Fishing The Fly Scotland
Index => Rivers & Lochs => Topic started by: Iain Goolager on 05/04/2009 at 22:15
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At last I got a trout fly wetted on the Don.
I meant to try the Urie but my roving ticket does not indicate that it is fishable on a Sunday? (is it, anyone?) so I headed off to Lower Parkhill.
I only had a couple of hours and as I was planning to fish spiders and a nymph on the point regardless of water height or what the fish were doing I headed straight in. I liked the look of the water at the Bridge so that's where I started. I was casting 45 degrees upstream and letting the team flow down and swing round with a high rod tip and although I was initially getting some stops and pulls I couldn't connect with anything. Fortunately that run brought two nice Browns of about 10" to the net with another lost (both were stocked fish and also released).
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg214/goolager/IMG_6700.jpg)
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg214/goolager/IMG_6701.jpg)
Not the biggest of fish but I could catch these all season without a problem - and they put a very nice bend in a 3wt.
Another nice wee spot slightly further down the beat produced another two nice 10" Browns (one stocked and one wild - both released)
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg214/goolager/IMG_6699.jpg)
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg214/goolager/IMG_6702.jpg).
There was a smattering of Olives at about 1:45 and a fair amount of March Browns but only two tiddlers and one reasonable fish tackling them ??? lasted for 20 - 30 min's.
Flies were;
Gold Bead PTN on point 1 fish, Woodcock & Purple 2 fish & Waterhen Bloa 1 Fish
Look forward to trying the better water further down the Beat.
Iain
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Well done Iain :z16
Sounds like you had some good sport :z15
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Yes Baz,
it was nice to fish the river again for Trout and I was well pleased with the result.
Iain
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This months Don report now on the website:
www.riverdon.org.uk
D
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Hi Dave,
Will the Hatchery DVD be avail. at the upcoming open day?
Iain
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Certainly will be available, it is also available on line at the ADAA sales site. It is selling well as all procedes go to improving the river!
The trust will employ our first biologist later this month and will immediatly be carrying out survey work for the FMP and looking at removing the obstructions to migration, we have two in particular that we hope are easy fixes and block some excellent habitat. One blocks an unbelievable 85k!
We will be starting a friends of the river don trust later this month, with monthly updates, 1/4lynews letter and access to all our planned events, included a dinner in Aberdeens top hotel!
D
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Hello Iain
Could find nothing on my permit or the council website stating that Sunday fishing is permitted on the Urie.
However, the Fishdon website does state that Sunday fishing is permitted there.
Don't think you missed much yesterday.
After lunch, I had a walk from the meetings up to the Oldmeldrum bridge and saw no feeding trout.
I did see a couple of decent sized trout taking Olives above the railway bridge on the Inverurie beat.
Regards
Duncan
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Nice one Iain , looks like you had a good day , I was always under the impression you could fish the Urie on a Sunday.
:z18
Jim
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Jim,
so was I so I'm off to post Irvine and see what the story is - Just didn't want to get caught if the rules had been changed.
Iain
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had shortish evening session on the Don tonight at Cruives to try out my new breathable waders...
just for a change, after watching repeats of Paul Young's Hooked on Scotland, I dug out some old wet flies -- easy to over look them in these days when we can see and source flies from anywhere and are always looking for something new and exotic. Fished a size 10 bloody butcher on point and a size 14 dunkeld on dropper -- hooked, netted, released a hard fighting sea trout of about 2lb... on the wee dunkeld, I was well happy. Hooked and released another wee trout of about 8oz on a Teal & green, and pricked a few more too.
Cracking wee session, and most satisfying for using my poor abandoned wet fly box for a change - no pics though!
cheers
iain
ps, picked up Scierra Hydrovent breathable chest waders for £80 (were 199) and a wading jacket for £50 (was £150) from Garry Evans tackle.. they've got some sizes left, so if you're looking for a bargain go google Garry!...
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Nice Sea-Trout Iain.
Teal and Green, Bejesus! that's a blast from the past. There seems to be a fair bit of sport to be had on the Don at the moment.
Iain
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I was out for a cast at upper parkhill Monday and Tues lunchtime, 9 trout in total although yesterday was more productive best at 3lbs all caught on the dry.
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Explored the upper waters for the first time in some years yesterday, hard going :shock
Lots of changes in the water, some pools have simply 'gone' since my last visit - work needed there I think.
Plenty of stonefly and the occasional LDO around but a long day for one trout of around 1/2lb :z15
Saw a couple of nice fish, but no joy in getting the buggers to take :z6
Next 'assault' on the Don will probably be a smidgen lower down the river but, although frustrating, it was nice to get back to my old haunt for a day :cool:
Hamish :z3
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arite hamish do u fish the inverurie beats?
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Not that often I'm afraid :cry
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Went down today at about 1 and my first sight of the river was fish rising :grin Must admit i was a tad excited setting up as i could see about 6 fish rising steadily within casting range. Think thats a first :z4 Several casts later the excitement was turning to slight something else as they were all ignoring my offerings. Quick change of flys and bang first cast :cool: Had 4 in all, over an hour or 2 ranging from 3/4lb to very decent :grin
Here is a pic of the best of the day and also a pic of what i suspect may be my first ever seatrout?
(http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/noel0065/10042009349-1.jpg)
Seatrout???
(http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/noel0065/10042009348.jpg)
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Hey Noel you are doing well this season :z16 I'm never sure about sea-trout , I think Salmon have a convex tail and sea trout a concave one , or is it the other way about :z8
:z18
Jim
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Hi Noel,
Great sport yet again!
Second one's a Brown - is the net giving it the impression of having a distinctly forked tail?
Large Sea-Trout form a convex tail
Iain
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Aye I always getting my concaves and convexes mixed up :wink
:z18
Jim
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Not sure about the tail didnt really notice at the time. What made me think it may be a seatrout is the silvery colour and that it fought like crazy. The pic doesnt really do it justice. Must start carrying my camera again but then again i carried it a lot last year and mostly photographed.....flowers and scenery.
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That's nothing Jim, the last time I fished for Salmon on the Don I had such a short time so was in a hurry and actually put my left boot on my right foot?
silly ninny! :oops
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What like of set up were you using Noel, rod,leader flies etc,
Cheers
Baz
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Hi Baz using a scott 4/5 weight built by our own Sandy :z16 A Barrio DT4 line with 6ft tapered leader and 4ft of clear mono tippet. Two dries about 2 foot apart, todays sucessfull were cdc and elk, cul de canon and an olive cdc thingy i got from a mate. I think the choice of fly is not as important as being in the right place at the right time. One thing im doing this year which might be making a difference is degreasing the leader every few casts. Out again tomorrow, whats the bets on a blank :z4
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Hi Baz using a scott 4/5 weight built by our own Sandy :z16 A Barrio DT4 line with 6ft tapered leader and 4ft of dreddan clear mono tippet. Two dries about 2 foot apart, todays sucessfull were cdc and elk, cul de canon and an olive cdc thingy i got from a mate. I think the choice of fly is not as important as being in the right place at the right time. One thing im doing this year which might be making a difference is degreasing the leader every few casts. Out again tomorrow, whats the bets on a blank :z4
Better not be with the secret weapons :z4
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Nice fish Noel :z16
The second one could be a Slob trout, not uncommon on the Don.
