As seems to be the way in my job, we are rolling now into the peak activity time of the year. After New Year there is always a bit of a lull, as projects from the year before close, new ones are initiated and the upgrade and roll out cycle finally hits the engineers on the front line. Of course it all comes at once and everyone wants everything yesterday. This means lots of night shift, and always at the time when I want to be out fishing in the longer nights.
This week will see a particularly busy stretch kick off and last night might be the last in a while that I could for definite say my time would be my own. There will be odd nights here are there but you know what it’s like when your sleep cycle is all over the place and you are torn between having a rest for the next one, recovering from the last night and getting out for some fresh air.
Too Many Options
While I am kind of itching to get up to Loch Coulter as I haven’t had time to make it there yet (this weekend maybe?) I really wanted to get out on the River Devon again as its starting to liven up a bit with the warmer spell we have eased into, and before the rivers are too low. We had snow and rain last week but on the whole, it doesn’t seem to have had much of an effect on loch or river.
I arrived at my chosen location ( the same I visited a few weeks back as it is a stretch I particularly like though a bit of a painfully slow drive at times for me when there are lots of cars about) . It takes me nearly 45 minutes to get there yet it took me only 22 minutes home when it was quiet!
There were anglers tackling up in a couple of laybys on the way there and I was hoping there weren’t too many where I was targeting. It was a relief to encounter just one other car parked up and funnily enough, I never came across that angler all night, they were gone when I got back.
My plan had been to go right down to the bottom and work up but being that I expected someone else to be there and couldn’t see them from where I was, I suspected the wee spots I know further down ( out of sight) might be occupied. As it transpired that wasn’t the case as no one came past me but it didn’t really matter as I had a nice time where I ended up.
I tend to stay well back from the river here as it is gin clear and the fish can be very switched on, sometimes tucking in right under the bank, approach too close and all you see is a flash as they bolt. I learned that many years ago!
I spotted a few fish rise in less accessible spots and was trying to see what they might be taking. In the low angled sunlight there were simply millions of aquatic insect son the water, the air was literally thick with them. I stopped and sat on the bank and just watched this go on, as big Mayfly-like flies danced in clouds in the light. My fly identification skills aren’t great and what these were I am not 100% sure. There weren’t true Mayflies as they only had two tails but they were of a similar colour (cream looking), with clear looking wings ( so not Large Brook Duns either). Looking through my copy of Matching the Hatch, maybe Medium Olive duns or spinners?
I tried to take a photo but in the light and with the speed of movement it was tricky.
After a while I moved on, the sun was getting lower and I reached a nice wee run which is nice to fish a nymph through. My intent had not been to fish here at all, but the clouds of flies on the water were so astonishing I could not imagine there wasn’t a fish or two here willing to feed, though whether they wanted an artificial with so much natural food was hard to say.
At the car I was a bit of a dither about tactics. Initially, I was going to take two rods, one with the French Leader on and the other rigged for dry fly. However having got there a wee bit later than I anticipated ( that 45 minute drive), I decided to take just the Adams rod and French Leader, and a spare reel with a 3# line if I wanted to get a bit more range.
I would try a dry on the French Leader if possible but the leader I have isn’t particularly well suited to that style of fishing. I need to experiment in this area more. Not sure how good delivering a single dry is using a Daiwa Carp leader as a French leader with maybe a longish tippet? Anyone tried?
My flies were a small 47 Nymph on point and about 2 feet above on the dropper I tied on a CDC Greenwells spider. A few Blue Winged Olives, not sure if they were spent or just cripples trapped in the surface film came to my attention at the tail of this run ( I suspect the latter as they took off once rescued by me and given a few moments on my hand to dry out). The Greenwells had to be a reasonable starter.
With the small nymph on point the CDC Spider was sticking resolutely to the surface and I cautiously worked upstream trying to cause as little disturbance as possible. Clumsy steps would send a wave right across the slower areas of the lower pool.
The Obliging Trout
Rather obligingly I thought, a fish rose ahead of me in the middle of the run and I tested the range but further across so as not to shoot my bolt, and it was still too far. I patiently made my way closer and also was able to edge back a little from the water so causing less disturbance. My first cast to actually target the spot ( by now the fish had risen about three times) was actually too accurate, I really wanted to be dropping my fly a couple of feet ahead but I landed it right on the spot which wasn’t ideal. I find it a little hard adjusting from still water to moving in this regard. It’s tricky adjusting your aim not to be dead on the spot the fish rose and let the current work for you.
I managed a cast that plopped the nymph in about 3 feet ahead of the rise and this put the CDC Spider, about a foot ahead, maybe too close still? The fish didn’t care, it had no hesitation in coming right up and taking it! A nice wild Brown Trout from the Devon, a great start.
As I moved up another fish rose a couple of times actually below where I started. I fished on up and then had a bit of a play with my camera and drone while there was enough light, before trying the lower fish once more, but it didn’t come near and I never saw it rise again.
I packed up all the crap I carry ( far too much but I like to get a few shots for the blog) and headed on down river. By now the sun was just starting to edge below the distant hills of Glen Devon and a few fish were rising in the slow water beside me. A little downstream wind had got up too and I had my doubts the French leader was going to be the way forward so I decided, While I had enough light to see still, to change reels and get the 3 weight line on. While tactically I think it was the right thing to do, in actuality, my leader was presenting my flies poorly. I know a bad workman blames his tools, and maybe I shouldn’t have spent so long trying to make a crap job better by stretching and trying to straighten my leader. By the time I decided, you know what I need to change this leader in its entirety, it was too dark for me to tie a fly on!
I had tried a couple of flies, the CDC Greenwells and a couple of Olive emerger patterns. I wasn’t convinced the fish were taking right on top, in fact, I am sure they weren’t, as some swirled just subsurface. But none showed any inclination to take what I was ( poorly) presenting. It was by now almost totally dark and I packed up and headed back to the car, satisfied with my lot, to be honest. I do though need to sort my leader out for next time, try some different French Leader setups ( for dries) and I do need to encounter some bigger fish.
