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.

Manar - River Don

The last Saturday of the season always signals a good day's fishing at the delightful Manar beat of the River Don followed by the customary BBQ. This year was no different as my good pal, Charlie Robertson and I had one last cast in pursuit of a River Don salmon. It turned out to be a cracking day on the river.

A River Don salmon caught at Manar on Saturday.

An underwater photo of a Kitchen Sink Shrimp in action on the River Don,

We arrived at the beat in the morning around 9.00am and the gauge was reading 5". Not a bad height for the beat at all. The wind was blowing hard though and there were plenty leaves floating down river as a result. My set was a 14ft 9in Guideline AWM matched up with a 10/11 Guideline PT Scandi floating shooting head. Attached to this was a 10ft 3 inch per second Rio versi leader. My initial fly of choice was a #9 Kitchen Sink. A good choice for low light levels and a river full of leaves.

Charlie and I having a break from the wind at the Manar fishing hut,

The Stone Pool.

As I was planning to do a final Blog post of our day I decided to start at the top of the beat and work my way down from there taking photos etc as I went. I didn't actually bother heading all the way up to the Ree Pot, instead I opted to start in the Stone Pool. The Stone Pool is a lovely wee run at the neck followed by a nice, evenly paced middle before dropping down again into the pool below. I started up in the faster water and began to work my way down the pool. As I neared the middle section of the pool I was treated to a nice acrobatic leap from a small coloured grilse just about a rod length from the bank. I shortened my line and tried to cover the fish as best I could but it wasn't for tempting. It was good to see some activity early in the day though. I fished out the remainder of the pool without seeing anything else move so it was off down to the next pool.

Horseshoe Haugh

The next pool down is the Horseshoe Haugh. This is similar in characteristics and size to the Stone Pool and can be equally productive on it's day. The wind wasn't too ferocious at this stage and the pool was easily covered. Again, I started up in the faster water at the neck of the pool and worked my way down covering all the likely lies and holes. Unfortunately, I couldn't temp anything in here either so I left the pool to carry on downstream to fish the Long Pool.

The wee pot in between the Horseshoe Haugh and the Corner Pool.

The Long Pool is one of the larger pools on the beat and can be very good with a bit more water on the gauge. 5 inch was still a good height for the pool and things were immediately looking positive as a nice fish made it's presence known down near the tail. This was quickly followed by another two good fish and I was sure this was a run of salmon moving into the pool. As I fished my way down the pool I heard a splash above me. Itseemed that the fish were in fact running through the pool without stopping. This was unfortunate but it was a good sign as there might be a fish or two stopping for a rest in any of the other pools along the length of the beat. I fished out the pool without an offer and made my way downstream to the Corner Pool.

Looking upstream in the Long Pool.

The Corner Pool is an ideal resting spot for running fish and this is usually a good place to pick one up. The lies are over near the far bank but fish can be caught as they cross the stream to push through the fast water up in the neck of the pool. If there is one there, then generally you get it. It wasn't to be this time though and I fished through the pool with out a touch.

Looking upstream into the Corner Pool.

The neck of the Sheep Pool.

The Corner Pool flows into the Sheep Pool and this is where I was to fish next. The Sheep Pool is probably the most productive pool on the beat and will hold fish up in the neck for a majority of the season. It will also produce fish in all heights of water and is easily covered from the well manicured banks of Manar. Just I began fishing the pool there was good sized fish showed down near the tail. This got my concentration levels up a notch and I really made sure I was fishing the fly as best as I could. I was just about half way down the top part of the pool when I had a pull on the fly. I lifted into a fish and it immediately came to the surface. It showed itself to be a brown trout around the 1.5lb mark. Not what I had in mind, even more so when they are out of season but I quickly got the fish in and removed the hook. The fish swam away strongly to carry on with it's business.

Looking down the length of the Sheep Pool. 

