Sea trout in April!!!

Last week we returned to Nirvana… the Kinchurdy beat on the Upper Spey, near Boat of Garten. This special place is for me the most beautiful and possibly underrated beat in Scotland. First and foremost it’s a sea trout beat, but the salmon fishing from mid-April to the end of July and in September is also excellent. It was fantastic to back on the beat.

I arrived at about 5pm on the Thursday. My pal had been fishing all day and although he hadn’t had a fish, several had been seen in most of the likely pools. On arrival, given that I wasn’t fishing until the Friday, my task was to get the barbeque going and open the wine. While we turned the sausages and excitedly considered the prospects of returning for our sea trout week in July, a few fish began to show off the famous Kinchurdy Stones. To my surprise and my pal Stuart’s disbelief, I was sure that the first of these fish to actually come fully out of the water, was in fact a sea trout. Now I don’t blame Stuart for his lack of confidence in my fish identifying skills. In the 25 years I’ve been fishing the beat I have never seen the sea trout arrive before mid-May at the earliest.

As the sunshine weakened and dusk approached, we commented on how we would gladly take these conditions in July. It was flat calm, about 14-16 degrees and the river was at summer level. Then, again we started to see movement, not only at the Stones but also at the tail of the huge Kinchurdy pool – the classic place for sea trout to show. I was by this time absolutely convinced and managed to persuade Stuart to give it a go on the single-handed rod for an hour at least.

Fishing a 1 inch stoat’s tail Waddington on a sink-tip, Stuart gradually covered the water at the tail of the pool, while I sat above him on the bank, wine glass in hand. After 10 minutes of expert casting (half a bottle of wine can have that effect), a spanking fresh sea trout crashed out of the water just below where he was standing. Two casts later, as the fly was slowly worked approaching the dangle, a savage take almost pulled the rod from Stuart’s hand. There was no longer any scope for dispute. The first of the sea trout were there. As is often the case with these early fish, although their intent is ferocious, their mouths are soft and the fish failed to hang on.

As the air temperature began to plummet, we knew that the window of opportunity was open only briefly. On fishing through for a second time, another pull produced another rush of adrenalin, but no prize. Soon it was agreed that the window had now closed and the best course of action was to head for the Boat Hotel and to savour the anticipation of what lies ahead of us in July.

Could it be that this very early arrival means that the fish have wintered well on a better than average supply of sand eels? Could it be that the restrictions on the sand eel harvest have produced heavier, fitter sea trout that feel ready to head for fresh water early? I suppose we’ll just have to wait a few more weeks before we find out. I for one can’t wait!