Invery - River Dee

Thanks to a last minute shout, I was offered a days fishing on the Invery beat of the river Dee last Wednesday. Invery is a beat I always enjoy fishing and has some fantastic pools so I didn't take long to accept the invitation. The river was sitting around 2ft on the gauge and was is good shape with water temperature hovering around 46f. My set up for the day was a 15ft Mackenzie Shooting Head Rod, Intermediate shooting head and a 9ft tapered leader. Fly of choice was the Sunray Shadow.

The well maintained fishing hut at Invery.

Looking upstream at from the neck of the S Pool.

I arrived at the beat around 8.20am and met the ghillie Karl Revel at the hut along with fellow rod Craig. We were given the choice where to start and I opted to have a run through the S Pool first and then work my way down from the Signal and into Greenbanks. I started up at the neck of the pool and fished it down with a Red Frances to begin with but this didn't produce an offer so I had another run down with a Sunray Shadow this time. Again, it didn't attract a fish so I made my way up to the Signal to give it a go.

On my way up to Signal I stopped to chat with Craig who said he'd had hold of a fish on a Sunray Shadow which sadly threw the hook. This was encouraging so I was eager to get going. I started right at the top of the beat and began to work my way down, concentrating on the areas Karl had said were the most likely spots. There were one or two fish showing just down from the beginning of the wall but I covered them several times without a take. As well as the pool was fishing it proved to be a fruitless run through it so I made my way down stream a little to have a cast in the Greenbank.

Looking upstream from the Killing Hatch. A cracking pool.

Not long after starting in the Killing Hatch I spotted a fish show just downstream from me. I couldn't really see if it was a fresh fish or not but at least I knew where a fish was lying. I made my way down the pool with a Sunray Shadow and as I was level with the burn mouth my fly just stopped. I was stripping it slowly so I pulled on the line as normal and this seemed to wake the fish up! It made one or two short runs but I soon had it beached and it turned out to be a very well mended kelt. Not the springer I was after but at least I knew my tactics were working. I fished the rest of the pool and into Greenbanks without and offer so I headed off down stream to have a crack in the Jetties before lunch.

Looking upstream into the Greenbanks.

The Jetties as this height required a long cast to get into the likely areas so I stripped plenty line off my reel and fished my way down the pool. I saw a fish show just out in the streamy run so I covered it a few times but it didn't take. It showed a few minutes later and it appeared to be a kelt anyway but it's a good sign that kelts are in the pool just to help slow down the running springers.

The Jetties. You can see the concrete jetty where the pool takes it's name.

At lunch time my pal Paul appeared for a cast and after swapping stories and with fellow rods and Karl it was time to get going again. I was allocated the lower part of the beat along with Craig. Craig started in the Floating Bank and I started in Pantoch. We were to swap over mid session.

The Pantoch. There were several fish splashing about in here during the afternoon.

As I arrived at the Pantoch pool I spotted a fish show about mid river. This was followed by another soon after. It looked as though they were sea trout. Not like the kelt that have been around of late as these were short stocky looking fish. I fished through the pool first with a #7 Kitchen Sink and then second tIme down with a Sunray Shadow. Neither run through the pool produced anything so I made my way down to have a crack at the Floating Bank.

The hut on the lower beat over looking the Floating Bank.

Fishing down the Floating Bank. Probably my favourite pool on the beat.

The Floating Bank is up there as one of my favourite pools on the beat. It is a classic fly pool which fishes very well. There are usually a few fish lying in this pool and today was no different. As I made my way down the pool there were fish showing down it's whole length. They were howerver, what looked to be kelts and they didn't seem interested in what I had to offer. I fished the pool from top to bottom without a touch. Maybe the bright, sunny conditions were putting the fish off. I made my way back to the hut at 5pm to say goodbye to Karl and thank him for his advice. Karl suggested we fished on as the sun was now cooling down a bit. I decided to give it a few hours so I made my way back up to the Signal whilst Craig and Paul headed off downstream to fish the lower pools again.