They are Brownies that decide to pop down to the estuary for a while (often during winter when the food is scarce) , where they feed on estuary food take on a lovely silver sheen and then disappear back upstream for when the flies start to hatch. They go like buggery and for my sins in the "old days" they taste beautiful :z3
Keep it up, i'll have to find a window in my ridiculous schedule :shock
Sandy
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Tougher day today, blue skys and an unfavourable wind. Good numbers of olives hatching with the odd MB. Only saw a few rising fish and most seemed to be one offs. Wind was causing major problems and just couldnt seem to position myself where i could cover a fish. Did a lot of prospecting in likely runs without a touch, still good fun though.
Heading back to the car i noticed what looked like a few fish moving midriver just under the surface, so once i got below them tried a cast into the activity. Was rewarded by an immediate take and after a good tussel landed this lovely fish.
(http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/noel0065/11042009351_edited.jpg)
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Another cracking fish Noel ....... Well done :z16
If you have time, do you fancy uploading an 800 pix wide version of the photo in the gallery? :wink
Best wishes
Mike
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Sure will Mike, having a play with it now so to practice i will try replace the one above, tried this before but they came out too big for some reason. How,s that size?
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I have had a great couple of days dry fly fishing on the Don. Yesterday there was a great rise from 12-2.00pm resulting in numerous fish, 5 over the 2lb mark best at around 3 lbs. Today conditions were not ideal, bright, sunny and breezy fortunately managed to tempt 3 best at 25 inch 5lb +. All fish were safely returned.
(http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu233/klinkhammer/trout_1.jpg)
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This river looks like its filled with nice trout!
What beat are you fishing Noel and where do i get a permit :z8
Thanks
Baz :z18
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This river looks like its filled with nice trout!
What beat are you fishing Noel and where do i get a permit :z8
Thanks
Baz :z18
Sure seems like that at the moment Baz and any I have caught are still in there :grin. Have to add I have had more blank days on the don in the last two years than i care to remember. If fish are not rising it can be a very dour place. Im fishing the council beats of Inverurie and Kintore, got my season ticket at Kintore post office but they are available in a few places.
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Have just been replacing the pics i have put up in the last week or so with bigger versions, hope they are ok Mike? Am finding it hard to tell the width from photobucket :oops
Have also been having a think about posting pics like those on a public forum and am wondering if its wise. I return all my fish when its somewhere like The Don which gets a fair bit of fishing pressure. Different if im on a highland loch thats stuffed with trout, then I will sometimes take a few for the table.
What i dont want is to attract people who will kill large fish without any thought so im thinking it may be better not to post anymore pics at least on a thread that names the river. Thoughts?
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Have just been replacing the pics i have put up in the last week or so with bigger versions, hope they are ok Mike? Am finding it hard to tell the width from photobucket :oops
Hi folks :cool:
If I remember correctly, I think photobucket has an online photo resizing tool, I'm not sure? :oops
Please remember that photos for the forum "GALLERY" can be uploaded directly on to our forum via the gallery and can be up to 800 pixels wide ...... Remotely hosted photos to post in threads (hosted on photobucket etc) need to be up to 700 pixels wide max please, if they are wider than this we get a side scroll bar and it mucks up viewing the thread :wink
Best wishes
Mike
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If you go to resize image in photo bucket and set the image to the large template its almost bang on the right size for a forum post! :z16
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Have also been having a think about posting pics like those on a public forum and am wondering if its wise. I return all my fish when its somewhere like The Don which gets a fair bit of fishing pressure. Different if im on a highland loch thats stuffed with trout, then I will sometimes take a few for the table.
What i dont want is to attract people who will kill large fish without any thought so im thinking it may be better not to post anymore pics at least on a thread that names the river. Thoughts?
Hi Noel ....... Good question! :z16
To be totally honest, IMHO most of the River Don is under fished :shock I know there are areas which are "popular", but there is an awful lot more water out there that is rarely fished or under fished for one reason or another :wink
I would perhaps suggest that you are tempting some cracking fish recently because you have taken the time to get to know the river Noel, served the apprenticeship if you like, which is really great to see! :wink
I love seeing the photos and I am sure they are good for the river! As for your question ..... I would suggest that photos would be better described as "a fish caught and released on the River Don today" with a barbless Greenwells Spider, or a barbless Hare's Ear Klink etc and that no mention is made of the beat or the location. Let's face it, there are some cracking brownies throughout the whole river system and there is so much water to explore.
Visitors should be made welcome ...... but they should also be made aware that we do not kill or take these cracking fish on the River Don!
So, IMHO .... photos - yes, name the River Don - yes, but don't name the beat or location :wink
Best wishes
Mike
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So, IMHO .... photos - yes, name the River Don - yes, but don't name the beat or location :wink
Best wishes
Mike
Unless it is in a PM to me :z4
I was out casting tonight, had no flies with me but saw some very large trout moving, one came clean out of the water twice but not sure what for :grin
Ben
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Unless it is in a PM to me :z4
I was out casting tonight, had no flies with me but saw some very large trout moving, one came clean out of the water twice but not sure what for :grin
Ben
It wanted a good laugh :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4
Sandy
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Their have been some runs of grilse coming through the river Don over the last couple of days. I Lost one on Friday and watched someone return a lovely grilse around 4-5lb this afternoon from the same pool. Couple of other fish seen running.
Grilse runs, late last year and seem to be early this year???
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It wanted a good laugh :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4
Sandy
Aye, very good :z4
Ben
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Unless it is in a PM to me :z4
I was out casting tonight, had no flies with me but saw some very large trout moving, one came clean out of the water twice but not sure what for :grin
Ben
Thats interesting, I wouldnt think of fishing late into the evening this early in the year.
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Neither would I usually.
Was out teaching today on the river for most of the day. Hatches were good, March Browns, LDOs & large stones coming off from about 11 - 2 with good numbers of fish moving to them. Activity stopped about 3 and I counted only 4 fish moving after that was on the water until 7:30. There were a lot of midge about this evening and I suspect that it was these that the trout were taking last nite.
Cheers
Ben
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This river looks like its filled with nice trout!
What beat are you fishing Noel and where do i get a permit :z8
Thanks
Baz :z18
Baz
I usually have a go on the Don on the Monnymusk beats http://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/monymusk-fishings.html Rabbitangler got his PB trout here. Its a bit like Mike said you have to serve the appernticeship , you can't really expect to turn up and get trophy trout , you also need a bit of luck with the conditions.
:z18
Jim
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A rising trout on the Don is the same as a rising trout on the South esk surely :wink
Might have to pop up next time home and find out :z4
How much will a ticket on the monymusk beat sting me?
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How much will a ticket on the monymusk beat sting me?
Too much IMHO :shock
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A rising trout on the Don is the same as a rising trout on the South esk surely :wink
Might have to pop up next time home and find out :z4
How much will a ticket on the monymusk beat sting me?
Aye its easy when they are rising Baz its when they are not , its all about being in the right place at the right time.
£20
:z18
Jim
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Went for a jaunt around Kemnay and Alford today and had a great wee time. Quite a few fish in the 10 - 12" bracket and a lovely bonus to christen the new rod.
