Flies For The Spring

It's that time of year again when my attention turns to re-stocking the tube fly boxes in preparation for the early spring fishing. I would mostly use tube flies of various sizes and weights depending on conditions but occasionally I'd give an Akroyd tied on a large single hook a swim.

I tend to keep the number of patterns I carry to a minimum just to reduce the temptation to chop and change flies all the time through out the day. Here are a selection of my go to patterns which see most action.

An old Dee favourite - The Akroyd

Gold Willie Gunns and Black & Yellows. You won't go far wrong with these in the Spring months.

Park Shrimp. All the colours associated with spring fishing. Deadly wee fly.

Maggie's Shrimp. Probably my favourite fly to use in the Spring.

Black & Chartreuse and Willie Gunn Franc N Snaeldas.

Drowned Mouse. This is a new addition to my box for next year but by no means a new pattern.

Catholes - River Tay

Last Saturday I was very grateful to be asked to fish a spare rod on the Catholes beat of the River Tay by expert angler Jim Coates as a thank you for tying him some of my KS Shrimp flies. I jumped at the chance to have another crack at the "Mighty Tay" and as there are a few fish getting caught at the moment I was easily sold on the idea.

The River Tay. Looking downstream from the outside the hut.

I set off from my home around 6.30am and made my way to the town of Stanley which is a several miles just outside Perth. It had been pouring with rain a few days prior to going and the river had started rising and was sitting around 2ft 8in on the Ballathie gauge when I arrived. The river would rise slowly all day but remaining clear throughout.

The hut on the Catholes beat.

After the usual meet and greet with ghillie and fellow rods over a cup of coffee I was allocated to fish from the boat with John for part of the morning as we would be spinning. I don't really do much spinning but I had bought a few Tobys and Salmos for the trip just in case. It's better to be versatile on a huge river such as the Tay just to maximise chances of catching something. Jimmy the ghille showed the other rods to their pools and came back to take us over to fish Black Stones pool from the boat. Black Stones is a nice bit of water and it fished very well with a 30g copper Salmo. Jimmy worked the boat down the pool but neither John nor I had an offer so Jimmy took me over to have a run down Back Dam and Eric's with the fly.

Anchored up in Black Stones during the morning session.

Looking down Eric's from Back Dam.

Back Dam and Eric's were very good for fishing the fly and fellow rod Danny said he'd had an offer near the tail of Eric's as we swapped pools. This was encouraging so I made my way down the pool with a float/intermediate shooting head and a 5ft fast tip. My fly of choice was a 1 1/4" Park Shrimp conehead. The pool was fishing beautifully and just where Jimmy had said the hot spot was I had a good pull. Sadly it didn't stick but at least I knew I was doing something right. I covered the lie several more times but to no avail.

Fishing down Eric's. A cracking pool for fishing the fly.

Looking downstream from the bank at Eric's.

Fellow rod Tom Brown was fishing down the pool behind me and we stopped just before lunch to have a good chat about all things fishing. Tom let me try out his Hardy Sintrix rod, which I have to say was a delight to cast. Meeting new and like minded people on the river banks adds to the whole experience in my opinion and I have made some good pals in this way. I will look forward to having a cast with Tom later on in the season.

Time for lunch.

Beat ghillie, Jimmy Chin ferries the rods across the river after lunch.

Looking upstream from Catholes Stream.

After a very enjoyable hour in the hut at lunch time, it was back to the fishing. I was to fish the Catholes Stream with John with Tom and Danny fishing Eric's and Black Stones. The Catholes Stream was another fine looking pool and despite the ever increasing gale force wind, I opted to have a first run down with the fly. I kept the same set up as before as "if it ain't broke" and all that. Despite my best efforts cating into the teeth of the wind, I didn't get an offer so I had another run down the pool but this time with a 28g silver Toby. Again my efforts proved fruitless. By this time it was nearing 5pm and with the strong winds and rising river, we decided to call it a day.

Tom Brown fishing Black Stones from the boat.

Fishing down Catholes Stream. A lovely pool for fly fishing.

I really enjoyed my trip to the Tay and I am very grateful to Jim Coates for letting me fish his rod. I was a fine change having a cast with the spinning rod and with the strong winds I'm glad I brought it along. Fly fishing was almost impossible at times and I did actually hook the back of my hood when a cast was grabbed by a gust of wind and blown behind me! It was only my third time on the river but I will look forward to returning to Tayside again in the very near future. The size and sheer power of this river is not to be underestimated but despite this, with the help of the talented ghillies and their boats, the pools can be covered with a lot more confidence.

