Friday 26 August 2011

August, Summer: Hot sunny days & warm, balmy evenings..? No way!

Having just spent a week flitting between Cumbria and Yorkshire, I can definitely confirm that 'warm, balmy evening' were non existant. Not that it stopped me from exploring a few rivers, but perhaps it limited the chances of finding decent insect hatches and frenetically feeding fish.

My first casts were made on the Hebden Water, a tributory of the River Calder. This fast flowing, boulder strewn and over-grown stream is a challenging environment for the trout.

The Hebden Valley: mist tracks its path through the woodland:



Small dry flies fished on a short line was the order of the day. Fast short drifts allowed all the likely pockets and riffles to be explored:


Small trout were in abundance, willing to snatch the offerings. Dry flies pitched in the slack water behind the boulders were met with instant results from small trout. What they lack in size was made up for by their impressive, caramel coloured flanks:


~Dave

1 comment:

Phillip said...

They don't have to be big, if they've got fins they're worth catching. Beautiful stream, and lovely fish.