The Story of Mrs Clementina "Tiny" Morison.
61 lbs Deveron Salmon – The Heaviest UK Fly-Caught Salmon
The day of the 21st October 1924 probably started off as any other, being the beginning of Autumn the leaves where probably turning deliciously golden as they do here on Deveronside and people where probably going about their daily business as they always did and I’m sure there was a hive of anglers on the river trying to catch that last trophy fish; in fact we can honestly say that we definitely know of one angler giving their rod a whip and a cast. On that day; here on Deveronside something occurred and you could say it included a slight piece of “magic”.
At Lower Shaws on the banks of the River Deveron a record was smashed and a legend born. The fish in question was a Salmon weighing in at 61lb and a highly prised specimen and the angler being a local lady by the name of Mrs Clementina “Tiny” Morison. The record achieved was that the fish became the heaviest UK fly caught salmon. Little did she know at the time but here on Deveronside and on that day a legend was born.
To this date and with the combined efforts of many generations of anglers passing by all the UK’s game angling rivers, the achievements of Tiny Morrison are still to be replicated. The 61 pounder wasn't weighed until 24 hours after it was caught and so some weight was certainly lost. Mr Harper, who attended to the catch, reckoned on a weight loss of 'a pound or two'. It was caught on a 1.25'' “Brown Wing Killer”.
On the day of her 'big catch', Mrs Morison had already caught other sizable fish - two of 16lb each and another of 12lb. She wrote to her friend Lt. Col. W. Keith reporting the drama: “I rushed down put my hands in his gills and dragged him up onto the bank. He looked enormous lying there - a huge male fish, well hooked but a beautiful shape and coloured. I had no idea what a prize he was. We sent him to Aberdeen to get a cast made”. Charles Middleton was the Morison's chauffeur and although he was only 11-years-old when the big fish was caught he remembers the excitement; “The fish was enormous. They had to get a horse and cart to take it back from the river. It was smoked and we all got a piece”.
