So with heavy rain during my last session the majority of my tackle, (flies, tippet, leader, indicators etc) we’re still in my wet fishing gear. I fish quite light as I carry a lot of equipment from rope and saws etc for dealing with fallen trees and climbing equipment to help with the more riskier spots. So all essential tackle is usually in my pockets. However with.a beautiful hot day and trying to leave the house at a reasonable time I packed everything including dinner except what I really needed. Who needs a drink anyway?!
I only came to this realisation when I put my reel on my rod, I’d already walked an hour to the river so I knew going back wasn’t really an option otherwise it’d be another 2 hours wasted going there and back. So I had to improvise, I still had around 4 feet of 10lb leader attached to the fly line and I pulled everything out of my bag and found a lone fly at the bottom of it, old and used it was a bit tatty but it was a fly none the least. I couldn’t find anything to act as a indicator so I would have to make do, it would be hard to stay in contact with the fly and keep it at a level where the fish were as it was a very windy day.
I set up in a very badly polluted section between an industrial estate and didn’t get any luck, I didn’t expect it but it looks a lovely fish holding area but obviously the fish didn’t agree with the water quality. This river was totally wiped out near its source around 15 years ago with an estimated 10,000 dead fish and that is shown in the size of the fish. However I have fished here before and have hit into bigger trout but none have ever stayed on long.
After probably walking another half hour up river out of the industrial site, reporting pollution on the way I found my starting spot. Though 3 teens were there smoking weed and having a camp fire I left them to it and carried on a it further.
Frustrated by the lack of opportunity I was given hope by the sight of 2 king fishers, one landing opposite me, I carefully knelt down to get my big camera out and it did one before I even opened the zip. Regardless one of my first casts into the pool as I felt a fish, which was progress but I was still a little disheartened as I felt it could have been one of few opportunities with the set up i had rigged together. The fish here obviously being of smaller size and in clear water a 10lb tippet tied to a size 16 nymph isnt exactly ideal.
Next i reached the pool were i knew a bigger fish lived, a tiny stepped weir no bigger than half a foot in a series of steps about 10 metres apart, i cast ever further into the pool, and as i hit the more rapid water, i felt tension and i struck, i immediately knew this was the one i had hit last time and lost, and after a few seconds and a dash into the weir it was off. Frustrated again i continued to fish each weir pool and finally managed a small trout, it had been about an hour and a half since i had started fishing so it was a bit of a relief.
I waded further upstream, inspecting huge natural dams were a fallen tree had forced the river to flow around it, eroding the bank and causing the trees opposite to fall into the river creating a dam made of several huge trees, the depth around these trees, caused when the river is in flood, was intimidating as the silt sunk sharply down into blackness. As i came to a riverside house i took a break next to a nice clear pool, it was around 4 feet deep but clear to the bottom. I managed 2 trout in this pool with the faster water helping mask the line.
From here on in, fish were in abundance, only small trout but as i waded up through the shallows no more than 6 inches, trout were swimming around me hiding in any crevice they could find, a sure sign that this river was well on its way towards recovery. Every pool i found i was pulling a trout from at this point. Though these pools were a good few hundred yards apart the fishing became steady. I eventually came to an old weir in disrepair, where i hooked a further 4 trout of a bigger size but i failed to hook them properly, possibly reacting to late with the mixture of trying to keep in contact with the fly in fast flow conditions. I ended the day with 13 fish in total but overall the day had been enjoyable despite my initial cock up and i intend to go back here fully equipped next time!
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