I fancied getting out for a few hours today, though nothing involving a long drive, so was thinking of heading out to a local fishery. I walk the dog on a Sunday monring and often head along the dirt road that leads to Swanswater, to see what’s happening there. It was not hugely busy, there were a reasonable number of anglers out on the main loch, but the water looked a bit coloured up and having been there a few times recently in similar conditions and not having much success I thought maybe a change was in order. I spoke to a few anglers and they said they weren’t catching. I fancied going to Burnhouse but time was knocking on and if Swanswater was coloured up with yesterday’s rain I figured it would be too. So Wellsfield it was- 10 minutes up the road and supposedly spring fed.
I got there just on 13:00 so enough time for a 4 hour ticket and headed up the top lochan, which was frozen up at the top end. There were only two others on ths pond though so lots of room to choose. The lower pond was pretty busy by comparison. The water was a sort of milky grey here though too.
I started in the bottom corner by the aereator and fished a cast of Montana on point with a bloodworm on dropper on a long leader- well it worked at Orchill, and a sink tip line. After about 15 minutes and just when I was getting ready for a move I felt a very subtle take and lifted into a fish. It initially felt like a small out of season Brown would feel, but it stayed down and was not for being bullied to the surface. I was mindful of only having a 6lb tippet on and there being some lunkers in here so kept the tension on and tried to gain a bit line on the fish. It was staying deep and clearly wasn’t having any of it, it moved very quickly across in front of me then stopped. I think it headed into the weed as it stopped then there was a shuggle and the line came free with no fish on the end, it was off.
Lifting into a fish, it stayed on about 3 or 4 seconds then it was off!
I never touched another fish after a further 15 minutes here, so decided to move along the near bank where I still had no success, so moved to the west, windward bank to where the ice was. I have seen ice provide cover for fish before and sometimes along the edge of it you can pick up something. So I cast around here but the breeze while not totally overwhelming was difficult to fish against, but I stuck with it. However I was getting snagged in weed all the time…. and there was a weird beef smell like cross between beef crisps and , well, dog poo!
Fed up with this I headed round the East side. Just as I was getting ready to move an angler over there landed a fish, it was the first I had seen taken today. They were not what you could term, “Suicidal” today.
Fishing Lures at Wellsfield, and a two and a half pound Rainbow
I stayed near the deep end and again was getting caught up in weed. By now I was using a small Humungous on the long leader with an Intermediate line. I needed something that would allow me to fish deep but not in the weed. On went a Black and Green FAB, on point of a short leader, with the bloodworm and a green and black spider pattern. All on the intermediate line. Still no joy. A few anglers had come and gone at the point I started at and I felt around there was my best chance of a fish before going to the lower lochan. Back I went to the aereator and tried my “washing line” type rig. A few retreives in I felt a very gentle resistance in the weed again, but it pulled back and I lifted into a fish. It had clearly followed me all the way in and then taken as the flies reached the weed about two rod lengths out. This one stayed on and inthe shallow water I was able to bully it to the net before it knew what hit it. A nice Rainbow of about 2 and a half pounds. Were there more? Indeed there were, in fact I had tug after tug always just as the flies reached the weed. Now I know its easy to say- it must have been the weed snagging, but on some casts there was a simple snag, and on some you could feel the fish pluck at the point fly. I tried shortening the marabou on the tail but it made no difference. I managed to hook another fish, but this one only stayed on for seconds and then it too came off, as if it let go. I thought maybe a change of pattern to keep the black and green theme might work but though I still got interest they were simply not fully connecting. Not sure what the problem was but I tried different retrieves and dangled the flies- but nothing.
In the end I felt fairly fortunate to come away with a fish, and having had two others “on”, as it was clear many were simply not getting a touch.
Oh and the beef /dog poo smell….. it was the weed! I noticed it again when I was clearing a fly hook and then realised it was the weed that had the smell. How odd.
