| River Dee Rapport – 14 maj
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| 2013-05-15 09:22 |
Recent Catches
The River Dee saw a lot of anglers fishing the length of the catchment looking for the elusive salmon with catches reported from Ardoe to Abergeldie. If you were in the right place at the right time there were some fish to be caught. FishDee beats reported 74 salmon to 22 lbs and 8 sea trout. It’s been a slow cold spring this year so far with night time frosts still occurring. Lower Crathes continues to provide sport weekly with 16 reported last week and the Invery beats reported 12 with Graham Ritchie, a very talented angler catching 3 in a day. Conditions at times have been difficult for anglers and this week was no exception. The weather has been quite cold and the river levels have fluctuated a bit with quite unsettled water coming down the valley which seems to put fish off the take. Anglers though are a resilient bunch and the people I met on the river last week seemed to be having a very enjoyable time in the valley, enjoying good Scottish hospitality. I caught up with Lars Terkildsen from Sweden fishing with Hans from Germany at Commonty. Sport had been slow but they managed some fresh fish and persevered to get their rewards. Lars has had some superb days on the Dee with up to 18 salmon; this year sport has been challenging but the rewards have been worth the efforts.
Tristan Sillars dropped me an e-mail commenting ‘I am just back from the annual May Aboyne trip with Andrew Dennis and Bill and Mark Currie. It was a challenging week, seeing hardly any fish entering the pools despite the water temperature remaining around 50 all week and of course decent water heights. Clearly the majority of fish have either remained in the lower half of the river or we are encountering a particularly poor spring run. I would imagine it is a combination of these factors, according to my own spring catch records for the river; we are heading for the lowest spring catch on the river since 2002. In terms of the fishing, we managed 3 fish, and lost another. I have attached a picture of one of my fish, a 14lber from the Lummels. This fish had almost half of its tail fin missing, if you zoom in you can see it, although my hand is half covering it annoyingly! Despite this unfortunate damage, this fish put up a super 15 minute fight, quite incredible and testament to the admirable survival instinct of these fabulous creatures.’
I received an e-mail from Jan Tryk, a visiting angler from Denmark who was fishing at Lower Crathes advising ‘Hi Ken, Here is a picture of my beautiful salmon (22 lbs) from Lower Crathes caught May 7th which was caught on a Cascade size 10 and fished close to the surface.’ It’s a lovely fish and I’m delighted to receive this image from Jan. I am also delighted that Ian Murray rang me this morning with some news from Lower Invercauld and Monaltrie. He advised Mr JH Stephenson landed two fish yesterday from his beats which were very newsworthy; one of 25 lbs and one of 28lbs. The fish were bars of silver. I hope to get more information about these captures for next weeks column.
Orvis of Banchory have details of their free beginners fly fishing courses, which will be held between May and September. For further details contact Orvis of Banchory by visiting their store at 2-8 Bridge St, Banchory AB31 5SX or call telephone number 01330 824319. Copyright FishDee
As always please let me know how you get on by dropping me an e-mail to ken@riverdee.org with any anecdotes and pictures about your experiences on the river. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd.
Beat catches reported
SALMON & GRILSE: Ardoe and Murtle 3, Altries and Lower Drum 1, Park 3, Lower Crathes and W Durris 16, Crathes 3, Invery 5, Tilquhillie 7, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 2, Middle Blackhall 2, Upper Blackhall 1, Cairnton 1, Woodend 1, Commonty 2, Ballogie 1, Borrowston 1, Kincardine 2, Carlogie 5, Dess 3, Aboyne Water 3, Aboyne Castle 1, Craigendinnie 2, Waterside and Ferrar 2, Dinnet 2, Deecastle 2, Monaltrie and Lower Invercauld 2, Abergeldie 1.
Total: 74 Largest: Lower Crathes and W Durris & Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 22lbs
SEA TROUT: Ardoe and Murtle 1, Park 2, Tilquhillie 1, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 2, Woodend 2.
