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Post by Mon The Flee on Jan 28, 2013 11:11:58 GMT
Here is a short report outlining the prospects for the start of the 2013 salmon fishing season. PROSPECTS The river is running at a decent fishing height just four days prior to the start of the 2013 River Dee salmon fishing season following a small rise in river levels over the weekend due to snow melt. There have been some big lifts in water heights through the close season and the winter has been relatively mild and open up until the last few weeks. The upshot of this situation should mean a decent distribution of early springers and winter fish running the river, where they may be well spread out in lower and middle river beats-perhaps even as high as Aboyne or Ballater. The weather has turned much colder during the last fortnight and significant snowfall has fallen on the catchment which hopefully will provide a source of water for the river during the early spring months. Here is the current forecast from the Met Office for Aboyne: Today: Dry and bright start, but thickening cloud bringing rain across most places this afternoon. The rain will be heaviest across South Aberdeenshire, with the Banff and Buchan coasts seeing very little. Becoming windy with a fresh to strong southerly wind. Maximum Temperature 6 °C. Tonight: Rain soon clearing this evening to leave a mainly dry night, although chance of a few showers across the west of Aberdeenshire. Touch of frost developing inland. Minimum Temperature 2 °C. Tuesday: After a dry morning with some sunshine becoming cloudy with more rain during the afternoon. Becoming drier during the evening. Becoming windy later with strong south westerly winds by evening. Maximum Temperature 8 °C. Outlook for Wednesday to Friday: Very windy with a few showers on Wednesday, wintry on hills. Less windy but rather cloudy on Thursday with a few showers. Colder and brighter with wintry showers on Friday. There is a fair chance that we will have a rising river on Tuesday/Wednesday due to snow melt and warmer air temperatures. The river should hopefully have dropped back to a nice fishing height for the start of the fishing season on Friday, however you can never guarantee perfect fishing conditions, so fingers crossed for a productive start to the season on Friday. There will be an opening ceremony held on the river on Friday morning and invitations have been sent out for guests to attend this popular annual event. The River Dee can produce some early fish to 20lbs plus so anglers will need to ensure their tackle is sound. I am delighted to see there is a very good amount of fishing available in February to book online at the FishDee website and anglers would be well advised to book some early fishing and take advantage of good values on offer from wide range of FishDee beats that have rods available. One important change to the River Dee conservation code in 2013 sees the introduction of tighter Biosecurity protocols which ask all anglers fishing the river to have their wading boots and landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant on arrival at their beat. Disinfection equipment has been supplied to all fishing beats and this process, which was trialled last year on beats, will cause a very minimal disruption to anglers on arrival. Anglers will be fishing with Intermediate or sinking lines and short leaders. On the business end tube flies are very popular and patterns such as Black/Yellow, Gold Bodied Willie Gunn, Dee Monkey, Snaelda should provide opportunities of sport from Springers where they are located. There will be Kelts (last season’s salmon which have spawned) and it is important that anglers return these fish carefully to the river as some will make it back to sea and return again to spawn. They have laid down the next generation of salmon in their redds on the river bed which will emerge from the gravels in late spring as salmon fry. Anglers looking to source fishing tackle that needs replaced or topped up can visit Somers of Aberdeen, Orvis in Banchory, George Strachan in Aboyne and the Kincardine O'Neil Post Office. There have been a number of excellent beat films produced during the summer which have now been added onto the FishDee website/ Your Videos page which will allow followers of the website to see 8-10 minute films of a number of popular fishing beats. The Ghillies have done a superb job in assisting with the production of these films and they demonstrate their talents as great ambassadors for their beat and river. There will be a compilation film produced shortly of all the beats which will be distributed on-line to help draw even more visitors to Deeside. Regards Ken Ken Reid,Fisheries Development Officer DDSFB & River Dee Trust Office Mill of Dinnet, Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland,AB34 5LA D +44 (0) 13398 80411 M +44 (0) 7979 878971 E-Mail ken@riverdee.org www.riverdee.org and www.fishdee.co.ukRiver Dee Trust Registered Charity No SC028497
