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Post by Mon The Flee on May 7, 2013 8:44:44 GMT
Last Week It was a trying week for anglers and Ghillies alike last week due to conditions they had to face. There was a fierce wind at the beginning of the week and a big rise in river levels on Saturday which made fishing difficult. It's also clear that the spring run so far this year has not been good for many anglers and Ghillies, especially in the upper beats. This is fishing and not catching, and there are never any guarantees of sport when you are trying to outwit a fish which does not feed in fresh water. FishDee beats have reported 108 salmon for the week and 16 sea trout, with perhaps some late additions to add to this total. Lower Crathes continued to fish well, with the anglers catching 26 salmon for their week. I visited Arni Baldursson on Thursday at the beat who advised that sport was good; he advised he had 8 for the week so far and hoped to land a few more by the end of the week. Park reported 15 salmon, Ballogie beats 14 and the Blackhall beats were also in double figures. i128.photobucket.com/albums/p198/Greenbanks/AlanLankshear_zps1094bb15.jpgAlan Lankshear who celebrates his 90th birthday this month fighting a hard salmon at Carlogie Mr Coghill from Argyll had 3 days at Crathes fishing with Ghillie Brian Sim and advised ‘No fish but a most interesting and informative three days. Brian knows his beat intimately, understanding exactly how to fish each pool in the prevailing water conditions. His knowledge of the latest fishing methods is outstanding and his scientific approach to matching tackle to conditions is exactly what an angler who is new to the beat wants to hear. So often a Ghillie will side step the question of what tackle to use and how to fish, not Brian, ask the question and you will get a straight answer. Following my visit to Crathes I have bought a Skagit and am tying up a range of Sunrays, Brian's favourite fly. They may not catch me more fish but it will be fun trying and learning a new technique. Looking forward to next year.' Sean Stanton from Ballogie comments on his blog ‘At last the fish have arrived! We managed to get some sea liced salmon this week, after the big flood last week I was pretty sure they would run up the river after it had cleared. I did expect to see more fish in the pools but due to the water temperature falling, the fish seemed reluctant to move fast through the pools, the water temperature dropped from 48f to 42f due to the snow we had towards the end of the week. With the weather forecast indicating no cold nights we may see some increase in the water temperature and some snow melt into the river.' And with tides building this week hopefully a good run of new fish. Simon Bragg dropped me an e-mail with an image of his very first salmon from Borrowston. I am sure we all wish him continued success on his visits to the River Dee. Orvis of Banchory have details of their free beginners fly fishing courses, which will be held between May and September. For further details contact Orvis of Banchory by visiting their store at 2-8 Bridge St, Banchory AB31 5SX or call telephone number 01330 824319. Copyright FishDee Beat Catches Reported SALMON & GRILSE: Ardoe and Murtle 1, Upper Drum and Lower Durris 1, Park 15, Lower Crathes and W Durris 26, Knappach 2, Crathes 3, Invery 5, Tilquhillie 5, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 1, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 5, Middle Blackhall 2, Upper Blackhall 2, Cairnton 3, Woodend 2, Commonty 4, Sluie 3, Ballogie 6, Borrowston 2, Kincardine 6, Carlogie 4, Dess 3, Birse 1, Craigendinnie 1, Dinnet 3, Headinch and Cambus O'May 2, Total 108 SEA TROUT: Ardoe and Murtle 2, Tilbouries 1, Park 5, Lower Crathes and W Durris 1, Tilquhillie 2, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 1, Commonty 1, Carlogie 1, Dess 1, Crathie 1, Total 16 PROSPECTS The river is running high and clear following the rise in river levels on Saturday following Friday's snowfall in the mountains and heavy rain at lower levels. The Sepa gauges are reading 1ft 11 inches at Mar Lodge and 2ft 9 inches at Park. The Ballogie weather station reported a temperature of over 17 degrees Celsius yesterday making it the hottest day of the season so far; this has led to snow melt and a good water level for anglers. The river temperature was in the mid forties Fahrenheit last week however it dropped back to just over 40 degrees on Saturday. It would make a difference if we could get temperatures in excess of 50 degrees Fahrenheit to really get salmon on the move to the upper beats. The weather forecast is looking reasonable this week but there may be a bit of rain midweek and strong winds, with air temps reaching perhaps 18 degrees Celsius. This suggests we will have fluctuating river levels to contend with however the maritime influence sees tides building from 3 .8 metres to 4.1 metres. Hopefully a good run of new fish will come forward given the ideal river conditions that prevail at present. All things being equal we should get better sport during the forthcoming week. i128.photobucket.com/albums/p198/Greenbanks/32b757fb-7fac-4355-aa51-5fd16f8db646_zps1d76253a.jpgSimon Bragg with his first ever salmon at Borrowston With lengthening daylight hours anglers may well be starting to fish on into the evenings and look for sea trout. Sea Trout fishing is a nice way to unwind in the evening after pursuing salmon all day. There are quite a number of anglers who come to the River Dee to fish for salmon and sea trout and will have two rods set up to use. If a good hatch of flies is observed anglers may find a bit of sport from sea trout. It's a case of persevering this week and if and when a run of fish comes into your chosen beat, you may perhaps see some action. It's important to work with your Ghillie and heed his wise advice. The Ghillies will be eager to see salmon landed where you can exploit any opportunities for sport. They will advise what flies to use and tactics to employ. At this time of year fish may take a 1.5 inch tube fly fished off an intermediate line and later in the day perhaps a much smaller fly fished off a floating line. Vary your tactics of fly presentation and be alert to slight changes in air and water temperature. If you don't have a Ghillie to help you, perhaps you will fish with big flies first, and fish down a little bit; later on in the day perhaps use a plastic or aluminium bodied Sunray shadow fished very square with a figure of eight retrieve, especially if you see fish splashing about. Fly choice will include Black and Yellow variant tube flies, Ally's Shrimp, Dee Monkey and Pot bellied pigs; later in the day you may perhaps get fish to come to a size 8 or 10 dressed double. Flies can be purchased locally at Somers in Aberdeen, Orvis in Banchory, Kincardine O'Neil Post Office, George Strachan's store in Aboyne and Countrywear in Ballater. I really would encourage anglers who are thinking about fishing to book availability now through FishDee because sport should really pick up now given the significant improvement in fishing conditions-its getting warmer. The hotels in Deeside provide excellent value and there are Fisherman's rates for groups of anglers. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure all anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different beats during their week on the river. It's a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. Irene Ross who has the Old Toll House in Kincardine advises she has availability into June. We have a great range of accommodation providers so please visit the relevant pages on the FishDee website to find out more. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes with images to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It should be a better week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee 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 May 7, 2013 12:05:31 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on May 16, 2013 10:29:33 GMT
Recent Catches
The River Dee saw a lot of anglers fishing the length of the catchment looking for the elusive salmon with catches reported from Ardoe to Abergeldie. If you were in the right place at the right time there were some fish to be caught. FishDee beats reported 74 salmon to 22 lbs and 8 sea trout. It’s been a slow cold spring this year so far with night time frosts still occurring. Lower Crathes continues to provide sport weekly with 16 reported last week and the Invery beats reported 12 with Graham Ritchie, a very talented angler catching 3 in a day. Conditions at times have been difficult for anglers and this week was no exception. The weather has been quite cold and the river levels have fluctuated a bit with quite unsettled water coming down the valley which seems to put fish off the take. Anglers though are a resilient bunch and the people I met on the river last week seemed to be having a very enjoyable time in the valley, enjoying good Scottish hospitality. I caught up with Lars Terkildsen from Sweden fishing with Hans from Germany at Commonty. Sport had been slow but they managed some fresh fish and persevered to get their rewards. Lars has had some superb days on the Dee with up to 18 salmon; this year sport has been challenging but the rewards have been worth the efforts.
