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

Cairnton - River Dee

Last week I was fishing on the Cairnton beat of the River Dee. I had booked it way back in January and with it being such a famous beat I thought I'd better give it a go. The beat was made famous by Arthur Wood in the early part of the 20th century when he was the fishing tenant on the estate. He was the pioneer of "Greased line fishing" and developed his technique right here on the banks of the River Dee. He was a master angler and during his tenure here he caught in excess of 3000 Atlantic salmon to his own rod. Bearing in mind they only fished until June in those days too. It must have been some place!

Looking upstream from the hut on the top beat which over looks the Upper Ferrochs pool.

They say first impressions last and it was certainly was true for Cairnton as I was immediately struck by the immaculate gardens and paths down to the fishing hut. The banks were also looking very good and I struggled to stay below the 10mph speed limit set by the beat as I eagerly meandered my way along the road to the hut.

Following in the footsteps of A.H.E Wood.

I arrived  the beat around 8.30am and was met by ghillie, Brian Brogan. Brian has a wealth of knowledge and knows his beat inside out. When he said we had a good chance of catching fish today that was all the encouragement I needed. The gauge was reading 5" and was falling away slowly after a lift late on the previous week. Brian suggested that small rods in the 12-13ft foot range would be ideal and floating lines with a short intermediate tip would be ideal. With that in mind I set up my 13ft Hardy Uniqua with a 8/9 Rio Scandi head and a 5ft intermediate tip. My fly, an #13 Executioner, was chosen by Brian so that's what I tied on as I firmly believe in taking as much advice from the ghillies as possible. After all, they are the ones on the river every day and know what works and when. I also set up my 12ft 6in Guideline LPXe and matched this up with an 8/9 Rio AFS and a Rio 1.5ips versi leader. A #11 Cascade was the fly of choice for this set up.

The Grey Mare. A salmon pool which is steeped in history.

I was drawn to fish on the upper beat. This made my first ever cast at Cairnton was to be in the famous Grey Mare pool. Not a bad place to start. Incidentally, Mr Wood kept this pool to himself when he fished here all those years ago and I can see why. Brian pointed out the hot spots and talked me through the wading lines etc before tending to the other guest upstream. I began at the fast water at the neck of the pool and a small grilse made itself known just on the other side of the main current. I covered the lie as best I could but to no avail. On fishing down the pool there were a few older fish showing as I went. Despite having the feeling that a fish would take at every cast, nothing took a fancy to my offerings so Brian showed me down to he next pool.

The Cottage Run. 3 grilse were landed in quick succession by a rod fishing on the Middle Blackhall bank just before I arrived at the pool.

The next pool I was to fish was the Cottage Run. The car park for this pool was directly opposite the famous rod room which was built by Mr Wood when he had the fishing here. Brian asked if I would like to have a look around and I he didn't need to ask me twice! When you enter the room you just cant help but to think back to when Arthur Wood and his guests would have been sitting around the table discussing the fishing or who caught what and where.

A.H.E Wood's famous rod room at Cairnton.

Some of the relics on display in the rod room including boxes of his favourite fly, the Blue Charm.

Mr Wood kept meticulous records of every salmon caught during his time at Cairnton.

The display cases show off some of his prized fishing gear. The Blue Charm fly which was used extensively at Cairnton back then has probably caught more fish than any other fly on this fabled beat. These rightly take pride of place in the cabinet and display on the wall. The old gaffs hanging on the wall must have been well used too as salmon were certainly not in short supply in those days. Large wooden wheels are fixed to the wall and these were used to store and dry off the old silk lines which were commonly used then. They tended to sink when wet and it was greasing these lines to make them float that made Arthur Wood famous. The old catch records lie on the table and even just having a quick flick through you can see just how abundant the salmon were back then. Days of 9 or 10 in February were not uncommon and most seasons (Feb - June) consistently produced hundreds of fish. It would be great to travel back in time and have a day on the river just to exactly what it was like.

A frame containing all sizes of Blue Charms. 

