False dawn....

So the day came and went.  That special day the first day of the trout season, the day that I have never missed for many years passed without a line being wet or a cast been formed.  Work pressures have meant that even weekend working  has become the norm and the chance of taking the day of work vanished weeks ago.

The only thing that has softened the blow is the weather, biting easterly winds of the North Sea which sits just half a mile from me is giving us another blast of ice which is extending this never ending winter. River levels are as up and down as the waves these easterlies are bringing.

As I look toward the weekend the forecast does not fill me with optimism .  Lots of negative figures and the  few high numbers relate to wind speed.  But floods and blizzards allowing, this weekend  I will be fishing. Ever hopeful in the knowledge these Northern becks can fish well early season, the fish are small but tough, ever hungry on the meagre stone fed diet .

So, in theory at least the fishing season is back the warm days and gentle evenings full of rising fish are close again .  This false dawn will soon turn into summer days .  bring it on.......

Almost there

The new season is almost with casting distance.  The winter has been long and dour. Cold wet and depressing.  There are signs now of renewal. Spring flowers are showing and an impromptu kick sample yesterday in a quiet backwater tells me the river has kept the fish well fed.  A little warmth and a settling river will hopefully mean feeding fish .

 Its amazing what the river hides away.  The short sample brought in this little chap. I have never noticed . The bright orange edge to the dorsal before. A bit of window dressing for the spawning season perhaps.? Perhaps they always have the marking I guess I have never really studied them before .  The river is full of them and have often considered fishing some of the larger weir pools with a suitable pattern, maybe this season I will get round to it.  I am sure there are some big old trout and the odd pocket of big perch tucked away in the deep pools. 

Of more trouty proportions are the stonefly larvae in the beck, this is a particularly meaty looking example from last months sample.  I get very large numbers of these compared to all the other inverts put together.
I really must have a go with some of those precut stonefly templates.  When you see a chap like this I can see they are a pretty good imitation with that distinctive shield profile.

In a couple of weeks this will be one of the first pools I fish.  There are large numbers of small wildies here.  I suspect there may also be a good chance of some stockies washed out from the river Derwent a few miles upstream.  Last year I had rainbows and a blue out of the beck courtesy of the wash outs of their generous stocking policy. 

All my fly boxes are pretty much restocked now ready for the of.  Many more CDC these days and patterns that follow the GISS style rather than the imitative.  Anyway the fly boxes are sort of neat now.  By the time I have had a couple of trips they will look like they have been bombed by unopened arab dustbins , to paraphrase the late Spike...