River Tay- Kercock
The sun was shining and it was a beautiful late June morning. I was driving through the pretty Perthshire village of Murthly with the music on and not a care in the world, looking forward to my day’s fishing on the River Tay. Then it suddenly dawned on me; I had forgotten an important piece of fishing tackle, the rods!
My wife and I had booked to fish the beautiful Kercock beat on the River Tay. I had built up the rods the night before as we often carry them on the car when travelling short distances from home. My wife and I were driving to the beat in separate cars as she was leaving at lunchtime to get ready for a girls night out in Perth. I was still in the shower when she left for the beat and the last thing I remember her saying was not to forget the rods and the lunch bag. Well, I had forgotten both. So after a quick U-turn in the village, I pulled over at the side of the road to call my wife and let her know that I would be late. Now how was I going to shift the blame for this one on her? No, it was my fault and I was going to have to take full responsibility. I mean how cross could she be? She only had the morning to fish and now she would be starting an hour later? I pulled my phone out from my trouser pocket and was just about to deliver the good news when I noticed I had a text message. It was from my wife and read, “Got the rods and lunch hun xxxx!” I heaved a sigh of relief as now I could look forward to the rest of my day.
I had been speaking to my good friend and Head Ghillie at the Kercock beat Gary Harkin the day before and he was telling me that there were decent numbers of fish in most of the pools on the beat. With good weather forecast the scene was set for a fine day.
The legendary Dungeon Pool on Kercock
My wife was already enjoying a coffee when I arrived at the hut. When I told her what had happened, she found it hilariously funny. We both sat on the bench outside the magnificent fishing hut soaking up the stunning views of the River Tay and the Perthshire hills beyond. It was good to see two gentlemen from France also fishing the beat. They had never salmon fished before and their enthusiasm was infectious. Their Gaelic flair and passion was certainly ignited when they saw a huge fish jump in front of the hut in the Gean Tree pool. They were champing at the bit to get started. Gary had allocated the Cottage Stream pool for my wife and I to fish in the morning.
The Cottage Stream
The Cottage Stream is one of my favourite pools for fly fishing on the River Tay. It is almost Dee like in character. It has a lovely fast run that comes in at the head of the pool and meanders along the far bank. The pool is easily covered as it is not wide by Tay standards and the wading is relatively straight forward with only gravel to contend with. When fishing the head of the pool, the fly swings around at just the right speed and hangs tantalisingly on the dangle. You are just waiting for your line to tighten. The inky black tail of the pool is much deeper and given adequate water, fishes well with the fly and spinner. As the Cottage Stream is quite narrow, you get the feeling that you can cover every fish in the pool with the fly rod. This is quite a unique feeling when fishing a pool on a river the size of the mighty Tay. My wife and I decided to work as a team. I was going to fish the fly at the head of the pool and then slowly work my way down and she was going to fish a Vision 110 in the deeper water towards the tail. My weapon of choice for the fly rod, was a lightly dressed small three quarter inch Cascade Cone head variant, coupled with a floating line and anti-skate tip. I fished the head of the pool like Gary had always advised, starting with a short line then slowly lengthening it. I was careful not to wade too deep as the fish can often lie quite close to the bank. It had now clouded over and with a light downstream breeze, conditions seemed perfect. I saw a couple of fresh fish jumping just below where my wife was fishing and she was covering them well. She then came up and fished behind me, following me down with her Vision 110. By midday, we had both drawn a blank. I was surprised as the pool looked in great condition and there were clearly fish around. After a quick chat, we decided to change tactics. My wife fished the fly but changed to very lightly dressed size twelve Silver Stoat. I decided to use my wife’s spinning rod with a small ruby red floating devon. We both covered every inch of the pool again but neither of us got a touch. Gary came down to see us just before lunch and he was just as surprised as us when we told him that we had drawn a blank. We went back to the hut for a bite to eat. My wife would be heading home after lunch to get ready for her night out, so she had finished for the day.
The plush Kercock lunch hut
Lunch was a jovial affair. Our friends from France were having a great time. They had seen plenty of fish but like us, made no contact. It was encouraging to hear that one of our fellow anglers had caught a lovely fish of around fourteen pounds at the top of the beat. A new found wave of optimism swept through the hut for the afternoon. I decided to tease my wife after we heard the news of the fish being caught. Was she sure that she wanted to leave the beat early for a night out? She was having none of it and was confident that I would catch nothing in the afternoon. Now that’s what I call having confidence in your husband's ability!
My wife left after lunch, heading home to get ready and hit the bright lights of Perth. Gary and I had a discussion around tactics over a cup of coffee and a rather moreish slice of white chocolate cake. Gary felt that I should fish the Lower Gean Tree pool just below the hut in the afternoon and persist with the small ruby red floating devon. Now, I have fished Kercock for a number of years and learned quickly that only a fool would ignore Gary’s advice. Gary had seen a number of fish moving in the pool through the course of the morning and so prospects looked good for the afternoon.
