Mayfly Time Part 2 - Getting stuck into a few!

Gem of a Wild fish on a Mayfly emerger!

Over the last few weeks, the Mayfly have been picking up a little more on my local river. The first trip that springs to mind is in the very changeable weather we have had in the previous week: heavy rain, hail stones, thunder and lightning. After heading to Robjents in Stockbridge on a lovely sunny morning to stock up on some mayfly patterns, I headed for my local river. By the time I had made my way into the river and was working the pool, I could see the weather starting to turn. After no action on the first section, I made my way to a reliable section and opted to fish one of my favourite patterns, the CDC and Elk. I don't know what is has been about this pattern, but its provocative silhouette formed by the straggly CDC (Duck's rear feathers), and the elk hair 'wing' seems to trigger some rather decisive rises. I decided on this occasion to try a smaller variety and within the first straight on this section I had a missed rise, which was a decent sign. After arriving at a shaded straight on this section, I had a couple more rises and a couple of really nicely marked wild fish.

Another one on my favourite CDC pattern!

The weather then took a different turn: heavy rain, thunder and lightning. I therefore decided to head for home and wait until it cleared. Once it had done so, I got my bank rod out and decided to have a go with some nymphs. With the rain over the last couple of days stirring the water up, I was sure the fish would be in an active mood. Over the course of an hour, I managed six fish on the nymphs, four wild brownies and a couple of tiny little escapee rainbows. By this time, the sun had come back out and there were suddenly a fair few Mayfly duns hatching and fish reacting. After buying some lunch and having a chat with another angler slightly above me, I put on one of my favourite Mayfly patterns, the Mohican. What I love about this pattern is its robust build and the fact that it is resets itself effectively. After having a mosy on the lower part of this section I spotted a few rising fish against the walls. I knew that it would take some serious mends in order to get the presentation but knew a few takes were on the cards if I was to successfully do so. After some effective covers, I managed 4 fish, as well as a missed take and a lost fish. In spite of the changeable weather, a few fish were caught which amounted to a pretty action packed day.

Lovely dark fish!

On the next session, a catchup with my friend Mark Lindsay was long overdue, so we decided to give some fly fishing a go. Mark had not been in a while, so he was certainly keen to dust off his gear. I arrived an hour or so before Mark and had some great action in the first pools of the day. After losing a fish on one of my first casts, I made another cast slightly upstream and a big pair of lips came up and absolutely nailed the detached body mayfly pattern. I lifted into a turbo-charged fish which made several dashes for the cover. All I could do was point the 3 weight Streamflex at the fish and hoped that the forgiving action would deter it from cutting me off. After a fish final dashes, the first brownie of the day was landed, an absolutely glorious wildie around the 2lb mark. I made my way up river and managed a smaller fish which also attacked the fly aggressively. After getting this fish back I saw another nice rise just above of a good fish. Thankfully I managed to get the cast yet again perfect, and another big mouth emerged and absolutely engulfed my fly. Without hesitation, I set the hook and all hell broke lose. The fish shot off upstream and leaped clean out of the water. This was definitely on the same calibre as the first fish I had landed. After another ridiculous battle on the 3 weight, another beautifully spotted brownie was in the net.

Certainly was a question of holding onto this one on the 3 weight!

Over the next straight I managed a few more small wild fish just as Mark arrived. I was confident with all the action so far, that a few more rising fish were certainly going to be about. Mark was soon setting up and after straightening his leader with a few test casts, he informed me that he had already had a take. This was a promising start and it was not long until I heard Mark's fly line as he lifted into his first fish. It was great that Mark had also managed to quickly get a fish under his belt. We continued on, working our way to a few areas and we both got stuck into a few, Mark's being the best in this particular section.

Another cracker for Mark on the dry!

It has probably been the most productive fly fishing I've had recently, as I have learnt a hell of a lot. Big thanks goes to Rob at Robjents for his advice when choosing the waders and my friend Chris for some great guidance on wild trout fishing, teaching me some real fundamentals. It was also great to have caught up with Mark and to see that he had gotten a bit of his motivation back for fly fishing!

Tight Lines to all,

Tom

Mayfly Time - A Deadly Trout Weapon!

The detached body Mayfly!

