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.

Carlogie - River Dee

At the beginning of August I had my annual couple of days fishing on the Carlogie beat of the River Dee as part of my good pal Ade Warburton's week. This is a trip I always look forward to and the banter on the run up the the fishing is great. I was fishing the Monday and Tuesday again this year and just as it was last year, the water was very low. I have attached a link to the same trip last year to see the comparison with the pools after Storm Frank had his way with Deeside. Carlogie 2015

Looking across the Calm Pool from the car park outside the hut.

Plenty beer and whisky around during this trip!

I arrived at the Greenlands cottage on the Monday morning around 8am and found the place was still in darkness. The lads were still in their beds from the night before after sinking a few drams so it was just a case of wakening them up as there was fishing to be had! After a cup of coffee (or two) and a breakfast roll in was off down to the Calm Pool hut.

The Carlogie hut which over looks the Calm Pool.

We arrived at the hut to begin our fishing at around 9.30am. We had a dram to toast the fishing in and made a draw for the pool were to be allocated for the morning session. I was drawn to fish the Clay Pot, Willow Bed and Boat pools for my morning so I tackled up with my 14ft Hardy Demon, floating shooting head and 10ft of 12lb maxima. No need for a tip in such low water conditions. My initial fly of choice was a #12 Arndilly Fancy.

Fishing into the Lucky Hole and Whin Bush.

Looking upstream into the Flats from the tail of the Clay Pot. I saw a huge fish jump in here which I estimated it to be around 25lb plus!

The Clay Pot has changed slightly after the Storm Frank floods in December and it has changed for the better in my opinion. The pool has a lovely even flow through it and it seems to look like it will hold fish, especially in low water like we were experiencing for the beginning of our trip. I worked my way through the pool and I immediately had several parr take my fly. Not what you want to catch really but it is pleasing to see such an abundance of juvenile fish present in the river. Other than a few more parr and a greedy trout about the 1lb mark, my run down the pool proved fruitless as far as salmon were concerned so it was off a bit further down stream to the Willow Bed.

Looking down the Willow Bed.

The neck of the Willow Bed.

The Willow Bed, in my opinion is a nice wee stretch of water. I saw a few fish in here despite the low water and this was encouraging. The top of the pool has a bit of depth to it and the white water looked like it might hold a fish in such a height of water. I covered all the obvious lies and runs but nothing too a liking to my offerings so I made my way back to the hut. After a quick drink it was off down river to fish the Boat pool.

Looking upstream from the Boat Pool with the Willow Bed in the distance.

Looking across to the Kincaridine hut from the Boat Pool.

Fishing down the neck of the Boat Pool. A good few fish around in here but proving difficult to tempt.

The Boat Pool is one of the most productive pools on the beat. It has everything you'd want in a salmon pool whether it'd be depth, fast water, glassy lies or good flow for fishing the fly. You name it, the Boat Pool has it. It also holds fish which is always an attraction for any salmon angler. I started off up to the neck of the pool just opposite the Kincardine hut and began to work my way down from there. Fish were splashing everywhere! Fresh fish mostly but with the odd older fish mixed in. I seemed to have stumbled upon a good run of fish moving through the pool. My excitement and concentration levels had risen enormously and I fished my way down the pool expecting the line to go tight on every cast. Unfortunately it didn't happen despite the volume of fish present. They just wouldn't be tempted by anything I threw at them and the run of fish soon passed and the pool went fairly quiet again about 30 minutes later. I couldn't believe they weren't for the catching and I trundled off back to the hut fro lunch ready to ponder my next move over a roll and a beer.

A Roe buck looking to cross the river at the Boat Pool. It saw me and ran away before it could attempt it.

We don't really have a set stopping time for lunch as such but we gathered briefly to discuss the morning's efforts and top up the dram glasses. There had been a fish caught by Ade which was good to hear and also there had been a few which were lost too. Everyone reported the same though, that there were fishing motoring through the beat all morning. The catches on the FishDee pages didn't reflect this but the fish were certainly there in decent numbers.

Looking across Pitslug where there is now a shingle bar running down the centre of the pool. A real shame as it was a nice bit of water.

Looking up the "Long Haugh" which is now just a fast run rather than a pool like it used to be until the flooding.

Having a cast in the Long Haug just on the off chance of encountering a fish.

I was to fish the top pools of the beat in the afternoon session so after a quick bite to eat it was off up to fish Rossicks. In the past, the upper pools consisted of Alan's, Long Haugh and Pitslug but due to Storm Frank these pools are no longer there. Alan's pool is still there but the bank is high above the water and it's not the easiest pool to fish correctly. Fishing Rossicks however, is always a joy and the fly fishes round beautifully. It's another one of those pools where you expect an offer every cast. It wasn't to be for me on this occasion though despite a good few fish present in the upper part of the pool so it was off down to fish the Mill.

Fishing my way down Rossicks on the Monday morning

Looking over the the mill at Dess where the pool takes it's name from.