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Post by Mon The Flee on Jan 31, 2013 17:29:15 GMT
NEWS RELEASE 31 January 2013 New salmon season marks 150 years of the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board. Alastair Hume, elder statesman of the Dee, is guest of honour at opening ceremony The start of the 2013 salmon fishing season on the River Dee will be celebrated on Friday February 1st with an official opening ceremony on the riverbank by Potarch Bridge. Alastair Hume, elder statesman of the Dee, who in several capacities has given over 60 years’ service to the river, will be the guest of honour and will formally open the season. 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board (DDSFB), which has the responsibility for conserving and improving stocks in one of Europe’s most renowned salmon rivers. Mark Bilsby, River Director of the DDSFB and the River Dee Trust, said: “Whilst we are very proud of our past achievements and 150 years of the Board’s stewardship of the Dee’s salmon stocks, our focus now is very much on the future. Rod catches of salmon continue to improve after a difficult period at the turn of the millennium. The Dee’s catch for 2012 – 7,854 salmon – has placed us in the top three of the league table of Scotland’s rivers. The Dee’s resurgence is testimony to the conservation and environmental improvement policies we have enacted in recent years, not least our conservation code and emphasis on bio-security”. Mr Bilsby added: “For the Dee’s improvement as a premier salmon river to continue, it is vital that we encourage and nurture young new blood to carry on the important work and traditions on the riverbank. We wish to attract new people with a passion for the river to come and work with us and tap in to all the accumulated wisdom that exists amongst those who have spent decades on the Dee. With this in mind the DDSFB is introducing an annual river worker’s bursary scheme to enable a suitable individual to gain practical experience on the riverbank. We believe that this is the first such scheme in Scotland and we are committing to this for the next 150 years!” Alastair Hume, a retired bank manager, has played a pivotal role in the development of Aberdeen and District Angling Association from its humble beginnings in 1946 to it becoming Scotland’s premier angling club with 1,100 members and its own fishing beats on the Dee, Don and Ythan rivers. Alastair, who served as club’s Vice-President or President from 1964 to 2008 and is now the Honorary President, masterminded the club’s acquisitions of fishings. For decades he has worked tirelessly to protect and ensure the Dee’s salmon runs and he cares passionately about the river’s future. He recently retired as a Board member of the DDSFB and currently serves as Voluntary Clerk to DDSFB and as a Trustee of the River Dee Trust. The DDSFB’s and River Dee Trust’s holistic approach to the health of the river is underlined by the Trust’s involvement in the LIFE+ “Pearls in Peril” (PIP) project, which is designed to secure the future of the freshwater pearl mussel in Great Britain, particularly in Special Area of Conservation (SAC) rivers such as the Dee. The PIP project on the Dee is worth £2.5m over four years. The opening ceremony at Potarch Bridge is taking place by kind permission of Ballogie Estate. Refreshments are being provided by Che and Nicola Mueller of the Potarch Hotel and Restaurant and drams are courtesy of the Dalmore Dee Dram. ENDS **** Photo opportunities from 10:30 am by Potarch Bridge **** (Potarch Bridge is adjacent to the A93 North Deeside Road midway between Banchory and Aboyne) A pdf of The River Dee Annual Report can be emailed on request. Issued by Andrew Graham-Stewart (telephone numbers 01863 766767 or 07812 981531) on behalf the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board. For further information telephone Mark Bilsby, Director of the Fishery Board, on 013398 80411 or 07810 880409. Notes for editors 1) The Dee District Salmon Fishery Board is the statutory body responsible for the protection, preservation and development of salmon and sea trout fisheries in the Dee system. 2) The River Dee Trust is a charitable organisation tasked with understanding the catchment and the factors that influence it, leading to practical works to restore the river for future generations and a community based education programme for all ages. 3) The Potarch Hotel is one of Aberdeenshire’s leading small hotels and restaurants, specialising in the finest of local cuisine. It is kindly providing the hospitality for the opening ceremony. 4) Angling in the River Dee generates some £12 million annually in revenues and supports an estimated 500 rural jobs. Dee DSFB River Office Mill of Dinnet Aboyne Aberdeenshire AB34 5LA www.riverdee.org
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 4, 2013 19:14:31 GMT
