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.

River Dee - Carlogie

This week saw me back on the Carlogie beat of the River Dee for three days. A lift in water a few days before we arrived was very welcome and it seemed to do the trick as many beats started reporting some good scores. My three days were to be spent in the company of good pals whom I met through the Salmon Fishing Forum. On Monday I was fishing with host for the week, Ade Warburton and on the Tuesday we were joined by Dave MacDonald and Martin Gardiner and Wednesday by Neill Sproull.

Ade fishing down the Calm Pool.

I set off early on Monday morning and met up with Ade at the hut overlooking the Calm Pool around 7am. I last fished with Ade back in February at Commonty and it was good to see him again. As we stood outside the hut catching up over a dram, there were several fish starting to show near the tail of the pool. These were all clean looking grilse in the 3-5lb range. This was very encouraging so we drank up and headed off to have a cast. Ade decided to fish the Rossicks and Mill pools first so I went up to the March Pool to fish there and carry on right into the Calm Pool, Lucky Hole and Whin Bush.

Looking downstream from the March Pool looking into the Calm Pool.

As I fished down through the pools, the run of fish continued for most of the morning. It looked as though the had their heads down and were not for stopping because try as I might, I couldn't temp one to grab my fly although I did move two fish with a Sunray Shadow down in the Lucky Hole. Ade returned to the hut at lunch time I was pleased to hear he managed to land a clean grilse around the 4lb mark from the Mill Pool. He hadn't seen any showing but he managed to winkle one out.

Alan's Pool looking downstream. A very deep pool which will hold a fish or two.

Fishing from the island at Long Haugh.

Looking up into Long Haugh from the neck of Pitslug.

After lunch, I was to fish the Mill Pool after I had a run through Long Haugh and Alan's. I was hoping to try and intercept these fish as they motored on through the pools. I headed off up to Alan's Pool for a quick throw but with a high and undercut bank it's not the easiest place to fish. I gave it a once over without a touch so it was off down stream to fish Long Haugh. I really enjoy fishing Long Haugh but due to a huge shift of gravel caused by large spates, it's a bit tricky to fish now due to an area of slack water which causes a bit of a back eddie. It's still a lovely cast though and the presence of one or two fish showing at the neck of Pitslug kept the concentration levels high. Sadly, I left the pool without an offer so I made my way down to have a go in Pitslug.

The hut overlooking Pitslug on the Dess bank.

Fishing down the Pitslug Pool. There were a few showing in here before the made their way up the faster water above.

Pitslug is another nice bit of water on the Carlogie beat. It does need a bit of water to fish better but we had 1ft 6in on the gauge and it seemed to fish reasonably well. The higher the water the closer the fish are I'd imagine but they were still within a good casting distance. I fished the pool all the way to the tail without an offer so it was back to the jeep and off down to the Mill.

Looking upstream in the Mill Pool. A stunning pool to fish set in a beautiful part of Deeside.

The Mill Pool is right up there with my favourite pools to fish on the entire river. The setting is stunning even though the main road to Aboyne is only up behind the trees on the far bank. With the Old Mill at the top of the pool and the old Dess fishing huts along it's banks, the place oozes character. Just like Ade, I fished down the pool with seeing a splash but unlike Ade, I didn't manage to temp a fish so it was off back to the hut.

On return to the hut, I was delighted to hear that Ade had landed another fresh grilse of around 5lbs from the Calm Pool. Two fish for his first day back at Carlogie was promising and we were keen to come back after tea for another go. We headed off back to the cottage for some supper and to plan our approach for the evening.

The interior of the hut at Carlogie as we waited for the bats to appear before targeting the sea trout.

We decide to go out a bit later in the evening and have a go for the sea trout as we had seen a few in the Calm Pool as we fished it during the afternoon. We headed off down to the hut around 9,30pm and sat and had a few drams as we waited for darkness to fall. The river was still rising slowly and was now a heavily peat stained colour. We we undeterred and I tied on one of my pal Bill Cook's trust Dark Mackerals and Ade opted for an Editor. We were to both fish the Calm Pool so Ade headed upstream and I went straight out from the hut. I pulled several yards of line off my reel and made my first cast. As soon as the fly hit the water it was hammered by a good sized sea trout! I couldn't believe it so I called on Ade who hadn't even got into the water and he he came down to do the honours of tailing the fish. It was a cracking sea trout of around 3lb and after a quick photo, it was released back into the Dee. Not a bad start at all! Ade got back in the water and followed me down the pool. Not long after re-starting his reel screamed and a lively sea trout lept into the air above me. I turned round to see a very large sea trout around the 5lb mark cartwheeling down the middle of the pool. Sadly though, the sea trout won that battle and departed with Ade's fly as it snapped his leader. We carried on down the pool and apart from a couple of half hearted pulls, neither of us could temp another sea trout so we called it a day around 1am.

