[Mike Barrio]

Great evening session on the river last night, first proper one for me this season 

Couldn't have asked for more fly life, the menu was about as varied as it comes, and as the sun dipped - the trout were keen to take advantage!

[Stevie Rennie]

Much the same for me last night, relentless for the last hour and although geared up for seatrout, I managed a few feisty brownies on a sedgehog.

I met a couple of forum members on the bank earlier and had a pleasant chat, hoping they stayed around for the late night action.

[Steven Kidd]

Hello,

Saturday night after the scorcher of a day the trout took a while to show themselves where I was.  Then the temperature dropped very quickly with a haar moving upstream around the time I was expecting the sedges to come on.  There were no sedges or splashy rises....rather olive upwings and very discreet rises.  I targeted this trout, (aka, Trout Gun), whom was head and tailing and moving around the head of a pool in fairly fast water.  Took a while but got there in the end with the right cast in the right place with a size 16 CDC Olive Dun.



Steven

[Filip Adamcio]

Hi
Excellent day on the lower section of Don.
I caught 3 nice fish on the nymph.

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Filip, nice fish 

[Steven Kidd]

The Seatrout are here, woohoo!!

Steven

[James Laraway]

bottom two look very sea-trout-ish...

[Filip Adamcio]

They are sea trout. I lost one more after epic battle.

[Mike Barrio]

Another enjoyable evening on the river in good company, fished my old Daiwa Whisker for a while and had a couple of nice Sea Trout on it 

[James Laraway]

Nice Mike - and its still clearly very much daylight too. Was the river coloured or are they just taking in daytime conditions ?

[Mike Barrio]

Mid evening ( 9-ish ) water pretty clear, and a wee bit of a breeze and cloud on the go James.

I've never done well with Sea Trout on dark 'through the night' sessions, I have tried more than a few times over the years, but probably fish too small and to be honest, I don't enjoy it.

I've always had more success during the day, or during the evening, when fishing for trout. The Don is a funny river, there are often Sea Trout about as early as April and I think their arrival triggers some kind of response in the feeding habits of the larger Brownies, as these can be a bit lazy until they arrive.

I enjoyed fishing the Whisker last night, and only had a single size 14 wet fly on the end 

[Filip Adamcio]

Nice fish Mike. 

[Steven Kidd]

That's superb Mike, great the Seatrout are showing...….I know where i'll be tomorrow night,

I have a right problem with buying up old Daiwa rods off Ebay, latest pick up is a 1993 Daiwa Whisker 8ft 4-5wt, its just lovely.  Added to that ive still got a 2002 Whisker 11'3" 5-7wt loch rod.  Love the Thistle!

Steven

[Mike Barrio]

I've still got a 2002 Whisker 11'3" 5-7wt loch rod.  Love the Thistle!

Is that one double handed Steven

[Steven Kidd]

Mike, that one is a single hander, works just sublime with your 5wt SLX,

I really must fish it more.  The old tech rods are pretty damn nice.

Steven

[Sandy Nelson]

Back to work today after a few days exploring the dimple risers. The idea being I wanted to see just how many good fish can be ignored by thinking they are wee ones. An interesting exercise.



Small spinners and small emergers seems to be the way to get them to sip



the first couple of evenings proved very good with some of the dimples  proving to be great fish lazily feeding and making no disturbance



When darkness started to approach a swap to a small caddis brought a couple of good ones too



A few of the fish were showing the wee scars to the nose again.

Back to dimples for the rest of the week and for every 3 of these



I got one of these



And now and again it was one of these, even during early evening and again moving no water, but in a spot that looked like it might hold a good one



Even the afternoon was good, again just trying the dimples with a small 16/18 fly



And late on with a 16 sedge



So simple flies, cast to innocuous rise forms gave me some awesome fun all week with hard fighting fish and a couple of real surprises. Afternoon and evening time was equally as good with the main typical rise starting after 2230 to the sedges.

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Sandy, you just never know what's hiding behind the smallest of dimples 

[Steven Kidd]

Sandy,

With you being back at work at least the trout will get some peace!.....at least until Wednesday when i'm out,

Magic pictures as usual, I wonder why the trout have them noses, any idea?

Steven

[Steven Kidd]

Hello,

Out and about on the river a couple of nights last week, the better hatches are definitely towards the end of the day, 10pm, 11pm.  It is just a question of what the hatch will be......one night it is sedges, the next it is olive upwings.

The trout seem to have moved into different water as well, more flat water where the feeding is taking place.  The trout seem to be in small groups feeding of about 4-5 fish, which makines targeting the big ones a bit on pot luck......covering the rise of a bigger fish you might end up with their smaller wing men,

Plenty trout caught though, great fun,

Steven

[Filip Adamcio]

A couple of sea trout from the lower section  of the Don. Caught on the nymph.

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Filip, nice fish 

[Filip Adamcio]

 

Great stuff Filip, nice fish 

[Stevie Rennie]

Nice fish you’re catching Filip,

I only encountered the one small seatrout mid river for the short time I had home but on the same outing thought I’d connected with a 20lb salmon as I stealthily hid behind reeds casting square across and letting  my fly swing out of sight to the near bank.

On first retrieve the line went tight, a huge thump and the line started screaming off the reel. I had to emerge from the head height reeds to a beachy bank lower down to see what I was into and about 30 yards in the distance and now into my backing line observed a swan heading for norway with my fly firmly lodged in its flipper.

It thankfully stopped and headed back upstream towards me, so I frantically began recovering line only for it to start a second run downstream.

With no option other than to hold the remainder of recovered fly line tight and snap the leader, I held on as it stretched and parted at the fly.

The swan unamused then came ashore where I’m sure it removed the fly and after a few minutes thankfully returned to the river and recommenced feeding as if nothing had occurred, even coming directly to me where I got a good visual to satisfy me that it was now ok.
I recognised him from last season as he had a malformed wing and he often frequented the beats I do, so made my sincerest apologies to him and mortified with myself, headed for home.

[Sandy Nelson]

Having taken a Hiatus for a couple of weeks when the water temp went over 20 degrees, last weekends rain might not have increased the level by much, but it did drop the temp down below 18.
Some nice evenings to be out over the last few days



Early evening has very much been a spinner event with the BWOs in evidence in huge numbers



Some other olives and iron blues spinners around too, this male could be either as they are  all a similar colour



Once the light was gone, the fish turned to the sedges and emerging BWO duns and some good sport was had, especially on Friday



The bad news is, by Sunday the water temp was creeping back up at 19 and we have a warm week with little rain forecast. None of this is good for the fish, so it will be saltwater or sunbathing for me again

[Ivor Duffus]

I think the Don need to find funding like the Dee and start planting trees along the open stretches to cool the river.


I know nature Scotland have cash to give out for this. The Dee as usual in first for a handout.