The Aberdeenshire Dee is possibly the most famous and one of the most productive spring salmon rivers in the whole of Scotland. In the opinion of many fly fishers it is also the most beautiful. It offers gin-clear waters, rocky and shingly streams with multitudes of salmon lies and excellent, sometimes breathtaking holding pools among fine estate lands with superb trees. The shallow nature of the Dee makes it first class fly water and its late spring fishings from April to June have made the name of the Dee synonymous with the finest floating line salmon sport. Indeed, one has only to say 'Dee style' to evoke a picture of a fine May morning, a long floating line coming round over salmon in gin clear streams in which the salmon will rise like trout to the smallest of flies swung over them.
The Dee flows from the massive Cairngorm mountains, carrying waters more than fifty miles to the sea from the spring snows and from many clear mountain streams. On the course of this river lie Braemar, Balmoral, Ballater, Aboyne and Banchory and the river reaches the sea in Aberdeen. The Dee valley is often referred to as Royal Deeside because of the Queen's Scottish residence at Balmoral. The Dee is a salmon river principally, but it has a substantial run of sea trout from May onwards. It has no brown trout fishings worth the name. Its upper section. roughly from Braemar to Ballater, has some fine beats typified by Invercauld where you will fish small pools and interesting streams curling round boulders and pouring over rocky ledges. The longer, shingly streams and pools of the Cambus o' May reaches and the superb rocky holding pools of Dinnet begin the fishings of middle Dee proper. Then, from Aboyne down through Ballogie and Carlogie to Blackhall and Cairnton the Dee defines itself . This is the Dee made famous by A H E Wood, and savoured by a multitude of fly fishers since. From Banchory the river broadens having received the waters of the Feugh and begins to take on the character of its fat lower reaches embracing such famous beats as Crathes, Park, Durris, Altries and other fine waters as the river slows down for its meeting with the North Sea at Aberdeen.
The Dee opens, by statute, for spring fishing on February 1st. Beats up to Dinnet usually have fresh fish on the opening day. The fattest spring fishings are traditionally those between Banchory and Peterculter, but in some recent years the middle river has been best in the opening weeks. The lower beats, from the Feugh junction down, can be prolific in late August and September, and, given water, they share a fine fresh autumn run which the middle Dee scarcely touches. The middle Dee, however, from Banchory up to Ballater, enjoys the cream of the later spring fishings when the sport is with floating line and small flies, - salmon fishing out of paradise as some have called it. Summer on the Dee can be mixed. Good water is needed to bring in the grilse and summer fish, but given that, early July can be wonderful. Drought in summer leaves the middle and upper reaches of the river short of fresh stock.
Sea trout runs in the river have increased greatly in the past decade (though with recent declines 2006-2009) and these form a very interesting focus on many of the beats between Banchory and Aboyne. Sea trout are usually in the range two and a half to three pounds in weight, but some larger sea trout are now appearing in Dee bags.
In contrast, the smaller Don, flowing into the sea just north of Aberdeen, is generally a slower and deeper river than the Dee, especially in its lower reaches. The Don has a reliable, sometimes impressive run of spring fish, largely caught on the lower river. It has a reasonable summer run and has a good autumn run of salmon, some of which are large. It is, however, a famous stream for its fine trout, although numbers and quality have dropped off in the past decade. The Don has sea trout, but they tend to concentrate on the lower river below Inverurie. Local opinion holds that the May dry fly fishing in the streamy waters of the Don around Alford is the finest wild trout fishing in Scotland.
Bill Currie
The Dee flows from the massive Cairngorm mountains, carrying waters more than fifty miles to the sea from the spring snows and from many clear mountain streams. On the course of this river lie Braemar, Balmoral, Ballater, Aboyne and Banchory and the river reaches the sea in Aberdeen. The Dee valley is often referred to as Royal Deeside because of the Queen's Scottish residence at Balmoral. The Dee is a salmon river principally, but it has a substantial run of sea trout from May onwards. It has no brown trout fishings worth the name. Its upper section. roughly from Braemar to Ballater, has some fine beats typified by Invercauld where you will fish small pools and interesting streams curling round boulders and pouring over rocky ledges. The longer, shingly streams and pools of the Cambus o' May reaches and the superb rocky holding pools of Dinnet begin the fishings of middle Dee proper. Then, from Aboyne down through Ballogie and Carlogie to Blackhall and Cairnton the Dee defines itself . This is the Dee made famous by A H E Wood, and savoured by a multitude of fly fishers since. From Banchory the river broadens having received the waters of the Feugh and begins to take on the character of its fat lower reaches embracing such famous beats as Crathes, Park, Durris, Altries and other fine waters as the river slows down for its meeting with the North Sea at Aberdeen.
The Dee opens, by statute, for spring fishing on February 1st. Beats up to Dinnet usually have fresh fish on the opening day. The fattest spring fishings are traditionally those between Banchory and Peterculter, but in some recent years the middle river has been best in the opening weeks. The lower beats, from the Feugh junction down, can be prolific in late August and September, and, given water, they share a fine fresh autumn run which the middle Dee scarcely touches. The middle Dee, however, from Banchory up to Ballater, enjoys the cream of the later spring fishings when the sport is with floating line and small flies, - salmon fishing out of paradise as some have called it. Summer on the Dee can be mixed. Good water is needed to bring in the grilse and summer fish, but given that, early July can be wonderful. Drought in summer leaves the middle and upper reaches of the river short of fresh stock.
Sea trout runs in the river have increased greatly in the past decade (though with recent declines 2006-2009) and these form a very interesting focus on many of the beats between Banchory and Aboyne. Sea trout are usually in the range two and a half to three pounds in weight, but some larger sea trout are now appearing in Dee bags.
In contrast, the smaller Don, flowing into the sea just north of Aberdeen, is generally a slower and deeper river than the Dee, especially in its lower reaches. The Don has a reliable, sometimes impressive run of spring fish, largely caught on the lower river. It has a reasonable summer run and has a good autumn run of salmon, some of which are large. It is, however, a famous stream for its fine trout, although numbers and quality have dropped off in the past decade. The Don has sea trout, but they tend to concentrate on the lower river below Inverurie. Local opinion holds that the May dry fly fishing in the streamy waters of the Don around Alford is the finest wild trout fishing in Scotland.
Bill Currie