Castle Forbes - River Don

Last year I organised a day on the Castle Forbes beat of the River Don. Despite the low water we managed to catch 3 fish for our day so I decided to book the same day for this year. There were some coincidental similarities from our day this year compared to last year. For example, the river was around the 4" mark, we got rain the night before, and we had 8 rods fishing. I'm not superstitious but I had a good feeling about the day because of this.

The River Don at Castle Forbes.

L to R. Charlie, Bill, Nicky, Andy, Kenny, Philip and Paul.

We arrived at the Castle Forbes about 8.15am and I introduced any unacquainted rods with each other. As we are all, what could be only be described as obsessive fishermen, it wasn't long before we all got chatting about the state of salmon stocks and tales from seasons past and present. Some rods had driven several hours to be there but these meets are always worth the travelling even if nothing is caught. As the river was very low and running crystal clear it was a case of using light rods and floating lines. I was using my 13ft rid and a floating AFS shooting head with a 5ft intermediate tip. Fly of choice was a #9 Kinermony Killer. Incidentally, the same set up and fly that did the business for me here last year.

Lower Bankhead on Beat 4.

An Osprey hovering over the Fir Tree Pool on Beat 4.

Looking upstream from the tail of Lower Auchreddachie. A cracking wee pool.

The Castle Forbes beat is roughly 4.5 miles double bank with a Keig Bridge crossing the Don about half way. We split ourselves into two groups with three rods above the bridge and five below for the morning session. Philip, Charlie and I were allocated the upper pools and as neither Philip or Charlie had fished the beat before it was down to me to point them in the right direction. Charlie opted for the  upper most pools of the beat and Philip and I started in the Upper Auchreddachie and Lower Auchreddachie respectively. The sun was high in the sky but a strong breeze had kicked up and this made casting difficult at times. Despite our best efforts and fishing the deeper and more likely spots, we couldn't temp a salmon but Philip did have a brief encounter with a good trout.

Fishing my way into the Broom pool.

Looking down Philips pool. A bit on the low side for in here but a few trout were rising.

Philip Black fishing the Sawmill Pool.

Looking upstream from Keig Bridge into the Bridge Pool.

Lord and Lady Forbes were kind enough to give us a room in the Estate office to have lunch in which was appreciated by all anglers. It was good to sit down together and chat, especially the guys who hadn't met before. I'm sure there have been some new friends made from this which is the whole point of these meets. Sadly, there were no fish caught up to lunch time by any of the rods unlike last year when we had two on the bank by this time. Nobody had seen any sign of a salmon either but this was understandable given the low water conditions. It's just the way it goes sometimes when booking fishing so far in advance.

The Hydro Scheme on the Craig Pot. Not sure it is doing the pool any good to be honest with the extra flow it creates.

Looking downstream from the Craig Pot with the old "shankin' brig" over the pool.

Charlie fishing down Lower Deepstane.

Looking upstream from the Lower Deepstane pool.

The angry goose which took offense at my fly line and chewed through it!

A few of the rods decided to call it a day after lunch but myself, Charlie, Philip and Bill stuck it out. We all opted to fish the lower part of the beat with our efforts concentrating on the Craig Pot, the three Deepstane pools and Phemie. Charlie and I fished the right bank whilst Philip and Bill fished opposite. We covered plenty water with several different approaches but we couldn't temp any salmon. I did nowhere have an encounter with an angry goose! I was fishing down the Nursery Pool when a goose came swimming upstream and took a dislike to my fly line. It grabbed the line in its beak and began to shake its head. I quickly pulled the line away but on closer inspection afterwards, the goose had chewed my line and almost cut it in two! I had only used it about four times and it was now in need of a serious repair. We made our way back to the car park at the Craig Pot for a chat before heading home. We left the beat about 5.30pm with the Sun still slitting the sky.

