River Dee Fishing Reports 2011

ken@fishdee · #1 (**permalink**) 31-01-2011, 03:06 PM

Tomorrow sees the start of the 2011 salmon fishing season on the River Dee and there has been tremendous interest, with rod bookings at a very strong level following another excellent season for catches in 2010. There is some rod availability for the start of the season at really excellent value, with Kingcausie and Altries offering potential for fresh prized springers on opening week. After an extremely cold and harsh winter, conditions have improved somewhat with much milder conditions prevailing, and I expect there to have been runs of fresh springers entering the river and making their way up river slowly. Fresh springers may be located anywhere throughout the catchment but the likelihood is there will be greater numbers found in the lower beats as River temperatures are in the 2 to 4 degrees Celsius range. There is a real possibility of anglers encountering many kelts as a result of extreme cold weather delaying spawning in the lower River. Please handle these fish carefully as we know 2.4 % of them return as repeat spawning springers, which are a stock component in the river that is very valuable indeed.

The weather forecast for the opening week is really encouraging for visiting anglers and I think anglers who have fishing booked will be relishing the prospects of casting a line on opening week. Most days will be cloudy and overcast with showers and occasional heavier periods of rain. Winds will be changeable but quite strong at times perhaps to gale force levels. Air temperature maxima are in the range of 6 to 8 degrees Celsius. The maritime influence shows rising spring tides from 3.9 metres tom 4.3 metres ensuring there are adequate river levels for fish to enter the river if they are there and choose to do so. Water levels may fluctuate over the week but as I write they are showing 6 inches to 1 foot 4 inches above summer level. An ideal height for many fishing beats in the middle and lower reaches. The water quality looked really excellent today as I travelled up the valley to the River Office. You can see for yourself by looking at the FishDee river levels page and clicking on them link to the Potarch Bridge web camera.

At this time of the year convention dictates deep and slow tactics. My advice, as always is to heed the wise counsel of your Ghillie if you have one on your chosen beat. The River Dee Ghillies are extremely talented and knowledgeable who will know better than anyone where a taking Springer may be on their beat. They will have been keeping a close eye on the water over the last few weeks looking at fish activity. If you do not have the services of a Ghillie to call on then you could do a lot worse than fish with a sink tip fly line or an intermediate line with sink tip and light tube fly. I am a big fan of the Guideline triple density shooting headlines and would have no worries about using the intermediate, s2, s4 line with a 2 inch aluminium or copper tube fly. I would also try the Intruder fly as they have tremendous movement in the water being dressed on Waddington type shanks. As to patterns then convention says Black and Yellow, with perhaps silver bodies or the ever reliable gold bodied Willie Gunn. The tungsten Monkey fished deep can do extremely well in the spring so ensure you are able to bring some to the river with you.

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for FishDee. You may want to toast your capture and I can heartedly recommend the 2011 Dalmore Dee Dram release, which has just arrived in the valley and will be available from most licensees, and of course George Strachan’s stores in Aboyne and Ballater. Dalmore are in the process of rolling out their “ Rivers Collection” range which includes Dee, Spey Foundation, Tay and Tweed drams with profits going to all of the big 4 salmon rivers to help conservation projects. See website The Dalmore rivers collection Online Spirits Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd January 2011.

ken@fishdee · #2 (**permalink**) 07-02-2011, 11:31 AM

Fishing Report Update Mon 7th February

Recent Catches

Gary Webster with his 25 lb Springer on opening day

The 2011 season exploded into action with a great result on opening day of 54 salmon landed in good conditions with over 40 landed the next day. As is often the case at this time of year when the weather is changeable we saw River levels rise significantly due to snow melt, mild winds and additional precipitation through the week culminating with a big river on Saturday. There have been 140 salmon reported from FishDee beats on opening week with catches reported from Kingcausie to Lower Invercauld. A snapshot of catches shows Park reporting 30, Little Blackhall 21, Upper Drum 14 and Lower Crathes 12 with the bulk of fish on the opening 3 days.

Jock Royan with a Nice Dee Springer at Lower Crathes

There have been some catches reported to me from a number of anglers and Ghillies with Gary Webster taking the plaudits on opening day with a stunning 40.5 inch Springer at Park. Gary was also the recipient of a beautiful box of flies donated by www.theghilliesflybox.com for having the biggest opening day fish. Paul Devlin from the Glasgow Angling centre reported 3 springers for his two days with the Guideline team who enjoyed a super week on the river and at the Tor Na Coille Hotel. Well known Tay Ghillie Tony Black and his team had a very productive time at Little Blackhall with Tony achieving double figures. Jock Royan from Kinnermony on the Spey had a productive 2 day trip to Lower Crathes and advised ‘I have just returned from a very enjoyable 2 days with Robert at Lower Crathes where we had 9 fish between us. He's a great guy and just full of enthusiasm - a real joy to be with. I've attached one of the photos of a very happy Spey Ghillie. There are others! The other photo I've attached may be of interest. It’s the first fish I caught with what appeared to be a lamprey mark. I enjoyed quite a few large Dalmore Drams last night and met up with Tony Black and crew - they've had another excellent start. Let's hope your season continues as it began and indeed ended off last year.’ Jim Cowper from Aboyne Water kindly wrote advising ‘Just to report that Mr Patrick Rohde from Dundee, who had never fished before has caught the first salmon off Aboyne Water for 2011.’ Congratulations Patrick and well done on landing your first salmon, a fine Dee Springer.

James Atkinson with his first of the season

James Atkinson wrote to me and forwarded images of both himself and well known Deeside angler Mark Paterson who enjoyed good sport at Ballogie fishing with Aboyne Golf Professional Steven Moir who also got his season off the mark with a nice Springer. Tom and Jean Marshall had a group of rods fishing Ballogie and Woodend and they had some nice sport where two rods had nice opening day fish before 9.50 am. I believe Tom may have had the honours of first opening day fish from the Dee although one of his party may have landed his fine 18 lb fish at virtually the same moment. My good friend Alan Morrison from Edinburgh called me on Friday enquiring about conditions for his day at Lower Crathes on Saturday, and I said that things looked reasonable at that time. Alas the River came away big overnight with the gauge reading 6.5 feet on the beat when he arrived on Saturday morning. I spoke to him that night as he travelled south after his day and he mentioned he wouldn’t have travelled had he known the height of water, but as he was there he took encouragement from Robert Harper and fished his day, where conditions improved hourly. He mentioned the river had fallen back to 5 foot on the gauge at lunchtime and Robert was quite hopeful. It was just as well that he did persevere as he was rewarded with a fine 9 lb Springer from the Mill Pool. Even in big clearing water you are in with a chance on the River Dee as there is not too much colour caused by snow melt. Finally to finish it was nice to see Cairnton get of to a good start with 7 fish on opening week. I do hope that rods there continue to enjoy some steady sport but its early days. If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd February 2011.

