Braelangwell Lodge

30/07/2025

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 July 13th 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 – an almost unbelievable turn of events. 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 reeling in 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."

24/07/2025

https://youtu.be/7Jp2FKillMA?si=5OUWDWF77nVxHBsr

Wild Atlantic salmon are facing unprecedented threats, from rising river temperatures to pollution, predation, and barriers along their migration routes. But...

22/07/2025

Just under 2ft on the gauge down from about 5ft.
Unbelievable to think this is the highest water since Monday the 10th of March. This is the first year that we haven't had the beats off even one day.
The river was very dirty last night

14/07/2025

06/07/2025

The tail of Keepers looking good.
Typical, the best water we've had since the last week of May (2 inches) and it's Sunday

04/07/2025

Fantastic roast beef tonight

04/07/2025

While strimming Frenchmans for the second time I realised that although Frenchmans starts fishing at 0" on the gauge I don't think the river has been high enough to fish since the last time I did it.
Bit soul destroying.

02/07/2025

June continued to be dominated by low water, making fishing challenging. A brief rise on the 4th of June saw the river running at 0" on the gauge in the morning. This small lift brought some success, James Shacknell landed his first ever salmon, a sea-liced 6.5lb fish from the Washerwoman. Angus Griffiths also caught a 4lb salmon from the Contractors pool on a Kyley. The following day, Angus also landed a 2lb sea-trout from the Morail.

The river then returned to pretty much unfishable low conditions until the 24th. With 6" on the gauge, Richard Haworth managed to catch a 2.5lb sea-trout from Tree . The next day, he landed a 4lb fresh grilse from the Washerwoman. Angus Griffiths also had success in the evenings, landing three sea-trout between 1 and 2lb over a couple of sessions."

11/06/2025

Away to give the new Mackenzie FX2 11ft 4 atlas a go.

06/06/2025

Got some strimming in today in preparation for the next lift of water

05/06/2025

It's been a quiet and windy start to the week with the river staying unsettled but we got off the mark yesterday with a salmon from Contractors followed by another from the Washerwoman. A fantastic dinner followed

31/05/2025

We have had a challenging spring, significantly impacted by drought conditions, yet marked by some successes here and there.
The season began promisingly with Angus Griffiths landing the first fish on February 4th from the Bank pool, with the gauge at 6". By March 10th, a total of 6 salmon had been recorded, marking the best start since 1995, despite the already prevalent lack of water.
Water levels fluctuated significantly throughout the early season. After Angus’s initial catch, the water dropped until a brief rise to minus 6" on March 3rd. This rise allowed Rick Verbeeten to catch two salmon, one from Gardners and another from the neck of the Morail. The water receded again until March 10th, when it briefly rose to 2ft 3", enabling John Ritchie, Scott Maclean, and Finlay to each catch a salmon from the Morail.
Following this, a period of no water ensued until a small rise on March 29th. Mark Arkwright managed to catch a 7lb salmon from Gardners with the gauge at three inches.
The first tenants arrived on March 30th to a gauge reading of 3ft, but this quickly dropped to 0" by the morning. Host Olly Alston successfully caught two salmon from the Morail that day. Despite the river dropping to minus 9" by the end of the week, Jason Ellis and Angus Nicoll each added a salmon to the count from the Washerwoman and the neck of the Morail, respectively.
Another dry spell followed until a small rise to minus 7" on April 29th. Stuart Lodge unfortunately lost a good salmon in the neck of the Morail, but persevered and caught an 8lb salmon from Charlies on April 30th.
The river then drops to a record low until this week when the Emslie party arrived. Ed Hitchman kicked off their week with his first-ever salmon, weighing about 10lb, from Contractors, with the gauge at minus 10".
The following day saw a good rise in the river to 1ft 6". Charlotte Emslie caught a 15lb salmon from the Morail, and her husband Jamie added two more to the book at 13lb and 7lb, also from the Morail.
On Wednesday, with 6" on the gauge, three more salmon were recorded. Ed Grissell caught his first ever fish from Contractors, followed by another from Charlies before lunch. Charlotte Emslie also had