Fish, yes Fish!!!! What a season we are having this year. Possibly linked to completion of the hydro work upstream, by mid September around 50 salmon had been caught on our club waters. Just to show it's possible, Paul Pacey has landed 6 salmon in his first year as a member.

RETURNS All returns, including NIL returns must be placed in the new returns box in Morrisons of Beauly by 31st October. Failure to comply will bring you to the attention of Dave "the heavy" Sellers. This you don't want, easier to pop your returns into the shop. On a serious note, returns are important for the club as we have to record the number of fish caught on our stretch. This then feeds into the national monitoring of salmon and sea trout stocks.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The AGM will take place in Phipps Hall on 17th November at 7.30 pm. Please make an effort to attend. Frank Durdle will step down after serving, he may say suffering, 13 years as the club's President. Controlling the wild men of the committee has been one of Frank's most challenging duties and I am sure we will all miss his banter and presidential observations. Can I take this opportunity to thank Frank on behalf of the committee and club members for his contribution. There will be a couple of vacancies on the committee over the coming year so if you would like to help out, pop along to the AGM.

Competition Update. The club held its junior and senior competitions this year at Tarvie on the 13th and 14th July. G Tillman won the juniors with Alan Cameron winning the seniors on the following night with a fish of 2lb 3 ozs. The Caithness and Sutherland Trout Angling Group competition on Loch Shin followed on the 16/17th July. Frank Durdle had the 2nd heaviest bag over the 2 days while Dave MacGregor from Loch Achonachie and I won third heaviest boat. The organisation, catering and prizes were excellent, all going to make this a cracking weekend. The SGL competition was held at Loch Shin on the 10th Sept. It was to be a day of low catches but Alan Cameron performed well again with 4th prize and a nice wee bottle to round off his season.

Smokers. Have you caught a fish this year that you fancy getting smoked. Last year I had two large trout smoked by the Achiltibuie smokery. Dropping the fish of at Edinburgh Smoked Salmon in Dingwall (tel 01349 860600), the sliced and vacuum packed sides were returned in excellent time for Christmas. Campbell's of Golspie also do an excellent job of smoking and vacuum packing fish in handy sized portions. Six packs from a 10lb fish are very convenient for every day use or gifts. They have a quick and reliable service. Speak to Sandy or Hamish on 01408-633255.

And finally. Back in April, Colin Moir's first fishing trip of the season turned into one he'll not forget. He was fishing at the Ferry beat when a glint from the river bed caught his eye. On closer inspection this turned out to be a belt buckle. Not an ordinary belt buckle though. With an eagle sitting on top of a swastika this was a German enlisted man's belt buckle from the 2nd world war. But how did this 2nd world war relic arrive at the Ferry beat. I leave you to ponder, any suggestions please get in touch.

Archie Prentice, Newsletter Editor