Tristan Sillars dropped me an e-mail commenting ‘I am just back from the annual May Aboyne trip with Andrew Dennis and Bill and Mark Currie. It was a challenging week, seeing hardly any fish entering the pools despite the water temperature remaining around 50 all week and of course decent water heights. Clearly the majority of fish have either remained in the lower half of the river or we are encountering a particularly poor spring run. I would imagine it is a combination of these factors, according to my own spring catch records for the river; we are heading for the lowest spring catch on the river since 2002. In terms of the fishing, we managed 3 fish, and lost another. I have attached a picture of one of my fish, a 14lber from the Lummels. This fish had almost half of its tail fin missing, if you zoom in you can see it, although my hand is half covering it annoyingly! Despite this unfortunate damage, this fish put up a super 15 minute fight, quite incredible and testament to the admirable survival instinct of these fabulous creatures.’
I received an e-mail from Jan Tryk, a visiting angler from Denmark who was fishing at Lower Crathes advising ‘Hi Ken, Here is a picture of my beautiful salmon (22 lbs) from Lower Crathes caught May 7th which was caught on a Cascade size 10 and fished close to the surface.’ It’s a lovely fish and I’m delighted to receive this image from Jan. I am also delighted that Ian Murray rang me this morning with some news from Lower Invercauld and Monaltrie. He advised Mr JH Stephenson landed two fish yesterday from his beats which were very newsworthy; one of 25 lbs and one of 28lbs. The fish were bars of silver. I hope to get more information about these captures for next weeks column.
Orvis of Banchory have details of their free beginners fly fishing courses, which will be held between May and September. For further details contact Orvis of Banchory by visiting their store at 2-8 Bridge St, Banchory AB31 5SX or call telephone number 01330 824319. Copyright FishDee
As always please let me know how you get on by dropping me an e-mail to ken@riverdee.org with any anecdotes and pictures about your experiences on the river. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd.
Beat catches reported SALMON & GRILSE: Ardoe and Murtle 3, Altries and Lower Drum 1, Park 3, Lower Crathes and W Durris 16, Crathes 3, Invery 5, Tilquhillie 7, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 2, Middle Blackhall 2, Upper Blackhall 1, Cairnton 1, Woodend 1, Commonty 2, Ballogie 1, Borrowston 1, Kincardine 2, Carlogie 5, Dess 3, Aboyne Water 3, Aboyne Castle 1, Craigendinnie 2, Waterside and Ferrar 2, Dinnet 2, Deecastle 2, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 2, Abergeldie 1. Total: 74 Largest: Lower Crathes and W Durris & Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 22lbs SEA TROUT: Ardoe and Murtle 1, Park 2, Tilquhillie 1, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 2, Woodend 2. Total: 8 Largest: Woodend 4lbs
Prospects
The prevailing cool weather conditions look set to continue with the Met Office suggesting grass frosts this week. They suggest this week will see air temperature maxima peak around 12 degrees Celsius and get perhaps a little warmer during the latter part of the week. Winds will be light and variable. River levels are pretty decent with the Sepa gauges are showing 1ft 2 inches at Mar Lodge, 1 ft 9 inches at Park. The maritime influence shows tides dropping through the week from 4.0 metres to 3.4 metres which may bring some new fish forward. We may be a bit early for Grilse just now but we hope that they start to run the river in the next few weeks to augment numbers of salmon in the river. A good summer run would be a blessing for the river.
As always please heed the advice of your beat Ghillie who can make suggestions about where to fish on your chosen beat and what flies and tactics to utilise. Time and time again I hear from anglers who let me know how helpful their Ghillie has been in putting them onto taking fish. Their knowledge is second to none and they can at times make a difference in helping you achieve success on their beat. If you don’t have the services of a Ghillie to call on then you will probably want to fish with a full floating line or perhaps with a 5 foot sink tip just to take the fly a few inches below the surface. Your fly choice might include a Black or Red Frances, Snaelda, Ally’s shrimp, Cascade or Maggie’s Shrimp. The Monkey or Sunray can also be used at times to good effect. Perseverance is the key though as you won’t catch a fish unless you have a fly in the water.
If you find you have the wrong flies with you for your fishing trip or run out, then pay a visit to some of our super retailers; George Strachan's store in Aboyne have increased their selection of fishing equipment and River Dee flies tied by the Ballogie Estates Head Ghillie Sean Stanton, at very attractive prices too. The Orvis store in Banchory also has a vast selection of flies to choose from and equipment to hire. The Countrywear shop in Ballater is a favourite destination for visiting anglers, where Norman Clements is always delighted to meet visiting anglers. They have a good selection of fishing equipment available and provide good service and value. I would like to add Kincardine O'Neil Post Office supplies nice sandwiches and a great selection of River Dee flies too.
I really would encourage anglers who are thinking about fishing to book availability now through FishDee because sport should really pick up now given the significant improvement in fishing conditions-its getting warmer. The hotels in Deeside provide excellent value and there are Fisherman's rates for groups of anglers. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure all anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different beats during their week on the river. It's a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. We also want to prevent the transfer of ranunculus from the lower part of the river to the upper part. We have a great range of accommodation providers so please visit the relevant pages on the FishDee website to find out more. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes with images to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It should be a better week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd.
