Park - River Dee

I take a day on the River Dee at Park during opening week every year but due to a drop in prices for Spring fishing this year I decided take an extra day and fished the Friday and Saturday instead of just my normal Saturday. I had fished Park on opening day earlier in the week and was delighted to land a sea liced 12lber from the Durris Stream and hopes were high for my other days. Snow melt and heavy rain kept the water levels yo-yoing for most of the time but it was a good water to encourage fish to run the river from the sea.

My Opening Day springer from the Durris Stream on Monday last week. Still smiling!

Fishing down the Park Inn.

Looking upstream towards Silver Spoon from Park Inn.

The Park Estate has taken a battering from the flooding caused by Storm Frank and many of the tracks and pools have suffered as a result, no more so than Cooper's and Bulwarks. The river had breached the flood banks and powered it's way through the fields and woodland until it rejoined the main flow at the Castleton pool where it had swept away the fishing hut on the South bank. Tonnes and tonnes of earth and shingle have been washed out of the fields and the damage caused will run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. It's going to take a monumental effort to get, not just Park, but the entire catchment of the Dee back to something like it was before but at least the fishing is still there and anglers can enjoy what the river has to offer despite of what has happened to the surroundings.

Damage to the banks of Bulwarks caused by the New Year flooding.

Massive breach of the bank at Cooper's and the water tearing through here has left a trail of destruction through Park Estate.

Huge amounts of earth and shingle have been shifted here a this is going to take some amount of work to repair.

Another photo of the damage caused by Storm Frank.

Looking upstream where the road ends at the Long Pool. The road used to follow the curve of the river and go right up to the Park Inn.

The fishing on my two days was hampered by strong and gusty winds which made casting accurately very difficult at times. The river was also up and down almost on an hourly basis with snow melt the main cause of this. Despite the conditions we kept trying. Numerous different tactics were deployed as we searched the pools for that fresh run springer we all were craving but sadly it wasn't to be with just a few kelts to show for our efforts. We saw running fish in the latter parts of both days and when a few more decide to run the river then I wouldn't bet against Park picking up a few more before the end of the month.

Fishing down the Long Pool in a biggish water.

Making my way down Lower Kirks in a howling gale.

Castleton. Note the Park South hut is now gone. Another victim of the ferocity shown by Mother Nature at New year.

The Durris Stream seemed to be a good bet for a fish in the rising water and around 3pm on Friday afternoon, the rod on the South bank was into a fish near the tail of the pool. After a short battle the net was slid under a fresh run 10lber. The first fish of the season off the South bank. Not a bad start for Park with two in the book for opening week considering the poor early spring catches of recent seasons. The two fish caught will hopefully bode well for the rest of the spring and I would love to see Park get the good catches we all know it's capable of producing.

Durris Stream. A cracking pool and where I was lucky enough to land my fish on opening day earlier on in the week.

An angler on the South bank getting ready to land a nice, fresh springer around the 10lb mark from the tail of the Durris Stream.

Cellar. Another lovely pool on the Park beat.

There was to be no repeat of Monday's fish for me during my two days fishing but it is always a pleasure to fish at Park and the pools are a joy to cast a fly on. There is just something special about the place whether it being the history of the beat or just the surroundings, I can't quite put my finger on it but it's a beat I will always take the time to have a cast on as there is a great chance your fly will be taken by that coveted prize of an early running fish.

The Park North hut and the newly repaired parking area.

Paul Pritchard and ghillie, Keith Cromar discuss plans for the day ahead.

There is some good availability on both Park and Park South at the moment. With prices slashed by half for the early part of the season it's worth the money taking a day or two as all the fish running the Dee at this time of year will likely have to pass through the pools of Park Estate. For details of the fishing available at Park check out their page on FishDee or visit their own website at www.parkdee.co.uk

Park South - River Dee

Last Saturday, I fished the afternoon on the Park South beat of the River Dee thanks to a friend of mine, Paul Pritchard, who had to leave early. The water had risen earlier in the week which was a bonus but overnight rain on the Friday saw the river rising again and carrying quiet a bit of debris. When I arrived at lunch the water had risen several inches since morning and was sitting around 24" on the gauge. Despite this, Paul managed to land a fish in the morning on a Monkey and there was another caught about 4pm. A very good result given the conditions.

I didn't managed to add to the tally but really enjoyed fishing the beat as I have only ever fished these pools from the opposite bank and I was grateful to ghillie, Bert Webster took the time to show me the areas where I was most likely to encounter a fish.

Here are some pictures of the pools I fished at Park South.

The well equipped main hut on Park South.

I started my day off in the Long Pool. There were a good number of fish showing in here despite the coloured water.

Looking upstream in to the Upper Kirks from the neck of Lower Kirks.

Looking downstream from the Kirks hut.

An inscription inside the hut.

A brief period of sunshine whilst fishing down the Lower Kirks.

A rainbow over the tail of the Lower Kirks.

An upstream view of Long pool and Upper Kirks at dusk.

