A photographic description of the Aberlour Angling Club water
on the River Spey
by John Gray
The salmon fishing on the middle and lower
Spey is among the best in the world and, consequently, highly
sought after. Anglers come from far and wide to cast a fly on
hallowed beats such as Castle Grant, Tulchan, Ballindalloch,
Carron, Wester Elchies, Arndilly, Rothes and Delfur, all
offering some of the most attractive and productive fly water
imaginable. Of course such famous salmon fishing beats are
expensive and inaccessible to many. Fortunately, for the angler
of modest means, there are several angling associations on the
Spey which offer salmon fishing to the visitor at more
affordable prices. One such association is based in the Speyside village
of Aberlour. The association water sits on the right bank of the
lower middle Spey, opposite Wester Elchies, which John
Ashley-Cooper once described as having "perhaps the finest pools
of all", while immediately above and below are Kinermony and
Craigellachie. The association water can be expected to offer
fine fishing, particularly during the prime spring and early
summer months of May
and June. With this in mind, and knowing that the limited number of
visitor permits would be in high demand, I had booked a week's
fishing, at a cost of £150, for the third week in May 2008.
Having collected my permit from Munro's tackle shop, I made a
start on Monday morning, on the Creepie pool, where I soon found
myself netting a lovely sea liced springer, taken by a local rod
on a Toby. A good start .... and it got even better when, only
minutes later, I myself hooked a lively salmon on the fly, only
to lose it after a short but intense battle. The following morning, I again hooked a
good fish in the fast water below the Sandy Hole. I played it
sensibly, I thought, but again, after a couple of minutes, the
fly was thrown back at me and the fish, well into double figures
by the feel of it, was gone.
The flies the salmon took .....
Munro's Killer Needle Tube
Cascade Needle Tube
The river continued to drop during the week
and I had no more offers. I had lost my chance. Like any
association water, Aberlour can get busy at times but it has
some of the nicest, and most productive, pools on that part of
the river. I will certainly be back.
Below are some photographs of the Aberlour
association water, taken in May 2008 with the river running
fairly low.
Looking upstream to the Boat Pool above the
suspension bridge
An angler fishing the Bridge Stream
Looking downstream towards the Sandy Hole
Net at the ready on the Sandy Hole
The top of the Sandy Hole
Looking downstream from the Sandy Hole towards the Creepie
below
Busy morning at the Sandy Hole
A difficult wade on the Creepie
Looking upstream over the Creepie pool from the bottom end
of the beat
A fine springer taken in May 2008 from the Aberlour
Association water
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