Looking down towards the Gean Tree pool
The Lower Gean Tree pool looked inviting. The head of the pool is quite slow and deep but as you move down, the current picks up and the pool becomes narrower. At the tail of the pool, there is a deep channel close to the near bank where most of the fish lie. The great thing about the pool is that it does not require any wading. I was fishing down the pool, in a world of my own absorbing the beauty of my surroundings. The sun was shining and a few puffy white clouds dotted the deep blue sky on the horizon. I could see two Canada geese occasionally dipping their heads in the water, trying to keep cool on the far bank. I was covering every inch of the pool and nearing the tail when my phone rang. It was my wife letting me know that she was ready to paint the town red. She laughed when I told her that I still had not made contact with a fish. I could tell that she was convinced that I was going to return home empty handed. I didn’t care, the sun was shining, the Osprey was hovering high overhead and even the occasional salmon was beginning to make an appearance. If only I could catch a fish and prove my wife wrong!
I approached the tail of the pool where the current picked up quite significantly. As my devon was swing around into the deep channel, I could feel my weight lifting up from the river bed. I therefore decided to change to a slightly heavier weight. While I was in the processes of changing my weight, I saw a fish jump above me at the head of the pool and then another towards the far bank. Both fish looked like they were moving upstream. I cast out my devon with the heavier weight and it could have been no more than three seconds before I got a savage take. The heavier lead must have just touched the bottom when the rod buckled violently. The fish immediately cart wheeled out of the water. It was a lovely clean fish of around seven pounds. The fish then decided to make a surging run downstream using the current to its advantage. Thankfully, I was able to turn the fish by applying some side strain and it started to come back up into the main body of the pool. I was concerned that the fish was lightly hooked as the devon could have only been in the water a few seconds before the fish had taken it. The fish then decided to head for the far bank. I was so glad to see Garry arrive with the net at this point. I maintained tension on the fish and finally it appeared to be tiring as it was coming up to the surface more often. I managed to get the head of the fish up on to the surface of the water and guided it into Gary’s net. The fish was lightly hooked and as soon as it was netted the devon dropped out from its mouth. We were both delighted and after a quick photograph the fish was released. I could not wait to tell my wife, but why spoil her night out?
A nice summer Tay salmon
I fished down the Lower Gean Tree pool again and saw fish at regular intervals. It was now nearing five. I headed up to the hut for a coffee. Our French friends had only planned to fish until mid afternoon as they had limited time in Scotland and were wanting to experience the country, but they had enjoyed themselves so much they stayed for the entire day. They had also seen some fish in the afternoon but unfortunately failed to make contact. They were heading for Inverness later that evening in the search of Nessie!
A nice release of a seven pound salmon
As I had no plans that evening apart from watching my “Only Fools and Horses” DVD box set coupled with a microwave meal, I took up Garry’s very kind offer of an evening cast. There was method to my madness though as I had spotted a rather nice looking chocolate bar in his fridge in the hut. I explained to Garry that if I was going to fish on in the evening, I would need sustenance. He grudgingly agreed to lend me the bar of chocolate!
The other guests had left and after a quick coffee and a sugar hit I felt reinvigorated. It had turned into a nice evening and pale grey clouds had now replaced the acres of blue sky. I fancied fishing the fly, so Gary suggested that I fished the Cottage Stream again and the have a cast in the Croys before dark. I fished the Cottage Stream with size twelve Kylie shrimp but failed to generate any interest, in spite of seeing plenty of fish. I decided to spend the last hour fishing the Croys pool.
The Croys is another productive pool on the Kercock beat. The pool has a lovely even flow running down the entire length of the pool. As the name would suggest the pool has two croys that create great lies in the higher water. The pool has a number of large boulders dotted around the riverbed, which produce dark inviting glassy boils around which the fish lie. I saw a number of salmon moving as well as a few sea trout but could not get my fly line to tighten. I looked at my watch and it was almost half past ten and the light was fading fast.
A stunning sunset at Kercock
I headed back to the hut and enjoyed a coffee with Gary. He handed me a beautifully crafted card which anglers receive when they catch a salmon at Kercock. It had my name on it and the weight of my fish. It was a lovely personal touch from a classy salmon beat. I could not wait to show my wife but by now she would be most likely on the cocktails!
I got home just after midnight and made some toast. My phone rang and it was my wife. She sounded surprisingly sober and announced that she would be coming home shortly. I watched some TV and went to bed after having thoroughly enjoyed my day.
A classy memento of my successful day at Kercock
I was rudely awakened about an hour later by my wife sitting on the side of our bed eating a Big Mac with chips and ketchup. This was not a pretty sight, I can tell you! She had managed to smear sauce all over the bed sheets as well adding in a liberal helping of salt for good measure. I stretched over to my bedside table and waved my impressive Kercock congratulations card at her. I have never seen my wife sober up so quickly in my life. She took the card from my hand, looked at it and for once was speechless after having a drink. A night out in Perth, or a day out at Kercock? No contest really!