Prospects

As I write there is snow falling steadily outside the office window and it’s a reminder that it is still winter on Deeside and one must ensure your tactics suit the prevailing conditions. Now talking about conditions allows me to mention that the weather forecast for this week is quite encouraging for salmon fishing. We can expect air temperature Maxima to be in region of 8- 9 degrees Celsius with little in the way of night time frosts. There will be regular rain or sleet showers during the week with winds quite breezy at times making it feel quite raw at times. Winds will predominately be from westerly directions. River levels are excellent with the gauges reading 1 ft at Mar Lodge to 1 ft 11 inches at Park above summer levels. Air pressure will rise during the week and then fall slightly before rising again. The Maritime influence sees high tides at 4.2 metres dropping back to 3.3 metres during the week.

Mark Paterson with his first Springer of the season

On looking at fishing availability I note there are a lot of rods available over the next few weeks on the FishDee website and I would encourage anglers hoping to catch the elusive Springer to venture forth to the River Dee and give it a go. Good catches last week suggest there are a quite a few fresh fish about and you may well encounter one, but only if your fly is in the water. The River Dee still has enough spring salmon running to make fishing a worthwhile pursuit and our Ghillies will have a good idea of how to maximise your chances. Time and time again I hear about the Ghillies being the difference between success and failure so always heed their wise counsel and do what they suggest. If you are fishing and do not have the services of a Ghillie to call on for advice then fish deep and slow is the normal practise for this time of year. Anglers fish with tube flies and fish with shooting heads or full Spey lines usually full sinker or intermediate with a sink tip attached. Fly choice sees anglers using flies with mobility and double hooks. The Black and Yellow or Black and Blue combinations are popular as are the traditional Willie Gunn tube flies and of course the Tungsten Monkey flies. There are a lot of kelts about so please handle these with care as 2.5 % of these will return to spawn sometime in the future. . If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd February 2011.

Celebrate your catch with a Dee Dram

available from The Dalmore rivers collection Online Spirits

ken@fishdee · #3 (**permalink**) 14-02-2011, 02:48 PM

Recent Catches

Fishing started off reasonably well at the beginning of last week as the weather was quite settled however conditions changed somewhat and this put a dampener on sport in the later part of the week again-there were also less rods fishing last week following the opening weeks tremendous effort. Nonetheless FishDee beats reported 82 spring salmon for the week with 2 fish reported at 22lbs from Shane Christie at Middle Drum and Jim Paton at Upper Drum. I spoke with Shane Christie this morning who advised that the beat was full of kelts last week with anglers landing between 50 to 60 kelts, and on late Friday afternoon angler Stan Crook landed a spanking Springer of 22 lbs. He advises that the water, at 36 degrees Fahrenheit, is in excellent order which is surprising how wet it has been in Deeside this weekend, perhaps it fell as snow in the upper valley. It was certainly snowing hard on Friday night as Mark Bilsby and I travelled over the Lecht from Speyside after attending the Dalmore Spey Foundation Dram launch at Delfur on Friday night. I also spoke to Jim Paton at Upper Drum this morning who is really delighted with the catches at his beat with this past fortnight’s catches beating the beats best February total since he took over as head Ghillie many years ago. Jim commented “An excellent weeks fishing with double figures and a number of fish hooked and lost. Successful anglers were Dave Wakefield with 4 including a 22lber, Alastair Macdonald had 2, Jim Paton had 2 himself with Malcolm (Mouldy) Tocher with 1 and Graham Duffy also catching one “

Dean Hilton with a Dess Springer

I have received correspondence from Jim Cowper and Dean Hilton and I am very grateful for them getting in touch with their anecdotes and pictures. Firstly Jim Cowper advised quite humorously “Hi Ken, Mr Neil Sneddon, who has just started salmon fishing, caught his first Dee Springer with us at Aboyne Water on Sat 12th Feb. I was saying goodbye to Neil at the end of fishing day. He lay down his rod as we shook hands and his rod and reel unattended began to sing .This might be a case of using a `fixed engine` in fishing terms, but I call it `keeping your flies in the water` A 9lb bar of silver was returned.” Well done to Neil for keeping his composure and landing this fish-how often anglers bemoan bad luck but not with this fish! I also was pleased to receive correspondence from Dean Hilton who supplied some super photographs of Springer catches at the Dess Beats. Dean commented “Dear Ken, these are some pictures of a catch of some 6 springers my nephew Mark Swindlehurst and I caught from Lower Dess, and one from Upper Dess this last week. Marks being the first picture, weight est. 16lbs.This was his first ever spring salmon with snow falling, a salmon fishers holy grail I feel. As for myself I caught 5 springers myself with 3x 12lbs plus 2x9lbs. It will be three days fishing that will not be forgotten in a hurry. With many thanks to Ghillie Eoin smith for making it all that bit more special.”

Mark Swindlehurst with a 16 lb beauty from Dess

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan’s shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can purchase online at Dalmore Dee Dram Online Spirits. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd February 2011.

Prospects

Weather conditions look to become more settled throughout the week with colder temperatures forecast with rain and hill snow. Winds will be from southerly directions with a south easterly wind later in the week making it feel cooler. Air temperature maxima are forecast to be around 42 degrees Fahrenheit or 7 degrees Celsius, with air pressure building through the week. The maritime influence shows tides rising from 3.4 metres to 4.8 metres which will allow new Springers to come forward and enter the lower beats. It should be a good fishing week providing the river height doesn’t fluctuate too much.

