Weather is crucial to the success of a fishing trip
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Northern Lines by Dr Keith Williams
Few conversations in Scotland fail to mention the weather, and amongst anglers talk of prevailing and future meteorological conditions borders on the obsessional.
This has been heightened by the ready availability of phone apps and online forecasts which are scrutinised by salmon fishers earnestly hoping for rain, or by loch anglers seeking a favourable wind.
Without doubt the weather can make all the difference. The first three days of my recent loch fishing trip to Harris were spent becalmed and fishless; the final two days resulted in the wind being too strong to safely fish from a boat. Needless to say, after a prolonged dry spell it was raining heavily as I caught the ferry home, adding to the sense of frustration.
Whole books have been devoted to weather and how it influences the catchability of trout and salmon. Even relatively small changes in barometric pressure appear to trigger alterations in behaviour that can result in a fish taking the fly on offer.
After nine weeks of very dry weather here in the Kyle area, the rains finally came at the end of July.
A very kind invitation to fish on the River Oykel meant I was lucky enough to share in the bountiful catches resulting from elevated water levels and associated influx of fish previously held up in the tidal reaches.
As much as it was a delight to enjoy such good fishing, I was profoundly relieved that the water temperatures had dropped and that conditions had improved for the fish as a result of the precipitation.
Some smaller burns had run completely dry for the first time in my memory and high water temperatures always carry the risk of outbreaks of disease amongst salmon and sea trout unable to migrate.
Historically the bulk of salmon caught on rod and line would have been killed and eaten but these days the vast majority are returned to the water as a conservation measure.
Evidence suggests that the ability of the fish to recover from capture is highly dependent on water temperature. The present advice is that angling for salmon should not take place when water temperature exceeds 18°C.
This places anglers in a dilemma, particularly if they are visitors who perhaps only fish for salmon one week a year and are keen to fish irrespective of the prevailing conditions. The choice becomes more than just judging the chances of success. Instead, the question is will the fish survive if it is caught and returned?
Dr Keith Williams is the director of Kyle Fisheries.
