Dry fly in the Gloaming

I went back down the River Carron last evening for a spot of Brown Trout action on the same stretch I fished on my last outing. I was really taken by this stretch and really fancied giving it a go if there was an evening rise. It wasn’t the brightest or warmest of nights, but it wasn’t wet and it wasn’t cold. The forecast for the rest of the week wasn’t great and I thought if I was going to make it out, now was the time. I decided to fish with my 3 weight Hanak 4 in 1 Czech Nymph rod which is also pretty good with the dry fly. I Also set up for the first time with a furled leader, not something I have ever used before, but fancied giving it a go.

I had my wee Tenkara rod with me too with the intention of using it to dead drift a few nymphs or small spiders through any lies where nothing was showing.

When I arrived there was a young lad ( very polite) sat bait fishing in the deep pool under the bridge. I wasn’t planning on fishing here as it is very slow and almost dead water ( plenty fish though, though mostly tiddlers I think). He hadn’t had anything as we exchanged pleasantries on the way by.

Down at the run I was interested in there were plenty insects on the water but nothing was moving, though I had heard the odd plop of a possible rise, I hadn’t seen one in my field of view. I set up with a small deer hair dun and started to fish up from the bottom of the run. My target was the spot where I caught a fish last time but I didn’t want to ignore the rest as I had turned fish there too. Until I was about one cast away from the target area, there hadn’t been a single fish making itself known. But right on cue a fish rose right where I hoped. I slowly kept working towards the area and sent my fly out over the target zone. I was really pleased with hw the furled leader was working with my 3 weight rod and line. As long as you don’t try to cast too short a line it all works beautifully. When it’s too short the rod doesn’t load and it lands in a heap. The fly landed as if suspended on a spiders silk and drifted over the lie. There was a big splash, the trout had come for the fly, I lifted but felt absolutely zero resistance. I hadn’t touched it, so had it missed or refused? I really wasn’t sure. I tried a couple of more casts and then decided to move on up. Nothing else here so I returned to my starting point to change flies and watch. After about 10 minutes the fish rose again. I tried a different fly, but this wasn’t looked at, and subsequent changes- probably about 6, all went unacknowledged. The fish was still there though, rising now and then, but not regularly and it wasn’t clear to what.

The biggest hassle I was having, was I couldnt thread the flies onto the very fine 6X tippet I was using. My eyes are getting shocking! I don’t find wearing my glasses ( reading glasses) helps much in this regard so I think I am going to have to look at getting one of those magnifiers that clips on to your cap peak. In the lower light of a dull evening every fly was a ten minute struggle like trying to thread a needle.

I moved up to the faster water and gave it a go. I tried it with a wee olive Klink, not because i thought it would be effective but at the time it was all I could tie on!

As it fished through the fast water there was a small splash at the fly and I hooked a tiny wee brown trout. it was so small it barely moved the tip of the rod and was impossible to keep tension onto, and it flicked itself off the hook. Well at least the fly had had some interest.

Low light on the Carron

I noticed there were by now lots of big brown/dark olive spinners high above the water, it was very hard to really get a good look at them in this light, all I could really discern was that they had  two tails. I have a few mayfly patterns in my box but am not convinced they would work here so I opted for a fairly big Jingler. As soon as it was on and fishing through the fast water I was getting interest. It wasn’t long before I had a take, a small 6″ wild Brown trout. I had quite a few other offers but no actual takers. i decided to give the first lie one more cast over before moving up towards the car at the bridge. The fish had continued to rise occasionally below me but it wasn’t interested in the Jingler either.

A gorgeous Brown of about 1lb in the low light

I moved back up to the deep slow pool and there were fish rising everywhere though whether they were tiny tiddlers or decent fish was hard to establish. Most looked small judging by the flicking at the surface and occasional jumping fish, but there were definitely a few rises that made me think bigger fish, though they appeared to be almost in the shallower water. My first few casts with the Jingler got no looks at all, and I could see clouds of tiny midges ahead of me. I decided there was time for one last fly change in the receding light, so on with a size 16 F ly in black. My first few casts went untouched but as I slowly edged up the pool a fish rose again in front of me and it was indicative of a better fish. I covered it once but got no response, then again, this time there was the subtlest disturbance of the surface, almost like the bubbles a carp leaves, I lifted and felt the fish and it was a good one. It put up a great fight but it came to the net soon enough and was a very pretty Brown Trout about 1 pound, clearly a stockie judging by the clipped adipose fin but it was a very nicely coloured fish with a lot of almost orange in its colouration.

Photographed and returned in the low light I decided enough was enough and headed for the car. A pleasing end to a pleasurable evening’s fishing.