A Sutherland man has landed one of the first spring salmon in the north – and a hefty one at that.
Andy Sutherland spent 20 minutes playing the fish in the River Helmsdale and had to phone a friend during the tricky process to urgently ask for a landing net to bring it in.
When he did, he found it was an 18lb salmon.
The catch was no fluke – just minutes earlier he had snagged a 10lb salmon but it flicked itself off the hook as he reached down to pick it up.
Mr Sutherland, 60, who is a sea fisherman to trade, said he had been gutted at the loss at the time.
He said: “It’s not often you hook two spring fish.
“But I went up to the next pool and that’s where I hooked the big fella.
“There was a bit of a tussle. He ran downriver and I was running after him.
“He went into the trees at the side of the bank and I had to phone a local ghillie to bring a net down to help me.”
It is not the first time that Mr Sutherland has found success early in the season.
He has caught the first fish in the north over the past few years and has even caught salmon on the first cast on the first day of the new season.
He said: “I know the river well. My father was an early spring fisher and he showed me the corners. It’s the local knowledge that helps.”
The catch was a family affair, as Mr Sutherland was using his brother Ron’s own fly – a Yellow and Black Monkey.
Ron Sutherland runs the local tackle shop, the Helmsdale Company.
In keeping with new Scottish laws, the fish was safely returned to the river and is waiting for the next lucky angler.