Ollie & His Father on Holiday from the Netherlands -August Update

Time is passing by quickly and at the time of writing this we are already into September with only a few months left of our 2023 season. July & August proved to be a great few months with the main advantage this season being rain fall. The northern rivers were up and down quiet a few times which provided us with some great sport not only on our stretch of the Whiteadder but on the River Till & River Coquet. The sea trout runs on the Till this year were quite strong, landing 23 sea trout in the month of July & August. Adam Smith landing 3 one evening with us and Garry Middleton landing his first ever sea trout on the fly towards the end of month. We had a few bigger fish on Redscar which is part of the Ford & Etal Estate. Muddlers & Small Doubles fished on the surface gave us the most success. Ian Clark landed a lovely 6Ib fish just on dusk and Gary Broadley landed a sea trout around 7Ib, 4Ib and lost a much bigger fish.

August was a great month on our stretch of the Whiteadder. Constant high water around .55-.70 on the gauge brought fresh grilse into the stretch and got the old fish excited and willing to take a fly. So far this season 12 first time clients have landed there first salmon on the fly with us, a superb achievement. Noticeable catches included Nine year Ollie who was over from the Netherlands with his father on holiday. They booked a couple of days with us for our ‘Introduction to Salmon Fly Fishing’. On the second day Ollie preserved with his casting and hooked and landed his first Salmon in the Tail of the Hurly Burlys. The fish was around 5Ibs. His face was lit up with his smile which spread from ear to ear. A great moment for us all which Ollie will remember for all of his life. Well done.

Other first time catches where Ian Mason landing a 7Ib salmon in the Pig Pool, Gary Maddison landing a 7Ib Salmon in the Pig Pool, Paul Lloyd landed a 8Ib salmon in the Flats, Richard Bell landed a lovely fresh Grilse in the Roe Pott and Ken fish landed a Grilse in the Sandy Hole.

So overall a superb season for us so far. Our catch total being 55 Salmon and 29 Sea Trout. Hopefully we can break the 100 mark by October if we get another lift of water which we need desperately after the recent dry spell and heat wave.

We will add another catch report onto our website early October for you all.

Best wishes & Tightlines

James Armstrong- Owner & Head Guide/ Chasing Fins