Breached, a new dawn brushes over CRAIG Morphie Dyke. Note the sea SOMERVILLE on the horizon. works for Castabroad Media (castabroad.co.uk) A videographer and marketer, he provides media for sporting estates and river trusts.

LTHOUGH FEWER salmon are returning to our rivers, the demise of this incredible is not inevitable. At Morphie on the North Esk you will discover a refreshing culture that insists the decline is avoidable and reversible. Be careful on your first visit. With a bubbly spring in your step, an unfamiliar sense of positivity may wash over you while admiring the work that has been done since Wainstones Estates Aacquired the beat in October 2016. The optimism is founded on hard data; there are big encouraging spikes in recent graphs. I’m privileged to work every day with amazing people who make a difference to our rivers and I recognised Wainstones and Morphie as an organisation that deserves kudos. Breaking the mould and grasping opportunities to drive improvements takes three key ingredients: people THE with determination, knowledge and passion; considerable investment; and best practice, defined by competent authorities, followed to the letter (and sometimes improved upon). I am sure that colleagues working on projects across Scotland will agree with me and might add to this list. Needless to say, there are people on beats and rivers who are MAGIC OF more open to change than others – they can spot potential. The team at Morphie on the North Esk can celebrate having rebuilt a salmon- stronghold. manager? Tom Festing told me, “You can see what’s happening here and it can only get better. Unless something truly catastrophic happens … this river is going to outlast many of the rest. Ask those who fish here. It is plain to see.” MORPHIE Marine Scotland uses the North Esk as a case study for the After years of turbulence, a bright future awaits one of Scotland’s whole of Scotland, describing it as “a smolt factory” in rude health from its headwaters to the estuary. most coveted salmon beats, writes Craig Somerville Whether you think the work undertaken at Morphie is 30 years late, on time, or even 30 years ahead, the beat is taking PHOTOGRAPHY: CRAIG SOMERVILLE bold steps to future-proof its existence. In 2022, its longstanding spring and autumn syndicate expires, giving ›

