Little Blackhall & Inchmarlo - River Dee

I had a days fishing on the River Dee at Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo yesterday thanks to ghillie, Martin Robson. The river is currently quite low at the moment and was it sitting around 9" on the gauge. It did however, rise a few inches throughout the day and also took on a bit of colour too. Due to the low water, tactics for the day consisted of mainly small flies and Sunray Shadows. My set up for the day was my 13ft a Hardy Uniqua, a floating AFS shooting head with a 6ft Rio 1.5ips tip.
 

One of my favourite views on Deeside. Looking towards the Inchmarlo hut from the Roe Pot.

Looking downstream from outside the hut.

I arrived at the beat and was greeted by the beat's new ghillie, Martin Robson. This was the first time I had met Martin so it was good to get acquainted over a cup of coffee before fishing. Fellow rod Ken Rothwell arrived soon after and as we were the only two rods fishing we each had half the beat to fish. I was to start in the Roe Pot and Ken headed off upstream to fish the Mill and the Fawn pools. 

Fishing down the top of the Roe Pot. As you can see the sun was splitting the stones!

Further down the Roe Pot. I had two small brown trout in here which took a Sunray Shadow.

I always enjoy fishing the Roe Pot and because of the low water conditions we were experiencing Martin suggested concentrating our efforts on the upper part of the pool. Fishing it down with a conventional fly the again stripping a Sunray Shadow. This is just what I did and after a fruitless run down with a small Crathie fly and changed over to a Sunray. I had a two trout using the Sunray and both were around the 1lb mark but I couldn't temp any salmon so Martin suggested I head upstream to have a go in the Fawn before lunch.

Fishing down the Inchmarlo side of the river just before lunch.

Looking downstream from Sandy Bay and Otter Stone.

Looking upstream from the Fawn. A lovely stretch of river.

After an extended lunch in which Martin, Ken and I exchanged stories of fishing outing past and future it was back fishing the beat we were on today. By now the air temperature was around 20C and really balmy. Not ideal for salmon fishing in low water conditions but we gave it a good go regardless.

Not the ideal air temperature for low water salmon fishing during the afternoon.

Looking upstream from the Fawn before fishing Seatie's and Laird's

Looking upstream into the Fawn.

Fishing down Seaties. I did see a nice fish show in here as I worked my way down the pool but I couldn't tempt it.

The afternoon was wearing on and Martin returned to say that Ken managed to winkle out a nice 3lb sea trout from the Roe Pot. He suggested that I move down stream to have a cast in Laird's as there is often fish rest in there after pushing up through the fast water below. Again, it was fish it through with a small fly first and then back down with the Sunray. I gave it a good half hour in here covering the most likely lie in the pool but there was nothing doing.

Fishing down Laird's with a small Silver Stoat.

Away to have my second run down the pool with a Sunray Shadow this time.

Although conditions on the day were far from ideal, it was good to meet Martin for the first time. He is a very knowledgeable ghillie and tried his best to put us in the most likely spots to try and get a fish. Inchmarlo is a beat that has always been pretty kind to me in terms of catching salmon but it wasn't to be this time around.  Still, it was a pleasure to fish this fantastic beat again and I will look forward to my next visit whenever that may be.

Mackenzie DTX Demo Day

Along with my uncle Stuart, we organised a Scott Mackenzie DTX Demo Day here in Aberdeenshire. The event was held in the Aberdeen and District Angling Association HQ on the banks of the River Dee. Scott, who is a 3 times World Spey Casting Champion explained his Spey casting techniques to the crowd and he was assisted on the day by Ben Dixon, who is one of his Pro Team members. For more info about Scott's fantastic range of rods and lines visit his website. Mackenzieflyfishing.com

The poster we made up to advertise the day.

A few people starting to appear in the morning. Apart from a strong wind, the weather was fine until we started the casting demos! Typical.

There was a decent enough turn out despite the poor weather conditions. We had high winds and rain for a large part of the event but it was good to see that people still made the effort to come along and try out rods and lines or to see the Fly Tiers in action.

ADAA members Benny and Dave kindly volunteered to cook the bacon and sausages and serve the teas and coffees. We couldn't have done it without them. Thank you gents, it was much appreciated.