My favourite time for fishing with the dry fly has now commenced! In a brief window, depending on the riverbed, hatches of localised Mayfly start. On my local river they have been hatching in bursts, but haven't quite amounted to the swarms that start from, in my experience, the middle of May to early June. I am certainly looking forward to the coming weeks and hoping to have more to write about in that period.

Over the past week, I have stocked up on a few patterns a lot of which have notably given me some fabulous results, especially in the Duffer's fortnight itself. These patterns being: Mohican Mayflies, French Partridge, the Mayfly silhoutte-type patterns and not to forget Mayfly emergers. On a session with my friend Harry, I noticed in his fly box there were a few very covincing looking patterns tied by a local angler, Andrew Mussellwhite. Recently he has started to sell a few of his patterns online through his business, Mussellwhite's Flies. After seeing some of his successful mayfly action with his very realistic patterns, such as the Detached Body Mayfly, I knew I had to order some pronto!

Once I had arrived at the river, I was really hopeful that there would be some trout willing to look up. It was carrying some extra water as well which was reassuring as the river looked in a far better state that it has been in recent weeks. I worked my way up the river and came to a nice shady bay which looked perfect for a waiting trout. With the detached body mayfly sitting beautifully on the water, I knew it was only a matter of time until a trout was going to nail it. Once I got the perfect cast and started to retrieve the bow of line, a sharp, but discrete snatch followed. I tightened into a good fish which hung low to begin with, oblivious of the fact it was hooked. The moment it realised, all hell broke lose, the 3 weight Streamflex absolutely buckled as pure power and energy kicked in from the culprit. All I could do was point the rod in the fish's direction and hoped to slow its vicious runs. Thanfully the hook held proud, even when this fish successfully charged off downstream making the odds of landing this fish harder. On a few more final bursts of energy, shooting back upstream, I managed to finally net this beautiful brown trout. The markings were stunning, very much like a Leopard, and the fins were perfect with distinct white piping. It was a stunning wild fish, which I was absolutely over the moon about!

Wild brownie of the season so far!

After making my way up further, I had another lovely take. Yet again, the light outfit was really tested, meaning another very exciting battle indeed! Another fish of the same size graced the net and it was another pretty fish! Despite this great start to the day, the day took a different turn following on from this. The wind made casting and presentation a bit of a nightmare, and there seemed to be far less rising fish present. I did however catch a few smaller fish on a few early season favourite patterns, such as the Klink Hammer and CDC & Elk. All in all though, it was a very enjoyable session, with two absolutely beautiful brown trout testing my light gear.

Another cracking brownie on the light gear - proof in the pudding that this pattern is deadly!

I really do look forward to getting back out and enjoying a few more plentiful hatches of Mayfly until this prime dry fly period is out.

Tight Lines,

Tom

Fly Fishing for Wild Brown Trout

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.

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.

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.

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!

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...

A lovely dark fish on the Grey Wulff

Tight Lines,

Tom

Small River Session Montage

Windy Winter Roving in search of Chub

Although taken on a different day, this gives one an idea as to what to expect on this small waterway...

After talking to a good friend, Mark Erdwin, regarding our successes on the rivers this season and as per normal comparing notes, he told me about another great bait he has added to his armoury. It has been proved in his blog post 'Waxing Lyrical' that the waxworm can be a deadly single bait as it is a perfect natural looking grub. Mark rightfully urged me to give them a go, therefore I visited the UK Waxworms website and got myself over 200 waxworms - for a single bait, this is going to go a long way! They are a buoyant bait thus not ideal for baiting up with in the depths of winter, but fished in conjunction with maggots I'm sure would be devastating!

An easy to navigate site and a pleasant purchase!

After the previous weekend being taken up by writing essays about Modern China, coupled with another week at college I certainly felt burnt out! I agree with the statement that going fishing when you're 'not feeling it' is a bad thing as you feel you are going for the sake of it which can make it all feel a waste of time... However, I have felt on certain occasions that pushing myself to go has done me some real good. I opted again to go chub fishing, but on a newer stretch of the Thames Tributary I fish - this section is very narrow, consisting of some nice undercut banks and reedy banks providing perfect cover for elusive chub. This stretch has a sparser head of chub than some of the areas I fish on this particular waterway, and coupled with a crayfish population I am expecting some large residents to be lurking on the deeper bends and pools.

