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Post by fishdee on Jan 20, 2010 20:47:16 GMT
Well the season is just around the corner and I have updated the FishDee site with a little bit of information on the prospects. I am looking into the possibility to having river temperatures on the River Heights page and will advise in due course if possible. River conditions update prior to the start of the 2010 salmon fishing season look tricky to predict given that we have had a very harsh winter to date with prolonged cold weather and heavy persistent snowfalls and icy conditions.There has been a slight warming of late although having just returned from a fishing trip to Argentina It still feels very cold to me. The River is running clear with levels between 6 inches and 2 feet above summer level according to river gauges with no grue coming down, there has been some marginal ice but that has disappeared. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the weather stays a little bit milder leading up to the start of the salmon fishing season on the 1st of February. Tactics indicate utilising well sunk flies in the pools where salmon may be encountered and may respond to a slowly moving fly. Now recommending patterns to use is like suggesting what type of bread you should eat-we all have our favourites. Traditionally Black flies with yellow and silver are popular as are the Willie Gunn pattern and variants, in 2-3 inch copper or brass tube flies. For anglers who use traditional waddington flies they may want to give "Intruder" type flies a swim-details can be found about this type of fly by using google on the internet. The Tungsten Monkey fly fished "on the swing" is also a potential catcher of fish. I suspect that new spring fish are likely to be found on beats from Banchory down to Aberdeen with the Lower beats possibly having the best of the action, however there should be a enough fish distributed between Banchory and Aboyne to give an angler a chance of the prized Dee Springer.The River Dee Conservation Code is in place for 2010 and details are on the Fishdee website. Tight lines to all anglers & Ghillies for the 2010 season and ensure you fill in the Fish of the month forms available to download from FishDee in case you land a big Dee Springer.Please forward any details of catches to me at ken@riverdee.org as I will be delighted to share the news of any Springers landed with our readers. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, February 2010 Some Intruder pics
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Post by fishdee on Feb 3, 2010 15:26:09 GMT
Last updated: Wednesday 3rd FebruaryThe river opened on Monday 1st February which was very cold and overcast with snow flurries following on from a heavy snowfall the previous evening. Dawn saw many anglers assembling on Deeside to fish for a prized Dee Springer with some planning to visit the opening ceremony at The Milton of Crathes. There were over 250 people attending the opening ceremony where the ceremonial cast was performed by Billy Connolly who had just arrived hot foot from a one month stint at the Apollo Theatre in London. As always Billy Connolly captivated the public and was highly entertaining both inside the Marquee, and on the river bank for the television cameras and media. Billy Connolly entertaining as always and so friendly with guestsHonours for first salmon of the season, and winner of a salmon fishing rod prize, kindly donated by Sharpes, went to Mrs Jean Marshall who had a 12 lb fish from the Bridge pool at Ballogie. Jean was presented with her prize yesterday and a photograph is on the FishDee website fishing reports page. There was also a special prize for heaviest fish on opening day which was kindly donated by www.theghilliesflybox.com that specialise in producing salmon flies for the Dee. The prize was won by visiting regular angler Mr Tony Black who caught 3 fish on opening day with the biggest scaling 15 lbs. There have been over 30 new salmon landed over the first 2 days of the season along with many Kelts. Tom and Jean Marshall with Jean being presented with her prize by Ken ReidThe water levels are ideal with the river height running between 6 inches and 2 ft above summer level on river gauges and very clear. There have been catches reported by Jim Fisher and John Fyfe from Middle Blackhall, The Ritchie brothers have been successful at Cairnton and Tony Black and colleagues have done well at Little Blackhall & Inchmarlo. I hope to provide a comprehensive over view on Monday but it is nice to resume writing duties and I wish all anglers & ghillies the best of luck for the season and tight lines. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, February 2010 Tony Riley with a 15 lb Springer from TilbouriesJim Fisher with a fine Springer from Middle BlackhallProspectsThe River is currently running clear with levels between 6 inches and 2 feet above summer level according to river gauges with no grue coming down, there has been some marginal ice but that has disappeared. The forecast suggests an increase in temperature later in the week so we may see a lift in rier levels. John Fyfe with another fine Springer from Middle BlackhallTactics indicate utilising well sunk flies in the pools where salmon may be encountered and may respond to a slowly moving fly. Now recommending patterns to use is like suggesting what type of bread you should eat-we all have our favourites. Traditionally Black flies with yellow and silver are popular as are the Willie Gunn pattern and variants, in 2-3 inch copper or brass tube flies. For anglers who use traditional waddington flies they may want to give "Intruder" type flies a swim-details can be found about this type of fly by using google on the internet. The Tungsten Monkey fly fished "on the swing" is also a potential catcher of fish. I suspect that new spring fish are likely to be found on beats from Banchory down to Aberdeen with the Lower beats possibly having the best of the action, however there should be a enough fish distributed between Banchory and Aboyne to give an angler a chance of the prized Dee Springer.The River Dee Conservation Code is in place for 2010 and details are on the Fishdee website. Tight lines to all anglers & Ghillies for the 2010 season and ensure you fill in the Fish of the month forms available to download from FishDee in case you land a big Dee Springer.Please forward any details of catches to me at ken@riverdee.org as I will be delighted to share the news of any Springers landed with our readers.Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, February 2010 Tony Black being presented with his prize for biggest opening day fish by Ken Reid Assembled anglers,tackle dealers, tackle manufacturers, fishing agents gather on the opening night to sample the Dee Dram which was delivered to the Stag Hotel in Banchory.All having a great fun night and discussing catches almost touching 7,200 salmon last season. Both myself and the Clerk to the River Dee Board Mr Alastair Hume were able to have a chat with Mr Billy Connolly and to share some stories and tell him about our work.
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Post by kingfisher on Feb 3, 2010 16:35:45 GMT
2 things worth mentioning, well three really.
What a good first day and well done to the captors. What the hell has Billy got on!! frighten the fish away that colour combo. Was Tony trying to balance that pint of lager on his head!!!!
kf
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Post by torrie on Feb 3, 2010 17:06:47 GMT
Excellent Ken, Keep up the good work
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Post by stincharstoat on Feb 3, 2010 20:30:31 GMT
Good to see Tony with a bit more colour in his cheeks. I last seen him on Saturday and god was he pale........with worry in case the Aberdeen road was blocked with snow!
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Post by fishdee on Feb 7, 2010 21:08:47 GMT
Prospects The River level has risen over the last few days following a recent rise in temperatures with local snow melting and some persistent drizzle. The levels on FishDee are running between 10 inches to 3 foot on the gauges. The water temperature has risen to 4 degrees Celsius which is significantly warmer than last week’s 1-2 degrees Celsius. The weather forecast is indicating predominantly cloudy skies with some wintry showers. The winds will be from the north and east which generally bring snow at this time of year but there are no heavy snowfalls indicated. There are fish spread out through the system with pockets of fish being reported running along with the odd kelt leaping erratically from time to time. With the water temperatures warming up the fish should be less stiff and will perhaps move a bit to the fly. It’s important to get the fly well down though when the water is cold. Always remember to consult your Ghillie about what flies to use and what lies to concentrate on. The Dee Ghillies have excellent knowledge of their beats and will do their best to put you onto fish. If you do not have the services of the Ghillie to rely on for advice then you may wish to try tube flies fished slowly and deeply. Graeme Arthur with a nice lunchtime Springer from Crathes Patterns of choice may be Willie Gunn’s, Posh Tosh, Eternal Optimist, or for something different try a Snaelda pattern. Jim Fearn had fish on a Pink Snaelda last week! Full sinking lines or shooting heads will be the order of the day with shortish leaders. It is also worth trying a monkey tube fished deep and you can also try stripping it slowly during the warmest time of day. I suspect that new spring fish are likely to be found on beats from Banchory down to Aberdeen with the Lower beats possibly having the best of the action in the first week, however there should be a enough fish well distributed throughout the system to give an angler a chance of the prized Dee Springer. The River Dee Conservation Code is in place for 2010 and details are on the FishDee website. Tight lines to all anglers & Ghillies for the 2010 season and ensure you fill in the Fish of the month forms available to download from FishDee in case you land a big Dee Springer. Please forward any details of catches to me at ken@riverdee.org as I will be delighted to share the news of any Springer’s landed with our readers. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, February 2010 Recent Catches The opening week has seen 60 Springer’s reported to 24 lbs which is a reasonable start given how cold the conditions were for the hardy anglers out pitting their wits against the salmon. There is no doubt sport was difficult with the water being so cold. The rise in river levels towards the end of the week has suppressed catches somewhat and hopefully we shall see a larger number caught for the following week-time will tell. I was delighted to be able to visit many anglers during opening week and I am grateful to all for inviting me to join them for the numerous dinners I attended. All anglers were so enthusiastic about being back on our wonderful river fishing again and it’s good to hear so many compliments about the quality of service from the accommodation providers and local hostelries. The catches were distributed from Kingcausie to Lower Dess with most taken on fly and the odd one by spinner. There were a couple over 20 lbs taken during the week with the biggest landed at Invery at 24lbs. I was grateful for a visit from Ghillie Karl Revel today who provided the following report . “ Colin Harvey from Ryall in Worcestershire has been a regular visitor to the Dee at Invery since 1993. A former 3 time winner of the CLA casting championship who is both an elegant angler and tier of lovely flies. His skills were rewarded on Friday 5th February when he caught a Springer that was 40 inches long in the Birkwood pool which is estimated at 24 lbs. This beautiful sea liced hen, his biggest Dee salmon took one of his own black and yellow flies tied with a green pearlised body. The fish was the icing on the cake which saw him accompanied by his friend Austin Todd and Ghillie Jim Turnbull. Colin caught his 200th Dee salmon, a 15 lber from the Pantoch pool on the Tuesday, which his fishing diary will record as his 255th day of fishing on the Dee. What an average! With two other fish of 12 lbs and 17 lbs Colin certainly had a week to remember. Proprietor Jeff Viner and his wife Roni added to the weeks total with one Springer each at 16 lbs and 7 lbs. As a pioneer of catch and release he is justifiably proud of his effort to return every fish he has caught safely to the river. Top angler Tony Black with a Springer from Little Blackhall. Tony was again top rod on opening day on the Dee this year with 3 Salmon on the new prototype guideline shooting head. There were other catches reported with Graeme Arthur and Richard Thomas successful at Crathes. Jean Marshall had the first fish on opening day which saw Jean presented with a 15 foot Sharpe’s fly rod donated by the company. Top angler on opening week was once again Murthly’s Tony Black who had 5 in 2 days at Little Blackhall with Terry Paton and Martin Hayward. Tony received a prize of a box of tube flies from www.theghilliesflybox.com and tied by Ghillie Sean Stanton from Ballogie. So well done to all anglers and please remember to drop me a line and let me share your anecdotes and pictures with our readers. You can write to me as always at ken@riverdee.org The River Dee Conservation Code is in place for 2010 and details are on the FishDee website. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, February 2010
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Post by fishdee on Feb 15, 2010 19:54:23 GMT
Recent CatchesThe cold water of winter has taken its toll on the few anglers out on the river. The river has been lightly fished and returns are quite low; but given the winter conditions it is no surprise the fish are quite unresponsive with water temperatures so low. Beats have reported 48 Springers to 18 lbs with the lower beats seeing some sport. It is a pity there are not more rods out on the lower beats as there are prime Springers about. Top beats were Altries and Crathes this week and congratulations go to Ghillies Kevin Fleming and Cleeve Cowie who have managed to get their fishermen some fine February Springers. David Adamson with fine Springer from ParkI do hope angers will take advantage of the availability on the lower beats as there are fish to be caught. The banks and roads are clear of snow and the river is running clear and cold. I had some fishers on the river on Upper Drum & Lower Durris this week and they had an enjoyable time with Jim Paton. One of our rods , Mr David Gordon turned up at lunchtime on Monday and had a fine sea liced Springer within an hour of starting fishing. What a fine specimen it was at 9lbs and in fantastic condition. Dave commented “For the record the fish took at 1430, on a intermediate line with a 10 foot slow sink tip. The fly was a 2 inch cascade tube. The fish gave a very good account of itself before being expertly tailed by David Reid. It was in sparkling condition with about 10 long tailed sea-lice on its back. After a couple of very quick photos it was returned and very quickly swam strongly