The Sheep Pool is by far the longest pool on the beat but it can pretty much be split into two parts. The tail of the Sheep pool is another very productive bit of water. Again, it fishes well all season long and is another perfect stopping point for a hard running fish to take a breather. This is what makes it so appealing to both anglers and salmon. I started fishing the pool where the banks have been cut and worked my way down covering the boils and glides in between which are dotted around the pool. Sadly, I didn't have any luck in here so it was off down to my favorite pool on the beat; Upper Wood.

The Upper Wood Pool.

Looking upstream from mid way down the Upper Wood.

The Upper Wood is a cracking bit of water. It is not a big pool by any means but it's well worth the effort. The Don drops down through shallow, fast flowing water from the Sheep Pool above and this can be enough of a barrier to slow running fish up as the make their journey up river. There are a few prominent lies down the length of the pool and they are easy to spot to even novice anglers. It was from one of these lies that a 33lb April springer was caught a few years back. I worked my way through the pool covering all these lies and areas where I have had success before but yet again, the salmon remained elusive. Still, I always feel that I'm in with a shout when I fish this pool and it's never a chore fishing it.

Casting into the teeth of the wind on the Lower Wood pool.

Looking downstream in the Lower Wood.

The Lower Wood is next pool down. It's situated on a bend as the river twists it's way through the Don valley. It is slower moving for the most part compared to the Upper Wood but there are plenty of lies in this pool that will produce fish. I changed flies at this point just to vary things a bit so on went a #9 Red Cascade. The wind was by this time blowing hard and casting was proving to be very difficult. Regardless of the trouble I had getting the line out straight, I persevered and fished my way down the pool. Needless to say, I didn't fool anything into taking my offerings so my last chance saloon was in the famous Chapel Pool.

The Chapel Pool.

The Chapel Pool is probably the most popular pool on the beat. It might have something to do with it being one of the best holding pools on the river. It could even be because John Ashley Cooper mentions it in his book. Whatever, the reason, it's always a good idea to fish it through a couple of times just to make the long walk worth while! True to form, as soon as I set foot in the pool a good fish showed about 15 feet down from where I was standing up in the neck of the pool. It was as bright a fish as I have seen on the Don for a good number of weeks and I made sure I covered it from all angles. It didn't take my fly. The wind swirling down the pool at a great rate of knots didn't help my cause and I really felt like giving up. I'm not normally one for letting the conditions get the better of me so after a quick word with myself I decided to change from the lightweight double hooks and put on something from the opposite end of the scale. My thoughts were that something heavy might just to stop the wind from grabbing hold of the fly on my forward cast. I opened up my tube fly box and chose a nice, big Red Frances which was tied on a 19mm brass tube. Casting the heavier tube cut through the wind pretty well and I worked my way down through the pool again from the top.

A fine specimen of a salmon from the Chapel Pool.

I had fished through the likely spots at the neck of the pool without an offer so I continued down into the slower part of the pool which is sometimes known as the Waterings. I made a long cast at 45 degrees and began working the fly as soon as it hit the water. Just as the big, garish fly was coming away from the far bank, it was hammered by what was obviously a hefty fish. It pulled hard and due to a fault with my Hardy Cascapedia reel, it couldn't take any line off ! I fumbled about with the drag and eventually manged to free it. At this point the fish took off down the pool before sharply turning and running back upstream towards me again. I soon had the fish back onto a short line and after a few minutes of sharp, dogged runs I was able to beach the fish. It was a brute! I quickly unhooked the fish in the water and held it in the current to recover. It soon was ready to go back and with a big kick of it's tail, he was off. I estimated the fish to be in the region of 18-20lb but as I had no way of weighing it, I settled on 18lb. Regardless of size, it was a great way to sign off my 2017 River Don season. After releasing the fish I made my way back to the hut quite content with my day's fishing. It was now rime to enjoy the BBQ and a cold beer.

