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 had my annual three day trip to the Carlogie beat on the River Dee this past week. I always enjoy fishing at Carlogie but I never seem to get much luck in terms of river conditions when I arrive there. A spate due to melting snow lifted the river to almost 7ft on Thursday morning. It was carrying with it a lot of debris and sediment which is not ideal conditions for fly fishing but as the day wore on the river dropped quickly. Conditions were almost as good to perfect as you could have asked for the remainder of my trip and hopes were high.

Day 1

The Wednesday before I arrived was very mild for being February with temperatures into double figures for most areas of Aberdeenshire. This caused the snow on the higher ground to melt and it quickly filtered into the river and caused it to rise significantly. When I arrived at the Potarch Bridge on Thursday morning the river had risen to almost 7ft on the gauge and was loaded with trees, logs, rubbish and all sorts of debris. The water was heavily coloured too which turned out to be no use for fishing. 

Looking upstream at the Boat Pool on Thursday with almost 7ft on the gauge.

The morning consisted of a token effort down the Village pool and an extended lunch break. We did however get a cast in the afternoon as the river dropped very quickly and she was soon down to just above 5ft on the gauge. There were still a few branches etc coming down but the river had also cleared enough to fish the Village Pool with some confidence. Big flies and sinking lines were the order of the day and between the three rods there were several kelts landed. Not the springer we were chasing but given the high water, it was good to get a bend in the rod. Friday would hopefully see much better fly fishing conditions.

Ready for action in the Village Pool.

The stick in the picture was where the water mark was first thing in the morning. This photo was taken at 5pm showing a big drop in water levels. The water clarity had also improved a great deal.

Day 2

I arrived at the beat on Friday full of hope as the river had dropped to a very good height aided by a hard, overnight frost. The river was now running at 3ft on the gauge which brought almost all the pools at Carlogie into play. The water temperature had dropped too and any fish moving off the back of the high water might just be slowed up by that. I tackled up with an intermediate shooting head, 7ips tip and a 1.5" Monkey Fly tied on a brass tube. 

Looking upstream at Alan's Pool.

I was allocated to fish the top part of the beat in the morning which consisted of Alan's Pool, Long Haugh, Pitslug and Rossicks.Alan's Pool is the upper most pool on the beat and I made my way up there to start and work my way down stream. I fished Alan's without a touch and it was off to have a try in Long Haugh.

Fishing down through Long Haugh.

A lot of shingle had moved since I was last here back in August and big chunks of shingle have appeared in certain areas of the the pool and disappeared from others. It's still a fantastic bit of water and it's a pool I always enjoy fishing but sadly, I didn't get a touch in here so it was down to Pitslug.

 

The fishing hut at Pitslug.

Looking downstream from Pitslug. I landed a kelt in here.

Pitslug fishes really well with a bit of water on it and it was a good height for it today. I was half way down the pool when Sean Stanton, the ghillie appeared. No sooner had Sean arrived when I had a take from a fish. The tell tale head shakes signaled instantly that it was a kelt and it was quickly landed, unhooked and released. I fished through the rest of the pool without another offer so I made my way down to give Rossicks a go.

Rossicks. A cracking pool which is ideal for fly fishing.

Rossicks is a classic fly pool with a fast streamy neck with tapers off into a nice evenly paced pool. With the water height as it was, Sean said to start a bit further down the pool today and fish it until I was level with the Dess bridge on the opposite bank. With every cast I was expecting a take but it just didn't come. I had time for a quick run through the tail of the Mill pool before lunch so I set off downstream a bit further.

Looking upstream from the tail of the Mill Pool. Has to be one of my favourite parts of the River Dee here.

The Mill pool has to be one of my favourite pools on the whole of the River Dee. Not just because of the scenery and the secluded feeling you get from the place but also due to the fact it holds fish almost all year round. The neck of the pool was out at this height of water so I had to concentrate my efforts on the tail of the pool this time. It's an easy wade down the Mill pool and I fished it whilst all the time willing the line to tighten. Sadly it didn't happen so I wound in and headed off to the hut for lunch and a seat by the wood burner.

Decision time. Searching through the fly box for something that gives confidence.

The inside of the hut which looks out onto the Calm Pool.

