Fishing – dry fly key to Almond success

Dry fly patterns have proved successful on the middle stretch of The Almond where permits are issued by Cramond Angling Club.

Colin McKay has provided an overview on Beat 2 which runs from the railway bridge by the airport down to what used to be the Cramond Brig Hotel.

He has hooked fish on dry fly patterns such as grey dusters, dirty dusters, lark and greys, olive klinkhammers and most olive patterns with either cdc, deer hair and/or dun hackles.

Colin added: “Beat 2 is perhaps relatively more accessible as it can be difficult to access the water on Beat 3 (along the line of the airport runway and up to Kirkliston) at the height of summer due to the growth of bramble bushes, hogweed etc.

“The best time to fish the upper beats of the river is usually at the beginning of the season before it starts to grow and towards the end when the growth starts to die off.

“Due to The Almond being a spate river, fishing can be dependent on how much rain there has or hasn’t been. If there has been a lot of rain the water runs fast and coloured which is not ideal for fly fishing. If it is too low, fish can be easily spooked and hard to catch.”

He added: “It can be a difficult river to fish for various reasons, especially trying to wade.

“Because of the make up of the river bed – loads of holes and big boulders – you need to tread carefully but, once you get to know the river, it has it’s rewards.

“The average size fish this season (for me anyway) has been around the 12oz mark with a few at one to one and a half pounds, and a couple of larger fish around the two pound mark.

“I have met some other anglers who have had success with wet fly and nymph patterns and there have been reports of sea trout being caught on Beat 1 (down to Cramond).

“The usual patterns for these would be teal, blue and silver, Peter Ross, silver march brown, anything with a bit of blue and/or silver in it really.

“There have also been a few salmon caught on Beat 1 usually by spinning with lures downstream of Fair a Far weir, not a method which I know much about.”