A.D.A.A. Angling Reports 2008
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| Week beginning 23 June | Dee -
Nil, although one of our members lost two fish at Knappach! Feugh - Nil
Ythan Ardlethen - Sea Trout - 2lb Machar Pool- A few sea trout coming off of this beat now all between 2 - 3lbs
Don Upper Parkhill - Sea trout all between 2 - 3 lbs, plenty brown trout being reported mostly wild between 1 and 3lbs. An amazing brown of 7.5lbs has also been reported. Lower Parkhill - Sea trout all between 2 - 3 lbs with one being taken of 6lbs. Brown trout ranging between 1 - 2.5lbs Lower Fintray - One salmon of 14.5lbs being reported this week.
Loch of Loirston Rainbows galore being reported this week, great sport being had up there at the moment, most in the 1.5 to 2lbs range, but really good fighting fish. Well done to JimCam for catching his first rainbow up there.
Recent Catches With the rising river levels we had significantly increased catch levels, over recent weeks, with declared catches of 127 salmon/grilse and 80 sea trout. There was an excellent catch reported from Borrowston, with 22 for the week, 18 of which were caught between Monday and Wednesday. This was an excellent result for Dr Philip Fairchild and his party where they fished Monday to Wednesday and would have pleased ghillie Mr John McGinlay. There was also a run of fresh sea liced salmon and grilse into the lower beats and some of these fish have been running hard taking advantage of increased water levels. There have also been some nice multi sea winter fish reported daily with fish reported between 15-20 lbs each day this week. I received this reports from successful anglers Mr Ross Macdonald on Saturday night and Mr Alan Morrison today. Ross Reports “I have had good sport this week on the Dee. On Tuesday I landed three salmon of around 7lb and two of around 12lb at Borrowston. They were in excellent condition and particularly strong. The successful flies were the Munro's Killer on a size 10 and a Silver Shrimp tied on one of the new Salar size 13s. On Thursday evening I joined my friend Alan Maughan at Inchmarlo and had a coloured grilse on a Park Shrimp cone head. The Dee is a beautiful place to be on these long summer evenings, although you might want to advise visitors to bring midge repellent!”
Alan reported success from his visit to the Headinch and Cambus O’May beat. “Fergus, our ghillie had told me to have lunch at the hut beside the Tassach pool, one of the most famous pools on the Dee. What a pool, well over 100 yards long and with the famous triangular shaped stone in its tail. The thing is the whole pool looks like it will fish from the streamy neck right to the tail. Keen to start out after lunch, I started in the neck and after 5 minutes had a draw whilst fishing a short line from a pocket of water just off the main current and landed a fish of around 6lb on a size 11 Park Shrimp after a reasonable tussle in the fast water. Not the biggest fish in the world but a welcome fish in the afternoon. I can also report that a new fish pass has been installed in the Coy tributary at Crathes Castle, which is allowing access to new spawning grounds for the first time in over 200 years. This was work that was part of the CASS LIFE Project. The water bailiffs reported seeing sea trout trying to use the pass as the builders were finishing up their work, which bodes well for the colonisation of these newly opened up areas. As always if you have any interesting stories of catches to share then please contact me by e-mail at ken@riverdee.org. Ken Reid © FishDee June 2008. Prospects Weather forecasts indicate a relatively mild week with air temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius, along with breezy winds. There may be some heavy showers on Tuesday with prolonged heavy rain on Wednesday. There is a good chance that if the rainfall arrives as forecast we will have another spate, which will coincide with the high tides allowing perfect conditions for fish to enter the river in the latter half of the week. I would recommend you consult the ghillies who will advise the best tactics and times to be fishing during the week. There is daylight for nearly 19 hours per day and the fish may be active at some point or another during the day so it pays to know when and where to fish and with what tactics. If you do not have a ghillie then you may wish to fish at dusk and dawn with a siesta during the afternoon, when the sun is shining directly downstream. If you can manage to get out and fish then it could be a good week to be on the river. As always if you have any interesting stories of catches to share then please contact me by e-mail at ken@riverdee.org. Ken Reid © FishDee June 2008. |
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| Week beginning 16 June | Dee -
A few more fish being recorded, there was a slight rise in water at the beginning of the week which seems to have help get the season started down here.
Garthdee - Banchory Devenick - Sea trout at 2 - 3lbs.
Tilbouries - Knappach -
Ythan - Nil
Feugh - Nil
Don - Netherdon -
Fishdee Report
Recent Catches
It has been a much quieter week on the Dee due to the low water conditions with a reported catch of 51 salmon and 83 sea trout. Whilst the catches of salmon weren’t as prolific as recent weeks the fish were still of a good size, reaching double figures every day of the week.
