I was fortunate enough to land a few Salmon from the Ballogie beat of the River Dee last week during my annual leave from work. Its always good to be in the right place at the right time when the fish are on the take. This seemed to be in the morning before the sun got too bright as catches tailed off during the afternoon before the fish came back on the take in the evening.
A grilse around the 5lb mark.
A nice male salmon around the 12lb mark taken on a Red Frances.
Another cock fish this time around 10lb taken on a Pink franc N Snaelda.
Last Saturday marked the final day of the 2018 salmon fishing season and I was fortunate enough to be invited along to fish Ballogie by ghillie, Sean Stanton. The river was dropping back nicely after a spate a few day prior to our arrival and was sitting at 2ft 6in on the Potarch gauge. The air temperature was around 2 Celsius as we tackled up at the Bridge Pool so we were hopeful of encountering a fish or two.
Kelpie Pool - Stunning Autumn colours on the River Dee at Ballogie.
I set up two rods for my day. The first rod was my 12ft 6in LTS Explosive and this was matched up with a Rio Skagit line and a Intermediate/T11 mow tip with a 10mm Pink Franc N Snaelda tube on the business end. My second set up was my old, trusty 15ft Vision Catapult. Its a work horse of a rod and the sinking lines are ideally suited for it. Line of choice for this rod was a Guideline H/I/S1 with a 10ft 5.6ips tip and a 19mm Red Frances tube.
Fishing down the Bulwarks at the beginning of the morning session.
The deadly Pink Franc N Snaelda tube.
I was allocated to fish the lower part of the beat in the morning an this is a part of the river I know fairly well. Given the water height, I headed off down to the Bulwarks first of all as this can be a busy pool. It is also good in high water and thought it would be best to get first run down. The higher the water the more favourable it is for the Ballogie bank so I started off just opposite the first Bulwark and worked my way down the pool with my Vision Catapult set up. As the Bulwarks is a pool I have had much success in over the years I was confident that given the water conditions, there would a good chance of connecting with a fish or two. Maybe I was expecting too much as I fished the entire length of the pool without a touch or seeing a fish. That;s how it goes sometime though and never one for getting despondent, I strapped the rods back on the car and made my way up river to the Kelpie.
The result - a coloured hen around 4lb.
The Kelpie Pool.
The Kelpie can be really productive at this time of year especially in a good water like we had on Saturday. Its a pool that I haven't had much luck in to be perfectly honest but having excellent water conditions like we did, I fished my way down the pool confident that there would be a chance of a fish. I covered the water as best I could and when I was about half way down the poo I began to trip in some line to recast. I pulled three or four coulis of line when something pulled back! I lifted into the fish and treid my best to keep up with it as it swan strongly upstream. Just as I got the line onto the reel, the fish jumped out the water and spat the hook. It looked like a good sized cock fish. Probably around the 12-14lb mark. Its always a bit of blow to lose a fish but undeterred, I checked the fly and carried on down the pool. I must have had around another dozen or so casts when I had another offer. I lifted into the fish and slowly worked my way back in towards the bank. The fish didn't put up much of an effort in the strong current so it was swiftly landed and return with minimal fuss. It was a hen fish around the 4lb mark. The remainder of the pool didn't produce anymore action so it was off upstream to have a run through Lower Inchbare.
Looking upstream towards Potarch Bridge from Lower Inchbare.
Fishing down Lower Inchabare.
You really are spoilt for choice at Ballogie in a high water. Lower Inchbare is another great pool with water on it. the river bed in this pool has plenty big boulders and a few in particular can be good lies for the fish to shelter in amongst. I fished the whole length of the pool with the same set up that worked in the Kelpie but despite covering the pool as best I could, there were no takers willing to snaffle the Red Frances.
Looking down the Strath from the tail of Lower Inchbare.
Looking up the Strath towards Lower Inchbare.
The Strath was next up. This pool continues on from where Lower Inchbare tails off. It's a lovely looking bit of water and Philip Black and I tormented numerous kelts in here back in March. With the H/I/S1 and big tube, it was fishing round nicely but as with Lower Inchbare, there were no takers so I decided to head off up the the famous Bridge Pool for a quick run through before lunch.
