Helmsdale District Salmon Fishery Board

Continuing recent tradition the Helmsdale district salmon fishery board is opening the river to all anglers without charge from the first day of the 2024 season Thursday 11th January until Saturday 20th January.
Anglers are required only to sign in, providing names and addresses, at Glencoast, the tackle and retail shop in the High St.
The beat system is suspended during the Open Days. The whole river up to the Falls at Kildonan is available for fishing in any pools of the anglers choosing.
Fishing is by fly only and all fish must be returned to the river unharmed. Any kelts hooked and caught, which potentially form the next generation of Helmsdale salmon, should be returned as fast as possible and with care.
The opening ceremony complete with piping will start in the High St at 10am. Anglers are asked not to starting fishing until the ceremony is over

The early anglers faced cold and wintry conditions. River levels were good. May provided some productive fishing until a period of dry weather commenced.
Rain fell but not in quantities to significantly raise water levels and move fish around in the system. Whist the ground was not parched light rain failed to change fishing fortunes. June was an abnormally dry month and catches languished.
In July significant rainfall changed fishing on the river. Rain started in the second week. There were considerable catches in the last half of the month and recurrent rainfall kept water heights good. Anglers commented on the seemingly poor grilse run. Catches were mainly of springers which had moved station in the river and fish from a good run of summer salmon. These are the older multi-sea-winter salmon which form the backbone of a salmon population.
The sea-trout were of above-average weight. Unusually there were fresh sea-tout entering the system until late summer.
In mid-summer dry weather resumed. Catches were steady but unspectacular. Towards the end of the month low atmospheric pressure produced more cloud bursts and with them higher catches. Some late August fishing was excellent.
The last month of the season, September, is when catches can vault sharply upwards. This did not occur until the last fortnight when for the second time in the year the private beats caught over a hundred in a week.
The beats ended with 1,107 salmon and grilse and around a hundred caught on the Lower
Helmsdale produced a final River Helmsdale catch of about 1,200. The rate of fish caught and returned was 97%. Therefore the huge majority of fish caught by anglers were released to contribute to spawning and re-stock the river.
The Helmsdale is Conservation Grade 1, meaning stocks are considered to be in good health. After angling had ended really heavy rain lasting two days and a spate big enough to change the profile of the river arrived on 21st October. Gravel was moved, spawning redds disappeared beneath sediment, and new redds appeared from upstream shifting silt. Parts of the Strath of Kildonan were underwater from side to side. It resulted in the highest high-tide mark for floods for 30 years. Electro-fishing in 2024 will reveal the effects on populations of young fry.

Bringing the Helmsdale to life in a special way the Board welcomes for the first time an occasion reserved for Lady Anglers on Saturday 27th May.

Between 10 am and 4 pm the Lower Helmsdale fishing will be reserved for a ladies event with casting demos, tuition and guided fly fishing from some of Scotland’s foremost lady anglers on one of Scotland’s foremost fly-fishing rivers.

After learning new casting techniques and fishing skills ladies will join for a delicious lunch, to be followed by gin-tasting at the tackle and outfitter shop Glencoast on the High St.

For info and booking contact Yvonne Grant at: yvonnetorrish@hotmail.co.uk Tel Glencoast 01431 821372.

In an autumn of wind, rain and snow the dry warm summer of 2022 seems a long way off.  The Helmsdale with the aid of compensation water released from Badanloch dam managed to maintain catches throughout the year.  Intermittent light rain helped to freshen the flows even though river levels did not markedly rise all through the summer.

The rod catch for the season was around 1300 fish, a considerable increase on 2021.  The grilse run was believed to be stronger than in the two previous years.

Spawning took place before heavy rain had arrived and good numbers of spawners were seen in every part of the catchment.  With eventual high water in mid-November spawners were swept to sea and few kelts were found in backwaters and bays.

Looking forward to 2023 the Helmsdale River Board welcomes all anglers to its Open Days starting 11th January.

Fishing will be open to all visitors without charge until Monday 23rd January.  Anglers must sign in at the tackle shop Glencoast in the High St giving their addresses.  Angling is by fly only and all fish must be returned.

The hooking of any remaining kelts must be avoided where possible.  Kelts are potentially multi sea-winter returning fish, the most valuable component of the stock.  They need all their strength of the enormous migration ahead.

For the Opening Days the beat system is suspended and anglers may fish anywhere they choose.  Fishing above the Falls on beat 6, however, is not permitted. No early salmon are likely to have got that far anyway.  The river below the Falls constitutes the major part of the fishing.

The opening ceremony, complete with piping, will take place at 10am on the 11th.  Anglers are asked not to commence fishing until the opening cast has been taken by a local angler.

