East Haugh Beat River Tummel

The river from the back road

Salmon fishing today on the East Haugh beat of the River Tummel in glorious Perthshire. 
I have fished this stretch a few times for the brown trout but it is only my second visit for salmon. The Tummel is a fast running river and I find this river in particular and also this beat very difficult for wading. Maybe I am too much of a scardy cat now but fast water and a very boulder strewn riverbed mean I don't wade out too far and never without a wading stick.

An example of the boulders you wade on in the water

I ate a full hotel breakfast and made the short drive to the river where I parked at the single track drive in just off the A9. I decided that most of the day would be fly fishing only as I had a reasonable walk up and down the beat and I didn't want to be carrying two rods plus the wading stick. Kitted out I carefully crossed the railway line, very fast trains so very definitely stop and look. You can see a fair way down the line in each direction so no need for the listening bit.

Looking towards Poltreigh

This brings you to the beat hut which is normally shut but today it was open with a small 2 man tent set up nearby. This surprised me, poachers I thought but it turned out it was 2 guys staying for a few days and they said they had bought their permits from the named beat owner so there. One was spinning away from where I was going but the other one, beer in hand, showed me a picture on his mobile of a salmon he had caught about 6am this morning, spinning. The only salmon that they had seen in 3 days.
I walked up to the northern end of the beat and fished my way down. There was a guy mid river at the end of the West Haugh beat who said he had caught 2 today.
Optimistic I started at Poltreigh and made my way down the beat casting a yellow and black tube fly to no avail. I even fished the sections not normally productive, just in case.

Home Stream where I caught my broonie

Down at the Home Stream section my hopes rose, I got a solid thud through the rod, the rod bent a little and out came a brown trout about a 1lb in weight. A nice wild fish but not what I was looking for.

Looking upriver at Peg Legs

On I went through the Cut and up to The Ferry Stream. A few fly changes on the way but still no success. Taking care as the boulders at the edge were slippy with algae, just another little obstacle.
I fished back to the hut which was I could see that the door was closed but just as I got there the guys arrived back from a shopping trip to Pitlochry but more a trip to visit the local pubs, we had a good chat and a few laughs but I don't think that they will be doing much more fishing tonight.
A last hour was spent spinning in the deep pool at Peg Legs where the salmon had been caught earlier in the day but no success.

The calm water at Peg Legs the hut on the right

At the pool the slow water had a swirling foaming eddy where the brown trout were feeding away on the trapped insects. One that rose would have been a specimen fish all right. Sods law I had no fly rod with me. I did try spinning to no avail as they were only interested in the early evening hatch.

Looking down the calm towards The Cut

However, I had a very nice day out, had an osprey for company at one point but it could not see any fish either and stayed up in the sky. The weather stayed reasonable, rain threatened a few times but passed over. Apart from the photo I never saw a live salmon nor felt one touch my rod. That's fishing for you and I will return.