The downstream view of the Bridge Pool from the lower Ballogie fishing hut.
The Bridge Pool is one of the most iconic pools on the entire river and conditions on our day suited it perfectly. The river was now sitting at 2ft 4in but the H/I/S1 was still needed just to get the fly down that bit quicker and to slow the swing down a bit. I fished the pool from head to tail without a touch but decided to give it a run through with my other set up. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel this line was getting down deep enough and I didn't have time to change again before lunch so I called time on the morning session and made my way up to the Carlogie Calm pool to meet the rest of the lads for lunch.
Sean kindly supplied lunch in the form of bacon and sausage sandwiches from the Kincardine post office and these were washed down with a welcome cup of coffee. It turned out that there had been a total of 3 salmon landed between Ballogie and Carlogie. A good start to the day but the fish didn't seem to be as responsive as we had hoped for given the conditions. However, after we had put the fishing world to rights in the hut, our attention was soon back on the task in hand so it was off to our allocated pools for the afternoon session.
The Top Gannet fishing hut at Ballogie.
Fishing down the Top Gannet after lunch.
I was to start in the Top Gannet. This is one of my favourite pools to fish and I couldn't wait to get another crack at it. I skipped down the bank like a wee lad on his way to the toy shop! The Top Gannet has been good to me over the years but I fished down the length of the pool without an offer or seeing a fish. I was making my way back to the hut which over looks the pool and just as I put my rod in the rack, I spotted four or five salmon show in the space of a few seconds mid way down the pool. This was all the encouragement I needed to grab my rod off the stand and quickly get to the bank to attempt to intercept on of them. The fish were a good bit over towards the Borrowston bank and a long cast was required to cover where they were spotted. I threw as long a line as I possible could and tried to the mend the line a few times to slow it down a bit. I just felt that it was too far out my reach to cover the fish properly and despite trying, the fish didn't want what I had on offer so it was off down to fish the Sands.
Looking upstream from the top of the Sands Pool.
The hut on the Borrowston bank which over looks the Sands Pool.
The Sands is another famous pool on the River Dee and it was almost a dead cert for a salmon once upon a time. I always enjoy fishing these famous pools and my mind is forever thinking of the old days when the rivers were awash with salmon. It must have been something else to swing a dressed fly through these pools when there was so many salmon around. Although there aren't so many salmon around these days, there is still an excellent chance of connecting with a fish here and this time felt no different. I changed approach in here and opted for a 10ft 7ips tip and a 2" Sunray Shadow tied on an aluminium tube. I worked my way down the pool varying the speed of retrieve every cast until one work. Sadly, the only fish that took a liking to my Sunray in the Sands were greedy little brown trout. This wasn't much of a gauge to base my retrieves on so I just had o keep plugging away until something worked on a salmon.
Looking down the Top Slip at Ballogie.
The next pool down is the Top Slips. Storm Frank has done a number on the banks of this pool and it isn't the easiest to navigate your way down the bank in the high water. As there is always a good chance of a fish, it's well worth the effort though. It was holding a few fish and I stuck to the Sunray Shadow tactics but unfortunately the fish had other ideas. As I neared the tail I did get a reaction from a cock fish but it just leapt out the water as my fly passed by its lie.
Fishing the Bottom Slip under the wires.
The Bottom Slip was next up and by the time I reached the pool it was close to 5pm. I covered as much water as I could and as effectively as I could with the Sunray but it was another fruitless attempt to hook a salmon. I decided to have one final cast in the pool and I managed to snag the bottom. My line was stuck fast and I struggled to free it from around a big submerged rock. In the end I had to pull as hard as I could and this snapped my versi leader at the nylon part and my fly and leader were subsequently gone with it. At this point I decide it was as good a time as any to end my Dee season for the year and wound the remaining line onto my reel and set off back to my car to meet up with Sean at the hut.
Playing a fish in the Kelpie Pool at Ballogie.
