[Hamish Young]

Later this year - round the corner, not far away - I hit 50. Now due to the pandemic the plans started to change last year and have dwindled from the concpet of a 'grand adventure' to a family holiday for a week and (to the surprise of some) we've chosen to come back to the 'shire' for a weeks stay near Lumphanan.  There had to be a fishing element and I rather thought I would have a day - perhaps - on the Don and possibly in pursuit of trout. I have not seriously fished a river for Trout since leaving Aberdeenshire over a decade ago.

So, with the stage set, let me tell you a story. One of the cottages we looked at letting for a week is on a Donside estate somewhere upstream of Alford.
When I did hear back from the owners we had already booked somewhere else but, amongst the prices they gave me, was the costs of a days fishing. Long story short, £40/day plus VAT for trout fishing. That's not a mixed ticket or a typo - £40+ VAT.
It's a not bad beat, but it's not that good. I'm not sure that £50 (effectively) for a days trout fishing on the Don is  - well - acceptable It does not sit well with me.
But - I am a reasonable kind of chap - explain to me that I am wrong to baulk at £50 for a days trout fishing on the Upper Don. Specifically the Don, I don't care about it being value compared to a chalkstream or some elite water 

H

[James Laraway]

£50 for a days salmon fishing on a good beat of the Don in autumn, fine.

That price for trout fishing only? Someone is taking the....

£30 or £35 for a good beat for the day would be ok.....

[Mike Barrio]

£15 to £25 on most of the River Don beats that I fish for trout Hamish 

I've not fished anywhere above £25 that I can remember and £15 is pretty much considered the norm.

[Clive Smith]

That's the north / south divide for you, never paid under £40 for catch and release

[Eddie Sinclair]

H,

£25 is the max I have ever paid for wild brown trout fishing in Scotland, fifty quid is mental. I am sure you can drive a short distance up or down the river and get equally good fishing at a fraction of the price.

Eddie

[Stevie Rennie]

Agreed £50 per day is absolutely mental.

Pretty sure you can get a week ticket lower down for that.

[Hamish Young]

I confess I am pleased to read that my surprise is echoed by others 

If we had taken that cottage it would have been awfully convenient to have had the fishing as well, but frankly not a chance in hell I'm paying that sort of money for the Upper Don, so just as well we booked our cottage elsewhere  In fairness my visit in July doesn't really 'tally' with the best of the Trout fishing on the Don, but in the 12 years since I left the 'shire' I am intrigued to see how much (in some cases how little) tickets have changed in price.
I'd not pay over £35 for the Don, and even then it would have to be 'prime time' and a bloody good and largely private beat.

Funny thing is, now I think on, I would most probably pay that sort of money for a day afloat on a loch where the prospects for wild trout are as good as the Upper Don can be (if that makes sense.....) when you hit it right in 'prime time'.  Food for thought.

H

[Sandy Nelson]

H

I’d baulk at paying more than £25 to fish the river for brownies.
You can get on some of the very best bits for that or less.
I’d say £15-20 is reasonable for most beats with £25 for an exclusive
Fishpal would reflect that. I’m  guessing it’s someone else who thinks that people buy trout tickets to go fish for salmon on the cheap, rather than realising they are wanting to fish for the actual specimen trout they have in their beat. Somethings will take a long time to change

Sandy

[Iain Cameron]

hi Hamish


Agree with the others; £50 notes is too much. I'd expect to pay £15-20 for a day ticket on most Don stretches, and that seems to be the going rate for the fisheries I visit. I'll occasionally splash out for £25-30 quid for a day.


cheers
iain

[Martin Smith]

I'm based in Surrey and just starting out i'll give a small 'fishy' prize to the person who can guess how much it is to fish my nearest chalk stream (no googling allowed  )

[Eddie Sinclair]

£100.00 per day?

[Dave Robb]

About £200 of £250 during Mayfly season?  I know some beats charge that much.

[James Laraway]

£350

[Martin Smith]

James wins.

[Eddie Sinclair]

£350 for a days trout fishing 

That’s robbery, thank god I live in the North East of Scotland.

Eddie

[James Laraway]

woo hoo - hoping the  prize for guessing correctly  is a day on that beat 

James wins.

[Terry Coging]

£350  That is more than my annual subs for the DCAC which as well as miles of prime trout rivers and 5 stocked pools give me 16 visits pa each to 3 premier reservoirs! Even has a couple of nice salmon beats.

[Rob Brownfield]

I "thought" the Don protection order insisted that brown trout fishing should be available for a "reasonable" price and that the owners had agreed that £25 was the upper price for places like Monymusk where you are getting a beat to yourself.

[Peter McCallum]

Sounds like they're trying to minimise trout fishers on the beat.