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Inside the newly renovated lodge. The hut with outdoor bar to watch salmon at the foot of breach pool. mortal salmon-anglers a chance to fish what could become the best fishery in the country if Wainstones, the Esk District Salmon Fishery Board (EDSFB) and Esks Rivers and Trust’s strategy goes to plan. The big question “The timing of the buyout is: Why is Morphie getting better when salmon-fishing generally is bleeding? was right, although a little First among the reasons is the removal of the commercial nets in late 2018 from The Nab at the mouth of the river near too close for comfort” Montrose, a few hundred yards below Morphie. Wild Scottish salmon were officially taken off the menu when this last The relics of the pump station – a vivid reminder of the past. Thirteen dreamy pools with fast runs or deep glides. netting station closed. The fishery owned by Kinnaber Ltd caught thousands of salmon per year (18%-22% of the annual run), most of which were sent to Billingsgate Market. The their prime, the river was stocked by a hatchery, boosting important to the river ecosystem, stabilising banks, Nab was also the source of wild Scottish sea-trout, often seen rod and net returns. There are no hatcheries now and the providing protection and food for bugs above and below the on the specials boards of pubs. In February, the first day of numbers were plummeting. The timing of the buyout was water, and hence food for fish at most stages of their life. the season, the nets once caught more than 200 fish. right, although a little too close for comfort. Shade cools pools in hot, low-water conditions reducing adult Heartbreaking. EDSFB strategically doubled its rates two years before the salmon stress and disease. Banks are kept tidy, but it’s not a EDSFB bought the fishing rights from Kinnaber Ltd partly purchase and then set up a separate company to acquire the garden beat. The road up and down the right bank is suitable During the day the river is policed by anglers and because the value of a salmon in the river is far greater to the rights with the extra revenue. Immediate results were felt for all vehicles, and foot access is straightforward. Each pool when their presence is enough to make the birds scarper. But local economy than that of a salmon in a net heading for this year, as you can see in the graph (opposite). The number is marked by a sign on a slab taken from the famous breached the volunteer shepherds rise at four every morning to scare market. But the main purpose was conservation. In theory, of fish over the Logie counter, just upstream of Morphie, in dyke, and there’s a bench at the top of each run where you can the birds. They must feel like zombies, living on a few hours’ thousands more fish are now able to swim up the North Esk. July 2019 was 2,913, the biggest since 2010 and the third contemplate your strategy. sleep per day all season, especially from April to June when If the board had not bought the rights, someone else would largest in July since the counter was installed in 1981. A Ask anyone that Morphie and they will tell you the the birds are most active. have done and potentially continued netting. marvellous example of theory becoming practice. It’s a highly amount of small fish and juveniles in the water is noticeable. The team protect the Kinaber, Morphie and Canterland Netting was unsustainable. When the stations were in satisfying graph to read. A massive sense of relief has been The result of smolt shepherding. beats and sometimes all the way up the glen. felt along the river. The main benefactors will probably be the Piscivorous birds roost at sea and fly upstream at first light It’s like keeping the fox from the lambs, but they have the lower beats: Morphie, Canterland and Kinaber. I can’t wait to feed until the sun is up. It’s not only the usual suspects, birds under control. Dog-walkers are offered a flag to scare to discover the end-of-year data. I doff my cap to the EDSFB goosanders and cormorants, but also hundreds of gulls, the birds, a timed gas gun is positioned in quiet areas of the Familiar names for its foresight. which hunt on gravel bars where smolts must pass through lower river, and gunshots can be fired to scare the birds, often with fond memories. At Morphie, the new owners have invested in only 2in-3in of water. in conjunction with a laser (the birds don’t, therefore, become Note the Kinaber infrastructure. It is noticeable that every rock in the pools comfortable with a harmless laser). viaduct in the is perfectly positioned and has yet to gather moss. Hundreds SALMON THROUGH THE LOGIE The last resort is culling under a strict Scottish Natural background where the nets of boulders have been used to stabilise the banks under COUNTER IN 2018 AND 2019 Heritage licence. Sometimes the birds learn the shepherds’ were taken off. SEPA licences and through consultation between a routines, recognising their trucks. New birds will fly in and knowledgeable , fishery managers, the EDSFB and an 3500 land, as bold as brass, but can be scared off; educated birds environmental engineer. As the water height changes, the 3000 are wise and require control. Only a few birds can be culled pools react differently to the new structures, providing under the SNH licence, therefore it is best to maintain 2019 fishing opportunities in any condition. More than £100,000 2500 scare tactics first. has been spent. Extracting gravel, again with a SEPA licence, 2018 One of the most virulent posts on social media this season has meant that fast pools are now slower and deeper, aiding 2000 was a cormorant killed legally under licence at Morphie the salmon’s migration, offering them more comfortable lies, during the smolt migration. In its stomach were more than and improving anglers’ chances. The beat’s 13 pools are 1500 30 juvenile fish. If one bird ate this many fish every day for dreamy; I couldn’t fault the work done. the entire smolt run, imagine the effect of several birds Some 2,500 trees have been planted on the south bank 1000 across the entire catchment. shielding the easterly flowing water from the lower sun in Social media can be powerful and yet harmful. Morphie spring and autumn. The beat fishes best from the north bank 500 xxxxxxxx Mike Young told me how a few anglers post “Kill because the fly swings away from the sun rather than into it, them all!”, but he says, “That’s getting us nowhere; that is bad, 0 leading to better results on bright days. The trees are hugely DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV bad publicity. [Deterring birds] has to be done the right way, ›

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RIGHT Fishing the famous Batts pools below the Lodge.

BELOW RIGHT Pools up and down the river are full of fish now that the nets are off.

hitch is the most exciting sport. Or try bugging upstream (which is not fouling). Watching a salmon attack a beaded nymph is special. Up to the end of October, silver fish can be seen running an hour after the tide. From February 16, there’s the chance of a good spring fish of 10lb-20lb for which you’ll need a 12ft-13ft rod, a skagit line with MOW tips and smaller flies, fished deeper in this relatively shallow river. A 20lb Maxima leader is about right. Monkeys and yellow-and-black Snaeldas are “Up to the end of effective but bring flies that work for you. Confidence is transmitted down the line. October, silver fish can As the season warms, use a switch rod or single-hander and Four Morphy be experimental; fortune favours those who test themselves. beauties: XXX be seen running an hour Most fish are fresh until the end of August. There is a considerable grilse run from June to August. Sea-trout of after the tide” 2lb-3lb, up to 10lb, are also caught. Since the nets came off, they have been caught from May to July. and it has to be done professionally because SNH could turn Autumn brings larger numbers of fish in all the pools when around and say no to the licence, and then where are we? We you should focus on getting your fly down. But forget big flies. need to do things right because these measures are out there Keep them moving. A good tactic is weighting the leader with to help us.” tungsten. He added, “When I get comments on social media about country. It is exclusive to your group; private. The estate views The beat fishes better in lower and steady water, rather what I need to be doing better or differently, I have to ask: the lodge as an investment in the many anglers who are than the spates we have had in 2019. Day by day, it doesn’t what have you done for your river lately? That usually stops passionate about their sport but who are not prepared to matter if the water’s high or low, as long as it’s clear or them being so qualified.” spend thousands on their fishing. clearing. The hour before debris is brought down by a The dyke at Morphie was built in the 1860s to supply water This is a beat for committed fishers. Bring everything you downpour can be good. If the water is dirty, fish high in the via a lade that now runs through the superb fishing lodge. It have except a 15ft rod and long-bellied lines. Be prepared to water column. The optimum conditions are 24 hours after a was once the site of an organised chaos of time-sharers and fish peculiar hours if blue skies and sun are forecast. spate when the water has cleared completely.

