'Always' and 'Never'

I vaguely remember reading an essay by Brian Clarke in one of his anthologies that argued that the terms ‘Always’ and ‘Never’ have no place in angling other than in a very few examples, for example, an angler should always have a rod licence. Mr Clarke’s central thrust was that we should not be too hidebound by tradition and the ways in which things have always been done if we want to extend our skills and experience.

However it is important that we acknowledge these traditions and simply have to accept that on some fisheries there are rules and restrictions. Sometimes these rules and restrictions are in place to protect the fishery. For example on the Peacock water of the Derbyshire why there is a strict ‘dry fly only’ rule in place during the trout season. Which patterns of fly adhere to this local dry fly rule has been the subject of extensive online debate! On the Peacock water this rule is adopted to afford the fish some sanctuary when they are not feeding at the surface of the water. An alternative example would be that some waters do not allow wading. Consequently there are stretches in these waters where the fish cannot be reached from the bank.

So an angler should always adhere to the rules and regulations of the water that they are visiting. If you don’t like the rules then fish elsewhere. Angling is a fairly broad church and you will always be able to find a water that will accommodate your desires.

In terms of never then I have always felt that one should never fish without a landing net. This is crucially important when intending to release fish and the landing net is the single item of tackle that will enable you to bring your catch in a soon as possible without having to ‘play out’ the fish. The mesh netting then enables the angler to handle the fish in the optimum manner and the hook removed and the fish returned. I really do not like seeing anglers without nets as they try to bring the fish to hand or use one of those infernal release tools. 

A whole year to play with

Despite some slight irritation at the limitation of the 2013 five fly limit I must admit that I did, on the whole, enjoy the clarity of thought that only carrying such a small range of patterns imposed upon me. Perhaps there is an inner Puritan in me trying to get out.

 I have to say that in the main it was liberating to be forced into making a quick selection from the available flies, although I did manage, on a couple of occasions to fall into the ‘paralysis by analysis’ trap even with only the five patterns available. I am however convinced that my actual fishing success was not adversely impacted in any way at all. So really I am railing against the lack of liberty at the tying vice, an activity I claim not to really enjoy. I do, it has to be said, have a very low boredom threshold so I really think I was railing against an inability to go off piste.

So I want to be able to be creative at the vice, to alleviate the boredom, but to also continue to challenge myself to create a range of flies from some self imposed handicap. So this year I will be tying only from the following five materials,

• CDC
• Hares mask
• Deer hair
• Pheasant tail
• Stripped quill

Given that a scruffiest hares ear emerger presented correctly would probably account for the bulk of trout that have ever swum I don’t feel the above list is particularly prescriptive but it should be fun to tie and fish with the results of the above ‘recipe’.

And I have made a promise to myself to fish a little bit more this year.

Trout Season is Over

The trout season was rounded off with a trip down to Salisbury and a visit to a couple of beats on the Avon. The first port of call was new water to me and, to be honest, I fished it poorly. Despite signs of feeding fish I just never got into the swing of things and fished poorly and managed to miss the couple of rises that I was able to attract. I was fishing with a 9’ 5 weight rather than my more usual 7’9” 3 weight and to be honest the bigger stick did feel rather unwieldy. I fared rather better at the, more familiar, second venue and was able to bring several fish to hand, the pick of which was an 18” wild brown.

With the trout season now over I can also end my self imposed limit of 5 flies. I don’t feel that I suffered at all this year in terms of catch rate. Although I probably fished less this year than last year, a depressingly consistent trend, at no point did I find myself cursing an inability to select from a larger selection of flies. However I did find myself chafing a little when sat at the vice, there were a couple of times that I would have liked to select from a broader palette of materials. In terms of the actual patterns I did not have occasion to use the spent pattern at all and I, for some unknown reason I just did not fancy the shuttlecock pattern. In terms of the remaining 3 patterns the fish were fairly evenly spread between them, perhaps slightly favouring the CDC Emerger which indicates little other than my own bias – it is a pattern I have always liked. I had not used the CDC Dun pattern at all before this season and I have to say that it was a really good pattern when naturals were on the water and certainly justified the embuggeration factor involved in winding and varnishing stripped quills. 

Satisfaction

First trip of the season down to Salisbury on Friday. The intention was to fish the Bourne at Laverstock but all the indications from the SADAC website where that the beat was pretty weedy. On arrival this was certainly my finding. Even though there were fishable spots in the beat I really was not in the mood to spend the day struggling to get the fly in the water. Apparently the EA do not consent to weedcuts in the Bourne. I have to admit that I do wonder what the impact of predators may be on shoals of fish tucked into what little open water is available.

