Newtyle, Tay (26 June 2014)

Anticipating having a few hours spare after an afternoon spent in Perth for work-related purposes, I had been planning (literally, rather than figuratively, speaking) to squeeze in a cast on the Tay in the evening. I had looked into Lower Kinnaird or a return to Dalmarnock as options, before settling on Newtyle as my destination. A few minutes up the road and I was at the hut by 4:30pm, where I met gillie Andy Gunn for a cup of tea and a chat before I eventually started fishing down The Trap at 6pm.

Pictured: Newtyle's beautiful hut; not a bad spot for a cup of tea.

The lack of rain in May and June meant that - like everywhere else - the river was very low. As a result, The Trap was one of a few main ports of call on the beat at this height, The Boil and Steps also being worth a go. The pool is comprised of two smaller pools, created by a series of croys which generate streamy water; this seemed like a a good spot to focus on in a warm river where oxygen levels would be low, for the most part. I fished through with a small Black and Yellow Ally's Shrimp without a touch, although a fish did jump in the lower pool while I was in the wrong place at the right time. Cotters - in between The Trap and The Boil - could have been fished, but my 15fter was out of action and so I was coming in under-gunned with my 12fter - not a good start when you're on Tayside! The cast required would have been a bit ambitious for the 12fter and so The Boil it was.

Pictured: Fiddler's - a bit low, but time was the reason for missing this one out.

Pictured: The Trap in low water.

The Boil starts with a streamy section as the river turns a corner. Once round the corner, and as the pool deepens, a huge underwater boulder in mid-stream causes a glass-like, still patch of water, around 10-20ft long - presumably the main lie in the pool and certainly a likely looking spot. A fish jumped right at the neck of the pool as I was reaching the limit of my 12fters range at the wider tail of the pool and thinking about moving on. Next stop would have been Steps, but, as this was a similar long range cast to the tail of The Boil, I decided to take a wander down to the bottom of the beat so as to take in as much as possible during my few hours there.

Pictured: The view upstream from the neck of The Boil.

The final pool of my evening session was Ash Tree, which runs down the left bank side of the island at the beat's lower extremity. The neck of the pool is a rapid, heavy stretch of white water where the river drops a couple of feet in height over a very short distance and some of the best fly water on the beat - as far as I have seen it - is the result. I fished through this with a Gold Munro (a new Summer favourite) and a simple Double-Spey, expecting any prospective takes to come in the final few metres of the fly's swing, as it reached the shallower and more sheltered glide on the inside of the river's bend. This was the sort of pool where the angler is almost surprised when a take doesn't come; unfortunately, however, my last cast reached 'the dangle' with this sense of surprise enduring.

It was good to tick another beat from my list, but, alas, not to be. I sensibly decided to wade back to the left bank from the island before dark, losing my polaroids in the process(!), before heading back to Edinburgh. It was a school night, after all.

Tight lines

Calum