Well, that's the final account of what has been a pretty successful season for me on the River Dee despite the low water that plagued the catchment during the long, hot summer. It started off on Opening Day at Park on the 1st February and finished on the Final Day at Ballogie with some great days, with great people sandwiched in between. I can't wait to start it all over again in 2019. It's not completely over for me yet though. I can still enjoy a cast on the River Don until the end of the month and I am fishing the South Esk again on Saturday with good pals Philip Black and Bill Cook. Hopefully there will be some more success to write about before the season is completely over. I'll certainly look forward to trying.
I was fortunate enough to have a few days off work last week which just happened to coincide with a timely rise in water levels coupled with a drop in temperature. This signals for me the time to break out the Franc N Snaeldas again!
Underwater release still from my GoPro camera
Junction Snaeldas
Pink Snaleda
I fished for a few hours each day towards the tail of the week and was rewarded with 5 salmon landed and 5 lost! Not often I hit it right but I did last week!
I had my annual 3 day trip to the Ballogie beat of the River Dee last week in pursuit of the ultimate prize in salmon fishing; a fresh run springer. Water levels remained steady during my three days with levels reading 1ft 6in on the Potarch Bridge gauge. The only significant change in levels occurred on Saturday afternoon when the river rose to 2ft on the gauge just after lunch time due to the torrential rain which fell through out the day. River temperature rose slowly from 35f on Thursday to 37f on Saturday.
About to return a cracking springer of around 7lb back into the Dee.
I had the beat to myself on Thursday and this gave me scope to move around and fish all the best pools. I set up with my 15ft Mackenzie DTX shooting head rod and a H/I/S1 Guideline PT Scandi line. Flies consisted of the usual spring flies like a Willie Gunn, Black & Yellow or a Monkey.
Action was few and far between despite the near ideal conditions above and below water level and it seemed the fish had other ideas. I did however land a very large kelt in the afternoon which took a 1" Dee Monkey cone head. It fought very hard and if I had lost it mid fight I'd have sworn it was a good fish that got away. Unfortunately, the springers were not playing ball even though there were one or two that showed themselves during the day. Despite no springers being caught it was great to be back fishing at Ballogie again.
A cracking springer from the Bulwarks which was taken on a 1" Monkey cone head.
The next day I was joined by my good pal Philip Black. With there now being two of us covering the water, this gave us a great opportunity to fish the beat a bit more thoroughly in an attempt to find a so far elusive springer. My set up for the day was exactly the same as the day before except I changed my versi leader from a 5.6 inch per second to a 3.9. This seemed to do the trick as not long after starting I had a fish on lower most pool on the beat which was the Bulwarks. This turned out to be a well mended kelt but just like the one I caught yesterday, this one fought like a tiger! I quickly return the fish and retied my hook. I waded out to the same spot where I came out to land the fish and made my first cast. My 1" Dee Monkey was swinging round nicely when it was snaffled again by another fish. The fish didn't really do much to begin with and I played it as though it was just another kelt. After a short battle the fish jumped out the water to reveal lovely thick set flanks and that shiny chrome colour that fresh run fish carry. This was no kelt and my attention levels rose sharply! Not long after, the fish was ready to be landed and I had soon beached a cracking fish around the 6lb mark. It was quickly photographed as I was returning it and it was set on it's way to do what nature intended. A great start to my day but this turned out to be the only action any of us would have.
A beauty about 9lb or so ready to be returned. Again, taken on a 1" Dee Monkey tube.
Heavy rain poured over the Dee valley all Friday night and into Saturday as well. The ground was sodden and we were expecting a sharp rise in river levels. Fortunately for us that didn't happen and the river was still showing 1ft 6in as we arrived at the hut on Saturday morning. I kept the same set up that was successful for me the day before and I decide to fish the Lower Inchbare pool first as I never got round to doing it the day before. Sean Stanton,explained where all the good lies were and I made my way downstream eager to begin despite the torrential rain overhead. I had fished down the top part of the pool without a touch but as I neared the tail I had a thumping take out in mid stream. The fish pulled hard in the fast water and I scrambled about the rocky river bed trying to make my way into the bank to land it. The fish fought hard but after 10 minutes or so I managed to tail a belter of a fish which weighed around 9/10lbs. What a start to the day! I removed the hook form the fish and set her on her way after a quick photo on her return. My camera was drenched after that so I made my way over to my car to try and dry it out before starting to fish again as I did not want to have the chance of catching a large fish and not having my camera for evidence (sore point on social media at the moment) so I spent 20 minutes or so with the heated seats on full blast as well as the heaters. The camera was dry again and I went back into the river exactly where I came out to try and catch another fish. I waded out into the river again and began fishing down the pool. No sooner had I started when I had another good take from a lively fish. I immediately knew this was no kelt and made my way back to the bank to play the fish. After a cracking scrap which lasted 7 or 8 minutes I managed to beech the fish in between two stones. As soon as I beeched the fish, Sean appeared just in time to take a few photos of me with the fish. It was fresh as paint and weighed in the region of 7lb or so.