An evening cast on the Dee at Invery.

The sun setting on another day fishing the Dee.

My evening didn't produce any offers unfortunately and I called it a day around 7pm. At least I got a bend in the rod from a kelt and there were a few other kelts caught through out the day also. Just a pity that springer didn't stick for Craig in the morning. That would have been a good start to the day for him. It's a fantastic beat and has plenty pools to keep you occupied all day long. Each has their own characteristics and charm and they all produce fish from opening day until the last day of the season. The ghillies, Karl and Jim are great lads too and are always eager to help the vising anglers giving advice when needed and to point out the likely spots where fish can be taken. I will hopefully be back one day for another cast on at Invery in the future.

Lower Crathes & West Durris - River Dee

On Saturday, I was fortunate enough to be invited to fish on the Lower Crathes/West Durris beat on the River Dee by my pal Paul Pritchard. I didn't need to be asked twice and I jumped at the chance to have a cast here again. This beat is the pinnacle of the fishing on the Dee and boasts some of the finest salmon pools on the entire river. The catches also speak for themselves too.

The beat hut at Lower Crathes/West Durris

I arrived at the beat shortly after 8.30am and met with Paul and ghillies Robert and Jordan. The water height was hovering around the 2ft mark but was on a slow rise with the water temperature sitting at just above 40f. After a cup of coffee and a dram with the fellow rods, Paul and I were allocated the top half of the beat during the morning session. This consisted of pools such as the Bridge, Riddell's, Mill and Balbridie. Paul started in the Mill and I started off in the Bridge Pool.

The famous Bridge Pool at Lower Crathes. plenty kelts and the odd springer showing in here.

The old hut on the Durris bank of the Bridge Pool.

Not long after starting in the Bridge Pool I noticed that there seemed to be a liarge number of kelts in the pool. The made themselves know up and down the length of the pool. There was the odd fresh fish showing in amongst them too but despite my best efforts I fished the pool without getting a touch. Paul and I were to swap pools and I was pleased to hear that Paul had some action in the Mill Pool using a Collie Dog. he landed a kelt and rose another.

Riddell's. A nice cast at this height.

Jordan was on hand to show me the water and suggested I have a quick run through Riddell's before trying the Mill. Riddell's is a short pool but can hold fish and it has already produce several this season. Unfortunately, I couldn't add to that tally and it was onward to the Mill Pool.

The Mill Pool. Cracking piece of water.

Lower down the Mill Poll at the Jetties.

The Mill Pool is another famous pool on the beat. It is a consistent performer and produces good numbers of fish all season long. There were, what seemed to be, a good number of kelts in here too. There were also two fresh fish caught in this pool the evening before by local rod Geoff Fisher who was fishing along side us on the day too. Despite covering all the likely spots I didn't get an offer so it was back to the hut for a spot of lunch before having a go on the lower beat in the afternoon.

Greenbank. There were a lot of kelts showing in here too as well as a few springers.

After some good craic in the hut over lunch it was back down to business and I was allocated the Greenbank first of all in the afternoon. The Greenbank in a lovely long pool and it was stuffed full of kelts on this occasion. I started up opposite the hut where Jordan suggested and began working my way down the pool. At this time, Paul was up in the Kelpie and he soon appeared with the news that he had lost a springer whcih had snagged up around a rock. Despite Robert and Jordan's best efforts, the couldn't free the line and the fish was gone along with Paul's fly. It's never nice losing a fish in this way and I know only too well the disappointment of this happening.The same happened to me at Kincardine a few seasons back when I lost a cracking fish in the Whin Bush pool on my first day. It would be my only touch until the Saturday so I had a long time to dwell on my loss. Anyway, I fished all the way down the Greenbank without a touch so I made my way up to have a cast in the Kelpie whilst Paul headed downstream to the Bulwarks.

Fishing down the Kelpie Pool where Paul sadly was broken by a good fish earlier.

Looking upstream in the Kelpie.

