Mackenzie DTX Demo Day

Along with my uncle Stuart, we organised a Scott Mackenzie DTX Demo Day here in Aberdeenshire. The event was held in the Aberdeen and District Angling Association HQ on the banks of the River Dee. Scott, who is a 3 times World Spey Casting Champion explained his Spey casting techniques to the crowd and he was assisted on the day by Ben Dixon, who is one of his Pro Team members. For more info about Scott's fantastic range of rods and lines visit his website. Mackenzieflyfishing.com

The poster we made up to advertise the day.

A few people starting to appear in the morning. Apart from a strong wind, the weather was fine until we started the casting demos! Typical.

There was a decent enough turn out despite the poor weather conditions. We had high winds and rain for a large part of the event but it was good to see that people still made the effort to come along and try out rods and lines or to see the Fly Tiers in action.

ADAA members Benny and Dave kindly volunteered to cook the bacon and sausages and serve the teas and coffees. We couldn't have done it without them. Thank you gents, it was much appreciated.

A crowd gather round to watch the first casting demo by Scott Mackenzie and Ben Dixon.

Scott explains the basics of Spey Casting to the audience.

Ben Dixon takes over to demonstrate a few of the different Spey casts.

There was also Fly Tying Demos from Ross McDonald and Sean Stanton. They are two of the best fly tiers around, not just locally, but nationally. Their patterns such as the Park Shrimp (Ross) and Franc N Snaelda (Sean) account for hundreds of Atlantic Salmon every year. When the rain started pouring down it was good to come inside and see these guys in action. Check out their websites McDonald Salmon Flies and Franc N Snaelda

Sean and Ross ready to show off their fly tying.

Park Shrimp creator, Ross McDonanld.

A fantastic box of flies donated by Sean Stanton as the first prize in our raffle. A really nice gesture and it was very much appreciated by the ADAA. One lucky lad when home with these beauties and I'm sure he will catch numerous salmon with them.

There was also the River Dee beer, Thunder and Lightning displayed by The Deeside Drink Emporium of which a percentage of the profits from this very tasty beer go to the River Dee Trust. So drinking beer has never so beneficial! Check out their Facebook page for more details. Deeside Drinks Emporium Facebook Page

The Thunder and Lightning Beer which is available to buy from the Deeside Drinks Emporium in Banchory.

All in all it was a good day but you can do all the planning and organising you want but the only thing that you can't control is the weather. We were just unfortunate that it turned against us the day before the event with strong winds whipping up which made casting fly lines very tricky. Still, it is always good to attend these events and it raised over £180 pound which is going towards buying equipment for the Junior Angler Events which the ADAA host several times a year.

Lastly, I would just like to thank everyone who gave up their time to come along to the event. A big thank you to Scott Mackenzie for agreeing to do the event in the first place. Also to Ben Dixon for helping him out. A huge thank you to Benny and Dave who did a marvelous job keeping everyone in tea, coffee and rolls throughout the day. Thanks to Sean Stanton and Ross McDonald for showing all us amateur fly tiers just how it's done. These guys make it look so easy. And a final thanks to Deeside Drink Emporium for showcasing the Thunder and Lightning beer. Keep a look out for future events on the ADAA Facebook page.