As I arrived at the Cottage Run, the rod on the opposite bank shouted over that he had 3 grilse in the space of an our earlier that morning. All took a small #16 Ally Shrimp. I was hoping that some of his good fortune might transfer across the river and on to me. I fished down the pool eagerly anticipating a salmon having my fly. I fished through all taking lies that Brian had pointed out without a touch but just as I got to the tail of the pool, as fish grabbed my fly. It was a short, but sharp tug on the line but for some reason the fish didn't hook up. Most probably a fish running and my fly got in the way. Unfortunately, the rest of the pool, as well as it was fishing, produced nothing more so it was off upstream again to fish Upper Ferroch before lunch.

Looking downstream from the neck of Upper Ferroch. Not a bad view at all!

The top fishing hut at Cairnton over looks the Upper Ferroch pool and whilst tackling up in the morning there were several fishing showing in it. I waded out into the top of the pool and as soon as my first cast hit the water it was snaffled by a fish. Sadly, it was grabbed by the salmon's cousin - a brown trout but at least it got the heart going for a split second or two. It was swiftly returned unharmed and I carried on down the pool. The rain began as I was adjacent to the and despite the clear presence of numerous fresh looking fish I just couldn't temp any of them. This was as good a time as any to stop for a bite to eat.

The interior of the well equipped hut at Cairnton. A nice big window to watch the river go by too.  

After lunch I was to fish the lower part of the beat. I knew what the pools were like down there having fished some of them from the Middle Blackhall side back in May. The river was low then too so I had a rough idea of what to expect and where the fish might be lying. Brian took me down and showed me onto the water. First up for me was a pool called the Spout.

Fishing down the Spout after lunch.

The Spout is a narrow pool which cuts through the bedrock which forms both banks of the river here. It was just a short cast required to cover the pool effectively. Brian advised changing to a heavier sinking tip in here due to the speed and depth of the water. On went a 4ips versi leader and a #11 Minx Cascade. The pool was fishing very nicely at this height but no fish were fooled by my offerings so it was off downstream to fish Glisters.

Glisters. Another pool flanked by rock and a lovely cast.

Looking upstream in Glisters. 

Glisters is a continuation from the Spout where the river widens and slows into a more evenly paced pool. There was one or two fish showing mid way down the pool and I decided to give a Sunray Shadow a go in an attempt to provoke a take from one of them. I fished the Sunray fast, slow, square, downstream 45 degrees but nothing worked and the fish were undeterred by the wake it created on the surface and it was off down to the Sandy Bay.

Looking downstream from the bank of Sandy Bay.

Looking across to the Middle Blackhall hut from the Cairnton bank.

As I arrived at the pool the rod on the opposite bank was just finishing up. He had managed to land a nice, fresh grilse from the pool just after lunch. This was the same rod who had three fish in an hour during the morning session. Four fish for his day was great going! I changed back to the intermediate tip here as the pool was much shallower than the two above. I also put back on the #13 Executioner. The pool fished the fly very well and I fished it all the way down until I was opposite the lower hut. As well as it fished, the salmon were still avoiding me and by the time I finished the pool it was near 5pm.

Rock Heads. A really nice cast at this height. 

Brian was cutting the banks around the hut I made my way over to say goodbye. I was to fish on for a while after hours so we had a chat about where to fish next. Brian suggested giving Rock Heads and Salt Vat a go as it hadn't been fished all afternoon. He pointed out and explained the good taking lies so I made my way over the rocks to have a cast. The pool itself is a cracking one. A really nice holding pool which fishes well through out the season and in various heights of water. Although I was well briefed on where the fish were likely to be, none were keen enough to take my fly so it was off further down river a bit to finish off my day in the Salt Vat.

Salt Vat. Another one of Cairnton's many classic fly fishing pools.

Salt Vat is a nice pool in the middle of some turbulent streams above and below. It seems the ideal place a salmon would stop for a rest and sure enough one small grilse made itself know just where Brian said they would be. Brian had suggested trying a larger fly in here due to the speed and depth so on went a #9 Ally Shrimp. The Ally does very well this time of year but on this occasion it remained unharmed. I fished out the pool and decided to call it a day around 7pm.

Looking upstream in the evening light from below the bottom hut.