Recent Catches The River Dee salmon fishing season commenced on Friday 1st February and saw spring salmon located between Lower Crathes and Aboyne Water. Conditions for angling were ideal with the river running at a nice height and relatively benign weather conditions for the time of year. The opening two days saw 29 salmon reported to FishDee with 3 other fish I know of landed from FishDee beats. Invery again had the best of the sport on the opening couple of days with 5 fish reported; Cairnton had 4, with Lower Blackhall and Aboyne Water reporting 3 apiece. Iain Wood had the fishing for the opening two days at Invery and again he was delighted to have his party enjoy good sport. Two of the successful anglers have written to me this weekend, Charles Jeffrey and Gareth Headland. Charles wrote advising ‘Home in the Borders again after our successful sortie again on Invery. Who says that lightening doesn't strike twice in the same place? We were all on a high at lunchtime on Friday having had three fish and surprisingly all the same length and weight. Ian Ross and I didn't have a problem agreeing to Gareth being presented with the lovely box of flies. He's never had a Springer on opening day before. Can I respectfully suggest when covering this in your report, that you mention that Ian Ross and I had fish of the same weight and readily agreed that Gareth should have the prize as his fish was caught before ours? He was good company and the hospitality we had in Banchory was of the usual high standard. The Derbar looks after us well. No wonder, as each time we are up (about seven times a year) we go there each night. Jim Turnbull is a perfect gentleman and looked after us all so well and Karl appeared looking more like a gentleman than we've seen before with his tweed suit! It was good to see you again, Ken and hopefully we'll catch up with you again when we're up on Deeside. The 4th March is the next challenge with Brian at Crathes and again the following week at the same venue.’ Gareth wrote advising ‘Good to see you Ken, thanks for mediating between the 3 of us who all had very similar size fish; seemed fair actually the first one taken gets the prize, even though I may be biased if it worked against me, would say the same. I think Ian Ross and Charles Jeffrey should be mentioned in despatches! Hope to bump into you end of March I hope when I have Carlogie all last week of month. I had another fresh one Saturday too, 11lb by the way’. It’s pleasing to hear that Gareth finally got the monkey of his back with an opening day fish. Upper Blackhall beat have agreed to join FishDee this season and I was pleased to hear that Simon Mitchell had two spring fish on opening day when we met on Friday afternoon. This lovely beat is opposite Cairnton and Woodend and fishes 3 rods through its one and three quarter mile length. I’m delighted to announce that there are 3 rods available each day for the next fortnight at a very attractive £50 per day. Anglers looking to fish Upper Blackhall during the next fortnight should contact Ghillie Raymond Sinclair on 01330 822183 to book fishing. I would like to make anglers aware that there is one important change to the River Dee conservation code in 2013 sees the introduction of tighter Biosecurity protocols which ask all anglers fishing the river to have their wading boots and landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant on arrival at their beat. Disinfection equipment has been supplied to all fishing beats and this process, which was trialled last year on beats, will cause a very minimal disruption to anglers. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. Copyright FishDee SALMON & GRILSE: Park 1, Lower Crathes and W Durris 1, Invery 5, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 3, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 1, Middle Blackhall 1, Cairnton 4, Lower Woodend 1, Sluie 2, Ballogie 2, Borrowston 1, Kincardine 2, Carlogie 1, Dess 1, Aboyne Water 3, Total 29 SEA TROUT: none reported
Prospects The river is running at a decent fishing height just four days prior to the start of the 2013 River Dee salmon fishing season is underway now and there is a small rise in river levels over the weekend due to snow melt. There have been some big lifts in water heights through the close season and the winter has been relatively mild and open up until the last few weeks. The upshot of this situation should mean a distribution of early springers and winter fish running the river, where they may be well spread out in lower and middle river beats. The opening couple of days saw catches up to Aboyne Water. The weather forecast is predicting air temperature maxima around 4 degrees Celsius this week with strong cold winds and wintry showers and overnight frosts. The maritime influence sees tides building this week from 3.6 metres to 4.5 metres. The River Dee can produce some early fish to 20lbs plus so anglers will need to ensure their tackle is sound. I am delighted to see there is a very good amount of fishing available in February to book online at the FishDee website and