On arrival to the Mill pool I noticed there was a Dess rod fishing the neck of the pool so I made my way back up to fish Rossicks again to pass the time while I waited for the Dess rod to fish through. My second run down Rossicks was also fruitless so I carried on downstream into the Mill.

Fishing down the Mill Pool. Sadly the old fishing huts which were situated on the Dess bank are no linger there after the floods.

About half way down the Mill Pool opposite the old Fir tree.

Looking upstream from the tail of the Mill Pool.

The Mill Pool is one of the prettiest pools on the river in my opinion. With the secluded banks sheltered by tall, matures trees and the old Mill over the water at the top of the pool, I can't think of a finer place to cast a fly. From a salmon point of view, the pool ain't half bad either! With the low water conditions there seemed to be a few fish taken resident up in the white water at the neck of the pool. These were easily covered with just a short cast and I covered the lies several times before moving on downstream. The fish were not playing ball but I seemed to have encountered the tail end of the run of fish I saw earlier on in the Boat pool because there was a steady stream of fish moving through for a good 20 minutes or so. I got to about half way down the pool opposite a big Fir tree on the Carlogie bank and I did get a good pull on my fly. For some reason it didn't stick but it was an encouraging sign that my fly was fishing as it should. By the time I had fished out the pool it was close on to 5pm so I made my way back to the hut.

Fishing down Jock Rae. A delightful cast at this height and plenty fish around to keep the concentration going.

After a few beers and a chat about the day's fishing I decided to have a go in Jock Rae and fish my way down through the March and Calm Pool. These pools were all holding fish in the low water but neither of us managed to land any of them during the day. Rory did have hold of four but sadly they all came off. Not ideal and not helped by the fact the opposition rod found this rather amusing.

Looking upstream in Jock Rae towards Coronation and the Mill Pool further upstream.

Jock Rae is a cracking wee pool and due to the change of shingle at the Carlogie side, it's very easily fished. It just requires a very short cast to cover the deeper part of the pool where the fish lie. I crept my way down the pool covering all the likely spots but the only fish to show interest in my fly were parr. If you let the fly swing round far enough they were snapping at the fly every cast just about.

The March Pool looking downstream into the Calm Pool.

Next up was the March Pool. Another short pool and really just a run at the top of the Calm Pool. There were also a few fish holding in the white water here where shallow wading and long casts are the order of the day here as to not spook the fish. I knew I was covering fish but they were still playing hard to get so I carried on down river into the Calm Pool.

Ade fishing down the Calm Pool whilst I enjoy a cold beer by the river.

Musker's Fancy No.2 dressed as per the description in Frederick Hill's book about fishing at Carlogie.

I decided to change flies and opted for a Musker's Fancy tied on a low water size 8 single. the Musker's Fancy was invented but Captain Musker who was the fishing tenant her in the late 30s/early 40s. It was described as the best low water fly bar none in those days so why shouldn't it be today? Anyway, I worked my way down the pool concentrating on the area out from the Carlogie hut where we saw plenty splashing about earlier on in the day. I did get hold of a fish from the pool but it wasn't a salmon, it was a greedy wee trout about 3/4lb but it nailed the Musker's Fancy and this gave me confidence in the fly. The rest of the pool didn't produce any offers and I called it a day about 9pm and retired back to the hut for a well earned beer.

A rainbow over the Carlogie. this was the start of a night of heavy rain which would cause the river to rise. Just a pity it was the evening I was leaving!

Day 2 on the beat was much and such the same. Plenty fish showing albeit not as many as the Monday but they were proving very difficult to tempt. We started very early on Tuesday morning and Ade manged to score with a lovely fresh grilse from Jock Rae at around 4.30am. It just goes to show that the early bird does indeed catch the worm (or fish in this instance!). That was to be it for the day sadly. I couldn't tempt any fish to my own rod although I did have a couple of half hearted takes in Jock Rae and the Calm Pool, most probably from running fish just nipping at the fly as it passed their noses.

Philip Black with a lovely fish from the Mill Pool on Wednesday afternoon after a good lift in water levels during Tuesday night.

It was great to be back at Carlogie especially meeting up with Ade again. It's always a great laugh and the fishing is a bonus. The water went up significantly on the Tuesday night and the remaining guys left fishing the remainder of the week scored well and they finished up with 11 in total which is a good score. Friday proved to be the best day with 6 landed as well as a few sea tout. Just goes to show that a wee bit more water can certainly get the fish excited and happy to hit a fly harder. Hopefully next year I get a bit more luck with the river levels as I always seem to miss out on the water when I visit Carlogie. Conditions are always much better when I've left! I won't manage to break this jinx which seems to follow me around at Carlogie until next Spring but I will be ready to go again when the time comes and with a bit of luck I will hopefully find myself in the right place, at the right time for a change. Tight lines.

Carlogie - River Dee

I was invited to fish the Carlogie beat as a guest of ghillie Sean Stanton along with River Dee staff Ross MacDonald and Mark Walker. The river was sitting at 1ft 10in on the Potarch Bridge gauge and over head conditions were ideal. The water was still on the cold side so tactics of fishing fairly deep were the order of the day so I rigged up my 15ft Vision Catapult with a F/H/S1 line and a 10ft 5.6ips tip. My initial fly of choice was a 3/4" tungsten Monkey tube.