A crowd gather round to watch the first casting demo by Scott Mackenzie and Ben Dixon.

Scott explains the basics of Spey Casting to the audience.

Ben Dixon takes over to demonstrate a few of the different Spey casts.

There was also Fly Tying Demos from Ross McDonald and Sean Stanton. They are two of the best fly tiers around, not just locally, but nationally. Their patterns such as the Park Shrimp (Ross) and Franc N Snaelda (Sean) account for hundreds of Atlantic Salmon every year. When the rain started pouring down it was good to come inside and see these guys in action. Check out their websites McDonald Salmon Flies and Franc N Snaelda

Sean and Ross ready to show off their fly tying.

Park Shrimp creator, Ross McDonanld.

A fantastic box of flies donated by Sean Stanton as the first prize in our raffle. A really nice gesture and it was very much appreciated by the ADAA. One lucky lad when home with these beauties and I'm sure he will catch numerous salmon with them.

There was also the River Dee beer, Thunder and Lightning displayed by The Deeside Drink Emporium of which a percentage of the profits from this very tasty beer go to the River Dee Trust. So drinking beer has never so beneficial! Check out their Facebook page for more details. Deeside Drinks Emporium Facebook Page

The Thunder and Lightning Beer which is available to buy from the Deeside Drinks Emporium in Banchory.

All in all it was a good day but you can do all the planning and organising you want but the only thing that you can't control is the weather. We were just unfortunate that it turned against us the day before the event with strong winds whipping up which made casting fly lines very tricky. Still, it is always good to attend these events and it raised over �180 pound which is going towards buying equipment for the Junior Angler Events which the ADAA host several times a year.

Lastly, I would just like to thank everyone who gave up their time to come along to the event. A big thank you to Scott Mackenzie for agreeing to do the event in the first place. Also to Ben Dixon for helping him out. A huge thank you to Benny and Dave who did a marvelous job keeping everyone in tea, coffee and rolls throughout the day. Thanks to Sean Stanton and Ross McDonald for showing all us amateur fly tiers just how it's done. These guys make it look so easy. And a final thanks to Deeside Drink Emporium for showcasing the Thunder and Lightning beer. Keep a look out for future events on the ADAA Facebook page.

Dalmarnock - River Tay

I had booked a day on the River Tay at Dalmarnock  earlier this week and with the amount of fish getting caught from the river just now, I was really looking forward to it. The water was sitting at 3ft 7in on the beat gauge and was clearing and dropping away nicely after a spate earlier in the week. Tactics for the day were both fly and spinner due to the size of the river and water height but I tried the fly on my first run down the pools. I had my 15ft Mackenzie Shooting Head rod set up with a 10/11 Float/Intermediate shooting head and a 10ft 2.6ips tip. Flies were anything between #7 doubles and 1" tubes. Spinners for the day would be spoons, Flying Cs and rapala type lures.

The Dalmarnock Fishing Hut.

After a two hour drive I arrived at the beat hut around 8.15am and was greeted by the beat ghillie, Colin Mcfayden. A steady trickle of rods arrived within the next half hour and after the introductions we all sat down to a cup of coffee before hitting the river just before 9am. As I had never fished the beat before, Colin took half an hour to show me the pools I'd be fishing and where best to concentrate my efforts to give me the best chance of hooking up with a fish. He suggested trying the fly first and follow on down the pools again using the spinner. As the Tay is such a large river I was happy to get his advice and I made my way down to my first pool.

Inch Stream. The pool where I started my day off.

I was drawn to fish the lower half of the beat in the morning starting in the Inch Stream first of all. The Inch Stream was a fast flowing pool at this height and Colin pointed out the hotspots which, like most pools that have overhead cables, was right below them. I decided to give a #7 Kitchen Sink first run down the pool and follow that up with a silver Toby. Neither method tempted any fish so I made my way down to the next pool.

Sowerby. A nice streamy run for fishing the fly.

The pool below Inch Stream was called Sowerby. Colin had pointed out the likely area to concentrate earlier on in the morning so I went in at the top of the pool and made sure my fly covered the lie just off a big stone which was only a few feet off the bank. I fished over the lie several times without a touch and I carried on down the pool but only with the same result. I made my way back to the neck of the pool to fish it down with the spinner but again, I couldn't temp any salmon so it was on to the next pool.