The Board looks forward to a good salmon and sea-trout migration in 2023 and wishes all anglers an enjoyable time for the forthcoming fishing season.

16th December 2022.

The season 2021 is now finished and will be remembered for low water and lack of rain from mid-June. Frequently through the season rain clouds headed for the Helmsdale catchment then veered past and fell on neighbouring rivers. Water was low by mid-summer. The compensation water behind Badanloch Dam was critical in preserving some flow on the 24 miles of Helmsdale angling water through to rain in late September.

Covid restrictions limited the amount of fishing to efforts by local anglers until the end of April. Fortunately in that time fishing conditions were good. Fishing on the private beats resumed its normal pattern in the last week in April. The rod catch for the season topped 1,000 fish which in light of the warm dry summer was reasonable. It was comforting at any rate that the Scottish government recognised, as Covid took a grip on the country’s well-being, that outdoor activity including fishing in rivers posed a lesser threat than meeting indoors.

The capture of broodstock for the Helmsdale hatchery continued in October and the requisite breeding fish were quickly caught. The DNA programme with the University of the Highlands and Islands to determine the effect of the hatchery programme on the migration continues and accumulates more evidence with every year.

Spawning is presently taking place and good numbers of pairs are visible in the upper
tributaries.

Looking forward to 2022 the Helmsdale River Board welcomes visiting anglers to its Open Days, starting on January 11th 2022.

Fishing will be open to all visitors without charge from Tuesday 11th January through to Monday 24th January. Angling will be by fly only and in accordance with government regulations all fish must be returned. The hooking of kelts in the tails of wider pools should be avoided if possible. If hooked, kelts should be played as fast as possible and returned.

The beat system is suspended for the Open Days and anglers may fish anywhere they choose.

Every angler must check in at the tackle shop in the Helmsdale high street, Glencoast. The
telephone number of the shop is 01431 821372, or: info@glencoast.co.uk.

Whatever travel and other restrictions are current will be adhered to and the event is contingent on government regulations at the time.

The opening ceremony, including the Sutherland Schools Pipe Band, will start at 10am. Anglers are asked not to fish before it finishes.

The Board looks forward to a good salmon and sea-trout migration in 2022 and an enjoyable time for all anglers in the Strath of Kildonan’s wild and beautiful scenery during the whole angling season.

The Helmsdale District Salmon Fishery Board is regretfully obliged to cancel the Open Days due to commence on January 11th.
We had all been looking forward to this exit from lockdown, treading the banks of the river undisturbed since September. However the First Minister’s statement on January 4th makes it clear that opening the river to all anglers will not be possible.
The Board meantime looks forward to welcoming you to this event in future and takes this chance to offer you the best possible New Year.

The Helmsdale River Board welcomes visiting anglers to its Open Days in 2021.

Soundings have been taken by the Board with community bodies and all are in agreement that it would be a great shame not to continue with this outdoor activity, where participants are in the nature of fishing spaced well apart. Also it is a time when many will be keen to be out-and-about again and enjoying the beauty and wild scenery in the Strath of Kildonan. The chance of an early salmon is one not easily passed by. Fishing will be open to all visitors without charge from Monday January 11th to Saturday January 23rd.

The usual rules will apply. Angling will be fly only and, in accordance with government regulations, all fish must be returned. The Board asks that anglers handle kelts with due respect, play them as fast as is reasonable, and return them to the water quickly.

Anglers may fish anywhere of their choice on the river. The beat system is suspended for the Open Days and all pools are available. Please try and avoid hooking kelts in the wider tails of the pools if possible.

Owing to the risk posed by groups of people gathered together the tradition of the opening ceremony and the pipe band marching the High St has been abandoned for 2021. The Board trusts that visitors will understand why. The Board and local community bodies are as keen as all to minimise the risk of spreading virus infection. The performance of the Sutherland Schools Pipe Band and the Opening Cast by a local angler will be missed by everyone. We look forward to resuming the traditional format the following year.

Every angler must check in at Glencoast in the High St. This year Yvonne Grant will take checking in electronically in advance to minimise unnecessary crowding in the shop. Full details will be requested, including both address and telephone number in order to comply with track-and-trace. Anglers should contact: info@glencoast.co.uk The telephone number of the shop is 01431 821372.

It is assumed by the Board that whatever travel regulations are in place at the time will be adhered to.

The Board hopes that all who come will enjoy fishing this wonderful river and being in Sutherland at the dawn of a fresh season.

The 6 week period of salmon fishing restricted to local anglers which started 29th May ended on 6th July when fishing on the beats became available once more to visitors, and to members of the public on the Lower Helmsdale. The period restricted to local anglers saw several young
anglers catch their first fish. Many locals participated in fishing by invitation on the private beats. Then two visitors caught a grilse each on the first Saturday after full opening.

