River Dee Fishing Report – Week 35 commencing 21st September 2026
We enjoyed another decent week on the river, with 115 salmon and grilse and 19 sea trout reported. Following 123 salmon the previous week, catches have remained steady, helped by another lift in water. Perhaps most encouragingly, fish were again well distributed throughout the valley, from the lower river right through to Crathie. Noteworthy fish were landed too, including a 25lb salmon from Sluie on Wednesday, with Park producing another of 22lb on Friday.
September has certainly been kinder to us than August. Three useful rises over the month have freshened conditions and helped maintain sport for the rods. None has amounted to anything approaching an actual spate, but each has been enough to encourage some movement and improve conditions.
As much as we welcome the rises, and as much as I bemoan their absence, it seems to me that the river is taking longer to clear and for the fish to come back on. Maybe it’s the pattern of drought-rain-drought-rain and the absence of a proper spate that causes the river to drop back without really clearing. It needs whatever the hydrological equivalent of a colonic is to clean it out. Who knows? I am not alone in recalling the river settling more quickly and the fish responding positively following a rise, but the pattern of rainfall and abstraction has possibly changed since then.
The week began with 21 salmon on Monday, followed by 18 on Tuesday and 17 on Wednesday. Things quietened on Thursday, when 10 were reported, before finishing strongly with 24 on Friday and another 25 on Saturday. That gave us 49 salmon over the final two days and a very respectable finish as the water continued to drop.
Park enjoyed another excellent week with 26 salmon, including five on Monday, six on Wednesday and eight on Friday. Lower Crathes W Durris also fished well, while Tilbouries & Middle Drum enjoyed a particularly good Tuesday with six salmon. Catches were spread throughout the middle river, with fish also reported from Ballogie, Dess, Aboyne Water and Dinnet.
The upper river continued to pick away too. Crathie had fish on five days and finished with nine for the week, while catches were also recorded at Deecastle and Headinch & Cambus O’May.
Patrik Nord celebrated his birthday at Park, marking the occasion with a 22lb fish from Cooper’s. Long-standing regular Steve Wellard landed a 20lber on the north bank and six more on the south bank. Regular French guest Jean Claude Rouiller had a productive week, landing twelve fish from the south bank. Former Park ghillie Bert Webster maintained his recent track record, landing fish every day he has fished at Park.
Cairnton’s salmon were mostly disinterested last week. There are fish in all the pools, but only one succumbed; Mungo Ingleby managed to stir up a 6lber on a Sunray.
Allan Faye landed a mid-teen hen fish at Birse on a Black Francis. On the Aboyne Water side, Chaz Booth’s rods continued to work away, starting the week with a 9lber for Mark Andrews on a Munro’s Killer. Jon Lawrence followed suit on Tuesday with a 7lber on a Stoat’s Tail. Gareth Patterson had a couple and there were a few decent sea trout landed, also on the Stoat.
Outlook
There has been another lift in water overnight. At the time of writing, the Dee is sitting at around 1ft 3in at Ballater and Woodend and 1ft 2in at Park Bridge, while the Feugh is around 1ft. Most gauges are now falling, although Woodend was still showing a rise early this morning. With fish already well distributed throughout the system, this latest lift should leave us in decent shape for the week ahead — provided it drops and clears in the appropriate manner!
We now enter the final few days of the season on the upper river, which closes on 30 September, while fishing continues below Aboyne Bridge until 15 October. For those of you west of Aboyne, this therefore marks the end of our scheduled transmission. We will resume normal programming on 1 February 2027.
For everyone else, there is still plenty to play for.
As ever, listen to your ghillie.
Ross Macdonald
for inclusion in future reports e mail debbie@riverdee.org