2007 Catches

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All in all a fantastic season, with a total of 432 salmon & grilse caught on the Novar beats. A mostly dry October suppressed what would have been an even better catch return. That’s salmon fishing though!

October 2007
Season End 31/10/07
The October rain eventually came, and the river was up about a foot on Monday morning, where it remained fairly steady through Wednesday topped up by more showers. On Wednesday afternoon the river was still rising, and there were reports of fresh fish coming over the weir in Alness. By Thursday morning Loch Morie had refilled to 4 ft from just 6 inches last Friday and the river was in full spate.

The change in weather and water levels produced a dramatic change in the fishing and there were 34 fish taken on the Novar beats from Monday to the close of the season on Wednesday. On Monday Graham Shepherd caught 4 fish from Beat 2 and Mike Allen from Tain caught 3 from Beat 4. Sandy Datta from Wick caught 3 fish from Beat 5 on the Tuesday and another 3 from Beat 3 on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday David Wright & Andrew Dowsett had 2 apiece from Beat 1.

Week Ending 27/10/07
Another tough week! No rain until Saturday and although the water level was maintained at 2-3” above summer low, the water and the fish were stale. Rain forecast for Friday never materialised, and drizzle on Saturday eventually turned to rain at about 4:00 p.m., too late to save the week. Just 9 fish were caught on the Novar beats during the week, though this extension to the season is only in its second year, and the beats were lightly fished. The fish that were caught were spread evenly through anglers and beats, with Beat 2 performing the best, producing 3 fish.

The rain has continued through Sunday and at 5:30 p.m. the water level seen on Beat 5 appeared up 9-10 inches and apparently rising, so belatedly we should see a significant improvement in the fishing and catches for the next few days and the close of the season.

Week Ending 20/10/07
The fine weather continued for a third week with mainly warm sunny weather though there were some showers on Tuesday and a small rise on the river on Wednesday. With no significant rain for a few weeks the fishing remained difficult. Despite the low water level there was evidence of some fish running. Just 11 fish are known to have been caught on the Novar beats this week, though these included fish of 14 lbs to Ian Moutter and 13 lbs to Roger Evans who landed 3 fish from Beat 3 on the 20th. On the Angling Club water Ian Dudgeon had a grilse of 6 lbs on the 15th in the run into the A9 bridge pool.
 
The water level is currently at 2-3" above summer low, dropping slowly. Water levels should be maintainable at around 2" throughout the week regardless of rainfall. There is rain forecast for Monday and spring tides due at the end of the week, so prospects look a little better.

Week Ending 13/10/07
The warm & sunny weather continued for a second week, with negligible rainfall. With no significant rain for a few weeks the river was low throughout the week at about 2-3" above summer low. Although fish were showing in just about every pool, they were reluctant to take and the fishing was slow overall with just 14 fish known to have been landed on the Novar beats. Despite the low water level there was evidence of some fish running, and a silver fish was caught during the week on Beat 1.

John Currie’s party of 3 rods fared best with 7 fish including 2 to John, 3 to Michael Hodge including a 9lb clean fish from Beat 1, and 2 to Alan Wreathall. Oliver Morgan recorded his first salmon, a 5½ lbs grilse from Beat 4 on the 11th.

The water level is currently at 2"above summer low, dropping slowly. Water levels should be maintainable at 1 to 2" throughout the week. There is little rain currently forecast for the week so prospects look poor at the moment.

Week Ending 06/10/07
Thump! Back to Earth. While we enjoyed an 'Indian summer' the fishing was extremely difficult, starting OK but becoming increasingly harder as the week progressed. The water level throughout the week was about 4" above summer low and though there are fish in just about every pool, they were reluctant to take. Just 8 fish are currently known to have been landed on the Novar beats, though there were also several lost as the fish seemed to be ‘taking short’. Of the fish landed, amazingly 2 were 'first salmon' - read into that what you will!

Steve Sgarr from the US caught his first salmon a fish of 8¾ lbs from Beat 2 on the Monday and Fabrice Veroqui from France in the same party caught his first salmon a small grilse of 3 lbs from Beat 4 on the Tuesday.