Although the closest I came to landing a fish was just a brief encounter in the Cottage Run during the morning session, I can honestly say I had a great day. Brian went out his way to make sure I was giving myself the best chance of catching a salmon. He pointed out every lie in detail and kept my confidence high throughout with his infectious enthusiasm. This was my first visit to Cairnton but it certainly will not be my last. I will make a point of fishing it again very soon and hopefully the salmon gods will be looking down on me when I do.

Middle Blackhall - River Dee

Last Saturday I was fishing on the Middle Blackhall beat of the River Dee with good pals Bill Cook and Philip Black. We were due to fish the Tay but after a last minute change of plan due to unforeseen circumstances, we decided on fishing the Dee instead. This was a new beat for me as I had never fished here before. The river levels have been very low recently and the rain forecast prior to our day unfortunately never materialised and levels were sitting at around 4" on the Woodend gauge. Given the conditions, my set up for the day consisted of a 12ft 6in Guideline LPXe #8/9 with a floating Rio Scandi shooting head and a long tapered leader with 6ft of 10lb nylon.

 As the water was so low we arranged an early start with the ghillie. We arrived at the hut around 7am and had a good chat in the car park as we tackled up. Bill then produced a nice bottle of single malt from his recent travels to Arran which accompanied our discussion nicely. After a small dram we made our way to the hut where we were greeted by head ghille, Brian Brogan. We chatted away with Brian for a while and were allocated our pools for the morning session. We must have enjoyed the craic as before we knew it, it was 9am. So much for our early start then!

Invercannie Pool. A lovely cast up at the neck in the low water.

At the tail of the Invercannie pool. Not a bad view from that house!

I was to start in the Invercannie pool first of all. Brian pointed out all the areas to concentrate on and it wasn't long before a fish made it's presence known. I tied on a #14 Silver Stoat's Tail and worked my way down the pool. Using such small flies made them a free offering for the countless amount of smolts present. Every cast and it was getting nibbled by these young salmon. It was great to see such vast numbers of smolts in the pools. Hopefully this bodes well for future stocks. I fished down the pool with just a brown trout and a dozen smolts for my my efforts so it was off upstream to fish the Rock Heads.

Fishing down the Rock Head pool.

The Rock Heads was a short pool but an ideal resting point given the fast water below. The fish have to negotiate a steep incline from the pools below whilst battling the fast flowing white water so it's easy to see why this pool would be productive. I covered the whole pool from top to bottom but again, just a few greedy smolts took my offerings so it was off back down to Invercannie for a second run through.

Looking upstream from mid way down the Invercannie Pool.

My second run through Invercannie produced the same results as my first run. Philip joined me as I fished out the remainder of the pool but there seemed to be a few more active fish this time round. Possibly due to the heavy rain which was emptying from the clouds above us. Maybe the salmon could sense a wee lift in water coming? Or maybe I'm just over thinking it? Who knows but there weren't for taking my fly anyway so we headed off back to the hut for lunch.

The Middle Blackhall Fishing Hut.

The Middle Blackhall hut is a cosy timber clad granite building and is quite comfortable inside. The good sized wood burner roared away nicely but more to dry our soaked gear than to warm us up. There was nothing to report from either Philip or Bill but we all commented on the number of juvenile fish about. It really was a sight to see so many feeding hard as they prepared for their epic journey. Hopefully a good number of these youngsters will return in the next year or two as adults and give us anglers a chance to catch them.

Fishing down through Kelpie and into Canary.

Looking upstream towards Canary from Rock Heads.

Bill's 7lber from Invercannie just after lunch. This fell to a #12 Editor.

After lunch I was to fish Sandy Bay and Canary pools. There had been a nice, clean fish lost in here the previous day so I was raring to go even though Bill had fished it during the morning session. These pools were a couple of nice fast runs and exactly where you would expect to pick up a running fish given the low water conditions. I changed fly to a small #12 Executioner and fished my way down the pools. Not long after starting, my phone went and Bill had just landed a nice clean fish of around 7lb from Invercannie. this was good to hear and kept the concentration level high. Despite my best efforts in the pouring rain, nothing wanted my fly except one or two juvenile fish again so I headed of further upstream to fish Glisters.

Looking upstream towards Glister in the heavy rain. 

Fishing down through Glisters. 

