River Spey and Avon

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The river Spey is the second longest river in Britain. It rises in the Monadhliath mountains and flows some 100 miles to the sea at Spey bay near Fochabers.

The Spey is particularly attractive to the angler in that it provides a variety of high quality angling throughout the year. It is the fastest flowing river in Britain despite it's modest start on the great glacial plateau above Kincardine.

It has an excellent stock of native Brown trout (which are largely neglected) which will rise to a dry fly if you discover a hatch between May and September. The Sea trout runs on the Spey are second to none in the UK despite recent trends in numbers of fish running our rivers.

The Spey is traditionally known for it's Spring Salmon which are deep and firm and fight tenaciously in the fast streams of this challenging river. The Grilse runs can also be excellent; a day in June, fishing with small flies on floating line on a mid river beat, can be a day to remember. The Autumn shows large numbers of fish which on the whole tend to be coloured, though a let on a lower beat can produce bright silver fish up to the last day of the season.

The Spey is a great fly fishing river. It is broad but not generally deep and there is always a good push of water across its whole width. In fact, in high water conditions, it can be difficult to slow the fly in order to attract a fish sheltering from the main stream. The water is generally clear though peat tinged and it flows at consistent good fishing levels throughout Spring and into Summer, having benefit of snowmelt from the high mountains above.

The river Avon (pronounced A'an) is possibly the most beautiful river in Britain. It rises at Loch Avon, a wild and beautiful place, home to Eagles and Ptarmigan, nestling behind Cairngorm mountain.

It starts as a rush over gravel turning south at Inchrory and descending past Tomintoul into the delightful valley below. It is a swift river that cascades through streams, runs and pools down to Ballindalloch where it joins the Spey.

The water of Avon is as clear as Tanquerey. Every pebble appears visible but he who treads clumsily will never see it's fish. Believe me the fish are there from April onward; you should always imagine there is a fish under your rod tip and they are easily disturbed. Often they are gone before you have your fly in the water. Men are said to have gone into it's water thinking it was shallow and been drowned.

"The water o Aan, it rins sae clear
Twad beguile a man o a hundred year"
Blaeu's Atlas, 1654

The Avon, being it's major tributary, attracts about one third of all fish entering the Spey system. It's water tends to be colder than that of the Spey and hence the fish tend to run a little later (April as compared to February).

Once they enter, fish can run fast and be scattered throughout the system, up to Tomintoul, from May onward. Go and give it a try; the Avon fish are long and lean and give a great account of themselves after turning on your fly. Admire your prize, take a picture and return her to its wild waters.

Go to the Fishing on Speyside page
for details of the Spey and Avon beats.

>>To view images from our growing online photo library which covers the Rivers Findhorn, Dee, Spey/Avon, and Ponoi, please click here