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Post by Mon The Flee on May 27, 2013 21:28:27 GMT
Recent Catches The last few days of the spring period saw more snow falling in the mountains and the river temperature, which was starting to rise, stopped in its tracks mid week. You can see imagery of the weather encountered on the Gairn when the River Office team were out tree planting last week at River Dee News By Saturday, what a contrast, our weather provided a glimpse of what we all would like to see this summer; nice clear skies and mild air temperatures where people can enjoy their sport on the riverbank. FishDee beats have so far reported 128 salmon to 21lbs and a couple of sea trout for the week with some late returns for evening fish on Saturday perhaps to be added. At long last the middle Dee beats were starting to get some sport with Carlogie reporting 14, Ballogie and Lower Crathes 11 each and Crathes and Upper Blackhall 9 apiece. The largest fish of the week was a 21lb salmon landed by Altries Ghillie Kevin Fleming at Crathes which was described by Crathes Ghillie Brian Sim as a lovely fish. I was also delighted to hear that Lower Durris and Upper Drum Ghillie Jim Paton had a nice fish at Inchmarlo; his first ever from the Inchmarlo side. His son Terry Paton, Ghillie at Inchmarlo, forwarded an image of Jim and his fish and said he was delighted. Click the image to open in full size. Floating Bank, Crathes Castle Beat I have some news from Crathes provided by regular Dee visitor Charles Jeffrey who advised ‘Crathes was terrific with nine fish for our three days with Brian. The fish were evenly spread at two each until John Laurie had a 16 lber out of the Burn Pool late on Saturday, before the gungy water got down to him. I've never seen so many fish in May with 90% of them spanking fresh. I'd a wee 5lb fish on Friday covered in long lice, followed five minutes later with a 12lber, both from the Pantoch. It was a co-incidence to have Colin Reid, ex Head Ghillie from Gordon Castle and Brae 5 on the other side when catching both fish. I used to take a week up there each spring, but because there were no fish, did not take the week this year and of course they've had a terrific spring. Brian was in great form and we had many laughs as usual. We're due up on Birkhall on 24th June and then a week at Crathes from 5th August. Cannae wait.’ Click the image to open in full size. Jock Rae at Dess-a lovely pool to fish at this height Well it was nice to receive this news from Charles about Crathes and I was fortunate to visit the beat on Saturday with another regular Dee visitor Graeme Arthur, who kindly invited me for a cast. There were good numbers of fish showing in some of the pools and I was pleased to catch one of guard and get my first salmon from Crathes during the afternoon. Brian Sim spent a lot of time with me and I was most grateful for his sound advice. We had been fishing the top of the water with small flies and then a big monkey and nothing was doing. Brian said put fast sink tip on and fish a small fly a bit deeper due to the brightness, and within half a dozen casts of starting using his sound advice a fish co-operated at Kashentroch. I was also pleased to get the chance to get out of the office for an afternoon cast on Friday as a guest of Dess proprietor Jeremy Clayton, and lightning struck twice for me. On the same Friday last year I had a day with Jeremy and caught a nice fish and this year I was really thrilled to get a lovely fresh 12 b salmon at Jock Rae. Many thanks to Mr & Mrs Clayton and Ghillie Eoin Smith. Click the image to open in full size. Looking down Jetties to Hollies at Dess Philip Black was on one of his regular trips to the Dee at the end of last week and was successful at Lower Invercauld beat and also at Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo. Philip commented ‘Hi Ken a couple of pictures of my 2 fish I caught for my day on Monaltrie and lower Invercauld. It’s the first time I've fished this beat but it won't be my last; an absolute stunning piece of water. It’s also the first time I've met Ian Murray, what a gentleman, couldn't be more helpful and made it a great day for me. I also had a braw wee fish from the Roe Pot, Little Blackhall. It was hard going on Saturday as conditions weren't great so this was a welcome wee fish.’ Philip and his brother Tony are regular fishers on the Dee and generally do very well. Click the image to open in full size. Philip black with a small fish at the Roe Pot Finally as part of the Inaugural Banchory River Festival there will be an opportunity for people who have always wanted to try fishing to come and spend a few hours learning to fish at the Raemoir Trout Fishery, Raemoir Road, Banchory on Saturday 8th June. This is a free to attend IntroDee session for parents with children commencing from 10.30 am. People who would like to attend just need to send an e-mail to info@riverdee.org to advise how many are attending or call the River Office on 013398 80411 to register. News of catches, with or without images are always welcome so please drop a line to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It should be a reasonable week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd. Click the image to open in full size. Anglers & Ghillies in high spirits at Dess Beat Catches SALMON & GRILSE: Ardoe and Murtle 2, Park 5, Lower Crathes and W Durris 11, Crathes 9, Invery 3, Tilquhillie 1, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 3, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 6, Middle Blackhall 1, Upper Blackhall 9, Cairnton 2, Woodend 1, Commonty 3, Sluie 2, Ballogie 11, Borrowston 1, Kincardine 8, Carlogie 14, Dess 7, Birse 1, Aboyne Water 1, Aboyne Castle 2, Craigendinnie 3, Waterside and Ferrar 6, Dinnet 7, Deecastle 3, Headinch and Cambus O'May 3, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 2, Abergeldie 1, Total 128 SEA TROUT: Lower Crathes and W Durris 1, Deecastle 1, Total 2 Prospects The weather forecast shows a cool start to the week with a return to milder weather for the second half of the week. Air temperature maxima will be 15 degrees Celsius. There will be some precipitation today and tomorrow but hopefully not enough to affect water levels. The Sepa gauges are showing 1 ft 1 inch at Mar Lodge and steady and Park is reading 1ft 7 inches and steady; ideal river heights for fishing. The water temps are approaching 50 degrees Fahrenheit and will be around this temperature all week. Winds are going to be light and variable with the odd few hours here and there where they may become moderate. The maritime influence sees Tides starting the week at 4.4 metres before falling back mid week to 3.6 metres. Again it’s reasonably good salmon fishing weather but not great for sea trout fishing in the evening. Click the image to open in full size. Ron Irvin with a nice fish at Dinnet Your beat Ghillies will advise you on the tactics you should utilise but perseverance will be necessary. Anglers are still catching fish on flies fished well down but other fish are coming to small flies fished on floating lines. The migration of fish from the Lower Beats to the middle beats seems to be gathering momentum and hopefully fish will run to the upper beats too. As always heed the Ghillies wise counsel as they will give you the advice you need of where taking fish may be encountered on their beats given the water levels you encounter on your visit. If you don’t have a Ghillie to obtain advice from then you may wish to consider the following flies as worth a go with. The Park Shrimp, Silver Stoats tail, Black Flamethrower or Orange Flamethrower, Ally’s Shrimp, Tosh and of course the Sunray Shadow is always a good option if fish are seen and suspected to be running through your pool. Click the image to open in full size. Jim Paton with a salmon at Inchmarlo If you find you have the wrong flies with you for your fishing trip or run out, then pay a visit to some of our super retailers; George Strachan's store in Aboyne have increased their selection of fishing equipment and River Dee flies tied by the Ballogie Estates Head Ghillie Sean Stanton, at very attractive prices too. The Orvis store in Banchory also has a vast selection of flies to choose from and equipment to hire. The Countrywear shop in Ballater is a favourite destination for visiting anglers, where Norman Clements is always delighted to meet visiting anglers. They have a good selection of fishing equipment available and provide good service and value. I would like to add Kincardine O'Neil Post Office supplies nice sandwiches and a great selection of River Dee flies too. Click the image to open in full size. Looking over the river from Floating Bank, Crathes to Tilquhillie Finally an important thing for you to remember when you arrive on your chosen beat. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different River Dee beats during their week on the river. It’s a condition of the River Dee Conservation code and must be strictly adhered to; all beats have supplies to ensure this is carried out prior to entering the river. It's a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. We also want to prevent the transfer of the highly problematic ranunculus from the lower part of the river to the upper part. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd. 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 Jun 8, 2013 11:28:50 GMT