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg214/goolager/IMG_6749.jpg)
Roll on the next time (which will probably be June!)
Iain
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Nice rod Iain, fish aint bad either :z4
Did you weigh the fish?
Ben
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No, but I carry a 'Streamworks' mini tape measure and it was +/- 23" long.
It was released.
Iain
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That looks like a heavy fish Iain :z16
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Iain , you are in the groove mate :z16
:z18
Jim
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Too much IMHO :shock
I think £20 is a reasonable price :z8
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I think £20 is a reasonable price :z8
I guess it all depends on the individual, I'm not being funny but this is a debate I want to get into right now Baz - sorry :z6
Reasons why will become apparent in time :wink
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Aye its easy when they are rising Baz its when they are not , its all about being in the right place at the right time.
£20
:z18
Jim
Barry and I have a very subtle approach to fish that are hesitant to rise...........orange blob at 30mph :z12 :z12
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Another good day today, a lot of fish rising depsite a rather sparse hatch of LDOs, best fish 2lb4oz, will get some pics up tomorrow. Hatch (LDOs) started about 12:30 and fish were active from about 12 until about 3 with the odd fish still moving occasionally at 5pm, also saw big clouds of midge alough the fish were on Olives.
Cheers
Ben
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Hi Ben,
Well done . No hatches of orange blobs then :z4 :z4 :z4 .
What were you fishing dries or nymphs , or a mixture ?
Paul.
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Hi Paul,
Had two on one of my beasthamers and the rest on an olive klink, missed two fish on nymphs / spiders first thing. I have not tried an orange blob on the Don, yet. I did have some success on a black fritz nomad rolly pollied on a type VI sink September though :z4
Cheers
Ben
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Ben,
are you off this week as well? or were you 'working'? :wink
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I'm coming up and staying at the Colquhonnie Hotel next week and will be fishing Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday on the Don. I've never been to Scotland before and I know nothing of the area really. (I'm American). Can anyone tell me what part of the river (lower, middle, upper) this stretch is on?
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Hello Indieangler and welcome to the forum.
The Colquhonnie Hotel beat are certainly in the upper part of the river. The hatch of olives has started but on the last two Saturdays I have been out the fishing has been slow. However the weather forecast says the wind is due to turn southerly on Sunday with a lift in temperature so the beginning of next week could be OK.
Tight Lines
Irvine
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Hi Ben,
Hi Paul,
Had two on one of my beasthamers and the rest on an olive klink, missed two fish on nymphs / spiders first thing. I have not tried an orange blob on the Don, yet. I did have some success on a black fritz nomad rolly pollied on a type VI sink September though :z4
Cheers
Ben
Thanks for that. I tend to fish klink and dink if there is not much rising and then switch to dry if any semblance of a rise starts. I take it a beasthamer is a very large klink ?
I know we're joking about lures in the Don but I know of a certain Richard Walker (used to have a shop in King st , not the other one !), who used to swear by large black IPN's as a fish catcher throughout the season.
Maybe should,nt post that here. :oops
Tight Lines
:z18
Paul.
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Thanks for the information Hares Lug! I'll have a car with me while I'm in the area, are there different beats of the Don I should check out while I'm around instead of just sticking to this area?
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Yes :!
Irvine (hares lug) knows the waters around Glenkindie far better than I (Glenkindie is 5 minutes down the river from Colquhonnie) and that water would be worth a look as would the beats at Littlewood, Castle Forbes, Whitehaugh and (ofcourse) Monymusk :z17
Semeil waters at Strathdon also worth asking about when you're at the hotel.
That should keep you going for a bit :wink
Hamish :z3
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Thanks for the helpful information. I don't quite understand the licensing / beat system you guys use over here. Back in the US, you usually buy a license for your state and you're free to fish any parts of any of the rivers and lakes and it's not really divided into different sections of the rivers like it seems to be over here. What I'm getting at is, I'm assuming I'll need some different type of ticket/license than the one I'm getting from the hotel to fish their beat, if I choose to branch out to these other areas?
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Thanks for the helpful information. I don't quite understand the licensing / beat system you guys use over here. Back in the US, you usually buy a license for your state and you're free to fish any parts of any of the rivers and lakes and it's not really divided into different sections of the rivers like it seems to be over here. What I'm getting at is, I'm assuming I'll need some different type of ticket/license than the one I'm getting from the hotel to fish their beat, if I choose to branch out to these other areas?
Yes the river is broken up into beats, which are sections of the river. A beat may be left bank or right bank only which means you cant fish from the opposite bank, you can wade right up to it though :wink
Have a look here for beat information, prices and contact info.
http://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/river-don-brown-trout-fishing.html
Your hotel should be able to help you out as well i would presume.
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Hi Ben,
Thanks for that. I tend to fish klink and dink if there is not much rising and then switch to dry if any semblance of a rise starts. I take it a beasthamer is a very large klink ?
It is a large Klink tied on a size 12 Partridge 15BNX hook, black body with an opal mirage rib, pink post and grizzle hackle, I use it as an indicator also when fishing NZ style. The fly brings fish up from nowhere when there is no hatch (unless you are on the Don), I have had good success fishing NZ style on the Don but really enjoy fishing spiders :grin
Cheers
Ben
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I'm sure it's been mused over many a time but I've no real confidence in the positive hook up ability of the dry when fishing a Klink & Dink NZ style.
What's the general opinion?
Iain
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I am not usually expecting to get fish taking the dry when fishing like that, it is there as an indicator mainly although it does catch me fish occasionally. I dont know how it affects hook up as I usually remove the nymph when fish begin rising freely and have never really experimented. I will leave a nymph on next time I am fishing to rising fish and report back. for me the main point is that the Klink does not always sit right with a nymph on the bend, that must surely affect the chances of a fish hitting it in the first place.
Cheers
Ben
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Yeah,
I'd heard that it's a good way to fish the nymph and an indicator of when the fish are prepared to come to the surface, fair enough - I just think I'd be piddled if I was to miss a 'oncer' due to the dropper being tied to the sighters' bend.
Anyone fish the Klink & Dink with the dry tied off of a short traditional dropper length?
Just interested.
Iain
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There is a guy I know who fishes the Clyde who uses a klink on a dropper, he rates that set up and he catches a LOT of fish, stupidly I have not really played about with it but on the basis of his success it must be worth a try
Ben
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Will definitely give it a try next time I'm out :z15
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Will definitely give it a try next time I'm out :z15
Never took you for a float fisher Iain :z4 Sure you dont just want to take a thingymabobber instead :z18
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Baz,
an extract from Isaac Waltons' 'The True Fisherman'
"Blessed is the angler whom caste a floating fly on the merest of dropper gut whilst supporting a slip of a nymph beyond"
:z7
BLUFF
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Went down today, tried to convince myself I was not frozen but gave up quickly. Cold NE wind, not a fly in sight. Sat watching for about half an hour then sense prevailed. Well if you call spending a small fortune in B&Q sense :shock
Looking like more of the same weather tomorrow so herself will be happy, diy may have to be attempted.
