TO SEASONED salmon anglers, the Helmsdale is a river that needs no introduction. However, in case its story has passed you by, this Sutherland river flows for 21 miles from its beginnings in three lochs – Badanloch, nan Clàr and Rimsdale – through the vast open blanket bog of the Flow Country before meandering its way to the east coast, where it meets the North Sea at the town of Helmsdale itself.
From source to sea, the Helmsdale is a true jewel among salmon rivers with almost unrivalled potential to produce remarkable fishing experiences. Yet it is also a river that places considerable demands on the angler if they are to make the most of that potential: demands that are both technical and physical. The terrain itself is often challenging, techniques are specific and locally fine-tuned, and fish-holding lies must be learned and sometimes seen to be believed. The river calls for physical fitness and mental perseverance, and rewards those who apply themselves to the task at handa step-cast-step-cast ‘going through the motions’ river but one in which it pays to think deeply, feel instinctively and believe in the possible.