Also on the Monday, Malcolm Feiger from Middlesex caught 3 salmon on the Ardross water and Ian Dudgeon had a 7lb salmon from the Distillery pool on the Alness Angling Club water.

The water level is currently at 3" above summer low, dropping slowly and should be maintainable at around this level throughout the week. There are fish through all beats, though the main pools are full of stale fish, and there is more chance of a fresher fish in the smaller pools and runs. There is little rain currently forecast for the week so prospects look poor at the moment, but could change dramatically if rain materialises.

September 2007
Week Ending 29/09/07
The water level at the start of the week was about 5" above summer low. Persistent light rain on Tuesday produced a rise in water level for Wednesday morning peaking at about 11" above summer low. The water level then dropped back slowly through the remainder of the week. The two rises in water level in the past 2 weeks have allowed fish to move freely through the river, but most resident fish in the larger pools appear not to have moved and are stale; fresher fish being caught in the smaller pools and ‘pocket water’. Fish were running the beats throughout the week (Beat 2 on Saturday) and the fishing was very patchy, with individual beats being full of fish one day and quiet the next. The fishing wasn't easy, but 65 fish were caught on the Novar beats, 42 of them to SalmonQuest's rods.

David Makgill-Crichton’s party caught 10 fish for the week including a first salmon for James Keith from Beat 2 on Wednesday (followed by a second on Friday), and 2 fish for Sam Keith. Keith Neal also caught his first and second salmon during the week. Mick Spencer and John Walton had 12 for the week and Ken Smyth and Tom Sharp caught 7.

Malcolm Feiger fishing the Ardross Castle waters turned in the best known individual catch return for the week with 12 fish between 5 to 10lbs all on the same fly: a six or eight double, silver body, orange hair with a little black.

The water level is currently at 5 to 6"above summer low, dropping slowly. There is little rain currently forecast, but in any case water levels should be maintainable at 4" or more throughout the week. Prospects are fair but would be improved by more rain.

Week Ending 22/09/07
Persistent light rain with a few heavy showers last weekend produced a rise in water level for Monday morning peaking at about 14" above summer low. The water level dropped back to about 7" by Wednesday where it remained fairly static with occasional rain throughout the week. It was an amazing week for catches with 84 fish caught on the Novar beats, 73 of them to SalmonQuest's rods. About half of these were caught on the Monday & Tuesday and despite the figures the fishing was not that easy for the rest of the week and perseverance was key. Catches were spread evenly through the beats with 10 off of Beat 1 and 16 off Beat 2.

With so many fish caught, there are a number of successes worth highlighting: Gary Macdonald’s party of 5 rods from Lancashire accounted for a staggering 43 fish for the week of which 41 were returned safely. Gary himself caught 12 including a fish of 14 lbs from Beat 4. Dave Houldsworth had 13 up to 12½ lbs, Bob Greenep had 10, Adam Carr 6 and Ed Metcalfe 2.

Elsewhere, Hugh Stokes (82) from Bristol caught his 1st salmon for 20 years on the Monday and followed it up on Tuesday with a personal best of 4 fish from Beat 3. Billy Marshall’s party from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland caught 9 fish for the week and Jakob Kircher and Florian Bohder from Austria landed 6.

The water level is currently (Sunday) at 6.5" above summer low, dropping slowly. There is some rain forecast for Monday & Tuesday, but in any case water levels should be maintainable at 4" or more throughout the week. Spring tides are due later in the week, which should hopefully bring in some fresh fish. There are fish through all beats. Prospects are fairly good but if we get more rain as forecast who knows!

Week Ending 15/09/07
With no rain for nearly 4 weeks, river levels were maintained for most of the week at 3-4" above summer low through the release of compensation water. The fishing was slow however suggesting the water had become stale. Light but persistent rain on Friday and Saturday eventually resulted in a natural rise, and the fresh water brought the fish and the fishing to life. There were 37 fish caught on the Novar beats during the week, 21 of them to SalmonQuest's rods. At least 8 fish were caught yesterday afternoon as the water began to rise, and a couple of these were sea-liced showing that fresh fish are running again.