A still photo of my fish taken from my GoPro camera. Pity about the water on the lens!

The BBQ is always a highlight in the angling calendar at Manar but this year it there was only a depleted squad assembled to enjoy the cooking of beat owner, Ian Anderson. Charlie and I were joined by fellow Manar regular, Fred Hay and his wife as well as Charlie's wife, Liz. After a shandy and a burger it was time for me to head home. That was it for the 2017 season for us. It certainly wasn't a season many will be sad to see the back of on Donside that's for sure. I can't complain too much as I have been fortunate enough to land a fish or two for my efforts.

I'd just like to end this Blog post by taking a minute to thank Ian for allowing me to fish his beat. It's always appreciated and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to do so. I'll certainly look forward to returning next season. Roll on 2018!

Grilse From The River Don

Salmon have been scarce on the River Don these past few seasons and this season isn't faring much better but I was delighted to land a nice fish of around 6lb from the Manar beat this afternoon. My good pal, Charlie Robertson also briefly had hold of salmon but it didn't stick unfortunately.

A nice 6lb grilse from the River Don.

The river was sitting at 4" but it still fished well. It was good to have a Don salmon on the bank again and hopefully there are a few more to come before the season is finished.

Charlie fishing the Chapel Pool at Manar in the sunshine.

Rain stops play! No use having a good wading jacket and leaving it in the car!

Manar - River Don

I was back on the lovely Manar beat of the River Don with my good pal Charlie last Saturday. The water was sitting around 4.5" on the beat gauge and crystal clear. My set up for the day was my 13ft Hardy Uniqua, floating AFS Shooting head and a 6ft intermediate tip.

The cracking new hut at Manar on the River Don.

This was my first trip to Manar this season and it was good to be back there again. It has to be one of the best kept beats on the entire river and it would grace any of the famous river is Scotland in terms of upkeep. It was also good to see the new hut as I hadn't been down since October last year when the old hut was accidentally burnt down. Charlie and the Manar regulars have been very busy over the close season and have done a fantastic job with the new hut and area outside.

Fishing down the Chapel pool in the morning.

As Charlie and I were the only rods on the beat, we had the pick of the pools so decided to give the Chapel a go first of all before the sun was on it. We made our way down and fished through the pool but neither of us had a touch so we made our way back up river to have a go in the Sheep pool.

The Corner Pool.

I went round to have a run through the Corner Pool and Charlie followed me down fishing the Sunray Shadow. I had finished the pool and fished through the Sheep Pool too without a touch. There were plenty trout rising so I made my way back to the hut to get my trout rod. I had just arrived at the hut when I heard a shout from Charlie. His rod was bent into a lively fish! I ran up the bank to assist him with the net and after a very hard fought battle I slipped the net under a chrome bright springer of around 12lb.

Charlie fishing the Sheep Pool.

Charlie fighting hard with a fresh run River Don springer.

Safely in the net!

What we are all after. Charlie with his cracking 12lb River Don springer.

Horseshoe Haugh. Nothing doing in here but a nice cast regardless.

We decided to go for lunch after Charlie returned his fish and we sat in the new hut reflecting on whats was a pristine specimen of a Don salmon. It just goes to show, you don't have to spend a fortune fishing expensive beats on the Dee or Spey when you have fish this good right on your doorstep. It is great to see the Don picking up the odd fish in what has been a lean season for most rivers. There is just something special about a River Don springer and you can see why.
After lunch we decided to head upstream to fish the Horseshoe Haugh and then into the Long Pool. Charlie let me have first run through the Horseshoe but it proved fruitless so we made our way down to the Long Pool. The Long Pool is a nice bit of water but we could see nearly every stone in the pool. Despite this, Charlie thought there might just be a fish lying in the channel which runs down the far bank. By this time, I had changed fly and was now fishing the Sunray Shadow and Charlie let me have first run down again. I must have had about a dozen casts when there was an almighty swirl at my fly. A fish had followed it right across the river and hammered it just as I was about to lift my rod to recast. I felt the weight of the fish and lifted into it but no sooner was the fish on, it was off again! It took me completely by surprise and if I had been expecting a take so close to the bank I might have been able to set the hook better. Sadly though, it was another fish lost for me this Spring which brought the tally to 4 having lost fish on my last 3 outings on the Don previous to this one. I was really miffed and I fished the rest of the pool but couldn't temp another fish to have a go.

