Ballogie - River Dee

Last Tuesday I found myself fishing on the Ballogie beat of the River Dee courtesy of ghillie, Sean Stanton. The river was sitting around the 11" mark on the Potarch Bridge gauge and overhead conditions were pretty good given the time of year. There had been a few fish caught from the area in the days leading up to my arrival and I was hopeful there might be a few about. My set up for the day was my 14ft Hardy Demon, 9/10 floating shooting head and a 10ft intermediate tip. Fly of choice to begin with was a small Dee Monkey.

A fresh run 10lb salmon from Ballogie which fell to a 1/4" tungsten Dee Monkey.

Looking downstream towards the tail of Top Gannets.

Looking upstream from the tail of the Top Gannets.

After speaking with Sean via text the night before I was to start off in the Top Gannets. On arrival to the beat around 8am a splash from a fresh looking fish immediately caught my eye and raised confidence levels from the off. I tackled up and made my way to the neck of the pool. This pool has undergone a few changes after the flooding caused by Storm Frank back in December but it was still a nice looking pool and the lies are fairly obvious given the new shingle which has found it's way into the pool. I started off with a short line and covered the likely areas whilst lengthening all the time. I worked my way down the pool without an offer but I knew I was covering fish from the off as a good run made themselves known as the entered the pool. Sadly they weren't for taking my fly so it was off down to fish Middle Gannets.

Looking downstream at the neck of Middle Gannets.

Looking across the shingle to Middle Gannets.

Middle Gannets is a lovely looking pool and there is a nice deep run down the Ballogie bank up near the neck of the pool which is easily covered with a very short cast. I made sure I kept a low profile as I was fishing so close to the main flow but the pool widens the further down you go and such stealth isn't really required but it would do you no harm to fish it carefully. Unfortunately, I didn't get an offer in here so it was off downstream to fish the Lower Gannets.

Looking over the Lower Gannets.

Looking upstream from near the tail of the Lower Gannets.

The Lower Gannets is a cracking pool with very easy wading which adds to the pleasure of fishing it. With a nice flat, shingle bottom you can see why a fish might stop in here for a rest before tackling the fast water of the pools above. The main flow, for the large part of the pool, travels along the Borrowston side, which is the beat on the opposite bank but it is easily covered with a medium sized cast. I did see the odd fish in here but try as I might. they weren't for catching and I fished out the pool without getting an offer. I carried on fishing my way downstream and next up was the New Pool.

Looking onto the New Pool from the high bank. 

The New Pool is a pool which has always intrigued me. Probably due to the fact you can see whilst driving along the North Deeside Road past Portach. As a result, I've always thought it looked fishy. Having said that, there isn't many stretches of water that I pass anywhere which I don't imagine myself fishing at some point! I started up at the neck where there are a set of steps which lead you down to the water. The wading is quite easy in here too and it is not difficult to see where the fish might be lying either. I fished my way down the pool but sadly, without seeing or touching anything. The pool fished really nicely at this height of water though and I was just waiting for the line to tighten with every cast.

Fishing down the Sands pool.

Looking upstream from the Sands. There has been a fair bit of shingled movement in here which was more visible this time of year than it was when I fished here in March.

After fishing the New Pool I had a quick run down through the Sands before lunch. There were a few fish present further down the pool but I didn't see anything up in the Sands itself. The pool has changed a lot since the floods back in December and the top end of the pool is much shallower than it used to be. It's still a nice cast though and is still producing fish for visiting anglers. It will be interesting to see if it all changes again if we get another big spate this winter too.

The Dee Monkey

Looking upstream from Mid Hole and into Sands.