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Their have been some runs of grilse coming through the river Don over the last couple of days. I Lost one on Friday and watched someone return a lovely grilse around 4-5lb this afternoon from the same pool. Couple of other fish seen running.
Grilse runs, late last year and seem to be early this year???
rattrala,
I don't think these fish are grilse, they are likely to be small springers. There have been quite a few small springers around the 5lb mark being caught on the Dee since the season opened and has continued. The river board are concerned and have requested the Ghillies and anglers to take scale samples as they intend to carry out a review to confirm if they are 1SW or 2SW fish.
I had a fish from the Dee on opening week that was 5lb in size, I put it down to it being an early fish. My Dad had a fish off the Spey at the beginning of April that was also around the 5lb mark.
Runs don't seem to be getting earlier, so I would guess they are fish that are not getting a good feed in the high seas.
SAY
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Out for a few hours today, good hatch of olives and plenty fish rising. Had about 1/2 a dozen but all small. A lot of folk fishing today.
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What is alot of people :?
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What is alot of people :?
Ah good question, well there was 4 cars parked at one access point and i met 2 guys who were parked elsewhere so at least 6. Thats a lot for this beat. Two guys decided to join me on the riffle i was fishing after watching me release a fish which was nice and cosy :shock :z4
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Out today, strong upstream wind which made me feel like i was loch style fishing with the rolling waves. No hatch at all that i could see. Propected with drys and must have rose and missed 2 dozen fish. Only hooked and landed a few in the first half hour and they were all small. Lots of salmon parr having a go which can be a bit off-putting.
Any ideas in how to convert these rises into takes? I tried different sizes, letting them turn on the fly and striking as fast as i could, none of which worked ???
My theory is with no flies hatching and no surface activity at all, the fish were making a half hearted swipe at the fly and not really commiting themselves. I guess another more accurate theory could be that im shite :z8
Now im thinking about it maybe a nymph or spider on a short dropper nz style would have been a good idea?
Im planning fishing the same water tomorrow so im open to suggestions.
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Yes, I'd try spiders Noel :z16
Cheers
Mike
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Good day today few rising as soon as i reached the river. When casting to the first rise changed direction to cover a nearer better looking rise and a nice fish about 1.5lb to rabbitangler,s (Peter) MB. Had another lovely fish of 20 inches to the same fly later that absolutely hammered it, rising a foot out of the water on the take, and lots more acrobatics followed. Have a photo or two that I will post asap.
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Hi Noel,
Well done. I don't know about the I,m shite bit . :wink You seem to be doing pretty well so far !
Sometimes the fish are just like that . I guess it's why we call it fishing and not catching .
Interesting that you mentioned lots of people out , maybe the fish are wising up a bit ?
Anyways, keep going !!
Paul.
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hi noel what beats do u fish on the don? i wouldnt mind joining u 4 a day if thats ok?
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Hi Garry john
I fish the council beats. Most fridays and saturdays im on one or the other from 11 onwards. Not sure about next weekend though might be doing this :z18. I will send you my mobile number by pm.
Noel.
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Here are a few pics from yesterday
(http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/noel0065/25042009362_edited.jpg)
(http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/noel0065/25042009364.jpg)
(http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/noel0065/25042009366_edited.jpg)
(http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/noel0065/25042009368_edited.jpg)
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nice photos and lovely lookin fish noel,iv never visited your stretch of the water,might be worth a go some time! :z4
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Good day out today, reasonable hatch of LDOs with fish moving to them quite freely from about 12 until 4 depsite the cold strong wind. Had a good number of fish on olive parachutes and klinks but nothing big, largest 1lb11oz.
Cheers
Ben
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Hi Noel,
Nice pic of an adult stonefly.
Ben,
" but nothing big, largest 1lb11oz."
Aye right mate . :z4 That's plenty big for a river troot :z18 Good stuff.
Often think it's odd that some folk think that you need warm weather for flies to hatch eh ? :wink
Paul.
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went out to inverurie after work last night for a couple of hours.....
was very bright, water was very low and it was fairly breezy....so all in all nae perfect!!
didnt see any fish moving....couple of small trout...very few though....hope theres a bit of rain before the weekend..
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first time on the don today; briliant :z16 :z16 :z16 had a brownie 1lbs and one too 3 1/2 lbs also had a sea trout 5/6 pounds all on my barrio 3weight great fun
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Thats a great day Koi Keeper :z16
:z18
Jim
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Was out doing a bit of casting on the Don today for most of the day. Good number of hawthorns about, from about 10AM, saw some spinners of some description and some size 14 sedges, these appeared about 1 and increased in numbers throughout the day and are the first I have seen this year. I went back down to the river about 6 when the wind dropped for a look, there was a lot of sedges on the water, nothing moving though!
Ben
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Shock, horror :shock Ben its the Sabbath :z4
:z18
Jim
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i have to say the whole no fishing on a sunday malarky really grinds my gears!!! :mad
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i have to say the whole no fishing on a sunday malarky really grinds my gears!!! :mad
Me to JR , if they want the fish to have a rest day why not make it a Monday when most people are at work, you can fish the Tay and its tribuatries for trout on a Sunday and also the Clyde.
:z18
Jim
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Me to JR , if they want the fish to have a rest day why not make it a Monday when most people are at work, you can fish the Tay and its tribuatries for trout on a Sunday and also the Clyde.
:z18
Jim
sundays my only day off and i cant even wet a line on the don! is it ok to hang your washing out on the sabbath?? :z4
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The Sunday fishing thing for trout is at the discretion of the riparian owner, it is a legal thing in Scotland with regard to migratory fish. I have no problem with not being able to fish for salmon on a Sunday other than that the rule stems from an old Kirk ruling, I do find that rather irritating. Sea trout is another issue, sea trout are trout and it is a pain having to stop at midnight Saturday or only be able to start at midnight Sunday.
Anyone got anything to report from the river today?
Ben
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I fished Beat 11 at Monymusk on Wednesday Afternoon. Really cold, blustry wind and rain was keeping the fish down, with just the odd small trout taking flies off the top.
I spent quite a while walking and watching but to no avail, so found a lovely deep run where I thought i might winkle out a fish or two. On with a couple of very heavy GRHE's and spent an hour "high sticking" the flies down the run. Second put through I had a savage take but did not connect. A few "casts"..well...flips later the line flicked straight, I struck and connected with a lovely Brownie of around about a pound and a half to a pound and three quarters.
By this time the wind was getting unbearable and the rain was making life a tad miserable...I was frozen.
Suddenly the sun burst through for no more than 10 minutes and the river surface errupted with hatching flies. I have never seen anything like it. As I stood there, mid river, the spent shucks were sticking to my waders and the flies themselves were landing on me, making me look like one of those fly catcher papers.
Entimology (and spelling) are not my fortee but I am sure the flies where Grannoms.. (http://www.worleybuggerflyco.com/Hatches/Images/April%20Grannom%20II.jpg)
Anyway, i eagerly swapped to a suitable dry fly and waited to see a few fish rising..nothing..not a thing!!! So on went a wet March Brown (closest I had) and a GRHE to see if they were taking subsurface..not a pull or a pluck.
The sun went, the wind remained, so I headed home about 5...cold but extremely happy.