Dean Hilton with a springer from Dess one of 5 to his own rod in 3 days

There is a lot of fishing available over the next few weeks where there are bound to be good opportunities to catch the coveted Springer. There appears to be good numbers of Springers around and finding them is the key. A good number of fish were hooked and lost last week which I witnessed myself when Nick Evans lost a beauty at a lower river beat. If you are free to fish then please come and try to get one of these double figure specimens to start your season off in style. Prices are really excellent just now for getting on top River Dee beats. There really is no better place to be at this time of year if you are seeking sport with Spring Salmon.

There are some talented anglers visiting Deeside this week and I am hopeful they will do well at Lower Crathes. Ron Sutherland from the Helmsdale tackle company is coming for his annual week and I hope to hear from him what successes he has had with new fly patterns that he has tied for visiting the River. As always heed the wise advice from your beat Ghillie as they do know best where the fish may be lying and what you should do to try and get one to take your well presented fly. I have been lucky to visit a few lower beats last week and the Ghillies were in great form. I would be more than happy following their recommendations. If you don’t have a Ghillie to advise you then I would suggest fishing deep and slowly with tube flies fished deeply the order of the day. As the fishing day is short you may find the best taking time, at the warmest point of the day is lunchtime so don’t tarry too long over lunch. Popular flies at this time of year are Sean Stanton’s Bertie Dustard, Posh Tosh, Willie Gunn and the Tungsten Monkey or any other tube fly with a long wing. Some beats will see anglers spinning a Blair’s spoon or a Devon Minnow and these may do well with fish in the deep holding lies.
If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan’s shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can purchase online at Dalmore Dee Dram Online Spirits. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd February 2011.

ken@fishdee · #4 (**permalink**) 21-02-2011, 11:15 AM

Recent Catches

The week’s salmon fishing finished quietly with only 2 fish reported on Friday. It was a week where fluctuating river levels and weather conditions influenced the salmon’s taking behaviour somewhat. On one day there were 20 fish reported yet on 2 days there were only 2 reported from FishDee beats. When the conditions are fluctuating and river levels are rising and falling then angling can become extremely difficult. There were some bright spots during this difficult week with Park reporting 14 salmon, Tilbouries a healthy 9, and Upper Drum 5. Pride of place for the fish of the week is Banchory angler Iain Hutchison who landed a cracking fish which weighed 23lbs on Friday. Willie Banks reported ‘This stunning Springer was caught and released back to the river after a 30 minute battle after the fish took Ian’s Willie Gunn tube fly whilst fishing the Lawson Pool. It was Iain's lucky day because he went on to catch another Springer of about 8lb, also the third fish of 6lb caught on Friday was by Jim Fraser from Huntly.’ It was good to hear of a run of new fish on Friday and the anglers at Tilbouries reported seeing small groups of new fish going through the beat from time to time.

Ian Hutchison with his 23 lb Springer

I was hopefully the crack team of anglers led by Helmsdale Tackle’s Ron Sutherland would do well on their annual weeks visit to Lower Crathes. Ron commented this weekend ‘Robert Harper (Ghillie) is baffled as to why we blanked last week on LC, we are all baffled, the water looked great apart from two days when it was dirty and rising fast. There seemed to be fish all around us and we tried every fly and line possible but still no joy - disappointing but that's fishing and we have all been on the end of a blank before. We had around 60 kelts and a few baggots and rawners so we certainly bent the rods, but the elusive Springer evaded us. We'll be back for revenge sometime soon.’ I also received correspondence from Richard Jones, who commented ‘Ken, I caught my first ever Springer on Saturday the 12th on the Little Blackhall / Inchmarlo beat, followed two casts later by my second! This was in the Roe Pot pool. I don't really want to talk about size, but let it be said that if there are fish being caught I will land the smallest in the pool. Martin the ghillie witnessed the first, and I have a poor photo of some of the second fish taken with my phone. I try not to remove fish to be returned from the water so some of my photography is a little rushed. The river had come up and dirty on Saturday morning but was falling and clearing as the afternoon lengthened. The party on the N. Bank had packed up and left but on the S. side we had not had a fresh fish all week so efforts were still being made.’ It’s good to hear persistence paid of in the end for Richard as early spring fishing is at times a waiting game and if you are in the right place at the right time then you may encounter the coveted elusive Springer.

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here Dalmore Dee Dram Online Spirits. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd February 2011.

Ian's 23 lb Springer safely returned

Prospects

Well the forecast is showing another mixed bag to challenge the intrepid angler pitting his wits against the guile and cunning salmon this week. In the early part of the week it will feel quite raw at times with cool temperatures and strong blustery winds with sleet and rain showers a feature. As the week progresses however we shall see a rise in air temperatures and the sleet will be replaced by rain showers, perhaps heavy at times. How this impacts on fishing remains to be seen however we do need the River level to stabilise for a few days and let fish settle in taking lies. The maritime influence sees tides in Aberdeen falling from 4.8 metres to 3. 4 metres however new fish may come forward as river levels are currently between 7 inches and 2ft 6 inches above summer levels. Anglers will need to dress to suit the conditions with thermals and a good waterproof jacket.

As always heed the wise advice from your beat Ghillie as they do know best where the fish may be lying and what you should do to try and get one to take your well presented fly. I have been lucky to visit a few lower beats last week and the Ghillies were in great form. I would be more than happy following their recommendations. If you don't have a Ghillie to advise you then I would suggest fishing deep and slowly with tube flies fished deeply the order of the day. As the fishing day is short you may find the best taking time, at the warmest point of the day is lunchtime so don't tarry too long over lunch. Popular flies at this time of year are Sean Stanton's Bertie Dustard, Posh Tosh, Willie Gunn and the Tungsten Monkey or any other tube fly with a long wing. Some beats will see anglers spinning a Blair's spoon or a Devon Minnow and these may do well with fish in the deep holding lies.

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here Dalmore Dee Dram Online Spirits. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd February 2011.

ken@fishdee · #5 (**permalink**) 28-02-2011, 12:19 PM

Recent Catches

After 2 big spates this week I am pleased to report that there have been some notable highlights this week, considering the conditions, it’s been great to hear of some really big fish being encountered, with quite a few being caught and released back into the river. Park reported 15 salmon, Lower Crathes 6, Little Blackhall and Upper Drum both reported 5 for the week. As the month draws to a close the month to date catches show FishDee beats reporting 339 salmon against last year’s 155 and the 5 year average of 216. Conditions have been more favourable this February enabling more angling effort but we shall get a better idea what the river stocks are like with more beats opening from the 1st March.

