Cairnton - River Dee

Back on the 14th September, I had a day on the magnificent Cairnton beat of the River Dee. This beat is kept in pristine condition by ghillie, Terry Paton and the staff on the estate. The fabled pools on this beat were made famous back in the 1930s by one of the pioneers of greased line fishing, Arthur Wood. There is just something magical about following in his footsteps and fishing the water where he made his name.

The view looking downstream from the hut on the top beat. 

A detailed map of the salmon pools on the Cairnton estate.

Upon arrival at the beat I was greeted by Terry in the hut and we sat down to discuss tactics for the day over a coffee. The river was sitting a a fine height for the beat and there had been several fish caught prior to my arrival on the Saturday so hopes were high. Terry suggested a two rod set up. one with a floating line and the other with something a bit heavier. This is exactly what I did. I was to start on the lower half of the beat and the other rod, Juan was to fish the upper part.

Looking down stream from Glisters. 

Looking upstream from the same position. 

My fish from Glisters.

The first pool on my allocated part of the beat was Glisters. My first choice was to fish the Float/Hover/Sink1 line with a Black Frances tube. This pool is a nice and narrow part of the river and can be easily covered from the bank. I began at the top of the pool and worked my way down but despite seeing a few fish showing, I failed to connect with any of them. I decided to change flies over to my trusty Sunray Shadow and gave the pool another run through before moving on. This change in tactics worked almost instantly and I was quickly into a fish. It was a nice wee grilse which it gave a good account of itself before coming to hand. A fine way to christen my new reel! After a quick photo it was safely returned.

Looking downstream towards Malt Steep.

Looking upstream towards Canary and Sandy Bay.

I was delighted have landed a fish so soon after starting but I was sure they would be more fish to be had given the conditions on the day. I ventured off down river to fish the Garden Run before having a cast in the Malt Steep. Although there were the odd fish showing these pools were fairly quiet and neither my France nor Sunray Shadow produced any further action so I headed off down do the Slat Vat pools and Invercannie before lunch.

Looking upstream from Invercannie towards Salt Vat.

Looking down through Invercannie up in the neck of the pool. 

I fished down through the Salt Vat pools and Invercannie without a touch although there were one or two fish splashing around in both pools. Invercannie especially, is a lovely cast and almost the whole length of the pool I was waiting for the line to go. Unfortunately, it never materialised but it was still a pleasure to fish it again.

Looking upstream from the upper beat hut at lunchtime. Not a bad view at all! 

At lunch, Terry advised that he had a nice fish out of the Ferroch pool which was also taken on a Sunray Shadow. This was good to hear and it buoyed us on for the afternoon session in which I was to begin in the famous Grey Mare pool and work my way down from there.

Looking downstream in the famous Grey Mare.

The Grey Mare is a very famous salmon pool, not only on the Dee but it is world renowned. Mainly due to the fact that A.H.E Wood kept this pool for his own personal use. He wouldn't have done that if it was not good! When I made my way down to the pool I immediately saw a few fish rise in the faster water up in the neck. I covered them with a Sunray Shadow but they weren't for the taking so I carried on down the pool. It was great to see a healthy stock of fish in the pools even though they were all mostly coloured fish. When I go salmon fishing, my main aim is to catch something so if that fish is a bit coloured then so be it. It takes none of the pleasure away from landing a fish. Fair enough, catching gravid fish later on in the season is not ideal but at this time of year you can't pick and choose what colour of fish you catch.

A.H.E Wood's gauge cut into the bank.

Next up for me was the Cottage Run. This is another famous pool on the beat and it is the one where A.H.E Wood made his gauge so he could see the river levels from the comfort of his study. The Cottage Run is a lovely cast, especially down at the tail. You can see why the fish like this part of the [pool and it is a good bet on where you would land a fish here. I had two runs through the pool using both the floating line and sinking line but the fish were not for taking so I headed off back tot he hut to finish for the day. Upon arrival to the hut it was good to hear that there had been a further two fish landed in the afternoon. Both by Terry and again on his Sunray set up. Not a bad result at all for the day.

Looking downstream from the tail of the Cottage Run. A good bet for picking up a running fish.

It was a pleasure to be back at Cairnton again and a big thank you to Terry Paton for inviting me over. It was great to get my first Cairnton salmon in the book. Maybe not my biggest fish ever but it was always a goal of mine to get one in the book at Cairnton so I can now scratch that of my bucket list. I'll look forward to returning again next year sometime. For more details on fishing the Cairnton beat please check out the link blow.

Cairnton Estate Website