After lunch I was to fish the lower part of the beat which consisted of Mid Hole, Slips, and Flats. I thought I'd start up at the top and work my way down so I headed upstream from the Potarch Hotel car park and walked up to fish Mid Hole. On my way upstream the heavens opened and the rain began to pour. It was lashing it down and as luck would have it, I'd left my jacket in my car as it was such a nice day when I set off! As I was already soaked I thought there was no point in getting my jacket so I carried on regardless and began fishing down through Mid Hole. There were several fish showing on arrival to the pool and my concentration levels were raised a notch. I kept the same set up which had worked well the previous day and fished it down with a small Dee Monkey tied on a 1/2" tungsten tube. I fished out the pool without a touch but the rain was still really heavy and I was hoping this might get a fish or two excited as I made my down to fish the Slips.

Looking upstream into Mid Hole from the Slips.

Looking down towards the Slips.

The Slips is another pool which has changed since Storm Frank got his claws into Deeside last year but it was still holding quite a few fish. The bank has been damaged as a result and because of the areas SSSI status repairs have had to be put off until the necessary permissions were granted. These permissions have been granted as far as I'm aware and the banks will be repaired in due course. Anyway, back to the fishing. I once again kept the same set up as I felt confident that it would be fishing the right depth that I required it to and I fished on down the pool expecting the line to tighten after every cast. Unfortunately, it didn't happen but I saw plenty fresh looking fish to keep me occupied and the relentless rainfall kept on coming. I thought it was only going to be a matter of time before the river started to rise.

Fishing down the Flats shortly before landing a hard fighting 10lb salmon.

The next pool down was the Flats. This is ghille, Sean Stanton's favourite pool and you can understand why when you are standing on the bank. The pool is quite fast in nature but has numerous slower pots along it's length which hold fish all year round. I waded out at the neck of the pool and covered as much of the river as I could a the fish tend to sit close to the opposite bank. I was absolutely soaked to the skin with the rain by this time and my clothes were drenched. Fishing was becoming a chore and my concentration levels had dipped as I just wanted to get home and dried off. However, there was still plenty fishing to be done and I stuck it out. I'm glad I did because about half way down the pool, just where Sean pointed out a good lie, I cast out and almost as soon as my Dee Monkey hit the water it was hammered by a good, strong fish. The fish thrashed about on the surface but I gave it some slack line and this seemed to calm it down a bit and the fish started behaving a bit more. It made some really strong runs and with the fast water, it was just a case of playing the fish and the river. For anyone who has fished the Flats at Ballogie before, it's not the easiest place to try and back out of the pool with a strong fish attached. I carefully made my way back to the bank so I could try and gain more control over the fish and this seemed to do the trick. By this time , the fish began to tire and I soon manged to beach a cracking fresh fish of around 10lb.

Back he goes. Releasing my fish back into the Flats just before 5pm.

A 1/2" tungsten Dee Monkey which did the damage.

After a quick photo the fish was released unharmed and it thought this was a good way to end my day. I doffed my cap to the fish as it swam off strongly and I cut my fly off my leader and packed up for the day. I couldn't wait to get in the car and home for a hot bath! Was it worth getting soaked for? You bet it was!

Ballogie - River Dee

I spent three days on the River Dee at Ballogie from the 3rd-5th March and this was in place of my usual three days a bit further up stream at Carlogie which I had taken for the previous five years. Ballogie is a beat I've had good success on in the past but I had never fished it in the Spring months and was really looking forward to it.

Looking upstream towards the hut in Upper Gannets.

Top Gannets from the hut.

The water had risen about 1ft a few days before I arrived and hopes were high despite the poor catches leading up to my days. The water height was hovering around the 1ft 5in mark on the Thursday and it remained fairly steady until the Saturday where it rose to 1ft 10in. Pretty much ideal river conditions for this time of year.

Middle Gannets looking good in the spring sunshine.

Looking upstream from the Lower Gannets.

Thursday was my first time on the beat since the flooding caused by Storm Frank at the beginning of the year and I was eager to get a proper look at the place. The damaged caused by the flooding was evident up and down the whole river and Ballogie has fared no different. Some pools have had a good wash out and the banking around the Sands and Slips have taking a bit of a pounding but having said that, below the Potarch Bridge looked to have escaped the worst of the damage and it fished really well during my days there.

Looking downstream from the hut towards Middle Gannets.

