KS Shrimps For River Dee Auction

I am delighted to donate a box of flies to the River Dee Trust auction again this year. These 12 flies are tied on silver Fulling Mill hooks of various sizes and will be presented in this Greys fly box. I was thrilled when I was asked last year and it was great to see my flies sell pretty well. It's all for a very good cause and I was a glad to contribute a wee bit to the final total.

I have varied it slightly this year and have tied 6 original Kitchen Sink Shrimps as well as 4 yellow KS Shrimps and 2 red KS Shrimps. Hopefully these will sell equally as well as last year.

Details of the auction can be found by following the link so please register and bid for any of the great items which will be on offer. The auction goes live on 1st November with all proceeds going to fund projects carried out by the River Dee Trust.

River Dee Trust Auction 2016

The Greys fly box with the dozen flies ready for the auction.

The original Kitchen Sink Shrimp.

Yellow KS Shrimp

Red KS Shrimp

 

Redd Counting On The River Dee

I spent the day on the Upper Dee yesterday with bailiff Mark Walker on one his redd counts to monitor the spawning activity in the Dee catchment. The river had been quite high at the beginning of the week after some heavy rain and due to the high water a majority of the redds we would encounter would be fresh ones. The river was dropping away for us yesterday though and new redds we came across were pin pointed by Mark using a GPS device. This gives the bailiffs and biologists a better idea of where the spawing occurs and it's a good reference to look back on from previous seasons as to where spawning activity usually takes place.

Two freshly cut salmon redds side by side.

Ideal spawning habitiat on a tributary of the Dee near Braemar.

Good spawning in the upper catchment of the Dee

A lovely view of the river and surrounding hills near Balmoral Castle.



A cock fish sitting on a redd awaiting the arrival of another hen fish to do the business with.

A salmon kelt which make easy meals for the Otters.

Another otter kill. Hopefully this fish had done it's job.

An old bridge over a tributary of the upper Dee near Braemar.

Despite the poorest angling season on record on the River Dee the redd counts have been encouraging and we certainly saw decent numbers in various locations yesterday as well as a decent number of fish present. This bodes well and hopefully the next generation of fish make it back to the river in four or five years time.

To find out more info about what happens on the River Dee through out the season follow the link and browse their informative website and publications. The River Dee

River Dee Auction 2015

The River Dee Auction has gone live as of today and there are some fantastic lots up for grape including fishing on some of the prime River Dee beats, salmon flies tied by some top fly tiers (I was delighted to donate a box of 12 of my Kitchen Sink Shrimp) alcoholic beverages, art and much, much more.

Follow the link below to view the catalogue and register to vote if anything takes your fancy. All proceeds go towards the river which is a very good cause if you like salmon fishing or just Royal Deeside in general.

River Dee Auction 2015

To find out more about the River Dee and what happens on the river and catchment follow this link.

The River Dee

Redd Counting With The River Dee Bailiffs

My uncle Stuart and I tagged along with River Dee bailiffs Mark and Diarmid whilst they were out doing their redd counting today. The plan was to survey the River Feugh but a sharp rise in water over night made it impossible so we headed to the Upper Dee near Braemar. Not a bad substitute in my opinion! Braemar has to be one of my favourite parts of Royal Deeside and just looking towards the snow covered hills and beyond, you would easily see why.

We stopped at one of several Victorian suspension bridges which span the Upper Dee and walked upstream to the first area to be surveyed. After a walking upstream for a while, we arrived at our designated pool at which Mark and Diarmid gave me crash course in spotting redds. The showed me what to look out for and explained about the types of flow and gravel the salmon like to use. We waded out into the river and there was a good number of redds cut in the pool and quite a few salmon milling about too. Most of the fish we were cock salmon because after the hen fish lay their eggs, they tend to head back downstream soon after leaving the cock fish to guard the redds and die. These dead fish provide easy picking for the otters and other animals at this time of year and it would be stupid to turn down the chance of a free meal. It was great to be out on the Dee watching salmon in their natural habitat doing what nature intended. When you fish for salmon, you don't really think about what happens after the season ends so for me, it was really interesting to watch and learn a thing or two about their behavior during this period.

Once we finished surveying the Braemar area, we headed off down river to spawning grounds near Aboyne. Pretty much as soon as we arrived, you could see the fish scurrying away as we approached.  The gravel, the flow and the cover all make this prime spawning habitat and it was full of redds. We walked a stretch of the stream, counting as we went and also looking out for any salmon about. Half way down ,we stood and watched as a big cock salmon lay almost motionless under the surface. It wasn't until we got closer that he took off. He would have been a beauty when he entered the river!