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Good stuff Rob sounds like you had a fun day. I have heard elsewhere that the trout dont seem to take the grannom, havent seen a hatch yet so cant say personally.
Fished the local beat friday and saturday. Friday was blowing a hoolie but the fish were looking up and I finished my few hours with a best of about 1.25lb.
Saturday conditions seemed better but the fish didnt agree, no hatch to speak of, couldnt get a take, lots of rises from small fish but the big boys were not playing.
I had to come off the river about 3 with the feeling a big hatch was due at any minute.
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Noel,
Last time we were on the Don there was no activity until appx 3:30pm then all of a sudden there was a hatch of Grannom and I could see 4-5 good Trout of 2-3lbs taking them off the surface. This lasted for 15 minutes and was good fun.
Down where I live (Yorkshire ) and fish regularly(Yorkshire and Cumbria) the Grannom can get taken avidly and I have witnessed them being selected on the Don before. They are finished down here now but I guess they still have 1-2 weeks to go up there.
Olive Uprights,Large Brook Duns and Iron Blues were coming off on Don when we were up. There were plenty of Hawthorns and Black Gnats too and some big Trout feeding on them.So good to see Iron Blues......the last decent hatch I witnessed was on the Water of Leith as a wean back in 1978!
Richard
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Hi folks,
As a don virgin, I just wanted to get your opinion on the Castle Forbes fishing. I am back up to Scotland for a holiday (home from the UAE) and have booked up a day on their water. The thing that is worrying me is that on Fishdon.co.uk it was the ONLY fishery that had any availablity and seemed to free all month... Is it rubbish???? Why doesn't anyone else want to fish it in May???
Thanks in advance.
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Hi folks,
As a don virgin, I just wanted to get your opinion on the Castle Forbes fishing. I am back up to Scotland for a holiday (home from the UAE) and have booked up a day on their water. The thing that is worrying me is that on Fishdon.co.uk it was the ONLY fishery that had any availablity and seemed to free all month... Is it rubbish???? Why doesn't anyone else want to fish it in May???
Thanks in advance.
HI Tinrib
Not at all, very surprised at the availability as Castle forbes is one of the best stretches of the river, however it is probably the most expensive beat too.
Normally very hard water to get on, so i'd ask first as the fishdon site may not be quite up to date :z8
Definatley well worth fishing if you have the chance :z16
Sandy
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Rob,
It that Rob as in Piking Rob ?
Regards
James
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Rob,
It that Rob as in Piking Rob ?
Regards
James
Could well be ;)
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Rob,
Sent you a PM
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going to head out on saturday i think....hopefully all this rain had lifted the river and maybe brought some fish through!
anybody been on the river this week? any reported salmon catches??
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gibbyboy
Haven't been on the river this week but noticed that not a single salmon was reported from any of the ADAA beats.This must be an unwelcome first for this time of year!
What's happened to the Don?
The first seatrout of the year should be starting to appear around now so it might be worth a cast in the evening.
I'm praying that their numbers increase this year.
Duncan
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There are salmon about, I had one this evening just below Kintore, about 9lb, no lice but still fairly fresh, size 7 gold bodied cascade on a Sink 1 line with 3ips tip. Did not see any other fish today but there were several splashing around at Kintore on Monday and, I also saw a few fish on Thursday before the water came up so would be worth a shot at Kemnay & above by now I would think.
Cheers
Ben
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Ben,
Is it possible to get a visitors ticket for Kintore...since I drive through the place every night on my way home? Makes sense to stop for a cast or 3.
Ta
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Ben,
Is it possible to get a visitors ticket for Kintore...since I drive through the place every night on my way home? Makes sense to stop for a cast or 3.
Ta
You can buy a day ticket in Kintore post office. Open until 5.30 I think.
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I was out tonight for the Trout, hooked into a double figure Salmon just below the bridge at Kintore. No surprises, I lost it! :cry Still it was a bit of excitement.
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Nightmare! one of the few times probably you wouldnt want to hook into such a fish....rocking the lightwait trout gear...
Inverurie on saturday....if the weather stays reasonable it will be at a much better hight with the rains of this week.....more to come today I see?
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Ben,
Is it possible to get a visitors ticket for Kintore...since I drive through the place every night on my way home? Makes sense to stop for a cast or 3.
Ta
Rob,
You might find this useful :wink
http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/parks/fishing/fishing_season_permits.asp
Hamish :z3
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There are salmon about, I had one this evening just below Kintore, about 9lb
Good show MR D!
I was out tonight for the Trout, hooked into a double figure Salmon just below the bridge at Kintore. No surprises, I lost it!
Still.............. gets the wee hearty going though Mr Bronzebommer
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Rob,
You might find this useful :wink
http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/parks/fishing/fishing_season_permits.asp
Hamish :z3
I found that link about 2 minutes after asking the quesion...lol..bu was to embaressed to say!.
Will pack a rod...just in case of course. Pity I was not in the ADAA...about 500 yards from the river..lol
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hey rob you can get day tickets for certain beats at sommers now i am pretty sure.
calum
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Was out at Kintore yesterday. (22nd) Fished from about 1200 to 1700. River was about two inches under red marker on the guage.
Was fishing the right hand bank. Started off fishing down through what i think is Laws pool with a sink tip and size 8 allys shrimp. No fish moving. About half way down i hooked a fish right under the tree on the opposite bank. got a pull then two sharpe tugs. It launched itself out the water and through the hook as quick as that!!! Was probably about 4-5lbs. maybe a sea trout.
Then worked my way down to Boat hole??? (new to these pools)
Fished down through this with no joy. Then had a walk back to laws pool and worked my way down it with a silver stoat. (can you tell i like this pool?) Never saw another fish.
An enjoyable wee afternoon, apart from the occasional heavy shower, and the closest i have come yet to a Don silver tourist!! lol.
Incidently.... at about half two there was a rise of small black flies (dont know what they were?)and several trout were rising steadily for about half an hour. Even in the high water.
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fished last night after the Don Trust day until about 11PM, fish came on about 10 and between us we had several nice trout biggest was over 3lb, seemed to be taking very small caddis that appeared just as it was getting dark. fished at Monymusk today, was not much of a hatch, small number of olive uprights, a few sedges, black gnats and a handful of medium olives with very few fish showing. Managed one trout at 2lb, one at 1lb11oz and several others between 1/2 & 3/4lb, all on size 16 olive Klink (tied on 15BNX) and lost what was definitely the largest trout I have ever hooked. Biggest I have heard of today was a 4lb7oz, going back tomorrow :grin
Ben
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Tough day on the Don at Monymusk yesterday..... managed one fish of about a pound on a bloody HUGE green nymph under a dry 'kiwi' style.
Plenty of flies about, but a quite coloured river really put a downer on things :roll
So pointless was it that I had a kip for an hour or so :wink
Hopefully Ben has an amusing pic of the lengths I'll go to retrieve his flies from trees...... :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4
Pity it was so pants as it'll be the last chance I'll get to fish the Don for some time :cry
Oh well :z8 That's fishing :z7
Hamish :z3
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Was tough Hamish, baffled by the increase in colour as the day went on, makes little sense when the river was very obviously dropping. fun day all the same. Saw only two decent trout move all day, both moved only once each, two small fish was all I managed for the day, given conditions, I am happy with that.