I started my trip off on the upper part of the beat first and Ian Fraser, who was standing in for Sean Stanton, suggested I start up in the Top Gannets and work my way down through Middle and Lower Gannets before fishing the Sands before lunch. The Gannets yielded nothing but I did mange to land a small kelt from the Sands which wolfed down a 2" Willie Gunn conehead.

Fishing down the Sands. I got a kelt out of here on the Thursday.

Looking upstream from the Slips.

The Slips. Large amounts of shingle have appeared on the Borrowston bank after the winter floods.

After lunch it was the pools below the bridge I was fishing and I worked my way down through the Bridge Pool, Burn of Angel's, Upper and Lower Inchbare, Kelpie and Bulwarks. I didn't get an offer but I had one more run through the Bridge Pool just before 5pm and I managed to land a well mended kelt just as I was speaking to fellow rods on the beat. It took a 7mm Monkey fly just near the tail of the pool and once it was returned I decided to call it day and headed off home.

The famous Potarch Bridge pool. I had another kelt from here at last knockings on Thursday.

My second day saw me start where I had finished off the night before. I fished through the usual "hotspots" in all the pools and despite the fact we had a good water and over head conditions, I sadly didn't temp anything and my offerings remained untouched for the morning session.

Looking upstream towards the Potarch Bridge.

Burn of Angels.

Upper Inchbare.

The afternoon saw me back up on the upper pools and it was the same old story as the morning. Good looking pools, good water heights but just nothing willing to show an interest in any of my flies. At that time, doubt in my tactics started to creep in and I changed lines and flies numerous times in an attempt to temp even just a kelt but to no avail.

Fishing down the Flats on the Saturday. 

I didn't go home that night and instead, spent the night in Ford Cottage with my pals Ade, Rory, Philip and Paul, who were fishing upstream at Carlogie. Philip managed to land a cracking fish of around 12lb from Commonty so the drams and beer were flowing all evening and the craic was top class. There was tears of laughter at times and we chatted the night away telling stories of fish and fishers of past and present. I woke up in the morning raring to go again and with a fresh approach to the river. Rain over night had risen the river about 6" and we were all looking forward to get going.

Ade, Philip and Rory enjoying the drams in Ford Cottage.

Ade, Patrick and Rory ready for another day on the river at Carlogie.

Ian had offered us a cast down at Commonty so I fished the upper pools on Ballogie in the morning before heading downstream to fish Commonty during lunch time. I did see two fresh looking fish in the Loop at Commonty but try as I might, they weren't interested. It was good to fish Commonty again and seeing a couple of fish kept the enthusiasm going. Philip had never fished Ballogie before so I offered him my rod and I fished the rest of the afternoon on Commonty. Philip manged to land a couple of kelts from the Bulwarks on Ballogie during the afternoon but my day was blank.

Fishing down the Kelpie in a good height of water.

The bottom pool at Ballogie - Bulwarks.

Depsite the lack of fish it was great to fish Ballogie in the Spring and it's something I will look forward to every year from now on. The pools on Ballogie are great for fishing the fly and if Storm Frank hadn't had the river up over it's banks from most of December and January then I am sure there would have been a head of fish occupying the pools. The sediment and debris flowing down the Dee all winter would have not been ideal conditions for salmon to run so we will get a better idea of fish numbers as the season progresses. There might even be some excellent new pools created as a result but only time will tell. Until then, my next trip is on the River Tay at Stobhall later this month and I am hoping conditions are favourable where I will be pitting my wits against the famous Linn Pool. Can't wait!

The top hut at Ballogie which overlooks the Gannets.

Ballogie - River Dee

Last Wednesday I was fortunate enough to pick up a spare rod on the Ballogie beat of the River Dee as someone had cancelled at short notice. This was an offer I couldn't refuse and I was grateful to head ghillie, Sean Stanton for asking me. The water was sitting at 1ft 2in on the Potarch Bridge gauge and was just slightly peat stained. As I had been successful the previous day on the River Don using my 13ft Hardy Uniqua, a floating line, slow sink tip and a #9 Kitchen Sink Shrimp I decided to use that combo again.