Total: 8 Largest: Woodend 4lbs
Prospects
The prevailing cool weather conditions look set to continue with the Met Office suggesting grass frosts this week. They suggest this week will see air temperature maxima peak around 12 degrees Celsius and get perhaps a little warmer during the latter part of the week. Winds will be light and variable. River levels are pretty decent with the Sepa gauges are showing 1ft 2 inches at Mar Lodge, 1 ft 9 inches at Park. The maritime influence shows tides dropping through the week from 4.0 metres to 3.4 metres which may bring some new fish forward. We may be a bit early for Grilse just now but we hope that they start to run the river in the next few weeks to augment numbers of salmon in the river. A good summer run would be a blessing for the river.
As always please heed the advice of your beat Ghillie who can make suggestions about where to fish on your chosen beat and what flies and tactics to utilise. Time and time again I hear from anglers who let me know how helpful their Ghillie has been in putting them onto taking fish. Their knowledge is second to none and they can at times make a difference in helping you achieve success on their beat. If you don’t have the services of a Ghillie to call on then you will probably want to fish with a full floating line or perhaps with a 5 foot sink tip just to take the fly a few inches below the surface. Your fly choice might include a Black or Red Frances, Snaelda, Ally’s shrimp, Cascade or Maggie’s Shrimp. The Monkey or Sunray can also be used at times to good effect. Perseverance is the key though as you won’t catch a fish unless you have a fly in the water.
If you find you have the wrong flies with you for your fishing trip or run out, then pay a visit to some of our super retailers; George Strachan’s store in Aboyne have increased their selection of fishing equipment and River Dee flies tied by the Ballogie Estates Head Ghillie Sean Stanton, at very attractive prices too. The Orvis store in Banchory also has a vast selection of flies to choose from and equipment to hire. The Countrywear shop in Ballater is a favourite destination for visiting anglers, where Norman Clements is always delighted to meet visiting anglers. They have a good selection of fishing equipment available and provide good service and value. I would like to add Kincardine O’Neil Post Office supplies nice sandwiches and a great selection of River Dee flies too.
I really would encourage anglers who are thinking about fishing to book availability now through FishDee because sport should really pick up now given the significant improvement in fishing conditions-its getting warmer. The hotels in Deeside provide excellent value and there are Fisherman’s rates for groups of anglers. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure all anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different beats during their week on the river. It’s a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. We also want to prevent the transfer of ranunculus from the lower part of the river to the upper part. We have a great range of accommodation providers so please visit the relevant pages on the FishDee website to find out more. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes with images to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It should be a better week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee. Ken Reid © FishDee Ltd.
 Tristan
 Jan Tryk
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| River Dee Rapport – 6 maj
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| 2013-05-07 12:28 |
Last Week
It was a trying week for anglers and Ghillies alike last week due to conditions they had to face. There was a fierce wind at the beginning of the week and a big rise in river levels on Saturday which made fishing difficult. It’s also clear that the spring run so far this year has not been good for many anglers and Ghillies, especially in the upper beats. This is fishing and not catching, and there are never any guarantees of sport when you are trying to outwit a fish which does not feed in fresh water. FishDee beats have reported 108 salmon for the week and 16 sea trout, with perhaps some late additions to add to this total. Lower Crathes continued to fish well, with the anglers catching 26 salmon for their week. I visited Arni Baldursson on Thursday at the beat who advised that sport was good; he advised he had 8 for the week so far and hoped to land a few more by the end of the week. Park reported 15 salmon, Ballogie beats 14 and the Blackhall beats were also in double figures.
Mr Coghill from Argyll had 3 days at Crathes fishing with Ghillie Brian Sim and advised ‘No fish but a most interesting and informative three days. Brian knows his beat intimately, understanding exactly how to fish each pool in the prevailing water conditions. His knowledge of the latest fishing methods is outstanding and his scientific approach to matching tackle to conditions is exactly what an angler who is new to the beat wants to hear. So often a Ghillie will side step the question of what tackle to use and how to fish, not Brian, ask the question and you will get a straight answer. Following my visit to Crathes I have bought a Skagit and am tying up a range of Sunrays, Brian’s favourite fly. They may not catch me more fish but it will be fun trying and learning a new technique. Looking forward to next year.’
