Last fish wins - Fly Fishing

19th May

With a day of tuition booked with good old John Tyzack we set off early doors to find some fish. The tuition was something of a strange request but a very important skill especially when you find big trout hiding in them 'unfishable' spots, my request was close quarters fishing in overgrown areas.

Crossing the border we was fishing just before dinner time and on route we had discussed various methods, the heavy rain in the week would have dumped a nice few inches on top so we talked of duo and dry fly. But as we first set our eyes on the water we was a little surprised to see it still struggling. We had come far up a river i wouldn't attempt to spell, a few miles away from its source. It was clean and clear with a sandy bottom which would make it difficult to be stealthy, especially in a narrow stream.

We started off creeping around, staying away from the water as much as possible, with a good angle up the bank on the river with as little glare as possible we soon started seeing movement. Even the clear water hid these well camouflaged brownies in. Now we hadn't tackled up as of yet and when JT spotted the head of something good poking out from under a low hanging branch we agreed to go a little downstream of it and see if there was anything else bobbing about in case we spooked something worth catching. As we tackled up we both opted for a nymph, JT for a lone nymph while i opted for the duo. There was a slight current here and after spotting 2 trout of around a pound swimming round a small pool under a tree nabbing nymphs we thought we was on to a winner. I went first but my 2.5mm bead didn't drift too well and would sink too quickly in the pool so JT stepped up and got a follow before popping his nymph into the tree and the fish went to ground after that.

We had learnt from this but knew of the fish that was a little further upstream, as we got there it had disappeared but we presumed, or rather more hoped, it had gone further into the tree. The bank here was still high so the approach we had was from above the branch but we needed to get behind the branch, complicated stuff but we decided the best course of action would be to let the nymph drift under the tree and give it a jiggle, more to keep it off the bottom as the river was very low here. Second cast and movement, the trout swam from under the tree and downstream, i spotted it go under the bank on our nearside so we edged our way just below it.

Being 6ft 8 it's easy being a spotter. I was practically above where the fish went under the bank, hidden as best i could as JT cast upstream into the area it was in, the glare here made JT blind for a take but as i saw the trout wrap its mouth around the fly he had struck into it, he felt the take and reacted to it. It was a good fish but now we had to land it, i couldn't see the bottom here and i wouldn't be able to climb back out here so i had to find an easier way in. I ran dropped my gear and grabbed my net off my backpack and ran downstream to a safer position to get it, it was a good 30 metres or so, but JT knew to play the fish downstream towards me and by the time i got up to the fish it was ready for netting and went in first time. It was a cracking trout, the mustard yellow belly with dark parr like circles subtly blended in with the dark spots of its flank. The fish wasn't just fat in its belly but thick on its shoulders, well conditioned and in perfect condition. This is what we had come for. A beautiful trout around 2lb.

A cracking fish to start the day, note the parr-like spots subtly blending in

We worked our way upstream spotting and spooking a few fish again of decent size with them all seemingly retreating to the underside of banks. The difficulties of the previous run despite the fish was the sink rate and presentation. We came across deeper pools and noticed how still the water had become, i stuck at it with the duo but JT decided to try something and pulled out a Martins Minnow. 2 casts in the same pool i had just duo'd through and he had a fish snatch at it. This pattern would persist of me using duo in a pool to JT using a Martins Minnow through the pool only for a fish to fly out of nowhere. It wasn't until a couple of missed and spooked fish later when JT got another cracking fish i would make a change. It shot our from under a half submerged tree downstream after the minnow and JT struck into it well, aiming for its safety spots like the tree and the undercut i climbed in to get it, JT guided it out and up into the net. It was another beautiful trout with big sparsely placed spots on its creamy coloured flanks. This again was around the 2lb mark.

JT with another beautiful flawless trout

After talking about streamer fishing i opted for one i had for years and my tuition then became a streamer lesson as well. This method was foreign to me and my only other attempt of this was after pike on the Old River with Mike France, that day i attracted 3 pike and missed 2 on again flies tied from Martin Smith. I had never spun for pike when i used to fish for them as i used to dead bait with sprats, so creating motion in an inanimate object effectively was a tough challenge for me. With my bow and arrow cast massively improving since last years tuition with JT i had at least one part nailed quite well. After rotating every couple of pools we came to a very tricky spot.