Yours truly fishing down the Long Pool shortly before losing a good fish further down the pool.

We decided to call it day around 6.30pm but it was great to see the Don producing the good again when very few rods would have been out in such low water conditions. The fish are running hard just now and if you're in the right place at the right time when they stop, there is a good chance of connecting with one. I'll be back at Manar again very soon and I will look forward to it. Hopefully next time there is a springer with my name on it waiting for me in one of the beat's pools.

Manar - River Don

The last Saturday of the salmon fishing season on the River Don at Manar is traditionally seen out with a BBQ at the hut. This year was no different and despite the lack of salmon running the river there was still a good number of us there to give it one last go before hanging up the gear for another year. As well as many of the Manar regulars, friends of mine, Bill Cook and Kenny Carr had taken day tickets to fish the beat. It was both their first time on Manar and they were very impressed with the set up and what the beat had to offer in terms of quality fly fishing.

The river was sitting at around 7" on the beat gauge when Charlie and I arrived just after 8am. The day started off with little wind and the river was flat calm, but just like someone had flicked a switch, the high winds which battered Scotland all week were back and this made casting very difficult at times. Regardless of the conditions, we all gave the beat a good going over before stopping around 3pm to enjoy the vast quantities of meat and alcohol back at the hut. The burgers, chops and sausages were expertly cooked by Fred and Charlie on the beat's BBQ. They went down well whilst sat in the hut enjoying a glass of Fred's delicious Damson Gin and mulling over what has been a dreadful season on, not only the Don, but a majority of rivers in the Northern Hemisphere.

Unfortunately, these are the last pictures you will see of the Manar fishing hut. There was an accidental fire which sadly took hold once we were all gone and burnt the hut to the ground along with many years worth of memories and photos. A lot of hard work went into maintaining the hut year on year and it was a welcome place to enjoy your lunch in front of the fire on a cold spring day or to enjoy a drink after flogging the river.Still, plans are in place for a replacement hut and will look forward to seeing it come Spring time.

Bill Cook concentrating hard whilst fishing the Ree Pot.

Bill Cook, Mike McBain and yours truly discussing the fishing over a beer.

A decent turn out for the BBQ which went down a treat as per usual.

Ian and Duncan having a beer round the table.

A quick picture before the light disappeared. L>R Mike, Ian, Duncan, Pam, Charlie and me.

A Salmon From The Don At Manar Today

I had a good day on the River Don at the Manar Fishings with my friend Charlie Robertson yesterday. The water levels were at a good height for the beat and were steady at 11" on the gauge. The water was carrying a peaty colour and the river temperature had dropped away nicely due to the rain and recent spate.

My successful set up for the day was my trusty 13ft Hardy Uniqua and a Rio AFS floating shooting head with a 6ft 2.6ips tip attached. My fly of choice to begin with was a 3/4" silver Ally Shrimp tied on a copper tube and for the slower pools I changed to a Cascade Franc N Snaelda.

As Charlie and I were the only rods fishing we had the pick of the beat so we decided to have a run through the Sheep pool before heading down river to fish the Upper Wood and Lower Wood Pools. Neither of us had any joy in either of these pools so we carried on down river to fish the Chapel Pool.

