[Fred Hay]

There is word of a new angling club being formed for the Don at Alford.

Aberdeenshire Council and local anglers have held several meetings to discuss taking over and running the two stretches of the Don, which the Council has managed for many years.  There has been increasing interest and support from local anglers who are now looking to form a club to manage the beats.

A meeting to discuss forming the club is scheduled for 11 October at 7.00pm in the Alford Community Campus.

Anyone interested in being involved or just finding out more about the project is encouraged to attend, the greater the number of people supporting this, the more likely the fishings can be taken over, managed and developed for the benefit of the Alford community.

You can see more information about the beats at :  https:/www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communites-and-events/fishing/

[Dave Robb]

Fished the water in July, not having been there for a few years.  I used to like it.

Unfortunately the day was plagued with dog owners who though it was acceptable to throw balls and rocks into the water for their dogs to chase.  Literally a few metres from me.  At one point I thought I must be invisible.

I fell out with one woman who tried to tell me the park was there for everyone, not just fishermen. 

I questioned whether throwing rocks was normal practice and told her I wouldn’t be held responsible for any flies getting stuck on her dog. 

In the evening, the area was swamped with youths drinking alcohol and floating on big rings down the river.

Never again will I fish there.

[Fred Hay]

I'm disappointed that Mr Robb had a bad experience fishing at Alford, and I'm sure that the issues which were encountered were not the norm and something which could be addressed by a bit of education should the local anglers be successful in securing the water.
In saying that I can't believe that the issues encountered by Mr Robb were prevalent over the whole 2 miles plus of fishing available !! ……………..and I would be quite encouraged to see youths out, not drinking perhaps, but playing in the river - at least they were not sat in front of a square screen - with a bit of education they may even take up angling !!

It is quite a number of years since I fished the water (when it was leased to ADAA) - I was never very successful at taking salmon there but the brown trout fishing was spectacular with specimens of 3, 4 and 5lb being a regular catch.  I'm sure it will have changed and not for the better like all other fishings which but it is nice water and there will be some decent fish to catch for the discerning angler.

Rather than look on the negatives, highlighted by Mr Robb, I would hope that 'local anglers' (Aberdeenshire) would support the efforts of the willing anglers of Alford to secure a stretch of water which they can control for the benefits of the Community and visitors. 

 I noted an error in the webpage link so repeat it here for anyone interested -  https:/www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communities-and-events/fishing/

[Rob Brownfield]

Fished the water in July, not having been there for a few years.  I used to like it.

Unfortunately the day was plagued with dog owners who though it was acceptable to throw balls and rocks into the water for their dogs to chase.  Literally a few metres from me.  At one point I thought I must be invisible.

I fell out with one woman who tried to tell me the park was there for everyone, not just fishermen. 

I questioned whether throwing rocks was normal practice and told her I wouldn’t be held responsible for any flies getting stuck on her dog. 

In the evening, the area was swamped with youths drinking alcohol and floating on big rings down the river.

Never again will I fish there.

To be fair, it can be like that at Kemnay during the summer. You just have to time your fishing to miss the school kids. Even on the Dee I have had flotillas of rafts and canoes come past me, including some kind of club that appeared to be re-enacting the Battle of Trafalgar with flour and water bombs!

I presume you were fishing the Haughton beat rather than the Waterside beat, as I have never seen another angler or even a member of the public on that upper beat.

[Dave Robb]

Indeed it was Haughton country park I was fishing at, in July during the heatwave.

The heat would account for the youths in the rings, I fully understand that.

But dog walkers will be local to the area and I counted 4 individuals that day throwing stuff into the water in close proximity to where I was.  I was very visible in the water.

Sorry if this appears to be highlighting negatives, but that’s not for me at all.  If others enjoy that kind of thing then that’s up to them.

Don’t get me wrong I used to fish there years ago fairly regularly and enjoyed it. 

However prior to fishing I had heard there was issues with youths drinking at that park in the evenings and what I saw just confirmed it.

It’s a shame as it’s a nice bit of water otherwise.

Did try at the waterside stretch but it was hard going due to overgrown bank vegetation.

[Rob Brownfield]

But dog walkers will be local to the area and I counted 4 individuals that day throwing stuff into the water in close proximity to where I was.  I was very visible in the water.

Kemnay is the same, however, I have not found dogs swimming past puts the fish off.  If anything, it stirs them up a bit and they go on the feed once the dog has gone.

Interestingly, I fished the Deveron with Liam and as we got to the top pool near a car park, there were kids playing at the top of the pool, and a dog splashing about. Liam says "Want a cast?", I looked at the kids and said nahhhh, on you go. It was about the third cast and he hooks and lands a 5lb brownie......and that's the day I learned that the trout are used to it