Andrew Goodge from Aberdeenshire caught 2 grilse on Monday from Beat 4 and 3 on Friday from Beat 6. The Musschenbroek party staying at Ardtalla had 7 fish for the week including 2 ‘first salmon’ on Tuesday for Derwent & Lizzie Campbell with a grilse apiece from Beat 6, and 3 fish for Peter Lousada on Saturday from Beat 5.

The water level is currently at 7.5" above summer low, dropping slowly. The rain forecast for today hasn't come to much, but there is more rain due this week. The loch level should be up so water levels should be maintainable at 4" or more throughout the week. Prospects are good for the beginning of the week, but would be improved further out by more rain.

Week Ending 08/09/07
It  was another dry week, extending the dry period to 3 weeks now. River levels were maintained at around 2-3" above summer low throughout the week and a 'freshet' was provided on Friday/Saturday by the release of compensation water. Conditions were not ideal and the fishing was slow. It was also a quieter week in terms of the numbers of visiting anglers, but there were still 14 fish off the Novar beats. Water levels were still sufficient to bring fish into the river and there have been many reports of larger salmon seen coming over the weir and running through the lower beats.

Ken Moir from Orkney proved the fish were there to be caught with 7 salmon and grilse from 3 days of fishing at the beginning of the week including 3 fish from Beat 5 and 3 fish from Beat 6. Clark Anderson from Northampton caught 2 fresh fish of 12 lbs and 8 lbs on Friday from Beat 4, having caught a grilse on Beat 6 the day before.

The water level is currently at 3.5" above summer low, dropping slowly. The forecast suggests some rain today (but it may not be significant) and fair weather for at least the first part of the week. We have good reserves of water in the loch, so water levels should be maintainable at 2-3" above summer low regardless. Spring tides are due mid-week. Prospects are OK, but would be greatly improved by rain.

August 2007
Week Ending 01/09/07
With no rain for a fortnight, river levels were maintained at around 3" above summer low throughout the week by the release of compensation water. Conditions were not ideal, but with large numbers of fish through the river, it was a reasonable week overall with 26 fish off the Novar beats of which 17 were caught to SalmonQuest’s rods. A number of sea-liced fish were caught showing that water levels were sufficient to bring fish into the river.

Rupert Collis’ party had 4 fish in 2 days fishing including a salmon of 9lbs, and David Wells from Hereford had 6 fish for the week including 3 fish from Beat 3. There was another ‘first salmon’ this week for Toby Stafford-Deitsch (16) from Bath, a 3½ lbs grilse caught on Beat 6 on Friday which completed his ‘Macnab’ for the week!

The water level is currently about 3.5" above summer low, dropping slowly. The latest weather forecast suggests fair weather for at least the first part of the week with no significant rain. There are good reserves of water in the loch so water levels for the coming week should be maintainable at 2-3" above summer low regardless.


Week Ending 25/08/07
Saturday night’s spate fell away quickly on Sunday producing excellent fishing conditions for the beginning of the week. The combination of hot & sunny weather (it is supposed to be summer!) and the water level dropping further made the fishing increasingly tougher as the week progressed.

Overall it was another good week though with 31 fish off the Novar beats of which 21 were caught to SalmonQuest’s rods. Richard Munro Ferguson caught 6 fish on the Monday including a salmon of 9½ lbs from Beat 2. Alan Watson from Inverness and Peter Ford from Nairn each had 3 fish from Beat 5 on Tuesday including a superb salmon of 15 lbs for Peter - the best fish so far this season from the Novar beats. John Cameron from Dingwall fished Tuesday and Wednesday and caught 5 fish in total including a 7 lbs salmon from Beat 5. There was one ‘first salmon’ this week for Tom Faulkner staying at Ardtalla, a 4½lbs grilse caught on Beat 6 on Tuesday.

The water level is currently at 3” above summer low. No rain is forecast in the short term but regardless levels should be maintainable at 2” for the coming week. Spring tides due Wednesday to Friday.

Week Ending 18/08/07

Week Ending 11/08/07
Prolonged rain last Sunday produced a spate on Monday rising throughout the day to 1.3m in height in the evening (3ft above summer low). Water levels dropped quickly on Tuesday morning then slowly through to Saturday producing good fishing levels throughout the rest of the week and allowing fresh fish to enter the river on each tide. 19 salmon & grilse were caught on the Novar beats during the week from Beat 2 to Beat 6. Most were fresh run grilse between 4 lbs and 6 lbs in weight, and at least half were sea-liced. These included 13 to SalmonQuest's rods of which 4 were 'first salmon'!