The Board employees assisted during lockdown in distributing food and medicines to the elderly and the Board contributed to the provision of hygiene, protection and sanitiser supplies to community outlets.

On May 29th when fishing opened for the first time since 24th March local anglers found that many salmon which had not seen flies before were stirred into action. There were occasional days following spates of very good catches. The period of lockdown fishing for locals only had reasonable weather with a warm dry spell in the middle. Generally speaking water levelsremained good. There were occasional frosts, keeping water from over-heating, until late June.

Summer spates to date have seen water rising over two feet but nothing more dramatic. Like in 2019 rainfall has often been localised, sometimes in thunder-plumps.

It seems likely that returning numbers of spring salmon were lower than the very good year of 2019. Grilse numbers appear to be higher. Grilse are in good condition with very few ‘skinny’ specimens. They are averaging 4 – 5 lb. The first appearance of sea-trout in late June showed fish that were fit and in good condition, weighing up to 6lb. Some multi sea winter summer salmon have been caught and these, too, are in good condition.

Half-way through the season catches look reasonable given that angling has been severely curtailed during April and May, and reduced between June and early July.

The Helmsdale River Board is continuing with its normal electro-fishing programme despite mothballing of the national scheme owing to corona. It started in early July. This informs the Board about the population, condition, and survival of young migratory fish in the upper tributaries and burns. It is the main indicator of fish health in the system.

The 2019 season on the Helmsdale ended with reasonable catches. From July the fungus, or saprolegnia, which had afflicted the returning salmon in May and June began to fade. This coincided with the water getting warmer. By September nearly all fish were clean and they returned to taking flies in the normal manner. There was evidence on many fish of recovery from the fungus earlier in the season.

At the end of the season the capture programme for broodstock salmon was completed faster than usual. The DNA work being done to assess the contribution to migratory runs made by hatchery fry is now being undertaken by the University of the Highlands and Islands in Inverness. Spawning conditions in the river in November 2019 were characterised by cloudy skies and high water. Therefore, unlike in 2018, very little in detail could be seen. It appeared that spawning was
satisfactory and considerable numbers of salmon were witnessed on the redds. By mid-November most spawned salmon had returned to the sea.

The Board welcomed two local schools to the hatchery to witness stripping eggs from hen salmon, fertilisation, and eggs being placed for the winter in the egg trays. This programme will continue through into next Spring when fry are returned to suitable headwater burns in the river
catchment.

The Helmsdale River Board is continuing the tradition of making Open Days available to all anglers next year without charge. The season opens on Saturday January 11th 2020 and there will be the usual ceremony in the Helmsdale High St starting at 10am. Anglers are asked not to start fishing until the ceremony ends, which is usually at around 10.45am. The Open Days end on Saturday 25th January.

Fishing will be fly only. Anglers may fish anywhere on the river. Under government regulations all fish caught must be returned. Signing in by anglers can can be done at either the Belgrave Hotel or Glencoast, the tackle-shop in the High St. Anglers are asked to return any kelts caught as fast as possible for the sake of improving their survival chance when they reach the sea.

The Helmsdale season ended with a flurry of larger-than-life catches. The long drought which started in May was broken when rain fell heavily in mid-September. Through the long dry summer catches had never altogether ceased but angling had been difficult and sometimes frustrating. Anglers blessed with the arrival of rain caught some of the largest numbers on record. This happy situation applied equally on the private beats and also on the Lower Helmsdale public water fishing.

Spawning started in early November and went on for an unusually long time. In many of the upper tributaries the pools had big numbers of fish. Conditions were ideal for seeing spawning salmon and grilse with reasonably low and steady water, mostly clear, and without the wind shivers which make viewing harder. Some fish had developed fungus on their noses and tails, but mostly they were clean.

The spawning finally ended by about 20th November. Bigger fish which had spawned earlier were drifting back. Some smaller grilse were still paired and in the act of spawning. Redds and the fish were easily visible in water which became increasingly clear.

The 2019 season is upon us before the late-season fishing bonanza has had time to fade from memory.

The Helmsdale fishery board welcomes all anglers to the 2019 Open Days. These start on the season’s first day, January 11th, and finish on Saturday January 19th. The Open Days ceremony starts with the Pipe Band in the High St at 10am., closing with the opening cast by a local angler. Fishing is by fly only. Anglers need to sign in and can then fish anywhere they choose on the whole length of the river. They may sign in either at the Belgrave Hotel or at Glencoast, both in the High St. Scottish Government Spring salmon rules apply and all fish must be returned to the water. Kelts should be treated as gently as possibly to enhance their chances of survival and eventual return to the natal river.

Meantime hopes are on a strong run of early salmon, fattened on their feeding grounds in the north-east Atlantic.