[indieangler]

Hi guys, indieangler here again. I'm looking at FishPal (looks like a neat service, not sure if you guys care for it or not) and I'm considering booking a day on the Castle Forbes beat while I'm on the Don this week. If you've followed any of my other posts, you'll understand that fishing beats and river sections is a new concept to me. My wife doesn't fish but she comes along with the camera to get good shots of our trips. Can she safely tag along, with no fishing gear, just her camera, without having to buy a day ticket for the beat just to enjoy the river? I just thought I'd double check before booking as I don't want to cross any funny etiquette lines here. Thanks!

[Barry Robertson]

Its only the person fishing that requires the permit and iam sure there will be no problem of your wife coming along with you to take some photos of the monster trout you will be catching 

[Richard Tong]

Hi Indieangler,

Yes that would be no problem. The Estate office is closed on a Saturday I think so you may have to phone Monday. Would suggest Beat 4 as parking is easier and if she gets bored the car should be within easy reach...there is some very nice water there and it is a good beat.Like anywhere on the Don there are big fish present,the trick is to be there at the right time when they are feeding. Expect one good day out of four and you will be doing well. Any better than this and you have struck lucky! Many anglers read about the big fish and come up with  high expectations only to go away despondant to try easier waters. Persevere and keep your eyes open and you should reap the rewards.......eventually!!

I have 2 mates up at the moment and they have been struggling around Monymusk (the beat downstream) and the cold Northerly has kept the hatches sparse-they have had a few but not much and one of them lost an estimated 4lb + fish on Thursday. I believe further downstream some nice fish have come out and the fishing/hatches maybe more consistent. There are other guys on the forum with plenty more Don experience than I and they will be able to advise on the stretches below Monymusk as I have never fished these but hope to rectify that sometime this Spring!

Looks better conditions for next week with a more Westerly/Southerly breeze however so things could improve.........

Richard

[paavo]

Hi Indieangler,
A late welcome to the forum. 
We might se some trout pics. then?

//Harri

[indieangler]

Even if I catch nothing, I'll still take the time to Photoshop myself with some monster browns, so yes, there will be pictures! =) j/k

Thanks for all of the information, I'm very excited about seeing the Don. While I'd love to land a few big brownies, I'm perfectly happy if anything is biting and catching smaller-medium sized fish all day. I haven't been out on a real river in over two years so I'm more excited about just being in the river and enjoying the hopefully sunny weather.