[Bakerboy]

Having a day off on Thursday I spent the morning having a look at the Salmon beats on the North Esk near to my home in St Cyrus.
Now I would class myself as a presentable person with good manners and a freindly disposition but I have to say that the suspicion and unfriendly reception that I received from both fishermen and lodgekeeper on two beats left me very unhappy.
All I wanted to do was chat to them about the fishing, availability etc but I was left in no doubt that I was viewed as a tresspasser and no more.
I am a regular trout man on the local lochs and occasionaly on the Don but would love to try Salmon fishing.....I have got all the gear but am at a loss as to how to go about getting started and would like some advice on how to overcome this snobbery.

[Jim Doyle]

Get in touch with neil at angus angling in Forfar he will put you on to some of the local fishings

[JIMBOB]

Sorry to hear about your experince.

If ever you are in the Forres area you can get a daily or weekly visitors ticket to fish the Findhorn for Salmon.

I've been a member for over thirty years and can assure you that you will be made very welcome. We have good runs of grilse and there are pools from above the Findhorn bridge to the estuary at Findhorn bay.

[Iain Goolager]

Bakerboy,
Sorry to hear that.

I am a regular trout man on the local lochs and occasionaly on the Don but would love to try Salmon fishing.....I have got all the gear but am at a loss as to how to go about getting started and would like some advice on how to overcome this snobbery.

I can't help with the snobbery but I can offer you a little 'starting out' advice as I was pretty much where you are but a few months ago.

Firstly go and get a two hour lesson from Tom Marshall - he is located down your neck of the woods (between Brechin and Montrose), with access to beats on both the North and South Esk - trust me it's money well spent (£25 hour). I can get his phone number or you can look it up on the net. Tom has many contacts and I'm sure can offer you the best advice on the Esks.


As I said I'm a relative novice but you pick up a feeling for things quite quickly and I'd say that the ability to drop a fly off of the other bank, without too much disturbance, without too much concern about wind direction, from either bank & regardless of bankside vegitation, line density and fly size is a major bonus and all of these can be dealt with by learning the various casts from a qualified instructor. This can then leave you to concentrate on the actual fishing which is the next stage on the journey and something I'll be working on for the next 20 years.

One more thing, nothing annoys the snobs more than a novice that floggs a pool (I guess they were born with a rod in their hands!) but nothing breaks their aggression more than someone casting gracefully, so go on take lessons and get it up 'em!
Good Luck

Iain

[Hamish Young]

I can't comment on the snobbery - some folks are pleasant and some aren't 

I would make the point though that if you were paying to fish on a stretch of water and someone you didn't know wandered up without an invite might make you a wee bit twitchy. If you've paid for the water/fishing and services of a Ghillie the last thing you want (no disrespect) is some greenhorn turning up asking questions when all you want to do is be left in peace.
Ofcourse we'd like all anglers to be enlightened and welcome a 'newbie' into the 'ranks' with open arms but salmon fishing generally doesn't work that way - sadly

A day or twos tuition will help you out but if you don't want to spend that sort of money (and it can be expensive) then time spent reading and time spent watching will serve you well, if you want to join me for a day sometime drop me a line (no pun intended) and I'll give you a few pointers 

[Dave Gordon]

Bakerboy

I am saddened that this is still happening, as i experienced this myself and now get invited out to some fantastic beats, perhaps 20 years on!

To get you started you are welcome to fish with me on the Dee, perhaps also with Hamish along for moral support. Duncan M and Spency also fish with me! I am no expert but get the odd one and am always delighted to help.

Pm me, I would be delighted to have a cast with you.

Dave

[Barry Robertson]

I had a walk up to Morphy Dyke last week and i know exactly where you are coming from! The frustrating thing was that all the fishers were not local and could hardly cast a fly rod. The price of fishing is getting worse on the Northy and the best beat for value i reckon is the stracathro beat.
The southy is good for Sea trout and you can get a cheap ticket from Brechin sports centre for a 24hr ticket for £3!

[Iain Goolager]

Bigtroot,

Isn't the Stracathro beat a syndicate water? I've been lucky enough in the past to fish a guys rod and the meeting with the Westie is a cracking spot.

Iain

[Barry Robertson]

As far as iam aware you can still book the stracathro beat on the fish esk web site!

[Bakerboy]

Many thanks to you all for the support and advice, I will book a lesson with Tom Marshall (I have his details) before progressing to the river.
Bigtroot - Have I met you at Geordies near Arbroath before?...I think it was you who showed me your new toy which was a lovely 3 weight rod which you had just acquired.
 

[Tam Greenock]

Im hoping to fish the Findhorn this year with JIMBOB, have never fished for salmon before so looking forward to it

[Iain Goolager]

Bakerboy,

Thanks to your post I have arranged a 2 hr refresher with Tom on Thursday. Hope you do too and find it enlightening.

let us know how you get on.

Iain

[Barry Robertson]

Many thanks to you all for the support and advice, I will book a lesson with Tom Marshall (I have his details) before progressing to the river.
Bigtroot - Have I met you at Geordies near Arbroath before?...I think it was you who showed me your new toy which was a lovely 3 weight rod which you had just acquired.
 

Whats your first name Bakerboy?
Use to fish Geordies alot but not been down much lately!