Another Season Over On The River Dee

Well, that's another season come and gone on the River Dee. It has been a hard slog for many beats this year with a distinct lack of salmon appearing in the catch returns. However, I do think that there was more fish in the pools than the catches suggest but it has by no means been anywhere near as good as it should be. It may have something to do with Storm Frank and the havoc it caused at the end of December 2015 or it may be something else entirely? Who knows? Whatever the reason, it has been difficult to stay positive at times but if you were in the right place at the right time then there was fish there to be caught.

Despite the doom and gloom so prevalent up and down the valley, I have had a decent enough season considering. I have picked away each time I have been out and managed to connect with something on most occasions recently. This is in no small part down to a few ghillies up and own the river who, without their generosity I would have not been half as successful as I have been. They know who they are and for that, I you all very much indeed. Time t put the feet up with a dram or two before we start all over in a couple of months time!

The season finished on the 15th October and I was fortunate enough to find myself fishing on the Ballogie and Carlogie beats of the river thanks to an invite from head ghillie, Sean Stanton. Water conditions were ideal and I managed to land a few fish for my couple of days. Just the same as Friday, the Float/Hover/S1 and Pink France N Snaelda proved to be the killer fly for me. It was nice to bow out for 2019 with a few fish on the book.

A 5lb Grilse from the March Pool at Carlogie.

A 7lb hen Salmon from the Boat Pool at Carlogie.

My last fish of the 2019 season. A feisty cock fish around the 5lb mark from the Top Gannet at Ballogie.

Two Salmon From The River Dee

I had a day on the River Dee last Saturday for the first time in a few weeks. The water was sitting at a great height for the beat at around 1ft 4in on the gauge ad it was running clear. I was delighted to land a salmon and grilse for my efforts with both fish fresh as they come. The first fish I landed was around the 12lb mark and the second was a perfectly formed grilse around 6lbs. Both fish fought like tigers and had my Hardy Cascapedia reel singing a lovely tune!

Afresh salmon around the 12lb mark ready for release. 

A big scar on the salmon's flank. Most likely caused by a seal.

A lively 6lb grilse from the Bend taken on a Sunray Shadow.

Another photo of the same fish as above.

Carlogie - River Dee

I had a day on the Carlogie beat of the River Dee last Saturday under the guidance of head ghillie, Sean Stanton. Carlogie has to be one of my favorite beats to fish purely down to the peace and seclusion of the pools and also the quality of the fish available in the right conditions. Carlogie is more notable as prolific low water beat but I much prefer it when the water is high and the fish are confined to just tow or three pools. On Saturday I was lucky enough to be there when conditions were near as perfect as I could have wished for.

A cracking fresh run River Dee springer about to be released back into the water. 

On arrival tot he beat in the morning, the Potarch Bridge gauge was reading 4ft 6in but running clear after a recent spate due to snow melt. Despite the presence of snow melt water, the water temperature had warmed up during the course of the week and was hovering around the magical 40f mark which seems to get fish running.

Looking upstream from the seat overlooking the Village Pool. 

As the water was on the medium to high side, I opted to set up with my 14ft 9in Guideline AWM matched up with a Guideline I/S1/S2 shooting head with a 10ft 7ips versi leader. My fly of chose initially was a 1 1/4" Black and Yellow conehead.

Fishing down the Village Pool during the morning session. 

I started my day off in the Boat and Village pools. These are both cracking high water pools and offer anglers a great chance of hooking a fish. My run through the Boat Pool proved fruitless but I did manage to land a big kelt from the Village Pool which I initially thought was a fresh fish the way it was running about all over the pool. Sadly it wasn't but at least I knew my tactics were working reasonably well.

Looking downstream from the bench at Pitslug. 

After fishing the Boat and Village Pools I made my way up river to have a cast in the Pitslug Pool. The Pitslug is another good high water pool on the beat and can be very productive at most heights of water too. Sean had pointed out the likely lie in the pool at this height of water and I had this fresh in my head as I made my way down the pool.

An underwater still of the Chartreuse Monkey in action. You can easily see why the Salmon love them!

Pitslug is a fairly deep pool and my I/S1/S2 line with the 7ips tip was fishing well. I had not ling started fishing down the pool when I let my fly swing a bit too far into the bank and it was snagged up. Try as I might, I just couldn't shift it and the leader eventually gave way taking my Black and Yellow tube fly with it. I attached a new bit of fluro carbon and decide now was a good time to try out a different fly. I opted for a 1" aluminium Chartreuse Monkey this time. I began fishing again and was soon down to the hot spot pointed out by Sean earlier in the day. I could have not had anymore than half a dozen casts when the line tore off across the stream. Exactly where Sean said there would be a fish lying! I firmly lifted into what felt like a very strong fish and held on tight. It pulled hard as it went back and forth across the pool but all the while staying deep. It just wasn't for showing itself. I was 99% sure it was a fresh fish but I decided to wait before calling Sean for back up as it was lunch time and I didn't want him to come all the way up just to net a big kelt.