So I then trekked over to the Avon at Durrington and made my way to the wading section of the beat. No particular activity was immediately apparent but it is remarkable what will be revealed to the angler willing to spend a few minutes doing nothing particular than observing and thinking. A trickle of hatching olives were enough to keep the fish looking up and careful observation revealed fish intercepting the emerging insects. So on with the CDC Emerger and time to get into position to cast at a feeding fish. To be entirely frank the session that finished was the very epitome of chalkstream dry fly fishing that I am sure I am not alone in dreaming about during the close season. I had inspections, refusals, fish coming short to the fly and a few long distance releases. The absolute cream of the afternoon were the two wild fish that came towards the end of the session. Both required a decent cast and a drag free drift. And on each occasion I was rewarded with the sight of the fish spotting and intercepting my artificial.

I have to admit that I wrapped up the afternoon pretty shortly after that as I could not envisage it getting any better. I think I have now ‘grown up’ to the point that fishing is no longer a numbers game and it is more about the challenge of catching the fish that I want in the way I wanted it.

In terms of the fly it was the CDC Emerger in size 14 all the way. Looking at the naturals a size 16 would have been better; that was certainly my thought when a couple of trout came short or refused the fly. I have no defence though, I have always been a lazy tyer.

Mayfly....

…..just! I was able to free up a little time on Friday afternoon so was able to fish the last day of May with the chance of seeing a ‘proper’ Mayfly hatch. I had noticed the odd dun on my previous visit but not something I would describe as a hatch. I thought to myself that it would be good, given the slow start that we have had this year, to experience a Mayfly hatch in May.

Mid afternoon saw a few duns coming off in a trickle but no real interest from the trout. I was scouting up and down the river trying to find some fish ‘working’ the hatch and was perched on the side of the bank peering intently upstream when I heard the distinctive sound of a fast slashy rise from the riffle immediately behind me. Now I know that I have written before that I have ignored riffles in the past but I did not need a second invitation on this occasion and crept away from the bank and slipped back into the river a little way downstream and began to cast the fly up into the riffle. The fly was making its third journey back down towards me when it was simply engulfed and I was attached to something muscular and angry. After a couple of hairy moments 13 inches of trout were in the net and returned in short order. And from this point on the session turned the corner and I was able to fish up to the top of the beat spotting rising trout working into position and trying to get some response from each. A lot of fun and a fair few fish were brought to hand and one or two I will have to return to another time. In terms of fly I the CDC & Elk in size 12 was a passable imitation of the dun but I would have liked a larger pattern in, say a size 10, with a a pheasant tail fibres as a tail. But I have not afforded myself this degree of latitude this year! But I think it would be fair to say that the sport on the afternoon did not suffer as a consequence of my artificial constraint.

Things are looking up.....

This was the first visit to the river conducted this season conducted with a degree of expectation rather than hope. Temperatures have begun to rise and it is beginning to feel springlike. On arrival I noted a sporadic hatch of LDO’s and with some very careful observation it was possible to find evidence of feeding fish in the riffles. Not too many but more than enough to pique interest and occupy the mind.

On with the stripped quill dun and into the river to start stalking the rising fish. It seems funny now but for my first few seasons of river fishing I actively ignored riffles and ‘busier’ stretches of water as I felt that there was too much to contend with in terms of managing drag and seeing the fly and as a consequence I managed to convince myself that there were no fish in those spots anyway. So I made life so much easier for myself by concentrating on the smooth glides! Happily I have managed to disabuse myself of this notion. Of course fishing these areas does demand more application (in terms of drag management) and concentration (in terms of being able to see the fly) but the rewards are there for the diligent.

On this occasion a short session resulted in three brown trout being bought to hand, all as a result of having been targeted and cast at. The stripped quill dun is a new fly to me and I have to say that it looks fabulous but my efforts need to be a little more durable and could do with another CDC feather to aid floatation.

Exclusive fishing....

…………available to anybody with a rod licence!

I am happy to report that things are finally picking up. The rather dour river of only a few weeks ago has been replaced by a rather more vibrant and verdant character. Flies are hatching and the trout have thrown off their torpor and are now actively feeding. In short the exact conditions that I spent the close season dreaming of.

Two short sessions this weekend, both on stretches I have not visited previously this season. Both are public access water. Friday evening was a case of getting into the river and seeing what was happening. Medium Olives and Sedges were hatching and the fish were responding with enthusiasm. The fish that were presenting themselves appeared to be actively patrolling the water and moving to intercept flies. But this was a buffet meal and they were availing themselves of whatever was available. To underlne this I had interest in all four of the patterns that I presented and was able to bring fish to hand on the CDC Emerger, the CDC & Elk and the Stripped Quill Dun (SQD). It was a fun session that was brought to an abrupt close when the temperature dropped and the fish simply turned off.

Sunday morning was quite a contrast. Again a variety of invertebrates were coming off the water but on this occasion fish were all high in the water and locked on to the Medium Olive. I worked this out when the CDC & Elk warranted no more interest than a couple of ‘boils’. On with the SQD and presented correctly then there was a sporting chance of success.

 Spotted the first couple of Mayfly this weekend as well so Duffers Fortnight is imminent.