On The Dee At Park

Today, I had my first outing of the 2014 season on the River Dee at Park. Heavy rain over night caused the river to rise sharply this morning and by lunch time it had risen about 10". When we arrived at the beat, the gauge was reading 46" and by lunch time it had risen to 54". It was also carrying a bit of colour which made it pointless fishing on really although I give it half an hour down in the Durris Stream but more in hope than expectation. All the rods gave up by lunchtime and retired to the hut for a few drams and a chat about all things fishing. Not how I had imagined my first day on the Dee this year to be but given the heavy rainfall which we have been plagued with all winter, I was hardly surprised to be honest.

Fishing aside, it was good to catch up with Keith the ghillie, Ken Reid and the regular rods again. Just a pity the conditions won the day but nothing we could do about that. High water, high winds and no fish sums up the day perfectly!

Here are a few pictures from this morning.

Fishing down the Castleton Pool. Due to the high water there were 2 rods fishing each pool today.

The tail of Castleton Pool looking downstream towards the House Pool.

Park House. Designed by the famous Scottish Architect, Archibald Simpson in the 1820s.

Durris Stream. A quality fly fishing pool but just a wee bit too high today for it to fish well!

A new mark on the Park fishing hut door with the big spate we had 3 weeks ago.

The beat gauge as I left was reading just a tad over 53". A big rise from 46" at 8.30am.