Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Barry Robertson

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #200 on: 01/10/2010 at 22:01 »
I love hearing about all these fish on pulled sunrays  :wink
Good fishing Ben and a nice wee report  :z18

Mike Barrio

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #201 on: 02/10/2010 at 00:43 »
Looks like Lee enjoyed himself Ben ..... Great stuff :z16

Did you try any mouse imitations today? :z4

Cheers
Mike

Matt Henderson

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #202 on: 03/10/2010 at 10:02 »
Cracking report Ben. Had a nice day fishing yesterday. Unfortunately I had already booked tickets for middle river. The water was dropping steadily and clearing too. But in reality still too high and coloured. It's hard work when you're copper tube gets stuck in bank side vegetation on the dangle because the water is up over the banks.

Ben Dixon

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #203 on: 04/10/2010 at 22:43 »
Went out for a few hours today, had a few pulls but no hook ups.  Saw a good few fish that appeared to be running, was fishing near Kemnay and river was in good shape tomorrow looks to be a good day to be out although wind looks quite fierce.

Cheers
Ben

Paul Garrigan

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #204 on: 12/10/2010 at 17:16 »
Finished work at 2 o'clock today and went to the Don for a few hours. Fished down through the first pool which took me about half an hour. Saw several fish moving.

Came out and two casts into the next pool i hooked and released this lively fish of about 7lb.







Sorry about the picture quality. Took them with my phone and a very shakey hand!

Tactics were intermediate tip on my windcutter and the wee fly i tied last night and posted in the tying section! :grin
It was the one with the UV enhancer in the tail/wing :wink

Now all i need is for Scotland to hump Spain and i've pretty much had the perfect day!  :z8 :z16

Tight lines
Paul

Jim Eddie

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #205 on: 12/10/2010 at 17:27 »
Sorry to dissapoint Paul , but I think you have a snowballs chance in hell of having a good 2nd half of your day that you had in your 1st  :z4

Saying that you never know with Scotland , we could be world champions by the end of the evening  :z4 :z4 :z4

 :z18

Jim  

Paul Garrigan

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #206 on: 12/10/2010 at 19:24 »
Ha ha. I think you may be right Jim but fingers crossed!! :z18

Noel Kelly

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #207 on: 12/10/2010 at 19:29 »
Well done Paul :z16 Come on Ireland......and Scotland :z4

Ben Dixon

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #208 on: 12/10/2010 at 21:24 »
Nice fish Paul!!

Out again today above Alford......

Plenty of fish about, landed 4 and lost one, Will landed one & lost a few.  I'll get some pictires up later, all pics on Wills camera and all in RAW format just now.

Fish all came to Conns Sunay shadows stripped, 3 of my fish were on a full sinker.  All fish well kippered!!

Out again tomorrow, hopefully get more of the same.

Cheers

Ben

Matt Henderson

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #209 on: 13/10/2010 at 07:24 »
Very nice fish paul! when will I get my one?

Paul Garrigan

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #210 on: 14/10/2010 at 18:33 »
Was out for a few hours again yesterday afternoon with Noel. Saw a few fish moving but not as many as the day before. Water temp was alot colder than Tuesday which maybe had something to do with this?  :z8

Fished down through a few new pools too which was nice. No fish to report but a good wee afternoon.

Paul

Noel Kelly

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #211 on: 14/10/2010 at 19:09 »
Went out this evening for about an hour, saw one fish move and that was it.

Ben Dixon

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #212 on: 14/10/2010 at 19:40 »
Fished for a few hours today too on the middle river, plenty of fish moving but no response.  Didn't feel quite right for it so went to drink Mikes coffee at Haddo instead.  Tomorrow's another day......

Ben

Adam

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #213 on: 15/10/2010 at 03:49 »
Oh dear, the pics didn't quite work out as planned, wee bit on the large size, sorry guys!
I've sussed it now, luckilly I saved the text incase anything like this happened! Sorry for taking up all that space! Hopefully someone will delete my first post.
Right, lets try this again!

Hi folks,

Here's some pictures from my first Salmon fishing trip. I came up from Edinburgh to fish the Don in mid September so I'm afraid this isn't too recent, would have posted this sooner but I've had internet issues!

Day 1 - I fished Upper-middle river with the fly and had no luck, but got a big pull! My trout fishing habits took over and I struck instictively, but who knows, might not have stuck anyway!

Day 2 and thereafter I was on the middle river. I had a lesson with Mr Ben D in spey casting/general salmon tactics (highly reccommended), but the winds became monumentally ridiculos later on, so I had a shot with my spinning rod, and hooked and lost what would have been my first Salmon!

I tried very hard with the fly every day after that, but conditions weren't really suiting it, howling wind, and the river went up and got dirty by day 4....



Anyway, So day 3, my first Salmon! 8lb, I took that one as my fish for the week,
as it was gleaming silver and my first ever!



(I was trying to smile but the sun was in my eyes!)

Day 4... About 6lb...



It decided it didn't like the photo shoot, and shot off into the depths!



And half an hour later... about 4.5lbs



Day 5, about 8lbs... I actually saw this one head n tailing, so targeted it, and got it!



Then a couple of hours later, about ?lbs !



I reckon it was heading for 15lb maybe but I'll never know ! It was about 35inches (going by rod measurements later) and it was very fat and chunky!

What an awesome week, all the other anglers were v friendly and helpful, kinda the opposite of the ones I meet back home, so thanks to them and thanks again Ben, the lesson stood me in excellent stead for the week, shame I didn't get one on the fly, but nevermind, I think I did quite well!