off.” Dave Gordons sea liced SpringerThere were other catches reported to me by Hardy casting academy instructor Jim Fisher at Ballogie – a fine fish of 16 lbs. Jim Coates reported a fresh 9lb fish. And I was delighted to receive a picture from Stuart Yeats who managed the fishing at Blairs with a very fresh 15 lb fish. So well done to all successful anglers and please remember to drop me a line and let me share your anecdotes and pictures with our readers. You can write to me as always at ken@riverdee.org-remember the River Dee Conservation Code is in place for 2010 and details are on the FishDee website. There are rods available on the river due to the cold winter so please take advantage of the rods available and come and fish the River Dee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, February 2010 ProspectsFishermen who are seeking the highly coveted prize of a Dee Springer this week will be watching the river levels and weather forecast closely. As of Sunday evening we have had a relatively milder day than of late with rainfall falling steadily today. We also have High Tides of 4.3 metres forecast for Tuesday which coinciding with higher and slightly warmer water will hopefully encourage a new run of fish. Altries, a lovely lower river beat had 5 fish on Friday and has been very lightly fished so it shows there is potential for sport for those venturing out. Stuart Yeats cracking Springer from Bakebare The weather forecast is in line with last week suggesting some cloudy days with light winds and overnight frosts. There may be some rain or sleet showers and hill snow higher up the valley. There is a good reservoir of snow at the top of the catchment and this augurs well for spring fishing providing we don’t get a “warm spell” where the snow melts rapidly. As you would expect at this time of year you need to fish deep and slow. Sunk lines are the order of the day and the best taking times will be around lunchtime when the river and air temperatures are at their highest. If you have the services of a Ghillie to advise you then please ensure you heed their wise advise. The River Dee Ghillies know their water and will give you the best advice on how to catch the prized Dee Springer if they are in your pools. There are a few Kelts about and please treat them with care as some of them will make it back to sea and will return to the river again to spawn. Some final pieces of information of note which I hope you will find of interest. Firstly the Dee Dram whisky is being delivered this week to the valley. George Strachan of Aboyne has a delivery of 100 cases arriving on Thursday so please make sure you order some. You can now order on line by going to The Dee Dram to place an order or by visiting Georges shops and the Stag Hotel in Banchory where they have stocks. This initiative is so important in helping raise funds for the River Dee Trust and helping restore the river to its former glory. The fish of the month award is up for grabs with a fine prize from our sponsors available for the biggest 2010 salmon caught. It is a hard struggle to find the winning fish but what a superb achievement it is to win the accolade. Finally I would like to finish by reporting that well known Ghillie Archie Hay from Crathie is in hospital and sadly is quite poorly. We extend our best wishes to him and his family and hope he has a speedy recovery and will be back holding court at “McLaren” with his many guests enjoying the fabulous fishing and surroundings. Tight lines to all who are fishing, and to those that are thinking about it well please come and fish and enjoy Deeside’s hospitality. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, February 2010
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Post by fishdee on Feb 22, 2010 10:45:33 GMT
Recent CatchesNot a lot of action to report this week sadly as winter tightened its grip on Deeside, and if you will excuse the pun, conditions were gruesome at times with practically 3 days lost due to ice floes and grue coming down river. The forecast from the met office last Sunday did not suggest the conditions that we saw during the week. As it was there were a few fish reported and there were many crack anglers on Deeside who tried their best and deserve credit for their perseverance. As it was some departed early, and who could blame them, and some just relaxed on the beats and visited some of the local hostelries. I was delighted to have a number of anglers visit on Saturday and over coffee we watched some fishing videos and chatted for a few hours. I received some reports and am as always very grateful to anglers who drop me a line or two. Firstly Mr Jim Fisher very kindly found time to drop me a line about a recent catch at Ballogie and commented ‘It was a good afternoon. Walking up to the top of my allocated beat (The Slips) after lunch, I spotted a fish moving in the Middle Slip. I decided to cover it from the bank there and then and the fish took immediately. A very fresh small Springer landed and safely returned. Time 2.45pm. Shortly afterwards I had another solid pull to the