A nice fresh grilse around the 5lb marks taken on a Junction Snaelda. It always good to get a fresh fish this time of year.

I arrived at the beat around 8.30 and was greeted at the hut by Sean. I was to fish the bottom half of the beat in the morning and fellow rod Peter the top half. Sean suggested just starting at the top and working my way through the pools so that's just what I did. First up was the famous Bridge Pool. It's not a large pool by any means but casting a line in such an iconic place makes it special. I started up under the arch and made a few casts with a short line and let it hang off the rocky shelf. I could only have had a dozen casts when I had a sharp tug on the fly. Unfortunately, it didn't hook up but it was a great confidence booster that my tactics, which had worked so well on the Don was working on the Dee too. As I was roughly half way down the pool a group of around 7 kayaks entered the river just yards below where I was fishing and with a lot of splashing and disturbance to the pool left a bitter taste in my mouth. There was no conversation asking if they could come in below me or an offer to wait until I fished the pool so I was a bit annoyed that having had a good offer that there could have been a fish in there for me. I wound in and headed off downstream. I have nothing against kayaks and canoes using the river but when someone is fishing a pool these people have to show a bit of respect to fishers who are paying a lot of money to fish the water. It doesn't cost anything and it's little wonder there is conflict between river users and fishermen when they behave like they did.

Looking upstream towards Potarch Bridge whilst fishing the Bridge Pool.

The pool below the bridge pool is called Burn of Angels. This is another relatively short pool but it's another lovely cast. On arrival to the pool a small, coloured fish showed just below me and at least I knew my fly would be covering fish. I fished the whole length of the pool without an offer so I headed downstream to try another pool.

Burn of Angles just as the mist was lifting off the water in the morning.

Next up was Upper and Lower Inchbare. Both these pool are nice casts but the latter is seemed to be holding more fish as there were a good few showing whilst I fished through the pool. The fish were playing hard to get in the bright sun and although I managed to winkle out a nice clean fish in similar conditions from Lower Inchbare last September but try as I might, there was to be no repeat this year so it was off down to have a go in Kelpie.

Fishing down Lower Inchbare.

The Kelpie Pool always holds fish just off the big rock near the top of the pool and it was no different this time. I change fly over to a Junction Snaelda just to get down a bit deeper and to put more action in the fly by rocking it through the pool. The Kelpie fishes nicely from the Ballogie bank as you are casting into the deeper part and swinging the fly into the shallow giving the fish a "take it or leave it" choice to make rather than hanging it in their face. Despite the presence of quite a few fish in the pool I couldn't tempt any so it was down for a cast in Bulwarks before heading back upstream to the Bridge Pool.

Kelpie. A nice cast in a lovely setting.

I just had a quick run through the Bulwarks as it had just been fished by a rod on tne Sluie bank. There was one or two fish showing in the pool but none were tempted by the Junction Snaelda so I made the long walk back up to have a proper run through the bridge pool before lunch.

Fishing the Bulwarks.

I started the Bridge Pool under the arch again and not long after making my first cast there was a nice fish showed mid way down the pool. I fished down the pool rocking the Snaelda back and forth as I went and as I reached the boil mid way down the pool I had a thumping take and I lifted into a lively fish. It was just a small fish and it tried to stay deep but I soon had it under control and I beached the fish on the shingle. It was fresh as paint and would have been around the 5lb mark. After a quick photo I sent it on it's way again so I headed up to the Gannets hut for lunch delighted to have landed a fish. As it transpired it was the 100th fish caught from Ballogie this season. Not a great score as the beat should be catching 3 or 4 times that amount but given the poor salmon runs the North East of Scotland has experienced this year it was a welcome milestone.

A nice fresh grilse from the Bridge Pool. A perfect way to close my 2015 River Dee season.

?

Top Gannet. Plenty fish splashing about but none willing to take my fly.

?

