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Livet Mouth Pool
After two years of pandemic and travel restrictions, it was nice to once again fly over to Scotland to round up the salmon fishing season.
I fell in love with the wonderful little Spey tributary named Avon (pronounced A’an) years ago. Besides being a very beautiful and inviting river, it has very rarely failed to produce a salmon or two. Sure enough – when fishing it in late September, it did not disappoint.
Waiting for the pull
Even though we did not see many fish, they were definately there. Several tugs and pulls confirmed that, but they did not seem to grab our flies properly and during the first day, none stuck for more than a few seconds. Different sized flies did not help much, but hey – there is always tomorrow, right?
After spending the night at the Delnashaugh Hotel, we woke up to a nice, calm day. A light cloud cover and no wind meant ideal conditions, but it took us all day to finally land one of those colourful autumn fish. I was the lucky one, hooking a lively grilse in Polly’s Pool, on a fairly heavy Tosh – a favourite of mine, which has proved effective both in Norway and here in bonny Scotland.
My reward
The hen fish fought well, but was hooked right in the scissors and after a couple of minutes I could beach her on a little, convenient sand bank. A quick photograph later, she was back where she belongs. Next stop for me: The pub.
Fancy fishing the Avon? Contact Ballindalloch Highland Estate.
Gin o’ clock