My second fish from Lower Inchbare on Saturday morning. A cracker of 7lb which also took a liking to a 1" Dee Monkey.
Catch and Release. (also see photo at top of page)
Sean suggested I went back in again to try and get my hat trick. This I did and I couldn't believe it when my line went tight only a few cast after restarting again. This was another good scrap and the fish stayed deep through out. The fish took a lot of line which prompted Sean to run and get his net. The fish was just not for showing itself and stayed out in the current even though I tried to bully it in towards the bank. This continued for a good few minutes before I eventually got the fish up and ready for the net. Sean slid the net under the fish and we couldn't believe it when we noticed it was a kelt!! It wasn't even a well mended one either as it was still coloured. We quickly returned the fish and watched it swim off in astonishment that it put up such a fight for being a spent fish. By this time it was nearing lunch so we headed off back to the hut. It was still raining hard.
A fine early spring day on the Ballogie beat of the River Dee last week.
After lunch the rain was still falling but by this time the burns had started to fill and the river was colouring up and rising as a result. The gauge was now reading about 1ft 8in and I was due to fish the upper pools on the beat with Philip giving the Bulwarks a run through. I fished through the Top Gannet without a touch but the river was visible coloured by this time and I was ready to pack in. Sean arrived just as I was making my way down the pool and he suggested giving the Lower Gannet a go as the main flow runs down the far bank and the fish move close in to get out of the flow. I wasn't holding out much hope but I did have some excitement when a good fish took my fly about half way down the pool. This felt like a really good fish and it fought hard for a good ten minutes or so before I finally drew it into the bank for ghillie, Sean Stanton to tail. This fish didn't know when it was beaten and we were convinced it was a good springer but alas it turned out to be a 36" kelt! If I had lost it mid fight, we'd have sworn it was a big springer which got off. We couldn't believe just how hard fighting these kelts were! i fished out the remainder of the pool without a touch and we called it a day around 4.45pm more than satisfied with landing two springers for our day.
With that, it was the end of my trip. If someone told me I would catch three springers before I went I would have bitten their hand off! All the fish took exactly where Sean Stanton had said they would so without his expert knowledge who knows what might have happened. It was pleasing that the fish were all caught using the same fly fished off the same set up as well. It makes a huge difference not having to change tactics all the time in an attempt to find the correct formula so to speak. Interestingly enough, I didn't get an offer using any other set up.The conditions played a big part too and we couldn't have asked for better during our trip. If the same happens next season I will be delighted. There's a lot of fishing to be done before then though but I can't complain with way my season has started this year and long may it continue!
I was fishing the lower pools on the Baloogie beat of the River Dee on Friday and managed to land a small coloured cock fish about 4lb. I had lost a good fish earlier on in the day with I estimated to be in the high teens of pounds in weight but this was a very welcome consolation prize. My set up for the day was a 14ft rod, floating line and a 4ips tip.
A 4lb coloured cock salmon from Ballogie last weekend.
I spent three days on the River Dee at Ballogie from the 3rd-5th March and this was in place of my usual three days a bit further up stream at Carlogie which I had taken for the previous five years. Ballogie is a beat I've had good success on in the past but I had never fished it in the Spring months and was really looking forward to it.
Looking upstream towards the hut in Upper Gannets.
Top Gannets from the hut.
The water had risen about 1ft a few days before I arrived and hopes were high despite the poor catches leading up to my days. The water height was hovering around the 1ft 5in mark on the Thursday and it remained fairly steady until the Saturday where it rose to 1ft 10in. Pretty much ideal river conditions for this time of year.