After a bite to eat, we headed down river to our final survey for the day near Drumoak. The water was slightly coloured here, probably due to the extra water coming down the Feugh which enters the Dee at Banchory. The higher water made it more difficult to see the redds but after a while of looking, we soon found plenty. There was no sign of any fish near the redds as they all must have moved on. The bailiffs thought this was quite early for them to do so considering fish were still spawning up around Braemar. Whilst surveying this area we also came across a few sea trout redds. These were harder to see than the salmon redds due to being smaller in size but Mark and Diarmid soon pointed out the characteristics of a sea trout redd how you tell them apart for a salmon's. Their locations were taken using GPS and we left the pool to count up the total. This signaled the end of a great day out with the bailiffs and it was good to see up close a small part of the excellent work they do on the river.

Considering the low water we had for most of summer and the back end, there were plenty redds about in most areas which was very encouraging. When you see salmon on their spawning grounds, which for most, is the final leg of an amazing journey, it brings it home just how much of a hardy creature they really are. We should do all we can to help protect them from the dangers and threats they face, many of which are brought about by mankind.

The River Dee Team do some great work regarding habitat improvements to many of the streams and burns that enter the main river. This in turn provides good spawning grounds for returning salmon which will eventually see a greater return of adult fishing in future years. To find out more about the River Dee Trust's work check out their website at www.riverdee.org.uk.

A Victorian Suspension Bridge across the Dee near Braemar.

Stunning view towards the hills.

Idea spawning habitat for salmon. We saw many redds and salmon in this area.

The clean gravel on the right behind a salmon redd. The bigger key stones to the left of the picture are where the eggs are laid.

A spawned out female salmon which had been taken by an otter. This was a good sized fish, maybe 12lbs or so.

Walking the river looking for redds near Drumoak.

More ideal spawning habitat which salmon and sea trout have taken full advantage of.

Tallying up at the end of the survey.

River Dee bailiffs Diarmid and Mark.

The River Dee Trust Online Auction 2013

The River Dee Trust is currently running it's annual online auction to raise funds for education, tree planting and habitat improvements within the River Dee catchment area. Their website contains loads of excellent reading on things such as surveys and studies etc. It's well worth having look and you can see what your money goes towards if you fancy a bid on the auction.

The Auction has something for everyone so why not check out the catalogue and sign up to bid on your favourite item. You never know, you might just grab a bargain! Click on the link below the image for more information.

Good luck!

The River Dee Trust Auction 2013

River Dee Tributaries

During last week I had been working in several places in the Deeside area. When I'm working up this direction I always make sure I carry my camera in the van because you just never know what you might see whilst out walking on your lunch hour. Also, as it's the month of November, there is always a chance of seeing hen salmon cutting redds or cock fish battling it out for position next to the hens.

On Friday, I was at a quiet little village called Finzean (pronounced "Fing-in"). For anyone who doesn't know, Finzean is situated roughly between Banchory and Aboyne and is a stones throw from the banks of the Dee's biggest tributary, Water of Feugh. So during my lunch hour I took a short drive up to the picturesque Forest of Birse which the water of Feugh flows through. This is a place I spent many weekend's with my family during the summers and it's a place I am really fond of. As it was late November I had possibly missed most of the main spawning activity but I did see some fish, notably a dead cock salmon and a rather lathargic one resting near the bank. With my time limited, I only travelled as far as the old mill but the salmon head much further up this beautiful wee river. I'll leave that for another day. Here are some pictures I took on my walk about.

Water of Feugh near Forest of Birse. With plenty cover and perfect gravel for cutting redds, this makes an ideal place for salmon to spawn and parr to flourish.

A cock fish which might have been about 9lbs or so lying on the bank. It looked as though it was spent and was quite heavily damaged due to fighting it's way up the falls and jostling for position on the redds.

A close up shot of the salmon's head just to show the damage to it's underside. It had marks like this all down it's body and bits of tail and fin were missing. Mostly all male salmon die after spawning so this one has done what nature intended.

Click on the picture for a closer look. This is a cock salmon about a foot from the edge of the river. It too looked like it was spent and is likely to die shortly. This fish had white fungal markings to it's tail area. 

I also stopped in past at Crathes Castle on my run back to take some photographs of the fish pass installed at the dam on the Coy Burn. This fish pass has opened up many miles of new spawning grounds to salmon and sea trout and it was a success almost immediately. Much more information on the Coy Burn can be found by clicking here and if you would like to read about other studies and projects carried out by the excellent biologists and staff working for the River Dee click here. Well worth a read in my opinion and a great way to find out about salmon habitat etc. Below is a picture of the fish pass.

The fish pass installed at the dam on the Coy Burn near Crathes Castle. Plenty salmon have run up this pass to new spawning ground and this will be of huge benefit to the River Dee in future.