River Dee Salmon Fishing
By Jock Monteith 8th February 2020
If you ever feel like some serious salmon fly fishing 'therapy' then the Aberdeenshire River Dee has got to be Scotland's most precious jewel in the crown. This beautiful Cairngorm Mountain fed 87 mile stretch of riverine brilliance just has to be experienced to be truly believed!
Salmon Fishing On Royal Deeside
The River Dee has some beautiful rural towns positioned along its glorious riverbanks such as Banchory, Ballater & Braemar and the area between the latter two towns is known as Royal Deeside due to Queen Victoria's 'astutely' positioned Balmoral Castle which is located between these two picturesque towns. The River Dee fishing season commenced on the 1st of February and finishes on some beats as late as the 15th of October. This perfect Scottish fly fishing river has beautiful boulder strewn clear water pools that ebb & flow down through various glides and fast water rapids throughout it's entire length on route to greeting the North Sea in Aberdeen.
River Dee Salmon Fishing Beats
The River Dee benefits from around 50 famous salmon beats throughout its entire length and during early season it is normal for perfect Spring salmon to be caught in its lower & middle river salmon fishing venues like Invery, Banchory & Lower Blackhall in and around the Banchory area. Salmon stocks continue to build up in the lower & middle River Dee throughout the Spring months until the river water warms during April & May when salmon run through to the upper Dee salmon fishing beats like the beautiful Crathie Beat near Ballater & Braemar. Good fishing is possible on the river at any time of the salmon fishing season and it always amazes me how many salmon are present in the Autumn months and while watching the river at that time of year it's not uncommon to see two salmon in the air at the same time!
River Dee Fly Fishing Kit & Salmon Flies
The most appropriate fly fishing kit for the River Dee is a 14/15ft ft double handed salmon fly rod with a floating line and the occasional use of a sink tip when depth of fly is required. In low Summer water conditions a full floating line works well and in the higher water levels of early Spring a full intermediate line or a longer heavier sink tip added to a floating line are both perfect tactical fishing approaches. Popular Spring salmon flies are the Dee Monkey along with the Park Shrimp which both work well tied on either copper or aluminium tubes for the early months then moving onto single or double hooked versions for the later Spring months. Other salmon fly patterns that do well are the Ally's Shrimp, Sunray Shadow, Willie Gunn, Cascade, Flamethrower, Copperass & the Stoat's tail (or Silver Stoat). In lower Summer water conditions I've had good success with the smallest and most lightly dressed Stoat's Tail patterns which look like the tiniest of trout flies so don't fish a normal looking Summer salmon fly and if you can thread your leader through the eye of the salmon fly too easily then it's too big!
Book A River Dee Salmon Guide
The River Dee is a beautiful Scottish fly fishing river that will work her magic on you and the memories attained while enjoying her salmon fishing beauty will remain permanently in your mind encouraging you to return year after year as many of her 'spell bound' salmon fishers do. To maximise your chances of catching salmon on the River Dee it is always advisable to hire the personal services of an 'expert' to make sure you're fishing optimally and in the correct salmon beat holding areas. Our main professional River Dee salmon guide consistently notches up 100+ salmon to his own rod each year including during the low water 2018 season which was regarded as a nightmare season in Scotland (due to months of dreadfully low warm water conditions) so if you're considering taking advantage of a professional guide's 'midas touch' do not underestimate the calibre of professionalism offered via our services. Follow this link for detailed information on guided River Dee salmon fishing which will significantly increase your chances of sub surface contact!
Recent 2020 River Dee Salmon Catches
The River Dee opened its 2020 salmon fishing season last Saturday on the 1st of February and already 22 lovely fresh run Spring salmon have been landed and especially around the Banchory area which has always been a likely area of the Dee for intercepting an early run Spring fish. In the last 2 days our top professional River Dee salmon guide has hooked and landed 2 perfect Spring salmon of 16lbs & 7lbs proving the current viability of a cast on the River Dee. If you'd like to spend a day with the most productive and tactically astute professional Dee salmon guide then drop me an email at jock@salmon-fishing-scotland.com with your preferred fishing date(s) and I'll double check guide & venue availability. Nothing beats the exhilarating experience of catching an early Spring salmon on the fly rod and there's a sub surface 'captive audience' in the River Dee right now!