GET TO KNOW THE BEAT
The Spey offers some of the best salmon fishing in the UK and Arndilly some of the best on the Spey. Your week is 6 days fishing for 7 rods with three ghillies and 1 ½ miles of mostly double banked fishing and a fully appointed main fishing hut. The lodge accommodating fourteen guests is included.
A LITTLE HISTORY
Since the first greased lines, greenheart rods and the magnificent early flies, fly fishers have fished Arndilly. The river — habitat of red squirrel, otter and osprey — is also, of course, the home of the famous Spey cast, specifically designed to fish a wide and open river where long casts are useful but banks behind limit the back cast.
Arndilly has been in the same hands for thirty years and in no more than three families over the last century or more.
I have been extremely lucky in my life to be able to come back to Arndilly many times. It is without question the best salmon beat I have fished. Stunningly beautiful, it is a cracking stretch of the Spey. Double banked, so you can watch your mates fish, immaculately looked after, and a fantastic team of ghillies. What’s more there are very often plenty of fish. Any date to go to Arndilly is in the diary in red ink.
MEET THE EXPERTS
One of Arndilly’s greatest treats is the provision of three Ghillies tasked to enhance your fishing. Euan Reid, Keith McLaren and Blair Banks hold decades of experience between them and know Arndilly and its waters as well as anyone could.
Euan Reid is Arndilly’s Head Ghillie. Euan grew up on the Brae Water at the mouth of the Spey. He has been a ghillie man and boy and at Arndilly for 6 years.
Keith McLaren has lived and worked on the banks of the river for over 30 years. There isn’t a holding stone on the river he doesn’t know or a height of water he hasn’t seen.
Blair Banks is the newest member of the team but brings with him a lifetime of work and play on the Spey as well as a Scottish championship trophy for his spey casting.
EXPLORE THE BEAT
There are fourteen named pools at Arndilly varying from a few short casts at Little Gilmour to a whole morning of fishing at the Long Pool. Each pool is unique offering different opportunities and useable fishing in every height from 10 inches off the gauge to a four foot flood. Here are the main five pools below.
TOP OF THE BEAT
The Piles fishes from both banks though very differently from the two sides. The left bank is magnificent fly water throughout whereas the right bank offers plenty of opportunity to catch fish for those with more speycasting experience.
A PROLIFIC POOL
A prolific pool, Back o’ the Bog sits in front of the main fishing hut. The lower part of the pool holds bigger fish. The left bank is not for the faint-hearted and will soon improve your speycasting!
CLASSIC SPEY POOL
Jock’s Tail is a classic Spey pool with multiple currents, holding stones, shallows and deeper runs. It ranks high on many a rod’s list of favorites.
AN ICONIC POOL
The Cobble Pot is a ‘stop’ pool with deep water sitting just below a shallow and fast run. Many fish show themselves at the point of the groin but don’t be fooled; the catchable fish sit elsewhere.
DESERVEDLY NAMED
The Long Pool deserves its name. Experienced rods will tell you that you can catch fish anywhere in its length but follow the ghillies’ advice and you’ll increase your chances.
The experience of fly fishing for Salmon at Arndilly on the Spey is one of the truly great experiences in fishing. The facilities and ghillieing are first class. Arndilly enjoys some of the great pools on the Spey with productive fishing at all heights and from the start of the season to the end. Which fisherman or lady could fail to enjoy fishing wonderful salmon pools as Jock’s Tail, Gilmour, Back of the Bog or Cobble Pot? Arndilly is a beat which is truly loved by the family that own it. When fishing there, whether as a tenant or guest, this is tangible. It is one of life’s great privileges.
ARNDILLY POOLS
| Pool Name | Right Bank | Left Bank | Boat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PILES | 3′ | 4′ | 1′ 3″ | Good all round pool especially in spring |
| WARREN | 6″ | 3″ | n/a | Occasional spring fish but better in summer and autumn |
| ARNS | 6″ | 6″ | n/a | Warm water pool good for grilse and summer salmon |
| BACK O’ THE BOG | 4′ | 6″ | 2′ | This famous pool comes into its own in late spring. Steady producer |
| BULWARK | 4′ 6″ | 1′ 6″ | 2′ | Very good in big water. Also a great sea trout and salmon pool on a summer evening |
| JOCK’S TAIL | 1′ 9″ | 3′ | 1′ 6″ | A favorite of many guests, a ‘fishy’ pool in a beautiful setting |
| GILMOUR | n/a | 2′ 9″ | n/a | Good for a few spring salmon but fishes best in low water with grilse about |
| SPOUT | -2″ | -2″ | n/a | Warm water summer pool. Fished right through into Cobble Pot |
| COBBLE POT | 1′ | 4′ 6″ | 2′ | Our true all round pool. Fishes all seasons at all heights |
| WHITE HORSE | 4′ 6″ | n/a | n/a | Very good high water pool |
| REIDS | 3″ | 1′ 6″ | n/a | Mainly fished from left bank but can be waded from right side in low water |
| BLEACH GREEN | 1′ 6″ | n/a | n/a | Small pool for running fish |
| SOO | 4′ | 2′ 2″ | 1′ 3″ | Surprisingly shallow pool but the fish like it! |
| TOWN ROAD | 3′ | n/a | n/a | Fishes in either high water or v. low, not in between |
| LONG POOL | 4′ | n/a | n/a | Longest pool on the beat, effectively 3 pools in 1 |
The water heights shown represent the upper limit at which we consider the pools fish at their best. These height correspond to our own marker which is situated in the Back o’ the Bog.
We feel that our height marker is sensibly set whereby 0″ represents summer level. Anything which shows a minus can be considered to be low water. For reference the lowest the river got to during the historic low water of 2018 was -11″ at Arndilly. Generally we do not see the river below -6″ for long during a normal summer.
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