Charlie kindly allowed me to have first run through the Chapel and about half way down I had a thumping take. I lifted into a very lively fish which nailed my 3/4" Ally Shrimp and took off down river like a steam train. It almost had me into the backing when it decided to about turn and head up river. I managed to keep up with the fish as it swam up to just about opposite me. As it did this it began to thrash about on the surface before deciding it wanted to run again. It made a short, but ferocious burst down stream before turning around and heading upstream again. I stupidly said to Charlie that this fish must be well hooked because it was pulling so hard but seconds after I said it, the fish was off! Throwing the hook as it splashed about on the surface. It was a nice clean fish around 12lbs so I was a wee bit peeved, especially after getting it back under control after several long runs and jumps. However, that's fishing and Charlie urged me to carry on down the pool. I changed my fly over to a heavier Cascade Franc N Snaelda and I also changed from a double to a treble hook. I began working the fly through the pool and 10 minutes or so after losing the first fish my line was tearing off the reel once again! Again, it was a very lively fish which thrashed about the surface but he tired after a few minutes and I was able to draw him in to Charlie's waiting net. A very welocme coloured fish around the 7lb mark. Another run through the pool proved fruitless so we headed off for lunch.

After lunch we decided to give the top pools of the beat a go. We headed to the Horseshoe Haugh and then fished on through the House Pool and the Long Pool  taking in the Corner Pool and the neck of the Sheep pool again. Apart from a pull in the Long Pool neither of us hooked anything so we has a quick cup of tea in the hut and made our way down to the Lower Wood. Charlie changed over to one of his Sunrays and began to strip it through the pool. Not long after starting he moved a clean grilse at the tail of the pool but it didn't connect. That was to be the last action of the day and we headed of back to the hut for a well earned beer.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

The fishing hut area at Manar. Probably the best kept beat on the whole of the River Don.

Sheep Pool. The first pool of the day and a good holding pool.

Upper Wood Pool. A pool that has been good to me and probably my favourite on the beat..

Lower Wood Pool. Charlie moved a clean grilse at the tail using a Sunray Shadow.

Chapel Pool. Always holds fish and produces fish from the first day of the season to the last.

I landed this 7lb cock fish shortly after losing a cracking fresh fish around 12lb. Cascade Franc N Snaelda did the trick.

Horseshoe Haugh. Can be a good pool for picking up running fish. I landed a lovely Springer from this pool last May.

Looking upstream to the House Pool.

Long Pool. I had an offer in here on my 3rd cast but it didn't stick unfortunately.

A Brace From Manar Today

Charlie and I were out fishing on the River Don at Manar today. Conditions were near perfect and the beat gauge read 8 1/2 inches and stayed steady all day. The water temperature was 53f.
 
An hour or so into the morning session, Charlie hooked a fish about 11am on his favourite Sunray Shadow. The fish went for the fly twice before eventually taking it. Charlie had went back to cover the lie again and the fish made no mistake the third time! After a spirited fight, I slipped the net under a good fresh fish. We took a couple of quick photographs and measurements and the fish was returned to the river. It measured 32" long and had a 15" girth. We estimated it to be 13lbs. A great start to the day. Always pleasing to see salmon being caught on the beat whilst out fishing.

After lunch we headed to the top part of the beat and not long after starting, I connected with a lively fish which about pulled the rod out my hand! It was holding in the fast water and staying deep which is usually a sign of a good fish. The fish made some unstoppable runs and gave me a very nervous moment when I thought I had lost the fish. The line had gone slack as it was wrapped round the fish but luckily it was well hooked and the line was soon free again. After a very dogged scrap which lasted 10 minutes or so, Charlie expertly netted the fish. Finally got my first fish of the season under my belt and a springer from the Don makes it even better! Again, after some quick pictures and measurements, the fish was returned. It also measured 32" long and also had a 15" girth which was exactly the same as Charlie's fish. Like 2 peas in a pod!

Here are some pictures from today.

Charlie and his 13lb Springer.

Charlie returning his fish.

My first fish of the season. A 13lb Springer from the River Don.

Returning the fish.