Many visitors to the river will be pleased to learn that after this year’s poor run of spring salmon, the river bounced back with a fair run of summer fish, and, with a total of around 9200 , could again boast a better than average season.   Although this may be a little hard luck on rods fishing the river this spring, unfortunately that’s just fishing, and we much accept what we are given. Interestingly, rivers in the north faired much better during this spring period, some producing record seasons.   Why does this happen? Is a question asked by many anglers, the answer, I hope will never be found!

The annual Ghillies meeting was held on the 1st December.   This provides an opportunity for Ghillies to air their views as well as listen to what the Spey Fishery Board have been up to over the past 12 months.   In all the meeting attracted 16 Ghillies representing 8 beats.  

SFB members included Chairman, Mr Alan Williams, Director, Mr Roger Knight and Biologist, Mr Bob Laughton. 

The discussion fell broadly into three different categories – 
Water Abstraction, 
Stocking, and 
Catch Returns for 2010. 

Starting with the latter, the biggest cause for concern to the board, as well as Ghillies, was the poor run of spring fish.   Mr Williams felt that a great deal of the problem lay with the effect of long term water abstraction in the upper part of the river, its knock on effect on the ecology, and thus, output of juvenile salmon.   A number of studies have been done above the dam, but a lack of long term [pre dam] data makes it very difficult to state categorically that this is the main fault for the long term decline in numbers of “Spring Salmon”.   My personal thought on this would be, yes, this area will provide one part of the jigsaw, possibly even a part with “two straight edges”, but this will merely be one of the many, “ever changing” problems faced by “Spring Salmon” here on the River Spey.   

Mr Williams also thought that we were around 45years into a 60 year cycle, by the end of which, the Spey will again be producing large numbers of Spring Salmon.   Although open to interpretation, history would suggest him to be correct, however, we also note, nothing is ever constant!   Because something happened before, does not follow that the same will happen again, and I would think this to be very true of the highly adaptive Salmon.  

On this, an old Ghillie once told me, “You can never step in the same river twice”! Self explanatory saying alluding to change!   Personally I have never understood the notion of everything remaining constant in the world of the salmon.   This one breeds with that and those are always found there etc. Very strange indeed, but, having said that, true! Well, if we believe all we read!! 

As a footnote to the question of Water Abstraction – I can remember Sir David Wills telling me he would fight against Water Abstraction on the Spey, his reason, Salmon Fishing always suffers, and worryingly, rivers on which this has happened, never properly recover.   Sir David was someone I very much looked up to and I have to say, am worried by what I am hearing with regard water abstraction, and my greatest worry is, I know for a fact, irrespective of all the meetings and concerns, as it has in the aquaculture industry, economics and not salmon will win the day. 

The Board’s stocking policy was also talked about, with Juvenile surveys forming an integral part of this.   A press statement issued by the SFB earlier this year stated that 300,000 fish would be earmarked for the main-stem of the river, and would be planted out in area’s showing light densities of juveniles.   Those fish are in the Hatchery at this moment in time and will be reintroduced to the river sometime next year.   

Juvenile surveys carried out this year suggested that the area between Orton and Craigellachie supported good densities of Parr, whilst the area below and above that showed somewhat poorer densities.   Higher densities were found in the Tulchan area, but really, this was hardly surprising as one of the two hatcheries is situated there and fish are planted out in that area on a regular basis.   Although this would suggest a link, it must be stressed not to read too much into this as it very likely to be nothing more than a coincidence!