Not been out for a few weeks, been far too sore in the most part and on call last week at work. The weather was beautiful today and despite my fingers really hurting a lot, I was keen to try get out up to the club water before the end of the season next week.
I never got up there and tackled up until about 3 and it was pretty warm and bright though with a fairly stiff breeze from the east, maybe more east south east.
While you couldn’t call it ‘rough’ there was bit more than a mere ripple and dry fly was unlikely to work. I decided to use my ‘new’ 7 weight with a team of three wet flies, though the point fly was beaded to get the cast under. The water looked pretty stirred up looking, I was also annoyed to see that the club boat was chained up at the bank for the first time this season, had I known I would have brought my electric outboard and battery and had a rare session out on the loch. Rowing wasn’t an option for me. With a floating line on I started near the boat mooring and cast down the bank in a semi circle. As I neared the boat itself casting well out between the boat and the buoys, as I retrieved back there was very very firm pull, that as I lifted, pulled back almost as hard as I was pulling on the fish. Who had caught who?! As I tightened the line it suddenly went slack. I think it was pretty deep and it felt like a decent fish but it never disturbed the surface.
I carried on fishing the same water but nothing paid the flies any heed. I had a change of flies and fished through again, in the time here I had seen a couple of fish move but they were all well out in the middle. Nothing near by, I tried a quick change to an intermediate line and tried again. Nothing. I moved up the bank and tried a few other spots but had no interest and few fish showed. The wind though did drop significantly and I decided on the off chance to try the east end with a single fly but even up here there were few signs of fish, a few fish still jumped,or splashed well out. I was fishing a floating fry immitation on the intermediate line and treated the leader to a coat of Density Mud, the new leader degreasant from Paul Davison at Troutwatch. This is a leader degreasant but with the addition of tungsten paste. It seems to be impressively effective at sinking the leader and is of a consistency that maintains the paste on the line. Even by the end of my session the degreasant was still adhering to the line.
I was going to swap to a dry fly but discovered I couldn’t find my floating line. A slightly rapid hobble back down the loch and I was lucky, I found my spool of line where it had rolled into the water where I had been fishing near the boat. I was in two minds to call it a day by now when a fish splashed between the buoy and me.
Sod it! I tied on a Midas dry fly and cast it out where the fish had showed itself. No obvious interest though I did think the water bulged nervously making me think a fish maybe had a look. In the light it was hard to see the fly, I wasn’t even convinced the Midas was floating, though it seems to be a pretty low riding pattern anyway, so I decided to stick on a CDC fly I tied a while back. I would call it a “Cullens CDC” in claret, as it was a very simple pattern Steve Cullen of Total Flyfisher posted on Face Book a while back ( Think F-Fly but with a tuft of the cut CDC at the head end instead of being tied down, not that different in profile and colour to the many sedges flitting round on the bank. This fly was much easier to see and I cast out near the buoys. Just then a fish gave it’s position away between the boat tied to the bank side and the bank itself. The bank is quite high here so I tried to cover the fish from my existing position allowing the fly to drift round the back of the boat. It wasn’t getting near so I had to move closer. I tried a very short cast using the rod to kill the line speed allowing the cdc to drop delicately over where I thought the fish might be. No sooner had the fly landed than there was a splash, I lifted and the fish was hooked. It tried to escape round the back of the boat but managed to get my leader snagged on a raggedy edge of the boat stern. It wouldn’t budge so I had no option but to clamber on the boat and get the fish in from the boat.
Taken on a Cullens CDC in Claret, it really wanted the fly. Safely returned, looked quite a well fed wee chap/
Success, a fish of about a 1lb, maybe 20ozs. It had really taken the fly it was right down its throat, so I had to go find my forceps and get the fish free. It took a bit of reviving but did eventually swim off strongly. Me? I was knackered. Time for tea and medals.
Nice one Kenny
Could you please tell me how to tie a Midas dry fly? Kind regards Matt cairns.
I don’t know if my version of a Midas is “exactly right” but it looks the same! Paul Davidson whose pattern it is kept it fairly secret, presumably because he was selling them as the latest “must have” killer pattern.It’s not a million miles away from a hopper , I deconstructed a bought one to see how it was done. It seemed like the legs were stubbier compared to a hopper and seemed to be tied backwards, by that I mean the thicker part of the feather protrudes from the back end of the fly rather than the ever thinner ends as dangling legs in a hopper. The head has a turn of Gold dubbing ( hence, I assume the name Midas). The body was seals fur in any colour you like. My purchased ones were Black, Red, Claret and I think Ginger. All had a small collar hackle. Best overall description, tie a Bobs Bits, tie in some upside down legs, with a hackle and finish with a gold dubbed head.
I had some photos of when I took one to bits- I will post this tomorrow.