[Clydesider]

My first salmon fishing invitation already and 2006 has hardly started. A good friend has asked me to take a rod early March on the River Moriston on the beat where it flows into Loch Ness at Invermoriston.
I would appreciate some advice on flies to try from forum members who are familiar with this stretch of river.
Dont expect anyone to reveal their secret patterns just some hints which might help me conect with the salmon equivalent of the Loch Ness monster.
Mike

 

[Willie Gunn]

Gordon Armstrong is your man.
Willie Gunn either traditional and Gold bodied. A few pot bellied pigs as well.
The important thing about the Moriston is that the hydro board are generating as if they don't the flow drops off and the fish drop back to the loch. It is basically a huge fish trap, when they are generating the fish come in but the flow in the river is too low to allow them up the old river so they just hang around till someone catches them.
Fish the flies off a floater with a short sinktip.

There is a lot of spinning carried out and the catch and release rate is not good. Not my favourite piece of water.

 

[Clydesider]

Thanks for the advice on flies/tactics and for your interesting observations on this stretch of water. My friend tells me that the Danish owner only lets rods until the beginning of May and then shuts down for the rest of the year.
Can you point me towards Gordon on this forum? Not sure if he is the same person I bought some pot bellies from last year.
Mike

 

[G Ritchie]

Gordon posts as Fishingd0.
I believe the fishing on the Morrison carries on until the end of June. It is a very short stretch, about 400 yards and if they are not generating = no fish. You just have to hope they are generating when you are there. It is productive if you get the right conditions.

 

[fishingd0]

Thanks for the advice on flies/tactics and for your interesting observations on this stretch of water. My friend tells me that the Danish owner only lets rods until the beginning of May and then shuts down for the rest of the year.
Can you point me towards Gordon on this forum? Not sure if he is the same person I bought some pot bellies from last year.
Mike

Clydesider

You can't go wrong with what Malcolm has said.

The Moriston is a very short Stretch of water, with around 200-500yrds of productive fishing, allowing there is ample flow (hydro generation), it accommodates 4 rods to practice both the fly and spinner. This can be a bit of a tight squeeze at times, although it’s not so bad if you are fishing with friends.

It is a fairly shallow stretch, so a sink tip of around 5-10 foot should work well (density is not that important). Fly size tends not to be too important. I generally use size 6-10s yellow ally’s or Willie gun’s although a lot of the fishers have success with very small (almost micro) tosh tubes.

The best fly water is from 50yrds above the hut to about 100yrds below it. Above this can be good, but tends to be heavily spun.

C&R policy is for your first, third, fifth fish etc to be returned.

Given water, you should be in with a very good chance of fish. Perseverance pays dividends on the Moriston. A run of fish can come in at any time.

Be prepared for the water to go off and on like a yo-yo. It all depends on some bloke in Edinburgh!:saevilw:

Gordon Armstrong

 

[Clydesider]

Thanks Graham and Gordon.
Sounds quite different from anything I have fished before!
Mike

 

[Willie Gunn]

Clydesider



C&R policy is for your first, third, fifth fish etc to be returned.



Gordon Armstrong

Gordon what were last years figures as a percent or total number of fish returned?

 

[Dana]

short sink tips?!

Malcolm,

I thought you didn't like sink tips? We're not influencing you with our evil ways now are we?

"You DON'T know the pow-ah of the Dark Side...!"

 

[Willie Gunn]

Malcolm,

I thought you didn't like sink tips? We're not influencing you with our evil ways now are we?

"You DON'T know the pow-ah of the Dark Side...!"

No Dana not at all short sink tips.............poly leaders over here. 5ft and 10ft stuck on the end of a full floater to take the fly down a little further. Not great big fat lengths of sinking line attached to a cut back floater that is neither fish nor fowl and spoils a good speycast.

 

[fishingd0]

Gordon what were last years figures as a percent or total number of fish returned?

No too sure, the estate records Mysteriously disappeared. The normal catch is around 100 fish betweed the period of Jan 15th - end of May. As you well know the Moriston is struggling to meet board recommendations on catch and release.

As part of the Moristons conservation policy, they don’t fish after the end on May and they don’t fish the main river Moriston “proper” at all.

Gordon