Ade about to return my sea trout from the Calm Pool caught with my very first cast of the night!

The next morning we were greeted by Dave MacDonald and his pal Martin who were joing us for a couple of days. Dave, like myself is very keen on the River Dee and it was good to catch up with him again. After a strong coffee it was back to the hut to gear up for the day ahead.

 

Rossicks Pool. Another fine pool on the Carlogie beat.

As we arrived at the hut, we noticed the water had continued to rise over night and was now sitting around the 1ft 10in mark on the Potarch Bridge gauge. This wasn't a problem and the fish didn't seem to mind either and there were still plenty showing as the entered the pools. On Martin's first cast in Rossicks, he managed to land a nice sea trout about 3lb on a Cascade. Ade also managed to land his third grilse of the trip from Fraser's Pool. Dave was also in on the act with anothe r fine sea trout around 3lbs from Whin Bush. I didn't have much luck apart from Brown Trout which seemed to take a liking to my Sunray Shadow in Rossicks during the afternoon. We were again to try for the sea trout but the weather was against us as the temperature dropped away as night fell so we sat in the hut with the fire on having the odd drink or two!

A fine selection of (empty) bottles of Single Malt. Not bad going for only 2 days on the river!

I was designated driver and we headed off back to the cottage around 1.30am. I had a bit of catching up to do as we all sat around the kitchen table until the wee small hours putting salmon fishing to rights. I really enjoy these kinds of fishing trips. Spending time with like minded guys who all have a passion for not just salmon fishing, but fishing in general and who have all met through a Salmon Fishing Forum online. Despite only meeting up a few time per year, everyone is good pals and we get on very well. The craic is great and we even had a rendition of the Scots song "Haughs of Cromdale" by Dave which we all enjoyed.

Jock Rae. A cracking pool ideal for fly fishing.

My third and final day didn't start until 11am due to copious amounts of beer and whiskey the night before. Ade and I were feeling a little sorry for ourselves as Dave and Martin were up bright and early to chase silver again. One of Kincardine Post Office's famous sandwiches did the business and it was up and at them after that. I decided to have a go in Jock Rae and then fish Fraser's after that and Ade decided the couch in the hut was too tempting not to lie on! I fished on down through Jock Rae without an offer or seeing a fish but with a good water which was now dropping slowly, the fish were still splashing about, just not as frequently.

Wading down the Village Pool. Usually there are numerous fish in here which have taken up residence but sadly not this year. Never seen a splash in here all week.

Fraser's Pool where I lost a grlise on the Wednesday.

Fraser's Pool will always one I'll remember as I caught my first February Springer in there last year. There is a good flow pushes through Fraser's and when you see the rough water the fish have to negotiate coming up from Ballogie, you can see why they would stop briefly in this pool. I made my way down the steps and into the pool. There are a few big boulders in here but at this height, the wading is fairly easy. I worked my down the pool with a #10 Black Bear Flamethrower covering all the ripples and boils as I went. I had almost fished most of the pool without seeing or touching anything when I cast my fly out towards an series of boils near the tail of the pool. As my fly swung round past the first rock it was aggressively grabbed by a fish. I firmly lifted into it and the fish was on! It immediately came up to the surface and thrashed about on top of the water whilst still taking line off my reel. As it did this, it managed to throw the hook and the fish was lost! I couldn't it. Fish number six lost for the season so far!!! I composed myself and had another cast or two around the lie but the fish wasn't for taking again. I went back to the top of the pool and fished it all again but my second run down didn't produce anything so I headed off up Pitslug for one last cast before my three day trip came to an end.

Fishing down Pitslug on Wednesday afternoon.

Sadly, there were no willing takers in Pitslug despite seeing one or two fish. I called it a day around 6.30pm and headed of back to the hut for a chat with the guys before heading home. Nobody had had a touch all day but we were all encouraged by the amount of fish we had seen running for the three days. Considering many have written the Dee off this year, it was good to see the grilse arriving in good numbers even if they did have their after burners on!

All in all, it was a great trip on the Dee again and as I said before, it is always good to meet up with friends who met through the Forum. We are all good pals now and keep in touch via various forms of social media these days until next time we meet which will be back on the Dee in February, which I shall look forward to.

