The weather was forecast to improve this week as it progressed, but other than yesterday evening which was warm and settled ita not been great. Hoping it would be a nice day today, hopefully warm but overcast would be good. As it transpired it was grey with a cold easterly wind. Crap for fishing the lochs and that left the river as the best option. Thats ok but mybfeet have been killing me lately and I wasn’t really up for spending much time on my feet. But needs must so with the river gear in the car I was Carron bound.
I went to have a recce before setting up and the wind was blowing cold and directly upstream. But a fish obligingly rose as I watched so I returned to the car to set up.Nymph or dry? I was undecided so split the difference and set up klink and dink. A Para Adams on top dropper and a 47 nymph on point. I had a short leader on as I intended to fish a short line.
Fishing through where the fish rose, nothing but as I made my way up the run I finally contacted a fish, a wee wild one but welcome all the same on the nymph. I wasnt seeing many fish moving so I decided to change to a wee wet spider on the top dropper.
I fished on and eventually more fish were showing so I decided to put a longer leader on and go back to the Adams fished further from thebline and putba different nymph on point.
Almost right away I rose a fish but it didnt take then again but this time success. A second small Brownie thus time on the dry. The odd fly was coming off but they were sparse and I wasnt sure what it was tge the fish were taking.
Up in deeper faster water I finally contacted a decent though not huge wee wild fish that put up a good fight. It had almost swallowed the fly and despite it being barbless it was hard to get the fly back, the Adams once again.
3 to a pound wild Brownie still put up a decent fight taken on an Adams and safely released.
I always think this looks a fishy section with some deep lies behind rocks but rarely do I see fish here- did turn a couple up stream but that was it.
After this I must have rose 6 or 7 more fish some I targetted others rose at random but they were hard to tempt onto the hook. I tried numerous flies but while I could rise them, I couldn’t hook them and I was sure there were some decent fish among them. However the best thing was my cold feet. Despite the pain I have been suffering in them all the last few weeks I was in bliss with them in the cold and I was able to forget they hurt for hours.
Unexpectedly tolerable.
