Salmon Leaping at Buchanty Spout

Patience and perseverance finally paid off when a return visit to Buchanty Spout, on the River Almond, resulted in my witnessing dozens of wild salmon try to leap upstream. Following the rain of the weekend, the river was in spate.

It is the most amazing sight. One has to feel admiration for their determination to make it back to their spawning grounds. They batter against the rocks, they slither on ledges, the same mighty fish are seen again and again. There was one that must have weighed 25 lbs!

Once the salmon leave the sea, they don't eat anything and are silvery. As they near their own birth tributary and move upstream, they become more and more black in colour. This indicates that they are ready to spawn.

These salmon were very black. They are not so good to eat in this condition. The fishing season finishes on 15 October, I believe. There is a natural dilemma between watching them with fascination and willing them to make it up to the next pool, and wishing you had a net to catch one!

I feel very fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time this year and I must thank my husband for texting me to say a friend had told him the fish were there today.

Once again, there was frustration at the lack of camera flexibility and this was the best I could do. I took 93 shots! As I left, a man was making his way down with a mighty camera, a Canon, with a huge lens on it. I'd love to see his pictures!