River Dee Sluie Beat

[greenalert]

What a pity Hamish, it is probably as good if not better than any part of the beat

I'm surprised Robert did not point this out to you, he actually took us from the hut up to the top bit when we first arrived (8.45)

[say]

Hamish,
Thanks for the report, I have a day here a week on Saturday and then another couple of Saturdays (April/May). I have arranged a tour of the beat with Robert on Sunday with a view to getting to know the hotspots early on.

Storlaks,
I'll post a report sharing my view of the beat with the likely places etc.

SAY

[betanut]

greenalert said:

I'm surprised Robert did not point this out to you, he actually took us from the hut up to the top bit when we first arrived (8.45)

Thinking about it he probably would have only the chap I was fishing with had fished the beat previously so I imagine Robert presumed I would have been made aware of the beat limits prior to his turning up - I'm not worried though, had a grand day and can always go back to explore the bits I missed - when it's less windy though............... ;D

[say]

Just got back from our day on Sluie and glad to report that we managed to land 2 nice springers (6lb and 12lb), pic to follow.

I should point out that it was my Dad who landed both fish one in the Kelpie and the other in the Upper Jetties, both before 11am

I lost a fish (around 10/12lb) in Strathseven in the afternoon.

IMO it's a decent beat that offers the chance of a fish, if the water levels stay around 1'8" or less on the Woodend gauge. The beat is relatively fast flowing and the bottom half and should start fishing in late Spring.

Strathseven is a fair wade, I tried in the morning with 1' 10" on the gauge and lost my bottle, but had a go late afternoon with a few inches less on the gauge and you can just get out. This pool is not for the faint hearted and should only be waded by experienced fishermen. It's easy to undersatnd why one or two have gone for a swim with the fishes

We enjoyed our day and it's good value for the money but does need low water conditions.

SAY

[Sloggi]

Well done Say - great stuff

What was your father's set-up?

I think right now Sluie has to be the best value beat on the Dee - £25 is tremendous value. One more week of this price before it goes up - I'm looking forward to Saturday

Did you fish Suicide?

[say]

Sloggi,

Suicide, is on the opposite bank it's called the hut pool from Sluie. I was told that the Commonty side was a bit lumpy, hence the name. I did fish the Hut pool, pretty deep but I thought it was too fast from the Sluie bank for Springers.

Set-up depended on the pool being fished. It's very deep close in on the Kelpie and Jetties, so beware if wading close to the bank.

My dad fished a wet cel 2 with a WG alu tube (forget the monkey fly)

When I fished the Stathseven my set-up was an Intermediate with fast sink tip and copper tube.

In all honest you will be chopping and changing as you work through the pools.

Value for money, yes but I would guess the prices will rise a little next year

SAY

[Sloggi]

Cheers Say,

I'm sure prices will rise next year.

Did you see any Monkey flies about? Still none the wiser on that point.

I'm really looking forward to the wading

[tyneandrew]

Well done SAY (or should it be well done to your dad

Looking forward to my week on Woodend week after next - looks like there is going to be a cold blast this coming week. Hopefully it will warm up for the week after.

Any Woodend fishers out there with any tips?

[colliedog]

Gents

I have not fished Sluie yet (got that to look forward to in May) but have fished Borrowston (above) and Ballogie (opposite). The water upstream of the Kelpie would come into play in high water Above 3' on the Potarch bridge gauge there are good lies in the tail of Inchbare close into the Borrowston/Sluie bank. I am told that at these sorts of heights, Ballogie fish various lies all the way down the long straight to the Kelpie.

CD

[storlaks]

Thanks for the report Say and well done to your Dad. Looking forward to my day in April.

Is there a gauge on the beat? 1ft 8 at Woodend, what would that be on the gauge at Potarch bridge? I won't have access to my PC after 27th March so when I arrive at the this beat I will check the height at the bridge first.

[castlikeaghille]

Storlaks

The Pot Bridge Guage tends to be about 2-4 inches up on the Woodend marker. So Dee 2' at Woodend tends to show 2'3" - 2'4" on the Pot Bridge.

Its just the nature of these guages that they are not perfectly correlated hence the variations, particularly as the water gets higher.

See also Collie Dog's post above on Sluie. Although he won't thank me for saying it, not only is Collie an exceptional salmon fisher, but he knows middle Dee well. So I would note carefully what he says. For what it is worth, I have fished the same water he has and agree totally with his observations.

Look forward to reading your report.

Regards

CLaG

[storlaks]

Cheers. I've got my annual trip to Crathes to negotiate first (10 days to go ) but as always I look forward to fishing new beats. This is the beauty of this forum..... you can learn a little before you go. Great stuff.

[rennie]

Due to fish Sluie commencing 19th April,has any one acquired wisdom which may be of use,its the first jaunt of the season so Ive got to blow off the cobwebs first.From what I can gather the beat suits low water and I think thats what will be in front of me by next Thursday. Cheers folks Pedro.

[storlaks]

I'm just back from my trip to Scotland and after fishing Sluie for a day last week here's my input.

With about 11in on the Woodend gauge the water height was good for the beat. Most pools were fishing the fly well. Fish showed / ran throught the day...not many but enough to keep you in the water. Overheads were good and water temp was 48-50f.

Starting at the top of the beat :

Didn't fish uppermost pool as this is a high water pool.
Corner pool - fished this but felt the water was a bit thin. Didn't see any fish here.
Kelpie - saw one or two fish here but felt it would have fished better to our bank with a few more inches on the gauge. Top part is a tricky wade but long casting not required so easily cover where fish were showing. Touched nothing.
Upper Jettie - fish showing here throughout the day (not many). Fly fishes well at this height.
Lower Jettie - best pool on the beat (IMO). This pool holds fish. Fish showing throughtout the day. Connected with one on a Sunray but lost it....my fault )-: Other guy fishing also lost a fish here. Guy on Ballogie got one. Great pool for a stripping a Sunray/Collie. Fish lying from just above Jettie to just below. Also fish the tail. Still holding a couple of kelts.
Hut pool - I didn't see any fish in there, but others did. Nice pool. easy to fish.
Bottom pool (don't know name) - again saw a couple of fish here. One just below second croy on Sluie side, the other further down and in the middle. Could have been running fish. You basicly fish close-in from Croy down about 20 yards and then wade out and fish torwards Commonty side.

If conditions stay similar to what they have been, then a floater with a tip or an intermediate line would work. Most definately try a sunray or collie stripped fast.

For the money this is a nice beat, and good value, especially at this height.

Richard is a nice guy and will keep you right.

[colliedog]

Great report Storklaks - exactly the type of detail that will help future visitors. Our large group (sorry, crew) have used this type of pooling of information over a range of water heights to get to know the subtleties of a number of beats on the Dee and other rivers far faster than an individual or small group ever would.

It's a great use of the forum - long may members be so open with their information

CD

[greenalert]

Storlaks is spot on

Fished there yesterday, no joy, lost 2 at the Lower Jetty due to inexperience I think

River is full of fish, seen them throughout the whole beat