Donside's most famous landmark; Bennachie

It was great to meet everyone again on the Don. Just a pity the weather and fishing gods were against us this time but we all gave it a good go regardless and covered all the likely areas and pools. There was just a lack of water to encourage any fish to run up river as I firmly believe we would have caught salmon if the water was up a few more inches. Still, it was good to see the beat again and I will look forward to my next trip here and I will also look forward to meeting up the the lads again on another meet somewhere in the near future.

Brae Water - River Spey

I had 3 days fishing on the Brae Water beats of the River Spey last week with my pal Charlie. The water was on the high side for the lower beats the water temperature was hovering around the 48f mark. We were fishing Beat 5 on the Thursday, Beat 3 on the Friday and Beat 4 on the Saturday.

Beat 5

The Beat 5 fishing hut.

We arrived on Speyside full of the usual optimism before any trip away and we were greeded by the ghillies who we meet in the Gordon Arms Hotel car park on the morning on every day. We were introduced to the new beat 5 ghillie, The river was sitting at 1ft 7in on the gauge and was crystal clear. The sun was splitting the sky as well but despite conditions seemingly against us we fished hard. I did see a couple of fish through out the day, one in Lilley's and one in the Grilse Pool. One of the rods also had a good take in the Upper Dipple which didn't stick unfortunately.

The Dipple. Beautiful piece of water and

Lilley's. I saw a fish show in here down near the tail of the pool.

Bulwarks. The Fochabers Bridge in the backgorund.

Neither Charlie nor I had a touch for our efforts but we gave it our best shot. Despite the water being on the high side the pools fished very well and new beat ghillie, David, who has moved down from Beat 1 made sure we fished the likely lies and kept the encouragement going. I'm sure he will be an ample replacement for Blair Banks who has moved downstream to the Castle Water.

The Dipple pool from the opposite bank.

Looking upstream in the Grilse Pool. There was a fish showed in here just below the boat.

Looking upstream in the Upper Dipple. Another lovely cast.

Beat 5 is a cracking beat and has some fantastic pools. It was the first time I have had a cast in the Upper Dipple and I thoroughly enjoyed fishing it but I can't see past the Grilse Pool which is my favourite cast on the beat. I will look forward to fishing it on my next visit.

Beat 3

The view looking upstream into the Otter's Cave pool from the hut on Beat 3.

Our second day on the picturesque Brae Water was on Beat 3. Head Ghillie Ian Tennant is always good company and his enthusiasm for the Spey after 33 years in the job is infectious and he keeps your spirits high even on the quietest of days. This make the day much more enjoyable and it's always a pleasure chatting with him during the day.

Ian and Charlie pose for a photo with the red cliffs of the Lord March pool in the back ground.

Charlie and I on the Lord March pool.

The water height on our second day had risen about 2in from the day before due to snow melt and was now sitting at 1ft 9in on the gauge.The water temp was still around the 48f mark and we had the bright, cloudless skies to contend with for a majority of the day again. Charlie and I fished the lower half of the beat in the morning and this included the majestic Aultdearg Pool with the stunning red cliffs over looking the pool. Sadly it didn't produce any salmon but I managed to connect with one of the many sea trout kelts in the pool. They were feeding on the ample supply of upwinged flies that hatched every afternoon but one fish took a liking to a Sunray Shadow.

Aultdearg with the cliffs overlooking the pool just after starting about 9.30am.

Charlie and I fishing down Aultdearg around mid morning time. The cloud cover didn't stay for long!

The tail of Aultdearg basking in the sunshine.

 After a nice lunch and some good craic with fellow rods Iain and Rab it was off for a crack at the Lord March pool. Charlie and I bith had several ruins down the pool with out a touch and I had a run through the Lower Ewe with the same result. I did however have a cast with the dry fly for trout and managed to hook a few but I'm a bit out of practice with striking the trout and I managed to miss the lot of them!

Looking downstream in Otter's Cave from outside the fishing hut.

Fishing down the beautiful Lord March pool.

