 |
 |
2 nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Limited Availability - Book Now To Avoid Disappointment! £169
|
|
Atholl Palace Hotel, Pitlochry, Perthshire 
Phone; (+44) 01796 472400
|
March 2008Last week saw the first pulse of 2sw springers run into the Tummel and several were caught including one fish in excess of 20lbs. As I have written many times spring fishing can be hard work. You need to love the “extras” that fishing offers as, even on the finest of beats, much of your time will be fishless. I fished down the Monument Pool a couple of evenings ago. I had put a guest into the most likely run, hoping she might get a fish, and I fished the tail. After a few casts that long,steady pull….”Oh yes, I’m in”. In the cold water it can,sometimes, be a bit of a pulling match as the fish can be sluggish in water of less than 5deg. But this one had attitude and power.Several long charges were made before a lovely sealiced 12lbs fish came to the bank. A quick photo and she was away….and I was shaking. To be successful you really have to try to think like a fish. Not really possible you might say. Well, springers run fast and sealiced ones even faster but they are not machines and they need to rest at times. That’s when you have the best chance. Try to read the water, look for quieter water above a fast run. The fish has just powered it’s way up through some rough stuff and it needs to stop for a while….that’s the place to be. Of course when the water warms then the fish will sit in,progressively, faster water and you fish accordingly. Goldeneye drakes are bobbing about on the river showing off to their mates, mallard drakes wait patiently by the bankside as their mates lay in some thicket up the bank and an osprey,just back from Senegal or Gambia, floats overhead. Early evening and an otter slips into the pool below you and air bubbles and the occasional whistle betray it’s presence. That’s why we fish….and from time to time you feel that powerful pull, a splash followed by a turbo-charged run or two……that’s the icing on the cake. Innes August 2008 Salmon fishing is all about being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes ideal conditions last only for a few hours,sometimes several days. July Since mid May we have had little or no rain on the Tummel catchment and, as a result, the salmon fishing has been very poor. May 2008 There has been no significant rain for over a month now and like most rivers in Scotland the Tummel has suffered accordingly. April 2008 With the water temperature staying unseasonally low the first springers have been reluctant to make an attempt at the ladder this year. However natural instinct can only be held back for so long and in the last week of April 300 went through with the temperature still below the critical 10 deg. February 2008 After catching an unusual number of rawners, a class of fish we don't normally see, the first springers did arrive off the Tummel in February, both on fly. January 2008 Opening Day didn't produce a fish this year on the Tummel, high water rather spoiling our chances,however..... October/November“Opening Day on the Tay” is one of the great occasions in the Sporting Calendar of Scotland. Anglers come from all over the world to participate in this special day, the start of a new season full of hope and expectation. August & September 2007From the highs of July it’s been downwards for the salmon fisher in recent weeks. Summer, of sorts, arrived in late August and with it low water which has made life difficult on the river. July 2007It’s still raining, seems to have done so all summer so far, but this has helped the Tummel salmon fishermen with the highish water pulling fish straight up the river in sparklingly fresh condition. june 2007We had hoped that the season would pick up and it has. Nearly 2000 spring fish over the ladder, to date, which is down a little on last year but a healthy number, never-the-less. May 2007On the back of a disappointing,early season throughout Scotland 1000 spring fish have gone over the Pitlochry ladder. April 2007 At last, after a difficult month, the springers are beginning to arrive in Pitlochry in some numbers. Over 150 have gone over the ladder in the last few days with many sea-liced. February / March 2007After the excitement of the Tummel’s opening fish( 25lbs) things have quietened down of late. Jan 2007 ....Stop press..we opened our account on the Tummel , wed 24th Jan, with a cracking fresh fish of 25.5lbs. Oct 2006 The salmon season finished on 15th October with the Tummel seeing the largest run through the ladder for many a year. 7300 fish have been recorded of which around 3300 could be classed as spring fish and the rest grilse. Sept 2006 The run of grilse up the Tummel has been one of the best in many years. As of 18th Sept 7000 fish have gone over the counter which is a tremendous summer run.Having said that these fish have run so hard that finding a pod in "rest mode" has been difficult on the main river Tummel although some of the lower Tay beats have had great sport. August 2006 The main grilse run is beginning to build lower down the Tay system. Very hot and muggy weather has meant that productive fishing has been confined to dawn or dusk….but for the persistent fisherman, rewards can be great. July 2006 The spring run of 2006 seems to have finally come to an end. 3150 springers have gone through the ladder and will now be well on the way to their spawning grounds in the head-waters of Glen Tilt and Loch Rannoch. June 2006-06-13 As this is the first of our fishing diaries I thought I would give you a brief update of the Tummel spring salmon season. Email salmon@athollpalace.com to book or discuss a bespoke package. Check Availability & Book | Prices | Tennis | En Francais | Environmental and Social Responsibility | Christmas | Staff Recruitment | Contact us The Castle Hotel Group also has a collection of fine Dublin hotels and student accommodation in Dublin City Centre, self catering holiday homes in Scotland and a Hotel in Prestayn , North Wales
|
 |
Relax and look glowing with our Luxurious Ocean Glow combined with a Mini Marine Discovery Facial and receive a Toning Body Scrub with Marine Salt Crystals FREE £65.00 Please allow 90 minutes of your time
After the driest spring and summer for a long time it did rain, eventually. During mid to late July we had some days of exceptionally heavy rain which did some damage but also an enormous amount of good. The ground needed the moisture and grass and other quick growing plants(weeds!) responded within days. Trees and larger shrubs will take longer to respond but it is comforting to know that most of the plants have survived the drought and will be replenishing their reserves by the day.Most satisfyingly the hypericum bank in the Japanese Garden, which almost died during the cold winter then again due to the drought, has rallied and although the plants probably won’t flower this year they are alive and recovering well.
|
