[Liam Stephen]

No need to say how big just say where good sir!? 

 

[Liam Stephen]

One from the weekend. Was it big or does the angle play in my favour......? 




 

[Rob Brownfield]

No need to say how big just say where good sir!? 

 

I don't mind sharing Liam..you were good enough to take me up to the Deveron.



The fish was just upstream of the Bridge of Don and downstream of Glen Avon. It was sat right in the middle of the river to the left hand side of the right bank. You will find the spot as there is a distinctive sheep standing on the bank and a duck 11 feet 3 inches above the fish, just downstream of it, can't miss it. 

If you can't find the spot, I have included a map below. Hope this all helps.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@57.2111728,-3.2425332,9z

[Mike Barrio]

Perfect ...........................

[Liam Stephen]

Ace! 

See you there tonight Rob?

 

[Rob Brownfield]

Ace! 

See you there tonight Rob?

 

Can't make it tonight, prior engagements. However, watch out for the penguins. They were a bit frisky last night!

[Liam Stephen]

Ah penguins. I know exactly where you are! 

 

[Liam Stephen]

The Don Salmon from Thursday..... a real manky bugger. Any one any thoughts on its condition?






In proper condition that thing would have gone some. Hooked just at the tail out of some fastwater.

 

[Rob Brownfield]

Is than not UDN starting to make an appearance?

[Mark Zhang]

Need to remove the fish from water to prevent the disease. 

[Steven Sinclair]

Gents,

I had a seatrout off the don a couple of weeks back with a couple of small white lesions on its head which I (optimistically) put down to maybe rubbing off of rocks etc as it made its way upstream but perhaps not...

Cheers,

Steven.

 

[Sandy Nelson]

The Spey is having a similar issue

http://www.speyfisheryboard.com/fish-health-concerns/

Seems to me to be the same issue as last year, with low water and warm temps, increasing the effects of a naturally occurring fungus. I had a Brownie with a touch of this 3 weeks ago too, but so far just the one and it wasn't badly affect, just a bit on the upper jaw and the Left pectoral fin.



I've taken the view that with low water and warm temps i'll restrict my fishing to cooler times of the day so the fish can recover better and have reduced the amount of time i'm on the water. Hopefully we get a few days of rain to freshen the water up and lift the levels and drop the water temp to give the fish a better chance.

Sandy

[Pete Winn]

Evening All,

Managed a few hours on the Don, on the Council beat at Kintore this morning. Hard going at times in the wind but managed to get my first Don salmon. Caught on the fly, an Olive intruder. Fish put up a good fight and went back strong. Hopefully the rise in water this week will encourage a few more fish in to the system.

Cheers

Pete

[Filip Adamcio]

Hi,
Do you know guys what are  conditions on the Don?

[Scott Cumming]

The evening rises have been slow so far this year, I would expect better sedge hatches by now. However, there has been some decent BWO hatches lately which have brought some nice fish to the surface.

This Bruiser was caught on a size 16 BWO emerger. I thought this fish looked familiar when I brought him to the net as I don’t catch many big fish with red spots...






I’ve searched through my fish pics and can confirm I caught this trout 3 years ago about 150 yards upstream. The trouts been in a few scrapes since its last capture and lost part of it’s tail, but this didn’t stop him putting up one hell of a fight.

Heres how it looked on the 29th of June 2014. It was a strong, sturdy fish back then!




Using the rods in each photo as scale I’ve come up with an impression of how the fish would look side by side. Over the 3 years it has grown into a solid lump....




I’ve had several others similar in size to this one too...



So a decent start to the evening fishing for me but I think the best of the action has yet to come.

 
Cheers
Scott

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Scott, interesting to see that growth scaled photo
Cheers
Mike

[Dave Felce]

wow! 

[Ali Mcewan]

Very interesting 👍🏻 Great post

[Sandy Nelson]

Thats pretty cool dude

Loving the mashed up photo, shows how they change shape as they grow, especially the head. Well spotted

Sandy

[Euan Innes]

CSI Don!
It is like finger printing with spots.
You say the fishing is slow so far. Just back from Ravenna, Italy, where I have suffered in 32 degrees plus for the last three days (work not holiday before you moan) and tonight in Edzell Woods is bloody freezing. OK, so not "freezing" but there is a cold wind about.
A Russian boat I went to in Kirkenes, Norway (look it up) in the first week in June was delayed by three weeks as the seas round Murmansk were still iced up. Any relationship to the rivers here?
I don't want to start a climate change / global warming / weather argument on this, but would just like to state the facts (like Dragnet!)

Euan 

[Allan Liddle]

Excellent stuff Scott

[Rob Brownfield]

Out for a few hours last night in the wind One fish hooked and lost on one of those PTN things that a certain person raves about

Disappointed not to see any real fish, just 3-6" things splashing about.

River was incredibly low

Out again tonight before the daughter returns and creates merry hell

[Rob Brownfield]

Fished the lower Don last night, and I really wish I hadn't. The amount of rubbish laying around was heartbreaking.

Just upstream from Grandhome bridge the banks are littered with alcohol bottles, BBQs, sites of fires and more worryingly, home made bongs and needles.....and I meant littered. There are at least 4 separate sites where drinking/drug taking have taken place in groups.  In addition there are bits of burnt foil scattered throughout the area along with what I can only presume are stolen chairs from either the rugby club or a local community centre.

I was approached by three teenagers who started to ask questions about how much my gear was worth. This was on the road bridge itself and they were positioned so that my back was against the bridge and they were blocking my way. It was a tense 5 minutes before they got bored of me saying it was cheap stuff I bought on ebay. In reality I had £1000 in my hand! (Helios and a Mirage) and probably the same again in waders, jacket, pack and net.

I know the association cannot do anything about it, but guys, please be careful down there and probably best to fish in at least pairs through the summer months.

I then headed to the Pump House Pool on the Dee to see if there were any trout rising there or maybe a salmon or two. This time it was bonfires, booze and towels left laying around.

I headed home rather p!ssed off!

[Dave Felce]

that's pretty scary stuff, Rob: glad you're okay. & glad i don't have to worry about that kinda' thing here (yet....)

[Dave Robb]

Yeah that's not good, but it's the very reason I don't fish anywhere lower than Dyce.  And for me, even Dyce has too many people going about.