Closing Day Salmon From The Don

I had a few hours out on the River Don today as it was the final day of the fishing season. I wasn’t expecting much action as the fish seemed to have switched to spawning mode this week but I did manage to land a wee grilse from the Aberdeen & District Angling Association beat at Kemnay. It was a nice way to round off my season. Roll on next year!

No.31 My final salmon of the 2019 fishing season.

A Couple Of Salmon From The Don

I had the day off on Monday and spent fishing the River Don up near Alford. The river was sitting at 20” on the gauge following a 2” rise the day before. It was frosty in the morning on arrival but once the air temperature warmed up a bit this seemed to bring the fish on the take.

An Autumn hen salmon from the River Don. 

Ready to go back. 

My set up was my 12ft 6in LTS Explosive with a floating line and a 6ft 7ips tip. My fly of choice was a size 10 Red Ally’s. This combo worked well and I was fortunate enough to land two fish. The first being a 10lb hen Salmon and the second being a 5lb cock Grilse. Both fish were safely returned.

A feisty grilse posing for a photo.

Back he goes

The Don has fished well this season and hopefully the improvement in salmon numbers will bode well for the seasons to come. Here hoping it’s a good spawning year too.

Another Season Over On The River Dee

Well, that's another season come and gone on the River Dee. It has been a hard slog for many beats this year with a distinct lack of salmon appearing in the catch returns. However, I do think that there was more fish in the pools than the catches suggest but it has by no means been anywhere near as good as it should be. It may have something to do with Storm Frank and the havoc it caused at the end of December 2015 or it may be something else entirely? Who knows? Whatever the reason, it has been difficult to stay positive at times but if you were in the right place at the right time then there was fish there to be caught.

Despite the doom and gloom so prevalent up and down the valley, I have had a decent enough season considering. I have picked away each time I have been out and managed to connect with something on most occasions recently. This is in no small part down to a few ghillies up and own the river who, without their generosity I would have not been half as successful as I have been. They know who they are and for that, I you all very much indeed. Time t put the feet up with a dram or two before we start all over in a couple of months time!

The season finished on the 15th October and I was fortunate enough to find myself fishing on the Ballogie and Carlogie beats of the river thanks to an invite from head ghillie, Sean Stanton. Water conditions were ideal and I managed to land a few fish for my couple of days. Just the same as Friday, the Float/Hover/S1 and Pink France N Snaelda proved to be the killer fly for me. It was nice to bow out for 2019 with a few fish on the book.

A 5lb Grilse from the March Pool at Carlogie.

A 7lb hen Salmon from the Boat Pool at Carlogie.

My last fish of the 2019 season. A feisty cock fish around the 5lb mark from the Top Gannet at Ballogie.

A Day To Remember On The River Don

Friday 11th October turned out to be a good day for me on the River Don when I was fortunate enough to land four salmon for my efforts. The Don had been running at a good height following a rise in water the weekend before. This rise must have brought some fish on the take as my Dad landed 3 salmon of his on the Wednesday. 

The first salmon I landed was from the Manse Poll on the ADAA's Lower Fintray beat. It was a small grilse around the 5lb mark. I fished the pool several times after without a touch and I decided to head off around 11am. Whilst breaking up my rod and putting my gear back in the car I had a thought of heading up river to fish at Manar. This turned out to be a great decision as I landed 3 salmon there between 12.30pm and 1.45pm! Float/Hover/S1 shooting head with a 10ft 5ips tip and a 10mm Pink Franc N Snaelda doing the damage.

It is great to see the Don fishing well this season and although it is still a long way off it's best, it is another welcome improvement on the previous year. Hopefully this upward trend will continue next year too. 

A good strt to the morning. A 5lb hen Grilse from Lower Fintray.

Two's Up. A 5lb cock Grilse from Manar.

Hatrick! A 7lb cock Salmon from Manar.

Number 4. A 4lb hen Grilse alsofrom Manar.