I was fishing today on a Dee beat just below Banchory and was fishing with 2" aluminium tubes with a size 4 patriot single hook. I had used this set up earlier in the week on the Spey and had 2 takes which turned out to be kelts with both landed.
Today at around 12.30 on the Dee I had a pull from a fish which i initially thought was a kelt and it came to the bank quite quickly whereupon it woke up and it became apparent that I was into a small springer. After a brief but sprited fight the fish was safely landed and then returned. The single went all the way through the nose of the fish and I pushed the eye of the hook through and cut the line as this would cause less damage than pulling it ou conventionally.
A couple of casts later and I let go of the line early on a cast which meant that the line went out like a bag of sh*t and landed in a heap. I decided just to let the current straighten it and almost immediately the reel was screaming so I tried to slow it down and a good fish around 12 pounds came out of the water about fifteen yards above me attached to my line. I would in and gained contact but the fish fell off. I did not really desrve that one anyway so I was not to bothered.
2nd cast in the afternoon in the Kirk pot ( anyone who recognises this pool knows how much fun the wading is in there) and I got a fantastic take and the fish went ballistic and ran straight to the other side of the river. The current is extremely strong in the part of the pool and my mate Kenny came up to help me land the fish as it is not a one man job. I played the fish for about 15 minutes and finally it began to tire so I started to draw it into some slack water for Kenny to tail and right at the death the single hook pulled free. We both had a clear sight of the fish as it was on the surface and 6 feet away, we estimated it to be about fifteen pounds.
3 spingers hooked on one day and one landed, I cannot complain about that and the second one deserved to get off as i had no real right to hook it or to hold on and the 3rd one could have come off regardless of hook choice, so far I am happy enough with the single irons on the tubes.
Eddie.
