gunn copper tube. My wife’s weapon of choice was a Kinnermony Killer. David suggested we fished the bottom half of the beat in the morning. With the high water conditions the tail of the Delagyle and Gean Tree Pool would offer the best chance. David accompanied us down to the bottom of the beat to show us the water. The Delagyle pool is a classical Spey pool with a lovely fast run at the head. The current flows down the middle of the pool then spreads out more evenly. The tail of the pool has some lovely big boulders, which create some mouthwatering boils.
The Delagyle pool
The Gean Tree Pool is located immediately downstream from the Delagyle Pool. The Gean Tree Pool also looked fantastic, situated on a sweeping right-hand bend of the river. The slower water ran close to our bank on the inside of the bend, making it an ideal resting place for a fish in high water. The tail of the Gean Tree Pool was quite narrow and glassy looking. It looked like a great ambush point.
I started fishing the Delagyle pool. The fly was swinging around beautifully in the current, drifting over the likely lies that David had pointed out. I was just waiting for my line to tighten. I could see my wife fishing the Gean Tree Pool and she was covering the water well, with her fly rod. We both fished hard, trying to cover every inch of the pool, but unfortunately, neither one of us managed to get a pull. David came down to see us mid morning and suggested that we had a go in the Pol Ma Cree pool in front of the hut. We walked back to the hut and enjoyed a well earned cup of coffee.
The pool in front of the hut is stunning . The head of the pool has a fast run and most of the current runs along the far bank. In high water, the fish tend to lie close to the near bank and so only a short cast is required. The main body of the pool widens out and there is a lovely even flow. At the tail of the pool, the current picks up and there are numerous boils created by large boulders. I fished the tail of the pool then swapped with my wife and by lunchtime we had both covered the entire pool.
Pol Ma Cree
After lunch, David suggested we fish the Dallbreck pool, which is the uppermost pool on the beat. The Dallbreck pool is a short fast flowing pool. It has a run that transcends down the middle of the pool with calmer water on either side. With the water being high, David felt most of the salmon would be lying closer to our bank. The tail of the pool is much slower, with some lovely glassy patches, where you felt running fish were likely to stop for a breather.
My wife started fishing the head of the pool and I started half way down. My fly was swinging round beautifully and hanging tantalisingly on the dangle. We fished the pool for around an hour, but neither of us made contact. We were both surprised as the pool looked very good. David suggested that we went back downstream for the final hour of the day and fish Pol Ma Cree.
The tail of the Dallbreck pool
When we got back to the hut, we could see the river had risen around four inches since lunchtime. The pool still looked in great order. I started fly fishing at the head of the pool and my wife decided to spin. After ten minutes of starting, my wife shouted "fish!". I looked up to see that her rod was bent and she was indeed into a fish. I walked quickly towards her as the fish was coming close to our bank. It was head shaking on the surface of the water. From the long slender body of the fish, we could tell it was a kelt immediately. It transpired to be a sea trout kelt of around four pounds but at least we ended day one with a bit of excitement.
The following morning was bright and crisp, with the grass laden with dew. We were looking forward to touring around Speyside. After breakfast, we had a walk along the river to take some pictures and started to explore the surrounding area. In the afternoon, we drove up to the Lecht. The temperature had soared to eighteen degrees on what turned out to be the warmest day of the year so far. We were wondering just how much snow was going to melt. Would we be confronted with a rising river in the morning again, hampering our chances of catching a Spey springer?
Morning dawned and after a quick look at the river levels, it was clear that the water had not risen. The river was running two inches lower than it had been when we finished fishing on Saturday. When we got to the hut, David said the conditions were good. The weather was set to be fair for the day. Was this going to be the day we caught our glimmering bar of Spey silver?
