2006 Season Fishing Reports
October 2006
Season ending 31/10/06
More rain over the weekend kept water levels high, and combined with fallen trees and road washouts the lower beats were unfishable. Despite this we still managed 7 fish from Beat 2 on the Monday to SalmonQuest's rods, including 3 for Paul Houlden from Evanton.
Yet another rise for Tuesday morning made conditions on the upper beats harder, but Mike Allen from Tain brought an excellent season overall to a close, with a fitting end - a personal best 14 lbs salmon, also from Beat 2.
Week ending 28/10/06
Heavy rainfall throughout the week produced a succession of rising spates culminating in a massive spate on the 26th, the highest seen since at least 1973, and possibly since the mid-1950’s. Water levels in the town of Alness peaked at 2.8m, and there was local flooding throughout Easter Ross and the North East Highlands. The effects of run-off from within the Alness catchment, and of the river itself were both devastating, with significant damage to infrastructure including some of the access roads and bridges. With the ground saturated, winds of up to 70 mph on the evening of the 26th felled hundreds of trees in the area, closing many more roads.
See photos from the October 2006 Flood
Prior to the ‘big one’, water levels were very high and the fishing difficult, though a few fish were caught as the early spates receded. SalmonQuest had 9 salmon to our rods including first fish for Matthew and James Eminson and Harry Duncombe, all staying at Ardtalla (Harry fishing the Ardtalla rods). Alastair MacIntosh had 3 salmon & grilse for the early part of the week including a silver grilse of 5 ½ lbs from Lower Beat 3.
The rest of the week was a ‘washout’ in terms of the fishing, though water levels are now returning to 'normal' high water levels.
Week ending 21/10/06
On Monday and Tuesday levels were steady at around 6-7” above summer low, but heavy rain on Tuesday night produced a big spate on Wednesday. Further heavy rain spread through the week produced a succession of new rises as the previous spate started to fall, and the water was generally too high on the lower beats, though there was some relief above the Blackwater. The water level in Loch Morie rose from 2’10” to 4’11” at the weir in 24 hours on Thursday/Friday, so even Beats 1 and 2 had high water for the latter half of the week.
SalmonQuest’s guests caught 12 fish during the week but there were also many fish lost, including 2 fish estimated to be in the ‘mid-teens’. Amongst the fish landed were 3 first salmon: Chris Venus from Kent caught his first grilse of 3 ¼ lbs from Beat 5 on the 17th, Nick Jacobs from London caught his first grilse from Beat 1 on the 19th, and went on to catch 3 more during his 3 day visit, and Phillip Sharnock also from Kent caught his first salmon, a hen fish of 10 lbs from Beat 1 on the 20th.
Elsewhere on Novar, Richard and Max Rusby had 3 grilse from Beat 2 on the 21st. If the rain eases, water levels should be excellent for the last full week of the season.
Week ending 14/10/06
Back to some normality. Water levels were good throughout the week with a nice ‘top-up’ on Thursday morning after heavy rain on Wednesday evening. 22 fish were caught to SalmonQuest’s rods including 12 to Nick FitzGerald and Peter Hukins. Our ‘Learn to Salmon Fish’ course was very successful with 3 of the 4 students catching salmon: 4 to Garry Lockhart (his first salmon), 2 to Trevor Fowler and 2 to Magnus Cattan (also his first 2 salmon) including this sea-liced grilse caught from Beat 6 on the 12th. Lastly, yet another first salmon for John Bournes from Norfolk, a silver 4½ lbs grilse caught from Beat 6 on the 14th. In his own words 'I've waited 40 years for this fish'!
Amongst other successful anglers on the Novar beats was Nicholas Munro Ferguson with 4 salmon on Monday 9th from Beat 4 including a fish of around 15 lbs.
In the absence of fresh rain we anticipate water levels at around 6” above summer low for the coming week.
Week ending 07/10/06
An extraordinary week! Heavy rain last Sunday and Monday morning produced one of the highest spates for many years. The river reached 2.1m in Alness, and the flow was approximately 100 times that of our summer low! The Blackwater tributary burst its banks and flooded the valley floor, and the access roads on much of Beat 2 were also under water. Despite a washout on the lower beats on Monday (the river was lapping over the top of Aggie’s Bridge on Beat 5), anglers were still successful in very high water on the upper beats with 9 fish off Beats 1 and 2.
