River Alness
It was the end of October and my wife Sam and I were looking forward to our annual week’s fishing on the River Alness. We have now fished during the last week of the season with friends on the river for around fifteen years. Over that time the fishing has been variable and as always, water dependent. During some years, our party has caught in excess of sixty fish and on others week's just a few. We fish on the Novar Estate Water, which has six four-rod beats rotating on a daily basis.
Over the years, the fishing has become secondary and now it is a time, when old friends come together to enjoy good food and wine, excellent company, spending some much-needed time together; so, there is a lovely relaxed feeling to proceedings. We had six rods on the river this year, which meant that each day we had a beat and a half to explore. We would be staying at the wonderful Fryrish Lodge, which is located on the estate and just a stone’s throw away from the river.
We all arrived at the lodge late on Sunday afternoon. At the beginning of the week, there would be six members in the party but only five fishing. As the week progressed, various friends would come and go. Sam and myself, Graham and Bobby and Andy and Nicola were sat around the kitchen table enjoying a refreshing gin & tonic when Fishery Manager Roger Dowsett came to visit us at the lodge to give us our beat rotation for the week ahead. We were delighted to hear from Roger that the water was considerably higher than last year and that decent numbers of fish had been caught during the previous week. More importantly, Roger informed us that Loch Morie, which is located at the top of the River Alness and feeds the river was over half full. This meant that through the course of the week Roger could let out compensation water from the loch ensuring we had decent fishing conditions. This was music to our ears as last year, very low water coupled with warm air temperatures made fishing difficult, to say the least.
A stunning early morning view from Fryrish Lodge
We all enjoyed a few more gin & tonics as Sam had found a recipe for a strawberry gin cocktail, which was very moreish. After a hearty meal of beef stew and dumplings and a few drams, we retired to bed a bit later than we should have!
Monday morning dawned dry and cool. To be honest, none of us were up for an early start, especially after the over indulgence of the previous night. Sam and I would be sharing Beat 3 with Andy, while Graham and Bobby had two rods on Beat 4. It was great to see the river again. The Alness is both beautiful and dramatic in equal measure. It is very intimate in nature and typifies a Scottish Highland river. Sam and I were going to fish the top half of the beat while Andy fished further downstream. As it was day one, we decided to build up all the rods that we would require for the week. This consisted of two eleven-foot trout rods with sink tip lines, as well as a twelve-foot rod. Sam and I were intending to do the bulk of our fishing with the trout rods as the water was quite low and using lighter lines would cause less disturbance and allow for better presentation on the water. We also assembled a twelve-foot rod with a floating line which was ear marked for stripping Sunrays or Monkey flies.
The Dalreoch Falls Pool
We decided to start at the top of the beat and work downstream. I started in the beautifully scenic Dalreoch falls pool, while Sam fished immediately downstream from me on the shingle bend pool. My eleven-foot trout rod was coupled with a midge tip eight weight fly line and an inch-long Cascade variant bottle tube. Even before I started, I saw fish moving. The Dalreoch Fall pool usually holds decent numbers of fish, especially in October. It has a good steady flow down the entire length of the pool and the tail looks so fishy. In the past, I have caught a number of fish from the tail of the pool. I started fishing and regularly saw salmon splashing all around me. I covered the tail and the line was swinging around in the current like a dream. I was just waiting for the line to tighten but unfortunately, this did not happen. I decided to fish the pool down once again but this time figure of eight the fly line, just to give the fly some added movement. I fished the pool down and had just got to the tail of the pool once again when I got the gentlest take. The line then tightened and I was into a fish. The small fish fought well, initially remaining deep and stubbornly hugging the far bank. It was great sport on my trout rod. Sam came to assist me as she could see the rod tip bent and gyrating furiously. The fish had given a good account of itself before my wife tailed it. It was a coloured grilse around four pounds in weight but very welcome nonetheless. We had only been fishing for around forty minutes and had already landed the first fish of the week.
The first fish of the week
We fished three other pools through the course of the morning and continued to see fish but touched nothing else. By now, above us the sky was cloudless and the sun was shining straight down the river. We all met on the hut at Beat 3 for lunch by the prolific Stones pool. Unfortunately, nobody else had yet made contact but plenty of fish were being seen. Graham and Bobby were keen to explore Beat 3 in the afternoon as was Andy, so Sam and I went downstream to Beat 4.
