[Graham Nicol]

May as well start as opening day has arrived. Tight lines for those brave enough to give it an early bash

[Stevie Rennie]

A bonnie first day of the salmon/ST season but far too cold today for me

It’s another day closer to March 15th though, when the real fishing starts

[Mike Barrio]

Really enjoyed the River Don March get together this morning, great to catch up with everybody 

[Colin Innes]

Hi all, I wanted to book a day for 2 rods on the Kildrummy beat in April - nothing on FishPal, no response to an email to the Kildrummy Inn and no answer to the phone number supplied on the Kildrummy Inn website - any suggestions?

Thanks

Colin

[Mike Barrio]

Facebook message Colin?

https://www.facebook.com/KildrummyInn

[Colin Innes]

Thanks  Mike - done that now...

On an other point - I had a day on the Culquich beat last year - we only had time to fish below the bridge that takes you over to the house down to the pool where the Kindy burn comes in (I had a nasty fall in the river and had to cut the trip short, I just wondered if any one had any experience of the river above the bridge up the the Bucket corner, where it's best to park etc. Any info/experience would be gratefully received.

[Liam Gunn]

Tough going so far, 1 sea trout kelt. Absolutely worth being out after a long winter break though! The fish seem to be holding in different areas this year.

[Mike Barrio]

Great photo Andrew    .......... and yes, that wind is cold today!

[Mike Barrio]

Less than two weeks to go 

[Steven Kidd]

Less than two weeks to go 

There is Mucillin getting applied to lines...........flies getting tied,

Not long now!

Steven

[Iain Cameron]

Less than two weeks to go 

edging closer. Looking out of the upstairs window, I can see the Don at Fintray blowing upstream in exactly the way it shouldn't ;-)
Don't you just love spring weather. Walk the dogs most days along the Don around midday. No signs yet of any fly life where I have been, so it feels like it might be quite a slow start this season.

Still, it'll be good to get out and rediscover all the holes in my waders that I haven't thought aboot fixing

[Mike Barrio]

Looks like the first day of the 2022 trout season on the Don is going well for Stevie Corsar 

[Sandy Nelson]

What better encouragement to get off my arse 

[Stevie Rennie]

Cracking trout and seeing it seriously adds to the itch to get out but I can’t just yet 

[Stevie Rennie]

So my first venture out for a trout went with a bang, set up the recently acquired access 5wt midflex and gt125 to give it a whirl.
Started getting some decent line out and my fly (gold head damsel) got snagged mid river.

I lifted the rod and put a slight bit of a bend to give it a pull and ping 😳

Six casts in and back to the car we go.





Back to the near indestructible daiwa 5wt it is then.

[Hamish Young]

Oh bugger 

[James Laraway]

Urgh.....

I once did that to  a spinning rod I had but I pulled way way too hard.

Sounds like you didn't pull hard and that the rod had a weakness ?

[Fred Hay]

What a bummer ...

[Stevie Rennie]

Sounds like you didn't pull hard and that the rod had a weakness ?

Yep, not the ideal start I had envisioned.
Who knows why but I’d say it gave way before I even got the chance to put any real pressure on it. In 25 years of fly fishing and 2 snapped rods under my belt, it certainly surprised me. Obviously enough was applied for it to pop but no more than I would expect from playing a decent 3lb’er.

The most annoying thing is that I never even got enough line out to get a feel for the rod or line but can safely say I won’t look to replace it with the same model.

Getting back on topic, the don was looking great, water crystal clear and a good height for wading but still a few degrees too cold for the trout to properly turn on.

[Steven Kidd]

I lifted the rod and put a slight bit of a bend to give it a pull and ping

Get yourself a glass rod!

Steven

[Stevie Rennie]

Get yourself a glass rod!

Steven

The seed of something like your bonnie Taniwha is sprouting ☺️

[Sandy Nelson]

Managed to get out at lunchtime today.
A few LDOs starting to appear from around 1130 onwards



Covered what looked like a wee riser with a nymph as that’s what was on and it proved to be a good fish to kickstart the season



Slim but acrobatic and a good strong fish.
There were a few fish rising from 1230-1330 and they were happy to pick off dries.
I sat and watched while a couple more came to the net


This was in decent condition apart from the bird marks.

So a lovely day to be out, even if the wind made things a bit tricky. Water temp was around 8 degrees so the last few days of sun seemed to have helped a little. Not bad having an hours rise on the 20th of March on the Don

Sandy

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Sandy 

[Steven Kidd]

Awesome Sandy!

I'll be out just as soon as I get over the flu

Steven

[Steven Kidd]

And we're off the mark......

A quite unseasonal day today for March, three crackers all on the dry fly during a magic wee hatch of LDOs and March Browns.  Typically my phone was flat dead......but a nice chap watched me target and net this one, (typical it was the smallest,  )......and took this picture for me and sent it through.

Magical day.



Steven