Middle Gannets looking good in the spring sunshine.
Looking upstream from the Lower Gannets.
Thursday was my first time on the beat since the flooding caused by Storm Frank at the beginning of the year and I was eager to get a proper look at the place. The damaged caused by the flooding was evident up and down the whole river and Ballogie has fared no different. Some pools have had a good wash out and the banking around the Sands and Slips have taking a bit of a pounding but having said that, below the Potarch Bridge looked to have escaped the worst of the damage and it fished really well during my days there.
Looking downstream from the hut towards Middle Gannets.
I started my trip off on the upper part of the beat first and Ian Fraser, who was standing in for Sean Stanton, suggested I start up in the Top Gannets and work my way down through Middle and Lower Gannets before fishing the Sands before lunch. The Gannets yielded nothing but I did mange to land a small kelt from the Sands which wolfed down a 2" Willie Gunn conehead.
Fishing down the Sands. I got a kelt out of here on the Thursday.
Looking upstream from the Slips.
The Slips. Large amounts of shingle have appeared on the Borrowston bank after the winter floods.
After lunch it was the pools below the bridge I was fishing and I worked my way down through the Bridge Pool, Burn of Angel's, Upper and Lower Inchbare, Kelpie and Bulwarks. I didn't get an offer but I had one more run through the Bridge Pool just before 5pm and I managed to land a well mended kelt just as I was speaking to fellow rods on the beat. It took a 7mm Monkey fly just near the tail of the pool and once it was returned I decided to call it day and headed off home.
The famous Potarch Bridge pool. I had another kelt from here at last knockings on Thursday.
My second day saw me start where I had finished off the night before. I fished through the usual "hotspots" in all the pools and despite the fact we had a good water and over head conditions, I sadly didn't temp anything and my offerings remained untouched for the morning session.
Looking upstream towards the Potarch Bridge.
Burn of Angels.
Upper Inchbare.
The afternoon saw me back up on the upper pools and it was the same old story as the morning. Good looking pools, good water heights but just nothing willing to show an interest in any of my flies. At that time, doubt in my tactics started to creep in and I changed lines and flies numerous times in an attempt to temp even just a kelt but to no avail.
Fishing down the Flats on the Saturday.
I didn't go home that night and instead, spent the night in Ford Cottage with my pals Ade, Rory, Philip and Paul, who were fishing upstream at Carlogie. Philip managed to land a cracking fish of around 12lb from Commonty so the drams and beer were flowing all evening and the craic was top class. There was tears of laughter at times and we chatted the night away telling stories of fish and fishers of past and present. I woke up in the morning raring to go again and with a fresh approach to the river. Rain over night had risen the river about 6" and we were all looking forward to get going.
Ade, Philip and Rory enjoying the drams in Ford Cottage.
Ade, Patrick and Rory ready for another day on the river at Carlogie.
Ian had offered us a cast down at Commonty so I fished the upper pools on Ballogie in the morning before heading downstream to fish Commonty during lunch time. I did see two fresh looking fish in the Loop at Commonty but try as I might, they weren't interested. It was good to fish Commonty again and seeing a couple of fish kept the enthusiasm going. Philip had never fished Ballogie before so I offered him my rod and I fished the rest of the afternoon on Commonty. Philip manged to land a couple of kelts from the Bulwarks on Ballogie during the afternoon but my day was blank.
Fishing down the Kelpie in a good height of water.
The bottom pool at Ballogie - Bulwarks.
Depsite the lack of fish it was great to fish Ballogie in the Spring and it's something I will look forward to every year from now on. The pools on Ballogie are great for fishing the fly and if Storm Frank hadn't had the river up over it's banks from most of December and January then I am sure there would have been a head of fish occupying the pools. The sediment and debris flowing down the Dee all winter would have not been ideal conditions for salmon to run so we will get a better idea of fish numbers as the season progresses. There might even be some excellent new pools created as a result but only time will tell. Until then, my next trip is on the River Tay at Stobhall later this month and I am hoping conditions are favourable where I will be pitting my wits against the famous Linn Pool. Can't wait!
The top hut at Ballogie which overlooks the Gannets.