Fishing down the Rams Horn in the pouring rain.

Fishing the lie under the A9 road bridge.

Rams Horn was next up and this was a lovely pool but due to the water height Colin suggested that the spinner would be my best bet as the fish run up the far bank. I changed over to a Toby and worked it down through the pool. By this time there was a huge hatch of flies coming off and there were trout and parr bubbling the whole length of the pool, despite the heavy rain. Sadly though, there was no sign of any salmon so it was off downstream a bit further to have a run through Oak Tree.

A field of Bluebells overlooking the Oak Tree Pool.

Fishing down the Oak Tree pool.

Looking up towards the bridge from mid way down the Oak Tree Pool.

The Oak Tree pool was another nice bit of water for fly fishing so I got the fly rod out and this time thought I'd try a big Sunray Shadow just to try something different as I was the third rod to fish down the pool. I fished it all the way down without moving a fish but I did see a good fish head and tail just out from the whin bushes about two thirds the way down the pool. This gave a bit of encouragement so I fished right down the bank to cover where it showed. Unfortunately, my efforts were not rewarded so it was back to the hut to dry off and have a spot of lunch.

Lunch time was a good laugh with plenty stories exchanged of this season's catches as well as tales of fish from previous seasons. All the fellow rods were nice guys and I was made to feel very welcome by all with Colin providing coffee on demand. Being salmon anglers, we will always have something in common and it's easy to talk to like-minded people about something we are passionate about. The next topic of conversation soon turned to where to fish in the afternoon so it was time to set off to have a go at the Dalmarnock Bank Pool at the top of the beat.

First run down the Dalmarnock Bank Pool with the fly.

Looking downstream near the tail of the Dalmarnock Bank Pool.

I was to start at the neck of the pool and the two other rods were spaced out below me. As the pool is very wide and very long, there was more than enough room for us all. Again, I opted to fish down the pool with the fly first of all and then follow on down with the spinner. It took me well over an hour to fish down the pool with the fly but sadly, I couldn't find a salmon willing to take my offerings so it was back up to the neck of the pool for a go with the spinner.

Fishing the Blair Spoon in the Dalmarnock Bank Pool.

Looking upstream in the Dalmarnock Bank Pool.

I lost my fish just out from the point of the submerged croy (mid picture) after having it on for several minutes.

Colin had suggested a black Flying C would be ideal in these conditions so I took his advice and rigged one up. I made my way down the pool but I got snagged on a big rock up near the neck of the pool. I just couldn't free it and my line eventually snapped. I tackled up again but this time decided to put on a Blair Spoon. I was given this spoon several years ago by a polish gentleman who was fishing the River Don whilst on holiday in Scotland. It is great for high, fast flowing water and I have had a good few fish using it in such conditions so I thought it would be ideal for today. I cast as far as I could and fished it round like a minnow with my rod held high and letting the spoon work in the current. I got about half way down the pool and made a long cast across the stream, wound in the slack line and held the rod high as per usual. No sooner had my spoon started to flutter in the current, it was hammered by a good, solid fish! It pulled quite hard initially but then it decided to cross the river from the far bank right over to opposite where I was standing to just above a submerged croy. All the while, I had the fish in control and thought surely it couldn't come off now. I shouted for help and John who was fishing above me ran to get my net which was up near the car park at the top of the pool. John was just making his way down the bank when the fish decided to thrash about on the surface and do a few acrobatic jumps. In doing so, it somehow manged to spit out my spinner and it was off! I couldn't believe my luck as I thought it was nearly ready to be landed but it seems the fish had other ideas. I had it on for a good few minutes and had done the hard work in playing it but it obviously didn't want to get it's photo taken and have it posted all over this blog! It was a bar of silver and probably in the region of 8-10lbs and it looked fresh as paint. That's now five fish in a row that I have lost recently and I am really cursing my luck at the moment. Hopefully it will change soon and as long as my fly or spinner is in the water, I'm sure I get my season up and running sooner rather than later. I fished down the rest of the pool and from top to bottom again without another offer and decided to call it a day around 7pm.