Carlogie - River Dee

I had my annual three day trip to the Carlogie beat on the River Dee this past week. I always enjoy fishing at Carlogie but I never seem to get much luck in terms of river conditions when I arrive there. A spate due to melting snow lifted the river to almost 7ft on Thursday morning. It was carrying with it a lot of debris and sediment which is not ideal conditions for fly fishing but as the day wore on the river dropped quickly. Conditions were almost as good to perfect as you could have asked for the remainder of my trip and hopes were high.

Day 1

The Wednesday before I arrived was very mild for being February with temperatures into double figures for most areas of Aberdeenshire. This caused the snow on the higher ground to melt and it quickly filtered into the river and caused it to rise significantly. When I arrived at the Potarch Bridge on Thursday morning the river had risen to almost 7ft on the gauge and was loaded with trees, logs, rubbish and all sorts of debris. The water was heavily coloured too which turned out to be no use for fishing. 

Looking upstream at the Boat Pool on Thursday with almost 7ft on the gauge.

The morning consisted of a token effort down the Village pool and an extended lunch break. We did however get a cast in the afternoon as the river dropped very quickly and she was soon down to just above 5ft on the gauge. There were still a few branches etc coming down but the river had also cleared enough to fish the Village Pool with some confidence. Big flies and sinking lines were the order of the day and between the three rods there were several kelts landed. Not the springer we were chasing but given the high water, it was good to get a bend in the rod. Friday would hopefully see much better fly fishing conditions.

Ready for action in the Village Pool.

The stick in the picture was where the water mark was first thing in the morning. This photo was taken at 5pm showing a big drop in water levels. The water clarity had also improved a great deal.

Day 2

I arrived at the beat on Friday full of hope as the river had dropped to a very good height aided by a hard, overnight frost. The river was now running at 3ft on the gauge which brought almost all the pools at Carlogie into play. The water temperature had dropped too and any fish moving off the back of the high water might just be slowed up by that. I tackled up with an intermediate shooting head, 7ips tip and a 1.5" Monkey Fly tied on a brass tube. 

Looking upstream at Alan's Pool.

I was allocated to fish the top part of the beat in the morning which consisted of Alan's Pool, Long Haugh, Pitslug and Rossicks.Alan's Pool is the upper most pool on the beat and I made my way up there to start and work my way down stream. I fished Alan's without a touch and it was off to have a try in Long Haugh.

Fishing down through Long Haugh.

A lot of shingle had moved since I was last here back in August and big chunks of shingle have appeared in certain areas of the the pool and disappeared from others. It's still a fantastic bit of water and it's a pool I always enjoy fishing but sadly, I didn't get a touch in here so it was down to Pitslug.

 

The fishing hut at Pitslug.

Looking downstream from Pitslug. I landed a kelt in here.

Pitslug fishes really well with a bit of water on it and it was a good height for it today. I was half way down the pool when Sean Stanton, the ghillie appeared. No sooner had Sean arrived when I had a take from a fish. The tell tale head shakes signaled instantly that it was a kelt and it was quickly landed, unhooked and released. I fished through the rest of the pool without another offer so I made my way down to give Rossicks a go.

Rossicks. A cracking pool which is ideal for fly fishing.

Rossicks is a classic fly pool with a fast streamy neck with tapers off into a nice evenly paced pool. With the water height as it was, Sean said to start a bit further down the pool today and fish it until I was level with the Dess bridge on the opposite bank. With every cast I was expecting a take but it just didn't come. I had time for a quick run through the tail of the Mill pool before lunch so I set off downstream a bit further.

Looking upstream from the tail of the Mill Pool. Has to be one of my favourite parts of the River Dee here.

The Mill pool has to be one of my favourite pools on the whole of the River Dee. Not just because of the scenery and the secluded feeling you get from the place but also due to the fact it holds fish almost all year round. The neck of the pool was out at this height of water so I had to concentrate my efforts on the tail of the pool this time. It's an easy wade down the Mill pool and I fished it whilst all the time willing the line to tighten. Sadly it didn't happen so I wound in and headed off to the hut for lunch and a seat by the wood burner.

Decision time. Searching through the fly box for something that gives confidence.

The inside of the hut which looks out onto the Calm Pool.

After lunch I was to fish the Boat Pool and the Village Pool. There was a good number of kelts in these pools and it was just a case of casting as far as possible to get into the lies where spring fish sat rather than fishing into the slower parts of the pool where the kelts were holed up. Despite this, by the time I had got to the tail of the pool I had landed 7 kelts. All which took a liking to the Monkey fly and one even took it as I was stripping in the running line to re-cast.

Looking upstream into the Boat Pool.

