Work and fishing, fishing and work.

Work and Fishing.....

The recent dearth of posts on this ere blog is a result of,... well I am not really sure what its a result of. Certainly not lack of fishing as low levels and baking sunshine permitting there have been a few recent trips . Trips to the Ure , Dove and Derwent have all been productive. But a week spent sunning myself in Spain hasnt helped ,  nor to that matter has the impending start of a new business venture, after 39 years on company payrolls I will at the end of the week be self employed.  I seem to be constantly researching insurance of every type,  I have even bought a car and after 30 years of company cars that was a shock to the system, this together with VAT, accountants and computers has for the time been taken over my waking hours .  

Truth is I have sort of just lost the writing mojo.  I have penned a couple of articles and updates but on re reading them have relegated them to the recycle bin.  I wouldnt have wanted to read them so I shouldnt expect others to enjoy them.  So the blog will just sit here a while, it will be back soon and if by some miracle this Autumn I crack that 2lb Grayling or a big sea trout then it will be back very soon.   Anyway perhaps the impending grayling catches may inspire me...

Tight lines

Making the most of it.

It was only a few days ago that I wrote about the evening rise .  Yet already I have creeping into my mind an increasing urgency to take every opportunity for an evening session . Time has taught me that when you hit August the evening light disappears all to fast .  So this last week has seen me fit a couple of evening hours on both the Rye and the Dove.

Have you ever seen such a pretty stream as this.  The trout below was the best of several I had in a short session.  lean but scrapped like a tiger.  The fish actually started rising earlier than usual but all were tucked into fast streamy water under trees.  

The Dove smaller and shallower but an excellent stream that has a good head of wild browns and grayling Dead low at the moment but fish still rising in the streamy water. 

A typical Dove brownie.  Fish were hard to find .  the river is well below summer normal level and very clear. Despite stealth the fish were incredibly spooky and just getting within  casting range was in its way a small victory.  

At the end of the evening a few raindrops appeared but not the decent rain we need to freshen up the rivers.  

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.

Ure brown trout and fishing fine and far of....

I reckon as fly anglers go I am not to prone to impulse buys.  Although I must confess that when faced with a rack full of fly tying products I usually buy at least a couple of things that dont seem to get used quickly. A week or two ago I did however give in and buy a little Vision cult , an 8ft 2 wt with free line at a very tempting price.

A typical river Ure Brown Trout 

Rods in the 7ft to 8wt are the perfect range for me for the local streams and already have a fair collection but these days I do seem to be fishing with lighter gear and it looked like a nice addition  to the armoury. Incidentally moving to lighter set ups over the last few years has not been all about lighter lines but longer leaders and finer tippets .  Even toying with french leaders and leader to hand which both have been great on their day.

The Cult

Anyway the rod arrived and paired with a little Orvis BBS2 and the supplied cortland line I wanted to give it a try.  As it happened we had seen some rain over the last couple of days and the rivers were mostly up and coloured,  so the only place fishable with dries was the little section of the Dove.  A 8ft is a bit tight on there but just about manageable .  

The rod was a delight it really impressed as my first venture in to 2 wt territory.  The action I would describe as an easy middle tip, not as all through as my Hardy featherweight but a lovely action for a small stream rod.  

It had enough flex to work with virtually no line out and yet could cast surprisingly tight loops .  Yes the liitle cult impressed me it has won a permanent place in the rack  and two weight?  well on a summers evening on a tight stream it will be great fun.

The recent largely dry spell has lead to many rivers running very low, that was how I found the Ure one evening after work.  It was very low perhaps half of normal levels.   When rivers are like this not only tactics need to change but in a sense the river has changed to.  Normal holding places are empty and the fish are holed up in new pots and runs you have to find them . But low levels can work to your advantage too.  Runs to deep to wade can now be approached and lies fished that perhaps are normally out of reach.  A couple of stretches normally full of fish.  Are totally empty when the river is this low.