Well worth the wait! Posing with a cracking fish from the River Dee.

After a struggling to subdue the fish in the heavy current I finally decide to give Sean a call. By now it was well into lunch time and Sean was sitting at home enjoying a sandwich. He called Ian Fraser, the ghillie from Commonty as he was close by and Ian arrived just in time to slip the net under a beautiful springer. He quickly weighed it in the net and it tipped the scales at 13lb. After a quick photo it was safely released back into the Dee to continue it's journey. What a fish to open my account with!

Back he goes. Doing my bit for Catch and Release. 

Ian and I sat for a while chatting on the bank but as it was only just 2pm, we thought I'd better give it another run through in case there was another fish lying around. My second run through the pool proved fruitless but after landing that fish I was more than happy to settle for just the one for my day.


Next up for me is a trip to Tayside and fingers crossed I can replicate my success on the Dee down there too.

Springer From Carlogie

I had an hour's fishing on the River Dee at Carlogie this afternoon thanks to ghillie, Sean Stanton and I was fortunate enough to land a lovely springer of around 6lb from the Boat Pool. My set was my 15ft Mackenzie DTX Shooting Head rod with a matching floating line and a 3.9 inch per second tip. The fish took a 3/4" Monkey Fly tied on an aluminium tube on what was only my 3rd cast after starting! The river was sitting at around 1ft 10in on the Potarch Bridge gauge and the wind was blowing a gale!

I seem to be enjoying a lucky streak at the moment and long may it continue. It makes all the difference being in the right place at the right time when the fish are running and there were plenty fish running through the beat whilst I was there. Hopefully they'll keep on coming!

A lovely fresh fish from the Boat Pool at Carlogie.

The Monkey Fly wedged in the scissors of the fish.

Wester Elchies - River Spey

Wester Elchies that way!

On the 16th of this month I had a day's fishing on the lovely Wester Elchies beat of the River Spey with my Dad. We were blessed with a rise in water a few days before our arrival and hopes were high that we might connect with a fish or two. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be despite the pool holding good numbers of resident fish. The fish, as per usual this time of year on the Spey so I'm told, are not keen on taking a fly but we covered plenty of them as best we could. Although we caught nothing we had a great day and it was the first time my Dad had fished the Spey in 20 years. As neither of us had any joy, I won't bore you with a long winded report so I have just wrote a comment below each photo giving the name of the pool etc.

Throwing a long line across the Brock Pool. My set up here was my 14ft 9/10 Hardy Demon rod and a 55ft Carron Jetstream Spey line.

Water height for our day was 11". The river dropped about 6" over night.

Wester Elchies pools from top of the beat to the bottom.

Looking upstream to the upper most pool on the beat, Delbreck.

My Dad and I fishing down Brock just before calling it a day in the evening.

Horse Hole.

Just a small pool/run at this height but I'm lead to believe it fishes well in high water.

Clarnicks pool sign.

Looking downstream from Clarnicks.

Looking upstream into Clarnicks from midway down Delene.

Fishing down Delene. A lovely cast and a pleasure to fish the fly through.

My Dad fishing down Pol Ma Cree with the Delagyle beat hut on the opposite bank. 

Looking down Pol Ma Cree.

The top fishing hut at Wester Elchies.

Looking upstream into the Delagyle Pool from the lower hut.

The lower fishing hut at Wester Elchies.

Looking downstream into Gene Tree from the lower hut.

Fishing down the Ryhind with the Big Pig stone mid picture. The wading in here is very tricky in places but well worth the effort. 

My Dad fishing LittleTurn

Another photo of my Dad fishing down the Little Turn.

Looking downstream in Pol Shuan.

A bit further down Pol Shuan.

Looking across to Aberlour and Craigellachie from the road leading down to the Wester Elchies beat.

Looking downstream from the Boat Pool towards the suspension bridge over to Aberlour.

For more info on fishing at Wester Elchies please have a look at their website by following the links below. Sam Bremner, the ghillie is very helpful and will do his best to put you onto a fish. It's well worth a visit and the fishing can be fantastic during the Spring and Summer months. I shall certainly be looking forward to my next visit to the beat in the near future. Tight lines!

http://www.wester-elchies.co.uk/


FishPal - Wester Elchies

Carlogie - River Dee

At the beginning of August I had my annual couple of days fishing on the Carlogie beat of the River Dee as part of my good pal Ade Warburton's week. This is a trip I always look forward to and the banter on the run up the the fishing is great. I was fishing the Monday and Tuesday again this year and just as it was last year, the water was very low. I have attached a link to the same trip last year to see the comparison with the pools after Storm Frank had his way with Deeside. Carlogie 2015

Looking across the Calm Pool from the car park outside the hut.

