Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Allan Liddle

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #60 on: 04/04/2016 at 16:23 »
Well done guys cracking fish  :z16

Iain Cameron

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #61 on: 06/04/2016 at 09:07 »
hi


I had a quick 90 min session to the river yesterday late afternoon. Some rising trout, even in the coloured (and rising) water. Again, the trout were ignoring the MBs rafting past, and dimpling on small stuff. First fish straightened my hook a little - grrr - was a decent weight/shape, easily an NF+. Oh well, it's a solid hook style that's not let me down before, so swapped it out for another identical hook/pattern.


Next riser was very tricky, tight against bank, under trees, and above a riffle breaking over a rock. Came in at about 1lb plus, but satisfyingly tricky. Followed soon after by a splashy/messy riser that I underestimated... he again took ages (and one fly up a tree and subsequent change of leader) to cover cleanly - lots of side casting until I said "sod it" and gambled with an overhead cast between two branches.... neat take, solid pull, and this lump of 3lb came to the net:





Was happy after that, especially as I had been balanced on a rock and couldn't see into the water around and didn't know if I could move safely, so I had to guide him to the net sloooowly.


Moved up, and just above a wee tuft of grass/weed, a fish was gently dimpling. Again, tricky casting directly upstream, with boulders and branches in the water. Sod's law, I got the flee stuck in the tuft of grass. THought I'd blown it, so not very quietly splashed up and removed the fly from the debris it was stuck in. 2 seconds later, and 2 feet away upstream, he dimpled again. Game still on, he succumbed eventually and came to the net at a pleasinly large 2.5lb - those small near bank dimples can be surprising!




Echoing what others have said - the trout don't seem interested in MBs at all. strange
 

Sandy Nelson

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #62 on: 06/04/2016 at 09:20 »
those small near bank dimples can be surprising!

Thats a fact :z16

Sounds like a great couple of hours :z18

Sandy Nelson

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #63 on: 06/04/2016 at 19:35 »
So having pre-booked some leave this week and finding myself Bored by 11am i decided to go out regardless.

Another weird kinda day, i have transversed 3 different beats and travelled between them by car in search for some rising fish.
Maybe about 5 miles on foot today, but finding the fish was tough.

Plenty LDO's and MBs hatching all afternoon so i eventually went and sat at a spot i know should have some fish and after yesterdays lesson on the Deveron about finding the fish on shallower water when its coloured, it seemed like a good spot to sit.

Well April showers is the best description of the late afternoon, it bucketed down and i started to think i may be perhaps starting to suffer from some sort of personality disorder. Why i could take such pleasure from sitting in the grass beside a brown river with a dryfly rod whilst getting drenched, when i could be at work........  ahhhhhhhh ... quite normal then :z7

Well after Staring at the water for about 20 mins, it beats goats... i saw a fish take a fly, and then another.......



Fooled by yesterdays deadly Plume tip dun. 12" and felt like a real achievement :z3

over the next hour i saw another 4 fish rise, one out of reach the other 3 were between 9 and 10" and all liked the fly.

About 4.30 the hatch of March Browns seemed to increase and they began to appear regularly, as we have noted the fish did not seem to be interested, but i was, so spent a while catching a few.



This hatch seemed to be  steady flow right through till 6pm, about 5pm i looked at the queue of traffic and thought, i'm not at work why should i join them...... So i kept wandering about.

5.15 and there was nice rise halfway across the river and then another a bit closer, it appeared to be taking the MB's so i chucked the Olive Dun at him as you do... First drift and Bumfff.................... 10 mins later.........



My first TF from the Don for 2016, not a monster but 3.25lb on the net and 20" against the rod
most of my pictures give too much away :wink but the fish was in great condition.





My late grandad taught me to fly fish and sometimes i feel him with me when i'm out, today had that feel and despite his fun sense of humour i think he persuaded me to keep walking when common sense said jump in the car. A big bit of luck helps but i'd like to think that somewhere the old man is having a Nip to celebrate a nice fish against the odds :z18

Sandy



Liam Stephen

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #64 on: 06/04/2016 at 22:34 »
Great report and ace pictures as always Sandy  :z16

Glad the rain didn't put them off, someone told me fish don't like getting wet!?  :z4 :z7

 :z18

Rob Brownfield

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #65 on: 07/04/2016 at 08:58 »
Another Pike for me!!!!

I could cry with laughter sometimes...

Did not see a single rise, water was lapping the top of the bank and was coloured.

Eddie Sinclair

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #66 on: 07/04/2016 at 09:00 »
Another Pike for me!!!!

Rob,

#you really need to stop trout fishing with dead baits.

Eddie. :X2

Rob Brownfield

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #67 on: 07/04/2016 at 09:08 »


Not deadbaits, a foot long live Brownie under a big float, trotted through the pool! ;)

This one took a small "Sex Dungeon"...I love Kelly Galloups naming of flies :)
Its strange, last year I was getting lots of hits to streamers (hits, not fish :( ) this time of year, at the moment, I am not getting anything at all.


Iain Cameron

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #68 on: 07/04/2016 at 09:29 »


Quote from: Rob on Today at 08:58:06
Another Pike for me!!!!

Pike magnet. Except when you're fishing for 'em...



Rob Brownfield

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #69 on: 08/04/2016 at 08:19 »
I have decided that all the flooding has washed the trout down to Iain and he has netted off a section of river and is fishing in a "barrel" :)

Still no fish rising further up river, despite sitting and watching for hours.

Scott Cumming

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #70 on: 09/04/2016 at 00:29 »
I had the day off Friday so the kids and I headed down to the river around 11ish.

Conditions were better than they had been earlier in week. The water still had a good bit of colour but I was quietly confident of some surface activity.

I messed around with nymphs for the first couple of hours which only produced one lb+ fish :z8

After 2pm there was a flurry of olives and a few smaller trout started to show. After picking one off on the dry I got a shout from Lewis downstream who spotted a fish mid-river. I went to investigate, although that fish never showed again i did spot another feeding tight against the opposite bank. He looked a respectable 2lb/+ fish (I was well out with that guesstimate). With a long line out the fish lunged at my fly on the second pass but I lifted too quick :X1 I changed position for a better angle and waited, he was soon on the feed again, confidently picking off every olive that came his way including my emerger- bingo, I was in :z16 He bolted down stream, stopped then leaped 5ft in the air, it soon became apparent the fish was probably 3 x the weight of my initial estimate  :shock :X2 After a hard battle we eventually got this sturdy fish to the net, cheers mate :wink

My first Don Stonker of 2016 - those far bank rises can be deceiving :wink



The trout was in great condition, a solid lump.

 :z18
Scott

Liam Stephen

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #71 on: 09/04/2016 at 00:32 »
Dude that fish is stunning! What a beezer  :z16


Sandy Nelson

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #72 on: 09/04/2016 at 06:54 »
Ditto :z14

Steven Sinclair

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #73 on: 09/04/2016 at 10:24 »
Sweet jesus, that's an absolute screamer!

Congrats!

Steven.

Jeff Donovan

Re: River Don 2016
« Reply #74 on: 09/04/2016 at 10:41 »
What an absolute belter!  :z16 Well done that man.  :z14

 




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