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

Tilbouries - River Dee

Back in January, I booked a days fishing at Tilbouries through the Aberdeen District Angling Association. September seemed miles away back then and I certainly never foreseen the lack of water we'd get this year. The beat is usually bouncing with both fresh and coloured fish at this time of year. I say usually, because due to the well documented and prolonged dry spell the East coast of Scotland has had to endure this year, most of the pools have very little in the way of fish holding in them.

As always, I arrived at the beat eager to get going and Willie Banks suggested I try the top end of the beat for a start and work my way down to the hut. I started off fishing the Island stream but apart from a handful of parr, I touched nothing so I headed off down to fish Alfred's Pot. One of the rods fishing the pool before me had a fish about 7lb which was encouraging so I tied on a wee #13 Black Francis and not long after starting I got a good pull. I have no idea why the fish never hooked itself as it nearly pulled the rod out of my hand! Again, apart from a few parr I landed nothing.

After lunch I fished down through the Island again with just parr and a brown trout for my efforts so I headed off back down to Alfred's Pot. I entered the pool at the neck and begun fishing, as you do, with a short line and gradually lengthening with every cast. After half a dozen or so casts, I had a good solid take and lifted into a fish. As I set the hook, the fish gave a couple of strong head shakes and this caused the hook hold to come loose and the fish was off. I decided then to change fly and put on a wee #13 Yellow Crathie. This fly has been doing very well further down river on the ADAA stretch of the Dee so I'd thought I'd give it a swim here too. About 20 yards down the pool from where I lost the fish, I cast out and I had another solid take just as the fly came hard into the bank. As the water is very deep on the Tilbouries side of the pool, the fish tend sit in the deeper water and are easily covered. I lifted into a strong wee fish and after a few minutes and several runs later, I drew the fish into the waiting net. Not a fresh fish but a fish none-the-less and a very welcome one. I returned the fish and the rod fishing above me was into a fish almost straight away. I wound in and went to assist the angler. After a good fight in the fast water I slid the net under a nice, reasonably fresh fish about 6lbs. I fished on down the pool without another touch and decided to call it a day about 6pm.

It's always nice to land a fish and considering the low water conditions,  3 salmon were landed today which is not a bad tally at all.

First pool of the day. Looking down the Island Stream.

Looking upstream from the tail of the Island.

Looking upstream from Alfred's Pot towards the Tilbouries Run.

Looking downstream in Alfred's Pot. Always holds fish in a medium/low water.

Looking upstream towards the hut from Larches. This pool is called Cairnton.

My wee 4lb Grilse from Alfred's Pot taken on a #13 Yellow Crathie.

Tilbouries - River Dee

Last Thursday, I had an evening fishing the Tilbouries beat of the River Dee. The beat landed 4 and lost several more the day before but a wee rise of about 3" moved the fish on and apart from having one on and off, I landed nothing. Plenty fish were showing and I had a few nip at the fly but didn't take. Still, it was nice to be back on the Dee again.

The Tilbouries Run

Alfred's Pot

Looking upstream from Alfred's Pot.

18lber From Tilbouries

My uncle Stuart Fleming had a day on the Tilbouries beat of the River Dee yesterday and landed this sea liced beauty! The fish took a 1" copper Ally Shrimp tube from the Alfred's Pot. It's his second 18lb salmon from the beat this year.

Cracking fish!

An 18lb belter from Tilbouries. Thanks for the picture!

On The Dee At Middle Drum

Myself and Charlie had a day on the lovely Middle Drum beat of the River Dee. The water was a good height at 1' 7" on the beat gauge and carrying a nice whiskey colour. Middle Drum is a nice beat and I have fished here a good few times, mostly in the Spring time around March. It was fine to fish it later on in the year when the pools were filling up and running fish were to be seen almost the whole day.

We were allocated to fish the top part of the beat in the morning and I started in the Island Run and Charlie started in the Cairnton Pool. Apart from Charlie moving a salmon to his Sunray at the tail of the Cairnton, that was to be it. We swapped pools about 11.30am and I tied on a Black and White Sunray to my usual set up of a Float/Intermediate Tip AFS and a 10ft slow sink tip. I started at the top of the pool and within a few cast my fly was hammered by a fish! It was not a salmon but a wee finnock about a pound which took a shine to my fly. Between us that was to be all the action for the morning session but we had the Lawson Pool to come in the afternoon.

After a bit of lunch and a chinwag with ghillie Shane Christie we headed back onto the water to have a go at the Lawson. During lunch time there was torrential rain and the river quickly rose about an inch or so. Charlie set off down the pool and I went in at the top. Just as I got to the end of the concrete walkway, I hooked a salmon parr but as I was taking it in something bigger had a go at it!!! It grabbed the parr and as I kept reeling in the fish let go leaving me with a rather battered looking parr. I unhooked it and it seemed to swim off fine but I've never had that happen to me before. Not sure what method that would have came under if it was hooked and landed?