Plenty beer and whisky around during this trip!

I arrived at the Greenlands cottage on the Monday morning around 8am and found the place was still in darkness. The lads were still in their beds from the night before after sinking a few drams so it was just a case of wakening them up as there was fishing to be had! After a cup of coffee (or two) and a breakfast roll in was off down to the Calm Pool hut.

The Carlogie hut which over looks the Calm Pool.

We arrived at the hut to begin our fishing at around 9.30am. We had a dram to toast the fishing in and made a draw for the pool were to be allocated for the morning session. I was drawn to fish the Clay Pot, Willow Bed and Boat pools for my morning so I tackled up with my 14ft Hardy Demon, floating shooting head and 10ft of 12lb maxima. No need for a tip in such low water conditions. My initial fly of choice was a #12 Arndilly Fancy.

Fishing into the Lucky Hole and Whin Bush.

Looking upstream into the Flats from the tail of the Clay Pot. I saw a huge fish jump in here which I estimated it to be around 25lb plus!

The Clay Pot has changed slightly after the Storm Frank floods in December and it has changed for the better in my opinion. The pool has a lovely even flow through it and it seems to look like it will hold fish, especially in low water like we were experiencing for the beginning of our trip. I worked my way through the pool and I immediately had several parr take my fly. Not what you want to catch really but it is pleasing to see such an abundance of juvenile fish present in the river. Other than a few more parr and a greedy trout about the 1lb mark, my run down the pool proved fruitless as far as salmon were concerned so it was off a bit further down stream to the Willow Bed.

Looking down the Willow Bed.

The neck of the Willow Bed.

The Willow Bed, in my opinion is a nice wee stretch of water. I saw a few fish in here despite the low water and this was encouraging. The top of the pool has a bit of depth to it and the white water looked like it might hold a fish in such a height of water. I covered all the obvious lies and runs but nothing too a liking to my offerings so I made my way back to the hut. After a quick drink it was off down river to fish the Boat pool.

Looking upstream from the Boat Pool with the Willow Bed in the distance.

Looking across to the Kincaridine hut from the Boat Pool.

Fishing down the neck of the Boat Pool. A good few fish around in here but proving difficult to tempt.

The Boat Pool is one of the most productive pools on the beat. It has everything you'd want in a salmon pool whether it'd be depth, fast water, glassy lies or good flow for fishing the fly. You name it, the Boat Pool has it. It also holds fish which is always an attraction for any salmon angler. I started off up to the neck of the pool just opposite the Kincardine hut and began to work my way down from there. Fish were splashing everywhere! Fresh fish mostly but with the odd older fish mixed in. I seemed to have stumbled upon a good run of fish moving through the pool. My excitement and concentration levels had risen enormously and I fished my way down the pool expecting the line to go tight on every cast. Unfortunately it didn't happen despite the volume of fish present. They just wouldn't be tempted by anything I threw at them and the run of fish soon passed and the pool went fairly quiet again about 30 minutes later. I couldn't believe they weren't for the catching and I trundled off back to the hut fro lunch ready to ponder my next move over a roll and a beer.

A Roe buck looking to cross the river at the Boat Pool. It saw me and ran away before it could attempt it.

We don't really have a set stopping time for lunch as such but we gathered briefly to discuss the morning's efforts and top up the dram glasses. There had been a fish caught by Ade which was good to hear and also there had been a few which were lost too. Everyone reported the same though, that there were fishing motoring through the beat all morning. The catches on the FishDee pages didn't reflect this but the fish were certainly there in decent numbers.

Looking across Pitslug where there is now a shingle bar running down the centre of the pool. A real shame as it was a nice bit of water.

Looking up the "Long Haugh" which is now just a fast run rather than a pool like it used to be until the flooding.

Having a cast in the Long Haug just on the off chance of encountering a fish.

I was to fish the top pools of the beat in the afternoon session so after a quick bite to eat it was off up to fish Rossicks. In the past, the upper pools consisted of Alan's, Long Haugh and Pitslug but due to Storm Frank these pools are no longer there. Alan's pool is still there but the bank is high above the water and it's not the easiest pool to fish correctly. Fishing Rossicks however, is always a joy and the fly fishes round beautifully. It's another one of those pools where you expect an offer every cast. It wasn't to be for me on this occasion though despite a good few fish present in the upper part of the pool so it was off down to fish the Mill.

Fishing my way down Rossicks on the Monday morning

Looking over the the mill at Dess where the pool takes it's name from.