Park - River Dee

I had my annual August day on the Park beat of the River Dee on Saturday. Catches for the week had been the best of the entire season so I couldn't wait to get there but, my high water jinx struck again and I brought a spate with me for my day! When I arrived at the beat at 8.20am the gauge read 42" and there was a good bit of colour in the water too which hampered things a little.

Due to the high water, our best chance of a fish would be in the top half of the beat so I tackled up with my Scott Mackenzie intermediate shooting head and a 5.6ips tip. My fly choice was a 3/4" Silver Ally Shrimp. I was to fish the Castleton pool which fishes well in high water. Keith Cromar, the head ghillie suggested starting at the neck of the pool as there is a slower run tucked in off the bend. I fished on down the pool without an offer but went back up to give it another go as there were a few fish starting to show in the pool. Keith arrived just as I was going in at the neck of the pool for my second run through. I made short cast and as it was coming round onto the dangle I had an offer from a fish which came to nothing. I immediately re-cast and as my fly swung round to the same place as before, it was taken again and the fish made no mistake this time. I lifted into, what felt a decent enough fish but almost a quick as it was on, it was off again! I fished on down the pool and had another offer just opposite the Park South hut it didn't hook up. I headed off for lunch after that and planned my tactics for the afternoon.

As the water was dropping, I changed my line to a Scott Mackenzie Float/Intermediate shooting head and a 10ft fast tip. I also changed fly to a Black/Chartreuse Sunray Shadow. Keith gave us the choice on where to fish so I headed off downstream to try the Jetties and Bakebare. I didn't see or touch anything in these pools so made my way upstream to the hut taking in the tail of the Durris Stream on my way back. I was standing speaking with fellow rod, Bill at the Celler Pool when he spotted a fish head and tail opposite where we were standing. He urged me to go and give it a go so I made my way 10 yards or so above where it showed and cast out my Sunray. I had only made a few slow draws of my line when BANG...... a lively fish of around 7/8lbs hammered my fly! I lifted into the fish and watched as it splashed about on the surface before finally managing to unhook itself. I have no idea how it came off as the way it slammed into the fly you'd have thought it would have been well hooked. It wasn't to be and it was another fish lost. After that, I decided to give the Kirks a run through but apart from seeing a fish at the tail of Lower Kirks, I saw nothing else or encountered anything. I finished up my day around 7pm after a fruitless run through the Celler again. The water had dropped back to just over 34" through out the day but there was still a bit of colour to it. Still, at least it was good to finally see the Dee with a bit of water in it again!

Here are a few pictures from my day.

Castleton Pool with 42" on the gauge.

Paul Pritchard launches a good line out from the South bank.

The Park fishing hut.

Looking downstream from the bank of Jetties.

Bakebare. Cracking pool but nothing doing in here for me.

Fishing down the tail of the Durris Stream.

The Celler Pool where I lost my second fish of the day around 4.30pm.

Looking upstream from the Long Pool.

Lower Kirks. A great pool and one I always enjoy fishing.

P.S If anyone fishing the Dee comes across a Floating AFS shooting head with some Varivas running line and a sink tip attached please contact me via twitter @DeeDonSalmon or leave a comment on this page and I will pass the info onto the person who lost it. Thanks

Park - River Dee

Last Saturday past was my annual August day on the Park beat of the River Dee. The week started pretty well for Park with some good catches on Monday and Tuesday but like the river level, catches dropped away as the week went on. The river height on Saturday was reading 7" on the gauge and the water temp was 59f.

Just the one salmon landed by either bank and a sea trout was landed first thing from the South bank. I never had any luck myself this year and the majority of the rods out were the same. Slim pickings on the Dee at the moment. Hopefully things pick up soon and there is a good back end run.

Here are a few pictures from Saturday. Unfortunately, just more shots of the pools and scenery I'm afraid! Hopefully we can get some silver posted again soon when we get a lift in water on the Dee and Don.

On my way down to the beat in the morning.

The Park North fishing hut.

Greenbanks pool where I started off my day.

Castleton. The Park South hut on the far bank. Too slow here at this height.

The tail of Castleton and into the House Pool.

Duffers. The first pool of beat 6 which I fished after lunch.

Bakebare. Keith suggested I had a run down before heading back to the hut at 5pm.

The Bridge Pool with Park Bridge in the background.

Long Pool. At 5pm I went up to fish on beat 2.

Upper Kirks. Timed this photo well when a wee fish showed just in front of me.

Lower Kirks. Looking upstream towards the hut on the South bank.

Annual February Outing At Park

I had my first outing of the new fishing season on the Park beat of the River Dee yesterday. The water was sitting at a nice height of 22" on the gauge and the water temperature was 34f. I started off my day in Beat 1. The pools on this beat are Silver Spoon, Park Inn and the Boat Hole. Not long after starting, the rod on the South bank lost a fish but it didn't surface and I'm not sure if it was a fresh fish or a kelt. Still, at least there was a sign of fish being present in the pool. I fished down through the Park Inn and Boat without a touch and Keith the ghillie thought it might be worth fishing Silver Spoon as the water was getting to a good height for that particular pool. This I did but came out with the same result as the previous pool.