anglers would be well advised to book some early fishing and take advantage of good values on offer from wide range of FishDee beats that have rods available. One important change to the River Dee conservation code in 2013 sees the introduction of tighter Biosecurity protocols which ask all anglers fishing the river to have their wading boots and landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant on arrival at their beat. Disinfection equipment has been supplied to all fishing beats and this process, which was trialled last year on beats, will cause a very minimal disruption to anglers. Anglers will be fishing with Intermediate or sinking lines and short leaders. On the business end, tube flies are very popular and patterns such as Black/Yellow, Gold Bodied Willie Gunn, Dee Monkey, and Snaelda should provide opportunities of sport from Springers where they are located. There will be Kelts (last season’s salmon which have spawned) and it is important that anglers return these fish carefully to the river as some will make it back to sea and return again to spawn. Anglers looking to source fishing tackle that needs replaced or topped up can visit Somers of Aberdeen, Orvis in Banchory, George Strachan in Aboyne and the Kincardine O'Neil Post Office. Copyright FishDee
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 11, 2013 15:34:07 GMT
Recent Catches The first full weeks fishing on the River Dee saw anglers enjoying mixed fortunes. If you were in the right place at the right time there were some nice fresh run salmon to be caught. FishDee beats have reported 69 salmon to 20lbs last week with Park landing 11, Ballogie beats 10, Crathes and Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo had 6 each. The water is still very cold and anglers were, as is typical for the time of year, having to put in a lot of hours searching for the elusive Silver Spring run salmon, in at times tough weather conditions. There were anglers who enjoyed some good sport. I had a call from Graeme Arthur who was fishing with his friend Richard Thomas, who had a very enjoyable week at Crathes where Graeme took 5 new salmon to his own rod during his week. He was fishing a long line with a Dee Monkey fished deep and slow and had sport every day with kelts, baggots and fresh salmon. Many of the visiting anglers were toasting their success in The Stag in Banchory where the Dalmore is on at a very good price for the month. It’s pleasing to see so many of the visiting anglers getting out and about and supporting the local hotels, bars and restaurants where they are being very well looked after. I met up with Sean McGarry on Saturday who had an enjoyable visit to Park where he landed 3 Springers and has sent me an e-mail with the attached images. ‘Hi Ken, it was nice to see you again today. Here are the pictures of the fish I caught over the last three days.’ I also saw Nick Evans on Saturday, who also enjoyed some sport at Park. Nick has very kindly dropped me an e-mail with images of a fine 17lb salmon landed in Castleton. ‘Hi Ken, I have attached 2 images of my fish, taken from the North Bank of Castleton pool – 17lbs of very fit fish ! It was taken on a free-swinging hook Park Shrimp variant.’ I was also delighted to receive an email from Dean Hilton who landed a lovely fresh run 20lb salmon, this biggest of the week at Dess.’ Dear Ken, Please find attached photo of 20lb Springer taken on Dess on the 6th Feb. The third year on the trot the Dess beat has rewarded us with wonderful sport under the watchful eye of Eoin Smith. My nephew Mark Swindlehurst also managed one at 10lb on the 5th.’ The lovely Dess beat is a big fish beat and has a great variety of lovely fly water to fish. Duncan Egan enjoyed some good sport at Ballogie and advised ‘Hi Ken, Just back from Ballogie thought I would send a pic of the fish I caught. I had the one in the pic plus lost another Springer plus 5 kelts - action all day. The deadly fly was a black and yellow monkey fished of a Triple D hover, sink 1, sink3 with the river at 3ft and 36f.’ The Ballogie Ghillies Sean and Ian were delighted with the start to their season where Tom and Jean Marshall have fishing for the first few weeks of the season and have some really talented anglers up to fish the river. Great to be back on the river Upper Blackhall beat have agreed to join FishDee this season and I was pleased to hear that Simon Mitchell had two spring fish on opening day when we met just over a week ago. This lovely beat is opposite Cairnton and Woodend and fishes 3 rods through its one and three quarter mile length. I’m delighted to announce that there are 3 rods available each day for the next week at a very attractive £50 per day. Anglers looking to fish Upper Blackhall during the next fortnight should contact Ghillie Raymond Sinclair on 01330 822183 to book fishing. I would like to make anglers aware that there is one important change to the River Dee conservation code in 2013 sees the introduction of tighter Biosecurity protocols which ask all anglers fishing the river to have their wading boots and landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant on arrival at their beat. Disinfection equipment has been supplied to all fishing beats and this process, which was trialled last year on beats, will cause a very minimal disruption to anglers. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. Copyright FishDee SALMON & GRILSE: Ardoe and Murtle 1, Tilbouries 1, Upper Drum and Lower Durris 1, Park 11, Lower Crathes and W Durris 9, Knappach 3, Crathes 6, Invery 2, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 3, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 6, Middle Blackhall 2, Upper Blackhall 3, Cairnton 1, Commonty 2, Sluie 1, Ballogie 7, Borrowston 1, Kincardine 2, Carlogie 1, Dess 3, Birse 1, Aboyne Water 1, Dinnet 1, Total 69 Prospects The river is very clear and cold and running at a nice fishing height. The Sepa gauges are showing heights of 1 foot 6 inches at Woodend and 2 foot at Park and running steady. The maritime influence shows high tides in Aberdeen of 4.6 metres dropping back through the course of the week to 3.5 metres. There is enough water for new fish to come forward but the sea will be warmer than the river so fish are never in much of a hurry to come forward. There will hopefully be little runs of new fish coming forward so it pays to persevere and not spend too much time over lunch. The weather forecast is suggesting a cool start to the week with temperatures rising in the latter part of the week. It should be cool and cloudy with snow showers on Tuesday and Wednesday and brightening up from Thursday. Winds shall predominantly be light and variable with air temperature maxima around 6 degrees later in the week. There will be overnight frosts in the early part of the week. I met some visiting anglers in the British Legion during the week and one of the gentlemen hooked and played a very big fish at Invery before it came unstuck. Spring run salmon are typically two or three sea winter fish and there can be some big fish coming forward. Anglers need to ensure that their leaders are short and strong and check that their knots are tied well. Anglers will be fishing with Intermediate or sinking lines. Another popular option at this time of year is the Skagit lines which are short shooting heads that are great at helping turnover big heavy flies. Graeme Arthur used a Skagit set up to good effect at Crathes where he was fishing a very long cast deep and slow and covering a lot of water. On the business end, tube flies are very popular and patterns such as Black/Yellow, Gold Bodied Willie Gunn, Dee Monkey, and Park Shrimp should provide opportunities of sport from Springers where they are located. There will be Kelts (last season’s salmon which have spawned) and it is important that anglers return these fish carefully to the river as some will make it back to sea and return again to spawn. As always there is a great amount of fishing availability on the FishDee website during February. The weather looks ideal for angling this week so if anglers can manage a visit to the river then please do so. A 3 day break at this time of year can be rewarding with some of the local hotels doing special Fishermans rates for 3 days stays or more. There is good value to be found at the Tor Na Coille Hotel, Banchory Lodge, Raemoir House Hotel, Burnett Arms, British Legion and Douglas Hotel, all located in Banchory. It has been most enjoyable getting out and about in the evening meeting groups of anglers who have all commented really favourably at how well they are being looked after by Ghillies on the river and also the local bars, restaurants and hotels. It is also pleasing to hear how supportive anglers are about the tighter Biosecurity protocols put in place this year. All anglers are being asked to have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing. It’s a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering the watercourse. Anglers looking to source fishing tackle that needs replaced or topped up can visit Somers of Aberdeen, Orvis in Banchory, George Strachan in Aboyne and the Kincardine O'Neil Post Office. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. Copyright FishDee
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 12, 2013 10:47:58 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 12, 2013 10:50:07 GMT
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Post by suirboy on Feb 12, 2013 21:09:25 GMT
A couple of lovely pics there to really whet the appetitie to get the rods out. Little chance of a fresh fish here until after st Patrick's day so have often been tempted to make a trip to the dee. Thanks for the post ken, tbe update and info is really helpful as it can be a really daunting task for the foreigner to try and figure out where to go, when, where to stay etc. think if I had landed that springer in the first pic you would have had some job to wipe the smile off my face!!
