Friday 29 April 2011
Monday 25 April 2011
Easter Sunday evening, on the Wellow:
Vince makes a cast into some deeper water.
Eventually, a fish fooled by the size 18 tungsten PTN, comes to hand:
A fighting fit, wild brown trout:
Fishing the River Chew this morning for just an hour or so, it was a slightly different story. Although there were only a few fish willing to rise, they were clearly feeding well and the duo worked its magic again, finding fish in all the likely looking haunts.
A good, solid lump that was eager to take me into all the roots ~ a healthy bend in a #1 rod...
Another beatifully marked fish, this time falling for the dry fly:
The tungsten PTN was working well, getting down the to fish quickly:
Another fish on the dry fly, this time an example with a paddle like tail:
Friday 22 April 2011
Nick takes a fish as darkness begins to fall, and the fish grew in confidence:
Another well marked wild fish for Nick:
A small fish for me to an emerger:
Nick casts into a likely looking run. Incredibly, many of the typical spots seemed devoid of fish; the brighter conditions forcing them to seek sanctuary in the deeper pools:
Peter Anderson makes a great cast into a bubbling pool:
Friday 15 April 2011
An emerger-style was required to convert the missed takes into successful hook-ups: Plenty of slack was required in the leader to prevent drag. Any hint of unnatural movement in the fly rendered it ignored. Progressing up the stream, I reached faster, streamier water. With so many fish moving to naturals, it was difficult to see takes to my fly, especially amongst the foam lines - and the fly need to be in them to be accepted. So it was a switch to a Hi-Vis balloon caddis (pink sighter) and this continued to bring the fish up:
It is encouraging to see plenty of flies hatching and the fish responding. We are being treated to some decent weather at the moment, and with fish hungry after a cold winter, we are being treated to some really enjoyable sport.
~Dave
Thursday 14 April 2011
Good luck Paul - I am looking forward to the pictures of the fish on your return!
The rain and colder weather clearly hadn't put the fish off too much. Whilst practising, there were fish rising throughout the pool. If darkness hadn't crept up so quickly I'd have slipped back to make the most of the evening rises.
~Dave
Wednesday 13 April 2011
I had decided to make the most of travelling up to Hertfordshire and found myself fishing the tiny chalkstream, the River Ver:
A tricky head wind made presentation tricky at times. The secret was to take your time with these fish, watching them carefully and slowly gettying into position before making the first casts. After a few spooked trout left a plume of silt, I eventually found a fish holding mide stream, quatering and picking off nymphs as the trundled past. The occasional rise gave hope for a little dry fly sport, but nymphs seemed to the best bet for success. A small shrimp pattern pitched well ahead of the fish seemed to do the trick. Watching the fish turn to take the nymph meant timing the lift perfectly was essential.
Whilst many of the fish were palm sized, careful stalking and peering into the darker pools found a much larger specimen, easily pushing 2 pounds. Indeed, on closer inspection, its bigger cousin was holding in the flow next to it. Tackling these larger fish in such small rivers is never easy, especially as they are easily disturbed.
Nothing there?:
Holding mid flow was a prize brown trout:
A V Caddis pitched above and allowed to sink so it drew past the fish provoked immediate interest. The fish twisted to the side an picked up the bug. At first it kited downstream, seemingly a little unsure that it was hooked. But a sudden darting upstream left my reel singing, a cloud of spray and then all wetn slack as the superb fish parted company. I guess you can't win them all.
Thanks to the Hertfordshire FDG. I will be back to tackle this stream again.
~Dave
Sunday 10 April 2011
Making my way up the stream, there were plenty of rishing fish and it wasn't long before the first trout can bouncing to the net.
Some big cased caddis: Finishing the morning with a better fish: