River Don 2026

Duncan McRae · 10/04/2026 at 21:36

Out on the river again this afternoon.

My 10ft Sharpes cane rod was back in action following a repair to a damaged ferrule.
Left the rod with Frank at the Turriff fishing tackle shop who as always ,provided first class service.

Arrived at the water expecting an afternoon of sport on such a fine day.
However,almost two hours later i had one undersize trout to show for my efforts and hadn't seen a single rising trout.

Decided to fish one last pool and my luck changed.
Took two good trout one after another out of the blue.
Both trout measured 18" and were in good condition.

Duncan

Ivor Duffus · 11/04/2026 at 10:24

Braw Trout Duncan.

Was out myself. It was hard going until 14:45 when the odd fly started drifting past and the odd trout was taking them. Looked like large March browns but they were too few to grab one for a look.

A nasty cold wind probably not helping.

Ivor

Keith Potter · 11/04/2026 at 19:23

Was gifted a day on Monymusk beat today for my birthday. Not much happening but a few flies started appearing about 1400 as the sun made a brief appearance. Wasn't too much fishing done but lots of sitting relaxing and switching off after a few hectic months.

Not a bad place to spend a few hours with the red kites flying about and even an osprey making an appearance.

Keith Potter · 17/04/2026 at 20:02

So had a few spares hours on the river this evening while the Mrs done some shopping and it wasn't a wasted wander along the banks.Few rises when the sun came out and there was some warmth in the air. First for this year and first from the Don for me.

Paul Adderton · 19/04/2026 at 07:55

Quote from: Duncan McRae on 03/03/2026 at 20:01Made a fleeting visit to the ADAA's new beat at Bithnie to figure out parking and access points.
A really beautiful beat surrounded by hills.

Doesn't look like it has been fished for a while and fishing from the bank will be challenging due to the numerous bankside trees.
However ,most of the water looks quite shallow so wading should be easy enough.

Duncan

The beat lies both up and downstream of Bithnie bridge and has Littlewood on the North bank.

The beat will be available to ADAA members on 1st May. As you quite rightly state the beat has had very little work done to the banks over the years. However, the ADAA has undertook quite significant beat improvements prior to the beat being made available even though the sale has yet to conclude. I am sure you will enjoy the fishing it has to offer.

Mike Barrio · 19/04/2026 at 10:53

Quote from: Paul Adderton on 19/04/2026 at 07:55The beat lies both up and downstream of Bithnie bridge and has Littlewood on the North bank.

The beat will be available to ADAA members on 1st May. As you quite rightly state the beat has had very little work done to the banks over the years. However, the ADAA has undertook quite significant beat improvements prior to the beat being made available even though the sale has yet to conclude. I am sure you will enjoy the fishing it has to offer.

Thanks for the update Paul

Will there be day tickets available to non members?

Cheers
Mike

Paul Adderton · 19/04/2026 at 11:18

Unfortunately no Mike though this may change in time, at present it will be for members only. That said I am sure you are aware that the Association has many of its Don beats available for visitors. I note from site members that some beats are charging £40 for a days trout fishing somewhat excessive when membership of the ADAA at a little more than 8 days at that price gives you fishing for the entire season on all its beats plus the opportunity to use exchange permits on a number of other rivers and highland lochs.

Mike Barrio · 19/04/2026 at 11:29

Thanks Paul, another box that I'd like to tick if that changes in the future ....... one of many

Cheers
Mike

Frederic Pistone · 20/05/2026 at 09:44

Hello and many thanks from a couple of tourists visiting the River Don from the south of France.

We were lucky enough to fish this magnificent river for four days last week, on the Alford, Tilliefoure and Monymusk stretches, and the information on this website and forum proved very useful to us.

The weather wasn't very kind, with two days of fairly strong wind in particular, but we found a few sheltered spots where the fish were active in the early afternoon, taking dry flies and small sedge nymphs.
In terms of results, here are the flies that worked: H14 dark olive CDC double-winged flies in the calm sections, CDC and parachute flies in the currents. The trout weren't very fussy / selectiv on the surface. However, below the surface, they only took light-coloured nymphs, perhaps because of the granoms pupes.

