Description
The River Don in Aberdeenshire is the 6th largest river in Scotland. It is without doubt one of Scotland’s and the UK’s best wild trout rivers. In particular, the Don has clean, well oxygenated water, and abundant insect life throughout the system. As a result, wild brown trout thrive in the Don.
Best tactics for trout fishing the River Don
Firstly trout on the Don are wild and therefore not always easy to catch. In the same vein, trout are abundant throughout the river, but will soon disappear into hiding spots, for careless anglers. Here are the methods that catch fish on the River Don:
Dry fly
Dry fly fishing is the best way to catch trout on the Don. In particular the spring, autumn and summer evening enjoy prolific hatches, and the sport can be epic.
Nymphing and Euronymphing
Alternatively nymphing is an effective method, when the trout are not rising. Moreover, the Don has a lot of riffles, deep glides, and pocket water, and presenting a nymph into these tight spots can be deadly. We use a range of quality Euronymphing rods including the Sage ESN
Swinging soft hackled spiders (wets)
Undoubtedly my favourite method of fishing the Don is with traditional spider patterns. In particular, CDC spiders and North Country style patterns. These can be dead drifted,, swung or (after a false cast) fished as a crippled dry.
Trout fishing with streamers
Lastly, streamer fishing can be very effective, especially for bigger, predatory fish. Inevitably, during the spring smelt run, big trout are on the hunt and we have had some large fish using this tactic. Likewise at other times of year, Martins Minnow pattern and other minnow and stickleback imitations work well.
The Natural flies of the River Don – when do they hatch?
In the early season, March Browns appear and usually in the warmest part of the day. Trout often ignore them initially, and then switch on to them, sipping them down with confidence. These are big flies and size 10 and 12 are the best.
Large Dark Olives hatch from March to October and as the season progresses seem to reduce in size. In fact the LDO’s on the Don are some of the biggest Ive seen, and size 10 is a good early season pattern to go for.
Olive uprights are spotted on streamier water on the Don, and appear from April to June. In particular, big trout love these flies. Likewise the best sizes are from sized 10 to 16.
The Iron Blue Dun is one of the smallest uprights. Surprisingly they can hatch in the worst weather conditions. Likewise you should aim for sized 14 .
In addition the Yellow May dun, can be highly effective. We have found the f-wing pattern gets taken more confidently, as the duns tend to flutter on and off the water.
Large Brook Duns appear late May and June. Equally, these naturals look similar to a March Brown, and its thought trout might take them as a conditioned response to feeding on March Browns earlier in the season.
Notably, Blue Winged Olives make an appearance from June to September. Inevitably, this is another favourite on the trouts diet.
Lastly, you can also expect hatches of Mayfly, Late Green Dun, Caenis, Alder fly, Hawthorn, Sedge and Small Dark Olives
What flies work on the the River Don
Similarly, imitations of all the patterns in the paragraph above are highly effective. In addition, because the Don runs through farmland, terrestrial flies work well too.
Best accommodation and hotels near the River Don
Undoubtedly the best hotel to stay in when fishing the River Don is the Kildrummy Inn. In addition, the Fife Arms is approximately 45 minutes drive.
Common mistakes when fishing this and any river in Scotland for trout
Stealth when wading
To begin with, your approach to fishing the Don, starts with your mindset. In the same way an SAS/ Navy seal creeps up on his enemy, you should do likewise with these trout. Stealth is the key. Likewise, only wade when necessary, and when you do wade, go gently and slowly to avoid creating disturbance. Lastly, when moving your feet, avoid making too much noise. This disturbs the river bed, and spooks fish.
Cast with care
Naturally we all screw up casts. By the same token, a gust of wind can alter the direction of your fly presentation. If either happens, let the fly drift well downstream of the fish prior to lifting off and recasting. Equally, cast gently and start short and work long to the target. Lining a fish is a common fault, in that you cast too far, and put fly line over the fish, spooking it. We use 6ft custom furled leader by Edenmade, and these soften down presentation.
Degrease the last foot of tippet when fishing dries
Surprisingly many anglers neglect to consider what tippet looks like t the trout in its window of view. Notably tippet is more visible when it sits on the meniscus. Degreasing the last foot or so of tippet is something all serious dry fly anglers do.
Does the River Don hold big trout?
Firstly, the don holds a good stock of trout in the half pound to one and a half pound rage. In addition there are many good fish between 2 and 4 pounds, and on many occasions bigger specimens have been caught.
When is the trout fishing season?
The River Don trout season starts on March 15th and finishes October 6th. There are variations to this on selected beats. Some open on April 1st and close end of September.