Away down to the river just now although it is still carrying a fair bit of colour at Kintore. I want that brute that tried to snaffle the trout that Paul was playing at the weekend, I know where he lives and I will wait as long as is necessary but, I will get him eventually :grin
I do have the picture of you in tree surgeon mode Hamish, I will get all my pics banged up tomorrow, I have stacks to upload.
Cheers
Ben
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Good stuff lads keep em coming. Looking forward to your pics Ben.
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Has anyone been out early morning yet? Thinking of trying that tomorrow.
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As yet no, once the summer is more fully on us then it would be worth a hurl early on in the day IMHO :z16
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Ben/Hamish,
We went down to Beat 6 and 7 on Tuesday night after you had left. Not much activity early on. However at 10pm there was a substantial hatch of Olive Uprights,probably the most I have seen at any one time at Monymusk. I spent 20 mins after a fish 2 rods lengths away. The rises were very difficult to discern as they were in 'dark' water. Eventually got it on a Klink with a fluro yellow post and 'guessed' it had taken my fly and it was 2lb 14oz. Unbeknown to me there was another not 5 yards upstream that I estimated at over 4lbs that I had not seen (the rises were not loud or big) due to the dark water.
Paul got one on 'silver paper' water upstream of me which went 3lb 1oz.
Just for the record on Monday we saw 4 rising fish which we thought were of a good size. Took it in turns to go for them, hooked all 4, one got off and the other 3 were 2lb 8oz(19"),2lb 12oz(18.5") and 4lb 7oz (22.5").
We went down yesterday to Beat 1 but left at 2pm without casting a fly. It was blowing a gale with very little rising so we sacked it early and headed home.
Thanks to you both for the weekend,the hospitality and the company.
Richard
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Meant to say that on Tue night I got mine at 10:25pm and Paul got his at 10:35pm on a not very good day but the wind did drop after 9pm. Similarly at Kintore on Sunday it was windy but the fish came on after 10pm after the wind had dropped.
On the way down the road we agreed that if we were locals we would be on the river late on now for the best chance of a big fish.
Ben I want to know when you nail that other big fish (not the one that grabbed Pauls little fish) that was rising in the pool that we fished late on........sure it's over 4lbs so good luck!
Richard
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Loks like I will have to pack a rod in the car and take a slight detore home via Monymusk :) I really want to try rivers more this year.
Quick question..I was pretty much nymphing as there was no surface activity, but my nymph gear is different to my dry fly gear..what do you guys do? Do you set up just for one style, have multiple outfits..help????
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Rob,
Sorry have cocked up and posted this twice as was timed out and panicked at having lost my reply!!
We carry one rod each and adapt the set up to suit. Having said that 95% of our fishing involves targeting what we think are 'large' fish of 2lbs +. Having said that it is relatively easy to discern this if the fishes head breaks the surface to take a dun or something sitting on top of the water. In April on our first trip there were Black Gnats coming down and they do sit on the surface albeit with a far lower profile. We suspected that the fish were on these but their heads were not showing and I recall targeting one with Paul watching and this ended up as a 24" fish. We had no idea it was this large,we could tell it was substantial as the rise form was a fair size but we both thought it was a 2lb-3lb fish tops. I have digressed from your question.
Set up is a 9' rod either 4 or 5wt depending on the wind and leaders anywhere between 12' (very windy)-16' (no wind) ending in 5X (4.9lbs) or 4X (6lbs) which will vary depending on fly size and perceived size of fish. I maintain that with a well tied knot no fish is going to break a 4.9lbs leader on snag free run (though I think that this happened to Ben so shows what I know). On the previous trip I was broken by the largest Trout I have ever hooked,I saw it jump 4 times and reckon it was over 7lbs but it ran me round a rock and frayed the leader against a rock-nowt you can do about that!
The flies we have had most success with have been Paraduns,Paragnats,cdc and Klinkhamers.
We do a lot of walking,sitting and looking. Pauls Trout he got on Monday of 4lb 7oz I guess many people would not even have spotted. He was not sure it was even a rise but went down to close to where he saw it,waited 20 minutes before it came up again,had a few casts over it,the last of which was dumped down over the fish by a gust. He thought that that was it all over but again waited over 20 mins and it did come up again by which time he had changed fly and got it. So he was successful by good observation and sheer perseverance and patience that not many have. Okay his presentational skills are of the very highest order too! However many of these Trout allow a pretty close approach as the Don is usually of good depth and flow so you can get close(2-3 rod lengths usually) without scaring them.
If things are very quiet and we get a bit bored then Paul is first to change to weighted nymph on point + 2 spiders and prospecting down and across to cover a lot of water(not on a tight line like a salmon fisher though). The rod is held high so there is a bow of line to watch for a take and the fish does not feel a lot of resistance, resulting in more hook ups.
However most of our big Trout are taken on dries and are targetted. We rarely 'fish the water' as this usually results in smaller fish. Obviously once you have a biggie on your sites do not rush things,check knots,watch the rise pattern etc. Many fish are difficult in that they do not hold station (due to the fact that the hatches/falls are not usually that heavy) and traverse a bit so you have to be careful not to line them.Wait with the correct amount of line out,fly in hand and when he comes up try and get your fly over him after a couple of seconds. This can take time!! That massive fish that ran me round a rock took over 2 hours to hook (drag was awful too). If your fly drags a few times and you think he may have seen it it may be a good idea to change (but we have taken fish on flys that they have seen drag previously). Finally these big fish rise slowly and turn down so give them a bit of time before striking.....only experience and missed fish will hone this for you!
It is not everyones style of fishing and you have to be very single minded,but hey its what we travel 700+ miles each round trip for!!
Good luck Rob at Monymusk. Wish it was on my way home. Let us know of any success you have. Reckon that you should be on the water from 9:30pm at the moment. As dusk falls you can get really close. Make sure you have some flys tied with a fluorescent yellow post.
Oh yes we do not do any nymph fishing but that is not to say that it would not be successful but generally if there is a big fish out on station feeding (as opposed to tucked under the bank or a weedbed 'resting') and we have seen him rise we will approach with a dry fly
Hope that this helps,
Richard
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Richard thats a very good post :z16. Last year when you posted something similar I took note and have adapted some of yourself and Paul,s tactics. Have had some memorable success so thanks for being so free with the information. One question, how did ye fish Kintore on a sunday and did ye have any joy?
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Noel,
We fished water that was not public :wink. Yes we caught fish. Paul had a 2lb 4oz and a couple of wee ones. I caught a 1lb 8oz fish and lost a larger one which by the feel of it would have been 2lb +.
Richard
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Top night on the river tonight, 1lb, 1lb4oz & 4lb. pics to follow tomorrow :grin
Awesome amount of flies about tonight and the fish were still going daft at 11:40 when I packed up
Ben
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Good stuff Ben, thats a great evening :z16 Olive klink with a pink post by any chance:z4 Now get that fekin camera connected :!
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Richard
Paragnats? Would that be a black emerger with a split tail?
