Wednesday 6 November 2019

long and short , little and large .....


I went down my local river the other day and was looking to select suitable rod and reel for the day, as I stared at the rod rack I considered a few things, firstly that I really have more rods than I need ,  not that I don`t get tempted  by more now and again .  But I also realised that actually I have only used a four weight once this year and that was a 10ft on a big dales river.  The truth is this last few years have seen me using lighter and lighter line weights . A couple of years ago I didn't own a two weight and now I have four of them and find I am using them more and more .  On the smaller local streams I fish they can give a lovely delicate presentation of dries in the Summer and in the Autumn they are great for nymphing . Also I cant get on with the specialist euro nymphing lines as the rivers I fish usually are very mixed water.  I find my average days fishing combines a fair bit of traditional upstream nymphing and a little bit of short lining Czech style and quite often a bit of dry fly .  But using a two weight means if needed I can take of the nymph and cast a dry to my hearts content .  They are also a breeze for holding of the water high sticking style.




The last trip I had was on an up and coloured Yorkshire Derwent.  The river didn't look to inviting but I felt confident of catching , far to many people give up before they start. Always waiting for perfect conditions which unfortunately rarely occur. I have found time and again that a still coloured but falling river can give superb sport .  the first fish I had was on a dry ,  Not sure what they were rising to in the murky water but rising they were ,  midges I guessed and a size 22 CDC job did the trick . The fly is very easy to tie simply a small bunch of CDC fibres tied in on a thread body . Quickly accounting for three or four brownies and a sprat sized grayling.  The fly is basically a tiny F Fly .  .  Here a few of the midges I use in size 22 and 24. They are also surprisingly robust and easy to dust of with frogs fanny when they have been used.



I guess the hardest thing on a high and coloured river is fish location .  My local small stream alters significantly for every extra few inches of water it carries .  Fish holding spots can be a long way away from summer hot spots when the levels increase .   If you know the water well and are familiar with it you have a decent chance of sniffing out where the fish may be holding .  Today in one stretch the fish were about 20 m downstream of their usual summer holding area.   Also they were on the other side of the river.  On a strange river and not knowing the river contours I would have struggled .
The Grayling are common this size in the stream,  but they do go to a pound and half  but a average good one is about a pound, 
.  #
The day ended with a couple of big out of season stocky browns which put a hell of a bend in the 9ft 2wt .  Half a dozen tiny WBT and a few small grayling came to hand . No sizeable Grayling showed up .  But as I walked back to the car I couldnt help but reflect it had actually been a bloody good few hours .  As for the rods I suppose the aquisition of a one weight is the next point .  Although I am not really sure what there would be to gain from that .  Mind you a few years ago I thought a size 18 was a small fly...








2 comments:

Mark Kautz said...

No, no, no you can't have too much money, too much fun, (as the song goes) or too many rods. You know every fisherman only needs one more rod. As for fishing with a 2wt. I think the same reason I fish with 2# test for those 4 & 5 pound Rainbows. It's all in the fight. It's all in your ability to bring in a big one on light line or a light rod.

The Two Terriers said...


Lovely blog. makes me feel quite homesick for North Yorkshire! John

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