As I got to a good taking part of the pool just under the power lines I made a fairly square cast and began to use the figure of eight retrieve. Just as my #9 Ghillie Fly came round to the dangle it was drawn away in I lifted into a livley fish. It was a spanking fresh grilse about 4 or 5 pounds and it was cartwheeling all over the pool! It spent more time in the air than in the water. I played the fish for a couple of minutes and it made a few tearing runs and jumps. I thought the fish must have been well hooked and Shane was ready with the net but just as it was tiring and coming in, the fish threw my fly! I have no idea how the fly came out but as Shane and I looked on in disbelief we could only assume that all the acrobatics must have worked the fly loose. Who knows but that was to be the only action myself and Charlie were to encounter for the rest of the day. We packed up at dark and headed home wondering how we didn't catch anything as the Lawson pool especially was bouncing with fresh fish all day long. We must have seen about 200 or so during our day. That's fishing I suppose and it's another fish lost for me which, this season has been quite a few!

Here are some pictures from our day.

Island Run. Always a good chance of picking up a running fish in this pool. Tilbouries hut on the other bank.

Looking upstream from the Lawson to the tail of the Cairnton pool.

Lawson Pool. Just near where I hooked the grilse. Nice pool but we could have been done with another 6" on it. Still very good to fish a fly through though.

Fishing the Lawson. Charlie's dog Bracken searches out his stick and I fish down the huge Lawson Pool.

Middle Drum Salmon Fishing Video

I have made up a video of the Middle Drum beat on the River Dee. Hope you like it. Enjoy!

River Dee @ Middle Drum 03/03/2012

My friend Charlie and I had booked a day on Middle Drum back in December and had been looking forward to it since then. It is always a pleasure fishing with Shane Christie the ghillie. He is great company and always up for a laugh and a bit of craic. He also knows his beat inside out, having been there since he left school.
Prior to going Charlie and myself had our pre-trip phone calls as the excitment grew. Discussing tactics, flies and the post fishing pints in the Irvine Arms! A vigilent eye was kept on the FishDee website all week and we were buoyed by the fact Tilbouries opposite had a fish on Thursday.
I picked up Charlie on Saturday morning and was welcomed in as usual and treated to a bacon buttie and a cup of tea. We set off and arrived at the beat about 8.40am and tackled up. We met Shane at his hut along with Jim who we have fished with a few times before. After discussing tactics we were alocated our pools for the morning. I was to fish the Lawson with Jim and Charlie headed up to the Island and Cairnton. There were lots of kelts showing and a few Springers showed too. We both tried as best we could to cast a line into the driving rain and gales, try as we might though, it was not happening. We had to re-cast between gusts and even then it was coming right back at us!
None of us even had a touch for the morning and it was to be the same story in the afternoon. Conditions were much better after lunch and the rain finally stopped too. I fished all the way down from the Island, through Cairnton, Lawson and Kelpie pools without eevn a pull. Charlie was the same. The fish just were not for catching, even the kelts were pre-occupied with something else.
We had a great day out, although none of us hooked anything. It was good to catch up with Shane again as it's a beat I have enjoyed fishing everytime I've been and will do again. Here are some pictures from our day.

Looking upstream from the tail of the massive Lawson Pool. Fishing from the bank all the way down.

Looking upstream from the Kelpie Pool. This is a cracking low water pool and has accounted for a few 30lb plus fish.

The rain has gone and Im fishing down the top pool, the Island Run. Another good wee pool. You fish it by wading the top part and off the bank after the tree mid way down..

Cairnton Pool. Wading is essential here unless water is very high. The Tilbouries hut in the background.

Having the final few casts on the Lawson at dusk.

Ghillie Shane Christie and myself. Good guy and great company.

Tilbouries River Dee 21/07/11

Had a day on the Tilbouries beat of the River Dee on the 21st. Water was a good height and 4 fish were landed the day before I arrived. I didn't catch anything this time but one of the rods landed a 8lb bar of silver around lunch time. Blanked but it's a lovely beat and Willie Banks the Ghillie/Owner knows it inside out and was more than happy to help me out regarding the lines, tips and lies etc. Here are some pics of the beat.

Just below the junction half way down the Island Pool.

Looking upstream towards the Tilbouries hut and the start of the Cairnton Pool.

Fishing down through the Cairnton to the Larches (Pool just off the bend on the right) were the 8lb fish was landed.

The hugh Lawson Pool. At this height of water, the fish were all hugging the far bank (Middle Drum) and to cover them wading out as far as you dared was essential. It is hard work fishing down this pool up past your waist in water trying to reach the far side. I was knackered when I got home after a few runs down here!