[Graham Strachan]

Just been watching an episode of Go Fishing that was on last night and they were catching salmon & sea-trout on the nymph in the River Test. The weather was bright and sunny but the sea-trout were still keen to take, but this seems to fly in the face of everything iv been told about these shy beasties and also why would they be interested in a nymph? I know the river is more chalk stream than a fast scottish river but they were tide fresh fish and i cant see what would induce them to take it? Questions, questions,qustions! Maybe i should be filling my fly box with hairs ears and gold heads rather than stoats tails and ally shrimps!? 

[Steven Sinclair]

  Yeah to add to this i seem to recall an article a few years back in t and s regarding the very same thing and being practised on the lower beats of the North Esk if my memory serves me correctly.  Also whilst fishing for trout on the dee at middle drum when the river was at its bare bones and nothing else was happening (i think i was around 12 at the time lol) i hooked into a grilse of around 6-7 pounds on a size 16 gold head hares lug and my father also has landed a 14 pound salmon whilst fishing a size 16 cdc for finnock at lunch time at inveray another dee beat???????  We were both using 4# outfits i would like to add 

[Peter McCallum]

A friend of mine regularly fished, he may still do, bugs on the south esk to catch Salmon using the same techniques as he uses for Trout & Grayling. He also caught a 7lber from the tay at stanley on a pink bug. Stuart (Pbibio) heard about this and proceeded to do the same. My personal best Salmon was caught on a Red Tag bug ( size 10 with two layers of lead) whilst fishing the tummel in October for Grayling a couple of years ago.

Stuart & I also hooked and lost heavy fish in the pool where the ericht joins the Isla when after Grayling - in fact we were hooking grayling a few feet from where the big fish took- then these torpedoes took off & broke us after about 20 secs , they could have been monster grayling but my moneys on tourists.

Peter

[Rob Brownfield]

Is there not a whole section in Hugh Falkus' book about Dee Nymphs..or do i have the wrong book?..certainly been written about for the Dee though.

Not hooked a salmon on a nymph but i have hooked a few on maggot, strangely enough, at Stanley...and after all, a grayling bug is basically maggot shaped.

Have had a grilse on a tiny dry fly though

[Hamish Young]

I've not tried it myself, but my old man did well with green chompers (I tied them for him) for salmon and sea trout in the rivers of the Kyle of Sutherland..... no reason why it shouldn't work at all.

[Iain Goolager]

My biggest River Don Sea-Trout was on a weighted PTN (quite large deepwater nymph hook and leaded thorax) while trying to target some of the larger Browns. Although there is no doubt Sea-Trout will take a nymph I'd still favour the traditional wets when targeting them.

Salar, I too remember reading the article on the success of large (was it stonefly?) nymphs for Salmon on the Lower N Esk.

Iain

[Steven Sinclair]

My biggest River Don Sea-Trout was on a weighted PTN (quite large deepwater nymph hook and leaded thorax) while trying to target some of the larger Browns. Although there is no doubt Sea-Trout will take a nymph I'd still favour the traditional wets when targeting them.

Salar, I too remember reading the article on the success of large (was it stonefly?) nymphs for Salmon on the Lower N Esk.

Iain

Yeah Ian I think your correct it was Stonefly nymphs and if i remember correctly it was on the beat (the name of which escapes me) with the large man made croys upstream of the bridge you drive over when travelling southbound to montrose from stonehaven on the coast road.

Steven

[Iain Goolager]

Yup, as I recall that's the beat Mr Salar.

Good luck on The Dee

Iain