A Few Nights Sea Trout Fishing on the River Spey in June
by John Gray
The
River Spey is justly renowned as one of the best of all salmon rivers,
the lower half of the river characterised by mile after mile of the most
perfect, and most sought after, fly fishing water imaginable. Anglers
come from far and wide to cast a salmon fly on its hallowed beats, and
pay a pretty penny for the privilege. Fortunate indeed is the man who
has secured a prime week on one of its many fine beats, each with a
famous name like Castle Grant, Tulchan, Knockando, Balindalloch,
Arndilly, Rothes, Delfur, Wester Elchies and Carron to mention just a
few. But the true magic of the Spey lies, for me, not in its salmon but
in its sea trout, that other migrant which arrives in numbers through
June and July. On the expensive salmon beats, the sea trout will
inevitably be overshadowed by the king of fish. Few will have the
stamina to fish all day for salmon and half the night for sea trout.
There are many, though, who are content to forget the salmon and look
forward instead to the short summer nights, when the sea trout shoals
might, on a good night, provide exhilarating sport for those willing to
forsake the comfort of a warm bed.
Against a
background of declining sea trout stocks on many rivers, the 2006 season
had been a good one on the Spey for both salmon and sea trout, with
improved catch returns on the Association beats. In excess
 of five
hundred sea trout had been reported on the Strathspey Angling
Improvement Association water, and more than seven hundred on the
Abernethy Angling Association water just upstream at Boat of Garten. So
it was with high hopes that my wife and I arrived at the Grantown
Caravan Park on June 17th 2007. What would the week have in
store, I wondered. Conditions looked promising, with the gauge at the
new bridge showing a settled river running at two inches above summer
level. Reasonably clement weather was forecast for the early part of the
week, with night temperatures to remain above nine degrees. Eleven p.m.
on Sunday night found me at the cemetery car park, all tackled up and
ready to go. I passed an impatient hour on a riverside bench overlooking
the tail of Poll a Clachan, hoping for some sign of a sea trout.
Nothing. Midnight finally came and I fished earnestly till about two in
the morning. Nothing. Ah, well, never mind, tomorrow night will be
better!
Monday
was spent in the usual mundane way..... walking, sightseeing, shopping,
followed by a leisurely evening meal ..... then a final tackle check
before I set off for my first full night on the river. I decided to try
further upstream and managed to squeeze the car in to the roadside
parking place beside two other cars. There was still a good bit of
daylight left as I took the path through the woods, which would bring me
to the river. On the way down I met a couple of anglers making there way
up from the river. I was delighted to see that, in their landing net,
they carried three good sized sea trout, taken on worm earlier in the
evening. Things were definitely looking up! I carried on down the path
to the river with a decidedly optimistic spring in my step. Dusk found
me on a familiar pool, wading carefully and making my first tentative
casts of the night. I had selected a reel loaded with a new intermediate
line, more by way of experiment than by logic, and began with my usual
cast of two size eight flies. Sea trout were showing in the pool and I
had a few pulls, but didn't manage to hook anything. Midnight came and,
having substituted a needle fly for the tail fly, I entered the pool
with renewed hope. I was soon into my first fish of the week, in fact my
first of the season, a nice fresh, and very lively, sea trout of around
two pounds, taken on the Needle Fly. I fished on till after two o'clock.
I had a few more pulls but no more. On leaving the river, I spoke to
another fisherman who had been fishing the pool below me. He had taken
four sea trout between one and two a.m. on a size six fly, and on a
floating line.
We
were both back again the following night on the same stretch of river. I
had come equipped this time with my usual set up - ten foot rod, an old
Orvis Western I had recently acquired on Ebay, Hardy JLH reel and number
seven double tapered floating line, ten foot cast of eight pound Maxima
and two size eight flies - a Ginger Pearl on the dropper and a sparsely
dressed Silver Stoat on the tail. It was a nice night with some cloud
cover clearing as the night progressed, a bit of wind now and again and
temperatures no lower than about ten degrees. The river was again
running at about two inches above summer low, just about perfect for
this part of the river. Impatient to get started, and with sea trout
moving in the pool, I began before it was properly dark and had my first
sea trout of the night at 11.15 p.m., a lovely fresh fish of two pounds,
hooked in the shade of the trees on the far bank. It had gone for the
Ginger Pearl on the dropper. It was safely returned. A good start to
what turned out to be one of the most memorable nights I have had in
recent years. I fished till two a.m. and had three more of the most
perfect sea trout you could hope for, two at two and a half pounds each
and a beauty of three and a half pounds, all taken on a one and a half
inch Needle Fly.
 I
knew, of course, that a repeat of Tuesday night's fabulous sport was
really a bit too much to hope for. Nevertheless, you will not be
surprised to learn that I was back on the same pool at 11 p.m. on the
Wednesday night, raring to go. Despite rain earlier in the day, and the
worry that the river might have risen, conditions were perfect, just
what you would order if given the chance - river again running at two
inches, good cloud cover, hardly a breath of wind, mild temperatures.
Liberal application of Skin-So-Soft was needed to keep the midges at
bay. The bats were active as I began, again with a size eight Ginger
Pearl on the dropper and a Needle Fly on the tail of a ten foot cast,
fished again on the floating line. Well, however unlikely, the
impossible happened! After a slow start, I left the river at two in the
morning, having taken four shining silver sea trout, all on the Needle
Fly. The smallest was about two pounds and the heaviest around four and
a half pounds, both returned safely, with two fish of about two and a
half pounds each kept for the table.
As I write
this on Thursday afternoon, the rain is drumming on the caravan roof, to
the dramatic accompaniment of thunder and lightning. The river will be
too high tonight for sea trout fishing. I suppose I will just have to
settle for salmon....
Read more
about the recently developed
needle
tube flies
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Grantown
Angling Association Sea Trout Night Fishing Pools
Below are two maps showing some suggested night fishing pools on
both the upper beat (from Dulnain Mouth to Inverallan) and the lower
beat (Upper Castle Grant) of the Strathspey
Angling Improvement Association water at Grantown on Spey. Sea trout
may be caught at night on other pools, of course, but these maps
provide a good starting point, showing many of the more productive
night fishing pools, most with fairly easy access and good car
parking no more than a mile from the fishing, in some cases only
yards from the river.
click on a
maps to enlarge
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Upper Beat |
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Lower Beat |
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For more information on sea trout
fishing on the River Spey see:
Spey Sea Trout Fishing For map and photographs of all the Grantown
Association Pools see:
Grantown Angling Association Pool Photographs
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