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Salmon School
Salmon School
The Original & probably the best Salmon School in the UK!
Book Now to avoid disappointment!!!
Started in 2006, these have developed into very successful Salmon Schools, hosted by Anthony Steel of Kirkwood & Mark Bowler of Fly Fishing & Fly Tying Magazine with expert casting tuition from our instructors.
Upcoming Schools
Summer School 4th – 11th July 2021 – Full Week Special Price – £1990
4 Day – 4th – 8th July – £1490
3 Day – 8th – 11th July – £1190
Autumn SalmonSchool 26th September – 3rd October 2021 – Full Week Special Price – £2190
4 day – 26th – 30th Sep – £1490
3 day – 30th Sep – 3rd Oct – £1190
All Salmon Schools
Autumn months have traditionally been the best months for salmon fishing on the River Annan although the Spring has improved in recent years. You will be fishing on two top-class beats, Kirkwood and Jardine Hall. On each beat you will be accompanied by experienced anglers and instructors for casting tuition. You will mainly fish hard and learn by experience but there will be talks and tuition sessions as well. The spey casting tuition is second to none & we catch fish! Nearly every year there has been at least one caught….
2020 was a miserably difficult year for the whole World. So we couldn’t expect anything different for the SalmonSchool.
We are having to make dramatic changes to the Autumn schools, as we explain below. We are also introducing a Summer School! With this school, we will teach depending on weather/conditions, ie if the water is high we will be going for salmon, if the water is low we’ll be showing you how to fish for trout or sea trout. So this is not specificially a Salmon School but is being run as a Summer School as we expect to go for a range of fish on this one.
We are cancelling the Ladies Only School 2021 and asking ladies to “hold their noses” and join the men at one of the other schools this year.
The virus and social distancing precautions are changing all the time so we may easily have to change these arrangements (for better or worse), as we will follow guidelines at the time.
However currently we intend the broad precautions to include:
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Accommodation. Everyone will get their own bedroom* and own bathroom which will have been deep cleaned before arrival, in fact will have been unoccupied for 30 hours beforehand.
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Fishing. Social distance and caution will be prevalent. Kit must not be shared etc.
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Meals. Again social distancing will be required.
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Evening talks / eg fly tying – similar.
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Travel/transport. Everyone to use their own cars.
Arrival: Welcome by river for initial casting demos/tuition.
To cottages for 7pm dinner with after dinner talk on salmon lifecycle etc
Breakfasts 8-8.45 then full days of fishing / learning.
Spey-casting: tuition, practising and perfecting with Lee Cummings
Watercraft, advice and guidance from Anthony Steel and Mark Bowler
Lunches by river, Kirkwood and Jardine Hall beats
Hopefully salmon/fish to be caught!
7pm dinners with after dinner talks/demos such as fly tying
Final “celebratory” dinner at Kirkwood House.
Depart for home after breakfast
All inclusive – Accommodation, Fishing, Tuition, Guidance, Meals (incl snacks)
* – couples (or people from the same household) can join us, and will get a discount if they share a bedroom/bathroom
However we will have restricted numbers this year.
The ladies joining us will be given their own cottage. ie not sharing a cottage with men.
* Feedback from 2010 to 2016 Salmon Schools (60+ questionnaires completed anonymously, scores average):
“Value for money of school overall” – we scored 9.08 out of 10!
“Learning Benefit of the school overall” – we scored 9.53 out of 10!
“Enjoyment of the school overall” – we scored 9.66 out of 10!
Book Now!
Phone 01576 510 200 or email AS@SalmonSchool.co.uk
See bottom of page for terms and conditions.
More Details of each School
In 2012 we introduced the Ladies Only School….. when Anthony and Mark were assisted by Fiona Armstrong, journalist, broadcaster (BBC News, ITN, GMTV), and keen angler. In her report for the Telegraph April 2012 Fiona wrote, “Fishing is traditionally a man’s world, but statistics show some of the most phenomenal catches have been by women…Let’s face it girls, we’re naturals.” We think she has a point and want to encourage more ladies to fish and to fish well with expert tuition, guidance and shared experience on the school.
You will learn to tackle up, cast, wade with health and safety in mind, tie flies, as well as the basics of fishing, and a lot about the king of fish, the salmon. We sometimes also have culinary demonstrations (fish smoking or cooking) hopefully with fish caught on the school!
Feedback from 2012 – 2016 Ladies Only Salmon Schools (people replying anonymously):
“Value for money of school overall” – we scored 9.6 out of 10!
“Learning Benefit of the school overall” – we scored 9.8 out of 10!
“Enjoyment of the school overall” – we scored 10 out of 10!
For more details see our Ladies SalmonSchool Brochure or register your interest here.
Autumn SalmonSchool 26th September – 3rd October 2021
If you want to learn and improve spey casting while standing a good chance of catching a salmon with expert guidance on techniques and water craft, then this school is the one for you.
For this school, there’s no need for previous salmon fishing experience. The school ideally suits anglers who have caught trout on flies, but possibly never salmon.
An excellent experience and a must for anyone wanting to improve their fishing and up their game on the river. Many anglers come again and again as they want to refresh their skills, keep improving their techniques, and also to take advantage of these fantastic fishing retreat packages! With all your food, accommodation, guidance and fishing included our schools offer tremendous value for money. Surrounded by like minded people, it is a brilliant opportunity to learn even more and reunite with previous school participants, as well as those who maybe haven’t been here before, but are already keen salmon anglers looking to have fun fishing while improving their sport.
For more details see our SalmonSchool or register your interest here.
Older videos of Salmon Schools
Terms & Conditions
Sadly, we must remind you that weather is a major factor in fishing and if faced with poor weather conditions we may have to change how we fish or the location. In very high water spinning and worming is possible and permitted. It is unlikely that we would not be able to fish at all, but it is possible. If so, we would have extra tuition and talks and organise more fly tying sessions etc. Once booked and paid for no refunds are given under any circumstances and we recommend that you purchase a suitable holiday insurance policy to cover you for any unseen eventualities.