Rossicks. This pool was fishing very well at this height and is a lovely cast. The fly swings round perfectly.

I was allocated the top part of the beat in the morning and Sean suggested that Rossicks would be well worth a good going over so I took his advice and headed off upstream. Sean accompanied me as I began fishing down the pool and he was pointing out good lies and where fish have been seen splashing before which helps enormously. Nothing like fishing over lies where you are confident there might just be a fish resting and this really helps to keep the concentration going. Despite this though, my run down the pool proved to be a fruitless one so it was off to the Mill Pool.

Looking upstream towards the Dees Mill from the Mill Pool. I never tire of that view.

Working my way down the Mill Pool. The three huts on the Dess bank which used to overlook this stunning pool are now gone and the banks have had to be reconstructed after the flooding.

The Mill Pool has to be up there with the most scenic parts of Deeside. This pool is quite close to the main North Deeside road but yet it feels so secluded when you fish it and you rarely hear the traffic, except the odd motor bike tanking past. This is another pool which was hammered by the Storm Frank flooding and the old huts on the Dess bank were sadly washed away along with large chunks of the bank itself. The bank has now been repaired but the hut, for me anyway, always provoked thoughts of past history of the Dee and the people who might have fished here many years ago. As inviting as the pool fished in the conditions I couldn't temp anything and headed off to the hut for some lunch with the other lads.

Fishing down the Calm Pool on a beautiful March day.

Like so many lunch hours up and down the river recently, our lunch time was spent discussing the current state of the fish stocks running the River Dee these past few years. There is currently a smolt tagging process ongoing at the moment where fifty of these juvenile salmon will be fitting with radio tracking devices. Their movement will be tracked down river and hopefully the river staff will get an idea of where a majority of the mortality is taking place whether it's in river or just off the coast. As always with research carried out on the Dee, the results will be published as soon as the all the data has been analysed and processed. I'm sure everyone with an interest in not only the River Dee, but salmon in general will look forward to seeing those results.

A bumpy wade down the top of the Boat Pool.

Fishing down the Boat Pool with Ross MacDonald in at the top of the Village Pool.

The old boat mooring stone with padlock and chain still attached has been uncovered by the flooding last December.

After lunch it was off down to fish the Boat and Village pools. These are both very good pools and hold fish all year round. The top part of the Boat pool can be a tricky wade but at this height it was fine. The water clarity also helped and it was easy to navigate a route through the pool. Once I had completed the Boat pool I carried on into the Village pool. There has been a bit of a change here too and the bank has been scoured clean and new rocks have appeared due to the grass being washed out. One such rock was the old boat mooring which had been uncovered after years of being buried under the banking. The old padlock and chain was still attached and it was certainly nice to see that lying on the bank once again. Like I mentioned about the Mill pool earlier, it makes your imagination drift back to the old days to think of when it was used frequently and by whom it was used by. Well, it does for me anyway! But back to the fishing. This was another part of Carlogie that fished really well at the height we had but I just couldn't find a willing salmon to take my offerings so we decided to head back up river for a look at the massive changes up around Long Haugh and Pitslug then to have a final run through Rossicks before calling it a day.

Looking upstream from Pitslug to the area formerly known as the Long Haugh. Massive amounts of shingle have been shifted by the winter floods here.

Looking downstream in Pitslug where there is now a shingle bar running down the middle of the pool. It didn't stop a Dess rod on the opposite bank landed a fresh run springer of around 17lbs though!

Long Haugh and Pitslug are to of the upper pools at Carlogie and both fish very well at their optimum water levels. Sadly, the Long Haugh is no longer really a pool as such and is now just a fast run coming down from Alan's. The island where you once had to cross a small side stream of the main river to get out and fish from is no longer there and the whole river pretty much now passes through where the island used to be. This has done away with the pool and as a result of the island being washed away the Pitslug pool below now has a shingle bar going right trough the middle of it. The deeper channel which once used to start at the neck of Pitslug is really only now a back water at this height but it could still fish decent enough in a big water possibly. The tail of the pool still looks like it will fish though and that's a bonus. The fish didn't seem to mind the changes to Pitslug though as a rod on the Dess bank landed a spanking fresh 17lber on the day. Only time will tell with that but when I look back at old photos of the beat it's only really then that you realise the colossal amounts of shingle which the river has shifted. It would have taken weeks, if not months to that with diggers and bulldozers.

I'd just like to thank Sean for inviting us down to fish such a cracking beat. It was a great gesture and was much appreciated by us all. It was also a pleasure to fish with Ross and Mark as it is always good to catch up with them on the river. We couldn't have asked for better conditions but try as we might, we just couldn't get a fish in the book for him. Still, there are far worse places to blank and you tend to blank a lot more often than not so we can't complain really. Will look forward to returning to Carlogie again as part of my pal Ade's week in August so until then I hope the beat see a few fish in the book and that the "new" pools and lies are as steady as there were before the flooding.

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.