To Ken Reid and River Dee River board

I just want to send some words about some fantastic days at the Middle Blackhall beat on the river Dee. For 14 years I have fished your beautiful river together with friends and customers, mostly in the spring time. I have seen big fish been caught and lost, even had some of them on and lost myself during hard fights over a long time, standing there with a pounding heart and a dry mouth thinking “next time I will beat you”.

Starting fishing the beat Monday the 8 of September together with Paul from Glasgow AC, Anders from Denmark and Andrew from T&S the river was low and the sun burning. Paul did a great job landing a fresh grilse at The Cairnton Pool in the morning, but we struggled the rest of the day. Tuesday came with overcast conditions and it started to rain at lunch time. Andrew lost a fish, and Anders had a 9 pounder from the Rockhead in the afternoon, but nothing more happened and the river was still at the same level.

I woke up at dusk in the Wednesday morning and I could hear the river making a loud sound for the first time. At 6.20am I was down by the fishing hut and could see the water was rising. I went direct down to the tail of Rockhead, were I assume running fish would stop for a while. Weed was coming in big numbers but after 2-3 casts I hooked and landed a fresh 7 pounder.

Standing in the water, dressing the fly for a new go down the tail, I saw a big V in the water and a splash of a huge tail when a big fish enter the edge of the pool. I walked back a few yards and had only the shooting head outside the rod tip when the fish took the fly and just turned around again into the white water below the pool taking a lot of backing out of the reel. I stumbled and waded after the fish in deep water and my only thought was to rescue my shooting head and line, this fish will I never get. But after some minutes I manage to get half of the running line back to my reel and the fish was still there, sitting in a hole in the rapids.

I start walking back with closed reel and fish came as a dog with me back in to the small pool on the edge of the tail. I tried many times to get it around the stone weir and in to the main pool, but no way. Sitting on my knees I manage to get the fish close enough to try one more time to lead it around the weir, but I had no chance to get my hand more then half away around the tail root. I put my rod over it many time and got a very correct measurement of it, 114-115cm long. Deep down there on the tail of the pool in the rising water I decided to cut the leader since it was deeply hooked and the stress factor for the fish was too much, and also I was cold, and in the end one of us just about dropping dead.

The fish was tired but still in great condition and just disappeared swiftly,out in the water that beautiful September morning after 25-30 min fantastic fight. The fish was golden brown with big red and black spots and I notice it maybe had been hooked before since it had a deep scar in his jaws.

When the ghillie David Gibbon arrived I was sitting outside the fishing hut still shaking, my biggest Dee fish ever leaves you in a state of shock for quite some time. I am writing this on Saturday morning and I still feel it……….

Just want to share the experience with you and maybe others, but the most important thing I want to say, I put all my work into not harming this great tribute to the salmon stocks in my beloved River Dee, that fish will give his genes back to the river this autumn for the gene pool.

Thank you again River Dee,

Regards

Reid Hagelin
No-Limits Norway