I had my last outing on the River Dee for the 2017 yesterday. I was fortunate enough to be on the Ballogie beat and catches had been steady all week leading up to my day. The gauge on the Potarch Bridge was reading 1ft 3in on arrival in the morning so all the pools were in great nick.
A nice fish to start of my last day on the Dee for 2017.
There had been a bit of a frost early morning and the air temperature was still cold so there was no rush to get started. So after a good chat with Sean and Ian Fraser I finally headed off up the hut which over looks the Top Gannet pool to tackle up at around 9.00am.
The Ballogie fishing hut which over looks the Top Gannets pool.
The river was crystal clear so tactics for the day were more akin to spring fishing so I set up my 14ft 9in Guideline rod and teamed this up with a Guideline PT Scandi floating head and 5 inch per second versi leader. My fly of choice to begin with was the trusty Black Snaelda conehead.
Fishing down the upper part of the Top Gannets.
The lower half of the Top Gannets.
I made my way down to the pool and waded out to the starting position just where a large boulder breaks the surface near the neck of the pool on the Ballogie bank. I stripped off enough line to make a short cast before lengthening to my desired casting distance. I couldn't have made no more than 3 or 4 casts when the line went tight and all hell broke loose with a very lively fish. At first I thought it was much larger than it was due to the sheer power and doggedness of it but it soon showed itself and it was only just a coloured grilse. After a short but very spirited fight I manged to beach the fish which might have been around the 6lb mark. A fine way to start proceedings off.
My first fish of the day. A cock fish around the 6lb mark
I quickly released the fish and made my way back out to into the river to start all over again. I stripped off all the line required to cover the pool and made my cast. Once that cast was fished out I made another. This time, as soon as my fly hit the water it was grabbed by fish. This one felt much heavier than the last and it refused to break the surface to reveal itself. It made short runs, long runs, deep runs but it still wasn't for stopping and I just had to hold on tight and hope it stayed on. To my relief, after a few minutes battling myself and the current, the fish gave in and I managed to get the fish on the bank. It was a beast! A very large and deep set cock fish which I estimated to be around the 18lb mark. It was as deep a fish as I've seen for a long time and I could barely get my hand round the wrist of the tail. I quickly removed the hook from it's upper jaw and released the fish back into the river with minimal fuss. It was now only 9.30am and I had two fish banked. What a start to my day! Despite the presence of several fish in the pool I fished it through without another offer so it was down to the next pool which was the Lower Gannets.
My second fish of the day. An absolute beast of a cock fish around the 18lb mark.
Lower Gannents was looking good and I started at the neck of the pool just below the fast rush which comes down from the Middle Gannet. The fish tend to lie on the far banks so a long line was required in here to cover the likely lies. This pool was surprising quiet fish wise and I fished the whole pool out and only saw about 3 or 4 fish show. Needless to a say, I didn't get an offer in here so I made my way back up to fish the Middle Gannets.
Fishing down Lower Gannets. The sun had disappeared
The Middle Gannets is a tricky pool to cover effectively as there are several different speeds of current across the top half of the pool which makes it difficult to control the speed in which the fly come round at. It's still a very nice pool to fish and it keeps the mind aware of just how the fly is fishing. I didn't touch anything in here so I made my way back to the hut to re-think my tactics for the afternoon session.
Fishing my way down Middle Gannets.
I met Sean just as I was heading to lunch and was delighted to hear that there had been a total of five fish caught during the morning. This was pleasing to hear and I couldn't wait to get back on the water for another go. I was allocated the Slips and Flats for my afternoon so I made my way down to the water to start off in the Mid Slip.
Looking upstream from the Slips.
Looking downstream from the Slips.
There had been a salmon taken from the Slips in the morning and it was plain to see that there were a few fish splashing about in it. I kept faith in the same tactics which served me well during the morning but by this time the water had dropped an inch or two. This didn't effect my approach any but the fish were not so active as the were earlier on. I fished down the pool without an offer despite seeing a few fish showing in the likely spots. I just couldn't temp them with my offerings so I wound in and headed down to fish the Flats.
Fishing down the top part of the Ballogie Flats.
The Flats is a cracking pool to fish and I have done well out of here in the past which was good for the confidence. On my immediate arrival to the pool a big, coloured cock fish made himself known in the neck of the pool. As I felt the fish were not so active as earlier in the day I decided to change tactics so I swapped my floating line for a H/I/S1. I kept the same versi tip and fly but just thought fishing it deeper might have been required. I fished the top half of the pool without an offer but it felt the fly was fishing much slower which was ideal for the faster moving Flats pool. I reached the mid way part of the pool and I had a good offer from a fish. Unfortunately, when I lifted into it, the fish let go. At least I knew the change of set up was working. Despite the renewed confidence in my tactic I fished out the remainder of the pool without another offer. It was not about 4.45pm and I decide to call it a day. My last day on the Dee for 2017 was now over but I was pleased to sign off with a couple of fish from one of my favourite beats on the river.