On arrival to the Mill pool I noticed there was a Dess rod fishing the neck of the pool so I made my way back up to fish Rossicks again to pass the time while I waited for the Dess rod to fish through. My second run down Rossicks was also fruitless so I carried on downstream into the Mill.

Fishing down the Mill Pool. Sadly the old fishing huts which were situated on the Dess bank are no linger there after the floods.

About half way down the Mill Pool opposite the old Fir tree.

Looking upstream from the tail of the Mill Pool.

The Mill Pool is one of the prettiest pools on the river in my opinion. With the secluded banks sheltered by tall, matures trees and the old Mill over the water at the top of the pool, I can't think of a finer place to cast a fly. From a salmon point of view, the pool ain't half bad either! With the low water conditions there seemed to be a few fish taken resident up in the white water at the neck of the pool. These were easily covered with just a short cast and I covered the lies several times before moving on downstream. The fish were not playing ball but I seemed to have encountered the tail end of the run of fish I saw earlier on in the Boat pool because there was a steady stream of fish moving through for a good 20 minutes or so. I got to about half way down the pool opposite a big Fir tree on the Carlogie bank and I did get a good pull on my fly. For some reason it didn't stick but it was an encouraging sign that my fly was fishing as it should. By the time I had fished out the pool it was close on to 5pm so I made my way back to the hut.

Fishing down Jock Rae. A delightful cast at this height and plenty fish around to keep the concentration going.

After a few beers and a chat about the day's fishing I decided to have a go in Jock Rae and fish my way down through the March and Calm Pool. These pools were all holding fish in the low water but neither of us managed to land any of them during the day. Rory did have hold of four but sadly they all came off. Not ideal and not helped by the fact the opposition rod found this rather amusing.

Looking upstream in Jock Rae towards Coronation and the Mill Pool further upstream.

Jock Rae is a cracking wee pool and due to the change of shingle at the Carlogie side, it's very easily fished. It just requires a very short cast to cover the deeper part of the pool where the fish lie. I crept my way down the pool covering all the likely spots but the only fish to show interest in my fly were parr. If you let the fly swing round far enough they were snapping at the fly every cast just about.

The March Pool looking downstream into the Calm Pool.

Next up was the March Pool. Another short pool and really just a run at the top of the Calm Pool. There were also a few fish holding in the white water here where shallow wading and long casts are the order of the day here as to not spook the fish. I knew I was covering fish but they were still playing hard to get so I carried on down river into the Calm Pool.

Ade fishing down the Calm Pool whilst I enjoy a cold beer by the river.

Musker's Fancy No.2 dressed as per the description in Frederick Hill's book about fishing at Carlogie.

I decided to change flies and opted for a Musker's Fancy tied on a low water size 8 single. the Musker's Fancy was invented but Captain Musker who was the fishing tenant her in the late 30s/early 40s. It was described as the best low water fly bar none in those days so why shouldn't it be today? Anyway, I worked my way down the pool concentrating on the area out from the Carlogie hut where we saw plenty splashing about earlier on in the day. I did get hold of a fish from the pool but it wasn't a salmon, it was a greedy wee trout about 3/4lb but it nailed the Musker's Fancy and this gave me confidence in the fly. The rest of the pool didn't produce any offers and I called it a day about 9pm and retired back to the hut for a well earned beer.

A rainbow over the Carlogie. this was the start of a night of heavy rain which would cause the river to rise. Just a pity it was the evening I was leaving!

Day 2 on the beat was much and such the same. Plenty fish showing albeit not as many as the Monday but they were proving very difficult to tempt. We started very early on Tuesday morning and Ade manged to score with a lovely fresh grilse from Jock Rae at around 4.30am. It just goes to show that the early bird does indeed catch the worm (or fish in this instance!). That was to be it for the day sadly. I couldn't tempt any fish to my own rod although I did have a couple of half hearted takes in Jock Rae and the Calm Pool, most probably from running fish just nipping at the fly as it passed their noses.

Philip Black with a lovely fish from the Mill Pool on Wednesday afternoon after a good lift in water levels during Tuesday night.

It was great to be back at Carlogie especially meeting up with Ade again. It's always a great laugh and the fishing is a bonus. The water went up significantly on the Tuesday night and the remaining guys left fishing the remainder of the week scored well and they finished up with 11 in total which is a good score. Friday proved to be the best day with 6 landed as well as a few sea tout. Just goes to show that a wee bit more water can certainly get the fish excited and happy to hit a fly harder. Hopefully next year I get a bit more luck with the river levels as I always seem to miss out on the water when I visit Carlogie. Conditions are always much better when I've left! I won't manage to break this jinx which seems to follow me around at Carlogie until next Spring but I will be ready to go again when the time comes and with a bit of luck I will hopefully find myself in the right place, at the right time for a change. Tight lines.