Around 11am I swapped pools with another rod called Euan and this put me in the Castleton Pool. Keith informed me that 8 fish so far this week have all come out of this very pool and I couldn't wait to get going. About half way down the pool, just opposite the Park South hut,  I had a good pull on my and draw of the line. I lifted into it but as I did the fish let go of my Kinermony Killler Snaelda  and I didn't hook it. The way the fly was taken, I could have sworn it would have set the hook but it was not to be and the Salmon wins again. It was still early in the day so I was not too bothered by this and I fished down through the rest of the pool without a sniff.

At lunch, one of the rods, Sean who had a good few days on the beat, told us he had landed a beauty of 8lbs from the Upper Kirks. It was his 3rd Springer of his 3 day trip to Deeside. Great result!

After lunch I was to fish Beat 4. I started in the House Pool and as I was nearing the bottom of the pool, I had another pull of the fly but it didn't take much line and let go as quick as it grabbed it. I carried on down to fish the Celler Pool but didn't see or touch anything in here. The next pool down is one of my favourites on the whole river, the Durris Stream. I love fishing this pool but it turned out to be a fruitless run through it. I was really surprised to see very few kelts splashing about at the tail of the pool under the wires. Keith instructed me just to carry on into Beat 5 and fish the Ash Tree pool. There were plenty kelts showing in here but apart from 2 plucks at my fly that was it.

I always look forward to my February day at Park and although I had nothing to show for my efforts, it was great to be out on the river fishing again. Not quite grasped how to use my new camera yet so apologies for the  quality but here are some pictures from my first outing of 2013.

Park Inn. This is the pool I started my day in on Beat 1.

Silver Spoon. This is the top pool of the Park beat. A nice cast and easy to wade.

Castleton. I had my first offer of the day opposite the
hut but it didn't stick.

House Pool. Another nice cast and had a pull near the tail of the pool.

Durris Stream. This is a cracking pool and produces a lot of fish through-out the season from both banks.

A Day On The Dee At Park

I've just had my annual August day on the famous Park beat on the River Dee. I had been keeping a close eye on the water heights because apart from this trip, every other time I've been to Park the Dee has been in spate! I was to be lucky today though as the water height was only 9" on the beat gauge. The catches for the beat this week have been really good so I was full of anticipation and was eager to get going.

I arrived at the hut about 8.30am and after the usual cup of coffee and meet and greets I tackled up with the same tactics which were successful last week at Kincardine. This set up was a RIO AFS intermediate tip shooting head, a 10ft slow sink polyleader and a #13 Cascade. I was allocated Beat 3 in the morning and Beat 6 in the afternoon. I set off up to Beat 3 and was to start in the Greenbanks. The Greenbanks is a cracking pool with a really nice streamy run coming off the faster water at the neck. There were plenty fish showing just off the run and most of them looked fresh. After 45 minutes or so, the rod fishing in the same pool but on the South bank landed a nice fresh grilse so that was encouraging to see that they were at least catchable today. Keith Cromar the ghillie arrived with the owner of the beat to inspect some eroding banks and just as they made their way back to the cars my line was drawn away and I lifted into a lively fish. After 5 minutes or so of storming runs and a cartwheels, Keith slid the net under a 6-7lb bar of silver covered in sea-lice. Nice way to start my morning. And to land it in front of the future Laird of the estate too. I fished on through the Greenbanks and the top part of Castleton without another touch but the South Park rod did manage anothe small grilse from the neck of the House Pool.

At lunch time, after exchanging stories of catches etc, it turned out that all the fish were caught in the space of an hour or so which was to end up, apart from a 10lber from the Celler Pool caught late in the afternoon, to be the only time the fish were really in a taking mood all day.

I headed down to Beat 6 after lunch to fish the Bridge Pool and Keith's Pot. The Bridge pool is a fantastic cast and I was just waiting for the line to go tight every time my fly swung through the pool. Although there were plenty fish showing I didn't connect to any which was frustrating but that's fishing for you. This is why we anglers keep coming back and trying to catch these wonderful creatures.

About 6pm I headed up to fish Beat 1 to fish all the way down to the hut before heading home. Again there were plenty fish in evidence especially in the Park Inn but they were running quickly upstream and were not in the mood to stop and take my fly.

I always enjoy fishing at Park and will return early next year to try and land the most prized catch of all, a Dee Springer. Here are some pictures from my day yesterday.

Greenbanks Pool. A lovely cast and a pleasure to fish.

Good start to the day. A sea-liced Salmon from the Greenbanks landed about 10.15am. Always good to get a fish early on.

The Bridge Pool named obviously due to the Park Bridge in the background. First time I have fished on Beat 6 but I really liked it so hopefully next time the water will be in my favour again because it only fishes in lower water.

Keith's Pot. This is the pool belwo the Park Bridge and always has fish splashing in it when I pass over the bridge. Today was no differant but they were not interested in my flies unfortunately.

A nice view looking downstream from Cooper's into the Long Pool then furthest away, Upper Kirks.