I really enjoyed my trip down to fish the "Mighty Tay" again. The river sure lives up to it's name as the sheer size and volume of water than flows down her is incredible. I seems I was fortunate to hook a Tay salmon yesterday as none of the other rods had an offer all day but it's just a pity it came off. Colin the ghillie was really helpful and his advice was greatly received and proved invaluable given the size of the pools in which you are fishing. Pointing out lies and hotspots maximises his angler's chances as getting fishing in the book because at the end of the day, that is what we are all there to try and do. Maybe next time I'll get one on the bank. I now have a score to settle with Dalmarnock and I will return to try and even this up with Salmo Salar in the near future.

http://www.tayfishingscotland.co.uk/

Manar - River Don

I was back on the lovely Manar beat of the River Don with my good pal Charlie last Saturday. The water was sitting around 4.5" on the beat gauge and crystal clear. My set up for the day was my 13ft Hardy Uniqua, floating AFS Shooting head and a 6ft intermediate tip.

The cracking new hut at Manar on the River Don.

This was my first trip to Manar this season and it was good to be back there again. It has to be one of the best kept beats on the entire river and it would grace any of the famous river is Scotland in terms of upkeep. It was also good to see the new hut as I hadn't been down since October last year when the old hut was accidentally burnt down. Charlie and the Manar regulars have been very busy over the close season and have done a fantastic job with the new hut and area outside.

Fishing down the Chapel pool in the morning.

As Charlie and I were the only rods on the beat, we had the pick of the pools so decided to give the Chapel a go first of all before the sun was on it. We made our way down and fished through the pool but neither of us had a touch so we made our way back up river to have a go in the Sheep pool.

The Corner Pool.

I went round to have a run through the Corner Pool and Charlie followed me down fishing the Sunray Shadow. I had finished the pool and fished through the Sheep Pool too without a touch. There were plenty trout rising so I made my way back to the hut to get my trout rod. I had just arrived at the hut when I heard a shout from Charlie. His rod was bent into a lively fish! I ran up the bank to assist him with the net and after a very hard fought battle I slipped the net under a chrome bright springer of around 12lb.

Charlie fishing the Sheep Pool.

Charlie fighting hard with a fresh run River Don springer.

Safely in the net!

What we are all after. Charlie with his cracking 12lb River Don springer.

Horseshoe Haugh. Nothing doing in here but a nice cast regardless.

We decided to go for lunch after Charlie returned his fish and we sat in the new hut reflecting on whats was a pristine specimen of a Don salmon. It just goes to show, you don't have to spend a fortune fishing expensive beats on the Dee or Spey when you have fish this good right on your doorstep. It is great to see the Don picking up the odd fish in what has been a lean season for most rivers. There is just something special about a River Don springer and you can see why.
After lunch we decided to head upstream to fish the Horseshoe Haugh and then into the Long Pool. Charlie let me have first run through the Horseshoe but it proved fruitless so we made our way down to the Long Pool. The Long Pool is a nice bit of water but we could see nearly every stone in the pool. Despite this, Charlie thought there might just be a fish lying in the channel which runs down the far bank. By this time, I had changed fly and was now fishing the Sunray Shadow and Charlie let me have first run down again. I must have had about a dozen casts when there was an almighty swirl at my fly. A fish had followed it right across the river and hammered it just as I was about to lift my rod to recast. I felt the weight of the fish and lifted into it but no sooner was the fish on, it was off again! It took me completely by surprise and if I had been expecting a take so close to the bank I might have been able to set the hook better. Sadly though, it was another fish lost for me this Spring which brought the tally to 4 having lost fish on my last 3 outings on the Don previous to this one. I was really miffed and I fished the rest of the pool but couldn't temp another fish to have a go.

Yours truly fishing down the Long Pool shortly before losing a good fish further down the pool.

We decided to call it day around 6.30pm but it was great to see the Don producing the good again when very few rods would have been out in such low water conditions. The fish are running hard just now and if you're in the right place at the right time when they stop, there is a good chance of connecting with one. I'll be back at Manar again very soon and I will look forward to it. Hopefully next time there is a springer with my name on it waiting for me in one of the beat's pools.