Recent Catches The River Dee produced the best catches of the season so far with FishDee beats reporting 230 salmon to 25lbs and 17 sea trout. With the inaugural Banchory River Festival taking place this week it was pleasing to hear that the fish seemed to be catching the bug and giving anglers and Ghillies much enjoyment. Water temperatures rose to over 50 degrees Fahrenheit and action was to heat up dramatically compared to the previous week with Invery & Tilquhillie reporting 20 salmon, Carlogie 18, Dess 14; Birse & Ballogie beats reported 13 apiece with Headinch & Cambus O’May, Little Blackhall and Lower Invercauld & Monaltrie reporting 11 each. Little Blackhall also reported 6 sea trout which all in all is encouraging news as sea trout add an extra dimension to the anglers visit to the river. The spring period is now over as of the first of June, and we now look forward to a better summer of sport on the river with the encouraging news that grilse runs have arrived of the west coats of Ireland; they should start arriving in the next fortnight all going well. There are a number of beats that have had over 100 salmon for the season so far with Lower Crathes & West Durris reporting 209, Ballogie/Carlogie 169, Park 165, Invery & Tilquhillie 149 and Crathes 120. Fish last week were running from the lower beats to the middle and upper beats with some good sized fish in the high teens of pounds landed regularly. There are reports of damaged fish being caught and it would be helpful if anglers and ghillies can send any images of damaged fish to ken@riverdee.org It was pleasing to hear of the continued success at Invery and Tilquhillie where 20 salmon were landed which will have delighted Ghillies Jim Turnbull and Karl Revel, who have provided a report for their week. I received a note through my door on Saturday evening advising ‘The 6 fish landed at Invery included fish of 18lbs to David Craik of Somers Fishing Tackle, 17lbs to Chris Struth and 10lbs to Mike Forbes of Kingennie, who was fishing a day rod purchased through the GWCT Grampian Sporting Auction, held at Lochter on 25th April which raised over £40,000 on the night. Tilquhillie’s 14 fish were caught by John Fyfe, with Gordon Mutch and Steven Moir catching fish of 18lbs. Highlight of the week was a lovely sea liced 6lb fish caught in Floating Bank. This was a first ever salmon for Miro Seifert, a delighted seventy year old angler from Salzburg, Austria. His reaction after his heart rate had returned to near normal? He was to exclaim ‘I’ll be back!’ Well done Miro. I was thrilled to receive an e-mail from Jonathon Graves with news about Alan Lankshear commenting ‘Alan Lankshear, a regular visitor to Deeside for over 50 years celebrated his 90th birthday on Wednesday last week. On Thursday he proved that age is no barrier by catching a 10lbs fish from Commonty. A truly remarkable man, Alan still manages a full days fishing albeit at a slightly slower pace than in his earlier years.’ It’s fair to say Alan will have a vast amount of angling tales to regale fellow anglers with in the lunch huts however this Commonty fish will have given him a lot of pleasure. Well done Alan and belated happy birthday wishes from FishDee! I was delighted to be invited to fish on Little Blackhall & Inchmarlo by proprietor David Trembath, a real gentleman. David has very kindly provided some notes for this week’s column advising ‘Great to have you fishing with us and delighted you were successful. I fished the New Fawn last evening and at last I connected with a cracking 10 pounder on a Sunray about 9.30 pm - my first fish by this method - at last I have managed to make it work. Just to confirm my guest, Alistair Ross, had a great day on Tuesday when we had some high coloured water - he had two salmon in the morning and one in the afternoon and a sea trout in the evening. All the salmon were on a Silver Monkey, whatever that is. He was quite pleased with himself! All in all we had a good week with eleven fish plus half a dozen or so sea trout.’ The anglers I met were truly delightful company and all seemed to be enjoying their visit to the river. Finally as part of the Inaugural Banchory River Festival there will be an opportunity for people who have always wanted to try fishing to come and spend a few hours learning to fish at the Raemoir Trout Fishery, Raemoir Road, Banchory on Saturday 8th June. This is a free to attend IntroDee session for parents with children commencing from 10.30 am. People who would like to attend just need to send an e-mail to info@riverdee.org to advise how many are attending or call the River Office on 013398 80411 to register. Visiting anglers may appreciate the opportunity to visit Deeside Drinks Emporium in Banchory for a subsidised beer tasting evening this Saturday at 8pm and whisky tasting afternoon on Sunday at 6pm. With respective costs for attending of only £5 and £7.50 this is terrific value for events of this type. Please advise Sandy if you are attending either or both events by calling 01330 822650. This will ensure he can provide sufficient stocks to meet demand for what promises to be great fun River Festival Event. There is a full list of activities taking place through the River Festival weekend at www.visitbanchory.com/calendar/0/235-Banchory-River-Festival.html . I hope to see many people out and about in Banchory enjoying the festival. News of catches, with or without images are always welcome, so please drop a line to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It could be an exciting week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some more good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd. SALMON & GRILSE: Altries and Lower Drum 1, Tilbouries 2, Upper Drum and Lower Durris 1, Park 9, Lower Crathes and W Durris 11, Crathes 9, Invery 6, Tilquhillie 14, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 8, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 11, Middle Blackhall 1, Upper Blackhall 4, Cairnton 4, Woodend 4, Lower Woodend 1, Commonty 5, Sluie 2, Ballogie 13, Borrowston 9, Kincardine 6, Carlogie 18, Dess 14, Birse 13, Aboyne Water 1, Aboyne Castle 3, Craigendinnie 6, Waterside and Ferrar 7, Dinnet 3, Deecastle 8, Headinch and Cambus O'May 11, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 11, Birkhall 4, Abergeldie 3, Crathie 7, Total 230 SEA TROUT: Park 5, Crathes 2, Tilquhillie 1, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 6, Ballogie 1, Carlogie 1, Waterside and Ferrar 1, Total 17 Prospects The weather forecast from the Met Office advises Sunny spells, warm or very warm in sunshine-That’s pleasing news to read. Today: A bright but perhaps rather cloudy start, although sunny spells will develop. Feeling warm or very warm with light winds, especially towards Aboyne, but cooler near coasts with sea breezes. Mainly dry but isolated sharp showers developing late afternoon. Maximum Temperature 20 °C. Tonight: Any showers dying away with sunny spells into the evening then some clear spells overnight, but patchy mist and fog developing and low cloud will spread into coastal areas. Minimum Temperature 8 °C. Tuesday: Mainly dry and bright, some sunny spells developing with most mist and fog soon clearing, but rather murky around the coast. Feeling warm in sunshine, but isolated heavy afternoon showers. Maximum Temperature 17 °C. Outlook for Wednesday to Friday: Mainly dry and bright with sunny spells developing as most low cloud and mist eases back to coasts in mornings. Some showers but a spell of rain on Thursday morning. The Sepa gauges are showing 9 inches at Mar Lodge and steady and Park is reading 1ft 5 inches and steady; ideal river heights for fishing. The water temps are above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and will be for the forthcoming week. Winds are going to be light and variable which will make angling a real pleasure. The maritime influence sees Tides starting the week at 3.6 metres before rising mid week to 4.0 metres. It appears to be reasonably good fishing weather for sea trout fishing into the evening if you have some on your beat. Your beat Ghillies will advise you on the tactics you should utilise but beware of burning the candle at both ends as daylight hours are very long now and the temptation to fish during all day and night may well occur for some anglers. The migration of fish from the Lower Beats to the middle beats seems to be gathering momentum and fish are running to the upper beats too. As always heed the Ghillies wise counsel as they will give you the advice you need of where taking fish may be encountered on their beats given the water levels you encounter on your visit. If you don’t have a Ghillie to obtain advice from then you may wish to consider the following flies as worth a go with. The Park Shrimp, Silver Stoats tail, Black Flamethrower or Orange Flamethrower, Ally’s Shrimp, Tosh in sizes10-12 and of course the Sunray Shadow is always a good option if fish are seen and suspected to be running through your pool. The Sunray shadow fished high and fast is very exciting when fish are in the mood where action can be quite explosive from both salmon and sea trout. Full floaters are the order of the day now with a sink tip utilised in afternoons of bright sunlight. Make sure your leader is stout as there are some really good fish running the river. If you find you have the wrong flies with you for your fishing trip or run out, then pay a visit to some of our super retailers; George Strachan's store in Aboyne have increased their selection of fishing equipment and River Dee flies tied by the Ballogie Estates Head Ghillie Sean Stanton, at very attractive prices too. The Orvis store in Banchory also has a vast selection of flies to choose from and equipment to hire. The Countrywear shop in Ballater is a favourite destination for visiting anglers, where Norman Clements is always delighted to meet visiting anglers. They have a good selection of fishing equipment available and provide good service and value. I would like to add Kincardine O'Neil Post Office supplies nice sandwiches and a great selection of River Dee flies too. Finally an important thing for you to remember when you arrive on your chosen beat. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different River Dee beats during their week on the river. It’s a condition of the River Dee Conservation code and must be strictly adhered to; all beats have supplies to ensure this is carried out prior to entering the river. It's a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. We also want to prevent the transfer of the highly problematic ranunculus from the lower part of the river to the upper part. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes with images to ken@riverdee.org Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd.