This run up the side of the trees is usually almost impossible to fish due to the depth for wading but when the river is this low its perfect, the deeper water can be waded but still offers fish overhanging trees for shade and  protection.  Today this run of about 70m offered me two hours of slow wading and fishing and accounted for    eight or ten fish both Grayling and Trout. 

A few of these came from the run.  All on the little CDC .  The longer rod allowed me to roll cast and control the fly nicely.  

I was intending to fish leader to hand as it has proved its worth as a tactic when water levels have been very low. Today the stiff breeze seemed to always be blowing in my face so I swapped pretty quick and fished my 10ft 3 wt with a long leader.   Just a plug here for Barrio fly lines ,  I have tried a few of these now and have found the DT Mallard and the GT90 both to be superb lines and equal to lines of two and three times the price.

Later on I headed of to a river section that I have found produces in all water levels,  Several Grayling came first then a smaller trout .   The last fish of the day is pictured below .  I cast to it thinking it was a small fish it seemed to be sipping flies of the surface.  Under a overhanging branch.  A gentle rise and a tightening of the rod lead to all hell breaking loose,  

it launched itself from the water and momentarily the line was in the branches amazingly it came loose and the fish shot right across the river luckily the long light rod and line allowed my to hold the rod high and keep the line of the water and after a bit of time playing chase around boulders and tree roots the fish and I decided I was the winner.  The fish looked like a stockie but the big full tail told me it had been in the river a long time.  It was released to play with another angler. 

Things that make your day

Strange thing a blog sometimes the words and content come easy, other times you really cant be bothered and wonder why you do, but occasionally you write something you are pleased with or a comment of approval is made .

 

Today I got an email from a guy to compliment me on the blog ......"Stuck out here in Azerbaijan with work and missing the whole 2013 trout season to date. Imagine my joy when I discovered your blog with all the wonderful photos and the super narrative. Thanks a million!"
He went on to say how he fishes much of the same places I fish... Fair made my day and reminded me how many people from all over the world see what you write....Well here you my friend are another shot of your favourite steam...

Fathers day and idle ramblings...

I have visited rivers a few times in the last couple of weeks.  A couple of weekday evenings and a few hours on the Yorkshire Derwent on fathers day courtesy of another guest ticket.  The trips have all been good but of course to varying degrees .  I met a good few other anglers out and about,  we discussed the weather the rivers and as usual at this time of year the mayfly.  How would the hatch develop? would it be good or sparse after all there never can be a bad hatch. Just as my grandad said to me as a teenager theres no such thing as bad beer son just better beer. Its worth mentioning that here in Yorkshire we can have splendid mayfly hatches but generally in June....

One thing that occurred to me after chatting to several brothers of the angle was how varied their perception was in assessing the success of their day.  The Blue trout below whilst scrapping like the very devil seemed to me to be dreadfully out of place in a small pretty stream .  It actually launched itself at my dry fly as I lifted it of for a recast.  It then proceeded to cartwheel down the pool like a runaway.  Personally I am not impressed with them  but shortly afterwards I met an angler who praised them highly and particularly there readiness to take.  I guess as the old saying goes you can please some of the people some of the time but.... The highlight for me was the fish. above Not the largest or the hardest fighting but the colours were amazing the picture just doesnt do it justice.

This type of stream really ticks the box for me . This is all close combat and stuff and great fun.  Stealth is required and its amazing just how close you can get to the fish without spooking them.  When I fish in places like this I can see why people use tenkara .

Of these two fish I know which gave me most pleasure in the capture.... I fished for a few hours on fathers day .  I caught a lot of Brownies I reckon around twenty all to the dry fly.  Many tiny like the one below but all as perfect as you could imagine.  The river also seemed to have  many stockies . I was told at the end of my session that they hadnt been in long,  in a couple of places you could see them swimming round like lost tourists. I am sure that should you have wished you could have dozens of them with a bead head ,  by the way the only fish that were rising were the native brownies.  

A few days ago on another stream this well conditioned stockie led me a merry dance it took the dry mayfly with a lovely head and tail rise then after that getting it into the net was fun.  It lead me a merry dance it managed to swim right around me and lassoo me with my own line .  I must be getting old  and why do they always look smaller when you are still playing them and only realise how big they are when you draw them towards the net?.  Although a nice fish though give a pretty wild fish any day .