Invery - River Dee

I was lucky enough to get another day on the fantastic Invery beat of the River Dee last Friday. The water was sitting around 1ft 4in on the beat gauge and with news of a few fish about the day before, I couldn't wait to get going. My set up for the day was my trusty 13ft Hardy Uniqua rod, an AFS floating shooting head and a 6ft intermediate tip.

Ghillie, Karl Revel and Paul Pritchard outside the hut.

I arrived at the beat around 8.15am and was greeted by the ghillie, Karl who introduced me to the other rods who were over from Norway and Sweden. Karl informed me that I would be fishing over on the opposite bank and pointed out the most likely spots to concentrate my efforts on. As I had never fished the water from that side of the beat before I decided to start at the top and fish my way down through the pools.

Signal Pool looking into the Station Stream.

The first pool I was to fish was the Signal Pool. This is the upper most pool on the beat and no sooner had I started a few fish showed just opposite where I was standing. I covered them several times but I couldn't temp one to take my fly. I did however, hook a small trout which took a liking to my #10 Kitchen Sink fly. Apart from a few parr I didn't touch anything else so it was on to the next pool.

A stunning view looking upstream from the path which runs along the banks of the Dee.

The next pool down is the Station Stream. Like a majority of the pools on the beat, this fishes the fly very well and is a pleasure to fish from either bank. As temping as it looked though, I didn't see nor touch a fish as I fished the pool. I'm sure there would have been fish in the pool but the bright sun and a cloudless sky wasn't helping and this maybe put them down.

Looking upstream from the Station Stream.

Karl suggested giving the Kirk Pot a go since I was passing so that's just what I did. The Kirk Pot is a short but deep pool which looked like it could harbour a fish or two. On this occasion it wasn't giving up it's bounty so it was on to the next pool.

Looking upstream into the Kirk Pot.

I made my way down to the Holly Bush and Karl had told me to really give this pool a good go as there were fish hooked in here the day before. Unfortunately, they weren't landed but it was a good sign and I was eager to get in there. I waded out up at the neck of the pool to the broken water that Karl had pointed out and fished my way down the pool. As inviting as it looked though, the fish had other ideas and I fished through the pool without a touch.

Wading down the Holly Bush.

The S Pool. I didn't fish this pool but I just went down to take a photo.

Fishing down most of the likely spots in the morning proved to be fruitless apart from a small brown trout and several salmon parr. It was good to see plenty parr about down the margins which will hopefully bode well for the future. Given the current crash to fish stocks in the river, a healthy juvenile population is always a welcome sight. The lack of fish returning to the Dee is very worrying though. Juvenile fish are leaving the river in good numbers but once they are out into the North Sea who knows what's happening to them. The ever growing population of dolphins and seals ambushing the returning fish is, in my opinion a major factor in the decline of fish returning to the Dee. The narrow harbour entrance is perfect for these creatures to get their fill of salmon without much effort at all. Anyway, it was back over the river for some lunch down in the floating bank hut.

The Hut at Invery.

After a very entertaining lunch with Karl and the fellow rods, it was back to business so Paul and I made our way up to fish the top beat but from the opposite bank this time. I was to follow Paul down so we started at the top and fished our way down through all the pools just like I did in the morning. First up was the Signal Pool but, by this time the wind had really whipped up and it was raining quite heavily. In between showers, the good old Scottish midge was out in force and I think I spent more time fending these little buggers off than concentrating on the fishing! As a result, I fished down through the pool without an offer.

Looking upstream in the Killing Hatch with some welcome cloud cover.

Paul and I fished our way down through all the pools without so much as a pull but we were encouraged to see a few fish showing. Especially in the Greenbank where a good run of sea trout appeared to be moving through the beat. Try as we might though it just wasn't our day. Paul decided to call it a day but I went downstream to give Floating Bank a going over.

The Floating Bank. A lovely cast and there were a few fish showing in here too.

I always really enjoy fishing the Floating Bank whether it's from the Crathes bank or from the Tilquillie side. It's just a cracking pool to fish and there were a few fishing showing up near the rocks at the neck of the pool. I covered them several times but to no avail. I called it a day around 6.30pm and headed home to treat my midge bites!