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Post by Mon The Flee on Jun 8, 2013 11:37:11 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Jun 8, 2013 11:38:42 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Jun 8, 2013 11:38:59 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Jun 8, 2013 11:39:49 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Jun 8, 2013 11:41:17 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Jun 8, 2013 11:41:46 GMT
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Post by Mon The Flee on Jun 10, 2013 22:09:20 GMT
LAST WEEK The River Dee produced steady sport for anglers all week with FishDee beats reporting 183 salmon to 24 lbs with 10 sea trout. Catches were well distributed from Ardoe to Crathie with a number of beats into double figures; Lower Crathes 17 salmon, Dinnet 15, Crathie 12, Headinch & Cambus O'May 11 with Cairnton and Dess 10 apiece. I have heard reports of quite a lot of fish hooked and lost including a big specimen at Birse which was hooked in the March Pool and made a run of 200 yards before the leader broke at the knot. There was a nice 24 lb salmon reported from Lower Crathes; this beat has been consistently good all season. The 150th salmon of the season for Invery & Tilquhillie was caught by Gordon Mutch from Aberdeen-Congratulations Gordon. The run of salmon upstream has been late this year and good numbers of fish are running upriver now with plenty of good availability on the FishDee website. Sea trout sport has been slow this year but should get going over the next few weeks. Now to correspondence which has been a bit light of late, however I am pleased to hear news that I can share with readers of the FishDee column. Firstly Jonathon Graves provided a nice report about his group's recent trip advising ‘our weeks (weeks 18 and 19 at Carlogie) this year were a bit thin fish wise but as usual we enjoyed our time on the Ballogie estate. My father enjoyed his 50th consecutive year fishing Carlogie and on the Friday of week 19, he fished with Alan Lankshear (52 years on Dee), Barrie Welham (50+ years on Dee) and Gerald Beers (40+ years on Dee). This gave our rods for the morning a combined age of 324 years. (With nearly a combined 200 years of Dee experience.)At lunchtime Randall and Malcolm Nichol kindly gave my father a flask acknowledging his 50th year, and for an hour or so the old fishing tales were regaled at the Calm Pool hut. A great day for all. I have attached a picture of my father, Richard Graves, fishing the tail of the Boat pool in high water with Sean Stanton in attendance. You can see the clamp with universal joint that my father attaches his false limb to the top of the rod handle and he strips line with his right hand and teeth! He has never tried changing hands as Carlogie suits a left hander but I see no reason why a one handed fisher could not clamp their false limb to the lower end of the butt; and thereby fish off either shoulder. We have a plastic insert let into the cork of the rod handle to allow the clamp to be tightened firmly. Best wishes for the rest of the season.' What an experience that would be to spend time chatting with all those elder statesmen of the Dee. They must have a wealth of stories and anecdotes. Edward Humphrey called to say he caught a classic Dee salmon of 8lbs , a bar of silver, at Abergeldie on a size 14 blue charm. i128.photobucket.com/albums/p198/Greenbanks/RichardGraves_zps17cfb1d8.jpgRichard Graves at Carlogie Jim Coates was fishing up in the Ballater area with Ian Murray and advised ‘Hi Ken, Just arrived home after 3 days of prime tanning on Deeside! Despite the fantastic weather I managed 4 lovely fresh salmon using light tackle and small flies. The weather was a wonderful bonus for the family who all had a great time. Here is a pic of one of the fish. Best, Jim!' It's a lovely fresh run fish. Jim first came to Deeside many years ago with his father Geoff to fish and phoned Ian to make a booking with Ian. When Ian provided the price for fishing Jim protested that it was too expensive for him as he was a student. Ian very graciously provided a student discount which Jim accepted and Jim asked ‘can my dad come too?' It was the start of Jim's lifelong passion for the Dee and where better to start than under the watchful eye of the esteemed Ian Murray! Another bit of exciting news is a new award for young anglers; The Callum Mackenzie Cup. The Cup has been provided by Ballogie Estate with the support of the Mackenzie Family. The award for the most notable capture will be made to the youngster whose angling success has been selected as the most notable fish by the Callum Mackenzie Award Committee and will be made annually at the River Dee opening ceremony. Rules-Fisher must be under 18 years of age at time of catch for any species of fish within the Dee catchment, including Rivers Cowie and Carron or one of the many trout fisheries in the district. Entries should include a short story about the capture of the fish, Picture, date and location of capture. Witness details to confirm catch. Submissions will receive publicity through the local press and FishDee website. All entries to the Callum Mackenzie Committee should be sent by e?mail to info@riverdee.org or by mail to River Dee Office, Mill of Dinnet, Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, AB34 5LA News of catches, with or without images are always welcome, so please drop a line to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It could be another exciting week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some more good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. SALMON & GRILSE: Ardoe and Murtle 5, Altries and Lower Drum 2, Park 6, Lower Crathes and W Durris 17, Knappach 1, Invery 1, Tilquhillie 3, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 2, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 2, Middle Blackhall 3, Upper Blackhall 2, Cairnton 10, Woodend 2, Lower Woodend 1, Commonty 9, Ballogie 3, Borrowston 7, Kincardine 2, Carlogie 4, Dess 10, Birse 5, Aboyne Water 4, Aboyne Castle 9, Craigendinnie 6, Waterside and Ferrar 8, Dinnet 15, Deecastle 8, Headinch and Cambus O'May 13, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 7, Birkhall 1, Abergeldie 2, Balmoral 1, Crathie 12, Total 183 SEA TROUT: Ardoe and Murtle 2, Park 4, Lower Crathes and W Durris 1, Tilquhillie 1, Birse 1, Crathie 1, Total 10 PROSPECTS The weather forecast from the Met Office advises that the week shall start warm and bright with increasing cloud cover during the course of week and air temperature maxima of 22 degrees Celsius. There will be outbreaks of rain from time to time and winds will be light and variable. The maritime influence sees high tides starting the week at 4.0 metres before falling from mid week to 3.6 metres at the weekend. It appears to be reasonably good fishing weather for sea trout fishing into the evening if you have some on your beat. River levels are getting down towards summer levels with the Sepa gauges showing 6inches at Mar Lodge and 1ft at Park. Now it is time to fish with longer leaders with levels getting a bit thin. Some beats are very busy with their annual tenants coming through the summer months however there is a good amount to availability on the FishDee website and there appear to be decent numbers of fish running the river. If you can manage a visit to the Dee then please make the effort to come as the river is fishing reasonable well just now. Always heed the advice offered from your beat Ghillie as they know best about what tactics and flies to use to give you a chance of some sport. If you don't have a Ghillie to obtain advice from then you may wish to consider the following flies as worth a go with. The Park Shrimp, Silver Stoats tail, Black or Red Frances, Crathie fly, Thunder and Lightning in sizes 12-14 and of course the Sunray Shadow is always a good