Monday 15 July 2013

Summer time...." The evening rise"

There is a special sense of anticipation around a hot summers day , there is the knowledge that with luck that dog day of summer will as the light fades and as the evening cools  come alive and "the evening rise" will start. That phrase has almost magical properties for a fly fisherman.  It represents a special time that may well last hours or even minutes but is always worth the wait.  Temperatures here for the last two weeks have been high, with no rain and lots of sunshine both not helpful to the river angler.  One stretch I fish though continues to flow well even in the driest spell , freshwater springs keep the levels decent.


 The thick weed gives cover for fish and insects alike.  Laying on the bank looking through the polaroids an odd fish or fin will betray the fish hiding under the weed ,




A recent after work spell was such an evening .  Arriving at the river well after six, there was no rush not till between seven and eight or even later will the fun start, I inspected the catch returns in the box , no fish reports for the last three days meant a nice undisturbed stretch the last few reports were patchy a few good ones and one reporting no fish but three otters. I walked to the bottom of the fishery noting the clarity and lack of rising fish.  But I was not down beat that magical last hour of light was still a way of.  As I walked I noticed a recent otter kill and lots of tracks.  A kingfisher and a stoat making its way along the path all were welcome distractions.  The river looked stunning .




At about 8 the first riser was spotted but I botched the cast and put it down.  But fish were starting to feed and about half a dozen followed in the next hour or so no big fish but all wildies and of a good size great fun on a little three weight.  My usual stripped quill cdc was ignored and I took a flier on a larger hackled version as there were larger olives and medium sized sedges hatching .  The fly did the trick and as the light faded and temp dropped the river came alive . Then at about 9.30 it was as if someone flicked a switch and not a rise was to be seen.  I sat on a seat and watched the river for 10 minutes before packing up . Only the kingfishers were still busy flying back and forth .  "The evening rise" is indeed a special time a gift of summer not to be missed.




4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The pleasure for us in the Southern hemisphere (currently in the dead of winter), is to read these accounts of long warm evenings on the streams, and to reminisce about our last summer, or dream of the next. Thanks for another delightful posting.

Android said...

Cracking report mate, I must try this dry fly lark!

Regards
Peter

Becks and Brown Trout said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Becks and Brown Trout said...

Peter

You must try it and try not to have a nymph dangling under it...
Nice holiday pics bythe way...

Andy

Wykeham lakes Scarborough

 I have just read that the above fishery is going under new management ,  Great news its somewhere that I have fished in the past but my rec...