Beat 4 has to be one of the most spectacular stretches of water on the Alness. It is a very dramatic beat as you are regularly fishing in front of high cliff faces. My wife and I decided to concentrate our efforts on the Ravens Rock and Upper Ravens Rock pools. Both these pools are a delight to fish with the fly. We fished hard through the course of the afternoon to no avail. By the time half past four came, the temperature started to drop rapidly, so we decided to call it a day.
Casting a line on the dramatic Ravens Rock Pool
That evening at the lodge we dined on mince and tatties and enjoyed apple flavoured gin and tonic cocktails. This was another one of Sam’s new creations, which was gratefully received. We all went to bed merry and looking forward to fishing Beat 6 the following day.
We awoke to the hardest frost of the year to date on Tuesday morning. There was a layer of ice almost half an inch thick on all the vehicles outside the lodge. This was good news as often a hard frost makes the fish aggressive and more inclined into taking a fly.
Beat 6 is the furthest downstream beat on the river before the Association Water. In the past, we have caught a number of fresh fish from the beat, unsurprisingly due to its close proximity to the sea. Sam and I decided to fish the top of the beat while Graham and Bobby fished the lower part. Sam and I covered a number of decent looking pools to no avail. We saw the odd fish in each of the pools. Just before lunch, I was fishing the delightful Grilse Run when my line suddenly tightened unexpectedly. I lifted my rod and the fish was on. Unfortunately, this was only a brief encounter as the small fish immediately jumped out of the water and threw the hook. Never mind!
Just waiting for the line to tighten on Beat 6
We enjoyed hot bacon rolls at lunchtime, which Graham expertly cooked on a portable stove on the banks of the river. After lunch, Sam and I fished the lower half of the beat. There was so much nice fly water to explore and we both covered the pools to the best of our ability but failed to get a pull. We decided to call a halt to proceeding half way through the afternoon and head back to the lodge for drinks. Why not? We were on holiday!
Wednesday morning was a much milder affair. Indeed, it was far from cold and frosty as it almost felt balmy. We had four rods on Beat 1 and two rods on Beat 5. In the morning Sam and I with Andy explored Beat 1. Beat 1 is the upper most beat on the river. It is almost three miles long and can comfortably accommodate four rods. Usually in October, large numbers of fish congregate in the beat before heading into the loch. Beat 1 is located in a stunning setting well up in the hills. It is much more open than many of the other beats and the scenery is truly breath taking. We all fished hard through the course of the morning covering a number of pools. We saw fish in the Ferry Pool but they were proving to be reluctant takers. I still had the same fly on from Monday but was beginning to lose faith so changed to a small lightly dressed yellow and orange cone head. Sam continued to have faith in her inch-long gold bodied Willie Gunn copper tube. It was quite an uneventful morning. Graham and Bobby met us at lunchtime and they had not fared any better. After lunch, the ladies decided to head into town for some retail therapy while myself, Andy and Graham headed back down to beat 5. We fished half a dozen pools between us but when I received a text from Sam stating that she intended to make banana gin cocktails, we all made a hasty retreat to the lodge!
The following morning we all woke up slightly worse for wear as the cocktails had gone down too well. Our good friends David and Mhairi were going to be joining us for the day. David is a ghillie on the River Spey and as his season had finished a month earlier and so he was looking forward to wetting a line. It was great to catch up with David and Mhairi over a magnificent breakfast cooked by Sam. We had four rods on Beat 4 and 2 rods on Beat 3. Graham and Bobby were keen to fish Beat 3, so we headed down to Beat 4. David and Mhairi were quite taken aback by the spectacular scenery. With the sun beating down, Raven Rock looked spectacular. David and Mhairi fished the lower part of the beat while my wife and I fished the top of Beat 3. Surprisingly we saw very fish. By now I had gone through a number of flies as had my wife. We all enjoyed a nice dram on the banks of the Ravens rock pool at lunchtime. The craic was great in spite of the fishing being difficult. Graham and Bobby had fared no better up on Beat 3. Sam, David and I decided to go up to Beat 3 in the afternoon leaving Graham and Booby on Beat 4. This would at least let David see a bit more of the river. David started fishing the Ace Pool on Beat 4 while Sam and I fished Stones. Through the course of the afternoon, there was very little activity.
