THE DEE 



103 



the end of Februai"}'. Then comes March ; and though I suppose 

 there are occasions when that month is a genial one, it has never 

 been my lot to fall in with them, for deep snows and hard frosts 

 have always reigned supreme and put an end to angling whenever I 

 have found myself on Deeside in that month. From above Aboyne 

 bridge the month of May is often very good, but so much depends 

 on the store of snow on the hills and on the weather of January and 

 early February, that it is impossible to advise anyone exactly as 

 to which will be the best month on any particular beat. 



The Dee is fished with' every description of lure : flies, prawns, 

 natural minnows, gudgeons, and artificial spinning baits of all sorts 

 are freely used. On some reaches the old favourite, the fly, with 

 its thousands of various patterns, will beat all lures, while on other 

 sections the baits have the best of it ; sometimes the fly will kill 

 for half the day and then suddenly become useless, while for the 

 rest of the day the bait will be seized with avidity. 



To describe the Dee flies or the Dee tackle is unnecessary, for 

 all the tackle makers are well acquainted with the numerous 

 patterns. In the spring I seldom use more than three sorts — the 

 Gordon, the Glen Tana, and the Eagles ; though in May and later, 

 when the water becomes quite low, one must fall back on very small 

 double-hooked flies, of which the two best are the Blue Charm and 

 Jock Scot. I have, however, remarked that there are sections on 

 which certain flies kill better than they do on others. In the autumn 

 the standard patterns are now used perhaps more successfully than 

 the original Dee flies. In the spring, rods of eighteen feet, with 

 stout tackle and heavy double tapered reel lines, are required, 

 though as the end of April comes they may be laid aside for shorter 

 rods and lighter lines. Trousers or stockings are wanted on almost 

 the whole of the Dee. The Cairnton and Inchmarlo sections are 

 perhaps the only ones on the river where every pool can be fished 

 without the waterproofs. 



The Dee fish are packed in every variety of manner. The 

 deal box appears the favourite method with keepers and ghillies, 

 for a few taps with a hammer completes the packing ; the box trick 

 is, however, often not satisfactory to the recipient, and I have known 

 fish to taste of the smell of deal and sawdust ; and likewise, if it 

 be packed in straw, it will often taste of the smeU of that material. 

 Broom can generally be found all along Deeside, and that makes the 

 best and sweetest packing of aU ; after the end of May, flags can be 

 found growing long enough, and these also make excellent covering. 



From the head of the Duke of Fife's Glen Dee water, which 

 commences some ten miles above the Linn, down to Murtle, a short 

 distance above Aberdeen, there are fifty fine angUng stretches of 

 water, in which there are more than four hundred named pools. 

 Both sides of the Glen Dee water belong to the Duke of Fife, and 

 are strictly preserved. The best months are June and September ; 

 the take from fifty to seventy fish. There are ten good pools on 

 this stretch of water, ah of which can be cast with a sixteen-foot 