However, two weeks later on my home river where I catch brownies and the odd sea trout, I went and caught this fish on a silver stoat at dusk!



Unbelieveable! More 1sts! First Salmon on the East Lothian Tyne which I've fished for years, and first on the fly! Salmon are hardly ever caught on that river, People are going to start thinking I actually know what the hell I'm doing or something, but I guess its better to be lucky than to be good!

Also, thanks again to the guys who replied to my noobie queries about the Don earlier in the year...

Cheers!

Mike Barrio

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #214 on: 15/10/2010 at 08:42 »
Great stuff Adam, well done, thanks for posting :z16

I removed the post with the big photos for you.

Best wishes
Mike

Matt Henderson

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #215 on: 15/10/2010 at 14:47 »
Some of those are beautifully fresh fish adam.  Well done on your first on the fly.   :z18

Matt Henderson

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #216 on: 15/10/2010 at 15:02 »
With the season drawing to a close and my salmon scoreboard registering a bit fat zero I decided to head out today to the upper river armed with my singlehander and if the wind was bad I would head back downstream to fish with the double hander. 

However arrived this morning and the weather was reasonly calm so started fishing ten minutes later the fly line stopped which i thought was a rock but then the rock started shaking its head and taking line!  After staring in wonder at the speed the line was going off my reel for a few seconds I quickly got a grip of myself and started playing the fish and praying that it wasn't a big trout. 

Anyways after about five minutes of steering it into the bank I got it in my net and unhooked it and then had a wee measure, photo and back it went.  My glasses were soaked from the flick of its tail!  Whilst tackling up I thought what would Iain do in a situation like this and thought hmmm black and green, needless to say it took an Emerald Stoat.  I measured it against my rod and used the tape measure when I got home I reckon about 26", so probably 5 or 6lbs. 





I schanged fly and fished on the next wee stretch only to encounter this little monkey.  It took an executioner.  A bit smaller than the salmon so probably about three or four lbs at the most. 



So my first ever salmon quickly followed by a wee seatrout.   

What a start to my holidays! 

cheers  matt  :z15 :z18

Jim Eddie

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #217 on: 15/10/2010 at 15:36 »
Well done Matt  :z16

 :z18

Jim

Paul Garrigan

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #218 on: 15/10/2010 at 17:18 »
Superb Matt. Well done!  :z16

Ben Dixon

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #219 on: 15/10/2010 at 20:27 »
Adam,

Nice job, some super fish there.  Even more impressed with the Tyne fish, there are not many about on that stream.

Cheers

Ben

Mike Barrio

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #220 on: 15/10/2010 at 20:31 »
Cracking photo Adam :z16


Ben Dixon

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #221 on: 15/10/2010 at 20:54 »
Matt,

Top job, I had a feeling you'd get into a fish today.

Cheers

Ben

John Reid

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #222 on: 15/10/2010 at 21:06 »
Well done Matt. I bet you were smiling.  :grin

I hope I share your luck soon as I am starting to get really frustrated!  :cry

Noel Kelly

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #223 on: 15/10/2010 at 21:23 »
Some great stuff in the posts above, well done all :z16

Headed up river with Mr Dixon today. First pool I moved a fish, second pool we saw a few fish, third pool a few more and so on.....but no hook-ups.

There was lots of excellent casting demonstrated by Ben and a completely new cast demonstrated by me :z4
Here is Ben making it look easy
          

Exciting seeing lots of fish moving but after quiet a few hours I for one was getting a bit frustrated and starting to smell the blank(again).
The rain had come on, my casting was going from bad to worse and I was ready to go home. This was at about 6. As we stood discussing it, a few members of the upper Don synchronised leaping Salmon club put on a little demo and Ben was in after them like a......fast thing.
Few casts later
  
Nice Grilse of 3.5lbs.

Knowing there was gonna be no shifting Ben now and fascinating and all as it would be watching him catch another, I decided to try once again the next pool down.
Few casts down and hooked into a fish  :grin
It put up quiet a stubborn resistance on the single hander but got it netted and weighed at 6lbs.
Took a few of the worst photos ever and put her back quickly.
Ben had a good laugh at the photos so I won't give you lot a laugh as well, sorry.
Great end to a great day.
Thanks Ben for your patience and guidance. Two times I have been out with you now and a salmon each time. Never while you have been there though funnily enough.... :grin

Ben Dixon

Re: River Don 2010
« Reply #224 on: 15/10/2010 at 21:49 »
Out again today with Noel, damn hard work.  Fish everywhere but they were not interested in anything we threw at them, went through the usual cascases, stoats Willie Gunns & Sunrays, intermediate lines, floating lines and a range of tips.  Noel moved a few fish to Sunrays, got follows but no takes and I had squat.  Just about to leave and I tried the only thing I had not tried already, spring sized brass tube gold Willie Gunn and got a small salmon first cast with it.  Gave one to Noel to go fish with on the pool below, I'll let him tell the rest of the story.....

Few pics from earlier in the week

Some from Tuesday, Will has the fish pics!!

Will setting up a nice double Spey


Into a nice fish


A shot under the trees.

Some from today


Noel fishing out a cast


My fish today, taken on gold bodied Willie Gunn tube on Veniards 22mm brass bottle.


Noel, post the damn picture, you can turn it the right way up in photoshop!!

Cheers

Ben


 




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