I mentioned big fish and I was delighted to speak to some of the Ghillies who were telling me that by and large the fish seem to be of a good size and condition so far this season. As always Jim Paton at Upper Drum is entertaining and he reports that the beat is having an excellent month with 24 salmon caught which is way ahead of the beats previous best February with many fine salmon landed in the teens of pounds as well as in the twenties. He commented ‘As you know the River was very big towards the end of last week and we had 2 small fish of 4 and 5 lbs on Saturday. Later in the day Mr John Lawrie from Edinburgh hooked and landed on a monkey fly a superb specimen of 42 inches which we have conservatively estimated at 26lbs, his biggest salmon to date.’ According to our data a Springer of this size may in fact have weighed as much as 28lbs. The biggest salmon reported from the River Dee so far this season.

Alan Smith with 25 lb Springer

I spoke briefly on the phone with Keith Cromar the head Ghillie at Park who provided some news about end of week sport at Park. He advised ‘Regular visitor to Park Mr Allan Smith was fishing the Cellar Pool on Friday with 73 inches on the gauge, a tremendous height of water, and he landed our 69th salmon for the month at 7lbs. He then went to fish the Durris Stream which can be excellent in very high water as you know. He then hooked and landed a fabulous Springer, just under 40 inches which weighed approximately 25 lbs. It was caught one on of Allan’s Orange Ruffian flies, which do the trick for him as you know. River Board member and secretary for the Stonehaven Angling Association, Mr David MacDonald hooked and lost a fine fish estimated to be in the order of 25 lbs whilst Allan was playing his fish. This is the second big fish David has lost at Park in February during the last few years.’ I also heard that Mike Thornton had lost a huge fish after a 45 minute battle at Tilbouries when his leader sadly broke. So there would appear to be some big fish running the river and perhaps more will have entered the system following the 3 days of very high water last week.

Alan Smith returning salmon

Karl Revel, who Ghillies at Invery with Jim Turnbull, dropped in to see me early this morning on his way to the beat with some notes and photographs. Karl comments ‘Despite a meagre return for the last few days of 3 Springers, we are just one fish short of our 5 year average for February. Our successful anglers were Geordie Doull, head Ghillie on the Thurso, David Burgess from G Loomis and former Fishery manager on the Royalty beat of the Hampshire Avon and last but not least Mattias Bergstrom from Sweden who caught his first ever salmon of 8lbs at 5 pm on Thursday evening with the setting sun and the river running at 4ft 6 inches on the gauge. Mattias and his friend Tim Lindenhall are Swedish teenagers undertaking a course sponsored by the Swedish Government to enable them to become fishing Ghillies. They spent an enjoyable week at Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo, Lower Blackhall and Invery along with their tutor Ingebjörn Lundevall from the Alvdalen Educational Centre, who you met during the week. These young lads were a credit to their college and country. It was a pleasure to work with them and I look forward to welcoming more students from Alvdalen to Deeside in the future’. If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. It's important to return the fish to the river as swiftly as possible. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd February 2011.

Prospects

The first of March sees most of the River Dee beats fishing with upper beats opening, and it will be good to see what stocks of fish are present in the upper reaches. Anglers fishing the river this week are fortunate that the weather forecast looks very agreeable with light winds and little rain forecast. Air temperatures could peak around 10 degrees during the first half of the week and then cooling towards the weekend with water temperatures around 3 degrees Celsius. With high pressure dominating it will also lead to frosty nights with steady river levels predicted during the week. The gauges are currently showing 1ft 4 inches at Mar Lodge to 2ft 4 inches at Park-which are ideal heights for virtually all river beats. The maritime influence sees high tides building during the week from 3.2 metres to 4.2 metres.

The river beat Ghillies have had a good opportunity to observe current conditions, and they are the key to helping you locate a salmon on their beat. As always heed their wise counsel as they know the tactics you should use to fish their beats. If you do not have the services of a Ghillie to count on then you should consider using a sinking line with a light tube fly. Popular patterns at this time of year are Posh Tosh, Park Shrimp, Bertie Dustard, Monkey and the ever popular Willie Gunn. Some of the lower beats will see anglers using Tobies and Blairs spoons. As always handle your fish carefully and try to release it swiftly back to the river with minimum fuss for photography. The spring salmon are our most fragile stock component and we must do all we can to ensure they are released safely back to the river.

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. It's important to return the fish to the river as swiftly as possible. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd February 2011.

Ken Reid
Fisheries Development Officer
DDSFB & River Dee Trust Office
Mill of Dinnet, Aboyne
Aberdeenshire, Scotland,AB34 5LA
D +44 (0) 13398 80411
E-Mail ken@riverdee.org
River Dee Trust & Dee District Salmon Fishery Board: Home: Welcome
www.fishdee.co.uk
River Dee Trust Registered Charity No SC028497

ken@fishdee · #6 (**permalink**) 07-03-2011, 01:34 PM

Recent Catches

There have been 97 Springers to 20 lbs reported at the time of writing from FishDee beats last week which may rise once all beats have reported in any late catches. Both Upper Drum and Lower Crathes beats reported a dozen fish for the week, Invery 11 and Park also got into double figures. With catches reported from Altries to Lower Invercauld & Monaltrie indicating there are salmon spreading out to the top of the system. Catches rose last week with beats above Aboyne starting to fish and it’s been great catching up with some of the Ghillies when I have been able to. I was also delighted to meet the new Dinnet Ghillie Euan Reid, and I wish him all the best for the forthcoming season where I am sure he will be a great addition to the super team of Ghillies we have on the River Dee. I am sure Euan would have been delighted to see a sea liced fish landed on his first week of the season on the river .I didn’t receive any correspondence this week but have spoken to a number of Ghillies this morning and am grateful for their contributions as always to help provide an overview of current conditions.