fall back option if fish are seen and suspected to be running through your pool. The Sunray shadow fished high and fast is very exciting when fish are in the mood where action can be quite explosive from both salmon and sea trout, especially at dusk. Full floaters are the order of the day now with a poly leader utilised in afternoons of bright sunlight. If you find you have the wrong flies with you for your fishing trip or run out, then pay a visit to some of our super retailers; George Strachan's store in Aboyne have increased their selection of fishing equipment and River Dee flies tied by the Ballogie Estates Head Ghillie Sean Stanton, at very attractive prices too. The Orvis store in Banchory also has a vast selection of flies to choose from and equipment to hire. The Countrywear shop in Ballater is a favourite destination for visiting anglers, where Norman Clements is always delighted to meet visiting anglers. They have a good selection of fishing equipment available and provide good service and value. I would like to add Kincardine O'Neil Post Office supplies nice sandwiches and a great selection of River Dee flies too. Finally an important thing for you to remember when you arrive on your chosen beat. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different River Dee beats during their week on the river. It's a condition of the River Dee Conservation code and must be strictly adhered to; all beats have supplies to ensure this is carried out prior to entering the river. It's a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. We also want to prevent the transfer of the highly problematic ranunculus from the lower part of the river to the upper part. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes with images to ken@riverdee.org Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd. 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 Aug 15, 2013 8:53:12 GMT
LAST WEEK The final week of the month saw catches pick up with 145 salmon to 28lbs and 131 sea trout to 5lbs as I write with perhaps some late catches to be added. There was a good lift of water at the start of the week which got the week off to a good start and the river fished well albeit sport slowed down as we got towards the weekend as water levels dropped back to summer level. Crathes reported 12 salmon, Birse 11 salmon and Headinch & Cambus O’May 9 salmon which will have delighted new seasonal Ghillie Craig McDonald and proprietor Clare Carson. Sea trout fishing saw another uplift in catches from the previous week with some nice 5 lbs fish landed at Ballogie and Dinnet. Kincardine had a dozen for the week; Ballogie had 9 and Borrowston 8. If we get a decent rainfall on Tuesday we may see another lift of water to hopefully encourage more fish to run the river. Whilst not many fish are being seen the numbers being caught are reasonable for the time of year. July normally heralds a run of Grilse so hopefully they will not be late this year.
I have received a few e-mails over the weekend and I’m delighted to see some of them containing images of youngsters catching their first fish. As the school holidays get underway it’s a great opportunity for youngsters to get the chance to go fishing with friends and family. Who knows you may read this and take a youngster fishing who may catch a fish and perhaps win the Callum Mackenzie Trophy; presented to the youngster who catches the most notable fish. Details about this are available on the daily catches page on the FishDee website. Denzil Skinner wrote advising ‘Attached please find photo of fish caught by my son, Rory aged 16 years, last Thursday. Symonds pool, Aboyne Castle beat. The successful fly was a black shrimp; time of capture, 11 am. Landed by a somewhat nervous father who has dreamt of catching such a fish for 35 years of trying! But what a moment to share! If you wish to use this on the Dee site please do, delighted to encourage youngsters into the sport, I think you might run a competition too.’ Well Denzil now knows about the Callum Mackenzie Cup and hopefully he will submit this fish as an entry. My good friend and talented angler Dr Phil Fairchild wrote to me advising ‘It was good to see you and hear your news. Keep up the good work on the Dee! It was, we both agreed, the toughest week we have ever had, despite really very good conditions, both overhead and on the river. We ended up with 3 salmon and 15 sea trout between us. Mostly on the perceived wisdom of small flies, but interestingly enough, the liveliest session I had was when in despair, I put on my biggest monkey and stripped it as fast as I could. I had 2 sea trout, 2 other chases and brief contacts and certainly stirred up one or two others, Saturday early hours, I also switched to a big Elver fly and got a fish immediately, had 2 other pulls in 30 minutes. I guess that is just the old trick of doing something different. We had excellent customer service from both John and Bill, as usual.’ I omitted the first sentence as it contained a bit of a colourful phrase from Phil who saw a photo of a lovely sea liced salmon I was fortunate to catch on Friday. The Park Estate staff had their annual outing and it was a pleasure to see everyone again and enjoy a lovely day with them. Ross Macdonald, inventor of the Park Shrimp was also successful on Friday with a sea liced salmon and a sea trout.
I was also delighted to receive an e-mail from Nigel Lusby who commented ‘Hi Ken, please see below Oliver's first salmon. He is 17 and from Crathes. I promised Oliver (age 17) two days salmon fishing on the Dee last summer as reward for his results in his higher exams. This occurred on the 27th and 28th of June at Crathes. He had never Spey cast or fished for Atlantic salmon before. After the first day he was fishing well, casting a long belly Spey line out into the pools (with an ease that was sickening), and well enough to be left on his own. On the morning of the 28th I set him up at the head of the pool and popped down to a pool below, giving him the following advice; “If you get into a fish, play it from the bank, be gentle and patient, you have a small hook (size 13 double), and you can’t horse these like pulling in mackerel”. Brian Sim said he saw him out on the bank but couldn’t see the rod, started walking over and they both saw the fish as it boiled at the surface. Oliver said at that point Brian broke into a trot (he does not do that for many fish). Anyway, result an 18 lb salmon, (picture attached) biggest fish on the Dee that day, a fish of a lifetime, a great achievement for Oliver. To be honest afterwards, I had trouble getting him out of the water for his piece, and this got worse at close of play. It was a proud moment for me, his dad, and also for Brian, who has known him since he started at Crathes primary school.’ What a delightful experience for father and son and hopefully another candidate for the Callum Mackenzie Cup.
I chatted with Eoin Smith, Dess Estate Ghillie who advised that Stockport angler Barry Hartle had an exciting evenings sport with a 9lb salmon from Pitslug around 9.30 pm. Barry then moved to fish the top of the Island pool where his one and a quarter inch Cascade was taken by another fish-A good One ! Some 40 minutes later the fish had taken him 500 yards down to the tail of McKidds Pool where it was landed at 11.00 pm. The fish was measured at 42 inches and was a silver fresh fish of 28lbs. The joint biggest salmon landed this season. There was a 40 inch salmon landed at Carlogie earlier in the week. I hope to have more details in due course from Ghillie Sean Stanton and include them next week
News of catches, with or without images are always welcome, so please drop a line to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It could be another exciting week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some more good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd.
