A weekend of steroid assisted sport at hand with the club end of season outing to Orchill scheduled for Sunday, and keen to make it, I felt a ‘practice’ session on the last day of the brown trout season was worth a go up at Pendreich.
Pendreich Saturday
Our wee boat grounded as the water was lowered.
It was bright and reasonably mild for the time of year but pretty breezy when I arrived. Though the wind was blowing off the dam wall I decided to fish the north bank which was tricky but not totally unmanageable. I had considered going out in the boat but was thwarted by the water level being down a good 18″ and the boat being pretty well grounded. Ordinarily I might have tried to shove it into the water but while I am more mobile than I have been for a while I am far from ‘fully fit’. So bank fishing it would be.
Very little was showing but I was keen to fish dries so on went a small olive. Casting blind I was starting to consider changing tactics when from no where a fish moved for the fly. I am not sure it actually took it as I never seen it disappear but I lifted without touching it. There was hope though. I fished right up the bank and never had any further attention. By now the wind was in my face and strengthening so I decided to move down to the dam, get a cup of tea and have a wee cast from there. I put on a sedge more in hope than anything else, few fish were rising and only once in each instance.
I seen a swirl about 5 yards from my fly then a wake as a fish headed right for my fly. The water appeared to bulge up about 2 feet under my fly but the fish never took. In truth it was probably an inch or two but the expectation exaggerated it! After this there was nothing much happening, but I was delighted to have got out and felt Sunday was on! Bonus!
Orchill Sunday
The morning started cold bright with a touch of frost and mist over the water.In short it was stunning.
A stunning Autumnal morning at Orchill
The club had a very healthy turn out, around 25 I think and after pegs being drawn we spread out. On my first peg I started on an intermediate line but soon observed that the fish were not really much more than a foot to 18 inches down in the clear water. I swapped to a floater. I had started with a small Cats Whiskers partnered with a Diawl Bach and a Cruncher but then swapped to a hot head damsel. This immediately got a hard tug but no fish despite it coming a second time. Next stop was to be the boats and the boat anglers were hammering the fish. My boat partner and I rowed out and anchored to begin fishing. It never took long for me to get my first fish of about 2lbs on the damsel.
Soon it was time to head back to the bank and hopefully more fish. I had a bit of a rubbish peg and might have got one half hearted tug but nothing else. Next peg I had two tugs one which I missed totally, the other which never connected. Fish were rising in front of me, so I decided to chance a dry fly on the point. First cast a fish had a go at one of the droppers hanging washing line style between my line and point dry fly, a yellow owl. This never stuck also and I was not sure what fly drew attention. I decided to take the droppers off and then managed to rise and connect with a fish but dratt-it, it came off!
Next move got no interest then my next move was up near the top end. I was getting loads of tugs back on the tungsten beaded Cats Whiskers. Eventually one took and I had a fair fight with a fish of about three pounds when I netted it. Next move was another duff peg, hard to cast so I fished the dry again to save me lots of casting and snagging in the surrounding trees.
Next peg I had the cat back on and almost right away I had a third fish. Sport dried up so I varied patterns and with a black bunny leach on follow after follow ensued, sometimes two fish at a time but frustratingly none took.
An angler fishes from the boat
On my last peg fish started rising and I went back to the dries. The only problem was now leaves on the water. But I still put a tiny black parachute fly on with a finely tapered leader. Second cast a fish rose initially beside my fly then it took it. I lifted and never felt a touch but my fly was gone, the fine tippet broken. After this I tried a number of other dries but had nothing more.
All day the sun shone and it was warm. Can you ask for more in October? A great day.
The club did well too, landing 73 fish for 181 lbs as well as quite a few released too. A stunning day and a successful trip.