The 83 sea trout were caught from Park right through to Crathie at Braemar and many of them were reported as being caught in the late evenings and throughout the night. Those intrepid anglers would have had good sport using light single handed rods and hard fighting fish.
The biggest catch of the week must surely go to Guy Newell who was introducing his girlfriend to the art of salmon fishing at Sluie. After an hour of instruction on the first morning he left his partner to her own devices so that she could learn by her own mistakes.
Prospects At last we have had a good sustained downpour and the Dee has started to rise. The forecast for the week is for continued sunshine and showers, so hopefully the water levels will get a good boost and help to bring in fresh fish from the sea. Now to the business end, size 8 and 10 flies may be popular this week for salmon, with the use of small weighted pot bellied pig tubes and Frances pattern tubes doing well. Floating lines, long leaders and small flies are also popular at this time of year and the occasional use of short intermediate poly leaders in the faster flowing sections. Salmon and sea trout will be migrating on these river levels and if you are in the right spot then you could have some good sport. As always if you have any interesting stories of catches to share then please contact me by e-mail at ken@riverdee.org. Ken Reid © FishDee June 2008 |
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| week beginning 9 June | Dee -
Nil If nothing else it's worth going down and watching the fish between 8 - 9pm going over the shingle bar, quite an amazing sight.
Knappach - water very low, really needs a rise to start fishing again, but anglers are still enjoying trying!
Tilbouries -
A few fish being taken on this beat, sea trout and salmon, just not our Thursday rods being the lucky ones so far.
Feugh - Nil
Ythan - Nil
Don -
Netherdon -
Finnock up to 1lb and Brown Trout up to 1.5lb.
Lower Parkhill -
Sea trout largest being 2 - 2.5lb
Upper parkhill -
Sea trout largest again being 2.5lb Salmon largest being 7lb.
Loch of Loirston
Very trying conditions out on the Loch this week very windy but a few rainbows have been recorded all up between 1.5-2.5lbs
Dee
Recent Catches
The catch for the week of 115 salmon and 46 sea trout has once again shown that the Dee is still producing steady sport to anglers who are fishing. The distribution of catches indicates there is the possibility of catching a salmon or sea trout on the river anywhere from Aberdeen to Braemar. The reported catches from some beats indicate this pattern clearly, with Park reporting 11 fish for the lower river, Ballogie reporting 13 for the middle river and Crathie reporting 21 fish from the upper river.
It was Birkhall that produced the biggest fish for the week with a 22 lb salmon recorded on Wednesday, whilst Waterside and Ferrar reported an 18 lb salmon on Friday. It’s good to see Middle Blackhall reporting two nice fish of 15 and 16 lbs, no doubt this will have pleased David Gibbon the beat’s experienced ghillie. The reports I have indicate that there are some very fresh fish being captured in the lower and middle beats.
The efforts of some of the anglers fishing late into the night are showing good rewards with sea trout taking well. Well-known Dee angler Neil Stephenson, and Trout and Salmon columnist, is reported to have taken fish on his 1 inch blue and silver snake pattern as they were coming short with his monkey fly. Other anglers are reporting encounters with sea trout on size 12 silver stoat’s tail flies and the odd explosive encounter with large angry salmon, which can be very visual as floating line tactics are the choice of many currently fishing the Dee.
And finally on a sad note, well-known visitor to Deeside, Mr Rune Berger from the Global Fly fishers club of Norway, was reported missing last week and is feared drowned following an extensive search of the River Namsen. He will be sadly missed by his family, business partners and friends including the many Dee ghillies who looked after Rune and his visitors over many years. As always if you have any interesting stories of catches to share then please contact me by e-mail at ken@riverdee.org. Ken Reid © FishDee June 2008. Beat catches reported
Prospects Weather forecasts indicate a breezy and showery week with forecast temperatures on the cool side between 10 and 18 degrees Celsius. This ensures that the river temperatures will remain between 12 and 14 degrees which are ideal for salmon fishing at this time of year. The high tides this week are forecast to rise from 3 .6 metres to 4.0 metres which will allow new fish to come in and move throughout the catchment. The river levels are showing a slight rise in the upper reaches and hopefully we can maintain levels between 4 and 10 inches above summer levels. We are in the period where anglers can struggle during the heat or glare of the day and need to devote a lot of effort to fishing during the dusk and early hours of the day, if and where allowed. I would urge anglers to take their ghillie’s advice and fish the times and methods he indicates will be the most productive. Floating lines, long leaders and small flies are popular at this time of year and the occasional use of intermediate lines in the faster flowing sections. Salmon and sea trout will be migrating in the evenings and through the night so there are opportunities for the night fisher where permitted. I note on www.fishdee.co.uk that there is some excellent rod availability on many beats over the next few weeks at some very attractive prices. The visitors who are currently coming to fish are enjoying good opportunities for sport, and as fish are distributed throughout the catchment, it is well worthwhile coming to fish the Dee and take advantage of the excellent value currently on offer. There are also plenty of other activities to be undertaken during the daytime hours on Deeside. Have a look at the links page on www.fishdee.co.uk and you will find a great choice of activities and activity providers’ web sites. As always if you have any interesting stories of catches to share then please contact me by e-mail at ken@riverdee.org. Ken Reid © FishDee June 2008.