Jim Paton reported that visiting anglers did well at Upper Drum, where Kent Hakansson brought a crack team of anglers over from Scandinavia to fish his beat and at Craigendinnie with George Murray. Jim advised ‘The group had 12 'Spankers' with 3 fish landed at 6 pm and one at 5.30 pm when many anglers may have stopped fishing on other beats. All the fish were caught on the Monkey Fly although they did try other patterns. We still have a lot of Kelts which may be encouraging Springers to stop in the beat before moving on. The anglers also landed 4 fish at Craigendinnie and Kent had a flying visit to the Spey at Delfur where he also caught a nice salmon’. I was pleased to see Ghillie George Murray visit the office last week where we discussed the good start to the season at Craigendinnie.

I visited Glasgow Angling Centre and was delighted to meet many anglers who visit our river as well as many representatives in the tackle trade, and of course Mr Paul Devlin and his great team of staff who most generously have provided the FishDee Megastore to help the River Dee fundraising activities. Whilst there for a few days I spoke to River Dee Board member from Tilbouries, Willie Banks, who informed me that on Friday morning Chris Hartley, the MD of Guide Fly-fishing had caught 2 lovely springers in 2 casts, of 9 lbs and 15 lbs. His colleague Jim Brown caught a stunning fish reckoned to be between 18 and 20 lbs on a Posh Tosh. To get 2 Springers in 2 casts is a stroke of good fortune. It was also really pleasing to see Altries had 4 fish on Friday as well indicating there was a good run of new fish coming upriver. It’s a super beat that deserves to have more anglers fishing at this time of year with a really talented and enthusiastic Ghillie Kevin Fleming.

Invery Ghillie Karl Revel was delighted to inform me of the successful anglers fishing his beat last week, and he was keen to emphasise that the fish were in great condition, and that he had a crack team of anglers fishing. Top Scottish Ghillies Colin Wilkie, Bill Drury, Mike Murdoch and Archie Baillie were enjoying a busman's holiday from the Rivers Tweed and Spey. They have been regular visitors to the Dee and again saw success by fishing slow and deep. Colin must have been delighted with his 5 fish, with Mike, Bill and Archie all catching nice fresh Springers. Archie took a real beauty of 15 lbs which was a very deep fish and in beautiful condition. Visitor David Cooke also had 2 fish to his rod of 8lbs and 15 lbs fishing in very cold and clear water.

Robert Harper reported that David and Michael Clarke, who I was delighted to meet last year in Russia, were successful with 3 nice fish apiece to 12 lbs. Robert reports ' Anglers had to persevere last week to intercept fish when pockets of fish were moving through the beat. The fish caught are real proper good Springers to 14 lbs and in excellent condition'. I was also advised by Edward Humphrey at Dinnet that visiting angler Ross Gowl had his first fish for 3 years and fishing companion Gordon Duncan had a nice sea liced fish which must have been running very hard in the cold water to reach the beat. Waterside and Ferrar Ghillie Davie Goodfellow also was pleased to advise that visiting angler Scott Smith from Cumbernauld had caught his first Springer at Waterside of 7 lbs. He mentioned he fished extremely well and was rewarded for his efforts with a nice fish.

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. It's important to return the fish to the river as swiftly as possible. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here Dalmore Dee Dram Online Spirits. It is now available in London at Friarwood Fine Wine, 26 New Kings Road, London, Tel 020 7736 2628. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd March 2011.

Action at Tilbouries with Jim Brown catching a fine Springer.

Prospects

Spring fishing in Deeside is a challenge for anglers and that’s why so many come year on year and fish for Spring Salmon. The challenges come from mastering the weather and river conditions and ensuring the tactics utilised are likely to deliver the opportunity of hooking fish in truly first class condition. This year Ghillies and anglers are reporting fish to be of a good size and in really first class condition. Now for the week ahead the weather forecast is looking quite reasonable and hopefully we will see catches pick up through the week. An air temperature maximum is reported to be between 8 and 10 degrees Celsius this week according to the Met Office and the BBC. There is likelihood during the week of fresh hill snow in the extreme western catchment. Winds should be light but will pick up on Thursday and Friday as weather fronts move through with perhaps gusts to 40 mph. Anglers need to ensure they wrap up well and have their waterproof wading jackets on as there is a good chance of occasional rain showers. The maritime influence is showing tides are dropping back through the week from 4.2 metres to 3.3 metres however river levels are still running between 9 inches and 1 foot 7 inches on the Sepa gauges.

The river beat Ghillies have a great knowledge of how to fish to suit current conditions, and they are the key to helping you locate a salmon on their beat. As always heed their wise counsel as they know the tactics you should use to fish their beats and give yourself every chance of catching a salmon. If you do not have the services of a Ghillie to count on then you should consider using a light sinking line with a light tube fly. Popular patterns at this time of year are Posh Tosh, Park Shrimp, Bertie Dustard, Monkey and the ever popular Willie Gunn. Some of the lower beats will see anglers using Tobies and Blairs spoons. As always a plea to anglers to handle your fish very carefully and try to release it swiftly back to the river with minimum fuss for photography. I know the moment can be dramatic as you land the beautiful salmon, however it is vital to ensure the salmon is extended the courtesy of a safe release and return to the river. The spring salmon are our most fragile stock component and we must do all we can to ensure they are released safely back to the river.

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. It's important to return the fish to the river as swiftly as possible. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here Dalmore Dee Dram Online Spirits. It is now available in London at Friarwood Fine Wine, 26 New Kings Road, London, Tel 020 7736 2628. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd March 2011.

Guide Fly-Fishing MD Chris Hartley enjoying sport at Tilbouries last friday.

ken@fishdee · #7 (**permalink**) 14-03-2011, 10:17 AM

Recent Catches

A quiet week on Deeside with 50 salmon reported so far from FishDee beats. Park reported 6 fish to 23lbs, Invery also had 6, and Middle Drum reported 5 salmon. The fish were quite dour last week with the deterioration of water conditions and river temperatures dropping. Anglers were seeing the odd fish but they were not taking well. Towards the end of the week we saw gale force winds and very heavy snow which made fishing extremely difficult for the gallant anglers who persevered.

Karl Revel from Invery called with an update and advised ‘Invery’s fish were all caught by returning visitors to the Dee. Fifteen year old John Kane from Kilmarnock and Russell Neighbour from Surrey had 2 fish each, these being their first Springers. Other successful anglers were young John’s uncle and Jim Reid from Edinburgh. The fish were reluctant takers last week.’ Willie Banks from Tilbouries advised an angler who wishes to remain anonymous landed 2 fish of 12 and 22 lbs. The 22lber was a super specimen and was the anglers largest Springer to date.