(Again taken on a different day) One of the deeper bends/pools - perfect holding zone!

I woke up at 5am and with chub being on my mind, I wanted at least one back up bait. Bread has done me well this season, so I headed to my local newsagent and promptly picked up a loaf. I arrived back home and after my dad offering to give me a lift (thank you so much!) as opposed to getting on a long bus journey, I packed the car and headed for the river. On arrival at the river, it was carrying a nice green tinge which has served me and many others well when it comes to chub. I opted first of all to try the first swim of the downstream section of the bridge, which is a nice pool that leads into a beautiful gravelly run off. My plan of attack was to fish a swanshot link leger and to have enough shot to barely hold bottom, meaning I could set the bait trundling or let it settle on a static basis. After getting myself sorted in the swim, keeping a low profile, I saw a nice rise under the bridge itself leading into this pool and despite fearing it was an out of season trout, I flicked the link leger upstream and let my double waxworm offering waft in the flow. Taps were instant and after a positive bounce on the tip, I hooked the first fish of the day, a exquisite little chublet - a great sign for this stretch as I know the club committee were concerned about recruitment of chub on this stretch. Following this, I flicked the bait towards the opposite bank's reeds, with all that was to come of this being slow jerks of the tip with no liveliness. The culprits of course were big American Signal Crayfish which I'm pleased to say were dispatched humanely (with my right foot!) After casting to the tail end of the pool and managing a couple of trout, I thought that that was certainly the queue to leave.

The next swim that took my fancy was after the stunning shallow gravel run, leading into a deeper and steady run which led to my next favoured swim, a fine bend with an undercut. I gingerly picked my feet up like a chicken on the soft ground and settled just above the beginning of this deeper bend. I put on three waxworms onto my size 10 and flicked the bait midstream and trundled it, upside-down trotting style towards the undercut. I left the bait to do its job, waft and waver in the current, whilst I sat frozen like a heron with my eyes fixed on the rod tip. After a few minutes past me by, I saw the tip jerk positively followed by a nice, swift pull round. I pulled into the fish and felt a positive kick on the end. As I casted from quite far upstream I kept tight to the fish, and made my way downstream towards it. Having it get its head down towards the undercut snags coupled with the reeds was inevitable on this narrow section, but cupping the spool and applying positive pressure in this hit and hold scenario I gradually worked the fish upstream, letting my forgiving feeder rod do the work, and after some fantastic bursts of energy by the bank on a beautiful under-the-rodtip fight, a stunning golden flank graced the surface and shortly after the fish was mine! Even though the fish was not massive, on this narrow section, the fight was fantastic, reminding me why I love these tiny little rivers. At 3lb 7oz it was my biggest fish for the section which was an absolutely lovely result and in such fine condition with a beautiful golden flank, I was one happy angler!

3lb 7oz falling for the triple waxworm offering!

After watching the fish strongly swim off and disappear into the depths upstream, I gave the swim a few more casts. What came of this though was more crayfish, therefore I knew this was the hint to move on. I fished a few more trusted swims on the stretch where I have sighted chub in the past, with no joy apart from more crayfish! I also tried new swims, chopping and changing with the liquidised bread feeder, but no more fish were to come of the efforts apart from a single trout. I think the key to success on this small, intimate stretch is of course stealth, but baiting a few swims prior to fishing them and letting them settle before fishing could well pay off in terms of numbers of chub. However, I was very happy indeed I managed to give the waxworms a try, and even happier I manage to induce some bites on this naturalistic bait - particularly from the largest chub of the day!

I did carry on fishing, going downstream onto more familiar ground with my friend David coming to join me. In hindsight, I really do wish I managed to find some lobworms, as well as getting up to a shop that sells maggots, as the fish were very suspicious with the bread on my banker swims and the waxworms, despite being able to withstand minnows to a large extent, could not handle the plentiful dace in this section. After managing a few gate-crashing trout and a single dace, with the wind driving me crazy and the fact that it was getting quite cold to stand around and the fact I had to prepare for an exam the following day, I felt that it was the right time to pack up and head for home on the bus with David.

Tight Lines,

Tom Aldous