It has not been a particularly auspicious start to my Brown Trout Season. To be honest the winter Grayling fishing was a bit of a non event too this year with few notable catches. But I hoped for better after the 15th March. Usually I get something in those first few forays out whether on still or moving water. OK the early season hasn’t been that great for me the last two years on the Carron, I must say with precious little insect life to be seen. But after a couple of goes on moving water I thought I would try open the account on still water up at Pendreich.
Sunny Sunday
Sunday was a stunner of a day, with wall to wall, morning to night sunshine and a fair bit heat, 18degrees C in March!!!
Marius was doing OK out on the water, netting a couple.
Up the loch there were another 4 anglers out when I got there, with two of our Romanian members Marius and Alexandru having a go. Marius was taking the boat out and Alex, still a learner, fishing from the dam wall. I stopped for a blether before starting on the North bank, having seen a couple of fish splash on the surface one up the East end and another in the middle. There was though it has to be said a fairly brisk at times, east wind, and in my experience, this is rarely good, even if today it wasn’t especially cold.
I was able to cover one fish that rose within casting range of me near the boat moorings but never had a touch. As another angler with a blank said to me as he was leaving, the odd fish was showing but it was like they came to the surface and then quickly headed straight back to the bottom again. They hadn’t managed to eek one out.
After a while on the North bank and with the South bank vacated I headed there to fish from the rocky promontory but seen zero fish activity and never even had so much as a knock. Even swapping to a intermediate line and sinking flies. I tried nymphs, Diawl Bachs, and bushy wets, slow figure of eights, fast strips and everything in between. Nothing seemed to get the fishes interest. Marius had a bit more luck out in the boat, eventually netting two nice fish.
Going to the Dogs
For my part I was getting a bit frustrated at the amount of ignorance shown on the part of dog walkers. What is wrong with these people? One had his dog in the water right in front of Alex. who moved for a time to the South bank… just totally ridiculous. Then I seen him and others with their dogs in the water at the nature reserve area. At one stage the Swan was deeply unhappy and had a go for one of the dogs. All you could hear was the shrill cries of wild fowl on the islands clearly being disturbed by the dogs in the water nearby. Do these people just close their ears to it all ? Clearly they just don’t get it.
Frogs doing what frogs likely do this time of year. Getting it on
Going to the Frogs
As I was having a chill on the bank I caught some movement out the corner of my eye and a pair of BIG frogs swam by, one on the others back. I am no particular expert in Amphibian behaviour but imagine this is the foreplay part of more serious goings on…. I think the wee guy is that, the wee “guy” and the big one is the female.
Of insect life I didn’t see much, not as much as I usually encounter, there were a few buzzer shucks on the surface of the north side ( probably being deposited there by the wind) but nothing on the south, and really not that many. Sometimes the surface is just covered in them at this time of year, even in pretty cold conditions.
So another fat frustrating blank. Not to worry plenty time yet.