Kelpie is another nice pool and this was also holding a few kelts. Paul had hooked a springer earlier from here so I was confident that I would be covering fish. I changed over to an intermediate line just to get down a bit deeper as the water was rising. It was fishing very nicely but I worked my way down the pool without a touch so I headed back down to Greenbank for another go before 5pm. My second run down Greenbank produce only two very subtle knocks which I'm positive were from trout as there were good numbers feeding on a large hatch of March Browns. I made my way back to the hut to say good bye to the ghillies and thank them for the day.

Looking upstream from mid way down the Greenbank.

Whilst back at the hut there was some good news from Geoff as he had landed a nice fish from the Bridge Pool during the afternoon session. I was sure there were fresh fish in the pool earlier and he proved that by landing an 8lber. This was his 4th fish of the week which is a very impressive return considering the lack of fish about at the moment. Paul also had some good news as he managed a cracking seas trout of around 3lb from the Bulwarks pool. It was a good way to finish the day so I decided to stay on for a couple of hours to see if I could get myself a fish. I headed off to give the Greenbank another going over but sadly it proved fruitless and I left the beat around 7pm.

Despite not having much luck on the day, it was great to fish such a fantastic beat again. Head Ghillie Robert Harper and his underghille Jordan Sinclair make you feel very welcome and they know their beat intimately. They do their level best to advise and help you when they can and are a credit to their profession. I would love to say I will be back there again but the price for a day is way out of my league. Maybe one day I'll have another crack at catching a salmon from these wonderful pools on the River Dee. A big thank you to the ghillies and to Paul for allowing me to fish. It was much appreciated.

Invery - River Dee 06-06-14

I was back at Invery on the River Dee for a days fishing on 6th June thanks to a kind invite to fish as a guest. The water was sitting at around 2ft 3in on the beat gauge and was carrying a heavily peat stained colour in the water. It was to drop almost 9" through-out the day though and was a good height for intercepting running fish. My set up for the day was my 14' 6" Guideline rod and a float/intermediate Scott MacKenzie shooting head. Fly sizes ranged from 6s-12s in various patterns.

I started my day off on the lower part of the beat and was to fish Floating Bank, Pantoch and Birkwood. Apart for a couple of small brown trout which both weighed about 1/2lb each, I never touched anything else in either of these pools. Pantoch especially looked very good at this height but was very quiet considering.

The afternoon saw me fishing the top half of the beat. I started at the Signal Pool and worked my way down through the beat taking in pools such as Killing Hatch, Greenbank, Jettis and S Pool. These are some of the finest pools on the lower Dee but I never saw a salmon jump all day. I did however move a sea trout in the Signal Pool around 10pm but it didn't connect.

I fished for 14 hours in total and never so much as had an offer from a salmon. Maybe the dark water colour, which was very close being black put the fish off, who knows but I gave it a good go. Unfortunately for little reward. Still, if it was easy to catch salmon it would get quite boring. It's that buzz when you get hold of a fish is what keeps us all going back. Hopefully next time at Invery I get lucky.

Here are some pictures from my day.

Looking downstream in Floating Bank. Good to see the pools with a bit more water in them.

Pantoch. Looked very good at this height.

Birkwood. Another nice looking pool at this height of water.

Signal. I moved a sea trout in here with a Sunray Shadow just as it was getting dark. It didn't connect though.

Looking downstream from the bank at Killing Hatch.

Fishing down through Greenbanks.

Looking upstream from the neck of the S pool into Jetties.

Looking downstream in the S Pool.

The Greenbank Pool at dusk.

Invery - River Dee

I was on the River Dee at Invery today on what is the last chance of catching a Spring Salmon for this year. As of June 1st all salmon caught are classed as Summer salmon. I was very kindly asked to fish the afternoon by a friend of mine as he had a prior engagement and had to leave the beat early. As I had never fished the beat before, I was very grateful for the opportunity. The sun was high in the cloudless sky making conditions less than ideal but with the gauge reading 10" there was always the chance of picking up running fish. The temperature in the afternoon peaked at 23C. My set up for the day was my 13ft Hardy Uniqua, floating line, short intermediate tip and a selection of small flies ranging from size 10 to 14.

