I had a funny sort of day in prospect Sunday as I had to leave for work, with a flight down to London in the evening so though keen to get out , and really fancying some river time, the 2 hours or so in the car there and back combined with an early start and prospects for a long day anyway, meant I decided to content myself with some more Rainbow action. As I have an entry for the Airflo Bank masters in spring, I decided on a 4 hour ticket at Orchill to get to know the place a bit better.
It was very dreich and dismal looking once I got above Dunblane on the way up there and was wondering if I was doing the right thing! However it was not too busy when I arrived and though there were plenty anglers about there was plenty space to slot in.
I decided to start near the hut where I started on my last trip, though at a platform closer to the outflow. The two guys on my immediate left had been there a wee while and were positively hammering them,if they were not landing fish they were hooking or losing fish. There was some sort of personal rivalry being played out as scores were being kept. I started on the Montana nymph that worked on my last (very successful) trip, but with an intermediate line but had nothing. A change to a more imitative GRHE and a spider got me one knock but nothing more.
A few more fly changes ensued everything from small wets to Damsel Lures, and I had one sharp take but I managed to miss it, feeling the kick then seeing the white belly of a fish turning away, otherwise no luck. Next to me was a different story, I think they were on about 8 fish each with at least twice as many coming off from what I seen! They departed and I decided to move up that one platform. First cast I had a hard knock on the hot head Damsel but it appeared to come off. I recast. Nothing!
I cast again then noticed something was odd- I had obviously been broken off on the hit from the Rainbow. I went to sort the leader out and discovered I had something dodgy in the 6lb tipper I was using as it was snapping under fairly moderate tension. I had to retie the point section and dropper twice until I got a length of fluorocarbon I was happy with- it was just snapping easily under tension. This happened before with the Airflo G3- but on the 4lb stuff last time. This spool has been OK up to now though and never been soaked.
A couple of anglers had moved in on my right where I had been fishing earlier, and the nearer one had just caught his first. Two and a half hours out- I was starting to feel a blank coming on ( oh dear!) and went back to the Montana. I also changed to my previous tactic of the sink tip line. Good thing as first or second cast I had my first fish and a good one at that- right on the bottom on a slow retrieve- a 3lb ( maybe a bit more) fish was netted- phew!
I fished a wee while longer then decided to move.
I went down to the bottom corner, I had seen no one there for ages and it had been such a good spot on my last visit. I needed to sort out my leader anyway. I kept the Montana on but swapped the top dropper for a copper bodied spider with a pink tag. First cast and a slow pull , saw me land a Rainbow of probably a bit shy of 2lb again on the Montana. That was my bag limit ( a 4 hour ticket allows you two fish now at Orchill, but you can go on to Catch and Release).
I decided I would have a few more casts here and then move to somewhere I had never been. With nothing more taking, I moved up on the bank which backs onto the Coarse fishery. No one was fishing here due to the nasty wind that was intermittently hitting the bank. There were fish here though, and I put a few casts over them but to no avail, before the wind whipped at my line carrying it back into the banking behind me. I gave the gentlest of tugs to free it thinking it was snagged in the grass, and it came away without the Montana. I went to look for it but could not find it- it seemed like the line had snapped again. I checked it thoroughly, seemed OK and tied on a small Cats Whiskers. I only had 20 mins left to give it a go. There were a few fish behaving oddly too- not so much jumping as sort of tail-walking through the surface in places- that’s the best way I can describe it. Though I had seen none, I wondered if they were hitting fry?
I moved round the other side with the wind now over my left shoulder and fishing into what I thought was the shallow top end. In fact its pretty deep and there were fish here too. Not too many casts and I had another fish, to the Cats Whiskers. I released it and soon I had a sharp knock that felt like was on but came off. It was about time to call it a day- a few last casts, and slam! Number 4 and this one was a cracker of a fish, really nicely coloured, and I would estimate like my first around 3 pounds. More surprising was this fish took the Copper Nymph ( only about a size 14) so pretty pleasing not to be on a lure type fly.
He Shoots
He Scores!- a Rainbow is hooked
A cracking Rainbow of near 3lb on the Copper Nymph
Not a bad day’s sport in the end.
I have given up on Flouro line,after trying several brands and many differnt knots I came to the conclusion that one cannot beat Stroft !
Love reading your Bloggs ..
tight lines
Jim
First off Thanks for the kind comments- will try keep it up- its as much a diary for myself as anything but if others find it entertaining or useful so much the better!
I have to say on the subject of tippet material I am a bit in a dither! Like most anglers I started with Nylon- bog standard Mono. Then after watching and listening to various experts I was encouraged onto Flourocarbon. I initially started on Fulling Mill, its cheap, but it is a bit thick and stiff but I do like Flouro’s near invisibility in water. I was then introduced to Stroft. I tend to use this a lot in my river fishing with the dry fly, its lovely and soft, however having tried to use it for still water dry fly I have to say it sits on rather than under the surface and I can’t help but feel it must be visible to the fish. Also its not the easiest stuff to get hold of- not found anywhere I can just walk in and buy it. I also tried Co-polymer. This is brilliantly unobtrusive with the presentation of the fly- almost gossamer like, however I have real problems with knot strength. I find even a tucked blood knot can pull out. I have tried a few other knots, like the Orvis knot and have had limited success, and a few lost flies/fish! Maybe Superglue is the answer but I don’t like using “chemicals” on knots- maybe they work but I have an innate distrust that it “melts” the material.
Then I found G3 it seems to be a good compromise, being finer and softer than Fulling Mill but I have had “outbreaks” of strength problems in 4lb and 6lb line. I suspect there are some Quality control problems. I have had indications that getting a spool soaked and not drying it, will result in problems. Certainly the 4lb spool I ended up chucking, might have been the case, it was in my pocket when I got soaked once then the following week it snapped under little tension. The 6lb line has been entirely different. I am sure it’s a QC issue, some lengths are strong and OK then suddenly a length is somewhat “brittle”- not the right term but all I can think of. Never had issues with 8lb. I have also tried Hanak FC but while I never suffered breakages it seemed to me, weaker than the equivalent “good” length of G3.
So what to do? Some anglers have pointed me at Riverge Grand Max but the pricing is horrific! Also I have this sneaking suspicion that Fluorocarbon is Fluorocarbon. My understanding is that there are only 2 or 3 factories that make it in the world, So surely there is a high degree of probability it all comes off the same production line? Is branding and labeling the only difference? So now I feel I am none the wiser? Interested in any observations about Stroft n terms of its thickness or visibility in water.