Park - River Dee

I take a day on the River Dee at Park during opening week every year but due to a drop in prices for Spring fishing this year I decided take an extra day and fished the Friday and Saturday instead of just my normal Saturday. I had fished Park on opening day earlier in the week and was delighted to land a sea liced 12lber from the Durris Stream and hopes were high for my other days. Snow melt and heavy rain kept the water levels yo-yoing for most of the time but it was a good water to encourage fish to run the river from the sea.

My Opening Day springer from the Durris Stream on Monday last week. Still smiling!

Fishing down the Park Inn.

Looking upstream towards Silver Spoon from Park Inn.

The Park Estate has taken a battering from the flooding caused by Storm Frank and many of the tracks and pools have suffered as a result, no more so than Cooper's and Bulwarks. The river had breached the flood banks and powered it's way through the fields and woodland until it rejoined the main flow at the Castleton pool where it had swept away the fishing hut on the South bank. Tonnes and tonnes of earth and shingle have been washed out of the fields and the damage caused will run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. It's going to take a monumental effort to get, not just Park, but the entire catchment of the Dee back to something like it was before but at least the fishing is still there and anglers can enjoy what the river has to offer despite of what has happened to the surroundings.

Damage to the banks of Bulwarks caused by the New Year flooding.

Massive breach of the bank at Cooper's and the water tearing through here has left a trail of destruction through Park Estate.

Huge amounts of earth and shingle have been shifted here a this is going to take some amount of work to repair.

Another photo of the damage caused by Storm Frank.

Looking upstream where the road ends at the Long Pool. The road used to follow the curve of the river and go right up to the Park Inn.

The fishing on my two days was hampered by strong and gusty winds which made casting accurately very difficult at times. The river was also up and down almost on an hourly basis with snow melt the main cause of this. Despite the conditions we kept trying. Numerous different tactics were deployed as we searched the pools for that fresh run springer we all were craving but sadly it wasn't to be with just a few kelts to show for our efforts. We saw running fish in the latter parts of both days and when a few more decide to run the river then I wouldn't bet against Park picking up a few more before the end of the month.

Fishing down the Long Pool in a biggish water.

Making my way down Lower Kirks in a howling gale.

Castleton. Note the Park South hut is now gone. Another victim of the ferocity shown by Mother Nature at New year.

The Durris Stream seemed to be a good bet for a fish in the rising water and around 3pm on Friday afternoon, the rod on the South bank was into a fish near the tail of the pool. After a short battle the net was slid under a fresh run 10lber. The first fish of the season off the South bank. Not a bad start for Park with two in the book for opening week considering the poor early spring catches of recent seasons. The two fish caught will hopefully bode well for the rest of the spring and I would love to see Park get the good catches we all know it's capable of producing.

Durris Stream. A cracking pool and where I was lucky enough to land my fish on opening day earlier on in the week.

An angler on the South bank getting ready to land a nice, fresh springer around the 10lb mark from the tail of the Durris Stream.

Cellar. Another lovely pool on the Park beat.

There was to be no repeat of Monday's fish for me during my two days fishing but it is always a pleasure to fish at Park and the pools are a joy to cast a fly on. There is just something special about the place whether it being the history of the beat or just the surroundings, I can't quite put my finger on it but it's a beat I will always take the time to have a cast on as there is a great chance your fly will be taken by that coveted prize of an early running fish.

The Park North hut and the newly repaired parking area.

Paul Pritchard and ghillie, Keith Cromar discuss plans for the day ahead.

There is some good availability on both Park and Park South at the moment. With prices slashed by half for the early part of the season it's worth the money taking a day or two as all the fish running the Dee at this time of year will likely have to pass through the pools of Park Estate. For details of the fishing available at Park check out their page on FishDee or visit their own website at www.parkdee.co.uk

Park South - River Dee

Last Saturday, I fished the afternoon on the Park South beat of the River Dee thanks to a friend of mine, Paul Pritchard, who had to leave early. The water had risen earlier in the week which was a bonus but overnight rain on the Friday saw the river rising again and carrying quiet a bit of debris. When I arrived at lunch the water had risen several inches since morning and was sitting around 24" on the gauge. Despite this, Paul managed to land a fish in the morning on a Monkey and there was another caught about 4pm. A very good result given the conditions.