After lunch I was to fish the Boat Pool and the Village Pool. There was a good number of kelts in these pools and it was just a case of casting as far as possible to get into the lies where spring fish sat rather than fishing into the slower parts of the pool where the kelts were holed up. Despite this, by the time I had got to the tail of the pool I had landed 7 kelts. All which took a liking to the Monkey fly and one even took it as I was stripping in the running line to re-cast.

Looking upstream into the Boat Pool.

The Village Pool. There were a good few kelts in here especially in the top part of the pool.

I headed off down river to have a go in Fraser's pool. This time last year I got a nice springer out of Fraser's when the water was around 2ft 11in on the gauge. With the water dropping away slowly most of the morning, the gauge was now reading about 2ft 8in so I knew there was a chance of getting something. There is a good push of water running through Fraser's and even at this height you still have to be very careful with your step otherwise you'd end up down in Ballogie before you knew it! Unfortunately, nothing doing this time down the pool and I made my way back up to the Village pool for one last go before calling it a night. As the temperature dropped this seemed to put the fish down and nobody had a so much as a touch after 4pm.

Fraser's Pool. Sadly, no repeat performance of last year.

Day 3

By my third day on Carlogie the water had dropped to around 2ft on the gauge with another hard frost overnight helping the levels steady a bit. Today there was ice forming at the side of the river so the temperature of the water had dropped again too. My tactics for today were a float/intermediate shooting head, 3.9ips tip and the same Monkey Fly as the day before. 

Looking down the Boat Pool with 2ft on the gauge.

I was to start in the Boat and Village pools taking in Fraser's as well. I started right up in the neck of the Boat where there is some tricky wading over some big slippery rocks. This however, can be rewarding as many of the fish lie in this area as the water drops away and it also fishes very well from the Kincardine bank too. I fished my way down through the Boat without an offer but the water and air temperatures were still hovering around just above freezing so it would probably be later in the morning/afternoon until the fish livened up a bit.

Wading down through the Village pool

Fishing the Village Pool  at this height required a wade out into the middle of the river to cover the lies effectively. By this time, a strong downstream wind developed which made casting difficult at times but I soon got to grips with it. Apart form landing a kelt from under the wires I didn't get anther touch but I was trying to fish the springer lies rather than allowing my fly to coming into the slow kelt areas. With two pairs of socks on, fleece lined trousers and waders my feet and legs were frozen! Once I finished in the Village I went for a walk on the bank just to get the blood pumping again before giving Fraser's a run through. I fished down through Fraser's without an offer so I headed off up to Alan's and have my lunch whilst I was up there.

Alam's pool showing some of the bank erosion caused by high water.

I fished Alan's down without a touch so it was over to the Long Haugh for my last go in there for this trip. As good as it was fishing with 2ft on the gauge I didn't see or touch anything in here either so it was off down to Pitslug.

Looking up Long Haugh from Pitslug around 2pm on Saturday.

A change of fly was on order and something made me take out my classic fly box. On went a size 5/0 white winged Akroyd. This was once a prolific early spring fly on the Dee so I thought if it worked then, it will work now. I had just started fishing down the pool when Sean arrived to see how I was getting on. I got to about half way down the pool and I got a good take from a fish. I lifted into it and began playing the fish. The Akroyd had did the damage but sadly it turned out to be a kelt. It was still exciting to get a fish on the big classic fly and we were both delighted to see it working. This gave me confidence and I kept it on for the rest of the day.

My 5/0 Akroyd tied by myself and which a kelt took a liking to in Pitslug.

Fishing down Pitslug where I got the kelt using the Akroyd. I feel there is still a place for these classic flies in the modern salmon angler's kit.

The strong downstream wind made fishing Rossicks very difficult with my line being blown away as soon as I cast it. I had a quick run down the pool without a touch so I headed off to fish the Calm Pool.

Fishing down through Rossicks.

The Calm Pool lived up to it's name as the pool was sheltered from the wind by the trees which line the banks. A long cast is the order of the day in here to avoid wading too far out which will spook the fish lying in the deeper third of the pool that runs down the Kincardine bank. It was fishing really well and I was just waiting for a take on every cast. Try as I might though, I didn't hook anything in here so I called time on my three days at Carlogie.

Calm Pool in all it's glory.

The tail of the Calm Pool and looking into Lucky Hole and Whin Bush.

