July
“July was another month where the ten-day forecast promised rain, but it simply didn’t materialise in the Carron catchment. We did start July with a promising rise from the bottom of the gauge to plus 3 inches, but it quickly dropped back to minus 5. Jim Browne’s party were in residence and successfully landed two summer salmon, weighing about 5lb each. Jos Clarke caught one in Contractors, and Adriane Clarke landed the other in the neck of Millers. Three sea trout up to 2lb were also reeled in.
We saw a slight rise in water during the week of July 6th, and although 5 grilse were lost, the very warm conditions meant the party stopped fishing by the second half of the week. The week of the13th was unfishable as water temperatures soared to 71°F on several occasions.
The 23rd of July fared a bit better when we actually had a lift in water on Monday night. Overnight, the river rose dramatically from minus 14 inches to at least 5 feet in just two hours! The coffee-coloured water had cleared to merely dirty by the time the Ellis party started fishing at 5 am. With 2ft 6 on the gauge, this was the best water since the 9th of March, which is unbelievable. On the 22nd, two salmon were landed. John Ellis had one in the Morail and another from the Rock. On the 23rd, two more 5.5-pounders were landed, with Andrew Quested catching one in Macallan and Hugo Merison caught one from Contractors.
Special mention must be given to Jamie Ellis and William Hawke, who made an incredible day trip from Cheshire. Arriving at the lodge about 3 am, they had a brief rest and were on the river by 5:30 am, fishing until 6 pm before driving straight home. Jamie landed an impressive six sea trout up to 3lb, and William caught one in Lower Craigs. Between them, they also lost 6 salmon! Nick Denton also caught a 1.5lb sea trout in the Tree pool. By the end of the week, the river was unfortunately back on the bottom of the gauge.”
