I was passing the famous Falls of Feugh yesterday during my lunch hour and filmed some salmon and sea trout trying to negotiate the falls after a wee rise in water during the night.
The foot bridge is an ideal platform to capture these magnificent creatures on their migration upstream to the spawning grounds.
I attended the annual Aberdeen & District Angling Association junior day at the privately owned Park Quarry Fishery in Aberdeenshire. It was organised by Stuart and Julia Fleming with help from the team of Orvis Pro Guides from the shop in Banchory and several other dedicated members of the Club. Around 20 or so under 16s attended on the day and their abilities ranged from complete novices to competent fly anglers. A BBQ with drinks and refreshments was provided along with essential tackle such as rods, reels, flies, lines and nets.
The water in Park Quarry Fishery is like no other fishery I've ever seen due to the clarity of the water. The beautiful, gin clear water requires stealth and delicate casting to temp it's Rainbow Trout or Blues to the fly. The gusty conditions on the day tested even the best casters and as a precaution all junior anglers were issued with sunglasses to protect their eyes from any wayward flies caught up in the wind.
Several of the kids managed to catch their first ever fish and to see the smiles when they returned to the BBQ area made the day all the worth while. At the end of the day, some kids had to be prized from the water as the enjoyed the day so much. We only hope they continue to enjoy their fishing and hopefully the seeds are sown for the some of the future generations of our sport.
A few pictures from Sunday.
A few juniors fish around the boat which unfortunately had to stay moored this year due to the windy conditions.
Looking across the Loch towards the BBQ and hut area.
Several juniors fishing the bay which seemed to have a good few fish milling about in it.
Conner proudly shows off his prized catch. A highly talented caster and angler for his age who is also keen as mustard. Definitely one for the future.
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.
Carlogie has to be one of my favourite places to fish on the whole of the River Dee and I was delighted to accept an offer to fish there for two days from well known Dee regulars and all round good guys, Dr Ade Warburton and Dr Patrick Taylor.
For several weeks prior to fishing, we exchanged emails etc in anticipation of the weather forecasts predicting much needed rainfall over the Dee catchment. The weekend before we arrived heralded the first spates over Deeside since mid June and with it came all the sediment and dust etc that had built up during the summer dry spell. This made the river quite coloured from late Saturday evening but it was very welcome and this allowed fish to run from the lower river and spread through-out the main system.
Ade, Bill, Patrick and I arrived at the beat on Monday morning with the gauge at Potarch Bridge reading 1ft 7in. The water was a really dark, peaty colour but we were buoyed by the fact that it was up and we were sure it would bring fish with it too. Not long after starting Ade landed the first fish of the week. A coloured grilse about 6lbs from the Lucky Hole. Around 11am, I had a thumping take from a fresh fish in the Mill Pool. It hammered my Sunray Shadow near the tail and it spent more time airborne than in the water!!! Unfortunately, after a minute or so it was off. It threw the hook whilst in mid air and there was nothing I could have done. I moved several other fish from the same lie with the Sunray but they didn't connect. I finished the pool and made my way to the hut for lunch and just in time to see Bill return a 7lb bar of silver from the Lucky Hole taken on a Cascade. Apart from moving a couple of fish mid afternoon nothing more was landed.
The next day, after a few drams and good craic the night before, I awoke bleary eyed but raring to go at 7.45am! I was drawn to fish March, Calm, Lucky Hole, Whin Bush and Flats in the morning and then head down to the Boat and Village Pools in the afternoon. The water had dropped a good bit over night but was still carrying a bit of colour. The morning session proved fruitless for me but Ade was on the score sheet again with a nice fish from the Mill Pool. After lunch I headed off to fish the Boat and Village Pools. As the water was quite low and slow moving, I opted for the Sunray. I fished all the way down both pools without moving a fish, although I did get a small brown trout about 6oz! I have never seen these pools so quiet and compared to last year it was chalk and cheese. The long dry spells of June and July probably didn't help matters. I headed back to the hut and whilst packing up my gear, I gave Patrick one of my friend Charlie's SS Assassin Sunrays. These deadly flies have accounted for numerous fish in the last 18 months and not long after tying it on, he landed a cracking fresh sea trout from the Lucky Hole. It put up a cracking fight before being released to continue it's journey.
As the evening wore on, I said my goodbyes and I headed off home knowing that the river would be in fine fettle for the rest of their week. Hopefully I will be back to try again next year and this time get a fish or two for the book. A great couple of days in good company, what more could you ask for?
Alan's Pool. Top of the beat. I started my day here on the Monday morning.
Long Haugh. This is the next pool down from Alan's and one of my favourites.
Pitslug. Has to be one of the most picturesque pools on the beat.
Rossachs. Another one of my favourite pools on the beat.
The Mill at Dess where the next pool takes it's name.
Mill Pool. I lost a fish in here and moved several others with a Sunray Shadow.
Jock Rae. My friend Charlie's favourite pool from the Dee bank.
March Pool. A wee taster of what's to come in the Calm Pool.
Calm Pool. The pool outside the Carlogie hut.
The Carlogie Hut.
Dr Patrick Taylor with a nice wee sea trout from the Lucky Hole.
Bill's fresh run 7lber from Lucky Hole. Caught on a #9 Cascade.
Lucky Hole and Whin Bush.
Flats. This pool always seems to hold fish mostly on the Kincardine side.
Boat Pool. One of the most productive pools on the beat.
Village Pool. The rain and thunder was overhead as I took this picture
A short video of Carlogie I made last year during my fishing in February.