Jim Fearn with 22lb Springer from Tilbouries

Shane Christie from Middle Drum reported he had a regular group of fishers up from Wigan. He comments ‘Stanley Cook was successful with 4 fish to his own rod on his own tied Dozem fly, a Willie Gunn variant. Stanley visits the beat 3-4 times every year and his knowledge of the beat was helpful to him when fishing the lies he knows fish will be at this time of year. Jim Black a novice angler caught his second Springer from the beat on a day visit giving him an average of a Springer for each of his visits to the beat this year.’
It's important to return the fish to the river as swiftly as possible. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here http://www.onlinespirits.co.uk/dalmore-dee-dram. It is now available in London at Friarwood Fine Wine, 26 New Kings Road, London, Tel 020 7736 2628. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd March 2011.

Prospects

The Ghillies I have spoken to are optimistic sport will pick up this week following last week’s very trying conditions. The weather forecast is a bit of a mixed bag with air temperature maxima predicted to be around 6 degrees with night time frosts also predicted. Winds will be blustery from time to time as the direction changes during the week from north easterly to south westerly. There will be regular bands of rain, sleet and hill snow which should hopefully freeze on the mountain tops ensuring a reservoir of water for the weeks ahead. River levels are currently showing on the Sepa gauges 4 inches at Mar Lodge to 2ft at Park and the river is carrying a bit of sediment in the lower reaches as the River Feugh tributary is currently rising and cold with temps at 2 degrees Celsius. The maritime influence sees tides rising during the week from 3.3 metres to 4.7 metres on Sunday. This will encourage fish forward if they wish to run the river. The sea will be considerably warmer than the river.

River beat Ghillies in the lower river are saying there are decent numbers of fish in the pools but they are reluctant takers. A couple of lower beat Ghillies are saying the numbers of Springers in their beats are the most they have seen for many years. One of the most experienced Ghillies on the River with over 40years experience, was telling me this week that it’s a very common problem in March for fish to seemingly go off the take, and then come on again as the water warms up and they get on the move. The Ghillies advice is vital in helping you locate fish on their beats and they will give good advice about fly choice and tackle set up. If you do not have the services of a Ghillie to call on then you would be well advised to fish slow and deep with a sinking line or intermediate with fast sink tip. Flies to use could range from a size 6 dressed double to a big monkey fly. The Willie Gunn is a good option as is the Park Shrimp, Black and Yellow and Ice Maiden.

Mike Megginson with a 23 lb Fish

As always a plea to anglers to handle your fish very carefully and try to release it swiftly back to the river with minimum fuss for photography. I know the moment can be dramatic as you land the beautiful salmon, however it is vital to ensure the salmon is extended the courtesy of a safe release and return to the river. The spring salmon are our most fragile stock component and we must do all we can to ensure they are released safely back to the river.

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. It's important to return the fish to the river as swiftly as possible. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here http://www.onlinespirits.co.uk/dalmore-dee-dram. It is now available in London at Friarwood Fine Wine, 26 New Kings Road, London, and Tel 020 7736 2628. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd March 2011

ken@fishdee · #8 (**permalink**) 16-03-2011, 02:58 PM

FishDee Megastore has a clearance sale on to make way for new stock.
Have a look in and see if there is any item of tackle you are looking for.
Fishing Tackle & Fishing Rods – FishDee Megastore

ken@fishdee · #9 (**permalink**) 21-03-2011, 12:59 PM

Recent Catches

A much better fishing week with conditions improving and fish becoming more inclined to respond to a fisherman's well presented fly. FishDee beats have reported 83 for the week as I write with perhaps a few more to be reported. The fabulous Lower Crathes beat reported 10 salmon for the week as did the ever reliable Ballogie beat with Ghillie Sean Stanton leading his visiting guests from Scandinavia to the obliging salmon. Carlogie and Park reported 8 and Invery reported 6 for the week. Catches were reported from Altries to Cambus O'May showing a wide distribution of fish in the catchment. Ghillies had predicted a better week and as always their views were spot on.

Kojla Veyhle with a nice 15 lb Salmon

I have received a number of letters of correspondence from anglers and I would like to thank them for writing and forwarding images of their fine catches. Firstly Kolja Veyhle commented 'I have just returned to Germany after a week of spring fishing on the River Dee. I was fishing with a group of 10 Fly fishermen at the Ballogie Estate beats, where we were able to catch some Springers. For me it was the first time to fish the river in springtime and I was fortunate enough to catch 3 Spring-salmon, biggest one was 15lbs! For me it was just the topping on a really good fishing trip in excellent company, with some of the nicest fisherman I have ever met, and of course the two Ghillies Sean and Ian, everything was just perfect. Attached are some pictures of spring salmon, maybe you would like to put them on the Blog? ' I also received an e-mail from Craig Fleming who advised 'Just thought I'd send you a couple of pictures of a Springer I caught this afternoon 19/03/11 from the Lawson Pool on Middle Drum. The fish took a monkey fly about half way down the pool. I was yapping away to Shane and my fly had come round onto the dangle, when suddenly the line began tearing off my reel! After a few runs and some nervy head shaking, Shane netted this fine fresh fish around 8lbs. P.S Keep up the good work. Love seeing all these cracking fish pictures!' Thanks to Andrew Wright for sending a nice picture of a lovely big spring salmon he landed at Invery on the 17th March. I was advised by Ballogie Ghillie Sean Stanton that they had 3 salmon on Friday morning and one was a really fabulous specimen landed by visiting angler Thomas Torpe. I received the image today from regular Dee fisherman and tour organiser Lars Terkildsen and I can confirm it was a beautiful salmon of 20lbs, and very fresh. Lars commented 'Monday morning and now only one week to my trip to The Dee with 7 angling brothers. Last week Team FiskeShopen got a total of 23 springers at the 3 Ballogie Beats, what a fantastic week they had. Now the water is rising and new salmon will move up-stream to be there for us next week.'

