I am off out tomorrow on the Clyde with Game Angling Instructor and Charman of the Game Angling Instructors Association, Alberto Laidlaw. While I have to say my angling has improved immeasurably over the last 9 months – to the extent that I now go out expecting to catch at least a fish most trips, I still find my angling skills on moving water leave something to be desired. Everything actually.
I rarely blank now on still waters, but regularly blank on rivers. Now I accept that river fishing is as much about finding the fish as catching them, most smaller stillwaters, anyway, you know the fish are there you just have to convince them to take your fly but even when I find them I seem to struggle or spook them.
Up until September, in fact, I had never ever caught a fish on a dry fly, now I pretty well only catch them on dries. 90% of the fish I have caught this season have been on dries and its great fun!
So tomorrow I want to change all this, I need to catch a fish on a river on a dry.
I went up this afternoon to Pendreich to have a wee bit of practice- it was very blustery and windy but I thought I would have a look see what was happening. The loch was fishable from the dam wall or from the boat, which I had a go at for 20 mins but it kept dragging the anchor due to the wind. I did manage to lose a fish, through lack of concentration- I was watching the mummy duck with her ducklings near the bank when a fish took- I suspect the small crimson tailed damsel pattern I had on point. I had way too much slack line to recover to keep it on a debarbed hook. So my own fault but the fish were there.
Long lean Brown Trout taken on a brown Klink. Safely returned
As if reading my thoughts a head came up and engulfed the fly!
I got shot of the boat to another angler and went to cast off the dam. I swapped over to my trusty brown Klinkhammer with a Shipman’s Buzzer on dropper and casting close into a rising fish I first missed a take then on the second go, got him. A nice half pound Brownie. There were fish rising sporadically but not interested in my fly and at this point, I spotted a few flies hatching and they looked to be some sort of olive dun. So on went a “Wrong Wrong Midge” and a CDC olive Klinkhammer on point. I was thinking to myself wouldn’t it be cool if a fish took it first cast as I watched the way the CDC hackled fly sat enticingly on the ripple. As if reading my thoughts a head came up and engulfed the fly! This time a wee bit bigger fish of about three-quarters of a pound. I managed to miss another two and one came off in front of an audience before I had to pack up- but I really did not expect any sort of action this afternoon so I was well chuffed with myself- and everyone else seemed to be blanking!
2 caught, 2 missed and 2 lost!