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Noel,
Size 16,Black Superfine body (if you look at them the male has a very skinny body and female is plumper)/Aerowing wingpost/Grizzle or Black hackle parachuted round wingpost. No tail. Make Superfine (or black SLF for a buggier look but doe not really matter)dubbing round thorax(wingpost area) quite pronounced as both male/female are like this. There's tons of them about just now....catch one or two and have a look and you will see for yourself.
Would be interested to know how any of the Forum members fare in the evening now we have the hot weather for a few days. The Trout should acclimatise to teh new weather pattern quite quickly and should be hard at it every night if you get warm days. You guys don't know how lucky you are!! Good Hunting!!
Richard
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I hope to get out tonight for the last hour so hopefully will have some action to report.
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Well just home, didnt go very well im afraid. My vision in poor light is bad (laser eye surgery downside) so couldnt see my fly or control my drift etc. Just was not working out for me tonight :z6
Massive amount of fly life, couldnt identify half of it. Got a glimpse of a huge upright floating by with very bright green wings and a cream/yellow body, never seen one like it before, must have been 11/4 inches long ???
Few fish rising but not much considering the amount of fly.
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Noel,
Well that's changed my mind about Laser Eye Surgery then! Have toyed with the idea of having this done but.........
The upright you saw sounds like a Mayfly-maybe the low angle of the evening sun made the wings appear bright green! Are there areas of slow dubs where you fish that have silt on the bottom?
Better luck next time. It can't always be good (or bad!).
Ben where are those pics of yer big fella??
Richard
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Ben where are those pics of yer big fella??
Richard
Do we really want to see things like this? :shock
:z4 :z4 :z4 :z4
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Will get them up when I get home, went fishing again last night and did not get back until after midnight!!
Cheers
Ben
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Will get them up when I get home, went fishing again last night and did not get back until after midnight!!
Cheers
Ben
Orvis do night vision specs then? :z4
Richard
I was thinking mayfly from the body colour and size and clumsy apperance on the water only I never expected to see 1 on the don. It was just downstream from an area like you mentioned.
-
Eventually, a few pictures. No particular order.
(http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/Ben_D_photos/don1.jpg)
(http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/Ben_D_photos/don4.jpg)
(http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/Ben_D_photos/4lb.jpg)
Big one taken on Thursday
(http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/Ben_D_photos/don2.jpg)
(http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh175/Ben_D_photos/don5.jpg)
One on the woolly bugger!
Cheers
Ben
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Orvis do night vision specs then? :z4
I wish they did Noel, ones that would allow you to spot the location of rising fish after dark. The river has not really kicked off where I have been until after 10PM this week. Last night was tough and the fish were only really on for about 40 mins between about 10:40 & 11:20, struggled until then but managed 4 decent fish in that time nothing huge but I have marked the locations of some nice fish. Some of which will take some serious work to catch, probably be a case of wading into position and waiting until they start to feed as they are in very calm areas of water.
Monymusk on Monday so will post an update then
Cheers
Ben
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Just back from seeing The Damned in Leeds - remember them anyone or am I showing my age? Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible still at the helm!
Ben,you need some serious help with the camera!! It's a nightmare when you are on your own trying to take a pic,especially at night :z8t .
You may find that they will tolerate you wading at that time of night even though the flow is not fast. Not a bad idea if you know where your quarry is to get into position before it all kicks off. I am sure that you have already found that you can approach far closer than you can in daylight.........
Keep up the good work,
Richard
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Hi Richard
I think Ben's photos are fine on his PC, but since he is posting them at a fair bit more than 700 pixels wide max ...... they are not displaying well on the forum :z6
Cheers
Mike
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i might be wrong but im assuming this is the fish caught at monymusk! http://paulprocter.blogspot.com/ :z15
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Yes it is. I never saw it as Paul called me when it was in the net but there was no reception and by the time I saw him next he had returned it otherwise we would have got better photos,
Richard
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Yes it is. I never saw it as Paul called me when it was in the net but there was no reception and by the time I saw him next he had returned it otherwise we would have got better photos,
Richard
that would be the fish of a lifetime for me :z4 don trout are fantastic! :z18
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Mixed fortunes last night. Went down about 8.30, few small yellow uprights about (yellow mays?) and black knats. Had a few small fish on drys then tried a bit of high sticking nymphs in the fast water in amongst the weed beds. Had 1 half lber which I was delighted with as nymphs normally dont work for me. A very enjoyable way to fish.
Changed back to drys about 10 and headed for a spot that I have seen some and caught a few good fish from this year.
There was a good fish rising steadily mid stream as soon as I got to my chosen spot. Must have covered it 20 times resting the spot after every few casts.
Quiet tricky in the darkness as its hard to tell if your flys are in the right spot, drag free and floating!
Exciting stuff though seeing a good fish feeding hard right in front of me.
Well eventually the presentation was acceptable and I had a take, made contact for just long enough to know this was a GOOD fish and gone :cry
So that was the end of that one. Moved on to another favourite spot where I saw a few more decent risers but "oncers".
Stuck at it until nearly midnight but the action seemed to have died by 11.30.
I'll be back :z15
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Hi Noel, how do you get the time? :mad :z4
Just back from seeing The Damned in Leeds - remember them anyone or am I showing my age?
Yes! I bought their single 'Love Song' back in mnmnmnmnmnm..... 1977? yes I was a Punk I'm afraid.
Iain
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Hi Noel, how do you get the time? :mad :z4
quote]
New job so working a lot less hours :grin
For a lot less money :cry
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Good stuff Noel. Not fished much this week but will be out over the weekend and going to fish Monymusk on Monday provided conditions do not deteriorate too much over the weekend. I found the same last week, fish were coming on about 10pm until about half 11.
Cheers
Ben
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hi ben
i was just looking at the photo's you posted. are these typical don browns because only the first one looks like a brown the rest look very much like sea trout to me but never have fished for don browns i'm probably wrong just going by the silvery colour and the square spots.
:z18
brian
p.s. nice fish :z16
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Funny you should mention that Brian , they look like Sea Trout to me :wink
:z18
Jim
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Dont know much about photography and less about sea trout but I think its the flash making them look like that, overexposed?
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Went down for an hour tonight to see if that big fish would come out to play. Right on cue it rose once with a loud splash, this is a BIG fish. Few casts and no joy so rested the spot for a few mins. After seeing a few sippy rises from about the same spot tried again and instant hookup! different fish though of about 3/4 lb.
And that was that. Tune in next week for the next episode :z4
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It is the flash making the fish look that way, most of the pics were taken in low light conditions. Definitely browns as all but the one on the streamer were rising fish and the rises were too refined & resident brown like to have been sea trout! I will try to upload the pics some time soon, I did not get it quite right, all look much better on the PC.
Was out tonight but very little doing, only made a few casts and saw very few flies about. Will be out again tomorrow and fishing Monymusk on Monday so will report anything of note.
I have a lot of nice bug pics from the Don this year that I will upload to a new thread when I get a chance, would be good if we could get some sort of Don bug picture library going on the forum along with a few details of times, dates, locations & conditions. When we get enough detail maybe it could be added to the main site as a resource?
Cheers
Ben
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Hi Ben :z16
Try uploading those photos again using the new forum "tinypic" system ( make sure you use the resize menu ) :wink
Cheers
Mike
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Was out on Sat morning for the first time in ages - to try out the new salmon rod !