A sunny October afternoon on Beat 3
Just before the light began to fade, I decided to head up to fish the Ace Pool. I had resorted back to my trusty Cascade bottle tube variant. My wife had finished fishing for the day and was sitting in the car watching me. I had not been fishing more than a few minutes when the line was ripped out of my hand. Unexpectedly, I had hooked a fish and again it was on the trout rod. The fish tore off towards the far bank stripping line from my reel at will, staying deep. Initially, it felt like a good fish. Then the head shaking started. I was convinced that I was going to lose the fish. By now Sam was at my side. The fish fought at close range and came to the surface. It was a coloured fish of around five pounds. After one further run, the fish was tailed. It was the first fish I had caught since Monday morning. I did not expect that I would have to wait until Thursday afternoon to get my second after what was a promising start to the week. That’s salmon fishing I suppose.
A fish caught from the Ace Pool
We all had a big party at the lodge that night. Two of our other close friends George and Graeme joined us. A tasty homemade spaghetti Bolognese was devoured and washed down with copious amounts of red wine. It must have been around half past three when we turned in!
A hearty breakfast being enjoyed by all
Friday morning was a bit of a blur, to say the least. After a hearty cooked breakfast, we are almost right as rain. Andy and Nicola were leaving today, so we said our farewells and headed for Beat 2. Beat 2 is the home of the famous Junction Pool, which in October holds large numbers of fish. George decided to fish the lower half of the beat, while Sam, Graeme and I fished the top part. We saw plenty of fish through the course of the morning. At lunchtime, it was great to hear that George had a caught a fish which by all accounts put up a good fight. Graeme and I fished the lower half of Beat 2 after lunch as Graham and Bobby were still fishing Beat 6. I fished the Dyke Pool, Alder Run and Meadow flats without even a pull. I saw plenty of fish but they just did not seem to be in the mood. I was walking back to where Graeme was fishing. I suddenly heard him shout my name. As I came around the corner, I could see that his rod was bent double. He had hooked a fish in the Alder Run. This was the first fish he had hooked all season. The fish was almost played out as I arrived by his side. After one powerful run downstream, I managed to tail the four-pound coloured cock fish. Graeme was over the moon and rightly so.
Graeme lands his fish
When we got back to the lodge that night and there was more cause for celebration as Bobby had caught her first ever salmon on Beat 6. It was a cock fish of around four pounds. Everyone was over the moon and the champagne was cracked open and flowed all night. What a day it had been on the Alness!
Saturday was the last day of our week. Some of us were keener than others to get back on the river. Graham and Bobby had celebrated well into the early hours of the morning and there was no sign of life from their quarter of the lodge. Sam, George and I decided to hit the river mid-morning. George would be fishing on Beat 1 and then meeting us in the afternoon on Beat 5. Beat 5 is another productive beat on the Alness. It consists of a number of short pools, each a dream to fish with the fly rod. We started fishing in the Aggies Bridge Pool. We saw plenty of fish but failed to make contact. We then went to the top of the beat to fish Richards Dub and the Jaegar Pool. We saw a few fish in Richards Dub but unfortunately, they were not playing ball. Sam and I sat in the hut by the Crag Pool enjoying some lunch together, reflecting on what had been a terrific week. We did not set the world alight in terms of catches but the craic was unforgettable. We both came to the conclusion that we have never had so many laughs on a fishing holiday and for Bobby to catch her first salmon on the fly, was just the icing on the cake.
After lunch, George arrived from Beat 1. He had caught a nice cock fish on a Monkey fly, which was great news. We both sat by the river and talked reminiscing on old times while watching Sam fish. The light was now beginning to fade and George was keen to have a last cast on the Crag Pool with his Monkey fly. He had got around a third of the way down the pool when I heard him shout. I looked up to see his rod bent. I went down to assist George. The fish gave two long runs before tiring quickly. It was a coloured cock fish around five pounds. George had saved us from having a blank day. By now Graham and Bobby had joined us on Beat five. Unfortunately, Bobby could not emulate her heroics of the previous day.
Bobby catches her first ever salmon, the icing on the cake!
Back at the lodge that night in front of a roaring fire we all reflected on what had been an amazing week. It was fantastic to meet up with good friends and share such wonderful times. There had been so many laughs and unforgettable moments that we could not recollect them all. As always, the week had passed too quickly. Roger joined us for dinner and serious amounts of red wine were consumed. We were all sad to see the week end. The only consolation was that it was only going to be fifty-one weeks before doing it all again!