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 18, 2013 21:51:01 GMT
Recent Catches The second full weeks fishing on the River Dee saw anglers fishing hard for little reward from fresh run salmon. FishDee beats have reported 32 salmon to 18lbs last week with the same week last year seeing 92 salmon reported. The water levels were reasonable all week with a bit of a rise in river levels on Friday, Saturday and Sunday due to snow melt as air temperatures rose. Catches reported for the week were as follows: Park 2, Crathes 2, Invery 3, Tilquhillie 2, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 3, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 2, Upper Blackhall 4, Cairnton 2, Woodend 1, Ballogie 3, Borrowston 4, Kincardine 3, Carlogie 1. I have received some angler feedback and am grateful to those who have taken the time to write to me in order that I can share information with readers of this column. Graeme Arthur commented ‘Dear Ken, It was good to catch up and have a chat about old times over a meal and decent bottle of wine in the Tor-na-Coille last week. As you know we had 6 fish for our week. I really got off to flier with the 2 nine pounders, in the last hour of day light in that high water on the boat pool-Crathes. This really set the trend for the week, the mind set was very positive and I think this attitude worked well for us with over 40 kelts and six nice Springer’s. We managed to get a small video, playing and landing of the first salmon, selection of photos above are my third and fifth fish, Richard playing his and Emma into a kelt out in the boat.’ Graeme has been a regular tenant at Crathes for a number of years and is a very experienced and talented angler. Regular Dee fishers Jenny Cooper and Steve Wellard enjoyed good sport last week with Jenny writing to advise, ‘Hi Ken, Steve and I thought you may like to see the pictures of the beautiful sea liced Spring fish that I caught on Friday 15th Feb in the House Pool at Park North. It was caught on a yellow and black tube fly and weighed by Keith at 17lbs with sea lice. Was a wonderful end to a busy weeks fishing and my first Springer on the Dee. Regards, Jenny Cooper and Stephen Wellard.’ The images sent are really excellent and will be posted in the media and website. I was pleased to speak to Tam Wallace who was fishing at Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie when I popped in for a visit. Tam has very kindly written to me with images advising ‘Hi Ken, here’s a pic of the 18lb Springer I caught at lower Blackhall on 12th February. I caught her on a 1 and a half inch black and yellow Mylar tube. I fished for 3 days and had 2 fish for myself 8lb-18lb, 1 fish for Garry Cunningham, 7lb. I enjoyed the blether in the hut with you; I’m back up March and April and might catch up with you. Regards, Tam Wallace.’ I was also pleased to receive correspondence with images from Ian Shaw who commented ‘Along with 5 other mad keen salmon anglers, I fished the River Dee (Park South Beat) from 6th to 8th February expertly guided by Jim Fearn. The fishing was fantastic, and between us we landed 5 superb springers all caught on a Gunn Snaelda. I learnt so much from Jim, not just how to improve my casting, but how to fish the fly correctly, water craft and controlling the depth of the fly. I enclose a few pictures of a memorable few days. I would also make mention of the two Ghillies, Bert and Stewart who were very helpful and extremely polite. All in all, it was a fantastic trip on a superb piece of water. The evenings consisted of plenty of fly tying, and even more consumption of single malts. A fantastic time was had by all, and one I will remember for many years to come.’ It’s always nice to receive such an enthusiastic e-mail about a very enjoyable time on the River Dee.