Sean Stanton from Ballogie comments on his blog ‘At last the fish have arrived! We managed to get some sea liced salmon this week, after the big flood last week I was pretty sure they would run up the river after it had cleared. I did expect to see more fish in the pools but due to the water temperature falling, the fish seemed reluctant to move fast through the pools, the water temperature dropped from 48f to 42f due to the snow we had towards the end of the week. With the weather forecast indicating no cold nights we may see some increase in the water temperature and some snow melt into the river.’ And with tides building this week hopefully a good run of new fish. Simon Bragg dropped me an e-mail with an image of his very first salmon from Borrowston. I am sure we all wish him continued success on his visits to the River Dee.
Orvis of Banchory have details of their free beginners fly fishing courses, which will be held between May and September. For further details contact Orvis of Banchory by visiting their store at 2-8 Bridge St, Banchory AB31 5SX or call telephone number 01330 824319. Copyright FishDee
Beat Catches Reported
SALMON & GRILSE: Ardoe and Murtle 1, Upper Drum and Lower Durris 1, Park 15, Lower Crathes and W Durris 26, Knappach 2, Crathes 3, Invery 5, Tilquhillie 5, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 1, Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo 5, Middle Blackhall 2, Upper Blackhall 2, Cairnton 3, Woodend 2, Commonty 4, Sluie 3, Ballogie 6, Borrowston 2, Kincardine 6, Carlogie 4, Dess 3, Birse 1, Craigendinnie 1, Dinnet 3, Headinch and Cambus O’May 2, Total 108
SEA TROUT: Ardoe and Murtle 2, Tilbouries 1, Park 5, Lower Crathes and W Durris 1, Tilquhillie 2, Lower Blackhall and Kinneskie 1, Commonty 1, Carlogie 1, Dess 1, Crathie 1, Total 16
PROSPECTS
The river is running high and clear following the rise in river levels on Saturday following Friday’s snowfall in the mountains and heavy rain at lower levels. The Sepa gauges are reading 1ft 11 inches at Mar Lodge and 2ft 9 inches at Park. The Ballogie weather station reported a temperature of over 17 degrees Celsius yesterday making it the hottest day of the season so far; this has led to snow melt and a good water level for anglers. The river temperature was in the mid forties Fahrenheit last week however it dropped back to just over 40 degrees on Saturday. It would make a difference if we could get temperatures in excess of 50 degrees Fahrenheit to really get salmon on the move to the upper beats. The weather forecast is looking reasonable this week but there may be a bit of rain midweek and strong winds, with air temps reaching perhaps 18 degrees Celsius. This suggests we will have fluctuating river levels to contend with however the maritime influence sees tides building from 3 .8 metres to 4.1 metres. Hopefully a good run of new fish will come forward given the ideal river conditions that prevail at present. All things being equal we should get better sport during the forthcoming week.
With lengthening daylight hours anglers may well be starting to fish on into the evenings and look for sea trout. Sea Trout fishing is a nice way to unwind in the evening after pursuing salmon all day. There are quite a number of anglers who come to the River Dee to fish for salmon and sea trout and will have two rods set up to use. If a good hatch of flies is observed anglers may find a bit of sport from sea trout.
It’s a case of persevering this week and if and when a run of fish comes into your chosen beat, you may perhaps see some action. It’s important to work with your Ghillie and heed his wise advice. The Ghillies will be eager to see salmon landed where you can exploit any opportunities for sport. They will advise what flies to use and tactics to employ. At this time of year fish may take a 1.5 inch tube fly fished off an intermediate line and later in the day perhaps a much smaller fly fished off a floating line. Vary your tactics of fly presentation and be alert to slight changes in air and water temperature. If you don’t have a Ghillie to help you, perhaps you will fish with big flies first, and fish down a little bit; later on in the day perhaps use a plastic or aluminium bodied Sunray shadow fished very square with a figure of eight retrieve, especially if you see fish splashing about. Fly choice will include Black and Yellow variant tube flies, Ally’s Shrimp, Dee Monkey and Pot bellied pigs; later in the day you may perhaps get fish to come to a size 8 or 10 dressed double. Flies can be purchased locally at Somers in Aberdeen, Orvis in Banchory, Kincardine O’Neil Post Office, George Strachan’s store in Aboyne and Countrywear in Ballater.
