Salmon fishing with teenagers

Looking back I suppose we had it coming. Encouraging the children to adopt our hobbies is all very romantic but there comes a point when they are both better than you and, with regards fishing and admittedly due to parental enthusiasm, pole position is assumed on the best pools and they hog the rods. Not only that, since last year they seem keener than us. The only time my husband and I experienced the magical anticipation of the riverbank to ourselves was with the midges before breakfast. Having said all that, with each fun-packed day that passed, I quietly acknowledged that as a family holiday it is difficult to beat.

Six o’clock starts weren’t quite what I had in mind but the rewards more than made up for it.
While the lodge, The Old Manse, ticked to the sound of gentle purring from various bedrooms that our children and their friends had bunked up in, sneaking out felt like role reversal. The very idea that they may have woken up while we were out was unthinkable but at least our cook, hired for the week, would be able to reassure them with the smell of bacon wafting up through the banisters before we were back. Even with only one pre-breakfast fish between us, we had accrued enough peace and tranquillity to last us a week during our new roles as ghillies.

Our children, Harry, 15, Georgina, 13, Rosie, 10, and two friends, have all fished before. Some cast better than others but all are capable of catching fish.

For us the dynamics of a family fishing holiday have really changed now the children are in their teens. Their eagerness to be on the riverbank is greater than when they were younger and the midges and the drizzle don’t seem to bother them so much. Despite the difficulty of levering them out of bed before lunch, they have a better understanding of the river and their tackle and they want to catch fish.

‘Killer flies’ were recommended by the river keeper, Jim Stewart, who suggested Ally’s Shrimp, Munro Killer and Silver Stoat. Floating lines were set up on 10 to 11 foot rods and although no particular challenge was set, pressure was mounting to land a salmon first.  Unlike many rivers, the Borgie does not have a full-time ghillie. Jim is always happy to advise fishermen but his time is restricted. So with that in mind, parents or members of the party need to be able to instruct and encourage youngsters.  Fortunately casting is simplified due to the river’s narrowness and a thankful lack of vegetation on the bank; there are also occasional groynes.

The other essential requirement to a reproachful week’s fishing holiday and to maintain a young person’s interest is plenty of excuses. You need reasons to explain why the fish aren’t throwing themselves into landing nets. Heatwaves, droughts, flooding, farmed-fish invasion, netting, poaching, wrong day of the week can all be blamed but our problem according to Jim was that the northerly wind was too cold for salmon.

As the course of the deception process dictates however, it is paramount that no-one else on the river system is catching fish either. Sharing the river with us on three rotating beats were two couples in their 60s who were fast becoming our new best friends if only to establish that they were losers too. Teenage speak of course.

On Day Two they proudly announced they had caught two salmon and with a wry smile assured us that our time would come. Such charm. With the risk of anathema developing, let’s be honest nothing can ignite the competitive spirit more than someone else with a fish to their name; our young party were driven to fishing almost to the point of obsession.  With mounting fear that the ever present teenagers’ mobile phones might ring for an update of our progress it was with some embarrassment that by Day Three, the fishing book still hadn’t witnessed an entry. It’s amazing how exciting it can be to catch a salmon-parr but with nothing else to record, it had advanced into a reasonable sport - poor things.

Sitting round the lunch and dinner table every day and night embellishing the tales of fish seen, nearly caught or just plain lusted after had come to be routine banter. But on Day Four the thirst for riparian victory was about to be quenched.

It all started off as inauspiciously as the previous mornings. My husband and Georgie set off at 6am while I took the more reticent perspective of I’m on holiday and what’s the point. But two and half hours later, the lodge was awakened to the sound of triumph - a fish no less and a promise of a fine dinner that evening.

I don’t know whether tiredness was creeping in after several late nights of playing cards but that morning, no-one really stirred. I mean come on, this was their chance, this is what we had all been waiting for. The river was ready, sound the foghorn the hunters are coming! But nothing. A nicer parent might have insisted and not slipped out to try and cash in, but it was irresistible. I got my comeuppance however with an empty net and a guilty conscience. But by midday the blood was up and all the young were out taking it in turns to harvest the changing fortune. After a quick lunch everyone took turns over several hours until another fine grilse succumbed to our flies. We let our modest success be known to our neighbours!

And so the week went on as a roller-coaster of determination, expectation and realisation. Four fish were caught in total and even for those who didn’t kill their first salmon, I never once saw or heard a shred of disappointment or despondency. New friendships had been struck, brotherly advice had been offered (and taken) and a great camaraderie had enveloped our party. As parents we may have become victims of our own success in terms of decreasing our own opportunities to fish but then hopefully they may all want to come with us again next year.

 

BORGIE FACT FILE

The River Borgie flows from Loch Slaim along the narrow seven mile stretch to the sea on the north coast of Scotland at Torrisdale Bay. There are over 50 named pools.  The season opens on January 12 with March, April and May being the best months for springers. The grilse arrive at the end of May and with enough water July can still produce plenty of fish.

The ticket/private water is let weekly and rotated along with three other rotating beats below the falls. Changeover takes place daily.  After May, the River is divided into three rotating beats upstream of Borgie Burn, with Beat 4 above the falls let as a fixed non-rotating beat with the Old Manse of Borgie. Each beat takes two rods and the beats below the falls rotate at 6pm each day.

The rotating beats are accessible from the forestry track which runs parallel to the river.

100,000 fed fry are released each year due to an annual re-stocking programme.

The five year average is in the region of 240 fish per season.  Wading is not required. Double-handed rods are used in the spring but in the summer a trout rod or a light double-hander is sufficient as the wind is lighter and the flies are smaller.

Willie Gunn is recommended in the spring followed by black-and-yellow and orange-and-yellow tubes. The Silver Stoat, Munro Killer and Ally’s Shrimp catch fish in the summer.

A catch-and-release policy is encouraged although not obligatory.

Accommodation: The Old Manse of Borgie is a self-catering lodge sleeping 10.

Contact Mather Jamie for details on: 01509 233433.
The Borgie Lodge Hotel: 01641 521332
Cooks: Lumley’s Scottish Office: 01835 864268

 

 
 
 

Home | Articles | Magazine | Scottish Sporting Gazette
Blogs & Comment | Upcoming Events | Sign Up | About Us