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YOU ARE VIEWING ….. INTRODUCTION TO THE RIVER DON |
CONTENTS
HOME PAGE
FORUMS & NEWS
CASTING TUITION
TACKLE SHOP
BARRIO TACKLE
BARRIO FLY LINES
BARRIO FLY ROD
THE LOCHS
INTRODUCTION
HADDO FISHERY
DELGATIE CASTLE
MILL OF ELRICK
MIDMAR FISHERY
ARTLOCH FISHERY
LOCHTER FISHERY
RAEMOIR FISHERY
LOCH INSCH
GLEN TANAR LOCH
BRAESIDE FISHERY
MOSSAT FISHERY
GLEN OF ROTHES
RIVER DON
INTRODUCTION
FISHING BEATS
TROUT TACTICS
TROUT FLIES
WHERE TO STAY
RIVER DON OPENING
RIVER DON HATCHERY
KILDRUMMY FISHINGS
MONYMUSK FISHINGS
FETTERNEAR FISHINGS
SEMEIL FISHINGS
INVERURIE FISHINGS
CASTLE FORBES
ALFORD FISHINGS
KINTORE FISHINGS
COLQUHONNIE
GLENKINDIE
ARDMURDO KEITHALL
MANAR FISHINGS
TACKLE & PERMITS
PLUS
A FEW VIDEOS
FISHING LINKS
FLY FISHING BOOKS
CONTACT
MIKE BARRIO
The River Don is well known for being a good salmon river, it also has a very good reputation for sea trout, but the reason why most anglers visit the River Don is to fish for it's cracking wild brown trout.
The Don has some excellent fly water with plenty of fast flowing streamy runs and rocky pools.
You will also find some lovely glides and slow deep holding pools where the trout often rise freely in the evening to abundant fly life ….. but not always!
It is a wonderful river to explore and with such a great variety of water and locations to fish, you are bound to find somewhere that will become your favourite stretch.
You will hopefully catch plenty of brownies from six to twelve inches long and when the trout are in the humour and you get things right, a few larger ones from around one to three pounds.
There are some huge brown trout specimens in the River Don, but believe me, these are not easily caught!
April and May are probably the best months for finding the larger fish, but June and July can still be very good if you fish early in the morning and well in to the evening.
Take your time, get to know the river and you will find them!
Use your favourite flies with confidence, all the popular ones will produce a fish or two in the right conditions. There are no special secrets to success.
With such a great variety of water, you can enjoy experimenting with dries, wets, spiders and nymphs. A small black fly will usually produce it's fair share of fish and anglers on the Don swear by the Greenwells Glory!
Personally, I love fishing spiders and dries and I always keep my eye open for that short and magic midday spell when we often get a hatch of March Browns …… at which point I usually find myself caught up in a tree, or something else equally embarrassing!
You'll find some useful tips for trout flies on the website and some helpful tactics too, courtesy of local angler Sandy Nelson …… Thanks Sandy!
The upper reaches of the river can produce superb brown trout sport in April and May, after which the fish become more tricky. I like the manageable fishing width of the river in this area myself and "more tricky" can be good fun!
Local anglers will often concentrate their efforts on the middle reaches of the river in June and July, when sport can be excellent, especially in the evening.
The River Don brown trout season opens on April 1st and closes on September 30th. Please note that there is a brown trout protection order in place on the River Don, which means that Sunday fishing is not allowed.
I'm a trout angler I'm afraid, so I can't offer much in the way of help to those that seek the "Silver Tourists", but I'm told that salmon fishing is usually good from around mid March, with sea trout starting to appear in April and then the grilse in May. Runs of grilse, salmon and sea trout continuing throughout the season depending on water levels. I believe a floating line with a sink tip can often prove a productive tactic.
The heavier Autumn salmon usually arrive in mid September and October. The salmon season on the River Don opens on February 11th and closes on October 31st.
Sea Trout are simply awesome fish, they are a truly beautiful and hard fighting trout. I have never really tried the overnight darkness tactics for them, but I have enjoyed success on the Don during the day and in the evening when fishing for brown trout. A Black Pennell, or a Silver Invicta can be worth a try!
Please explore and enjoy the website and if you can't find what you are looking for, then a visit to our Fishing The Fly Forum will hopefully prove helpful.
Best wishes
Mike Barrio