I really would encourage anglers who are thinking about fishing to book availability now through FishDee because sport should really pick up now given the significant improvement in fishing conditions-its getting warmer. The hotels in Deeside provide excellent value and there are Fisherman’s rates for groups of anglers. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure all anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different beats during their week on the river. It’s a quick procedure that will help the river and prevent ingress of unwanted pathogens and non native species entering any part of the River Dee watercourse. Irene Ross who has the Old Toll House in Kincardine advises she has availability into June. We have a great range of accommodation providers so please visit the relevant pages on the FishDee website to find out more. Please write with any news of catches or anecdotes with images to ken@riverdee.org so I can share this news in the weekly report and FishDee blog. It should be a better week for anglers and hopefully we shall get some good news to report next week. Tight Lines to you all! Copyright FishDee
Regards
Ken
 Alan Lankshear who celebrates his 90th birthday this month fighting a hard salmon at Carlogie
 Simon Bragg with his first ever salmon at Borrowston
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| Hemväg....
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| 2013-04-29 11:17 |
Uppe i mörkret för några timmars fiske möttes vi av moln och vind. Det fina vädret var som bortblåst och morgonfisket i en någorlunda skyddad kanal gav inget alls. Den förväntade gungiga återresan blev förvånansvärt lugn. Fleet One är en mycket stabilare båt än den gamla Halcon som säkert rullade in många i sjösjukans mörker. Totalt kunde vi sammanställa en vecka med färre krokade fiskar än vi hoppats på. 29 tarponer till båten och ytterligare ett 60 tal krokade blev resultatet. Utöver detta några Jacks, många snappers, bonefisk och sen som sagt pricken över i en Permit och min första Grand slam! Trots relativ trögt fiske var alla fulla av intryck, av fighter och adrenalinstinna ögonblick. Dessutom av minnen från otaliga måltider av en klass som de bästa krogarna kämpar för att uppnå. En fantastisk vecka som alltid i ”Drottningens trädgård”.
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| Sista dagens fiske
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| 2013-04-29 11:12 |
Sista hela fiskedagen fiskade vi oss tillbaka till mitten av arkipelagen. Vi mötte fler stora stim tarponer, det största på kanske 200 fiskar – häftigt. Många krokade, hoppade och ett par landade. En aktiv dag med mycket action, men en kväll utan att fisken kom in. Spekulationerna över fullmånens kraft och påverkan pågick långt in på natten.
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| Femte dagen!
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| 2013-04-29 11:06 |
Idag var det Gunnars dag – dags att han fick ta igen förlorad fisketid! Tyvärr låg vinden på ännu hårdare och fisket var knepigt. Några bra chanser på de vita flatsen resulterade i några krokade fiskar som slog sig loss. Inte förens under eftermiddagen lyckades vi få et par fina tarponer till båten. Gurra landade välförtjänt en 50lbs+ fisk. Själv var jag kvar i ”Grand slam ruset” bra eller dåligt fiske spelade liksom ingen roll…..
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| D-day! ...eller G-Day!
