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.

Rothes & Aikenway - River Spey

Yesterday I found myself fishing on one of the most prestigious beats on the River Spey thanks to a very kind invite from Mel MacDonald to fish his rod. I was very excited to get the opportunity to cast a fly on some of the finest pools on the river and as a result it was a long night of broken sleep on Friday!

I arrived at the beat about 8.30am and was greeted by gillies Mike and Robbie. After a cup of coffee and a chat about the fishing Mike kindly set up my rod. On his advice, I opted for my Mackenzie Float/Intermediate shooting head with a 10ft slow sink tip. My fly of choice was a 1 1/2" Willie Gunn which I had tied the night before.

The fully equipped hut on the beat.

I was drawn to fish the Creechy pool first and work my way down to have a quick run through Jamieson's Cast before lunch. Mike drove me up to the pool and pointed out the areas in where I should concentrate my efforts. I started above the croy and worked my way day the pool. Every cast fished superbly and I was just waiting for the line to tighten. My first run down the pool proved fruit
Ess so Mile suggested getting down deeper so I changed over my slow sink tip to a 10ft 3.9ips tip and I changed my fly over to a Black & Yellow tube. I started just above the croy again and began working my way down the pool. Just as my fly was coming round above the boat I had a take and lifted into a fish. I quickly realised it was just a kelt and it was soon unhooked and released back into the river. The change of tactics had worked almost instantly. I fished out the rest of the pool without an other offer so I made my way down to have a run through Jamieson's Cast before stopping for lunch.

Creechy Pool. I started in here about 20 yards above the croy.

Fishing down through Creechy. I landed a well mended kelt in here just shortly after taking this picture.

Looking upstream in Creechy. An absolute joy to fish.

Looking downstream toward the tail of Creechy.

Jamieson's Cast was another nice bit of water. The water was slightly shallower on the left bank here so I needed to wade out a bit to cover the water effectively. As nice as the water looked I didn't get a touch and it was off to the hut for lunch.

Jamieson's Cast. A nice easy wade.

Fishing down trough Jamieson's Cast.

At lunch we were informed about a fish that had been caught in the Burnmouth by expert angler, Graham Ritchie. His 11lber came to the net about 10am. It was encouraging to hear of fish caught and it spurred us on for the afternoon. The hut is well equipped and was very comfortable but 2 o'clock was soon upon us and it time to get going again.

The interior of the main hut.

The "spare" hut over looking Jamieson's Cast.

Mike took me over the water in the boat to fish the Burnmouth Pool for the afternoon. After a brief chat about where and how to fish the pool I waded in above the boat and got going. I fished down the pool about 20 or 30 yards without a touch so Mike suggested me give the pool from the boat as it allows the fly to hang longer in the likely areas. Once in the boat I had only made about four or five casts when I had a good thump at the fly and I lifted into a fish. Apart from head shakes and the odd short run, the fish did very little and a kelt was soon in the net. It was swiftly released and we carried on working down the pool. All afternoon Mike was entertaining with stories of the old days and of memorable catches and the afternoon soon flew by. Apart from a few rugs at the fly nothing stuck and before we knew it, it was time to pack up.

Fishing Burnmouth first time down from the bank.

Looking upstream into Bluestone from Burnmouth with the hut in the distance.

My second run down Burnmouth but this time fishing from the boat.

Looking across Burnmouth from the left bank at finishing time.

There was nothing else caught in the afternoon session but it was good to see that the beat picked up a fish in the morning. I really enjoyed my day at Rothes and it was a pleasure to fish these pools. There is something special about the River Spey which in my opinion, sets it apart from any other river. Of all the beats on the river I have fished, I can truly say that I wasn't disappointed with any of them. I have several other dates booked this Spring but on different beats and I am looking forward to my next visit to Speyside on the 7th March.

Redd Counting With The River Dee Bailiffs

My uncle Stuart and I tagged along with River Dee bailiffs Mark and Diarmid whilst they were out doing their redd counting today. The plan was to survey the River Feugh but a sharp rise in water over night made it impossible so we headed to the Upper Dee near Braemar. Not a bad substitute in my opinion! Braemar has to be one of my favourite parts of Royal Deeside and just looking towards the snow covered hills and beyond, you would easily see why.

We stopped at one of several Victorian suspension bridges which span the Upper Dee and walked upstream to the first area to be surveyed. After a walking upstream for a while, we arrived at our designated pool at which Mark and Diarmid gave me crash course in spotting redds. The showed me what to look out for and explained about the types of flow and gravel the salmon like to use. We waded out into the river and there was a good number of redds cut in the pool and quite a few salmon milling about too. Most of the fish we were cock salmon because after the hen fish lay their eggs, they tend to head back downstream soon after leaving the cock fish to guard the redds and die. These dead fish provide easy picking for the otters and other animals at this time of year and it would be stupid to turn down the chance of a free meal. It was great to be out on the Dee watching salmon in their natural habitat doing what nature intended. When you fish for salmon, you don't really think about what happens after the season ends so for me, it was really interesting to watch and learn a thing or two about their behavior during this period.

Once we finished surveying the Braemar area, we headed off down river to spawning grounds near Aboyne. Pretty much as soon as we arrived, you could see the fish scurrying away as we approached.  The gravel, the flow and the cover all make this prime spawning habitat and it was full of redds. We walked a stretch of the stream, counting as we went and also looking out for any salmon about. Half way down ,we stood and watched as a big cock salmon lay almost motionless under the surface. It wasn't until we got closer that he took off. He would have been a beauty when he entered the river!

After a bite to eat, we headed down river to our final survey for the day near Drumoak. The water was slightly coloured here, probably due to the extra water coming down the Feugh which enters the Dee at Banchory. The higher water made it more difficult to see the redds but after a while of looking, we soon found plenty. There was no sign of any fish near the redds as they all must have moved on. The bailiffs thought this was quite early for them to do so considering fish were still spawning up around Braemar. Whilst surveying this area we also came across a few sea trout redds. These were harder to see than the salmon redds due to being smaller in size but Mark and Diarmid soon pointed out the characteristics of a sea trout redd how you tell them apart for a salmon's. Their locations were taken using GPS and we left the pool to count up the total. This signaled the end of a great day out with the bailiffs and it was good to see up close a small part of the excellent work they do on the river.

Considering the low water we had for most of summer and the back end, there were plenty redds about in most areas which was very encouraging. When you see salmon on their spawning grounds, which for most, is the final leg of an amazing journey, it brings it home just how much of a hardy creature they really are. We should do all we can to help protect them from the dangers and threats they face, many of which are brought about by mankind.

The River Dee Team do some great work regarding habitat improvements to many of the streams and burns that enter the main river. This in turn provides good spawning grounds for returning salmon which will eventually see a greater return of adult fishing in future years. To find out more about the River Dee Trust's work check out their website at www.riverdee.org.uk.

A Victorian Suspension Bridge across the Dee near Braemar.

Stunning view towards the hills.

Idea spawning habitat for salmon. We saw many redds and salmon in this area.

The clean gravel on the right behind a salmon redd. The bigger key stones to the left of the picture are where the eggs are laid.

A spawned out female salmon which had been taken by an otter. This was a good sized fish, maybe 12lbs or so.

Walking the river looking for redds near Drumoak.

More ideal spawning habitat which salmon and sea trout have taken full advantage of.

Tallying up at the end of the survey.

River Dee bailiffs Diarmid and Mark.