River Dee Fishing Report – Week 30 commencing 17th August 2026
It was a much more consistent week on the river, with 105 salmon and grilse and 15 sea trout reported. Cooler temperatures, more cloud and some rain brought more favourable fishing conditions after the previous week’s heat, although the river remained relatively low.
It’s all in the mix and there still seem to be some fish coming, despite there being little to encourage them to run. Half-decent conditions this week might reveal more — salmon tend to take better when not sous vide.
Catches were steady throughout the week. Monday produced 20 salmon, followed by 12 on Tuesday and 13 on Wednesday. Sport picked up again towards the weekend, with 17 on Thursday, 22 on Friday and 21 on Saturday — 60 fish over the final three days.
Park was comfortably the standout beat with 33 salmon for the week. Tilbouries & Middle Drum finished with 13, Upper Drum & Lower Durris 10, Cairnton & Middle Blackhall 9 and Dess 9. Pleasingly, fish were also reported from well up the river, including Woodend, Aboyne Water, Dinnet, Crathie and Glenmuick.
There were some good fish among them. Park produced the largest of the week at 20lb on Thursday, while an 18lbr was landed at Crathie on Friday.
Nicol Paton looks after several beats, each of which enjoyed some sport this week. Tilbouries led the way with 13 salmon, although a similar number were lost in play, including a big fish which eventually got the upper hand on syndicate member Fraser Elliott.
Saturday produced fish for all three of Nicol’s lower beats. Ardoe & Murtle had three fish up to 15lb, Culter had a grilse, while Tilbouries added a grilse and three sea trout.
The small rises we have had have certainly helped the lower beats, but a decent rise would, as Nicol puts it, “shuffle the pack.”
John Fraser, a long-standing Park rod, was in the thick of it last week, landing several fish to 20lb. Beat owner William Foster was also amongst them, with a fish to his own rod. A fine week, which, as usual, would have been even sweeter with a little rise.
Graham Jackson and his party visited Dess this week. The group fished well and enjoyed consistent sport, landing fish each day and finishing with 10 salmon and a sea trout. Boyd and Charlton Peters were in the thick of it, landing four apiece. The low water has slowed the upstream dash of the fish, with most of the action coming from residents. A little water on Saturday encouraged some movement, however, producing a fresh fish at the death. Ali McEwan noted that they were also dropping resident fish “at a rate you’d expect from fresh grilse, but that’s fishing for you — not every week’s the same.”
Outlook
Summer finally took the hint last week. Temperatures returned to much more seasonal levels, with cooler nights, considerably more cloud and some rain. It was a welcome change after the heat of the previous week and provided much more comfortable conditions for rods, ghillies and, presumably, salmon.
The rainfall was welcome without being transformative. The Dee remains short of the sustained catchment-wide rainfall needed to properly freshen things up, but the cooler temperatures and improved overhead conditions gave us enough to work with.
The coming week looks increasingly unsettled. Monday appears the more settled day before rain and showers become more likely from Tuesday onwards. Temperatures should remain around seasonal levels, with no obvious return to the excessive heat we’ve endured at various points this summer.
There is therefore some reason for cautious optimism. Further rain would be very welcome, particularly if enough falls over the upper catchment to produce a meaningful rise. Whether it actually lands in the right place and in sufficient quantity remains, as ever, the important bit.
As ever, listen to your ghillie.
Ross Macdonald
for inclusion in future reports e mail debbie@riverdee.org