Looking upstream from the tail of the Catholes Stream.

My next outing is on the River Spey again so fingers crossed for good conditions and for the fish to play ball! Tight lines.

Gearing Up For The New Season

Unusually, I have already had day's fishing this year which was on the River Tay. The Tay opened on the 15th January and it was great to get the cobwebs dusted off and back into a casting rhythm in good time for my local rivers, the Dee and the Don opening on the 1st and 11th of February respectively.

Like most close seasons, I spend the time tying flies and sorting out my kit. One difference this year is I have a new rod to play with. I purchased a 15ft Scott Mackenzie DTX Shooting Head rod and I must say that I am very impressed with it. It cast like a dream on the Tay and coupled with Scott's own Intermediate line, it flew out. I think I will enjoy using it!

My new 15ft Scott Mackenzie DTX Shooting Head rod. A dream to cast.

I also got myself some new running line and I opted for the Rio Gripshooter. I bought the 50lb breaking strain stuff and it comes in a bright yellow and orange colour. This was also very impressive and added several extra yards to my casting which will hopefully make the difference between catching a salmon and blanking.

The Rio Grip Shooter shooting line.

The patterns in my fly box have pretty much remained the same as last year with Franc N Snaeldas, Willie Gunns, Maggie's Shrimps and Park Shrimps dominating with a few other patterns including Ian Gordon's Swallow, Black and Yellows and Monkey Fly taking up the space left in my boxes.

Ian Gordon's Swallow Fly. A cracking fly for peaty water.

Several variations of Sean Stanton's Franc N Snaelda.

Calvin's Shrimp, Maggie's Shrimp and Park Shrimp. Invented by Ross MacDonald, these flies are a must for every fly box.

The Potarch Bridge at Ballogie where the Opening Ceremony will take place.

I am really looking forward to getting going again and hopefully, with a bit of luck, I shall have plenty "Bars of Silver" to show for my efforts. I shall be attending the River Dee Opening Ceremony at Ballogie again this year and will have plenty pictures and videos of the day to share so look out for them on my Blog next week.

Park Shrimp, Calvin's Shrimp and Maggie's Shrimp

I have been busy at the vice this week tying flies in preparation for the new season which starts in January 2015. Last year, I decided to limit the amount of patterns I have in my tube fly boxes to roughly 7 or 8. I have stuck to patterns I have confidence in and ones that have caught me fish before.

After the Franc N Snaelda patterns I posted last week, I've been tying up shrimp patterns this time round and theses 3 patterns are the ones I tend to stick with, not only in the early season, but during the back end too.

All 3 patterns were created by my pal Ross MacDonald and are proven catchers of Salmon. Ross has his own website called MacDonald Salmon Flies where you can purchase his flies. His distinctive style makes his flies stand out from any copies and it's certainly worth having one or two in your box.

L-R. Calvin's Shrimp, Maggie's Shrimp and Park Shrimp.

Park Shrimp. Named after the famous salmon beat on the River Dee here in Scotland. This is probably one of the most successful flies in recent times and there can't be many fly boxes where this pattern doesn't feature.

Calvin's Shrimp. Another cracking pattern and does well all year round but it excels in the later months of the season.

Maggie's Shrimp. My favourite of the three but that will change with which ever one catches me my next fish!

A Good Day On The River Don Today

I was out on the River Don today with my Dad fishing the Aberdeen and District Angling Association water. My Dad and I managed to get a fish each and both of them came out of the same lie but two hours apart. We didn't see much evidence of fish in the pools but there was a very brief spell when a few fish were showing and this possibly stirred up resting fish.

The pools were very quiet considering the water rose mid week for the first time since May and I never seen a fin until around 11.00am. This is very unusual for the Don at this time of year but I did hear there was quite a decent run of fish went through on Friday which is encouraging. The water was carrying a wee tinge of colour but a nice peaty whiskey colour rather than dirty which I quite like.

My good friend Charlie Robertson also managed to get a fish today from the Manar beat of the Don. An 8lb cock fish gave him a good tussle before being landed. His fish took an Ally's Shrimp which is a great fly for peaty coloured water and a proven catcher of fish. Well done Charlie. Good to see Manar picking up a few fish again after the low water we've had all summer. The rain forecast will help this week too.