After lunch I was to fish the upper part of the beat and first up was another famous pool on the beat, the Top Gannets. I was fortunate enough to catch a lovely wee sea liced fish from the pool back in September and there were plenty showing in the pool this time round. I started up in the neck with a short line and fished down the top half of the pool then head back up to go through the pool again but with a long line as instructed on my previous visit. Neither run down produced any offers so I fished out the rest of the pool and depite several fish splashing about I just couldn't temp any. 

Mid Gannents with a Borrowston hut on the other bank.

After fishing Top Gannets I carried on downstream for a crack at Mid Gannets. I had never fished this pool the last time time I was on the beat so I made a point of giving it the once over. The pool looked fairly deep and with a nice peaty colour to the river I was sure there would be a few lying in it. I swung the Junction Snaelda through the pool but without an offer and there was nothing giving away their locations either so it was back to the car and off downstream to fish the Sands, Slips and Flats.

Fishing down the Sands

On arrival to the Sands it was quite clear that there were plenty fish hanging around in the pool so I started right at the top and worked my way down. Just as I reached a point near the tail of the pool I had a good pull on my fly. I have no idea how it didn't hook itself but I somehow failed to connect with it. It was a small reminder that my tactics were working well though and that gave me confidence in what I was are doing. I fished out the rest of the pool and despite the amount of fish in showing I just couldn't temp another one to take my fly so it was off on down to the Slips.

Looking downstream at the top of Slips.

The Slips was another pool harbouring plenty fish but covering them wasn't easy as the wading is pretty ropey in this pool. Huge boulders followed by big troughs then some more large rocks and so on and so on. As the day was drawing in a sharp breeze had kicked up and it started to make casting a bit more tricky whilst wading deep but I persevered and carried on through the pool but unfortunately no fish showed any interest and as I wanted a run through the Flats before dark it was off to try there.

The Flats. This is a cracking piece of water and Sean's favourite pool on the beat.

The Flats was up next but time was against me and I didn't really do the pool justice as I just had a really quick run through before I had to head home. It was the first pool on the beat today that I didn't actually see a fish in which was strange given how nice a pool it is. The air temperature had dropped sharply which would probably explain why the fish were reluctant but it was good to fish the pool again regardless. I packed up around 6.30pm and headed home quite pleased with how my day had went. Peter, who was also fishing the beat had a coloured fish from the Bridge Pool after lunch and he was delighted.

I'd just like to thank ghillies, Ian and Sean for their help this season. A couple of top lads and it's always a pleasure to fish in their company. Will look forward to meeting up with them again in February when I'm back at Carlogie for another season. Until then, all the best.

Ballogie - River Dee

I was grateful to Ballogie ghillie, Sean Stanton for the opportunity to fish the Ballogie beat of the  River Dee last week and as I had never fished the beat above Potarch Bridge before, I was really looking forward to it. I was to be sharing the beat with well known fly tier, Ross Macdonald. The water was sitting around 1ft 10in on the gauge and was carrying a peat stain from recent rain high in the catchment. Successful tactics recently involved fishing deep so Sean advised that it would be worth fishing this way to maximise the chances of getting a fish.

A cracking wee sea liced grilse taken on a Red Frances tube.

I decided to rig up two rods for the day to save changing lines so I set up my 15ft Mackenzie Shooting Head rod with a 10/11 Mackenzie Float/Intermediate shooting head, a 10ft 7ips tip and a Junction Shrimp Franc N Snaelda. My second rod was my 14ft 9in Guideline AWM. This was set up with a 10/11 Mackenzie Intermediate shooting head and a 10ft 5.6ips tip. My choice of fly on this set up was a 3/4" Red Frances.

Looking upstream towards Sands from Mid Hole with the Borrowston hut on the other bank.

Fishing down the Slips. The wading in here is treacherous and not for the faint hearted!