Glisters is quite a narrow pool at the neck as the river flows through the bedrock banks on either side before widening out into a nice streamy glide. Like most of the pools on the beat, this was holding a lot of juvenile fish. In fact, the slower parts of this pool were literally bubbling with them! There were numerous amounts of them airborne at any given time as they feasted on the abundance of flies obviously on the water. I fished down the neck of the pool without a touch so decide to head further upstream to fish the Cairnton Pool.

Looking across to Cairnton House from the Middle Blackhall bank of the Cairnton Pool.

The Cairnton Pool is a lovley stretch of water which is overlooked by the big house on the Cairnton bank. I made my way down to the water and a good, clean fish showed just below where I started which spurred me on a bit. I opted to try a bigger fly to eliminate the chances of hooking the smolts so I tied on a #11 Crathie. With the low water conditions, this pool only required a very short cast to cover the run which flowed through the middle of the pool. This is where the fish seemed to be lying and I covered them as stealthy as I possibly could. There were a couple of older fish which showed half way down and these could have been  disturbed by the presence of running fish. Neither the old stuff or the fresh fish wanted to take my fly and I fished out the pool without a touch just as Bill arrived to say he was heading off. By this time it was 4pm so I decided to head back down to the Invercannie for another go.

My third run through the Invercannie Pool.

My third run through the Invercannie was a fruitless one but a few more fish showed as I fished down the pool. It certainly seemed to be holding a few salmon but tempting one, for me anyway, was proving to be a difficult task. I fished out the pool without a touch but by this time the rain had finally stopped and the sun was splitting the sky again.

Cairnton & Middle Blackhall ghillie, Brian Brogan makes his way over in the boat followed by his two labs.

I made my way back to the hut at 5pm to meet Brian as he was shutting up for the weekend. We had a good chat and I listened on intently as Brian relaid stories of his days ghilling on the River Tay at Islamouth. Brian's tales of large fish and huge bags of salmon had me imagining what it must have been like in those days. It must have been amazing to see the rivers stuffed full of fish, and some very large specimen fish at that! Hopefully one day salmon numbers will again be at that level and I hope to be on the river when they are!

Looking down the Cairnton Pool just after 5pm when the sun finally made an appearance!

Brian suggested having another go in the Cairnton pool as his rods on the Cairnton bank had seen a few fresh fish moving in it earlier on. This is what I did and I headed off upstream. I started at the top of the pool and worked my way through it covering all the lies where I saw fish when I fished the pool earlier in the afternoon. Nothing was showing this time around and I fished out the pool without a touch and decided to call it a day just before 7pm.

Looking upstream from the bank of the Cairnton Pool.

I really enjoyed my day on Middle Blackhall despite the low water. The beat is set away from the major roads and is very secluded given anglers a peaceful setting to cast a fly. It also has to be one of the best kept beats on the river as both banks are maintained to almost bowling green like standards! There was also the added bonus of having pools with plenty fish showing through out the day. This kept us occupied and it was good that Bill managed to winkle one out. It was also good to see a part of the River Dee that I had never seen before. I will certainly be back and I already have a day booked on the opposite bank at Cairnton in July which I'm really looking forward to. For more info on the beats or to book a day click on the links below.

FishDee - Cairnton and Middle Blackhall beats

http://www.cairnton.co.uk/

Tilbouries - River Dee

I had a day on the Tilbouries beat of the River Dee last Saturday and with the low water conditions and bright sunshine forecast, I wasn't holding out much hope for any success. I arrived at the beat around 8.30am to find the water levels sitting at 11" on the Park gauge. Tactics for the day would involve light tackle and small flies. My set up for the day was my 13ft Hardy Uniqua, 8/9 Rio Scandi floating shooting head and a 10ft intermediate polyleader with 8ft of 12lb clear maxima. My fly of choice was a #12 Arndilly Fancy dressed on a Loop double. After a coffee and a chat with Daniel Wright, the ghillie it was off down to fish the Tilbouries Run.

Looking down the Tilbouries Run about 9am.

A nice wee sea trout on my 5th cast of the morning. Taken on a #12 Arndilly Fancy.