I would like to make anglers aware that there is one important change to the River Dee conservation code in 2013 sees the introduction of tighter Biosecurity protocols which ask all anglers fishing the river to have their wading boots and landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant on arrival at their beat. Disinfection equipment has been supplied to all fishing beats and this process, which was trialled last year on beats, will cause a very minimal disruption to anglers. Angler feedback forms from FishDee include a question asking if disinfection was carried out on the beat. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. Copyright FishDee Prospects After a quieter than hoped for week which saw river levels rising towards the end of the week then we can look forward with some hope that catches will increase during the week ahead. River levels are currently dropping back with the Sepa gauges reading 1ft 9 inches at Ballater and 3ft 4 inches at Park and falling. The maritime influence sees tides will be building during the course of the week from 3.2 metres to 4.0 metres. The river and tidal conditions are ideal for new fish to come forward, if indeed they are there to come forward. High pressure is building over the course of the week which means that winds will be light and variable and there will be little precipitation of consequence. The air temperature as I drove to Dinnet this morning was minus 5 degrees Celsius and we can expect air temperature maxima of around 5 degrees Celsius this week and overnight frosts as temperatures are expected to fall below zero all week. This looks like offering anglers pretty reasonable riverside conditions providing they wrap up well to keep warm. I met some Ghillies and anglers during the week who were fishing hard and diligently and they by and large reported there were, in some beats a good amount of kelts, but few springers. What sport anglers were having required them to fish the fly deep and slow where on the business end, tube flies were very popular and patterns such as Black/Yellow, Gold Bodied Willie Gunn, Dee Monkey, and Park Shrimp provided some sport from Springers where they were located. There were some really nice specimens caught so it pays to ensure your tackle is sound, as a prized Springer is too precious to lose because your equipment wasn’t sound enough or your knots not tied well enough. As always there is a great amount of fishing availability on the FishDee website during February and March. The weather looks ideal for angling this week so if anglers can manage a visit to the river then please do so. A 3 day break at this time of year can be rewarding with some of the local hotels doing special Fishermans rates for 3 days stays or more. There is good value to be found at the Tor Na Coille Hotel, Banchory Lodge, Raemoir House Hotel, Burnett Arms, British Legion and Douglas Hotel, all located in Banchory. Where you can find rates of between £60 to £90 per night for B and B for single occupancy in a double room. It has been most enjoyable getting out and about in the evening meeting groups of anglers who have all commented really favourably at how well they are being looked after by Ghillies on the river and also the local bars, restaurants and hotels. It is also pleasing to hear how supportive anglers are about the tighter Biosecurity protocols put in place this year. All anglers are being asked to have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing. It’s a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering the watercourse. Anglers looking to source fishing tackle that needs replaced or topped up can visit Somers of Aberdeen, Orvis in Banchory, George Strachan in Aboyne and the Kincardine O'Neil Post Office. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. Copyright FishDee
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 19, 2013 13:57:25 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 19, 2013 13:59:51 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 25, 2013 16:50:50 GMT
Recent Catches Sport for the many experienced salmon anglers who populated the River bank last week was slow and tough going, with very few fish coming forward into the river, perhaps due to very cold river temperatures. FishDee beats have so far reported 28 salmon for the week compared to 65 for the same week last year. Park and Crathes reported 4 apiece; Middle Drum, Lower Crathes and Little Blackhall reported 3 each, with the biggest reported at 18lbs from Middle Drum. Fishing in February is always very unpredictable as salmon will choose to run the river when they choose to and all anglers can do is turn up and hope they run through their beat whilst they are fishing. Looking back to 2010 FishDee beats reported 169 salmon for the month and the season finished with over 9,300, which was the best for over 30 years. So it’s very early in the season and we have to accept nature dictates the levels of sport on the River bank and we have to persevere and enjoy our day out and make the most of it. I’m sure the banter in the huts at lunchtime is as lively as ever as anglers share a dram and the craic with our experienced crack team of Ghillies. I met a number of anglers during the week and some Ghillies when I endeavoured to try and catch a February Springer to no avail. Keith Webster and Jamie Hammond had a few days at Lower Crathes where they found sport a bit slow. Keith was really pleased to catch a fresh fish of approximately 10 pounds. Alas Jamie didn’t manage on this occasion, but can console himself that during the corresponding week last year he caught a 22lb Springer and a 24 lb Springer; better luck next time Jamie. I was also delighted to receive an e-mail from Geoff Fisher who readers may recall had opening week success at Lower Crathes. Well Geoff did the business again on Saturday and dropped me an email and images of the salmon. Geoff commented’ Good morning. Please find attached a couple of photos of a cock fish taken, and safely returned, from the Mill Pool at Lower Crathes about 3.30 on Saturday afternoon. I've included 2 photos as the ‘better’ photo doesn’t show the depth of the fish. If there was ever any doubt as to why we spend hours on end up to our waists in freezing cold water at this time of year - these sorts of fish are the reason - it truly was just 16lb of pure adrenalin busting Springer. The fish, taken on a 1.5" Black & Yellow tube, was a welcome reward after 2 days of hard work in very cold conditions indeed. I don’t think I can recall such a combination of cold water & stubbornly low air temperatures, for such a long time. Either that or its just age setting in! As always I'd like to say a big thank you to Robert Harper, Chas Booth &, on this occasion, Chas’s brother Bob Booth. Bob, who was helping out on Saturday, was on hand to net my fish and assist with the photos.’ The images show a really super fish and well done Geoff for showing that talent and perseverance provides success when opportunity comes along. I also was pleased to bump into Gavin Ramsay who enjoyed success at Commonty. As always it’s a pleasure catching up with Gavin who caught his fish on a small dressed double! Sean McGarry was also back on a flying visit to Park and managed his 4th of the season from Park; he of course was tremendously pleased with his success. Well done Sean and hopefully you can suggest Lotto numbers for me this week. And talking about Sean’s-the Ballogie Estates head Ghillie Sean Stanton commented on his blog ‘It's not the best of weeks, with only 3 fish caught on the Ballogie beats, just 1 off each beat! The river temperature is the biggest problem, at only 34 degrees Fahrenheit the fish are not moving up through the river at any speed, and as the water keeps dropping the fish are more likely to stay in the lower beats when they come in from the sea. We need a change in weather to stand a chance of drawing fish out from the sea, looking at the forecast we will see a slight rise in daytime temperatures which could result in some snow melt. With a full moon nearly here we should see some high spring tides and this may bring fresh fish into the river. I hope!’ On Friday the upper beats will be seeing anglers arriving in good numbers to fish and it will be interesting to see what numbers of fish are in the upper beats. Good water levels did bring in a run of winter fish and they may help boost the week’s totals. I would like to make all anglers & Ghillies aware that there is one important change to the River Dee conservation code in 2013, which sees the introduction of tighter Biosecurity protocols which calls on all anglers fishing the river to have their wading boots and landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant on arrival at their beat. Disinfection equipment has been supplied to all fishing beats and this process, which was trialled last year on beats, will cause a very minimal disruption to anglers. Angler feedback forms from FishDee include a question asking if disinfection was carried out on the beat. Anglers should be aware the River Dee Trust has launched a spring raffle where tickets are on sale in fishing huts, Orvis in Banchory and the Tor Na Coille Hotel, with very nice prizes to be won. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. Copyright FishDee Prospects The weather forecast is suggesting high pressure is going to continue to remain established over the country with a continuation of calm and dry conditions. There will be little precipitation of note and the week shall be mostly bright and sunny until towards the weekend when there will be an increase in cloud cover. Air temperature maxima may reach 8 or 9 degrees Celsius on Saturday and there will be overnight frosts. If temperatures do get high enough at altitude there may well be some needed snow melt. The maritime influence sees tides building from 4 metres to 4.4 metres through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before starting to drop back on Sunday. The Sepa gauges are reading 1ft 1 inch at Woodend and 1 ft 5 inches at Park so river levels are low and the water is cold. Any new fish that come forward will not travel far upriver in such cold water conditions and anglers may get some sport in the lower beats to Banchory. Having spent a number of days trying in vain to catch a Springer it’s very important to listen to your Ghillies advice. Your beat Ghillie will encourage you to persevere in the likely taking lies given the water height on your beat and they will give good advice on presentation speed, fly choice and what depth to fish the fly. More often than not the Ghillie can make the difference and give you the advice you really need to catch the elusive silver fresh run salmon we all try so hard to catch. As always there is a great amount of fishing availability on the FishDee website during March. The weather looks ideal for angling this week so if anglers can manage a visit to the river then please do so. A 3 day break at this time of year can yield some rewards with some of the local hotels doing special Fishermans rates for 3 days stays or more. There is good value to be found at the Tor Na Coille Hotel, Banchory Lodge, Raemoir House Hotel, Burnett Arms, British Legion and Douglas Hotel, all located in Banchory, where you will find rates of between £60 to £80 per night for B and B for single occupancy in a double room. Anglers have been commenting really favourably at how well they are being looked after by Ghillies on the river and also the local bars, restaurants and hotels. It is also pleasing to hear how supportive anglers are about the tighter Biosecurity protocols put in place this year. All anglers are being asked to have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing. It's a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering the watercourse. Anglers should be aware the River Dee Trust has launched a spring raffle where tickets are on sale in fishing huts, Orvis in Banchory and the Tor Na Coille Hotel, with very nice prizes to be won. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. Copyright FishDee
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 25, 2013 16:52:34 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 25, 2013 16:52:58 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 25, 2013 16:53:19 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Feb 25, 2013 16:53:50 GMT
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