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| New outfit! |
Throughout my life, I have always had a fascination for peering into the local chalkstreams in and around my hometown. The species that I have sighted the most over these years is the plentiful brown trout that inhabit my local river. Many will agree that the brown trout is the most sought-after chalkstream opponent in the UK, due to its suspicious nature and to catch one requiring stealth and tactics that are refined in order to outwit them.
Due to being engrossed in intensive revision this time last year, I have certainly been keen to get out and learn more about the exciting art of fly fishing this season. I started off by purchasing plenty of patterns from traditional nymphs, to perfect early season dry flies in the event of some fish 'looking up'. Another exciting purchase has been a pair of chest waders for getting to some of those more restricted areas and for ease of presentation. With the help of the staff in Stockbridge's Robjents, I was able to acquire a very nice pair. The service in this shop has always been exceptional and it is always a joy to stock up there. On my first few trips, one of which was with my friend Chris, I had some lovely sport on some idyllic little streams catching some exquisite wild brownies. Even though the fish were small for many people's standards, there is a charm about going somewhere secluded and scenic and watching a dry fly gliding with the current before being intercepted.
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| What a looker! The true wild brown trout is one of the most stunning of all fish! |
After these first few trips I decided to invest in a brook setup which would be perfect for wading and most close range fishing scenarios. The tool for the job I decided to get was a Greys Streamflex (3 weight) and I matched this up with the nice and light Wychwood River and Stream reel. Over the next few sessions, I have thoroughly enjoyed some wading trips on my local river and carriers. The first dry flies I decided to fish were a mixture of emerging patterns, such as Klink Hammer patterns and Parachute Adams. I've also thoroughly enjoyed using the New Zeland dry-dropper tactic, also known as Klink and Dink. It has been a fantastic method for the early season trout as you are covering both bases.
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| Another beautiful wildie, taken on the CDC and Elk! |
I have seen an amazing difference in my catch rate recently having acquired the waders and more finely tuned kit, especially on the carriers where the trout are very wily and spooky. As the season has progressed from later April into early May, I decided on these carriers, with the smoother, slacker water, to use patterns that represent a slightly larger meal, be it grannom or caddis-type imitations, larger olives or even early Mayflies. On one particular session, I decided to use a pattern shown to me by my friend Chris (CDC and Elk). This session produced 4 fish on the dry fly, all of which were beautiful sipping takes.
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| One of two of these little chaps I've caught while nymphing, wonder where they're coming from... |
Following on from this session, I decided in more limited time frames to do a little nymphing - during breaks from editing projects or before work. Although there is a snobbery of fishing this way in comparison to outwitting a fish on a dry fly, which is understandable, nymphing is another discipline which is certainly worth understanding. It can also be very technical as the nymphs need to behave in a natural manner and cunning trout will often ignore patterns which could be the perfect imitation, as the flies will be behaving in an unnatural manner. When fishing from the bank, I've found that an indicator helps with presentation as you are keeping better tuned as to how the nymphs are moving below the surface. In faster water I use foam-type ones and in slower water I have either used buoyant dry flies, yarn or greased the leader with muscillin in order for more sensitive indication through the line. On one particularly cloudy day I managed plenty of takes with a total of 7 fish in just over an hour which was great fun, considering I was only briefly getting some fresh air on the way to buying a spot of lunch!
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| Saw the flash of its belly as it took, an absolutely beautiful wildie! |
On the last of these trips, I got the waders back on and headed again for a few carrier stretches I know. Although this given day was a hard one with a howling wind and not much insect life, I had a few stunning Wildies on the CDC and Elk and Grey Wulff patterns. It is also great news that the Mayfly are starting to show, and I'm certainly looking forward to the residents in some of the deeper pools also coming up and revealing themselves...
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| A lovely dark fish on the Grey Wulff |
Tight Lines,
Tom
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