Black & Yellow tube fly & this turned out to be a beautifully shaped Springer. Sean the Ghillie arrived in time to put the tape measure on it at 34" long by 18"girth and to take scale samples before the fish swam away strongly. Estimated weight 16lbs. Time 3.10pm. Suddenly my day seemed a lot brighter. Jim Fisher of the Hardy Casting Academy with fine SpringerI also received a nice report from Greig Thomson from Salmo Fishings who wrote ‘Day 1 - We arrived at Park North on Monday to be greeted by Keith and a river running at 19” and clear, which is always a welcome sight in Feb. My first port of call on Monday was the Durris on beat 4. I fished down with an intermediate and fast sink tip to below the wires only to briefly hook up with a Kelt. I did not see many fish in the Durris but saw plenty of fish below on beat 5 down to the ash tree which is fairly usual early on. In the afternoon I had beat 2. I must interject at this point and mention as Keith pointed out to me that a lot of the gravel has shifted on the beats over the winter which is now making some of the pools even better to fish. This was very obvious on beat 2 at the upper kirks and the bottom of the long pool where in the afternoon I took half a dozen Kelts or so including one of 15lb which was very well mended, for a moment I thought it might be the real thing. – Alas it was not to be so ended the day without the goal yet very happy. My fishing partner Cohn O’Dea took a fresh fish of about 7lb on beat 3 in the afternoon at the Greenbank, this certainly provided encouragement for the next day. Greig Thomson with his prized Dee salmonDay 2 – Couple of inches of snow overnight has brought the water temperature down on Deeside as well as the water level up by a few inches. In the morning I was on beat 3 which was looking marvellous. Now although I did not catch any that morning, I did see a fresh fish heading upstream which was very encouraging for the afternoon. After an early lunch I headed to the Durris again and then house pool on beat 4 with my S1/2 shooting head with a 10 foot fast tip teamed up with a Sunray tied on to a 3” weighted tube. I took 2 Kelts rapidly and then another an hour later. By this point I was starting to think about the warmth of home as it was sleeting heavily and very cold along with fading light. Keith come along to keep me company for a while and after only 5 minutes of him being there the line went tight and I was into a fish, no sooner than it was on it come off – now I was really ready for home, wet, cold and hungry! Keith drove off to speak to another one of the guys just up the road whilst I kept on fishing down the house pool. Within minutes my line went tight and there was a big splash on the surface the next thing I know I am right down to my backing! This was the real thing! 10 minutes later down at the cellar I landed my first fresh fish of the season, a 13lb bar of silver much to my pleasure! It goes without saying that Park is my favourite place to fish on the Dee as I just can’t keep away! The beat itself, the quality of the pools and the expertise of Keith, Bert & Charlie make this beat a must for any serious salmon fisher out there! I am now counting the days until March! You can write to me as always at ken@riverdee.org - remember the River Dee Conservation Code is in place for 2010 and details are on the FishDee website. There are rods available over the next few weeks on the river due to the cold winter so please take advantage of the rods available and come and fish the River Dee. I do expect the run to get underway when the river warms up and it could be a good march. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, February 2010 ProspectsI would love to write and predict that prospects for the forthcoming week are promising but it would be wrong to do so. We are experiencing the severest winter for many a long year and the conditions are not going to improve over the next week. I have checked Netweather, Metcheck, the Met Office and BBC weather today. We are going to see a continuation of the extreme cold with day temps rising to around freezing or just over and falling back at night to well below zero. There is a good chance that we shall see further snowfalls from Thursday to Saturday too. There is a possibility that the river will remain grued up all week making conditions virtually impossible. The river gauges are currently showing between 8 inches and 13 inches above summer level however that will drop back over the next few days as frost bites deeper and locks in the water that will come from the tributaries. The maritime influence is indicating high tides rising from 3.6 metres to 4.2 metres which usually would encourage fish to come into the river. Given the current conditions I don’t expect to hear of many fish coming into the river until conditions improve. I think your best catch of the week is a nice bottle of the Dee Dram whisky which is available from The Stag in Banchory, The Kincardine O’ Neil post office and George Strachans shops in Aboyne, Ballater and Braemar. It might be a useful diversion for a few hours if fishing isn’t possible. Profits from this venture go to the River Dee Trust and will help the conservation and restoration work in progress for the river. It all helps significantly so please support this initiative and enjoy a fine dram. There are anglers coming to Deeside and I know of quite a few Scandinavian visitors arriving for a week’s fishing. If you are able to get a line out then perhaps a sunk fly fished deep and slow or perhaps a Devon minnow in the deep dubs might illicit a response. At this time of year any prospects will be around 12-2 pm – given the conditions , though sitting in the hut with a warming dram and chatting with your expert Ghillie can be an enjoyable way to relax and enjoy being on the river side. It is difficult for Ghillies to stand and watch anglers fishing when the conditions are so cold so spare a thought for them. There are rods available over the next few weeks on the river due to the cold winter so please take advantage of the rods available and come and fish the River Dee. I do expect the run to get underway when the river warms up and it could be a good march. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, February 2010
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Post by fishdee on Mar 1, 2010 18:37:27 GMT
Recent CatchesFollowing on from my midweek report there was an increase in temperatures that was sufficient to reduce the grue coming downstream from Friday afternoon. As a result some brave and hardy anglers ventured into the river and fished. Some were rewarded with fresh fish for their efforts, which was good news as it looked like the river was heading for a blank week due to the conditions. There were 15 fish to 21 lbs reported from lower and middle river beats and it was nice to hear of success. It was reported that visiting angler Gavin Ramsay caught a nice fish at Commonty which was pleasing as he had been looking forward to his trip to Deeside and had real concerns about the conditions at the time. I am sure he is glad he came to Deeside and caught his super Springer. I was delighted to receive an e-mail from Ghillie Sean Stanton who advised ‘Just a note about the catches last week. We had a visiting Ghillie from the River Conon, Fraser Smith who works for the Brahan Beats. Fraser is also the inventor of the "Smiths Shrimp", a fly that we do particularly well on. Fraser caught all three fish from Carlogie using a 1" Brass Smiths Shrimp tube. We had water temperatures of -0.5 and were totally amazed that we caught anything! Tom and Jean Marshall had a group on Norwegians over for the whole week. After sitting in their cottage for most of the week watching the ice flow past them, they were rewarded by an extremely good end to the week, which culminated in a 21lber from Lower Gannets. It goes to show that as long as you have a fly in the water, there is always a chance.’ As always good advice from Sean who is a very popular and experienced Ghillie managing the productive Ballogie and Carlogie beats. I was fortunate to meet up with Jim Coates from Whyte and Mackay just as he landed a fine 11 lb Springer at Bakebare at Park. Jim had travelled up to Deeside to fish and deliver some much needed fishing tackle to me. Jim managed to lure his fish on one of his designs affectionately named the Donkey Fly. The picture is on the fishing reports page of FishDee. And as I write I have just been notified that River Dee Board and Trust Chairman Mr Ian Scott has landed a nice fresh fish at Aboyne Castle so no doubt both he and Ghillie Alec Coutts will have plenty to celebrate today. Hopefully they will toast this success with the Dee Dram whisky. Talking about the Dee Dram I should advise that the first main delivery has been received and has been despatched, with new stocks arriving soon. It has had a tremendously successful launch and many thanks to all the Deeside community and anglers for supporting this worthy initiative. Jims nice Springer from Park caught on the Donkey fly he createdYou can write to me as always at ken@riverdee.org - remember the River Dee Conservation Code is in place for 2010 and details are on the FishDee website. There are rods available over the next few weeks on the river due to the cold winter so please take advantage of the rods available and come and fish the River Dee. I do hope the spring run gets underway when the river warms up and it could be a good March. Tight lines to all anglers fishing this week. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, March 2010 ProspectsIt’s tricky to predict how the week will go as the forecasters are predicting some extremely hard frosts over the next few nights before a weak weather front moves over the region. It may see a recurrence of grue in the river, but it is hoped the bright sun will help shift this if it appears in the mornings. Winds shouldn’t represent much of a problem but the glare from the low sun could be strong so remember to wear sunglasses. It is important to wrap up well as the water is extremely cold and please ensure you have a change of clothes just in case of an accidental tumble into the river. The river heights are ideal for spring fishing and the snow levels bode well for the coming weeks and months. Please heed the wise advice from your Ghillie, if you have one, as they can very often make the difference between success and failure whilst you endeavour to catch a prized Dee spring salmon. If you do not have the services of a Ghillie to call on then it is wise to fish with a tube fly, 2-3 inches long, deep and slowly to get the fly right on the fishes nose. Choice of patterns could include the gold bodied Willie Gunn, Black and Yellow, Ally’s Shrimp with the Tungsten monkey another potential provider of a take from a fresh fish. There are many Scandinavian visitors in Deeside just now and it is always a pleasure to welcome them to the valley as they do contribute significantly to the local economy in what is a quiet time of the year for many businesses. I always enjoy meeting them and discussing tactics as they have developed different methods of fly fishing with their temple dog flies, shooting heads and underhand casting rods. They are enthusiastic bunches who do like to get out and about into the community in the evenings and know how to enjoy themselves. You can write to me as always at ken@riverdee.org - remember the River Dee Conservation Code is in place for 2010 and details are on the FishDee website. There are rods available over the next few weeks on the river due to the cold winter so please take advantage of the rods available and come and fish the River Dee. I do hope the spring run gets underway when the river warms up and it could be a good March. Tight lines to all anglers fishing this week. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, March 2010
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Post by fishdee on Mar 8, 2010 14:30:08 GMT
Recent CatchesThis was a week of 2 halves with the first part of the week seeing the continuation of freezing conditions that very much restricted angling activity on the river. There were many visitors to Deeside who gamely battled away and endeavoured to catch a prized Dee Springer and all credit to the anglers and Ghillies for working so hard during this difficult period. On Friday there was a very welcome increase in air temperatures which seemed to bring the best out of the anglers as catches really accelerated strongly on the Friday and Saturday culminating with the capture of a tremendous 25 lb salmon on a Glen Tanar beat. The ice and grue that had hindered activity was disappearing fast opening up the river to anglers. What a pleasure it was to hear the river was performing and allowing visitors a glimpse of the exciting spring salmon fishing the river can provide. Catches were spread out throughout the catchment with Lower Blackhall taking the plaudits for top beat followed closely by Upper Drum & Lower Durris, Invery and Tilbouries. Visitors Crawford and Ross Maclean enjoyed fine sport at Waterside catching 25lb and 14 lb salmon. I hope to have more details for the next report about the big fish. Regular Dee fisher Jim Brunton from Drumoak was successful and commented ‘Thanks Ken, this was a most welcome first fish of the season. I was a little bit downhearted when someone caught a 25lb fish in the pool above ‘Jocky Fyfe’ at Waterside in the morning and 2 people had caught springers in the pools just below me around lunchtime. I changed over from an intermediate with sink tip to a full sinking line at around 3.30 and to a black and yellow 1 1/2” tube. At around 4pm in Symonds I got a lovely take from a 31inch /10lb clean fish. I laid this out on the snow for a nice picture with the rod and wading staff but my camera phone did not capture it (very inexperienced in photographing fish obviously). Needless to say George and I celebrated with a wee dram.’ Well done Jim and George for persevering and finally succeeding. Reid Hagelin who brings parties of anglers to Deeside annually reported that David Hedblad and Magnus Gustafson both caught 2 apiece from Middle & Little Blackhall beats. He also reported that Inga Riska caught his first ever Dee Springer at Inchmarlo on Friday within 30 minutes of starting fishing in the afternoon. Tony Smith was successful at Invery, as was John Sumner and an angler in the Jonathon Hicks party. Invery Ghillie Karl Revel called me on Friday evening to advise that 4 fish were caught that day and that there appeared to be fresh fish running at dusk. This was a promising development and good sport was to continue the next day. This may herald the start of a good run of Springers into the river and hopefully good sport will continue to develop for all anglers and Ghillies. Inge Riska with salmon at Inchmarlo You can write to me as always at ken@riverdee.org where I will endeavour to report any catches, stories and anecdotes. There are rods available over the next few weeks on the river due to the cold winter so please take advantage of the rods available and come and fish the River Dee. I do hope the spring run is now very much underway and it could be a good March with the conditions looking promising. As always tight lines to all anglers fishing this week. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, March 2010 ProspectsI hope I am not tempting fate but following the dramatic improvement in catches at the end of the week I do hope the upturn continues at pace. We look to be set fair for a productive week as the weather forecast is looking most promising and the river levels are ideal for fishing. Currently the SEPA gauges are running between 8 inches and 1 foot 11 inches with water temperatures rising over the last few days encouraging fish to come in from the sea. Mr Maclean with salmon from GlenTanar The weather forecasters on the sites I use are suggesting fairly settled high pressure with light winds and air temperature maxima of 8 degrees Celsius for the week with overnight lows around minus 2 degrees. This should ensure we don’t have any sudden high water conditions but a regular top up of the river levels daily. There may be a weak cold towards the end of the week which may bring some rain / sleet and lower temperatures marginally. For the Ghillies on the river this will be most welcome after enduring the worst cold snap for decades. Talking about our super Ghillies it is very important to listen to the advice they will provide as they will do their best as always to put you onto a taking fish. They know their beats intimately and they will advise the best lines, flies and techniques to adopt to provide you with a chance of sport. If you don’t have the services of a Ghillie to call on it may be advantageous to use intermediate lines perhaps with a sink tip. Short leaders are useful as they allow the fly to turn over well when casting and allow the fly to dig in and sink. The popular fly patterns at this time of the year may include a Willie Gunn tube fly or Tosh, Bottle tube Monkey and Ally’s shrimp patterns. The Scandinavian visitors utilise temple dog patterns and when fish are seen running Sunray Shadow flies fished near the surface. You can write to me as always at ken@riverdee.org - remember the River Dee Conservation Code is in place for 2010 and details are on the FishDee website. There are rods available over the next few weeks on the river due to the cold winter so please take advantage of the many rods available and come and fish the River Dee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd, March 2010
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tenet
Forum Member
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Post by tenet on Mar 8, 2010 15:58:51 GMT
Ken - It might be the light or the camera angle but some of those fish look a might suspect.
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henke
Forum Member
Posts: 34
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Post by henke on Mar 8, 2010 17:39:28 GMT
It might be the light but it does not look like fresh fish.... but as mentioned it may be the light.
??
Others who have comments on that ??
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Post by salmonshrimp on Mar 8, 2010 18:19:14 GMT
Digital cameras don't pick up colours very well and tend to fill in with whatever is the nearest primary or predominant colour. My theory is if the light conditions are bad and obvious contrast is low a brown jacket gives a brownish fish blue jacket gives a blueish fish green jacket a greenish fish. Of course I could be miles away. I think we can't shouldn't really judge a fish on it's digital picture colours
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Post by twostones on Mar 8, 2010 19:11:26 GMT
Digital cameras don't pick up colours very well and tend to fill in with whatever is the nearest primary or predominant colour. My theory is if the light conditions are bad and obvious contrast is low a brown jacket gives a brownish fish blue jacket gives a blueish fish green jacket a greenish fish. Of course I could be miles away. I think we can't shouldn't really judge a fish on it's digital picture colours I might go along with that if I was seeing any evidence of colour distortion anywhere else in the picture, and I'm not. It may be both fish are slightly coloured from having run the river a few weeks or longer ago. That said, the colour and the shape don't say "springer" to me. Look at the Islamouth fish on Tay thread, or even the Dee fish earlier in the thread, and you'll see the difference. I wouldn't want to make a decision based solely on a photo, and there may be a better photo that would dispel the doubts that have been expressed.
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Post by kingfisher on Mar 8, 2010 19:42:42 GMT
Whilst the colour variations may well have something to do with digital cameras and any other reasons for stating that they are coloured etc, at no time does the narrative/description state that they are Springers, ( as in fresh as we know it ), merely the name Salmon has been carefully mentioned in the pictures concerned. However very nice Salmon they are and I wouldn't mind if I caught one, instead of the kelts/rawner caught to date.
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