I enjoy my three days on Carlogie every year and this time was no different. It was just unfortunate that we pretty much lost the first day due to the snow melt putting the river in spate. I have been coming here for 5 years now and this is the third time that the snow melt has put the river levels shooting up the day before I arrived! Bad luck or what? Still, it's a great place to be and if the water is clear enough, the Village Pool will fish from about 7ft on the gauge which gives us something unlike a majority of Dee beats at that height of water. No springers were landed this year but it wasn't for the want of trying. All three of us gave it a good going over and covered the water well. There is just not much fish about just now and hopefully this isn't another one of these poor seasons that has seen salmon numbers crash all over the Northern Hemisphere recently. Fingers crossed it's not and we anglers will all be looking to see what happens in these next few month.

Carlogie - River Dee 28-30th July 2014

This week saw me fishing one of my favourite beats on the River Dee at Carlogie. I had looked forward to it for months, especially after the bumper spring this part of the Dee had enjoyed but as the spring turned to summer, the catches tailed off dramatically. Although we got a slight rise in water on Monday morning, this dropped away within a matter of hours and was back down to summer lows as quick as it came. The gauge at Potarch bridge was reading about 3" for a majority of the trip with water temps in the high 60s which is not ideal if you are in pursuit of salmon. Still, I can think of a lot worse places to spend a few days.

I had the pleasure of fishing with a great bunch of lads who I have met through the Salmon Fishing Forum. Many people can't stand the forums, and I can understand why at times, but when you meet the people behind the screen names there are some really good lads in these places. During my 3 days the craic was great and the drams flowed from morning until night most days! The fishing was tough going to say the least, but when you are in company of like minded people, it makes you realise that there is far more to fishing than just catching fish. Good company is important too.

On Monday morning we started bright and early 7am and not long after starting, party leader Ade Warburton landed the first salmon of the trip. A coloured fish of around 8lb from the Pitslug pool on a size 14 Crathie. This was a good start considering the conditions. Philip Black was not far behind and landed a 2.5lb sea trout from the Boat Pool. Paul McIntyre lost a lively sea trout in the Mill pool and I had an offer in the Calm pool which came to nothing. I did land a nice wee brown trout about 1.25lbs which nailed a tiny Crathie fly from the same pool. On a brighter note, I don't think I have ever seen so much parr and juvenile fish in the river before. If you let the fly come too far round and into shallow water a parr was hammering your fly on almost ever cast. It was really pleasing to see the river was in good health in regard to immature fish. Having said that, it's not really what you want to see occupying the salmon lies because, to me anyway, it signaled a lack of salmon around which would usually fill these lies, instead they were hosting parr.

Tuesday produced nothing however, Phil Black lost fish in the Calm pool which took a size 20 Stoat's tail. We saw very few fish in the pools and the ones we did see looked to be resident fish. The Calm pool and the Mill pool seemed to be where these fish decided to camp in until spawning time. They showed sporadically through out the day but were proving almost impossible to temp.

Wednesday saw the arrival of Neill Sproull and Dave MacDonald to fish the beat. Fresh looking fish were spotted in the Mill pool and the Calm pool during the morning which was encouraging. It wasn't until after lunch that a fish was caught with Ade landing a fresh grilse from the Rossachs which took a size 10 Jeannie. Just goes to show that trying something bigger than the normal 12s and 14s we had been using, can produce results. This was the last action of the days as the fresh fish came and went.
We certainly gave it a good go and fished hard. We must have covered almost every inch of the beat in the process! That's just the way it goes sometimes.

I had a great time at Carlogie and can't wait to return again in February next year. Here are some of the Carlogie pools from the top of the beat to bottom.

Alan's Pool. The upper most pool on the beat.

Long Haugh.

Pitslug. Ade got a coloured fish from here on Monday morning.

Sean Stanton did tell me the name of this run but I've forgotten it. Was Henry's Pot or something along that lines.

Rossachs. Ade got a nice fresh grilse from here on Wednesday.

Mill Pool. A famous pool on the River Dee.

Jock Rae.

River Dee Board member, Dave MacDonald fishing a Hitch fly in Jock Rae.

March Pool. A rod on the Kincardine side got a small grilse from here on Tuesday.

Calm Pool. Seemed to be holding one or two resident fish but not many.

Ade Warburton throws out a good line in the Calm pool.

Clay Pot.

Boat Pool. I saw a cracking fish in here on Monday. 20lb plus at least and fresh looking too.

Village Pool.

Fraser's Pool. I got a nice 8lb fish from here back in February.

Dram of the Day: The Balvenie.