reading the river

[granters]

Having just been looking at the photo gallery i thought it might be a good idea for people to post any pictures of pools, runs or glides and point out where the fish are likely to lie. I have often been amazed where i've found fish and i think it would be very useful to beginers (myself included!) if more experienced fisherfolk passed on their knowledge. It would also provide a nice comparison between rivers, as each one has it's own little quirks and would benefit everyone. I for one would greatly appreciate the help, so if you've got the time I'm sure it would be a brilliant way to share your knowlege. I'll try to do one myself to illustrate my point. Cheers

[granters]

Just to explain ehat i'm getting at. This is the Snizort in low water.
I would expect fish to lie just at the mouth of the pool in higher water and just below of the ripple (halway up the picture) after being trapped by the low water. A bit simplistic i know, but it explains what i'm after! Cheers

[salmonking]

hi granters,not got that many photos of pools,but id expect a fish
just about anywhere here,perfect fly water.

[altmor]

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Here's the top pool of the A beat, River Awe. I've overmarked in red the lines on which the fish lie - hopefully not obliterated the photo so you can see the current lines. Will try some more for you Granters.

[altmor]

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Here's another, this time below Mcordies on the River Ewe. The fish come in at the tail of the pool and rest a couple of moments after coming up through fairly shallow and fast water, before they take up position on either side of the main flow. Highlighted red again - hope you can see the detail. Look for the expand toggle or click on the photo once open to increase size.

[altmor]

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One of my favorite pools over the years - this time I'm not going to tell what River or what Pool - guess !!

In low water the fish lie right up in the neck just off the ripple water, and tend to be thinner in the middle section shown, congregating down at the open bay near where I've marked red at the bottom of the pool.

Happy guessing

[salmonking]

Altmore,dee?the ewe looks v/g,what price for three days fishing
june/july?when you were there i take it water was at low level?

[altmor]

Have another go Col. Here's a clue - it's in between Craigellachie and Arndilly !!
Re the Awe - it's just great. The river shown in the photo was a tad on the low side, but not by much. Very reasonable - if I recall, think it worked out at c £60.00 per rod/day. We stayed at the Brander Lodge, again very reasonable and right in the middle of the 3 beats, A,B and C.
You need to be a bit of a mountain goat for B beat, and the wading - god it's fierce. I'll post up a pick looking down on Red Rock Pool at the top of B beat.

[altmor]

Having trouble with Imageshack at the moment - must be Saturday evening and it's getting hit by the youngsters !!

[salmonking]

Carron???

[altmor]

Upper Arndilly on Spey, the pool Red Craig. A joy to fish.

[altmor]

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Eventually got through to imageshack !! Here it is - Red Rock on B beat of the River Awe. The photo doesn't do great justice to the field of perspective though - it was taken at the top of the embankment - about 100ft above the river !!

[robmason]

I had my first ever fish off the Awe, Muckairn (? sp) beat, opposite Inverawe. I've never fished the beats above. I thought it was all syndicate fishing. How do you get hold of rods Alltmor?

[storlaks]

Altmor, when do you fish the Ewe? I did inquire about it a couple of years back but never got anything worthwhile. I hear they are about to invest heavily in a re-stocking smolt program....is that true?

Great pic!

[altmor]

Yes Storlaks - great river - a good friend/client has just this year bought the Inveran Estate. He is starting a restocking program this year - rearing on the Carron hatchery this year - but intends to create the Ewe's own next season. Hopefully will do some good work on the river itself over the next couple of seasons. Watch this space as they say - the Ewe's in good hands !!

[altmor]

Robmason, hi, I've fished the Awe with an old school chum for the past 4-5 years. He does all the booking so not fully clued up on who to approach. We take a week though and share with another couple of old school chums front end / back end of the week.

We fish the opposite side to the road, the road side is syndicated and difficult to get on at the right time. I'll look to dig out the info I get from my school chum and let you know - if I find it !!

[altmor]

PS Storlaks, I was up there at the end of June, with the now current owner, as tenants, the "deal" went through in October '06.

[granters]

Altmor,
Fantastic, really appreciated and very helpful. I fished the Awe twice this year myself but had no luck. We fished beats B and C. Went up in March for a wee practice run (£10, Bargain!) and my brother hooked and played a fish for 10 minutes before it came off. We never even saw it so it was a good size, definitly a salmon. I managed to video it and we saw it's tail in slo-mo,well over 6pounds anyway It just shows you that you never know what can happen as the Awe isn't exactly famous for it's early fish these days! Many thanks for the pictures, keep em comin!

[newbie2006]

Great idea, really useful for me as a beginner - thanks everyone.