River Don

[donangler]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum and totally new to salmon fishing but this upcoming season i think its time i started. I live in Inverurie so will be fishing the Don and the Urie. Does anyone have any tips to help me get started, flies, salomn lies ect..

Thanks, Jay

[Sloggi]

Hi Jay,

I new to the Forum too, but welcome anyway

The Forum is really informative, up-to-date, and there are many here worth listening to - you can decide on wether or not you want to listen to me in your own time

I fish the Dee and Don. Where will you fish on the Don?

[donangler]

Probably the Inverurie Beat and maybe somtimes Manar.

[tyneandrew]

Home of the stoats tail and silver stoats tail from my experiences, especially for summer fishing.

Is there not a fairly decent tackle shop in Inverurie if i recall? They may be a good source of advise.

[donangler]

Yeah

Sloans of Inverurie. I work there but most of the other people that work there either fish the Deveron or a syndicate beat up Kemnay ways.

Jay

[tyneandrew]

Sloans - thats the one!

[kercock]

Welcome, you may even get some good help now that the name of the shop has been sorted out ! !

[Sloggi]

Good luck on the Inverurie beat - you'll need it. My fishing partner tells me Manar is a good beat - I've never fished it - and I've fished Fetternear which is the next beat upstream which is really nice water and was full of big, brown kippers last October except for one fresh fish which, naturally, he caught One was so coloured he refused to land it for me I'd guess it will hold fish in the spring before they reach Monymusk. It's quiet, reasonably cheap, and beautifully scenic.

[donangler]

So would you recomend fishing Manar or Fetternear to start off with and then i've got a better chance?

Jay

[Sloggi]

I've never fished Manar. My fishing partner fishes Moneymusk in April so I'd go to either Fetternear or Manar through March.

I've just joined the ADAA so it will be interesting to see how their beats fish early in the season.

I'll be interested to hear how you get on.

[greenalert]

Hi Jay

I had a season ticket on Fetternear last season in what was my second really full season of salmon fishing

Nothing caught but I did lose 3 fish, due to inexperience I suppose
so there are fish there

As Sloggi says, some nice bits of water, very quiet & very few people going about, great place to practice your casting unlike some beats on the Dee we were on last year, where you got some funny looks from "gentlemen" on the other bank who could plainly see we were novices and were obviously making disparaging comments on our casting skills to their colleagues
However everyone is a novice at the beginning, they probably forgot that

You could also try the Deveron, some lovely beats up there & very reasonable throughout the season
Contact Frank at Turriff Tackle for details

The contact for Fetternear is Richard Fyffe, Tel: [phone]
The price for a season permit is £345 + VAT or £25 + VAT per day

Hope this helps

Cheers

Graeme

[donangler]

Thanks for that, Fetternear sounds good, i need all the peace and quiet i can get so nobody comes and see's me hooked up to the tree behind.

Jay

[greenalert]

Don't worry about that Jay, I certainly don't anymore

Remember everyone has been there

Cheers


Graeme

[donangler]

One of my work mates is going to teach me to spey cast so if i don't get it right i can blame him. ;D but I'm wondering about goin to Ian Gordan at the Spey for lessons

Jay

[williegunn]

donangler said:

I'm wondering about goin to Ian Gordan at the Spey for lessons

Jay

You won't spend your money any better.

[leo]

I had a lesson with Ian in the summer and it was really helpful. He was very good at explaining the principles behind the speycast and helping me put them into practice. My casting greatly improved as a result.

[say]

Sloggi,

I tried to link your last post on this thread, but failed miserably

The ADAA waters at Kemany are opposite Fetternear and fish from mid March onwards. I think the Fetternear beat runs further downstream than the ADAA water.

[Sloggi]

say said:

Sloggi,

I tried to link your last post on this thread, but failed miserably

The ADAA waters at Kemany are opposite Fetternear and fish from mid March onwards. I think the Fetternear beat runs further downstream than the ADAA water.

I thought the ADAA beat was just up river from Fetternear - do they actually share the same pools at the top of the Fetternear beat? The Fetternear water runs down to the Manar beat.

Thanks for that

[greenalert]

As far as I am aware the ADDA water ends at the big house at the beginning of the Mill Pool

[say]

Sloggi,
The beat starts at the bridge and goes downstream for approx 1 1/2 miles. The bridge pool and the upper and lower chapel pools seem to fish best for salmon. The pools in the middle are the best for brownies. Well that's my experience of this beat.

Greenalert,
I believe the fast water at the end of the ADAA beat leads into the Mill Pool, which I have been told is a cracking pool.