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Coul Fishings on the Conon. For 2024-25, some 1.5 million salmon eggs are being incubated in the river's hatchery

STRUTT & PARKER

PUTTING SALMON ON A TRAIN

In 1964, aged 18, I was a proficient trout fisherman, but what little salmon fishing I had tried had been unsuccessful. My girlfriend at the time asked me if I would like to join her parents and fish the River Conon, where, she assured me, I would catch a salmon.

It was the second week of August, a Sunday, when I arrived at the Coul beat, just below Tor Achilty Dam. At that time, it was a three-rod beat, single bank with no gillie. I was to be the fourth rod, fishing at times when others were resting.

On Monday, at the crack of dawn, I was sent to Deer Fence pool, while the others slept. I had been given flies and other bits of tackle, but I owned a 12ft Milbro glass fly-rod, which I looked forward to using. Looking downstream, the pool was alive with salmon and grilse, showing as they travelled upstream. A small double Hairy Mary was the chosen fly, and after three hours I had landed five fish and lost as many.