The evening and sipping rises

Its been a long time , actually it feels like an age .  Fishing the evening rise is something that I have almost forgotten existed. But this weekend the opportunity arose to fish into the evening.  Fining down rivers and the last few days mild weather, the fact that the mayfly could arrive any time soon all spurred me on and so I arrived on the Rye at 5pm planning to fish till , well to fish till I couldn't see the fly any more .  Whilst I am saying that it occurs to me why does my wife always ask what time I will be back?,  when I have absolutely no idea myself. I love fishing as the light goes the river seems to truly come alive as the sun slides away.  

When I arrived I was a little disheartened to see three more cars parked up.  One was the fishery manager but that still meant two anglers on quite a small  beat.  But I hoped if they had been there a while I would probably end up alone for the last hour or two. 

The river is in spanking condition at the moment , although its running almost a foot up on the usual early summer level.  So although clear and settled the fish aren't holed up in the lies where they normally would be.  Initially there also seemed to be a real absence of rising fish, there was some surface activity but only small fish splashing in the tails of pools and shallow water.  

There was plenty of fly life ,  clouds of midges , small sedges and various up wings in fact a real Ephemeroptera Smorgasbord.  Even a few late hawthorns and daddies for hors d`oeuvres. 

There were a few mayfly duns showing, this one came floating down the river , but the fish let it sail down unmolested .  Only time will tell what this years hatch will be like.  But if the warm weather holds for a few days we will find out.  As usual before I started fishing in real earnest I inspected the back eddies and margins looking at the flotsam of trapped bugs. There was everything and nothing every type of critter but nothing in huge numbers.

Anyway the job in hand was to catch fish on a floating fly the evening rise is for that , not for klinks or for the duo or the nymph.   The moment of interception between my crude attempt at deception and the elegance of the taking fish is the instant I look for .  To me that is fly fishing every thing else is well second best.  At boarding school one of the teachers was the first guy I ever watched fly fishing , he caught chub in the river whiske on a black gnat , he was an exceptional man and a great influence on my early life.  Years later I met him and asked him if he still fished . He told me he didn't, that he still loved the moment of deception of bringing the fish to the rise but the act of playing and landing the fish somehow seemed an act of barbarity that demeaned the fish. A remarkable man and  I admired his stance but hoped that such a moral dilemma would never overtake me.

The first few fish were small not much better than parr . They were rising in the tails and shallows .  I saw not one rise that would indicate a larger fish .  Anyway prospecting upstream into the longer pools I cast to where the fish should be, casting tight to the overhanging bushes or where an underwater obstruction lurked.  Fishing at close range the first rise took me by surprise the fly just seemed to drop into a tiny hole , no slurp or splash it just disappeared , at anything more than close range I would have missed it.  Tightening into the fish I was still surprised by the lack of a real rise.  

Several more fish followed all beautiful wild brownies of a decent size for this river all of them taking with a delicacy and lack of disturbance not often shown.  After experiencing this I sat for a good while positioned close to a point where fish would be feeding.  I saw not one surface disturbance that could have been taken for a rise and yet fishing through that area after brought two good fish to the net,  If I had not been fishing at close range I am sure the rises would have gone unnoticed .  There was so much fly on the water that drawing any sort of conclusion as to what they were taking was difficult , however the smaller fish were taken on a CDC emerger the larger fish all came to a tiny adams about a size 20 .  In the book "in the ring of the rise " by Vincent Marinaro he describes this as the sipping rise...

I worked up this small run a couple  more came to the surface and a very good grayling that decided he had played enough and dropped the hook as it was drawn to the net. 

At about 9 the temperature dropped very sharply , the clouds of spinners disappeared and only the biting midges stayed.  I realised the curtain had been brought down on that particular act,  but the fish had played there part a fine set of handsome players had put in an appearance .  As the summer develops and the temperature rises the late evening rise will be my main feature.