More rain during the week kept water levels high throughout and the good fishing continued resulting in a record week for SalmonQuest with a total of 53 salmon and grilse to our rods. Fish were caught on all beats, including 6 'first salmon': Terry Young from London (4 in total), Tom Carver from Notts, Penny Gibson from Bath, Chris Brotherton from Hampshire (3 fish), Richard Ziebart from Cheshire and Graham Clarke from Herts. Other fish of note were salmon of 10½ lbs to Alastair Gibson from Beat 2, and 10 lbs to Peter McAllister from Beat 5.
Elsewhere on Novar, John Currie’s party caught 17 fish on the Millcraig rods, including a fresh fish of 11 lbs to Michael Hodge and another first fish, a 5 lbs grilse for Christina Currie from Essex, both from Beat 2. Roger Evans and his guests fishing 2 rods had another 14 fish up to 12 lbs in size.
Fresh salmon and grilse were running Beats 5 & 6 on Saturday, and with water levels still high though dropping slowly, the prospects look good for the coming week.
September 2006
Week ending 30/09/06
A small spate on Monday morning produced good water levels throughout the week at 6 to 8 inches above summer low. Despite this, the fishing was generally slow through to Friday, though fish appeared to be on the move, spreading out through the river. Heavy rain on Friday night produced another small spate through the Blackwater yesterday morning with a rise of about 1 ft in the lower beats, though the first few inches of this dropped off quickly during the day. A total of 23 salmon & grilse were caught to SalmonQuest’s rods last week (10 of them yesterday), with fish being caught off every beat.
Amongst the successful anglers were Tony Relph from London with his first 4 salmon on the fly, Mick Spencer from Spain, Peter Ford from Nairn and Brian Kentish from London each with 3 fish, John Blest from Dorset, Alastair MacIntosh from Edinburgh and Steve Lingard from Yorkshire each with 2, including a fish of 15lbs for Steve from Beat 4, and salmon also for Elizabeth English (8lbs) and John Walton from the Lake District with a 9lb fish from Beat 1.
Very heavy rain Sunday afternoon and evening – a big spate likely tomorrow!
Week ending 23/09/06
River levels at the start of the week were 5" above summer low. The remnants of Hurricane Gordon produced some rain on Wednesday afternoon and evening, resulting in a rise of 6” on Thursday morning which improved things considerably. Levels dropped away slowly afterwards, back towards the 5" level. 14 salmon & grilse were caught to SalmonQuest’s rods last week, mostly from the lower beats. Amongst the successful anglers was Sam Keith (12) who caught his first salmon, a 4½ lb grilse from Beat 5 on the 19th, and then added 2 more grilse from Beat 6 on the 21st. John Gourlay from Glasgow caught 3 grilse and a sea trout in 2 days of fishing on the Friday and Saturday.
Elsewhere on Novar, John Garnet and Martin Gaunt caught 9 fish for their 3 day visit at the beginning of the week including a 9 lb salmon for John from Beat 6. Peter McAllister had 5 grilse from Beat 4 on the 21st.
Prolonged rain on Sunday afternoon and early evening should set things up nicely for the coming week.
Week ending 16/09/06
River levels at the beginning of the week were just 2" above summer low and the fishing was a bit slow. Rain on Thursday afternoon and evening produced a sudden spate of 15” on Friday morning (mainly from the Blackwater tributary), which dropped away quickly during the day and early Saturday. 11 salmon & grilse were caught to our rods during the week including a coloured 'springer' of around 17-18 lbs from Beat 6 on the Saturday. Rodney Parker from Hertfordshire had a grilse from Lower 5 on the 12th and Jennifer Parker had an 8 lb salmon and 2 grilse from Beat 6 on the 14th. Rob Mason from Devon also had 3 grilse for his 2½ days of fishing.
Water levels are expected to be 3-4" above summer low through the week in the absence of fresh rain. Spring tides due at the end of the week.