We had been pushed up the bank with a bank collapse but slightly downstream of our position about 10 feet down was a huge tree with a pool that had carved out at its roots. It was JT's turn and he popped his minnow to the left of the run allowed it to drift into the main pool and retrieved, some words of choice were said as a huge trout of easily 4lb+ went for the minnow, JT had struck, missed and ended up in the tree behind, a snap off. As he set up he told me to have a go, my fly was way to light even with the weight it would stick in the surface film until i pulled it under. I did as JT said and the trout followed the fly, it had 2 good runs at it before it left it. I cast again, nothing, i'd put it off.

As we made our way round the next few bends and my tuition started paying off, the movement i was creating was less bobby and more fishy but they didn't look at my fly while they would hunt JT's fly down like a guided missile. Both realising his fact JT let me use his rod and it soon started to show we was right. I kept missing fish, i either struck to late or too early trying to compensate for the previous mistake but it would all be practise practise practise. With a combination of JT's tuition in close quarters and streamer fishing and the effectiveness of Martin Smiths flies i was getting the bug. Watching the wild trout hunt down the streamer really put into perspective what a minnows life would be like and it would be damn scary.

JT wasn't as inexperienced as me and pulled out another trout which 4 trout all went after, unfortunately the biggest one wasn't the fastest but it was still a good trout. After a small break due to the humidity and a quick snack we continued upstream. It was a tough old day for myself as thing would continue in a rod gripping heart pounding fashion, we'd spot big trout, we'd spook big trout' we'd get big trout to chase the fly and we'd get small trout hammering the fly just as the big trout was hunting it down, bastards. the difference would be i would miss the trout and JT would land them, it was something you couldn't really teach, more of mental aspect of how quick you react, how good your visibility of the take is especially with glare and the best lesson i learned from this was not to fish watch. The number of times i cast to a fish only for another fish to pop out from under the bank and me totally missing it as i was watching the original fish was quite frustrating but definitely a hard lesson learned.

You can see the thickness of the trout easily in this shot

JT continued to reassure me as he pulled out 2 trout around a pound or so each in quick succession. After missing a couple more fish the day was drawing to a close and i had still yet to catch. I wasn't frustrated or annoyed in fact i was having a brilliant days fishing, it's good when you can enjoy fishing when your not even catching anything! Just sharing the experience and improving your skills with a good friend was well worth  the day out and with the bonus of nice trout hunting down your streamer. Now it's never over till the fat lady sings and JT said 3 casts each, last fish wins.

JT stepped up, nothing, nothing, nothing. My turn, just as i was about to cast i saw the ripple on the surface from the kick of a tail on the nearside, i cast to it, too much on top of it, nothing. I cast ahead of it, nothing, JT advised me to try the far bank to see if it had swam across. I cast, smash. A trout shot out and took it, this time i didn't miss. It was a biggy and now i had to keep it on, it appeared confused at first, caught in two minds as it swam to the bottom of the pool then it started swimming too the far bank undercut, then the nearside, JT helping remind me of directional pressure to avoid the snags, i was fortunate enough that it didn't bolt up or down the river as there wasn't many snags or overhanging trees here, only the bank to compete with, brambles and nettles etc are bad enough to be fair. It would seemingly give up fighting but as i would get it's head up it would kick away back towards its holes, thankfully staying in the pool, as it started to tire JT was in position to net it and i counted down to i forced its head up, straight in the net it was. It was a cracking 3lb or so trout. Like all the trout we had landed very fat and heavily set around the shoulders. Without a single mark on it it wasn't too pleased with being caught and in what would of been a bit of a faux pas if i had been on my own, it kicked its way to freedom after a quick photo. Luckily we had a picture of it and the fish went back very strong.

With the last cast making me the winner despite it being more of a team effort i had finally 'mastered' using the streamers, i have a long way to go yet don't get me wrong but i'm definitely on the right path and have ordered some minnows from MS Custom Flies on Facebook as they work brilliantly on trout. It was good comparing them with the ones i bought ages ago and going from one fly without getting any action bar a lone follow to getting at least a take in each pool was definitely eye opening.

In the end it was an amazing day that will no doubt have improved my skills in both close quarters and streamer fishing, with a good laugh all the way round it wouldn't be a day i would forget. If you would to get in contact with John Tyzack for a guided day you can find him on Facebook as well.

The fish that was caught on the last cast, like a fishermans tale.