Beat catches reported (Week ending 29th June) SALMON & GRILSE: Ardoe and Murtle 1, Middle Drum 1, Tilbouries 2, Upper Drum and Lower Durris 2, Park 7, Lower Crathes and W Durris 1, Crathes 12, Invery 2, Tilquhillie 3, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 7, Upper Blackhall 6, Cairnton 7, Woodend 1, Lower Woodend 2, Ballogie 5, Borrowston 4, Kincardine 2, Carlogie 8, Dess 6, Birse 11, Aboyne Water 2, Aboyne Castle 5, Craigendinnie 2, Waterside and Ferrar 6, Dinnet 5, Deecastle 7, Headinch and Cambus O'May 9, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 8, Birkhall 2, Abergeldie 1, Crathie 8. Total: 145 Largest: Dess 28lbs SEA TROUT: Upper Drum and Lower Durris 4, Park 17, Lower Crathes and W Durris 5, Crathes 7, Invery 7, Middle Blackhall 2, Upper Blackhall 7, Cairnton 3, Woodend 1, Lower Woodend 1, Commonty 1, Sluie 1, Ballogie 9, Borrowston 8, Kincardine 12, Carlogie 5, Dess 4, Birse 2, Aboyne Water 4, Aboyne Castle 4, Craigendinnie 2, Waterside and Ferrar 6, Dinnet 4, Deecastle 4, Headinch and Cambus O'May 1, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 7, Abergeldie 1, Crathie 2. Total: 131 Largest: Ballogie & Dinnet 5lbs TROUT: None reported
PROSPECTS As we come into July we normally would expect to see decent runs of Grilse running the river. Nature seems to be running a bit late this year so we hope the Grilse buck the trend and arrive this week. The maritime influence sees tides dropping from 3.7 metres to 3.5 metres before rising again at the weekend to 3.9 metres as tides build during the next lunar phase. The Met Office is suggesting we shall see air temperature maxima around 19 degrees with the probability of a mini heat wave next weekend into next week. There may be heavy showers at time with perhaps a longer spell of rain forecast tomorrow and perhaps Thursday/Friday. Winds will be from southerly directions and should be light to moderate as fronts move through. River levels are running at 6 inches at Mar Lodge and 9 inches at Park. Hopefully rainfall this week may give us enough for a lift in river levels which will encourage fish to get on the move up river to the upper beats. Evening fishing into the wee small hours may be productive if you are able to fish out of office hours.
Always heed the advice offered from your beat Ghillie as they know best about what tactics and flies to use to give you a chance of some sport. If you don't have a Ghillie to obtain advice from then you may wish to consider the following flies this week as worth a go with. Tosh, Silver Stoats tail, Black or Red Frances, Cascade, Flamethrower, brown pot bellied pig and of course the Sunray Shadow is always a good fall back for salmon and sea trout when retrieved quickly as it swings across the pool. Full floaters are the order of the day now with a 13-15 foot double handed rods and 9-10 weight lines are more than sufficient with leaders of 5-8 ft in length. If you need more flies or other equipment please visit Somers of Aberdeen, Orvis in Banchory, Strachan's of Aboyne and Countrywear in Ballater. Another must visit place at lunchtime is the Kincardine O'Neil Post office for a super range of sandwiches and fishing flies. Popular places to dine out are the Boat Inn Aboyne, Franco's in Banchory, Derbar Indian Restaurant in Banchory, with the Milton of Crathes providing super food, Tor Na Coille Hotel, Raemoir House Hotel, and of course the Banchory Lodge Hotel all in Banchory. The Glen Lui and Darroch Learg in Ballater offer superb meals too.
At this time of year with warmer air temperatures day and night please report any suspicious activity you find on your beat. Opportunist rod and line poachers can turn up at this time of the year so it's important you contact the River Office, 013398 80411 any time of the day if you see anyone acting suspiciously on your chosen beat.
Finally an important thing for you to remember when you arrive on your chosen beat. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different River Dee beats during their week on the river. It's a condition of the River Dee Conservation code and must be strictly adhered to; all beats have supplies to ensure this is carried out prior to entering the river. It's a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. We also want to prevent the transfer of the highly problematic ranunculus from the lower part of the river to the upper part. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes with images to ken@riverdee.org Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd.
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Post by Mon The Flee on Aug 15, 2013 8:53:48 GMT
LAST WEEK High summer finally arrived last week with the local schools breaking up for the summer and everyone seemingly following Wimbledon with interest hoping for a famous win, which was finally delivered yesterday with Andy Murray winning the men’s singles final. Well temperatures rose steadily through the week and river levels dropped with angling effort dwindling through the heat of the day as did the catch returns. FishDee beats reported 91 salmon and 53 sea trout which is a reasonable return given the current prevailing weather and river conditions. Some of the lower beats produced catches with Tilbouries and Ardoe & Murtle sharing just short of a dozen fish indicating new fish creeping forward into the river. Park reported 16 salmon and 5 sea trout with 9 salmon on Tuesday, Crathie reported 11 salmon. River Dee Trust and DDSFB chairman Ian Scott was in true grand slam form last week with success at Park and at Dess. Ian caught a salmon, grilse, sea trout and brown trout at Park and then followed this up with a hat trick of 3 salmon at Dess. I chatted with Keith Cromar at Park this morning who informed me that visiting anglers Peter Rae and John Hackney had some good sport with 16lbers which wouldn’t have looked out of place as spring fish. They also had success with hitched flies which can be deadly in low summer levels. Neil Fraser from Aboyne had a lovely 10lb fish from the House Pool. There are new fish creeping forward and hopefully they will continue to get some results with anglers favouring small stoat’s tail flies and perhaps hitched micro tubes. I met Karl Simmons and Mark Bird at Lower Crathes where they enjoyed some good sport. It was tough going but they are wily anglers and managed to temp salmon to their well presented flies. News of catches, with or without images are always welcome, so please drop a line to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It could be another exciting week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some more good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd. Beat catches reported SALMON & GRILSE: Ardoe and Murtle 6, Tilbouries 5, Park 16, Lower Crathes and W Durris 6, Crathes 2, Invery 5, Tilquhillie 2, Middle Blackhall 3, Cairnton 3, Commonty 1, Ballogie 7, Carlogie 2, Dess 5, Birse 2, Aboyne Water 2, Aboyne Castle 3, Craigendinnie 1, Deecastle 1, Headinch and Cambus O'May 2, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 4, Abergeldie 2, Crathie 11, Total 91 SEA TROUT: Ardoe and Murtle 3, Altries and Lower Drum 4, Tilbouries 1, Park 5, Lower Crathes and W Durris 4, Knappach 1, Crathes 1, Invery 5, Tilquhillie 3, Commonty 1, Carlogie 2, Dess 5, Birse 5, Aboyne Water 2, Aboyne Castle 3, Craigendinnie 4, Deecastle 1, Headinch and Cambus O'May 1, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 2, Total 53 PROSPECTS We expect a proper summer week on Deeside with warm air temperatures, long spells of sunshine and perhaps the odd sharp shower of rain. The last few summers have been relatively wet however we do seem to be in for a week of high air temperatures which will probable see angling effort confined to day break and dusk. It’s looking promising for night time fishers who are looking for sport from salmon and sea trout. Salmon during the daylight hours will be sitting in any deep water they can find and in the necks of pools where there is more of a flow with the river down to its bones now. If you can manage to fish anti social hours you are more likely to get success. The maritime influence sees spring tides during the week with tides at 4.1 metres dropping back to 3.7 metres. River levels are low with the Sepa gauges running at 4 inches at Mar Lodge and 7 inches at Park. Air temperature maxima may reach 27 degrees this week with overnight lows above 10 degrees. Always heed the advice offered from your beat Ghillie as they know best about what tactics and flies to use to give you a chance of some sport. If you don't have a Ghillie to obtain advice from then you may wish to consider the following flies this week as worth a try in sizes 12-16. The ever dependable Tosh, Silver Stoats tail, Black or Red Frances, gold Willie Gunn, Crathie fly and of course the Sunray Shadow is always a good fall back for salmon and sea trout when retrieved quickly as it swings across the pool. Full floaters are the order of the day now with a 13foot double handed rods and 8/9 weight lines more than sufficient with leaders of 10ft plus in length as stealth is required. With the river running low anglers will need to wade quietly and work their flies. Another option well worth trying is to fish with hitched flies. In low water the hitched fly can produce takes when conventional methods fail. You can read about fishing the hitched fly here www.flyforums.co.uk/salmon-fishing/107965-riffle-hitch.html you can see footage of this at this link www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0TYgn_oO2Q If you need more flies or other equipment please visit Somers of Aberdeen, Orvis in Banchory, Strachan's of Aboyne and Countrywear in Ballater. Another must visit place at lunchtime is the Kincardine O'Neil Post office for a super range of sandwiches and fishing flies. With the warm to hot weather forecast for the week ahead perhaps anglers may want to visit local attractions during the afternoon such as our many wonderful golf courses, Lochnagar distillery, Deeside activity Park and perhaps some sightseeing in the upper valley. With the school holidays upon us it’s an ideal time to take youngsters out to try their hand at fishing. Tullich fishery at Ballater, Raemoir fishery and Mill of Strachan at Banchory are delightful venues to take youngsters fishing where they offer fly fishing ponds and bait fishing ponds. At this time of year with warmer air temperatures day and night please report any suspicious activity you find on your beat. Opportunist rod and line poachers can turn up at this time of the year so it's important you contact the River Office, 013398 80411 any time of the day if you see anyone acting suspiciously on your chosen beat. Finally an important thing for you to remember when you arrive on your chosen beat. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different River Dee beats during their week on the river. It's a condition of the River Dee Conservation code and must be strictly adhered to; all beats have supplies to ensure this is carried out prior to entering the river. It's a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. We also want to prevent the transfer of the highly problematic ranunculus from the lower part of the river to the upper part. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes with images to ken@riverdee.org Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd.
