Monday 29 June 2015

Against the Run of Play

Visited the little stream where I have spent most of my time this year last night. Although it was bright and the river looked in good nick I was frustrated, as I have been on many occasions this year (See Wharfe post to follow) with a very strong, blustery downstream wind. 

A few flies were in evidence including a few mayflies still and some largish sedges that I couldn't get close enough to have a good look at. I also saw quite a number of spiders coming downstream that were being blown onto the water by the strong wind. I saw one fish rising in the first run but despite my best efforts I could not get a fly in the right place. I managed to get one half decent drift and the fish swirled at the fly (A Moser Caddis) but I didn't connect. A second fish looked at the fly further up the run but thought better of it.

I didn't get any further rises for some time and was getting really frustrated with the wind. Being blustery I couldn't easily compensate for it and the river is getting quite overgrown now. Having lost several flies in the undergrowth I became quite frustrated *understatement* (insert suitable cursing here). I took a drinks break and a few deep breaths and continued and shortly after was rewarded with a small trout. Many of the usual spots were not producing though and I think that was more down to presentation than the fish being absent or unwilling to feed.

I continued on and came to the next good run. This short section (30 yards or so) has produced 5 or 6 fish in a single session before as you can usually pick them off one by one as you move up provided you don't allow them to run upstream. It's quite narrow here with a lot of overhanging foliage at this time of year and casts were going off target again. I missed a small fish I neared the top of the run and thought I'd missed my only chance. By this time I'd switched to a CDC and Elk as I'd put most of my Moser Caddis in various bankside flora. I put a cast in on the edge of the main flow and no sooner had it landed than the water erupted and a fish was on.

It bore down into the undercut. Putting some pressure on I managed to get it out but then I had a hard time keeping tension in the line as it shot downstream past me and again went for the undercut. Somewhere along the way it picked up a large bunch of blanket weed which weighed heavily on the line. The line was also doing a right angle where it had caught up on some vegetation. I had to wade backwards upstream so I could make room to get the right angle on the rod to coax it out, at which point it went for the undercut the other side putting me in a similar predicament. I guess that's one of the challenges of hooking a large fish on a river not more than a couple of metres wide. I finally managed to get the fish into the middle of the river and cautiously put the net under it. I half expected the hook to straighten or the line to snap such was the combined weight of fish and weed on the line but it mercifully held.

I measured the fish at between 18 and 19" which makes it the longest fish I have caught this year.




And with that the frustration melted away and I had a smile on my face again. It was only just after 8 but I decided that I wasn't going to top that and headed home happy.

Friday 5 June 2015

Another good fish

This little stream keeps producing the goods. This is the third 17" plus fish it has produced for me this season and I know it has produced a couple of bigger ones for Ben too. Not bad for a stream that in many places is just a couple of metres across. Very lucky to have such great fishing so close.



Again a big fish in a tricky spot. I spotted this one rising under this low hanging tree.



A deep pool proving impossible to wade and a horse chestnut tree behind meant the best approach was to creep in behind the nettles on the right and do a bow and arrow cast. The fish took my mohican mayfly second drift.