The good water heights that we enjoyed during the last days of June which provided sport for us did not continue long into July. The lack of rainfall and increasing, alarming air temperatures provided a climate move reminiscent of the Mediterranean than Scotland.
Only by fishing very late or very early was any success to be achieved. A few sea trout were landed using this tactic, some of which were beginning to colour.
The farming community, however, found these conditions advantageous with many local farms harvesting their grain by the second week of July which is practically unheard of in this region.
Regrettably, the hot conditions persisted with temperatures almost reaching 30 degrees Celsius by the second half of the month and water levels down to 0.44m.
Very few fish were seen and far fewer were landed, with a very modest total of only three (7lbs, 8lbs and 8lbs) salmon being caught for the month and nine sea trout (up to 4lbs) coming to hand.
Clearly, we require a cooler, wetter set of conditions to kick-start our fishing again in August.
On the positive side of things, this “glorious” weather has allowed us to get on with some of the maintenance work on the beat, so that it is looking its best for the busy season over the Autumn.
The running total for the Kinkell Beat is 46 salmon and 65 sea trout.