First week of September 2025.
It is always good to return to River Thurso and Ulbster Arms Hotel. The atmosphere was brilliant again this year, and the hotel, as usual, served excellent food throughout the week. Really good, and as several participants commented during the week: We have been in Scotland salmon fishing for many years, but food and drink like this we have never experienced. That is of course both pleasant and important, especially when fishing conditions are demanding.
And the fishing this first week of September was demanding. The reason is easily explained. Very little water in the river throughout the week. And even though there were many fish in our pools, the salmon were difficult to get in contact with. Warm water together with very low water levels was probably what made the fishing difficult. So our week in Thurso, like many other weeks in Scotland this year, was marked by little water in the river. That is how it is sometimes, and there is little we can do about it.
But salmon there were. Kjell from Bergen landed some fine Thurso salmon. Åke from Sweden did the same. He thereby followed up his fantastic fishing experience from last year in Thurso. Back then, many fine salmon were landed by Åke, and it looks as though Åke has found one of his favourite rivers here in the far north of Scotland. We understand that well, as Thurso is a very intimate and exciting river for salmon fishing.
For the other fishers in the group, there was contact with some Thurso salmon, although they did not make it all the way into the net. But there were good moments and action every day, which felt good under the challenging conditions.
In summary, a very pleasant trip, and I must once again thank everyone who joined for a super enjoyable week. We hope that next year's trip will bring a little more water. There are plenty of fish. Statistically, I think there is little chance of such low water levels two years in a row.
To go into a little detail regarding catches for River Thurso this year compared with normal. Normally around 1200 salmon are landed in Thurso each year. Some years more than 2000 salmon are landed. This year there was little rain through large parts of the season, and only approximately 200 salmon were landed. Such low numbers have never been registered before, and that says a lot about what the 2025 season has been like in Thurso, and in many other rivers around. Salmon need water, and we hope next year will be a good normal season, because then it is extremely enjoyable to be in Thurso.
Next year's trip. Our week has been moved by one week, so the 2026 trip will take place in the second week of September, for your information if you are considering a trip to this unique river. Welcome to one of Scotland's best rivers for Atlantic salmon. We have access to some of the very best pools in the river, which makes the stay extra exciting.
Fly fishing regards from the tour leader
Helge Vetås