For my first outing of the “off season” Sunday I decided to give my local, Swanswater a wee visit. Not been up there for a wee while. It was very calm but not overly busy, there were a good few anglers on the water but there was still plenty room. I was told the fishing was a little tricky and that the overnight frosts were putting the fish down and into lethargic mode earlier in the days but as it was about lunchtime when I arrived and was pleasantly warm I was hopeful. What wasn’t pleasant was being full of the cold! Had a stinker all weekend, I won’t exaggerate and call it man flu but quite a heavy one nonetheless. This was part of the reason I skipped going out on Saturday as I felt a bit rough after a bad night on Friday. In the event it sounded better anyway as I was told there was a terrifically cold wind on Saturday afternoon which was a little surprising as along the road at mines it was not a bad day.
I set my rod up with a single stalking bug, I always like to have a wee “footer” round the mouth of the burn before I start in earnest, as most anglers walk right by the spots where fish often hide out. My leader was a bit on the long side for this style of fishing but I made do and plopped the white and red bug by the foot bridge. Immediately a BIG rainbow popped out and looked to be about to take the bug but then it turned and vanished again. Another go and this time from where I wasn’t quite sure, but an even bigger, Golden Trout appeared, but again it didn’t like what it was seeing and turned away at the last moment. It makes for good fun!
Nice rainbow on the beaded Diawl Bach
I tried a few more colours of bugs but never had a sniff. However taking the time to do this allowed me to cast an eye over where I had seen some fish rise in the main loch. And they were appearing very close to where I was. I tied on a beaded Diawl Bach with a couple of buzzers ( tied that very morning) and cast out. Not far, the fish seemed close in and I didn’t have much back cast space anyway. I was sure I had a bit interest as the tip of my line moved in a very odd fashion but I felt nothing and I saw nothing follow. I tried again and as soon as I started retrieving with a little pace there was a smooth grab at the fly and a fish was on the point. A nice Rainbow of maybe about two and a half pounds and the barbless hook was easy removed from the scissors and it went back without needing to be touched by me.
I moved a little to get a better cast at the same area as there were clearly a few fish here. After a short time one of the regulars I know Jim Craig arrived and we were blethering while I fished. Another angler known to Jim then stepped over and joined in the conversation, the distraction was too much and you know what happened next, yes, a fish took me not once but twice, almost as the fly hit the water. And I missed! Much hilarity ensued. I had seen a few more fish move a little beyond my casting range and so i decided to move round to try to cover them easier. This gave the added advantage that I was able to see the fish in front of me a lot easier too. There were a number of Golds, just cruising about 1 foot down and the odd Rainbow too. I tried a few dries- Daddies and emergers but though the fish would cruise up to it and literally nose it, they were not taking it. I don’t know what’s better, ignorance of the fishes proximity to your fly or seeing it not take!
I worked out though the fish were definitely wanting a bit movement and changed my cast to a Cormorant on point with a spider and DB on the droppers. First cast, a big pull and there was a commotion of splashing and pulling at my flies but they simply did not stick. This happened a number of times then the fish seemed to lose interest. I would change the point fly and interest would return. After a while the fish seemed to sink deeper in the water- oddly perhaps as the sun went away behind the clouds. I decided to swap to a glass intermediate line and this seemed to get the fish interested again. Round the adjacent corner Jim was sticking to mostly tiny spiders and dries. He was encountering the same, the fish were following sometimes snatching at the flies but they were not taking it properly and were not sticking. Then I got a good solid take and though I didn’t see the whole fish I seen enough of its golden flank to tell it was no tiddler. I managed to get it on the reel before it bolted for the middle taking a lot of line but I soon gathered it back in and the fight seemed to be gradually going my way with the fish while still not fully visible only three rod lengths away, when suddenly and totally inexplicably the line just went slack. All the hooks were intact and not bent or anything of the like so I can only think the hook maybe had just nicked the fish in the lip and it pulled through.
It did though eventually go a lot quieter and my time was up. Was good fun and had loads of sport to keep things interesting. Some anglers were making them stick better than me or Jim, one guy along on the island must have had 5 fish in almost as many casts, and some guys in the boats went through a bit of a purple patch too but it just wasn’t happening the same way for me, though the fish were always looking at my flies.