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| 2013-04-29 11:00 |
D-day! Den här dagen skulle visa sig speciell! Vi började med tarponfiske på morgonen och kom sedan till en stor grund fin flat där jag sett tailande Permit tidigare. Det var min tur framme på däck. Permit står inte högst i kurs hos Gurra – fiska efter fisk som inte hugger!?? Två¨stora permit kom inglidande från höger svåra att se blåsigt och svåra att kasta på med lite flyt fick jag dit flugan bra en gång – strippade sakta utan intresse. Jonger, guiden skrek hysteriskt och jag fick dit flugan igen. Jag tror nog jag kastat på 50 talet permit som inte huggit så när den fantastiska fisken tog flugan i en stor sandvirvel var det helt magiskt. Strike strike strike… Jonger skrek hysteriskt och jag satte kroken. Trodde jag…kanske satt den på 20 sekunder innan den spottade krabban! Skit!!!! Helt ofattbart den tog flugan och jag fick inte fast den! Så mycket skit som jag fick då har jag nog aldrig fått….svavelosande ramsor som fick solen att rodna! Vi stakade vidare…Permit permit permit many….ett helt stim gled in framför oss…10 ms över höger axel 12 fot tafs och en tung fluga svårt …för att inte säga omöjligt…många dåliga kast och fisken försvann …fler svordomar! Tur att man har hyggligt psyke! You se them…? Längre fram på den grunda flatsen kom några till ..mer hysteriska skrik och instruktioner i tusental… den här gången var jag coolare väntade in rätt vinkel sträcket kastet och fick ditt den lilla krabban. En av de två fiskarna bockade över flugan och tog den! Den här gången satta jag kroken hårdare och iväg for det i 180 blås! Vi märket snart att det var en mindre fisk och efter ett tag kunde jag landa min första Permit. En fantastiskt skönt formad fisk i kanske 10-12 lbs klassen – en magisk känsla! Nu blev det fart på det hela "Grand slam" inom räckhåll!. Vi for Till Bretong och det tog inte mer än en halvtimme innan jag kunde kroka och landa en bonefish. 2 av 3 innan lunch –detta borde gå!? Vi for ut igen vid 15 tiden. Gurra gav mig enligt överenskommelse mig nu all fisketid. Vi jagade tarponer och jag kasted på flera krokade och missade en innan vi återigen var tillbaka vid Breton. Fisken rullade in i den breda kanalen och jag satte kroken i en fet 70-80 lbs fisk som efter galna serier av hopp lossnade. En halvtimme senare fick jag ut flugan framför några fiskar och det small igen! Den här gången höll jag stenhårt satte kroken allt vad fluglinan pallade och sen bar det av! Efter en hård knapp timme lång fight så var det klart. En dryg 1,5 m lång tarpon i 60-70lbs klassen vilade i mina armar och "Grand Slamen" var ett faktum! En otrolig känsla!!! Lycka och befrielse!
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| Tredje dagen
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| 2013-04-29 10:52 |
Mån
Lite väl mycket vind på morgonen gjorde flatsfisket tidiga morgonar svårt. Den låga solen kräver blankt hav och rullande fiskar. Tisdagen fiskade vi allt från Bocca Grande till Bretongs vita sandflats. Färre fiskar än vanligt men på Bretong jagade vi och krokade några fina fiskar. Bretong är i mitt hjärta. Det måste vara en av de vackraste platserna på jorden – helt magiskt! Vid kvällens mojito räknades det in hyggligt med fik. Alla hade tarponkontakter en del stora fiskar. Några Jacks, hyggliga snappers och ett par Bonefish landades.
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| Andra dagen!
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| 2013-04-29 10:45 |
Under söndagen förflyttade vi oss bort till Jardines Dela Reinas västra ända. Denna nationalpark är ju ett gytter av små sagoöar. Här i väster finns Bocca Grande – där snittvikten på tarponerna är högre än någon annan stans på Cubas sydkust. Dagen gav några landade fiskar jag fick en schysst 30lbs fisk och Gunnar en bra fight med en som var dubblet så stor. Tyvärr var det få stora fiskar på flatsen – lite märkligt då alla förhållanden var helt optimala! Kvällens fiske på Bocca Grande revet gav inte ett enda hugg – märkligt som sagt!
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| Första dagen!
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| 2013-04-29 10:30 |
Tidig morgon! Upp för avfärd 04.00 –trött! Bussfärden gick som en dans jag sov säkert minst4 av de 5,5 timmarna. Härligt att vara tillbaka i Juccaro och möta alla välkända guide ansikten. Avalon Fleet one var i perfekt skick väntandes på oss och iväg for vi för en vecka långt från alla kontakter med civilisationen. Eftermiddagens första fiske gav ett sten hårt hugg ett par meter höga språng av en 50lbs tarpon det var allt! Men sol och perfekta förhållanden lovade gott!
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| Framme i Havanna!
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| 2013-04-29 10:10 |
En skön dag i solen. Havanna är en såväl märklig som charmig och totalt fredlig stad. Vår vilodag inför den fortsatta resan innehöll marknadsbesök och promenad i gamla stan. Några souvenirer blev det som vanligt. Alla nya ansikten fick lite karaktär och gruppen kändes absolut homogen och bra. Eftermiddagen blev lata timmar vid polen och visst några obligatoriska Mojitos blandades till med hotellets lilla salsa band i bakgrunden.
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Äldre poster
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