My Dad's first fish of the season. A nice fish around the 7lb mark.

Back she goes to continue her journey to the spawning grounds.

A quick picture for the scrap book. Here I am posing with a nice fresh fish about 6lb.

Safely returned to fight another day.

Park - River Dee

Last Saturday past was my annual August day on the Park beat of the River Dee. The week started pretty well for Park with some good catches on Monday and Tuesday but like the river level, catches dropped away as the week went on. The river height on Saturday was reading 7" on the gauge and the water temp was 59f.

Just the one salmon landed by either bank and a sea trout was landed first thing from the South bank. I never had any luck myself this year and the majority of the rods out were the same. Slim pickings on the Dee at the moment. Hopefully things pick up soon and there is a good back end run.

Here are a few pictures from Saturday. Unfortunately, just more shots of the pools and scenery I'm afraid! Hopefully we can get some silver posted again soon when we get a lift in water on the Dee and Don.

On my way down to the beat in the morning.

The Park North fishing hut.

Greenbanks pool where I started off my day.

Castleton. The Park South hut on the far bank. Too slow here at this height.

The tail of Castleton and into the House Pool.

Duffers. The first pool of beat 6 which I fished after lunch.

Bakebare. Keith suggested I had a run down before heading back to the hut at 5pm.

The Bridge Pool with Park Bridge in the background.

Long Pool. At 5pm I went up to fish on beat 2.

Upper Kirks. Timed this photo well when a wee fish showed just in front of me.

Lower Kirks. Looking upstream towards the hut on the South bank.

14lb Springer From Manar

My friend Charlie landed this 14lb sea liced springer from the Chapel Pool on the Manar beat of the River Don yesterday. The fish took a 1" Park Shrimp tube fly fished on a floating line and 10ft fast sink tip.

Some cracking salmon being landed just now after the recent spates and it's good to see fish are now making their way up river. I was out on Friday night for a few hours and didn't catch anything but a rod fishing the Aberdeen Angling Association water at Kemnay landed a 14lb springer. Some good sized fish about at the moment and hopefully this continues.

A quick picture before release of Charlie's 14lber beauty from the Don. Sea lice present on the wrist of the tail.

Flies For The Spring

I've been busy at the vice lately and have been tying up all the usual patterns for fishing the Spring on the Dee and Don. Tying flies is a great way to pass time during the dark nights and to restock the fly box for the season ahead. As usual I have tied up plenty, probably more than I'll use, but when fishing deep  early in the season, there is always a chance of snagging up and losing your fly. Here are some flies I've tied. They are tied on a mixture of Copper, Brass and Aluminum tubes, bottle tubes and plastic tubes. Some with cones, some without. Hope you like them.

Dee Monkey. This has been tied on a silver Yuri Shumakov bottle tube and has a black Eumer cone head. The Scandinavians introduced this pattern to Scotland and I'm glad they did! Catches lots of fish and fishes well all season, not just in Spring.

Willie Gunn Snaelda. Tied on a 1/2" Copper tube, it also has a black Eumer cone head for added weight and stability.

Kinermony Killer. I've tied this on a 1 1/4" brass tube. A proven catcher of fish on the River Spey. Not fished these in the Spring but will be giving them a swim this February coming.

Tummel Monkey. Devised by expert angler, Donnie Whiteford to replicate the deadly Orange/Gold Rapala lure. I've tied this on a 1 1/2" copper tube. Ross Macdonald had this as his fly of the month in the Trout & Salmon magazine last month. It would not be in there if it was not a catcher of Salmon.

Gold Bodied Willie Gunn. Probably the most famous fly ever and one that catches scores of Salmon through out the season but it's particularly deadly during the Spring months. A must for any fly box.

Alistair. A fly designed on the Helmsdale river and one that catches plenty fish all over. I know a few good anglers on the Don who use nothing more than this fly during Spring and do very well. I love the simplicity of this fly and one I will be using a fair bit in 2013.

Black And Yellow. Another must have pattern for the Dee in Spring fishing. This fly accounts for numerous fish every year on every river. The old ones still hold their own against the new patterns.

Park Shrimp. Last but certainly not least! This fly has a huge following and was designed by Ross MacDonald. It catches tons of Salmon and is found in nearly every Salmon fisherman's fly boxes. It's a fly I've done well with and I always carry a few where ever I'm fishing.