Week ending 09/09/06
Despite last week's widespread rainfall largely missing the Alness catchment, and no rise in water levels it proved to be an exceptional week for fishing with 28 salmon & grilse caught by SalmonQuest’s guests; 22 of these to Gary Macdonald’s party of 4 rods who returned 18 of them. Gary, Ed Metcalfe, Adam Carr and Mick Brown from Yorkshire had great sport in testing conditions of low water and bright sunshine for much of the week, producing several fish from deep, slow water lies, and notably our first 2 fish of the season from Beat 1.
The Paradigm party visiting on the 8th and 9th had 3 fish including first salmon for Mark Littman from Buckinghamshire (a 5 lbs grilse from Upper Beat 6 which was also SalmonQuest’s 100th salmon of the season from the Alness) and Peter Nielsen from Stavanger, Norway (a 5 lbs grilse from Upper Beat 4).
River levels were fairly constant at around 2-3" above summer low, but this level has proven enough to encourage fish to enter the river. Some compensation water was released on Thursday night to coincide with exceptionally high spring tides over the weekend, and there have been signs of good numbers of summer salmon entering the lower beats.
Water levels should be maintainable for most of next week at around 2" above summer low, but will start to drop unless we get some significant rainfall.
Week ending 02/09/06
After an excellent August overall with 67 salmon & grilse falling to our rods, the fishing became more difficult as the week progressed and the water level fell, and only 7 fish were caught to SalmonQuest's rods for the week. Despite the conditions 2 of these were 'first fish' caught by novice salmon anglers: Andrew Goodge from Aberdeenshire, Rupert Miles from Gloucestershire. Roger Evans also caught a very fresh salmon of 10lbs from Beat 5 on the 31st. Fresh salmon & grilse continue to enter the river each tide - a pristine sea-liced fish of 7lbs was caught from Beat 6 on the 2nd, and others were seen. Elsewhere on Novar, Max Rusby (14) had a grilse of 4 lbs from Beat 5 on Monday.
Water levels should be maintainable at 2 to 3" above summer low for the week, enough to allow fish to enter the river, but fresh rain is needed now to encourage a major run. Exceptionally high spring tides towards the end of the week may also help.
August 2006
Week ending 27/08/06
Falling water levels from last weekend’s spate produced a good run of fresh grilse and salmon, and excellent fishing conditions from Monday through to Thursday. There were good catches of fresh grilse throughout the lower river.
SalmonQuest’s rods landed 22 fish for the week including 15 to Roger Phillips’ party from Herefordshire: David Wells caught 7 including 3 from Lower Beat 3, Patrick Ramage had 5 and Roger himself 3 fish. Patrick Despard’s party had 5 for the week including first salmon for Thomas St Lawrence (13) and Johnny Lillis (14). Johnny’s first salmon came from his first ever cast (!), and he followed this up with a second fish shortly afterwards. Elsewhere on the Novar beats there were several more salmon and grilse caught, Nick Chamberlain landing 5 on the Tuesday from Beat 6.
The river level has now returned to pre-spate levels and in the absence of fresh rain we anticipate maintaining the level at 3 to 4 inches above summer low for the coming week.
Week ending 20/08/06
Steady water levels at 3 to 4 inches above summer low from Monday through Friday. The fishing was a bit slow, but fresh fish entered the river on each tide. Stuart Taylor from Dingwall fishing the Angling Club Estuary beat caught 2 heavily sea-liced grilse on the 17th, of 4lbs and 3lbs.
Heavy rain Friday night/Saturday morning produced a good but very sudden spate on Saturday afternoon. The river rose 18", about 12" in just 10 minutes! There was a good run of better sized fresh grilse and salmon in the morning pre-spate, then everything on the move during it.
The highlight of the week was a first salmon for 10 year old Phoebe D, a 2¾lbs grilse caught on the 14th from Beat 5! In total 12 fish were caught to SalmonQuest's rods: 4 earlier in the week and 8 on the Saturday (most sea-liced). Elsewhere on the Novar beats, Nicholas Munro Ferguson also had a story of note, hooking a 10¼lbs salmon on a trout rod in Boulder Run on lower Beat 3 and landing it 45 minutes later and several pools further down the river in the Ace Pool! Water levels look good for the coming week!
