Dozens of people gathered in Inverurie to mark the official opening of the River Don salmon season.
Between 30 and 40 people followed a piper in a procession which started at the Kintore Arms on Saturday.
This year’s event, which featured a piper, was a sombre occasion, coming just weeks after floods devastated large parts of Aberdeenshire.
Provost Hamish Vernal was in attendance and paid tribute to the Inverurie community’s resilience during the worst of the weather.
Mr Vernal added that he was sure the native fish would show the same hardiness.
Stuart Watson, a local poet and historian, also gave a short speech.
And Raymond Bissett OBE, who served the area as a councillor, read a short poem.
Members of the Inverurie Angling Association were also present, including president Steven Corsar, who is a gold medallist international fly angler.
The first line was cast by Ralph Green, the organisation’s press spokesman.
He said: “We are certainly hoping it will be a good season.
“The floods will have devastated the young fish, the red salmon and trout, but the river is a remarkable thing and it soon makes up for it.
“The one positive of the floods is they cleared out the river which was much-needed.
“The mouth of the river was becoming choked, there was a big problem with a sand bar that had formed and it was narrowing the channel of the Don – it was becoming more and more difficult for the fish to get in.
“The massive surge of water has removed the sand bar and opened the estuary which is tremendous for the salmon and the sea trout.
“We couldn’t have done that ourselves, but Mother Nature just swept it away.”