The deadly Black Snaelda which was doing the business.
I've had a good season on the River Dee this year and it really has been pleasing to see so many fish in the pools up and down the whole length of the river from late spring onward. This can only bode well for future stocks and hopefully the offspring of this generation can come back in healthy numbers and help the River Dee get back up to where is should be in terms of it's annual catch. I'll certainly be back next year to do it all again and will look forward to my first outing of 2018 on 1st February. In the meantime, it's the River Don for me now until it finishes on the 31st October so with a bit of luck and water, there might be one or two more fish to report before my season concludes at the end of the month.
I'd just like to end this post by thanking all the ghillies who I've fished with this season, particularly Sean Stanton as without their help and expertise, my days on the river would not have been so enjoyable. I'll look forward to meeting up with them all again next season.
I have been on a bit of a roll recently and have been fortunate enough to land a few salmon for my time spent on the river. I landed a cracking cock salmon yesterday which was roughly around the 12lb mark and today I landed a hen salmon around 15lb. Both fish were in their spawning colours and were safely returned to the river.
A cracking male salmon in his full spawning outfit taken on a Black Snaelda at Ballogie.
A still from GoPro camera of the fish in mid air shortly before landing it.
A video from my GoPro camera which captured the action of playing the fish pictured above.
Although these fish are heavily coloured, you can only catch what takes your fly. If I could choose, I'd certainly take a nice clean sea licer over an old hen fish any day of the week but these fish are as equally important as the fresh run ones and careful handing is paramount to ensure they are returned to the river with minimal fuss.
Underwater release.
Hopefully these fish will make it to the spawning grounds safely in the next few weeks and do what nature intended them to do. The more salmon that make it onto the redds can only be a good thing and this will ensure the river populations maintain a healthy level.
A big, old hen salmon from the River Dee today. Estimated at 15lb. A Red Frances did the trick this time.
One of my favourite flies to use in the final few weeks of the salmon fishing season is the Snaelda. My particular favourite is the Black Snaelda. These are tied on 10mm and 14mm Sean Stanton Signature tubes and are fitted with an Eumer S cone.
The Black Snaelda
Another favourite of mine for this time of year is the Pink Franc N Snaelda. Again, tied on 14mm Sean Stanton Signature tubes. These are deadly and the takes can be ferocious!
Pink Franc N Snaelda
Sean has his own popular website and it's well worth a browse if you are on the look out for some top quality fly tying materials or to buy the flies themselves. Follow the link to his page by clicking here www.francnsnaelda.com
Red Frances
At this time of year it is hard to see past a Red Frances fly. i have tied these up on size 6 Fulling Mill Magni doubles and these are ideal if the water is on the low side and a bit more finesse is required.
I had a great time on the Ballogie beat of the River Dee this week where I was lucky enough to catch 5 salmon in just over a day's fishing. The water levels have been low recently but with a drop in water and air temperatures the fish seemed to be reacting to this and became much more willing to take the fly.
An underwater still of my salmon being returned on Saturday.
The first of my 5 fish came on Thursday. I was only able to fish for an hour but during that time I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time for a change. The water height was 8" on the Potarch gauge and my set up for the day was my 14ft 9in Guideline AWM rod and a Rio AFS floating shooting head. Attached to this was a 3.9 inch per second (ips) tip. I started in the Top Gannet and on only my 3rd cast of the afternoon I lifted into a nice fish. It was a coloured hen salmon of around 7lb and she was soon landed and sent back on her way after a quick photo. I managed to get the whole experience on my GoPro camera and I have attached the clip below. The fly was a 1/2" Red Frances tube.
My first fish on Thursday on only my 3rd cast! A 7lb hen fish taken on a Red Frances.
After fishing through the rest of the Top Gannets without another offer, I carried on down into the Middle Gannets. About half way down the pool I felt a fish take my fly but it was reluctant to turn with it. It just so happened I had been watching a Mikael Frodin YouTube video the night before on low water tactics. He had the same scenario with a fish in Russia where he let the fish to chew on the fly for several seconds before he felt it turn and take the fly properly. Only then he lifted into it and he duly landed the fish. With this fresh in my mind, I did the same. I let the fish to gently tug on the fly until my line had came out the current and straighten out. The fish reacted to this newly added tension and turned with my fly. I sharply lifted into it and after a spirted fight it was quickly landed and released. I also got this on my GoPro and have posted the clip below.
