I am not sure why the above annual headline is so important to me but I guess its pretty simple really , I have always been and always will be a fan of dry fly fishing . not for any snobbish reasons but simply there is something fascinating to see that moment of the take. It is that wonderfully visual moment when your deception has been successful. As a small boy before I tasted fly fishing for trout it was always the float that was my chosen method. On rivers trotting a float effectively is a true art when done properly, like fly fishing it is also obviously a very visual form of fishing and one also that teaches you an understanding of watercraft and reading currents and understanding the importance of drag . There are so many similarities with fly fishing. Looking back It is 50 years since I took up my first fly rod I am afraid that since then the coarse fishing has gradually slipped away and is now simply a whim or a walk down memory lane as my recent trip with my late fathers gear in the recent blog post.
So there we are, my first brown trout on a dry of the season on a day when there was low cold water very little fly life and a nasty cold wind. Truth is I was convinced I would not do any good on the waters surface, but I think the river just took pity on me and provided me with one small but beautifully marked rising fish that took my seals fur bodied F Fly and allowed me a moment to admire its perfection. On the day I also managed to catch two larger but stocked fish , well they weren`t getting a photo, This river produces the most beautifully marked brown trout . The one on the front banner of the blog was from this very section of river, that is not the largest Brown Trout I have ever caught but every time I look at the picture I recall how perfect that particular fish was . So far this season has been very strange, the second day of the season was as warm as a summers day and when I visited the river I was greeted by many rising fish , trouble is they were all out of season grayling , since then I have caught many grayling and few trout, so it was great today to catch no grayling and just brown trout...
long time readers of the blog will recognise this view , it hasn`t changed it is still a beautiful river.