Looking upstream into Beat 2 from the Lower Ewe pool.

Beat 3 is another lovely bit of water which fishes the fly very well indeed. The Aultdearg pool as I have mentioned before is stunning and the scenery surrounding it makes it all the better. The red cliffs are a prominent feature on several beats on the lower Spey and it add to the character of the place. Sadly, again we didn't manage to winkle out a springer but I have blanked in much worse looking places!

Beat 4

The hand made sign above the ghillie's hut door.

Our final day on Speyside was to be spent on Beat 4. The water was still around 1ft 9in on the gauge but was rising slowly. Again the rise was caused by the warm daytime sun melting the snow on the higher ground. The water temp was steady and was 48f for the third day running. We were once again joined by Iain and Rab and we had a great time exchanging stories and tales of fish caught and lost. Unfortunately, neither of us connected with a fish on the day despite the best efforts of stand in ghillie, Dazzler. The usual ghillie, David, like all the Brae Water ghillies, keeps his beat in good shape and has done a lot of work to make the place more comfortable for visiting anglers. The addition of rod rests and seats that are strategically placed along the river banks add to it's charm.

Looking upstream towards Aultdearg on Beat 3 from the Pipe Pool.

Looking downstream into the Lower Aultdearg pool.

Fishing down Lower Aultdearg.

I started my morning off in the Lower Aultdearg pool. My set up for the day was much and much the same as the previous two days. Float/intermediate shooting head, 9ft tapered leader and a #8 Kitchen Sink. Howerer, you need the fish to play their part and despite ginving it a good fish through twice, I couldn't temp anything.

The resident Osprey hovering over the Lennox Pool. Sadly, it was chased off by crows.

On a more positive note, I watched an Osprey hovering over the Lennox Pool for a good 20 minutes. It was concentrating hard on the river but before it had the chance to catch a fish a group of crows took offense to it being in the area and harassed it until it took off. That was the last I saw of it for the day unfortunately.

Fishing down Cruive Dyke. Cracking pool to fish a fly through.

After lunch I was to fish the lower pool which is called Cruive Dyke. This is quite a long and wide pool but ideal for fly fishing. It is a nice easy wade down it's whole length with the main flow running down the far bank. I did see a kelt splash in here and several sea trout kelts, one of which I managed to temp with my fly but apart from that it was relatively quiet. The gusting winds didn't help at all and made cast difficult at times, especially when it decided to swirl around and take off with the fly line!

One of two Red Squirrels tucking into the nuts on the feeders outside the hut window.

Looking downstream from Cruive Dyke toward the cliffs overlooking the Intake Pool on Beat 5.

Apart from a small sea trout kelt that was it for my day. Iain and Rab didn't have any luck either. We packed up about 5pm and went our seperate ways, although with the likes of Facebook and other social media we will keep in touch and check on on how our fishing season's are progressing. Sadly, another Spring trip to the River Spey proved fruitless but one day I am going to hit it right. I don't know when that will be but I'll keep fishing this majestic river until that day occurs, that's for sure. Next stop; the River Don at Castle Forbes on the 25th April and hopefully my luck will change then.

Invery - River Dee

Thanks to a last minute shout, I was offered a days fishing on the Invery beat of the river Dee last Wednesday. Invery is a beat I always enjoy fishing and has some fantastic pools so I didn't take long to accept the invitation. The river was sitting around 2ft on the gauge and was is good shape with water temperature hovering around 46f. My set up for the day was a 15ft Mackenzie Shooting Head Rod, Intermediate shooting head and a 9ft tapered leader. Fly of choice was the Sunray Shadow.

The well maintained fishing hut at Invery.

Looking upstream at from the neck of the S Pool.