My second fish from Thursday. A 6lb hen from Middle Gannets. Also on the 1/2" Red Frances tube.
Thanks to another kind invite from Sean, I found myself back at Ballogie again on Saturday. This time I was able to fish the full day and I couldn't wait to get going. The air was cold in the morning and the fish took a while to switch on. I didn't start fishing until about 10am as we waited for the air to warm up.
My 7lber from the Top Gannets on Saturday ready for release.
I started out with the same set up as Thursday but the water had dropped to 6" on the Potarch gauge. I fished through all three of the Gannets pools without and offer so I headed back up to the hut for a re-think of my set up. I changed my tip over from a 3.9 ips to a to a 2.6ips and removed the Red Frances fly and replaced it with an All Black Snaelda but of the same size. I waded out to the next of the Top Gannets and within two or three casts I lifted into a strong fish. It was another hen and was roughly 7lbs again. I played it hard to minimise any unnecessary runs etc and it was soon beached and released back into the Dee again. Just fishing that wee bit higher up in the water made all the difference and my confidence was restored. I landed the fish about 11.50am and decided to have a bite to eat before heading off downstream to fish the lower pools on the beat.
On arrival to the lower part of the beat I met up with Sean and he advised me that there were two fish caught. One being a cracking cock fish of around 16lbs. Both were taken on the Pink Franc N Snaelda but I kept faith in my wee Black Snaelda and headed off upstream to begin in the Slips. About half way down the middle Slip I had a fish grab hold of my fly but it didn't stick unfortunately. That was to be the only action I had despite the presence of numerous fish in the pool so it was off on down to fish the Flats.
The fly that did the damage on Saturday - All Black Snaelda.
The Flats is a cracking pool and is lovely to fish a fly through in all heights of water. I had a fresh 10lber from here back in July and it fought like a demon due to the strong current so playing any fish in here is a challenge. I started out right at the top of the pool in the white water and began to work my way down the pool. Again sticking with the 2.6ips tip and Black Snaelda. I got about 20 yards down the pool when I had an almighty take! The fish thrashed about on the surface but I couldn't really get a glimpse of it. I tightened up on it and the fish began pulling back hard. Much harder than the smaller fish I had landed earlier. This fish wanted to stay deep and I was anxious about loosing it given the amount of submerged boulder in the pool. The fish pulled and ran up and down the pool but it was clever and used the current in it's favour. I tried to do the same and pulled hard against the fish all the while trying to make sure I didn't change the angle too much and pull the hook out. The fight went on for a good 7 or 8 minutes and I eventually had the fish ready for beaching. I reached down and got hold of a nice hen fish around 14lbs. I quickly removed the hook and returned her back into the river to continue her journey. I fished down the rest of the pool without an offer so decided to make my way back to the hut as it was about 4.30pm. I also managed to capture the action on my GoPro and have attached the clip below for anyone interested in viewing it.
A big hen salmon of around 14lbs ready to be released.
I got back to the hut and had a quick run down the neck of the Top Gannets but it didn't provide anymore action. I carried on down for one last go in the tail of the pool when Sean arrived. I was just about finished fishing the pool, or so I thought, when Sean told me to carry on into the lip just before it drops into the Middle Gannets. And would you believe it, just as my fly was swinging round in front of the white water, I had a good solid take. I lifted into the fish and it was on. The way the fish was pulling in the fast water, if I had lost it there and then I would have sworn in was a double figure fish. It was soon subdued though and Sean grabbed hold of a small grilse of no more than 3lbs! Despite it's size, it was very welcome and I was delighted to land my third fish of the day. A fish I would have not landed if Sean hadn't been there as I would have not fished that part of the pool. I will be from now on though, that's for sure! We carried on into the Middle Gannets but nothing was interested and I called it a day around 5.30pm more than happy with my day.
Ballogie ghillie, Sean Stanton about to release my last fish of the day. A cock fish of around 3lb.
Ballogie is a beat that is always good to me as I seem to do pretty well there when ever I fish it. It's a pleasure to fish knowing you are covering fish and this makes a big difference to the confidence. Several of the pool changed after Storm Frank but it's very encouraging to see a good head in all the pools.
The long season is now drawing to a close but it's good to see the beat pass last year's total, as have many of the beats on the river. Lets be honest, it wouldn't have taken much after the disaster on 2015! The totals for the Dee in 2016 up but overall, catches are still a long way off recovering to what they should be. At least it is heading in the right direction though and with one thousand or more fish caught this year than in 2015. Long may that continue and here's to a good run in 2017. Tight lines.
