After a rather hectic and stormy January where the fishing was fun but a little one dimensional, I fancied something different. The wild, windy weather had meant fly fishing was not a consideration, not for me and my casting anyway. But a more settled February gave me a chance to pick up the fly box and have a couple of afternoons of fun.
I had hoped to be at the lake soon after my Friday midday finish at work but I bumped into a new neighbour at work and ended being about an hour later getting away than I had hoped. It’s one of the wonderful things about fishing. My new neighbour is John. He runs a surfboard building supplies company and they also shape boards too. As we chatted, I managed a reference to fishing within about five minutes of the conversation striking up, I always do. It’s like a little hook to see if the person I’m talking too has any interest in fishing. John rose up like a hungry, newly stocked Rainbow Trout and took the bait! We talked and talked and talked! A complete stranger was rapidly becoming a new fishy friend. We are cut from the same cloth. We have an appreciation for what I suppose many would now consider, “old fashioned” etiquette and we both recognise that being quiet is just about your number one asset when on the bank. Being quiet seems to be a forgotten art in fishing these days…
I did eventually arrive on the bank and the breeze was as forecast and was within my casting ability. It had been a long time since I had cast so the first few swishes were a bit rusty. I started with a small, bright orange lure with a gold head as I imagined the fish would be a little lower in the water. I have learnt how being impatient in trout fishing can be a good approach. A few methodical casts and then move on if no pulls are forthcoming. I was in the third spot along the windward bank when I spotted a slight disturbance amongst the ripple very close to the bank. I watched closely and not long after spotted another. With the fish clearly feeding close to the surface I quickly changed my bright and deep working lure for a much more natural pattern. In all honesty, this type of fly has caught me more trout than anything else, a small scruffy black thing. There are small differences amongst those little black flies in my box and someone with more experience would I’m sure but able to tell me the difference but in my novice hands, they all work close to the surface and a reasonably quick retrieve tends to produce a positive response. This was the case again here and I think it was only the third cast when the fly was hit.
I fish a light(ish) 4/5 weight rod where I can as the casts don’t need to be long and the fish are often very close to the bank. The small fish of around a pound or two was quickly brought to the bank. After a quick photo with the fish still in the water, the barbless hook was slipped out and the trout was quickly returned. At this point I used to move on to the next spot feeling the fish had probably moved on following the disturbance. However, after a recent exchange with a friend of mine who is an excellent fly angler, I realised that you can potentially take a number of fish in quick succession from an area where the fish are held up. With no one else fishing the lake, I didn’t feel I was hogging the area so made the most of it. Fishing that same little fly, very close to the bank for the next couple of hours I enjoyed some excellent sport. It’s not difficult fishing on those well stocked waters but it was February and it was fun.
I went back to the same lake a couple of weeks later in what was a much better forecast, light winds and just an odd shower. It couldn’t have been more wrong! It was blowing a gale and the showers connected to create some really heavy and persistent rain. I was grateful to be wearing my Fortis Clothing jacket, made in Devon no less. It really is a good bit of kit and it’s been very well tested this winter. It’s not the warmest jacket but that’s easily overcome by layering up underneath. But it does no let a drop of water through and during one particularly torrential downpour I was able to laugh it off (the situation was ridiculous) and carry on in comfort after the rain finally ceased.
The fishing wasn’t quite so prolific that afternoon but again, at the windward end of the lake the fish were happy feeding very close to the surface. There was a 20 minute window when a fish off the top on a dry fly was a reality but I was too slow to change the fly. When I eventually did, the activity slowed and I was chasing rises.
It was another very fun afternoon of fishing in February with the added bonus of being active whilst casting. I’m really looking forward to heading to the much larger reservoirs when they open in spring where there are hundreds of acres of water to enjoy.
Let’s see what March brings. Good luck!