Normann Kotzurek with a 12lb Salmon at Commonty

I can also advise that there will be a whisky tasting evening for the Dalmore Dee Dram and other Dalmore Rivers Collection whiskies at the Deeside Drinks Emporium in Banchory, opposite the Orvis shop, at 7.30 pm on Thursday 31st March. Many people were unable to attend the Dee Dram launch night at Balmoral in January this year. If you are planning to attend can you contact Deeside drink to confirm your attendance by calling 01330 822650 or e-mail deesidedrinks@live.co.uk to help them organise enough supplies for the evening? There will be a nominal charge of £5.00 for the event which promises to be a super night's entertainment. I plan to come along on the night to speak about the River Dee to the audience.

You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here this link It is now available in London at Friarwood Fine Wine, 26 New Kings Road, London, Tel 020 7736 2628. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd March 2011.

Beat catches reported
(week ending 19th March)
SALMON & GRILSE: Altries and Lower Drum 1, Middle Drum 2, Upper Drum and Lower Durris 2, Tilbouries 1, Park 8, Lower Crathes and W Durris 10, Crathes 1, Invery 6, Lower Blackhall 1, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 1, Middle Blackhall 2, Cairnton 3, Commonty 5, Sluie 1, Ballogie 10, Borrowston 3, Kincardine 2, Carlogie 8, Lower Dess 2, Upper Dess 2, Birse 3, Aboyne Water 1, Aboyne Castle 1, Craigendinnie 1, Waterside and Ferrar 1, Dinnet 2, Deecastle 2, Headinch and Cambus O'May 1.
Total: 83 Largest: Ballogie 20lbs
SEA TROUT: Cairnton 1, Borrowston 2.
Total: 3 Largest: Cairnton & Borrowston 2lbs

Prospects

Providing we don't get wildly fluctuating river levels this week, I expect catches to lift significantly as a result of much warmer temperatures, and the big Spring tides that are currently bringing new fish forward. The air temperature maximum is forecast to be 17 degrees Celsius this week, which is significantly higher than the last few weeks. The air temperatures will however fall back from Friday into the weekend. This will see snowmelt from the mountains ensuring good river levels all week. The Sepa river level gauges are all rising and currently showing 1ft 11 inches at Mar Lodge to 3ft 7 inches at Park. There should be very little rainfall, and winds don't like they will be too troublesome for visiting anglers. All in all, perhaps a potentially productive week for anglers on the River Dee.

Craig Fleming with a salmon from Middle Drum

With good river levels and fish getting on the move, it is prudent to fish carefully following the sound advice our crack team of Ghillies will provide to visiting anglers. The Ghillies know the moods of the salmon and how to ensure you give yourself every opportunity to catch a fish, so please heed their wise advice. If you do not have the services of a Ghillie to call on and are fishing this week then you will need to ensure you fish to suit the conditions. You would perhaps be wise to fish with a sinking Spey line or shooting head, with an intermediate as an option in shallower pools. A good strong leader and a tube fly will perhaps the best option, with patterns worth trying including the Gold Bodied Willie Gunn, Park Shrimp, Bertie D, Posh Tosh, Monkey and Ice Maiden. Long winged flies are in vogue and seem to be catching good numbers of fish according to reports.

Visitor Thomas Torpe with a fine 20 lb Salmon with tiny head and broad back.

As always a plea to anglers to handle your fish very carefully and try to release it swiftly back to the river with minimum fuss for photography. I know the moment can be dramatic as you land the beautiful salmon, however it is vital to ensure the salmon is extended the courtesy of a safe release and return to the river. The spring salmon are our most fragile stock component and we must do all we can to ensure they are released safely back to the river.

I can also advise that there will be a whisky tasting evening for the Dalmore Dee Dram and other Dalmore Rivers Collection whiskies at the Deeside Drinks Emporium in Banchory, opposite the Orvis shop, at 7.30 pm on Thursday 31st March. Many people were unable to attend the Dee Dram launch night at Balmoral in January this year. If you are planning to attend can you contact Deeside drink to confirm your attendance by calling 01330 822650 or e-mail deesidedrinks@live.co.uk to help them organise enough supplies for the evening? There will be a nominal charge of £5.00 for the event which promises to be a super night's entertainment. I plan to come along on the night to speak about the River Dee to the audience.

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here this link It is now available in London at Friarwood Fine Wine, 26 New Kings Road, London, and Tel 020 7736 2628. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd March 2011.

ken@fishdee · #10 (**permalink**) 28-03-2011, 11:34 AM

Recent Catches

Salmon catches rose again on the River Dee with FishDee beats reporting 94 salmon and sea trout. This is very pleasing for anglers and Ghillies alike as the beginning of the week saw air temperatures rise significantly, which in turn caused significant snowmelt from the hills which in turn caused the river to rise to a high level for the first part of the week. This subdued catches significantly, but as the river levels dropped new fish came forward on the big spring tides. Saturday saw 24 salmon reported and anglers were reporting seeing fresh fish running hard. Lower Crathes reported 10 salmon for the week as did the delightful Birse beat, where Ghillie Doug Murray will have been delighted with the returns from his visiting anglers. Kincardine finished the week strongly with 9 salmon reported; perhaps salmon have been stopping there to investigate the super new fishing hut being constructed for anglers to enjoy. Park reported 8 for the week with Ghillie Keith Cromar reporting fish are being seen in reasonable numbers. There were some big fish reported among the catch with some big fish being seen running the lower beats.

