[Ben Dixon]

Please use this thread to post your Don reports for the 2010 season, trout, salmon or sea trout.  Hatch information, successful patterns, tackle & tactics.  Please be responsible when reporting and do not give away exact locations of fish, general area or beat name is fine providing the beat is big enough and not just a pool or two. 

Cheers

Ben

[Noel Kelly]

First visit to Kintore beat today, water 1.4 above the marker and a bit coloured. Few olives started to appear at 1.30 and still a few at 2.30 when I left. Didn't see or hear any fish rising and no action to report. Nice to be out by the river again. The winter floods have made a lot of changes so there will be a lot of new features to explore this year. 

[Irvine Ross]

I was out on the Don around Glenkindie yesterday. The river is still high but the water is clear. Water temperature 70C.
No hatches to report but I did see 4-5 insects on the wing which might have been sedges but they did not come close enough to be certain. I was prospecting with a grhe under a humpy hoping for a take on the nymph when a nice 2lb brownie came out of nowhere and took the dry fly. The only fish of the day.

Irvine

[Iain Goolager]

Hi Irvine,

Nice one  That's a good fish to start the Trout season.

The water temp @ Kemnay on Friday was reputed to be 6 deg. C.

Roll on the weekend ------splooosh! fish on! 

Iain

 

[Noel Kelly]

That's a great start Irvine 

Anybody been out this week or any rising fish to report? I may have a bash on friday.

[Ben Dixon]

Was out tonight with the salmon rod.....

Landed a 12lb liced fish, lost another at the bank about 7lb and briefly had hold of a third.  All fish on a Conn's Sunray Shadow fished on a 15' 6ips tip on the front of a Skagit flight 

May go out again tomorrow!!

Cheers

Ben

[Mike Barrio]

Was out tonight with the salmon rod.....

Landed a 12lb liced fish, lost another at the bank about 7lb and briefly had hold of a third.  All fish on a Conn's Sunray Shadow fished on a 15' 6ips tip on the front of a Skagit flight 

May go out again tomorrow!!

Cheers

Ben

Cool, sounds like fun ........ but did you get any brownies?

Cheers
Mike

[Iain Goolager]

 

Result!

Well done Ben

Iain

[Matt Henderson]

My first trip to Kintore this year today. The water was a good height. I lost a fish on my second cast. It took the fly just as I was stripping in the line to cast. I had one trout but sadly they don't count on the double hander.

Still nice to be out and on the river.

Cheers

Matt

[Iain Goolager]

Looks like I missed the best of the weather as it got quite windy later on.

Also hooked into a fish which hit the surface and threw the hook 

No Browns rising but I hooked two on the Green & Black both of which decided it'd be more desirable to spit out the hook than be cuddled by me 

Weather improving (well a bit), water levels dropping, clarity improving  c'mon the Troot

I'm sure the posts will be reflecting decent catches soon. 

Iain

[Noel Kelly]

Well the trout were rising today at long last. Steady trickle of LDO,s from about 12.30 but the trout didn't really switch onto them until after 2 which coincided with the wind making an appearance. It seemed that the wind pushed the olives into lanes making some areas more attractive whereas earlier it was more a case of one here and there.
After hooking and loosing 2 in a row I finally landed my first of the season, quickly followed by another 5 or 6, all little guys.
I saw one fish of 2/3 lbs rise just once but I'm not sure it was a trout. Looked quiet dark.
The fish seemed to be in poorer condition that I have seen before on The Don.
I was absolutely frozen at this stage so called it a day about 3.
Good to catch some brownies again.

[Michael Buchan]

Well done,

Sounds like a good day.

Michael

[Iain Goolager]

Uninspired by the weather this afternoon I grabbed the double hander and resigned myself to another day on the Don without the 3wt.

At about 1:30pm I was at the water ready to fish and there was a trickle of Olives. Half an hour or so later the water was full of them, amazing hatch which was constant for easily 1 1\2 hours. I spent a good while sitting on the bank waiting for rising Trout - there were six rises? possibly from 3 fish???? It was a cold and wet afternoon but I'm still amazed by the lack of response from the Trout.

Only managed one poor photo as I didn't want to get my camera wet

 
look familiar Noel?
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get out with the 4wt, a couple of dries & the camera.

Iain 

[Iain Goolager]

Forgot to say Browns can still be had on heavy tubes and fast sinking tips 

[Noel Kelly]

Spill the info Iain!

[Noel Kelly]

Water was slightly raised today and not much of a rise despite a long sparse olive hatch. Got the only riser that I saw which was under 1lb but a lovely wee trout none the less.
 

[Iain Goolager]

Out with the bandynet in the 'forenoon







In the afternoon I had a short spell with the singlehander and weighted tube then seen Noel hook and play a nice Brownie, went home and returned to a limited hatch of Olives. Moved location and was greeted with a good hatch of Olives which went about unhindered from below, after 1/2 an hour MB's turned up & even began to pop up right where I was sitting, amazing although they only lasted half an hour (finished @ 16:56).


 Their arrival did stirr two small fish - managed to get one of them - although small he was very welcome.



We're getting there.

Iain
Water temp was 7.2 Deg.C

[Paul Rankine]

Hi Iain,
             You are just such a show off with that new camera!   Seriously good pics mate.
Baetid nymph,stonefly nymph and adult female stonefly with egg cluster ?

Nice to hear that you are catching insects now ,water still low temperature but give it another two weeks or so  and they will be slurping . 

Paul.

[Irvine Ross]

On the Cooncil beat at Alford on Saturday there was maybe a half dozen March Browns at about 15:30, otherwise no signs of any other insect life and no trout showing. No silver tourists either.

More patience required I think

Irvine

[Mike Barrio]

Hi folks

Looks like the upper river is fishing well at the moment, I've heard of some cracking brownies being caught at Kildrummy on Olives, Greenwells and March Browns

Best wishes
Mike

[Sandy Nelson]

Nice piccies iain

the Baetis at the top looks very much like another BWO
and the central stonefly nymph could well be a yellow Sally
lovely shots.
Sometimes I really miss being at home
I think I could stomach the weather just to have access to my river
funny how life teaches you what is important.
So all I need to do is wait patiently until Daniel
finishes school and then take it from there.

Looking forward to more reports as the bugs come to life

sandy

[Noel Kelly]

Hi folks

Looks like the upper river is fishing well at the moment, I've heard of some cracking brownies being caught at Kildrummy on Olives, Greenwells and March Browns

Best wishes
Mike

Good to hear, conditions have been ideal last few days. Wind is swinging around to the north again tomorrow or friday though
Should I go for a half day from work today I wonder....

[turracoo]

Hi Folks
            First day on the don yesterday decided to take a half day off my work as the conditions i though were good when i arrived at the river i noticed a constant trickle of dark olives and march browns and the odd stonefly.

My day ended up with 6 fish with one round about the 4lb mark i missed quite a few probably because i had to make do with my 7wt rod as i left my 3wt at home (duh)

Great start to the season long may it continue' I've send mike the picture of the bonnie troot so it should be on here Later.

 
Chris
Tight lines

[Noel Kelly]

Good stuff Chris, its good to see the bigger fish are coming out to play. I had the same thought yesterday but stayed at work  

[Matt Henderson]

nice fish that!  I wish I didn't have to stay at home and wait for B&Q to deliver furniture on friday....