8lb springer caught on the fly | Dochfour | salmon fishing Scotland 2024 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Another first salmon of the 2024 season, this time for local angler Brian.
To summarise the weather conditions in one word, I'd say it was raw! A howling 18mph easterly (upstream) wind significantly reduced the 8 degree air temperature to a bitterly cold 3 degrees. The water temperature remained a steady 7 degrees and the river gauge stood around minus 1.
15 foot rod, skagit line and a 10' slow sinking tip were the order of the day, with the 20lb maxima tippet attached to a conehead, tied by the head ghillie himself, Grant Sutherland.
As always, it is imperative that the stream is covered and that is a task entirely and literally, in the hands of the angler.....
Another stunning springer in the net.
Happy days ;)
#salmon #fishing #scotland #riverness #inverness #speycasting

[@ianhealey4181]

Brian’s comments regarding the fly were hilarious. Cracking fish.

[@CameronChapman]

I couldn’t agree more Ian. Springers have to be the ultimate prize in Scotland and when you have one in the landing net, even in those weather conditions, the freezing cold and wet feelings dissipate, for at least thirty seconds!

[@allancrawford9979]

That was a very cold wet and windy day, wind coming straight up the river! Well done Brian

[@CameronChapman]

Many thanks Allan, despite the weather, he was warm and full of cheer when that fish went into the net!

[@noelkelly3223]

Well done once again lads lovely fly the old conditions look bad lovely fish well done Brian 👏 best ok luck from Ireland 🇮🇪

[@CameronChapman]

Many thanks for you kindness once again Noel, very much appreciated 🙏❤️👍🏻

[@jasonmccruden]

Another glorious spring day in the highlands😂 Crcking fish….well done that man

[@CameronChapman]

I’m almost positive that those were the same words used by the BBC’s weather forecaster. 🤣 Many thanks for your kindness Jason, it’s very much appreciated.

[@Salmonaddicts]

Great 😊😊😊

[@CameronChapman]

Cheers guys 🙏❤️👍🏻

[@Hardlinesangling]

Another beauty well done. It would certainly make my season 😂.

[@CameronChapman]

Cheers Toby, much appreciated. Keep your fly in the water dude, it will happen 🙏❤️👍🏻

[@garyc6242]

Nice fish well done 👍

[@CameronChapman]

Many thanks for your kindness Gary, much appreciated. 🙏❤️👍🏻

[@user-xs5nt9qj3i]

Outstanding well done lads.

[@CameronChapman]

Many thanks for the kind words Pete, very much appreciated. 🙏❤️👍🏻

[@harleyhillgang]

Love the triumphant pose Brian! Good on you!!! Despite what Mother Nature threw at you, you still managed to hook a lovely Atlantic! Cameron, what is going on with this pool? Current down on the left and current up on the right of that walkway/berm...I've never seen such a pool in Canada...Magical! Mike

[@CameronChapman]

lol, if I hadn’t caught that pose on camera Mike, no-one would have believed me! It’s probably one of the most unique salmon pools in Scotland and perhaps even the world Mike. The Caledonian Canal was completed in 1822 by Thomas Telford, having been commissioned by the British Government to do so. It provides safe passage for fishing ships that wished to avoid travelling around the treacherous waters of the north of Scotland, especially the Pentland Firth. But curiously enough, there were serious issues with French government sponsored pirates called Privateers who operated in the English Channel, at that time too! This is a fascinating short overview. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonian_Canal Getting back to the Weir Pool itself, as the name suggests, it is created by the construction of a weir wall that forms the south bank of the canal and separates it from the immediately adjacent river Ness. The weir wall is 8 feet higher than the river, each stone laid by hand like a cobbled street and it raises Loch Ness by an extra 8 feet of water, along its entire 26 mile length! The river Ness is one of the shortest salmon rivers in Scotland at just over 6 miles. Prior to the completion of the canal, the river flowed freely from Loch Ness, which was in turn fed by unbridled tributaries such as the Garry, Morriston, Oich and Endrick. Sadly, all except the Endrick are now controlled by hydro dams. So now the river Ness flows through a controlled sluice gate and over the weir wall, that has an inbuilt fish pass. During the past 5 years of observations, I have only observed one fish jump into the fish pass and it was a small sea trout of around 2lbs. The fish tend not to jump into the pass, as the column of water passing g over it is so thick that fish and even seals can slip straight into the pass unseen! I could go on but google maps will cover the rest far better than I ever could. Suffice to say that it’s a lovely office, as well as a confluence of many different sources of water.

[@harleyhillgang]

@@CameronChapman Wow Cameron, that is outright fascinating! I will further my education by following the link. Many thanks for taking the time to relay the information. Cheers, Mike