Fishing the tail of the Gean Tree pool
David suggested that we fished the bottom half of the beat in the morning. Both my wife and I walked down to the Gean Tree Pool with great optimism. I started at the head with the fly and my wife started half way down the pool. We both enjoyed fishing the pool on Saturday and so felt confident. While fishing the pool, we saw a couple of fresh fish jumping on the far side, but unfortunately they were playing hard to get. My wife then decided to have a go with the spinning rod. She had chosen to use her trusty Vision 110 lure. She was just coming into the tail of the pool, when I heard her shout "fish!". I looked downstream to see her rod bent double. I walked down towards her and caught a glimpse of the fish on the surface of the water. This was clearly not a kelt and definitely this year’s model. The fish remained deep in the water and gave one very long surging run towards the far bank. The fish was using the current to its advantage, as it then decided to sit in the middle of the pool for what felt like an age. My wife had hooked the fish close to the tail of the pool. I was concerned that if the fish ran downstream, it could quite easily leave the pool and head into the rapids below. If this happened, there would not be a happy ending! My wife was aware of the danger and gradually coaxed the salmon upstream into the main body of the pool. This was not easy in the strong current. The fish then decided to take a long purposeful run upstream. It came to the surface for a second time and I could see it was a decent fish. I told my wife not to worry as she had plenty of experience playing big salmon. I looked at my wife and realised instantly that I shouldn’t have said this, as now I could see her visibly shaking. I went upstream and got the net. The fish started to roll tantalisingly on the surface of the water. However, it still was not ready to be netted. My wife started to walk back and managed to get the fish close enough into the bank so I could slip the net underneath it. The Spey Springer was ours!
David was over the moon when he saw the fish. After some nice photos, the fish was released safely, to carry on its journey upstream. We decided to go back to the hut for an early lunch. I have to say lunch always tastes much better when a fish has been caught.
A lovely Delagyle springer
In the afternoon, we went back to fish the Gean Tree pool. I decided to have a go with the spinning rod, using a Vision110 lure. I started fishing two-thirds of the way down the pool. Suddenly from nowhere, I started seeing fresh fish jumping at the tail of the pool. In the space of three or four minutes, I must have seen at least six fresh fish. Obviously this was a pod a salmon running through the beat. This was great to see and a sight I have not seen for many years. I was feeling so confident after seeing the fish as they were showing directly downstream of where I was fishing. I was just waiting for my line to tighten. I had just cast my Vision 110 at a forty-five degree angle and was winding slowly, when I had a brutal take. I shouted to my wife who came down to assist me. The fish came towards me quite quickly but stayed well down. It then decided to try and leave the pool by making a long surging downstream run. I was able to turn the fish just in time and disaster was narrowly averted. The fish then came to the surface of the water and started to shake it's head. I was gutted when I saw the fish. It had a big head and long slender body. It was a Kelt of around twelve pounds. With all the spring salmon showing in the pool, it was sods law that I was going to catch a kelt! It was probably the only Kelt in the pool!
We landed the fish with minimal fuss. At least it was a bit of excitement and I had finally managed to get the rod bent. My wife found it hilariously funny that I managed to catch a kelt with all the fresh fish showing.
It was now mid-afternoon, so we walked back to the hut. We had a cup of coffee and a slice of cake with David. We decided to fish Pol Ma Cree for the last half hour in front of the hut. We thought that the fish we saw earlier might have made there way upstream and be resting in the pool. My wife and I fished hard, but the pod of salmon were now nowhere to be seen.
It was late afternoon and we faced a long drive back to Perthshire, so we decided to call it a day. While packing up, we said to David how much we had enjoyed our two days and how I especially enjoyed fishing the Pol Ma Cree pool. David said Pol Ma Cree translated from Gaelic to English as “pool of my heart”, which seemed rather fitting to me.
We had a great couple of days on Speyside over the Easter weekend. We enjoyed fishing a new beat and David was great company and very knowledgable. To top it all off, my wife had managed to catch her first Spey spring salmon. As usual, on the way home my wife was unbearable with her constant gloating. She made a remark that I should consider giving up salmon fishing as she had caught so many more fish than me this season! I just kept quiet, as little did she know that I had already booked the Delegyle beat again at the end of the month. I am hoping the scene will be set for some sweet revenge. Then Pol Ma Cree truly will be the pool of my heart!