Week ending 13/08/06
Good water levels at 3 to 4" above summer low throughout the week, including a small rise due to some showery weather. Last week's grilse run spread out through the beats, but fresh fish entered the river on every tide (spring tides) and a number of sea-liced fish were caught on the lower beats. There were 13 fish caught to SalmonQuest's rods and several others on the Novar beats.
Mike Allen had 3 grilse, 2 from lower Beat 3 and one from Upper 5. Davy Brand caught 3 grilse on Beat 6 on the 9th (plus a 2¼lbs sea trout), Peter Andrews had a grilse from Beat 4 on the 11th and Fraser Smith from Nairn had 2 fresh grilse off Beat 6 on the 12th.
So far the grilse appear smaller than usual this year, most in the 3 to 5lb range, but they are extremely lively, producing super sport on light tackle.
Week ending 06/08/06
The rain continued and we had some torrential downpours on the 1st resulting in some flash floods and a slow rise in the river. Two double figure fish were caught as the river rose including a 10lb fish for Malcolm Watson from Newcastle on Beat 5. There was a huge spate overnight, with conditions first thing almost unfishable, but the water level fell away quickly and hundreds of fresh grilse entered the river and ran the lower beats. Duncan Watson caught his first salmon, a 4lb grilse, from Beat 6 with what became his last cast of the day after losing 4 others beforehand. Peter McAllister had 5 grilse and a 10lb salmon fishing Beat 5.
Falling water levels on the 3rd produced more excellent fishing with 10 fish to SalmonQuest's rods including a first Scottish salmon for Elbert Bivins from Mississippi. Meanwhile Harry and Alan Watson from Inverness caught 6 grilse and had many other pulls and plucks on Beat 6. With the loch full, the propects for the rest of August look good.
July 2006
The Alness catchment along with most Highland rivers experienced no appreciable rainfall at all in July with the result that for most of the month the river was running at or below 'summer low' and few anglers took on the testing conditions. A few grilse crept through the low water in the second half of the month and a couple of fish were hooked and lost on the Novar beats, but no salmon catches were reported.
Sea trout were not held back by the low water, and there were a number caught in night time forays including 3 from Beat 5 on the 11th. Stuart Forsyth from Aberdeen caught his first sea trout of 2¼lbs also from Beat 5 on the 13th, and Mike Tyler had another on the 25th, also losing a grilse.
At last the heatwave gripping the country came to an end on the last day of the month and we experienced some persistent showers.
June 2006
Peter McAllister caught a fish of 7lbs from Beat 5 on the 1st of the month as well as a brown trout of 2¼lbs and Nick Chamberlain also fishing Beat 5 on the 3rd had an 8lb springer from Upper Raven's Rock. Persistent light rain from the 20th to 22nd filled the loch and resulted in a good rise in water levels which was needed after 2 weeks of low water.
The first sea trout was caught on the Novar beats on the 21st by Peter McAllister who also caught a superb springer of 22lbs off the Angling Club water on the 22nd. SalmonQuest recorded a springer of 9lbs and the first grilse of the season on the 24th from Beat 6 and another salmon of 10lbs from Beat 4 on the 27th. Spring tides around this time seemed to encourage a number of grilse into the river and Bernard Stebbing fishing Beat 6 on the 30th witnessed a run of grilse, catching one of 4lbs from the Miller's Pool. The catches and tales of lost fish, despite few anglers on the river at this time of year, suggest that this has been one of the best spring runs of salmon on the Alness for many years.
May 2006
We heard reports of a few spring salmon being caught early in the month in the Angling club beats, but no details - please e-mail us if you can fill them in. Our first salmon on the Novar beats was an 8lb fish from Beat 6 to Fraser Smith from Nairn on the 20th, though a fish of about 10 lbs was lost at the net on the 18th.
Paul Heal from Bath fishing for salmon for the first time, hooked but lost 2 fish on the 25th. Andrew Maisey also from Bath caught his first springer a couple of days later on Beat 6, a superb heavily sea-liced fish of 9½lbs. Richard Munro Ferguson took 2 fish of 12lbs and 10lbs on the 29th from Beat 6, and followed this up the next day with another brace from Beat 5 of 10lbs and 8lbs while fishing SalmonQuest's rods. He also lost a fish on Beat 2.
The continual showery weather has produced water levels at 8 to 12 inches above summer low allowing the free passage of fish through the river.
