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The last week of February and what a week, between clearing up debris from last Sundays flood to some unseasonable good weather with a couple of fish to finish it off. 

This past week started off with the river down quite a few feet after the previous days flood and as expected was very coloured but by Tuesday it was at a fishable height of 5ft on the Cairnton gauge but still carrying a bit of stain, however with rain all day it was back up to 10ft 6in on Wednesday and running filthy again. Thursday was a lovely sunny day and the height was over 6ft in the morning and still very dirty but dropping slowly, however we did give it a go in the afternoon, more casting practice than fishing and with a lot of luck managed to land a 14lb fish in the Middle Ferroch on a Monkey with a 5 1/2" wing. Friday was looking promising with another lovely day, the water was down a bit more and the clarity was much better but just a few kelts were landed off each bank. Saturday just looked perfect, the overhead and water conditions were as good as it gets and it didn't disappoint with Andy Ashcroft landing a cracking 7lb er in the Lower Ferroch on an Alistair.

This coming week is looking good with settled weather up to Thursday then some rain coming in from the west.

If you are able to get out locally and come fishing we have rods available on both Cairnton & Middle Blackhall so please get in contact with Sarah to book. Availability can be viewed on our website.

Bookings have been coming in thick and fast from June onwards and so if you were thinking of coming fishing later in the season I wouldn't wait too long before getting your name in the diary. Bring the family as well and stay for a week in Glenbogle Lodge our self catering Norwegian style traditional sporting lodge located on the Middle Blackhall side of the water just a minute stroll from the river. Contact Sarah for further details.

Cheers Brian

www.cairnton.co.uk/fishing-availability.php

sarah@cairntonestate.co.uk

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After a couple of weeks of really hard conditions including sub zero temperatures, ice and grue, a rise in water or a change would have been helpful and we certainly got it this past week! The week started off looking fairly promising with the height at 1ft 2" on the Cairnton gauge but that was going to change pretty quickly with the wind swinging into a southerly direction along with rain so by Tuesday morning it was sitting at 4ft and rising very fast due to the snow melt and a lot of broken/thawing ice coming down and therefore the height was at 8ft by the end of play. On Wednesday it had dropped a couple of feet and was quite fishable but by Thursday it was on the way up again. On Friday it had dropped back to 7ft but that wasn't going to last as by Saturday it was over 9ft and rising all day, peaking at just over 13ft during Saturday/Sunday night and carrying all sorts of debris making it the highest since Storm Frank, although not as high as that. We will be at the clearing of the debris for the next couple of days.

The start of this coming week doesn't look great although the river is dropping. There is still more rain forecast up to the middle of the week when it should turn a bit drier but there shouldn't be too much more snow melt to come down after all this hopefully.

Sarah is available for all of your fishing enquiries for the rest of this month, March and beyond as well as enquiries for week fishing or family holidays with accommodation in our newly renovated Glenbogle Lodge.

Please email Sarah with your requirements.

sarah@cairntonestate.co.uk

Cheers Brian

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This past week saw the very cold snap continue with night temperatures well below zero, daytime temperatures barely getting above freezing and grue and ice hampering us most of the week but by comparison, in the Cairnton records, in 1947 there was no fishing as the river was frozen until the 24th March. However back to this season and the week started off very well with Sean Rennie landing his first fish of the season in the Old Garden on a 1 1/2" Black & Yellow tube and was about 6lb. Tuesday to Friday was a bit of a non event with grue and sub zero conditions but on Friday night the mercury did not dip as low so Saturday was quite fishable as long as you were careful around the waters edge ice. The rods fished it very well in the conditions and landed a few kelts for their day.

This coming week looks like a promising change on the way with higher air temperatures and rain mixed in so no more grue, plus a lift in water should be on the cards.

For all enquiries for fishing and accommodation this season please get in contact with Sarah.

Cheers Brian

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The season started off last Monday and it was looking fairly promising with the height at 1' on the Cairnton gauge, the water temperature at 33f and the air temperature not getting much above freezing. Guy Finlayson blessed the water with a dram at the Upper Ferroch to open our 2021 season with the other rods on Cairnton looking on, all socially distanced of course. The rods on both Cairnton & Middle Blackhall covered the water pretty well and I was surprised no fresh fish were landed although we did have a few kelts.