Fishing near the top of the beat with a Ness C variant on a floating line, nice weather then the line shoots out, fish on !!!
then off :-(
almost 1st salmon of the year
the put on a monkey and got a brownie of 1.5lb :-)
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anyone got a phone number for the don baliffs ?
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You turning yourself in James :z4
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what beat were you fishing Piker??
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Contacts for don Bailiffs, Don Board and Don Trust:
http://www.riverdon.org.uk/contact_us.asp (http://www.riverdon.org.uk/contact_us.asp)
Dave
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for the last 3 seasons i have fished the don at kintore
i have branched out this year and also fish at Kemnay for a bit of variety ( got a 4lb brownie 1st trip there this year ! )
I was a bit miffed with the spinning mark height last year so was after the water baliff number so i can call him as a lot of people are ignoring the spinning marks !
I have just bought a new salmon rod as i intend to play fair - just wish others would !
I think what they need to do is make some pools OK to spin in, and make others fly only. Or, marker on each pool set at a height appropriate to each pool e.g. the deep ones shoudl have a lower level, the shallow ones a higher level
1st trip out with the new rod on sat morning and lost 1st salmon of the season :mad
however did then get a 1.5 brownie on a monkey :z4
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I was out last night with the spinning rod at Kintore (the water was above the mark!) The water was quite cloudy and there was plenty of salad drifting past. Had a couple of tugs just below the bridge but nothing on the bank. :z15
I was usung varioud lures from Flying 'C's to Rapalas and was just wondering if I was doing anything wrong? ??? Does anyone have any tips for this strech of the river?
Matt
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Hi Matt
sent you an email.....
probably didnt catch owt due to no fish being there ;-)
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Anyone been on the water over the last week? I saw a few salmon moving today below Kintore, hopefully the rain today and last week will have brought in some more tourists.
Cheers
Ben
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i was out last night with the salmon fly rod for a couple of hours and saw absolutely nothing.....
:z8
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Ben, surely you are not starting to like mfishing for tourists!!
Matt, told you before, if you are going down to the river for a tug, go behind a bush or something! ;)
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does anybody know who has the fishing rights on the opposite bank from the Aberdeenshire beat on the Don at Inverurie?
I was fishing on Friday and there were two people acting very odly on the opposite bank. One who had a spinning rod but wasn't actually winding his reel in to start it spinning and the other had a fly rod but was more or less just dropping his line into the water and leaving it there almost like he was dapping but he had too long a line for that. I'm pretty sure they were worming but I wouldn't have thought that was allowed.
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Hi "MDH"
If upstream of the bypass bridge, that would be the Crichie Fishings, a syndicate water run by Ian Muir that used to have a tackle shop in Bridge of Don. The Ian that runs Corby Loch.
Best wishes
Mike
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thanks for that Mike.
Regards
Matt
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Anyone having much sucess recently. Feckers have got quiet fussy and are not impressed with my heavy handed efforts. Loads of fish activity (water was boiling in front of me last night) and some good ones as well but cant seem to get hookups with any consistency. Im thinking very small is probably the way to go ???
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havent been on the Don in a couple of weeks but was out on the Dee at Garthdee last night....Water was alive with trout as the sun dissapeared....managed 3 brownies, biggest being around 1/2lb and 2 small sea trout....(all on a 15' salmon rod mind you :z6)....
Anyone noticed any numbers of salmon / grilse up the river yet? Anything off Inverurie recently?
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first time out in a while tonight and it was quite tough going, fish everywhere though. Managed 8 in total, largest fish just over 2lb. Was taking them on a #18 black spider tied sparse & short on a light wire hook until about 11 then the rises changed so stuck on a small klink and had on that. Dropped a nice fish, again!!
Cheers
Ben
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i had an hour on the don today with my son, we managed 2 sticklebacks with a bandie net! :z4
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havent been on the Don in a couple of weeks but was out on the Dee at Garthdee last night....Water was alive with trout as the sun dissapeared....managed 3 brownies, biggest being around 1/2lb and 2 small sea trout....(all on a 15' salmon rod mind you :z6)....
Anyone noticed any numbers of salmon / grilse up the river yet? Anything off Inverurie recently?
My boss had a 10lb salmon off the opposite bank to the Manar beat about a fortnight ago and told me he'd seen somebody else taking a salmon from the Parkhill beat (I think it was parkhill he said)
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left the office and went straight to kintore last night. Fished from the top end of the beat back towards kintore until it was too dark to see, I'm too chicken to fish in the dark and wade too. Had a few bandies and then a nice brown trout on a sea-trout fly. Didn't see anyhting bigger moving though.
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anybody know what conditions are like on the river? I was thinking of having a wee fish tonight if the weather is favourable?
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Few inches over the marker and brown at Kintore last night.
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Still a bit like cold tea tonight. I had a bash with my new partridge 15ft rod at Kintore. To be honest probably too coloured for the fly but the water was dropping.
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Any reports of salmon off the don recently??
furry boots? size?
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Not seen any near me for a while, trout fishing has been quite good though.
Cheers
Ben
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i saw a grilse coming off kintore on sat....
:z15
unfortunately not to my rod....
then again i was fly fishing and the young lad was spinning. As he was clearly a beginner i thought, fine, just below the mark but hey..they are too high anyway
then all i hear is a squeel and there he is into a fish
just goes to prove my though that spinning is FAR superior to fly....
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i saw a grilse coming off kintore on sat....
:z15
unfortunately not to my rod....
then again i was fly fishing and the young lad was spinning. As he was clearly a beginner i thought, fine, just below the mark but hey..they are too high anyway
then all i hear is a squeel and there he is into a fish
just goes to prove my though that spinning is FAR superior to fly....
much more rewarding on the fly though,sometimes its the challenge that makes it fun!
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A youngster fishing the Don - Now that is a rarity!!
Hopefully the experience has got him hooked on fishing for life.
Perhaps if the council and river board actually encouraged spinning they might attract more youngsters and help save our sport from dying out!
Duncan
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well, when i say he was a youngseter....early 20's ;-)
either way he was clearly a beginner so i didn't get annoyed with him for not fly fishing.
Lets face it - 2 inches below the kintore spinnning mark still means there is a LOT of water !!??!?
But i'll not even go there............
Suffice to say i don't think i shall be re-joining kintore next year
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(http://i26.tinypic.com/2igkspj.jpg)
The grilse have got as far as Strathdon, landed one today 3lb bang on and moved a few more. No response at all until I started stripping Sunrays. Was fishin Semeil fishings below Newe Bridge, lovely water, some nice trout too.
Cheers
Ben
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(http://i26.tinypic.com/2igkspj.jpg)
The grilse have got as far as Strathdon, landed one today 3lb bang on and moved a few more. No response at all until I started stripping Sunrays. Was fishin Semeil fishings below Newe Bridge, lovely water, some nice trout too.
Cheers
Ben
Yea great bit that, Used to spend most of my days fishing there as a kid.
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I thought you had been worming for a second there, just seing a bear hook in the scissors :shock..then I saw the tube... :z7
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Can anyone tell me the water condition today? Wandering if it worth a trip out or not. Thanks