I didn't managed to add to the tally but really enjoyed fishing the beat as I have only ever fished these pools from the opposite bank and I was grateful to ghillie, Bert Webster took the time to show me the areas where I was most likely to encounter a fish.

Here are some pictures of the pools I fished at Park South.

The well equipped main hut on Park South.

I started my day off in the Long Pool. There were a good number of fish showing in here despite the coloured water.

Looking upstream in to the Upper Kirks from the neck of Lower Kirks.

Looking downstream from the Kirks hut.

An inscription inside the hut.

A brief period of sunshine whilst fishing down the Lower Kirks.

A rainbow over the tail of the Lower Kirks.

An upstream view of Long pool and Upper Kirks at dusk.

Park - River Dee

I had my annual August day on the Park beat of the River Dee on Saturday. Catches for the week had been the best of the entire season so I couldn't wait to get there but, my high water jinx struck again and I brought a spate with me for my day! When I arrived at the beat at 8.20am the gauge read 42" and there was a good bit of colour in the water too which hampered things a little.

Due to the high water, our best chance of a fish would be in the top half of the beat so I tackled up with my Scott Mackenzie intermediate shooting head and a 5.6ips tip. My fly choice was a 3/4" Silver Ally Shrimp. I was to fish the Castleton pool which fishes well in high water. Keith Cromar, the head ghillie suggested starting at the neck of the pool as there is a slower run tucked in off the bend. I fished on down the pool without an offer but went back up to give it another go as there were a few fish starting to show in the pool. Keith arrived just as I was going in at the neck of the pool for my second run through. I made short cast and as it was coming round onto the dangle I had an offer from a fish which came to nothing. I immediately re-cast and as my fly swung round to the same place as before, it was taken again and the fish made no mistake this time. I lifted into, what felt a decent enough fish but almost a quick as it was on, it was off again! I fished on down the pool and had another offer just opposite the Park South hut it didn't hook up. I headed off for lunch after that and planned my tactics for the afternoon.

As the water was dropping, I changed my line to a Scott Mackenzie Float/Intermediate shooting head and a 10ft fast tip. I also changed fly to a Black/Chartreuse Sunray Shadow. Keith gave us the choice on where to fish so I headed off downstream to try the Jetties and Bakebare. I didn't see or touch anything in these pools so made my way upstream to the hut taking in the tail of the Durris Stream on my way back. I was standing speaking with fellow rod, Bill at the Celler Pool when he spotted a fish head and tail opposite where we were standing. He urged me to go and give it a go so I made my way 10 yards or so above where it showed and cast out my Sunray. I had only made a few slow draws of my line when BANG...... a lively fish of around 7/8lbs hammered my fly! I lifted into the fish and watched as it splashed about on the surface before finally managing to unhook itself. I have no idea how it came off as the way it slammed into the fly you'd have thought it would have been well hooked. It wasn't to be and it was another fish lost. After that, I decided to give the Kirks a run through but apart from seeing a fish at the tail of Lower Kirks, I saw nothing else or encountered anything. I finished up my day around 7pm after a fruitless run through the Celler again. The water had dropped back to just over 34" through out the day but there was still a bit of colour to it. Still, at least it was good to finally see the Dee with a bit of water in it again!

Here are a few pictures from my day.

Castleton Pool with 42" on the gauge.

Paul Pritchard launches a good line out from the South bank.

The Park fishing hut.

Looking downstream from the bank of Jetties.

Bakebare. Cracking pool but nothing doing in here for me.

Fishing down the tail of the Durris Stream.

The Celler Pool where I lost my second fish of the day around 4.30pm.

Looking upstream from the Long Pool.

Lower Kirks. A great pool and one I always enjoy fishing.

P.S If anyone fishing the Dee comes across a Floating AFS shooting head with some Varivas running line and a sink tip attached please contact me via twitter @DeeDonSalmon or leave a comment on this page and I will pass the info onto the person who lost it. Thanks