First Grue Of Winter

There has been very little in the way of grue (small ice floes) in recent years but today the River Dee had the first grue of winter coming down. The River Dee usually gets grue most winters due to its shallow nature and well oxygenated water, however, grue has been all but absent in the past few years so it's good to see a "normal" winter occurrence for a change. Hopefully this cold water will continue and give the lower beats some much need fishing this spring.

Looking downstream over the River Dee in Aberdeen this morning.

Looking upstream from the same spot.

The last significant hard winter we endured was back in 2010 and it might just be a coincidence, but the fishing that year was the best it has been for a long time.Fingers crossed we get a real cold snap this winter and the fishing is back to something like it was a few years ago.

Looking downstream from the ADAA Bothy.

Looking upstream from the Bothy.

Thick ice along the banks of the river this morning.

River Don Opening Day 2016

The 11th of February saw the River Don opening it's doors to salmon anglers again after the winter and I ventured out on the Aberdeen Angling Association Kemnay beat with Bill Cook and Andy MacLennan. The water was in good shape and sitting around 1ft 5in but all that was landed were a few kelts and brown trout.

Mike Dutch, Bill Cook and Andy MacLennan fishing down the Dooker Pool on Opening Day at Kemnay.

We did hear of a fresh fish coming off the Kemnay Angling Club water which was encouraging and hopefully there is a good run of spring salmon this season after the poor runs in 2015.

High Water On The Dee And Don

Yesterday saw torrential rainfall hit both River Dee and River Don catchment areas. The spate could have been a lot higher it was not for the lack of snow on the hills. If snow melt was added to the already huge volumes of water, the damage could have been a lot worse.

On the River Dee, the spate peaked around 10pm and was reading almost 11ft on the Park gauge! This caused huge amounts of debris to make it's way down river. There were hay bales, trees, logs and countless amounts of rubbish all getting a washed into the river from the banks and undergrowth. The Dee's largest tributary, the Feugh, was roaring down. It peaked around 8pm and was almost 8ft on the Heughhead gauge. Further downstream in Aberdeen, the Aberdeen & District Angling Association Bothy was flooded. With already high water, around 11pm the river quickly rose about 8" in just over 15 minutes. This was enough to make the river burst it's banks and make it's way into the workshop area.

Just over the hill to the North Eastern side of the Cairngorms, the River Don spate peaked around midnight at just over 5ft 6in on the Haughton gauge. The River Don meanders it's way mainly through farmland and this causes it to colour up very quickly. Plenty logs and straw made their way downstream which were washed off from the fields and woodland.

These pictures are of the River Dee taken from Park Bridge and the lower Dee in Aberdeen.

Looking downstream from Park Bridge. Still about 7ft on the gauge this afternoon.

Upstream view from Park Bridge. The water has cut the corner through the trees on the right.

Looking towards the Altries beat. The pool below is Alfred's Pot which is shared with Tilbouries.

Riverside in Aberdeen looking towards the Bridge of Dee. Note the tide mark on the grass where the water had been only a few hour earlier.

A large log lies on the bank covered in straw. Looking downstream towards the King George VI Bridge.

Someone will be missing part of their fence today! Doesn't look that old either.

Still plenty water on the grass where the river burst it's banks.

The A.D.A.A Bothy which was under water last night and part of this morning. Luckily nothing was too damaged.