Week Ending 30th May
The large yellow orb returned to the skies above Deeside this week. Bright sun and a cloudless sky remain one of our least favourite combinations—textbook lousy salmon fishing conditions; except for Tim Lavryk fishing at Banchory, who had a fish from Feugh Mouth on a size 16 Cascade and a slow sink tip. Well done Tim. If your fly is in the water, you have a chance.
The early skirmishing of summer weather patterns brings the spring to a close and thoughts turn to sea trout, grilse and the summer salmon still to come. Water levels are dropping and temperatures are creeping upwards, as expected. Thankfully there appears to be a cloud on the horizon; more than one and we may have enough for a spell of sustained drizzle. The actual forecast is for unsettled weather with thundery showers. These are unlikely to make much difference to river height but are welcome all the same.
The ghillies recorded nineteen salmon on the website this week. The fish that are coming into the Dee are hell bent on getting upstream and are not lingering in the lower river. That said, there are one or two residents starting to hold below Banchory.
Fish were seen moving through Park but not hanging about. Ross Lockens had a nice sea trout midweek, which was all the action. Proprietor William Foster had similar misgivings about the unfortunate outbreak of sunshine. As June progresses, Park will no doubt start to tick over more regularly.
Daniel Wright noted that Little Blackhall and Inchmarlo concluded their spring with another couple of fish, with several dropped along the way.
Up at Cairnton and Middle Blackhall, Brian Brogan also noted fish pushing through the beat with serious intent. James Madden, a long-standing rod there, landed two: a 10lb fish from the Spout on Tuesday and a peach of a 13lb fish from the Glister on Friday. Both fish took a Flamethrower.
Dess had five. Beat owner Jeremy Clayton and guests were on the beat. Monday was slow with just a single sea trout. Tuesday saw a frenetic hour and a half, with three clean fish landed. Andrew Slack had one from the Island on a Cascade, Jeremy picked one up in the Mill on a Hitch—no mean feat. Neil Harvey concluded the morning’s fun with a third on a small black hairwing.
Wednesday was quiet, but Michael Trafford rebooted things on Thursday when he winkled one out of the March Pool boils, which he was rightly delighted with. Jeremy wrapped it up with his second of the week, a lovely fish of about 7lb taken on a size 16 black Francis.
Over at Birse, Tom Hammond had a wake-up call on Monday morning with a 13lb fish that gave him a run for his money. It took a Willie Gunn Snaelda on a dressed hook.
Outlook
With conditions changing, we should see better results this week. The river is running clear and a small slim fly is often a good place to start. The ghillies will have their own thoughts on favourites, but a small black fly with a bit of silver and a soupçon of yellow or blue is a solid foundation for a good summer pattern. Silver Stoats, Crathies, Executioners, Editors and so forth. For those of us who like a fly with a tail, small Cascades, Flamethrowers and similar are effective choices. Full floating lines and a mix of poly leaders will cover most situations.
As ever, listen to your ghillie.
Ross Macdonald
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