First Grue Of Winter

There has been very little in the way of grue (small ice floes) in recent years but today the River Dee had the first grue of winter coming down. The River Dee usually gets grue most winters due to its shallow nature and well oxygenated water, however, grue has been all but absent in the past few years so it's good to see a "normal" winter occurrence for a change. Hopefully this cold water will continue and give the lower beats some much need fishing this spring.

Looking downstream over the River Dee in Aberdeen this morning.

Looking upstream from the same spot.

The last significant hard winter we endured was back in 2010 and it might just be a coincidence, but the fishing that year was the best it has been for a long time.Fingers crossed we get a real cold snap this winter and the fishing is back to something like it was a few years ago.

Looking downstream from the ADAA Bothy.

Looking upstream from the Bothy.

Thick ice along the banks of the river this morning.

River Don Opening Day 2016

The 11th of February saw the River Don opening it's doors to salmon anglers again after the winter and I ventured out on the Aberdeen Angling Association Kemnay beat with Bill Cook and Andy MacLennan. The water was in good shape and sitting around 1ft 5in but all that was landed were a few kelts and brown trout.

Mike Dutch, Bill Cook and Andy MacLennan fishing down the Dooker Pool on Opening Day at Kemnay.

We did hear of a fresh fish coming off the Kemnay Angling Club water which was encouraging and hopefully there is a good run of spring salmon this season after the poor runs in 2015.

High Water On The Dee And Don

Yesterday saw torrential rainfall hit both River Dee and River Don catchment areas. The spate could have been a lot higher it was not for the lack of snow on the hills. If snow melt was added to the already huge volumes of water, the damage could have been a lot worse.

On the River Dee, the spate peaked around 10pm and was reading almost 11ft on the Park gauge! This caused huge amounts of debris to make it's way down river. There were hay bales, trees, logs and countless amounts of rubbish all getting a washed into the river from the banks and undergrowth. The Dee's largest tributary, the Feugh, was roaring down. It peaked around 8pm and was almost 8ft on the Heughhead gauge. Further downstream in Aberdeen, the Aberdeen & District Angling Association Bothy was flooded. With already high water, around 11pm the river quickly rose about 8" in just over 15 minutes. This was enough to make the river burst it's banks and make it's way into the workshop area.

Just over the hill to the North Eastern side of the Cairngorms, the River Don spate peaked around midnight at just over 5ft 6in on the Haughton gauge. The River Don meanders it's way mainly through farmland and this causes it to colour up very quickly. Plenty logs and straw made their way downstream which were washed off from the fields and woodland.

These pictures are of the River Dee taken from Park Bridge and the lower Dee in Aberdeen.

Looking downstream from Park Bridge. Still about 7ft on the gauge this afternoon.

Upstream view from Park Bridge. The water has cut the corner through the trees on the right.

Looking towards the Altries beat. The pool below is Alfred's Pot which is shared with Tilbouries.

Riverside in Aberdeen looking towards the Bridge of Dee. Note the tide mark on the grass where the water had been only a few hour earlier.

A large log lies on the bank covered in straw. Looking downstream towards the King George VI Bridge.

Someone will be missing part of their fence today! Doesn't look that old either.

Still plenty water on the grass where the river burst it's banks.

The A.D.A.A Bothy which was under water last night and part of this morning. Luckily nothing was too damaged.

Where Is The Back End Run This Season?

I was out and about on the Middle Don at the Aberdeen Angling Association's Kemnay beat and later on down river at Manar. I fished from 11am-3pm at Kemnay and during that time I had heard of 3 coloured salmon landed but all earlier that morning. The water was in near perfect condition and carrying a nice peaty colour. Apart from a pull at my Kinermony Killer in the Upper Chapel and a swirl at my Sunray in the tail of the Dooker, I hardly seen any signs of fish present in the pools. Very unusual given the quality of the water we've had recently.

I received a call from Charlie asking if I fancied having a cast at Manar as there were no day tickets sold. Kemnay was really busy with several anglers in each pool so I strapped the rods on my motor and headed off downstream. We fished the Sheep Pool and Upper Wood Pools before heading down to the productive Chapel Pool. We both fish through it twice without a touch so we headed off back to the hut for a cold beer before fishing down the Sheep again. As we sat at the bench outside the hut, there was a big coloured fish showed half way down the pool. I changed my fly to a Swallow tied on a 25mm  brass bottle tube and made my way down to where the fish showed. I was casting quite square and retrieving the fly at a steady pace just to give the fly some movement as it is quite slow near the tail of the pool. A few cast later just as my fly came round onto the dangle, it was taken by a fish. It thrashed about on the surface before letting my fly go just as quickly as it grabbed it. I didn't see the fish but it was not the big one that showed earlier. Still, a bit of excitement on an otherwise frustrating day on the river.

That was about all the action we had for our afternoon so we packed up and headed home about 6.30pm just as darkness was closing in. We both spoke about the Don on the way home and were in agreement that there is very little sign of a back end run of salmon so far. All fish we've heard getting caught have been coloured. With the water we've had this past fortnight or so, Manar at this time of year at would usually have fresh fish entering the pools almost on a daily basis. Not so this year though. Given the great catches of July and August, could the back end run arrived early or will it arrive when the season has finished? Either way, the lack of fish this Autumn, especially for a back-end river like the Don is poor to say the least. One week of the season left so hopefully some arrive during that time to give anglers some sport to end their season.

Charlie fishing the Sheep Pool on the last day of the season 2011.

Pumphouse Pool - River Dee

Had a wonder down to the Pumphouse Pool on the River Dee during my lunch hour yesterday. The water is getting low but still not quite low enough to stop the Springers running over the shingle at the top of the pool. Not far away though. Not sure if the rain forecast next week will lift the river. Shall have to wait and see.

There was a big hatch of flies about 1pm, March Browns I think and the sea trout kelts and finnock were feeding readily on them. You could see them with polaroid glasses on from the viewing platform at the Pumphouse. I managed to get some action on video but you can't quite make out the fish under the surface. Here is the video I put together today of the pool from top to bottom.