I arrived on the beat around 11.30am and met the Jim the ghillie at the top hut. He instructed me to head down to the bottom part of the beat as I was to fish the Pantoch and Floating Bank pools before returning for lunch at 1pm. I made my way down to the Pantoch but there was a rod from the Crathes bank fishing the pool so I carried on down to the Floating Bank. I had only ever fished this pool from the opposite bank so it was good to give it a go from the Invery side. I chose a wee size 11 KS Shrimp for my fly and I made my way to the neck of the pool. I fished down the pool and when I was about adjacent to the hut, I had a good solid take from a fish. Unfortunately, it didn't stick but it was encouraging to know that there were fish in the pool. Several more fish showed as I fished it through but were not interested in my fly.

As I had never fished the beat before it was good to have a chat with Jim during lunch. We chatted about the recent catches on the river and about stories from days gone by which I always enjoy listening to from any ghillie or fisherman.

After a bite to eat, Jim took me up to fish the top pools of the beat. These included Signal Pool, Greenbanks, Jetties and S Pool. I fished all the way down from the top of the beat without seeing a splash but the blazing sun and clear blue skies didn't help. There were also a group of young kids swimming in the Greenbanks pool which is not ideal either but given the fine weather, who could blame them for that? I would have done the same not so long ago. I missed out that part of the pool and made my down to the Jetties. Again, I fished it through without seeing a splash so I headed down to the S Pool. The neck of the pool was a nice fast, streamy piece of water which in these conditions, might have been a good chance of holding a fish or two. No luck to be had in this pool either.

I headed back to the hut around 4.30pm for a chat with Jim before deciding what to do in the evening. Jim informed me that there was a 4 1/2lb Salmon landed downstream by one of the other anglers. Always good to hear of fish being caught on the beat you are fishing. As I was the only rod left, Jim gave me the choice of where to go. As I had seen a few fish earlier in the Floating Bank, I headed down to the bottom pools of the beat again. As the Pantoch was free I give it a run though before I fished the Floating Bank. Nothing doing in here but was good to fish it regardless. I fished the Floating Bank twice before giving the Pantoch another try but to no avail. The sun was still high and bright so I called it a day around 8pm.

Invery is a lovely part of the Dee and when conditions suit, it can be very good indeed. It's a beat I will look forward to fishing again some day in the near future. Sadly, no May springer which ends my run of getting a fish every month so far but I would have gladly taken that at the start of the season so I can have no complaints. I will eagerly wait on the arrival of the grilse to both the Dee and Don which can provided some quality sport on lighter tackle. Hopefully there will be here in greater numbers than in previous seasons. We will soon find out.

Here are some pictures from my day.

Floating Bank. Had a good offer from a fish in here but it didn't stick.

Signal Pool which is the top of the beat.

Killing Hatch. Have spent many hours looking into this pool from the high wall on the opposite bank.

Fishing down through Killing Hatch.

Looking upstream from the tail of Killing Hatch.

Greenbanks. Lovely pool but equally attractive to swimmers today.

Looking downstream into Jetties.

The hut at the bottom of the beat with its immaculate banks.

S Pool. A nice run which goes into deeper water on the left bank.

Pantoch. Was good to fish it from the Invery bank.

Looking upstream in the evening sun from Pantoch.

A final run through Floating Bank before heading home.

The new hut at the bottom of the Invery beat which looks onto the Floating Bank..

Lower Crathes & West Durris - River Dee

I was extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to fish the famous Lower Crathes and West Durris beat on the River Dee last Saturday. Although catches had been slow in recent weeks, I was still excited like a kid at Christmas to be fishing these hallowed waters.


The main fishing hut on the Crathes bank.