Tuesday was pretty much impossible to fish with grue. On Wednesday the grue cleared about midday and a few kelts were landed and again on Thursday a few kelts were landed. Friday saw a bit of a rise and fairly coloured with snow melt but Saturday was looking better as the colour had gone from the previous day and the water height at 1' 9" was more encouraging and it didn't long for well known angler Charlie Robertson to land Cairntons and Charlies first of 2021, a lovely 8lb er in the Old Garden on a 1 1/2 Black & Yellow tube.

The coming week looks to be very cold overnight from Monday night to Thursday with snow flurries adding to the mix coming from an easterly direction so tomorrow and later in the week looks promising.

We have rods available for local anglers throughout February so please get in touch with Sarah and she will get you booked in. For availability for later in the season please check our website or drop Sarah and email.

Cheers Brian

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During the final four days of the 2020 season we landed 8 Salmon, 2 Grilse and a Sea Trout and strangely enough all of these were down the bottom end of the beat bar one which was our best fish of the week at 16lb caught on a Sunray in the Middle Ferroch for Mark Blair. Mark also had another of 15lb in the Malt Steep. Marks son Lewis was on form again on his third trip to Cairnton and landed three fish to 14lb on a Black Francis. Steve Kettlewell also landed three, again to 15lb also on a Black Francis. Graham Reid had a fairly bright Grilse of 5lb on a Shitey Whitey and John Webb had a 7lb fish on a Gold bodied Willie Gunn.

We had quite an amazing season right from the start but we did have to contend with the 2 months Covid-19 lockdown from end of March until end of May which we really thought would put a dampener to the 2020 catch returns however once we got going again we really had good summer fishing with a great class of fish and grilse which was very encouraging and although August onwards was a bit slower we did pick away steadily to end up with the grand total of 234 Salmon and 17 Grilse which I was delighted with.

A big thankyou to all who fished here this year and for making it a memorable one.

Sarah is currently working on the 2021 diary and would like to invite anyone, new or old to Cairnton & Middle Blackhall, who would like to fish with us in 2021 to email as soon as possible with their requirements to ensure that she can fit you in. Please email Sarah at sarah@cairntonestate.co.uk as soon as possible.

We will keep you up to date with all the news and goings on throughout the off season on all of our social media platforms as there is going to be quite a lot going on including a £130,000+ upgrade to Glenbogle lodge which will be our sole self catering fishing lodge for 2021. The upgrade to the lodge will include a new roof, windows, carpets, furniture, showers etc and will be able to sleep up to 8 people (Covid-19 restrictions permitting). If you are interested in staying with us please email Sarah.

In the meantime, have a good winter and I hope to see you at some point in 2021.

Cheers Brian

Comments

After last Sunday's flood things weren't looking too great to be honest on Monday as the height of the river was sitting at over 6' on the Cairnton gauge and although the rods fished hard in all the quiet pockets and saw fish they had to settle for a blank. On Tuesday the water height was looking better and we had a coloured Grilse of 5lb on a Willie Gunn Snaelda. Wednesday the conditions were looking really good with the odd fish showing here and there but we drew a blank. On Thursday again it was looking promising with lovely conditions with a few fish showing and it was down to Jeff Hatton to save the day after many visits to Cairnton, Jeff landed a coloured cock grilse in the Malt Steep on an Ally's shrimp. Friday was a better day with two being landed by Colin Craik, with his biggest being 16lb from the Upper Ferroch on a JJ. Friday also produced a 3lb Sea Trout. Saturday was quite a difficult day with north winds and the odd shower floating about but we did manage a coloured cock Grilse late on, on a Sunray.

Just a few days left of the 2020 season so we will wait to see what the final tally will be by the end of Thursday.

Cheers Brian

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This past week started off at minus 3" on the Cairnton  gauge and our expectations were fairly high from the end of the previous weeks catches, however the fish were a bit dour with one on Tuesday at 9lb for John Thornley on an Usk Grub and a couple on Wednesday which was fairly wet and gave us a few feet of a rise which we were wanting but Thursday was surprisingly quiet with one fish of 8lb in the Middle Ferroch for Gary Lloyd on a Willie Gunn. Friday saw a lovely water height with a few fish showing here and there but we couldn't get an offer, then Saturday we had a couple of older grilse which were caught in far from ideal conditions as it was hosing down all day and this was going to give us another good lift today in the shape of an extra unneeded 9ft of water, so no more needed between now and the end of season.

The week ahead is looking fairly unsettled and cooler but if levels continue dropping the way they are at the moment we should still get one or two this week.

If you would still like to get out while you can before the season closes we have some availability. Please check the website for the latest and contact Sarah to book. www.cairnton.co.uk/fishing-availability.

Cheers Brian