Don - Reports

River Update 15^th August

Midway through the month and salmon catches remain low across many beats, still no head of grilse has appeared off the coast and I’m now beginning to doubt if they will arrive in any numbers as we witnessed last season. The bulk of the fish being landed remains summer salmon and older spring residents which have started to come back on the take with the cooling water temperatures. Fish up to 18lbs were reported landed last week with several others returned in the mid-teens. The middle and upper beats are starting to see and catch an odd fish again, Semeil, Littlewood and Bandley having success, but the pick of the sport remains from Kemnay downstream to the tidal reaches where there is still the chance of a fresh fish appearing off the tides. Angling pressure is currently low across the river but will as always pick up as we enter the last couple of months of the season. More fish are landed in October than any other month and there is still the possibility of hooking into a large back-end fish that the Don was well renowned for. The odd fresh sea trout is still appearing but the majority of those landed are now coloured up.  River levels remain on the low side but still enough for grilse to run as fresh fish were landed at Kintore last week.

It’s always good to receive any news, catches or photos from your visit to the river, please forward anything of interest onto [email protected]  

Tight lines,

Martin Webster  

Helpful Information

Tackle Shops and Outfitters nearby.

Guides and Instructions on the river Don.

Where To Stay on the Don and the surrounding countryside. 

Where To Eat on the river Don.

Fishing Permits for the Don and its tributaries

If you would like to share any interesting stories or pictures from your time fishing on the River Don for the purposes of this report, please feel free to contact us, via email  [email protected]

Martin Webster 

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