






River Spey Salmon Fishing Season
The River Spey salmon fishing season opens on the 11th of February and runs through to the 30th of September each year. The Spey is fly fishing only and the home of the much used traditional Speycast which is one of the most popular casting techniques used in salmon fly fishing. The Spey has approx. 30 famous salmon fishing beats and the majority of these salmon beats are maintained by professional River Spey ghillies and salmon guides. The fast flowing River Spey is a delight to fish a salmon fly through with its perfect fly fishing pools and gently tapered gravel riverbanks which is due to the movement of its gravel base which is constantly on the move during higher water levels.
The River Spey Salmon Runs
There are Spring salmon in the River Spey's opening month of February and there's always a chance of catching one if your fly is in the water! In March bigger runs of Spring salmon start to appear in the river and are readily catchable in the lower & middle River Spey salmon fishing beats. When April & May arrives the main run of Spey Spring salmon appear and fresh run salmon can be found right up in the upper Spey during the late Spring due to the warmer water temperatures which are now found at this time. Salmon in the 20+lbs class are often landed from May onwards each year with the earlier Spring salmon usually weigh between the 10lbs & 14lbs. The Summer brings continual runs of salmon into the river off every tide along with many sea trout which can also be present during the earlier Spring months. Autumn salmon fishing on the River Spey can also be superb as fresh run salmon will still be arriving in the Spey right up until the the river closes at the end of September along with many resident salmon that will have been in the river by this time most of the year. These resident salmon can be mesmerising as they splash about all around you while you're fishing down through the beautiful River Spey salmon pools.
River Spey Salmon Fishing Information
The River Spey is the most famous salmon fishing river in the entire world, is the home of Speycasting and is located in the North East of Scotland. The Spey measures 107 miles in length from its true source which is 1000ft up in Loch Spey in the Corrieyairack Forest 10 miles South of Fort Augustus on Loch Ness. The River Spey enters the North sea in the Moray Firth and drains approx 1800 square miles of North East Scotland. The River Spey has many tributary rivers such as the Truim, Tromie, Feshie, Druie, Nethy, Dulnain, Avon & Fiddich that all increase the Spey's water speed as the river advances towards the North and this makes the Spey the fastest flowing river in Scotland. Many beautiful Spey Valley towns are located on the Spey such as Aviemore, Newtonmore, Kingussie, Granton on Spey, Fochabers & Aberlour and all of which offer excellent accommodation options for visiting River Spey salmon fishing holiday guests.
The Best River Spey Salmon Flies
The most effective River Spey salmon fly patterns are the Gold Bodied Willie Gunn, Posh Tosh, Orange Flamethrower, Cascade, Sunray Shadow, Arndilly Fancy, Dee Monkey, Blue Charm, Copperass & the Stoat's Tail. Typically a 14ft to 16fft salmon Spey actioned rod is ideal and fished with a floating line with or without a sink tip depending on the depth of the salmon pool you are fishing. In really high Spring or Autumn water conditions a sinking line could be of use to target deeper lying salmon. Chest waders with studded boots are very useful along with a wading stick as the Spey can be deceptively fast even though it has generally shallower water than many other Scottish rivers. It often amazes just how much water pressure there is on the back of your legs when wading in only a foot of water in the River Spey so never fish without a wading stick & life jacket to stay safe. A professional River Spey salmon fishing guide will provide all of these appropriate salmon flies, studded waders and a wading stick in addition to all of the other salmon fishing equipment,.
Catching Your First River Spey Salmon
Can you think of anything more memorable than hooking and playing a hard fighting River Spey fresh run salmon in this fast flowing famous Scottish river with the scream from your salmon fly reel and your adrenalin eventually resulting in your professional River Spey salmon guide netting your first Spey salmon and within a few moments of the fish being released he has then poured you a perfect Spey Valley malt whisky to celebrate your initiation into this special Scottish salmon river club.
Book A River Spey Salmon Fishing Guide
It is possible to buy River Spey salmon fishing access on its own if you're an exerienced salmon fisher however if you're brand new to this sport it is worthwhile hiring a professional River Spey salmon guide to teach you how to fish for salmon and who will also supply all of the required waterproofing and fishing equipment, the fishing access & fly fishing tuition to give you the best chances of success. Follow this link for detailed infomation on how to book a River Spey salmon guide.