Douglas Grant (14) and his father John both recorded their first salmon with grilse of 5 lbs and 4½ lbs respectively from Beat 5 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Josh Peplow (11) caught a small grilse, his first, on Beat 2 on Tuesday and his mother Karen caught her first fish of 5 lbs on Beat 6 on Friday. Also on Beat 6 Alan Watson from Inverness had 1 salmon and 3 grilse on the Thursday, all released. The Montague party staying at Ardtalla recorded 4 fish for the week. All in all some excellent grilse fishing!

There was more rain yesterday p.m. and the water level at 04:30 Sunday morning was up a little at about 6" above summer low. Persistent light rain on Sunday morning suggests water levels may rise further and there is a chance of a spate today or on Monday. Regardless, water levels should be good throughout the week. With fish throughout the river, prospects are good.

Week Ending 04/08/07
A quieter week as water levels dropped steadily from 6" to 2" above summer low, and both salmon & grilse appeared reticent to move through the river. Only 5 grilse were reported off the Novar beats. Persistent drizzle and a few heavier showers on Sunday afternoon and throughout the night should result in a good rise on Monday morning and better prospects for next week.

July 2007
Week Ending 28/07/07
At least 11 salmon and grilse were caught on the Novar beats during the week including 3 ‘first salmon’. On the 23rd Alison Hook from Gloucestershire landed her first salmon, a 6 lbs grilse fishing Beat 5.


The Stenhouse family had great success fishing 5 rod days. Paul Stenhouse had 2 fish; one of 9½ lbs from Beat 4 and another of 4lbs from Beat 6. On the 26th Paul’s sister Mrs Irvine Robertson caught her first salmon, fishing her 1st pool (!) on Beat 5, a fish of 7 lbs. On the 28th nephew Alaster Robertson caught his 1st salmon a 5lbs grilse and Paul’s son Jamie had a salmon of 7lbs from Beat 6.

Also this week Ben Perkins had 3 salmon & grilse including a fish of 7 lbs from Beat 3, Robin Vasey had a grilse from Beat 5 and John Vost a 2½ lbs sea trout from Beat 6.

Week Ending 21/07/07
There were 2 Spates last week, both producing runs of grilse and summer  salmon. Persistent light rain on Sunday and Monday produced a rise on Monday evening, and 3 fresh fish were caught on the Monday. Torrential thunderstorms on Tuesday produced a flash flood and the river was coloured and unfishable on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. By Wednesday evening the level had dropped and good numbers of grilse and salmon were running the lower beats. Despite no visiting anglers, 10 fish were caught during the week on the Novar beats by seasonal lets and locals including fish of 13 lbs and 14 lbs to Peter McAllister.

Week Ending 14/07/07
Water levels were good at the beginning of the week, but slowly dropped to 2” above summer low at the end. A few grilse were entering the river, but not in significant numbers. A number of fish were ‘turned’ or ‘pulled’, but only one fish was caught on the Novar Beats, a 3 lbs grilse for Jamie Stenhouse from Ayrshire from Beat 6.

Week Ending 07/07/07
Despite good water only a few grilse seemed to be entering the river, and none were caught on the Novar Beats. Graham Clarke from Hertfordshire caught his first sea trout however a 1½ lb fish from Beat 4 on the 5th.

June 2007
There was good water in early June but unfortunately few visiting salmon anglers. At least 6 springers were caught on the Novar Beats including 2 on the 5th from Beat 5 of 13 lbs and 9½ lbs, 1 from Beat 3 of 9lbs on the 6th, and a fish of 10 lbs from Beat 6 on the 13th. Robert Wilde caught a 2½ lbs sea trout from the Distillery Pool on the Angling Club water on the 21st, Charlie Trevor had a small grilse from Beat 4 on the 25th and Bernard Stebbing from Winchester had a 1lb 10oz sea trout on the 28th from Beat 6.

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