Colin Mcfadyen - Dalmarknock Beat
This month, Colin Mcfadyen, Head Ghillie on the Dalmarnock beat of the River Tay sits in the hot seat and faces the Ghillies’s 10!
1. SSFS: What is the biggest salmon you have ever caught?
CM : A twenty seven pounder caught from the Stepps Pool on the Dalmarnock Beat on the fly.
2. SSFS: What is the most memorable salmon you have ever caught?
CM : The most memorable salmon for me would have to be the last salmon I caught with my father before he passed away. He was very unwell at the time and I hooked a fish on the River Tay and gave him the rod to play it out. A moment, that will be firmly etched in my memory forever..
3. SSFS:What is your favourite fly?
CM: The Gold Bodied Willie Gunn, because it has many guises and produces fish all year round. It can be just as effective tied on a tube fly as it is when tied on a small double or in a Temple Dog style. It has all the colours you could possibly want in a salmon fly.
4. SSFS: What is your favourite salmon pool?
CM: I know I am a bit biased but for me it has to be the Clachantaggart Pool on Dalmarnock. You feel the line is going to tighten at any minute when fishing the pool with the fly.
5. SSFS: If there was one place in the world you could salmon fish, where would it be and why?
CM: For me it would have to be the River Alta in Norway as it is one of the few places in the world where there is a realistic chance of landing a fish of over fifty pounds on the fly.
6. SSFS: What is the most unusual sight you have ever seen on the river?
CM: I was walking across a bridge spanning a river when I saw a member of the public pleasuring himself in the undergrowth with a magazine. I hasten to add it was not the Trout & Salmon!
7. SSFS: What is the worst conditions in which you have seen a salmon being caught?
CM: It was early February and the River Tay was running at almost seven feet and the water was chocolate in colour. One of my female guests decided to have a cast at the tail of the Oak Tree Pool. The river running like a raging torrent. My guest cast out her Flying C lure and as soon as it hit the water a fish boiled on the surface and took it. It turned out to be a seventeen pound sea liced springer.
8. SSFS: What do you love about being a ghillie?
CM: There are many things I love about my job, but I would have to say probably the most satisfying thing is to witness is any first time achievement. This could be someone catching their first salmon or first Tay salmon or even their first springer. Being able to share this special unique moment with an angler makes me feel very privileged.
9. SSFS: What is your salmon fishing pet hate?
CM: When I spend time giving anglers advice on how to fish a pool and then they just go ahead and do what they think is best, like wading too deeply when advised not to.
10. SSFS: What is your favourite fishing dram?
CM: You can’t beat a glass of the most famous Scottish drink Irn Bru!
The Dalmarnock beat is situated on the middle River Tay, just upstream from Dunkeld. During the 2016 season the beat is offering a Spring syndicate.
For availability call Colin Mcfadyen on 07981811403 or visit:
www.dalmarnockfishings.co.uk