Sean took me up and showed me the pools I would be fishing during the morning session. These consisted of the Mid Hole, Slips and Flats. I started at the top end of the bottom beat and worked my way down through Mid Hole and the Slips. Sean had advised that the wading wasn't easy down the Slips and to take my time. He wasn't wrong! The peat stain in the water made things even more difficult as I could hardly see where I was stepping. Boulders the size of cars and plenty of them were not the easiest to navigate but I slowly fished down the pool. I was about half way down the pool when I felt a rumbling under my feet. I thought there had been a tremor or something but after speaking with Sean he informed me that this is where the Slips takes it's name as the rumbling is just the ground moving. There were several fish splashing around in both the pools but I just couldn't temp one so Sean took me downstream to show me the next pool.

Fishing down the Flats.

Looking downstream at the Flats.

The Flats was next on the agenda and Sean told me that this was his favourite pool on the beat. This gave me extra encouragement and I started off near the neck of the pool casting a long line to cover the lies on the far bank. I worked my way down the pool without a touch but with every cast I was just waiting for the line to tighten and a fish to take off back towards Potarch Bridge. I have driven past this pool hundreds of times on my travels up and down Deeside so it was good to finally say that I have fished it, albeit without catching anything. That took me up to lunch time so it was back up river to the hut for some lunch with Ross

The Ballogie hut which overlooks the Top Gannets pool.

Lunch time gave us both welcome respite from the howling gales which were sweeping down the river. It was proving really tough to get the line out properly and to get the fly fishing immediately. We sat and discussed tactic for the afternoon over a cup of coffee and a sandwich before making a few adjustments to our lines etc. I decided to give the intermediate line a swim in the afternoon and fish a Red Frances just that bit deeper. I was to fish the top half of the beat in the afternoon and was looking forward to giving it a go despite the wind.

Top Gannets. A cracking holding pool on the Dee and a very productive one too.

My 4lb sea liced Grilse ready to be returned.

Half way down Top Gannet after I had returned my fish.

Ross explained the best way to fish the Top Gannets just as Sean had told him earlier in the day. I was to start at the very top with a short line and fish down the seam mid river before going back to the top and fishing down with a long line to cover the other side. This is exactly what I did and my run down with the short line proved fruitless but after only 6 or 7 casts with the long line I had a thumping take and I lifted into a lively fish. After a couple of short and acrobatic runs I soon had the fish under control and I slid a lovley fresh grilse into my waiting net. I was delighted and the change of tactics seemed to make the difference. I quickly released the fish and continued down the pool without an offer so I made my to have a cast in the New Pool before I headed to the Sands.

Fishing down the New Pool.

The New Pool was another pool which I had seen for the road plenty times and I made my way into the top of the pool and began to fish it down. The wind was beginning to subside a little bit but was still blowing hard downstream which hampered casting. I fished down the pool without a touch so it was off down to have a go in the Sands.

Sands. Looking downstream with the famous Borrowston Greenbank Pool on the opposite bank. A stunning pool to fish a fly through despite the wind.

Quite a few fish were showing in here but tempting one was proving difficult.

The Sands is another famous pool on the Ballogie beat. It is set in a quiet and secluded part of the river and it hidden away from view of the road. The fish seem to like it here too and there were plenty showing to keep the enthusiasm up. I kept the same tactics as earlier and made my way down the pool expecting the line to tighten with every cast. Sadly it wasn't to be but I gave it a good go. Ross was still fishing the Slips so I headed of down for a chat before making my way back to the Top Gannet for a go before calling it a day.

Admiring the Sands Pool on the Ballogie beat of the River Dee. Its worth admiring many of the other pools on the beat too. Fantastic place to fish for Salmon at anytime of the  year.

I really enjoyed my day on the famous Ballogie beat of the River Dee. It was good to say I have finally fished above the Potarch Bridge and I was delighted to land a sea liced fish from the Top Gannet. I must thank Sean Stanton for giving me the opportunity to fish here. I have a 100% record at Ballogie with 3 fish from 2 visits so I have to be pleased with that! Hopefully it's not the last time I'll fish here but if it is, at least I've had the privilege to have done so.