I arrived at the beat to be greeted by underghillie, Jordan Sinclair. He informed me that the water height on the beat was sitting at 2ft and the water temperature was around the 37f mark. I was to fish the lower part of the beat from Crathes bridge down. My set up for the day was my Scott Mackenzie Float/Intermediate Shooting Head with a 6ft 2.6 inch per second tip. My fly of choice was a Monkey tied on an aluminum Yuri Shumakov tube.

A salmon weather vain on the roof of the fishing hut.

As was to fishing the bottom half of the beat which lies below Crathes Bridge, I was to start my day off in the Greenbamks Pool. Jordan pointed out the main areas to concentrate on and went off to get one of the other rods started in the Bulwarks pool. I waded out from the Crathes bank and began to cast as far over to the far bank as I could as that's where the fish were likely to be. About 10 minutes after starting, I had a solid take and lifted into a lively fish. The fish made a few surging runs and showed it's flanks whilst trying to turn on the surface. I walked backward onto the shingle bank and attempted to beach the fish. A few minutes later I managed to get the fish onto the bank. If had lost the fish, I would have be sure it was a Springer as it was full of life and put up a great scrap however, once landed it was clear to see that the fish was a kelt. It was a very well mended kelt and I'm sure it would have no trouble getting back to sea. I fished through the Greenbaks without another offer so Jordan suggested that I go upstream to the next pool.



Fishing the Greenbanks pool from the Crathes bank.

Looking upstream from the Greenbanks.

A few hundred yards upstream is the Kelpie Pool. The Kelpie has lovely glide coming off from the tail of the pool above to create a cracking stream to fish the fly in. The main current is down the Crathes bank but Jordan informed me that fish can be had from mid stream to right in towards the bank. Although the pool looked very "fishy", I didn't see or touch anything so I headed across the river to fish the Bulwarks pool from the Durris bank.


Kelpie from the Crathes bank.

Looking upstream halfway down the Kelpie.

The Bulwarks pool is the bottom pool on the beat and the next pool up from Park which is the beat below. The pool has a nice even flow to it and fishes well from both banks. Jordan was on hand to point out all the hot spots and so I waded out to give it a go. I fished all the way down until I was under the electric cables without seeing or touching a fish but again, it looked so promising.


Fishing the Bulwarks pool from the Durris bank.

Looking upstream in the Bulwarks.

My next pool to fish was the Lower Bridge Pool so I crossed over the river again and made my way up the track to the top of the pool. I have driven over the Crathes Bridge many times and always look down into the river wishing I could cast a line here so to get the chance today was special. I changed over to a fly created by my friend Charlie called the SS (Sunray Shadow) Assassin just to see if I could provoke a reaction from a fish. Jordan explained that as long a cast as possible was necessary as the fish ran up the Durris bank. I started at the top of the pool just below the bridge and began fishing my way down the pool slowly stripping the sunray across the stream as I went. About halfway down the pool, there was a swirl at the fly but whatever kind of fish it was, it missed it. That turned out to be the only offer I had in the pool.


Lower Bridge Pool.

Looking upstream from midway down the Lower Bridge Pool.

Head ghillie, Robbie Harper suggested I try above the bridge for a while before dark so I headed off up to fish the Lady's Pool(?). The pool has several jetties which make it easy to cover the water and also to get out just that little it further. Fantastic water to cast a fly on but no fish took any interest in what I was offering them so I headed off downstream.


Lady's Pool(?) or Jetties Pool. Cracking pool to fish a fly through.

The next pool I was to fish was the famous Bridge Pool. The biggest fish from the Dee last year was taken out of this pool in April 2013 but it has a reputation for some great catches all season long. It was just about dark when I fished the pool but I made sure I gave it a good going over before leaving. Cracking pool to fish and I was waiting in anticipation of the line going tight on every cast. Sadly not this time but an absolute pleasure to fish.


Looking upstream in the Bridge Pool.

My first time on Lower Crathes and West Durris was a great experience. Although no springers were landed on the day, it was a dream to fish such a famous stretch of the Dee and I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to do so.
Here are some pictures from my day.