I arrived at the beat around 8.20am and met the ghillie Karl Revel at the hut along with fellow rod Craig. We were given the choice where to start and I opted to have a run through the S Pool first and then work my way down from the Signal and into Greenbanks. I started up at the neck of the pool and fished it down with a Red Frances to begin with but this didn't produce an offer so I had another run down with a Sunray Shadow this time. Again, it didn't attract a fish so I made my way up to the Signal to give it a go.

On my way up to Signal I stopped to chat with Craig who said he'd had hold of a fish on a Sunray Shadow which sadly threw the hook. This was encouraging so I was eager to get going. I started right at the top of the beat and began to work my way down, concentrating on the areas Karl had said were the most likely spots. There were one or two fish showing just down from the beginning of the wall but I covered them several times without a take. As well as the pool was fishing it proved to be a fruitless run through it so I made my way down stream a little to have a cast in the Greenbank.

Looking upstream from the Killing Hatch. A cracking pool.

Not long after starting in the Killing Hatch I spotted a fish show just downstream from me. I couldn't really see if it was a fresh fish or not but at least I knew where a fish was lying. I made my way down the pool with a Sunray Shadow and as I was level with the burn mouth my fly just stopped. I was stripping it slowly so I pulled on the line as normal and this seemed to wake the fish up! It made one or two short runs but I soon had it beached and it turned out to be a very well mended kelt. Not the springer I was after but at least I knew my tactics were working. I fished the rest of the pool and into Greenbanks without and offer so I headed off down stream to have a crack in the Jetties before lunch.

Looking upstream into the Greenbanks.

The Jetties as this height required a long cast to get into the likely areas so I stripped plenty line off my reel and fished my way down the pool. I saw a fish show just out in the streamy run so I covered it a few times but it didn't take. It showed a few minutes later and it appeared to be a kelt anyway but it's a good sign that kelts are in the pool just to help slow down the running springers.

The Jetties. You can see the concrete jetty where the pool takes it's name.

At lunch time my pal Paul appeared for a cast and after swapping stories and with fellow rods and Karl it was time to get going again. I was allocated the lower part of the beat along with Craig. Craig started in the Floating Bank and I started in Pantoch. We were to swap over mid session.

The Pantoch. There were several fish splashing about in here during the afternoon.

As I arrived at the Pantoch pool I spotted a fish show about mid river. This was followed by another soon after. It looked as though they were sea trout. Not like the kelt that have been around of late as these were short stocky looking fish. I fished through the pool first with a #7 Kitchen Sink and then second tIme down with a Sunray Shadow. Neither run through the pool produced anything so I made my way down to have a crack at the Floating Bank.

The hut on the lower beat over looking the Floating Bank.

Fishing down the Floating Bank. Probably my favourite pool on the beat.

The Floating Bank is up there as one of my favourite pools on the beat. It is a classic fly pool which fishes very well. There are usually a few fish lying in this pool and today was no different. As I made my way down the pool there were fish showing down it's whole length. They were howerver, what looked to be kelts and they didn't seem interested in what I had to offer. I fished the pool from top to bottom without a touch. Maybe the bright, sunny conditions were putting the fish off. I made my way back to the hut at 5pm to say goodbye to Karl and thank him for his advice. Karl suggested we fished on as the sun was now cooling down a bit. I decided to give it a few hours so I made my way back up to the Signal whilst Craig and Paul headed off downstream to fish the lower pools again.

An evening cast on the Dee at Invery.

The sun setting on another day fishing the Dee.

My evening didn't produce any offers unfortunately and I called it a day around 7pm. At least I got a bend in the rod from a kelt and there were a few other kelts caught through out the day also. Just a pity that springer didn't stick for Craig in the morning. That would have been a good start to the day for him. It's a fantastic beat and has plenty pools to keep you occupied all day long. Each has their own characteristics and charm and they all produce fish from opening day until the last day of the season. The ghillies, Karl and Jim are great lads too and are always eager to help the vising anglers giving advice when needed and to point out the likely spots where fish can be taken. I will hopefully be back one day for another cast on at Invery in the future.