Prospects for coming week

(Last updated: Monday 20th May)

The weather forecast shows a mild start to the week with a return to cooler weather for the second half of the week. There will be some precipitation but hopefully not enough to affect water levels. The Sepa gauges are all falling after heavy rain on Saturday with Ballater showing 2 feet and falling and Park reading 2ft 10 inches and falling. The water temps are approaching 50 degrees Fahrenheit and will be around this temperature all week. Winds are going to be breezy at times and will be predominately from the North West all week. The Jet stream is moving south during the latter part of the week and it looks likely that the cooler weather will continue for some time. Reasonably good salmon fishing weather but not great for sea trout fishing in the evening. The maritime influence sees tides building this week so hopefully we shall see a good run of new fish entering the river.

Your beat Ghillies will advise you on the tactics you should utilise but perseverance will be necessary. Anglers are still catching fish on tube flies fished well down but other fish are coming to small flies fished on floating lines. One was taken on a size 12 double last week at Dinnet from the Ministers Pool. As always heed the Ghillies wise counsel as they will give you the advice you need of where taking fish may be encountered on their beats given the water levels you encounter on your visit. If you don't have a Ghillie to obtain advice from then you may wish to consider the following flies as worth a go with. The Park Shrimp, Silver Stoats tail, Black Frances, Ally's Shrimp, Tosh and of course the Sunray Shadow is always a good option if fish are seen and suspected to be running through your pool.

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.

Finally an important thing for you to remember when you arrive on your chosen beat. All anglers and Ghillies are being asked to ensure anglers have their waders and any landing nets sprayed with a mild disinfectant prior to commencing fishing, even when they are fishing different River Dee beats during their week on the river. It's a condition of the River Dee Conservation code and must be strictly adhered to; all beats have supplies to ensure this is carried out prior to entering 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 the highly problematic ranunculus from the lower part of the river to the upper part. 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.