We are now taking bookings for the 2008 season for the Dee, Findhorn, Spey, and Avon Rivers in Scotland. We have some excellent guided opportunities at Park Estate on the River Dee for one to two rods throughout the season. Please contact ian@speycaster.net for further information.

The Aberdeenshire Dee rises high in the Cairngorms and flows some 90 miles to the sea at Aberdeen. It's source, at the Wells of Dee, is actually very close to that of the Avon. Many would say that it is the most attractive of the large Scottish Salmon rivers as well as one of the most prolific in fish. In fact the Dee is probably the best Spring Salmon river in Britain. It is a lovely tumbling streamy fast flowing river in all but the lower reaches and it's water runs clear with little of the peatiness so characteristic of the Spey and Findhorn. The upper Dee flows through delightful countryside past Braemar, Invercauld, Balmoral and Ballater. Apart from the falls at the Linn of Dee there is no natural obstacle to the passage of fish. Along the banks are woods of Birch, Fir and Pine with hills of heather and Rowan beyond. The middle reaches between Ballater and Banchory are home to some of the finest beats on the river. Names like Cambus o May, Dinnet and Glentanar will be familiar names even to those who have only dreamed of fishing here. The river here has lost none of it's momentum as it weaves between one rocky pool to another. Below Banchory the river steadies it's pace a little but the character of it's pools is by no means lost. Some of the finest Spring fishing is to be had here on famous beats like Park, Durris and Crathes. In fact there are numbers of fresh fish in these pools from the first day of the season and the angler is in with a real chance in February if the weather is at all kind.

"The River runs clear with fast streams and often it flows over whitish shingle beds and the course is marked by pine trees on the bank, haughs with broom bushes and cropped grass. The riverside paths are well maintained and the pools have good fishing huts and benches for anglers to lunch on. One of the factors in the productivity of the Dee is its shallowness. It has been estimated to have an average depth of four feet and an average pace of three and a half miles per hour from Braemar to the sea. Naturally a river like this varies its pace , forming a few quiet pools such as those at Invercauld . The typical Dee salmon pool is formed over a flat or a wadable stream. So shallow are some of the best pools that wading much above the knee may well take you over productive salmon lies, disturbing the fish. It is almost certainly its shallow and streamy character that has made this river famous for its fly fishing. This is the home of the floating line for salmon and its origin of greased line salmon fishing as we have come to know it in the thirties and later years of this century. One cannot think of greased line fishing without thinking of A.H.E.Wood of Cairnton and his friend Anthony Crossley. The concept of fishing for salmon with the fly just under the surface has meant a remarkable advance in technique. On the Dee for instance it has led to the use of small Dee tubes- tiny wisps of Stoat Tail or Hairy Mary flies tied Bucktail and fished on little plastic tubes running down in length from one inch to a quarter of an inch. Often the salmon can be seen taking the fly. A back breaks the water or a snout emerges to engulf the morsel".

Extract taken from 'THE FISHING WATERS OF SCOTLAND' by McLaren and W.B. Currie with grateful thanks.

The season opens on February 1st and as of 2008 will close on 15th October. The Aberdeenshire Dee offers Spring salmon fishing par excellence. Fish will be taken below Banchory in February/March and will be settling into pools at Aboyne by April and will be up to Braemar by early May. Spring water levels are held steady by snowmelt fed from the Cairngorm and Grampian Mountains. Days lost to high water are few, as the Dee does not colour readily and soon clears after a rise. There is a healthy run of summer salmon and grilse which quickly spread throughout the system in the warmer water conditions. The Dee also sees a very healthy run of sea trout from May onwards. Many of the fish will be coloured by September, but lower beats like Park and Crathes will take fresh sea liced fish right up to the last day of the season.

Over ten years ago the Dee Fishery Board research programme identified that Spring salmon were not returning in the numbers normally expected. After much debate and careful consideration, a number of measures were introduced. Firstly, there has been a systematic improvement in the hatchery stocking programme. Secondly, anglers are encouraged to fish by fly only. Thirdly, an obligatory catch and release policy was introduced in 1996. Since that time, tens of thousands of salmon have been safely returned to the river insuring a healthy spawning stock on the redds. Catch statistics and careful scientific monitoring indicates that these measures have been extremely successful. Juvenile stock appears healthy and plentiful on all beats. The total catch for the river has been steadily increasing since these measures were implemented. Indeed, the total rod catch for the 2007 season peaked at over some 6,500 salmon which was a record number of salmon caught for many years. The Dee Salmon Fishery Improvement Association should be congratulated on their work and for having the foresight to introduce these conservation policies at the time.

Below are contact details relevant to the various beats on Upper, Middle and Lower Dee. For further information on fishing the Aberdeenshire Dee beats visit www.fishdee.co.uk

The Upper Dee

Aboyne Castle

Craigendinnie

Waterside

Ferrar

Dee Castle

Headinch

Cambus O'May

Birkhall

Abergeldie

Balmoral

Lower Invercauld

Crathie

The Middle Dee

Lower Blackhall

Lower Dess

Upper Dess

Little Blackhall

Inchmarlo

Middle Blackhall

Cairnton

Woodend

Lower Woodend

Commonty

Ballogie

Carlogie

Sluie

Borrowston

Kincardine

Birse

Aboyne Water

The Lower Dee

Ardoe and Murtle

Blairs

Altries

Lower Drum

Middle Drum

Park
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             

Park South

Lower Crathes

West Durris

Knappach

Crathes Castle

Invery

Banchory Fishings

For more information contact:

ian@speycaster.net or mike@speycaster.net

For further information on fishing the Aberdeenshire Dee beats visit www.fishdee.co.uk

>>To view images from our growing online photo library which covers the Rivers Findhorn, Dee, Spey/Avon, and Ponoi, please click here