Green Highlander Variant

Although not a fly I've used much, I tied up this Green Highlander variant to try out next season. I tied up a couple very similar last year too if I remember correctly but never used them. Since my fly boxes are re-stocked for Spring already, I'm just tying up a few one offs. I don't really use any flies with green in them but this one looks nice. We shall see what Salmo Salar thinks!

Green Highlander Variant tied on a Yuri Shumakov tube.

A front on view showing the profile of the fly from a different angle.

The dressing is as follows:

Brass Yuri Shumakov Long Range Tube
Rib: Glo Brite Lime Green #12 (wound into grooves on tube)
Underwing: Orange Templedog, Orange Krystal Flash. Yellow Templedog, Yellow Krystal Flash
Wing: Green Arctic Fox
Hackles: Orange Badger Hackle Over Yellow Cock Hackle
Jungle Cock Cheeks
Black Eumer Conehead.

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.

Royal Deeside Today

I went out for a drive with my son today and we headed over to Royal Deeside. At this time of year you can get some great pictures with all the trees in their Autumn colours and many kinds of wildlife on show. There was a few Salmon showing in some of the pools we passed but, try as I might, I just could not get any decent photos of them jumping. It seemed everywhere I pointed the camera, a fish would show above or below where I was focused! Here are some of my pictures from today.

Several male Pheasants feeding in a field near Aboyne.

A pair of female Pheasants feeding.

The Irrigation pool on the Birse beat of the River Dee. Cracking looking pool. Never fished at Birse but another lovely part of Deeside.

The Lorne pool on the Aboyne Castle beat. This is a great spot to look for Red squirrels in the woods out of shot to the left but I didn't see any today.

Looking upstream from the Sluie beat. The pool below is the Kelpie. I have fished the Sluie beat a few times and I will be again. Nice part of the river near to the Potarch Hotel.

Not a picture from Deeside but a nice view towards the village of Hatton of Fintray. The River Don flows through here and is exceptional for Brown Trout.

Cairn O' Mount Today

I passed over the Cairn O' Mount on my way from Fettercairn where I was working this afternoon. The clear skies made for some breath-taking views toward the sea and I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a few pictures along the way. I stopped a short drive along the road at Glen Dye to take a more pictures of the scenery there too. The Dye is a lovely little river but has a big part to play during spawning time. It's a tributary of the River Feugh, which itself is the biggest tributary of the Rive Dee. Salmon and sea trout run this picturesque river given good high water conditions and many will run the Dye which enters the Feugh at Strachan, just outside Banchory. Here are a few pictures from today.

Looking South East from the lay-by on Cairn O' Mount. Stunning view.

Clachnaben on the right and the River Dye to the left of the picture.

The road bridge spanning the River Dye at Glen Dye. Nice spot to stop for lunch.

The Falls of Feugh near Banchory. I wonder how many times this place has been photographed? Didn't see any Salmon leaping today.

Lovely Autumnal colours in full bloom. I was looking downstream towards the mouth of the Feugh where it enters the River Dee.