The Village Pool. There were a good few kelts in here especially in the top part of the pool.

I headed off down river to have a go in Fraser's pool. This time last year I got a nice springer out of Fraser's when the water was around 2ft 11in on the gauge. With the water dropping away slowly most of the morning, the gauge was now reading about 2ft 8in so I knew there was a chance of getting something. There is a good push of water running through Fraser's and even at this height you still have to be very careful with your step otherwise you'd end up down in Ballogie before you knew it! Unfortunately, nothing doing this time down the pool and I made my way back up to the Village pool for one last go before calling it a night. As the temperature dropped this seemed to put the fish down and nobody had a so much as a touch after 4pm.

Fraser's Pool. Sadly, no repeat performance of last year.

Carlogie - River Dee 28-30th July 2014

This week saw me fishing one of my favourite beats on the River Dee at Carlogie. I had looked forward to it for months, especially after the bumper spring this part of the Dee had enjoyed but as the spring turned to summer, the catches tailed off dramatically. Although we got a slight rise in water on Monday morning, this dropped away within a matter of hours and was back down to summer lows as quick as it came. The gauge at Potarch bridge was reading about 3" for a majority of the trip with water temps in the high 60s which is not ideal if you are in pursuit of salmon. Still, I can think of a lot worse places to spend a few days.

I had the pleasure of fishing with a great bunch of lads who I have met through the Salmon Fishing Forum. Many people can't stand the forums, and I can understand why at times, but when you meet the people behind the screen names there are some really good lads in these places. During my 3 days the craic was great and the drams flowed from morning until night most days! The fishing was tough going to say the least, but when you are in company of like minded people, it makes you realise that there is far more to fishing than just catching fish. Good company is important too.

On Monday morning we started bright and early 7am and not long after starting, party leader Ade Warburton landed the first salmon of the trip. A coloured fish of around 8lb from the Pitslug pool on a size 14 Crathie. This was a good start considering the conditions. Philip Black was not far behind and landed a 2.5lb sea trout from the Boat Pool. Paul McIntyre lost a lively sea trout in the Mill pool and I had an offer in the Calm pool which came to nothing. I did land a nice wee brown trout about 1.25lbs which nailed a tiny Crathie fly from the same pool. On a brighter note, I don't think I have ever seen so much parr and juvenile fish in the river before. If you let the fly come too far round and into shallow water a parr was hammering your fly on almost ever cast. It was really pleasing to see the river was in good health in regard to immature fish. Having said that, it's not really what you want to see occupying the salmon lies because, to me anyway, it signaled a lack of salmon around which would usually fill these lies, instead they were hosting parr.

Tuesday produced nothing however, Phil Black lost fish in the Calm pool which took a size 20 Stoat's tail. We saw very few fish in the pools and the ones we did see looked to be resident fish. The Calm pool and the Mill pool seemed to be where these fish decided to camp in until spawning time. They showed sporadically through out the day but were proving almost impossible to temp.

Wednesday saw the arrival of Neill Sproull and Dave MacDonald to fish the beat. Fresh looking fish were spotted in the Mill pool and the Calm pool during the morning which was encouraging. It wasn't until after lunch that a fish was caught with Ade landing a fresh grilse from the Rossachs which took a size 10 Jeannie. Just goes to show that trying something bigger than the normal 12s and 14s we had been using, can produce results. This was the last action of the days as the fresh fish came and went.
We certainly gave it a good go and fished hard. We must have covered almost every inch of the beat in the process! That's just the way it goes sometimes.

I had a great time at Carlogie and can't wait to return again in February next year. Here are some of the Carlogie pools from the top of the beat to bottom.

Alan's Pool. The upper most pool on the beat.

Long Haugh.

Pitslug. Ade got a coloured fish from here on Monday morning.

Sean Stanton did tell me the name of this run but I've forgotten it. Was Henry's Pot or something along that lines.

Rossachs. Ade got a nice fresh grilse from here on Wednesday.

Mill Pool. A famous pool on the River Dee.

Jock Rae.

River Dee Board member, Dave MacDonald fishing a Hitch fly in Jock Rae.

March Pool. A rod on the Kincardine side got a small grilse from here on Tuesday.

Calm Pool. Seemed to be holding one or two resident fish but not many.

Ade Warburton throws out a good line in the Calm pool.

Clay Pot.

Boat Pool. I saw a cracking fish in here on Monday. 20lb plus at least and fresh looking too.

Village Pool.

Fraser's Pool. I got a nice 8lb fish from here back in February.

Dram of the Day: The Balvenie.