Daniel and his rods had a good day in the Tilbouries Run the previous day where they landed three salmon and lost another as well as a sea trout. With the water levels low, the Run was as good a place to start as any. Not long after starting a couple of good, clean salmon made their presence known as did a good sea trout. Confidence immediately rose and no sooner had I started I lifted into a strong wee sea trout. Daniel soon had it in the net for me and it was quickly released to carry on it's journey. By this time we were all confident that we might just be in for a decent day of it.

Fishing down the Tilbouries Run.

Looking upstream to the shingle bar which runs the length of the Tilbouries Run.

By 11am the sun was high in the sky and the good cloud cover we had earlier on in the morning had now burnt off and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. Temperatures were rising quickly and the fish seemed to go down as we didn't see another splash. Daniel suggested we had another go in the Tilbouries Run but I was desperate for the toilet so I let Daniel fish whilst I watered the grass. As luck would have it, Whilst I was removing my waders to empty my bladder I had a shout from Daniel who was bent into a good fish! I couldn't believe it!! That's the last time I go for a pee and let the ghillie fish! I quickly got my waders fastened and grabbed the net and made my way down the bank to help Daniel out. The fish made some unstoppable runs but we eventually had it turned and I slid the net under a cracking fish of around 12lb. On closer inspection, the fish was covered in long tail sea lice and was clearly straight out the sea. Who says you can't catch salmon in low water and bright conditions. This salmon clearly hadn't read the books.

Looking downstream from the top of the Tilbouries Run

Here I am posing with a lovely 12lber covered in sea lice which was caught by ghillie, Daniel from the Tilbouries Run in the bright sunshine.

Lunch time was spent going over the morning's fishing. With the bright sun now beaming directly down onto all the pools there was no hurry to get back on the water. As I was only able to fish until 5pm I ventured out again just after the usual 2pm start time.

The well equipped fishing hut at Tilbouries.

The cosy interior of the Tilbouries hut.

Looking upstream from the front of the hut to the tail of the Island and into Cairnton.

I decided to give the Island Stream a run through after lunch just on the off chance any fish we spotted during the morning were running. The water was really low in this pool and you could see almost every stone on the river bed. I even sat and watched a greedy trout steadily rise to take flies off the surface. I quickly went through the pool before heading back down stream but unsurprisingly, I didn't get an offer.

Fishing down the Island. A couple of sea trout showing the in faster water here.

Looking upstream near the tail of the Island.

On my way down to the hut I spotted a nice sea trout rise in the Cairnton pool. I quickly made my way over to where it showed and on my first cast I hooked the fish. It was a lively fish and and it soon threw the hook which was disappointing. Still, it was good to get another bend in the rod especially given the conditions.

Looking downstream towards the Cairnton pool from the tail of the Island.

An old photo I had of the Cairnton Pool from July 2012 as I didn't take any pictures of the pool last week.

Tilbouries is home to one of the longest pools on the Dee named the Lawson Pool. The pool requires a bit of wading from the Tilbouries bank but it's easy to fish and can hold a lot of fish through out the season, especially during the cold, early months of the season and the back end. I didn't put a fly through it his time as we felt we would have had more chance getting a fish fishing the streamy runs glides in the pools below.

The mighty Lawson Pool. Again an old photo from July 2012 but it's just to show the size of the pool and give an idea of why it can be so productive.

Daniel and I fished through the Tilbouries Run and Alfred's Pot a couple of times during the afternoon but it was more in hope than expectation as the overhead conditions were bordering on tropical and coupled with low water the fish were taking shelter and not interested in any of our offerings. It was nice to meet Dee ghillies, Brian from Cairnton and Glen from Borrowston who had popped down to Tilbouries to speak with Daniel. I had not met either of them before and it was good to have a chat with them and to find out what has been happening on their beats further upstream. It was also good to hear stories of some nice fish being caught and pools holding fish. Long may it continue and fingers crossed the River Dee can have a good summer and finish the season on a high come the back end runs in September and October.

The beat has been very lightly fished in recent years and the catches don't really reflect the beat's potential. I'm sure if more rod took the chance of a day here then the numbers in the book would be much higher. It's reasonably priced and days at Tilbouries are available starting from £30 in the spring rising to £80 later on in the season. Days can be booked through the FishDee website or by contacting Daniel via their Facebook page - Tilbouries Fishing