Angler Per Heikkila with a fine Spring Salmon

I was really pleased to see a very happy Davie Goodfellow popping into the office to report the capture of a really fine 22lb salmon at Waterside. Local angler Norman Matheson landed this fine fish after a good struggle and the fish was recognisable by having what looks like a lamprey scar on its back between the tail and the dorsal fish. Norman celebrated his birthday a few days later which made this a super birthday present, so many congratulations to Norman. I also received a picture of another fantastic 22lb salmon landed at Dinnet. Visiting Finnish angler Per Heikkila was the delighted angler who landed the fish at the Logie Pool at Dinnet, a favourite pool of mine. The picture just epitomises the beauty of a big wild spring salmon landed in a spectacular setting. This is one of the nicest photos of a salmon I have ever seen over the years. Steven Cooper from Peterhead reported his first Spring Salmon at Sluie so congratulations are in order for Steven. I was delighted to receive an e-mail from David Ramsay who was commenting about the wonderful week his party enjoyed. David advised ‘ Ken, I had the pleasure of fishing Lower Dess and Waterside & Ferrar this week, unfortunately with the high water and the lack of the gods smiling all I had was 1 kelt, but I can't complain as I had a great week. I have attached a few photos’ including a photo of Davie Goodfellow and Norman Matheson relaxing at the hut just after he caught the 22 lber well done Norman! There's also a few photo's of Davie inspecting my brother in laws (Colin Innes, Home) set up, Davie was convinced this was a prank as out came the C Playfair of Aberdeen reel dated around 1930's and a 3/0 Akroyd fly, you can see Davie's expression; priceless! Colin proceeded to fish down the Waterside pool from the south bank and yes; the line tightened and the real sang and what a song it sang. Unfortunately the fish came off, it just goes to show with all the modern tackle the old traditional flies and tackle still works. I would like to pass on my thanks to Eoin Smith at Lower Dess and Davie Goodfellow at Waterside and Ferrar for a great week. Regards, Dave Ramsay. ‘There is a link to Colin’s website on the Flies for the Dee page on the FishDee website and I would recommend it to all who have an interest in traditional fishing tackle and flies.

I can also advise that there will be a whisky tasting evening for the Dalmore Dee Dram and other Dalmore Rivers Collection whiskies at the Deeside Drinks Emporium in Banchory, opposite the Orvis shop, at 7.30 pm on Thursday 31st March. Many people were unable to attend the Dee Dram launch night at Balmoral in January this year. If you are planning to attend can you contact Deeside drink to confirm your attendance by calling 01330 822650 or e-mail deesidedrinks@live.co.uk to help them organise enough supplies for the evening? There will be a nominal charge of £5.00 for the event which promises to be a super night's entertainment. I plan to come along on the night to speak about the River Dee to the audience.

You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here this link it is now available in London at Friarwood Fine Wine, 26 New Kings Road, London, Tel 020 7736 2628. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd March 2011.

Beat catches reported
(week ending 26th March)
SALMON & GRILSE: Altries and Lower Drum 1, Middle Drum 1, Upper Drum and Lower Durris 3, Tilbouries 3, Park 8, Lower Crathes and W Durris 10, Crathes 3, Invery 6, Lower Blackhall 6, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 2, Cairnton 2, Commonty 2, Sluie 1, Ballogie 3, Borrowston 2, Kincardine 9, Carlogie 2, Lower Dess 1, Upper Dess 1, Birse 10, Aboyne Water 1, Aboyne Castle 3, Craigendinnie 4, Waterside and Ferrar 2, Dinnet 1, Deecastle 3, Headinch and Cambus O'May 3, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 1.
Total: 94 Largest: Waterside and Ferrar & Dinnet 22lbs
SEA TROUT: Park 1, Lower Blackhall 1.
Total: 2 Largest: Park & Lower Blackhall 2lbs

Prospects

Now the clocks have gone forward to British Summer Time anglers will have additional opportunities to fish longer in the evenings to capitalise on fish moving at dusk. The weather forecast is reasonable for the week with air temperatures forecast to peak around 10 degrees Celsius and perhaps a little more towards the weekend as a series of weather fronts pass over the region. The river temperature is around 5-6 degrees Celsius. River heights are showing 1ft 2 inches at Mar Lodge to 1ft 11 inches which is an ideal height for fishing. Winds are forecast to be light for the beginning of the week and these will pick up towards the weekend. There will be little rainfall in the first half of the week but rainfall will increase towards the weekend so anglers will need their waterproof jackets. The maritime influence indicates tides are rising throughout the week to 4.1 metres which could bring new fish forward.

If you are fortunate enough to be fishing the river this week then prospects look very good however the salmon as always has the final say in the matter. The River Dee Ghillies, who I hold in the highest regard, will be ideally placed to provide you with the best advice on where and how you may get a salmon to leave its lie and take you well presented fly. They know all the lies that salmon will be resting in at any particular height on their beats, and this is invaluable knowledge for an angler visiting a beat for the first time. If you don’t have the services of a Ghillie to call on then you may want to fish with an intermediate line or a sink tip fly line, and a small 1-2 inch tube fly or a size 4-8 dressed double; perhaps a Posh Tosh , Park Shrimp or Templedog. As the water is warming up then fish are more inclined to rise to a fly and there is less need to scrape the bottom with big tube flies. However the big Sunray or Monkey fished at 90 degrees to the flow of the river may induce a fish to chase your fly and grab it before trying to return to its lie. So ring the changes and be prepared to experiment if fish are dour. As Colin Innes experimented last week with a traditional dressed single and hooked a fish, you just never know what is going to encourage a salmon to intercept your fly.

As always a plea to anglers to handle your fish very carefully and try to release it swiftly back to the river with minimum fuss for photography. I know the moment can be dramatic as you land the beautiful salmon, however it is vital to ensure the salmon is extended the courtesy of a safe release and return to the river. The spring salmon are our most fragile stock component and we must do all we can to ensure they are released safely back to the river.

I can also advise that there will be a whisky tasting evening for the Dalmore Dee Dram and other Dalmore Rivers Collection whiskies at the Deeside Drinks Emporium in Banchory, opposite the Orvis shop, at 7.30 pm on Thursday 31st March. Many people were unable to attend the Dee Dram launch night at Balmoral in January this year. If you are planning to attend can you contact Deeside drink to confirm your attendance by calling 01330 822650 or e-mail deesidedrinks@live.co.uk to help them organise enough supplies for the evening? There will be a nominal charge of £5.00 for the event which promises to be a super night's entertainment. I plan to come along on the night to speak about the River Dee to the audience.

If you have been fortunate enough to land a prized Springer this week then please send me an image of the fish being returned to the River for the FishDee website. You may also want a memento from your trip to Deeside and toast your success. I can recommend the new Dalmore Dee Dram which is on sale at George Strachan's shop in Aboyne and a number of the hotels in the valley-you can also purchase supplies online here this link it is now available in London at Friarwood Fine Wine, 26 New Kings Road, London, and Tel 020 7736 2628. A significant contribution from each bottle sold will go to the River Dee Trust to help fund obstacle removal and other important salmon conservation work programmes currently underway. Please write to me, Ken Reid, with any news or reports of success to ken@riverdee.org and tight lines to all. Copyright FishDee Ltd March 2011.

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