River Dee Anglers’ Chance to Land Big Honour
February 01, 2021
Salmon anglers and complete beginners are being invited to compete for one of the biggest honours in the sport in a round-the-clock fishing challenge.
There has been something of a ‘ghillie-go-round’ on Deeside during the close season. Brian Brogan has returned to Cairnton and Middle Blackhall, while Terry Paton has moved up to Aboyne Castle and Craigendinnie where he takes over from Will Peake. Most recently, Daniel Wright has joined Lower Crathes as under-ghillie.
The biggest change on the river must be the merging of Lower Blackhall & Kinneskie and Banchory into a one double bank beat for up to six rods. The merging of the two beats follows discussions between proprietors Lawrence Ross and Mike Wilson.
The new beat combines good early spring fishing with summer salmon and grilse, which will be an enticing prospect for visiting and local anglers. Lawrence said, ‘Mike and I put our heads together recently and concluded that by merging the beats we could offer the anglers a greater variety of water as well as a good mix of spring and summer fishing. In a similar vein, we opted to reduce the number of rods by 25% which we believe will enhance the angler’s experience.’
Lawrence and Mike have appointed Jordie Sinclair as the ghillie for the newly merged beat. Jordie is an experienced ghillie who has served his apprenticeship as under-ghillie to Robert Harper at Lower Crathes & West Durris. Jordie, who is also a qualified casting instructor, is delighted with his new role and is eagerly looking forward to the opening of the Dee season on 1 February. ‘After six great years at Lower Crathes I felt it was time to try something new. When the opportunity to run my own beat came up, I was quick to take it. I am really looking forward to it. We have some nice spring fishing and when the summer arrives, the Banchory end of the beat comes into its own when the grilse arrive. I can’t wait to get started.’
The beat is now listed as Lower Blackhall and Banchory on FishDee where you can check out availability and book days.
If anglers have any queries about the new arrangements, they can contact Lawrence Ross.
email: lbkfb12@gmail.com
tel: 01330 820156 or 07876 656755
Salmon anglers and complete beginners are being invited to compete for one of the biggest honours in the sport in a round-the-clock fishing challenge.
The results of the 2020 Redd count are in with some grounds for optimism
The current restrictions mean that there are some great opportunities for local anglers
Our friend Robson has lent his support to promoting our River Dee buffs
As things currently stand, the Dee fishing season will commence as usual on 1st February.
We hope you enjoy the latest annual review for the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board and River Dee Trust.
With no opening ceremony this year, we thought we would share a few pics f past events
Why not make a special gesture to the one you love this Valentine’s day with a bouquet of trees from the River Dee Trust?
The Trust has been working with schools and parents to ensure our youngsters can enjoy learning about the River Dee from home
Get your hands on this Winter's Ultimate Accessory!!
A third of the LWS between Loch Muick and the Spittal bridge had gravel and redds associated with them
Within weeks of the Easter Beltie restoration works finishing at least 15 redd sites have appeared!
Just days after completing restoration works on the Garbh Allt, salmon and redds have been spotted!
The River Dee Trust has joined the national network of river conservation charities in calling on the Scottish Government to turn words into action to avert an ecological disaster.
August and September herald the highest levels of mink activity within the catchment. Our volunteer network has been hard at work but we could do with some support.
The Results of the 2019 River Dee Smolt Tagging & Tracking study have been published
The River Dee Trust has announced plans to plant a million native trees in one of the biggest nature restoration projects in the Cairngorms. The project will recreate areas of landscape that have been lost for 2000 years.
The Dee Dsfb has produced a short facsheet detailing its position on enhancement stocking
The River Dee Trust has published the results of the 2019 UDRS Electrofishing
The River Dee Trust has published the findings of its scale reading study
The Callum Mackenzie Cup is awarded by Ballogie Estate Enterprises for the most notable fish, of any species, caught by a youngster within the Dee catchment, including Rivers Cowie and Carron or one of the many trout fisheries in the district.
The new Annual Review highlighting the work of the Board and Trust is available to read.
One of the Dee’s most exciting projects got underway in 2014 when a fish pass was installed on the Culter Burn in the autumn of that year.
Since 2016 the River Dee Trust has been engaged in a major piece of work to find out more about smolt production on the lower Dee.
With the season coming to a close Fisheries Officers are still working hard to protect salmon from poachers. Poaching still goes on and can have a major impact on fish stocks, particularly when numbers are down across the country.
The Culter catchment is an ideal breeding ground for salmon
As expected, the first pink salmon has been caught on the Dee
This short film showcases our new project in the Upper Dee Catchment
Join River Operations Manager Edwin Third, as he introduces a new project to boost juvenile salmon salmon on the Dee.
Join the River Dee team as we continue our work to protect our most precious resource, Atlantic salmon smolts
Let's stay in touch