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| Week beginning2 June | Dee - Garthdee - Salmon 5lb
Loch of Loirston
- Rainbows up to 2.5lbs. Just like to say a well done to Jody one of our new junior members who had her first rainbow up at the Loch this week, Jody comes from a totally non fishing family so any hints and tips would be greatfully received. Jody was also brave enough to have a 1st casting lesson with Willie Banks at the bothy yesterday during our Vision day. Don -
Netherdon - sea trout up to 2.5lb Grandholm - Salmon - 7.5lb Cruivies - A few sea trout being taken up to 2.5lb Lower Parkhill - Brownies up to 2lb, Upper Parkhill - Salmon 7.5lb, 7, 14 Lower Fintray - Salmon 10lb Upper Fintray - Salmon 14lb, brown trout up to 2.5lb Kemnay - Brown trout up to 1lb.
Feugh - Nil
Ythan -
Ardlethen - A few small brownies being taken all around 3/4 to 1lb
Dee
Fishdee returns are showing salmon catches again in the region of over 100 salmon and 40 sea trout, with some large salmon again being caught. There are also early running Grilse coming into the river and have been providing exciting sport when encountered. A lot of the fish taken over the last week have been caught at dusk or early morning so it pays to be flexible with your time on the river.
I have had a report from well known Dee angler Mr John Milne who had a personal best salmon of 20 lbs from Park on his own Linn O’ Dee fly pattern. The picture he sent shows a super specimen that fell for the charms of his stunning fly pattern. I also have pictures of Nigel Madden’s 14 lbs fish taken on his birthday from House pool at Park, pictures of these to be seen in the local newspaper.
John Milne's fish
Lower Blackhall has quietly gone about its business and sits at 85 salmon for the season so far against a 5 year average of 80, with 4 months of the season still to go, so well done Colin Simpson, and we haven't forgotten Lower Blackhall had the huge fish reported in February of 42 lbs. Colin incidentally is a marvellous fly tyer of traditional patterns and his reputation is known worldwide.
Nigel Madden's fish
There was a good turnout at the Aberdeen and district angling association casting demonstration day today at riverside drive with the two instructors giving demonstrations to approximately 200 visitors. This was a very successful day and a good worthwhile initiative for the visiting fathers and sons. There were many sea trout and salmon seen migrating upstream as this was taking place.
A big word of thanks goes to all the ghillies who have been forwarding scale samples all season to Lorraine Hawkins of the River Dee Trust. This has allowed a valuable insight into the growth rates of the fish in both the river and at sea, which is helping to understand the Dee’s fish. ken@riverdee.org. Ken Reid © FishDee June 2008. Prospects Weather forecasts indicate a relatively mild week with west winds forecast and temperatures between 15 and 22 degrees Celsius. There may be some rain showers but nothing of any significance is forecast, high tides are dropping back from 4.3 meters to 3.3 meters and river levels are falling slowly towards summer levels. Sea trout fishing swings into action now and catches of over 40 last week indicate that stocks are present throughout the system. Most of these were caught during the day as a by product of salmon angling. If the sea trout were targeted by night fishing the catches would undoubtedly be much higher. This can only be carried out on beats where you have the permission from the estate and ghillie to fish through the night, so best to check before venturing out. Tactics required for catching sea trout are to use small flies on floating lines on warm nights and on cooler night’s fish bigger flies and tubes or cone heads, and snakeflies on intermediate lines. Stealth is a must for sea trout so fish the heads and tails of pools where you know fish to be lying, Sea trout also migrate from pool to pool under the cover of darkness so you can encounter running fish who can take well, even at low water levels.
Salmon are caught in the faster runs and riffles during the day and in the evenings some salmon drop back to the tails of pools as well. During the day some fish will lie in deeper channels where they seek cover so a small fly fished on a sunken line can sometimes catch these difficult fish. Persevere in the faster runs and you should get rewards for your efforts. We are in the period where anglers can struggle during the heat of the day and need to devote a lot of effort to fishing during the dusk and early hours of the day if and where allowed. There are plenty of fun activities to be undertaken during the daytime hours on Deeside. Have a look at the links page on www.fishdee.co.uk and you will find a great choice of activities and activity providers’ web sites. As always if you have any interesting stories of catches to share then please contact me by e-mail at ken@riverdee.org. Ken Reid © FishDee June 2008.
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