River Dee Fishing Report – Week 36 commencing 28th September 2026
The river produced over a hundred salmon and grilse again last week. Tuesday was the standout day, producing 42 salmon, with catches spread from the lower river right through to Crathie. It was a welcome flourish as September drew to a close and the upper beats reached the end of their season. The rest of the week was generally more subdued as the fish switched off for long periods.
The week began with 15 salmon on Monday. Tuesday’s catch was led by Tilbouries & Middle Drum with six, while Lower Crathes W Durris and Crathes Castle each had five. Dinnet reported four, with fish also coming from several beats throughout the middle and upper river. Tilbouries & Middle Drum produced the largest salmon of the week, a fish of 20lb.
Thereafter, returns settled into modest double figures, with 14 salmon on Wednesday, 10 on Thursday, 13 on Friday and 12 on Saturday. Across the week, Tilbouries & Middle Drum finished with 12, Lower Crathes W Durris had 11, and Crathes Castle and Dess each reported 10. Crathes Castle enjoyed a useful finish with four on Saturday, while Woodend and Aboyne Water each had two.
Water levels continued to fluctuate, with another rise around the turn of the month. A further, smaller pulse arrived towards the weekend before levels began falling back. All in all, September’s water levels were more than acceptable and, with a little luck, the water will carry us through to the close on 15 October. With fish spread through the middle and lower beats, there is sport to be had before the curtain falls. The general view around the beats was that a settled spell with a gently falling river should work in our favour. In theory.
Park had a quieter week than usual. Jamie McCulloch landed a 10lb salmon in Bakebeare and his friend Scott Connachan landed a 7lb fish in Bulwarks on Tuesday, both on the south bank. Andreas Gunst landed a nice 10lb salmon in Park Inn on the north bank on Wednesday.
The first day of October was a toil for the north bank rods, who fished hard without reward. On the south, David Robson landed a couple of salmon to 13lb over his two days. Regular rod Joe O’Sullivan finished off the week with a nice 10lb fish, also on the south.
Cairnton had a better start than finish to the week. Tony Chan, Jerry Oddie and John Ritchie were among the successful rods, with Park Shrimps, Phatagorvas and Sunrays doing the business.
Dess welcomed the guys from CND Rods, who put in a good shift. They landed ten salmon for the week, hard-earned with unsettled water putting the fish off for long periods.
Aboyne Water rods had a few sea trout, along with some salmon. John Fawcett landed a 7lb salmon from Lummels on an Ally’s, while Peter Rejzner had a 12lb fish on a Red Francis.
Outlook
The week ahead looks fairly settled at first, with sunny spells across Deeside on Monday and Tuesday. Monday will be mild, with temperatures reaching 18–19°C in the valley, before easing to around 12–15°C thereafter and nearer 9–12°C around Braemar. Nights will be cooler, particularly inland, with Tuesday night potentially dropping close to freezing around Ballater. A few frosty nights would be welcome to help switch the fish on, but that might be a little more than the forecast can offer.
A few showers are possible on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by some rain on Friday morning. There is little indication of sustained rainfall before then, which should give the river an opportunity to settle and continue falling after the recent rises.
As ever, listen to your ghillie.
Ross Macdonald
for inclusion in future reports e mail debbie@riverdee.org