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Post by Mon The Flee on Aug 19, 2013 10:26:43 GMT
LAST WEEK Having just returned from the wilds of Alaska pursuing sport with the Pacific species of Salmonids it was interesting to observe that their rivers were suffering from similar problems to our River Dee-a distinct lack of water due to a warm dry spell of weather-thankfully fishing was productive! With the Sepa river level gauges reading between 1 inch at Mar Lodge and 3 inches at Park angling hasn’t been a productive pastime over the last few weeks on the Dee. There is light at the end of the tunnel with weather forecasters predicting rain for the latter part of this week continuing into next week. Let’s hope every cloud has a silver lining for anglers coming to fish over the next few weeks with the elusive salmon entering the river in good numbers on the back of a hoped for healthy rise in river levels. FishDee beats have reported 13 salmon and 18 sea trout for the week so far with the largest reported at Dinnet of 18lbs. Regular River Dee angler and now Deeside resident Phillip Wood came into the River Office with scales to be read of a 9lb salmon he landed at Balmoral. Phillip advised he got this salmon during the heat of the day and lost 2 others. He also lost another fish at Aboyne Castle but redeemed his good fortune with a 6lb fish at Waterside and Ferrar. He advised that Waterside Ghillie Davie Goodfellow was invited for a cast in the evening and had a grilse and a sea trout. I hear Deeside Ghillie Cleeve Cowie also had success. Glentanar Estates Ghillie Colin Espie visited the office and advised that Mike Stevenson and River Dee chairman Ian Scott enjoyed success with fish at Red Brae on Deecastle. Mary Elise Burnett e-mailed me from the United States of America advising ‘Trip of a lifetime…Cork Burnett from Rochester, Minnesota, USA, catching his first Atlantic salmon in the River Dee with Bert from Park; can’t wait for a repeat!’ The image supplied shows a delighted Mr Burnett with his first salmon. Anglers are kindly requested to unhook and release their salmon in the river during the high current water temperatures and forego any stress caused to their catch by taking photographs. i128.photobucket.com/albums/p198/Greenbanks/CorkBurnett_zps154f56bc.jpgCork Burnett from USA with his first ever Atlantic Salmon at Park At this time of year with warmer air temperatures by day and night please report any suspicious activity you find on your beat. Opportunist rod and line poachers can turn up at this time of the year so it's important you contact the River Office, 013398 80411 any time of the day if you see anyone acting suspiciously on your chosen beat. News of catches, with or without images, are always welcome, so please drop a line to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It could be another exciting week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some more good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd. Beat catches reported (Week ending 20th July) SALMON & GRILSE: Tilbouries 1, Park 1, Crathes 1, Carlogie 1, Dess 1, Craigendinnie 1, Dinnet 2, Deecastle 2, Balmoral 1, Crathie 2. Total: 13 Largest: Dinnet 18lbs SEA TROUT: Park 3, Crathes 1, Ballogie 1, Kincardine 1, Dess 4, Dinnet 1, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 3, Birkhall 1, Crathie 3. Total: 18 Largest: Dess & Crathie 3lbs PROSPECTS The current spell of warm dry weather isn’t predicted to last according to weather forecasters with much needed rain forecast later in the week. Hopefully there will be a good amount of rain to refresh and replenish water levels and encourage fish to come forward into the river for the eager Ghillies and anglers. The maritime influence sees spring tides during the week with tides at 4.3 metres rising to 4.6 metres before dropping back to 4.0 metres at the weekend. River levels are very low with the Sepa gauges running at 1 inch at Mar Lodge and 3 inches at Park. Air temperature maxima may reach 20 degrees this week with overnight lows above 10 degrees. i128.photobucket.com/albums/p198/Greenbanks/IanScott_zpsa00449aa.jpgRiver Dee Chairman Ian Scott with a nice salmon netted by Mrs Jenny Clayton Always heed the advice offered from your beat Ghillie as they know best about what tactics and flies to use to give you a chance of some sport. If you don't have a Ghillie to obtain advice from then you may wish to consider the following flies this week as worth a try in sizes 12-16. The ever dependable Tosh, Silver Stoats tail, Black or Red Frances, cascade, Crathie fly and of course the Sunray Shadow is always a good fall back for salmon and sea trout when retrieved quickly as it swings across the pool. Full floaters are very much the order of the day now with a 13 foot double handed rods and 8/9 weight lines more than sufficient with leaders of 10ft plus in length, as stealth is required and very quiet careful wading. With the river running low anglers may work their flies to induce a take from a salmon or sea trout. Another option well worth trying is to fish with hitched flies. In low water the hitched fly can produce takes when conventional methods fail. You can read about fishing the hitched fly here www.flyforums.co.uk/salmon-fi...fle-hitch.html you can see footage of this at this link www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0TYgn_oO2QIf you need more flies or other equipment please visit Somers of Aberdeen, Orvis in Banchory, Strachan's of Aboyne and Countrywear in Ballater. Another must visit place at lunchtime is the Kincardine O'Neil Post office for a super range of sandwiches and fishing flies. With the warm to hot weather forecast for the week ahead perhaps anglers may want to visit local attractions during the afternoon such as our many wonderful golf courses, Lochnagar distillery, Deeside activity Park and perhaps some sightseeing in the upper valley. With the school holidays upon us it’s an ideal time to take youngsters out to try their hand at fishing. Tullich fishery at Ballater, Raemoir fishery and Mill of Strachan at Banchory are delightful venues to take youngsters fishing where they offer fly fishing ponds and bait fishing ponds. Finally an important thing for you to remember when you arrive on your chosen beat. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different River Dee beats during their week on the river. It's a condition of the River Dee Conservation code and must be strictly adhered to; all beats have supplies to ensure this is carried out prior to entering the river. It's a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. We also want to prevent the transfer of the highly problematic ranunculus from the lower part of the river to the upper part. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes with images to ken@riverdee.org Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd. Kind regards Ken
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