CATCH PICTURES:XXXXXX/XXXXXX/XXXXX/XXXX CATCH day rods, as well as netsmen and poachers, all seeking a xxxxxwho?xxxxxx told me, “Gone are the days when you just I was told that if the beat had enjoyed a hot summer this share of the huge numbers of fish trapped behind this throw out a Jock Scott and a fish grabs hold. You have to think season, like 2018, it would probably have caught double the accidental temperature and height barrier. Fish in a barrel. about it.” fish. Still, 2019’s returns are up on previous three years with At some point a pass was installed; however, the barrier The beat is 1.3 miles of double-bank fishing. There are 13 more than 200 fish in the book. The previous three seasons was breached naturally in 2012/13. Liability for its upkeep pools, which range from shallow and white water to slow have brought 106, 125 and 154 fish, illustrating that things was eventually “unowned” and the estate began to lose its holding pools, including the famous Batts (Lower, Middle and are improving. When combined with the counter numbers, it attraction because the fish could now run upstream. The Upper). It has everything from fast narrow runs to deep slow suggests there is much to look forward to at Morphie. effects of Storm Frank took their toll on the barrier’s massive glides. Your knees will shake in anticipation. A couple of further tips I can give you. The syndicate chiselled slabs built on a wooden and iron frame, to the point Reading the water is easy, fishing conventionally is finishes at the end of 2021 when great fishing will become where the dyke is now an eyesore that twists the fast flow of effective, but if you find yourself at Morphie with the main available in spring and autumn that has not been fully water from bank to bank and is costing the estate huge sums belly of your line still in the rod, you won’t enjoy yourself and exploited by long-standing anglers who don’t always show up of money to maintain and mitigate its influence in high probably won’t catch a fish. It’s fun to use dry-flies, Muddlers and whose tactics are perhaps stale. I would also suggest you water; again, with SEPA approval. and hitch-tubes – seeing a fish boil three times behind your research the tides… Breach pool, in the gap between the ends of the dyke, is a fabulous place to fish knowing that the salmon now have free passage. Lining up in a queue to fish, avoiding fights, along with the poachers and bailiffs, are a thing of the past. The hut is below the dyke on the right bank. It was built for Plan your trip 24-hour observation of the pre-breach fishings. It is now a fantastic environment for anglers: there’s an outside bar Morphie hosts three rods per 2019 is 10,000- overlooking the river, a woodburner, kitchen and WC. Walls day at £110-£170 per rod (24- 11,000. hour ticket) with a are decked with the history of the river and photos taken from In 2018, 1,400 fish were self-catering lodge included. Michael Forsyth-Grant’s A Salmon Fisher Remembers. There caught on the North Esk. are steps down to the boat from where you can be rowed Rods arrive on Sunday or In 2019, more than 200 were Wednesday evening. A cook across the river in high water. caught at Morphie, which has can be arranged at cost. There the second-highest catch The lodge is a masterpiece. Surrounded by a water well, are five rooms sleeping up to filter beds and the pump station of the lade, it has been return on the river and is the ten (five rods). number-one fly water. A renovated with no expense spared. There are five comfortable 32lb fish was recently caught ABOVE Fishing is double bank on the ensuite rooms for the beat’s five rods. There’s a kitchen (a cook on Kinaber. The contemporary Category 1 North Esk, which can be provided), dining room, big reception room with a log lodge comes with has a ten-year average run of Web: wainstonesestates.co. burner, and a snug with another burner. In the heated rod the fishing. 11,000-12,000 salmon and a uk. Facebook: Wainstones room you can mark up your catch on a board before moseying five-year average run of Estates. Instagram: around to the deck for a barbecue with friends. RIGHT Xxxxxxxx 8,500. The estimated run in wainstonesestates Best of all, the lodge is included in the fishing price, xxxxxxxx making it one of the best-value fishing packages in the xxxxxx.

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