We'll be happy to come back next year, or perhaps at the end of summer,
Fred et Maika

Mike Barrio · 20/05/2026 at 10:11

Hi Fred, welcome to the forum

Cheers
Mike

Ivor Duffus · 21/05/2026 at 20:18

High Frederick

If you decide to return this year or next I would certainly recommend having a day at Littlewood above Alford. It's around 6 kilometres long and the banks are well maintained and very nice fly water.

Also Castle Forbes which is best booked directly from the estate office and costs around £30 for trout only. Banks are not maintained and can be tricky. But it's excellent fly water and worth the effort with Beats 1 and 5 below the bridge perhaps the best although it's all good water as long as the water level isn't too low. Just ask the estate if you can move around the beats and it should not be a problem.

Ivor

Frederic Pistone · 23/05/2026 at 12:48

Thanks, Mike, for the warm welcome, and a big thanks to Ivor for the recommendations—I'll definitely keep them in mind for next time.
Speaking of Littlewood, I can't find that name on Fishpal. The web site only mentions Cottown, Semail Farm, and Breda. Does Littlewood correspond to one of those?
Thanks a lot,
Fred

Dave Robb · 23/05/2026 at 13:59

https://www.fishpal.com/scotland/don/littlewood/

Not available just now for some reason but available from June.

Frederic Pistone · 23/05/2026 at 18:56

Yes, that's right.
Thank you very much for the link; I see where I went wrong. I must have had a filter set for availability in May without realizing it.

Dave Robb · 23/05/2026 at 22:57

It's a good beat with, for me, one of the best pools on the Don. But Parking is spaced out so be prepared to walk to get to where you want to be. The banks are accessible it's just getting to them that is the issue.

Frederic Pistone · 29/05/2026 at 12:18

I miss the trout in the Don, and I'm wondering whether I should go back and try my luck with them in September. Is that a good time of year? Any recommendations would be very welcome. Thanks a lot !

Sandy Nelson · 30/05/2026 at 08:41

Hi Frederic

September can be a good month for dryfly fishing, with good hatches of LDOs and sometimes BWO's as well as autumn duns. It can be hit and miss with the weather however. There often seems to be an early run of trout that spawn early September and they can be quite slim and very hungry later in the month, although most fish you will find will be beautifully coloured and fighting fit.

Sandy Nelson · 30/05/2026 at 08:55

Other than the occasional video of particularly pretty fish I haven't really taken any photos of fish this year, unless someone else did it for me. So haven't been posting much.

It was a slow start for dries as most people have found but the fish that have been spotted and landed have all been in great condition.
I have found the river to be a lot like I remember from the late 80's when as a teenager I cut my teeth on the Don risers . Lots of fish in the 10-16" class with a few 18-20" fish and so far only a couple that made it past the hallowed 20" barrier. I have pretty much stuck to the dries as I'm finding I get a 4-5hr dryfly session with plenty sitting enjoying the day, however if I try nymphing I'm knackered after an hour and streamers it's about 15mins. So I'm just enjoying being by the river

even more so than before.
I've made some new friends this year and although the upper river has been particularly difficult, returning to old haunts on the mid river has brought me some lovely sessions.

Looking forward to some nice evenings and mornings as we ease into summer time hatches.

Mike Barrio · 30/05/2026 at 10:41

Great stuff Sandy

At the end of the day "just enjoying being by the river" is pretty much what it's all about for me too!

Just need to find the right one down here .....

Michael Kearney · 05/06/2026 at 00:42

Glad to read you are enjoying your fishing, Sandy.
If back in early April I had been offered the opportunity to spend the following three months enjoying time spent by a river while making new friends and catching trout on dries including a couple over 20 inches I would have accepted without hesitation. I choose to fish for trout in rivers that run through country where just sitting and watching are the reasons to be there.
When half-a-world away from the Don on a lovely day in mid-March I arrived at this bank

there was little activity at the surface. After a while spent watching birdlife the breeze dropped-out and across a long flat pool many fish began to rise. Female spinners were returning to the river to deposit their eggs. Trout relish feeding on spinners. Casting a size 18 red spinner imitation to feeding fish in calm conditions was glorious. If I had passed-up the opportunity to sit on a lovely bank and had wandered further upstream I may have missed out memorable fishing.