Swanswater is my “local” for want of a better name. I can literally walk there in about 40 minutes and while I have been relearning fly fishing in the latter half of 2010, it was my venue of choice.
I have to say I enjoy it there especially the smaller ponds. The big loch can be variable and can go very dour. It’s definitely a place not to become to fixated on one fly, one technique or one location.
I went up Saturday for a 4 hour session- arriving just before 12 to get the best of the day through to close around 16:00. As it turned out they are now open to 16:30 and on a day like Saturday, it was still quite light even then.
The small ponds have apparently been fishing well but the larger loch, Swanswater itself was apparently fishing well early in the week but had turned a bit quiet from the end of the week until the time of writing.
Now I am not especially fond of fishing lures I have to say but there are times when really that’s all that’s going to work. If I was fishing catch and release (which to be frank I would prefer- I don’t like trout to eat and I always end up phoning round the place trying to find “takers”) I suppose methods would not matter at all to me.
But I find the get your bag limit thing a bit annoying I have to say- on the flip side you have paid for the fish by buying a ticket and might as well leave with what you paid for.
Its something I am going to have to wrestle with I guess- another thing I dislike is blobs and fishing statically- but again I appreciate its sometimes the only method that’s going to work, but if I wanted to float fish I would go do it.
So look away if you are much of the same mind as me- I do redeem myself at the end!
I decided to fish the pairing of a size 10 white Bunny leach (mink) with a bright red head- tied by myself. I have found this to be a very useful pattern at Swanswater. Paired with a black, not overly large Humungous- also a size 10 but not as big as some I have seen.
This duo proved deadly at Wellsfield Fishery on Boxing Day.
The main loch was busy- and so I opted to fish from the peg near the Dam wall. I like the “road” side pegs further up but they were frozen out.
First proper cast and a very slow retrieve – maybe 3″ every 6 seconds figure of eight’ing with an Intermediate line allowed to sink- and I detected a very gentle take and there was a 3 and a half pound blue on the end of the line.
It took the Bunny Leach.
It fought really well and took a few runs from the net until I could safely bag it.
I could detect a few looks of interest among the other anglers- nothing else seemed to be moving.
I cast again, and then again, over the same spot, same technique and almost right under my feet again a dull weight on the line- this time a 2lb rainbow. It was a bit of a surrender monkey this one and I practically lifted it out the water immediately- no fight at all. Again it was the Bunny Leach did the damage.
Interestingly this fish was utterly covered in beasties- small shrimps, worms, nymphs, buzzers and really notably- bloodworms. It must have been resting right on the bottom.
I tried a few more casts right round an arc but then got snagged in the branches of a tree opposite, behind me.
In retrieving my line I lost the Humungus. Not really an issue as I made a batch of them when I tied them.
I fished the BL on its own and then duh- stupid- managed to snag again in the same tree and lost the BL. Again I had more but decided fate was telling me it was time to change. I decided to change spot and tactics just for the fun of it.
I moved off to the spot know as the “island”.
Hot Orange bloodworm/buzzer as tied in Trout Fisherman Feb 2011
This has in my experience been something of a hot spot and seems to be the destination of a number of locals or regulars. I have only fished there once or twice in all the time I have been up there. Its a bit like a channel that runs past and in summer is reminiscent of a river- probably caused by the water pushing towards the outflow beside the dam wall.
Often you can actually see fish here- but it’s so heavily fished if you are not first I reckon it can soon become “exhausted”. I did, however, land my PB here later on in the day in October (on a Humungus), an 8lb 2oz fish from where everyone had been earlier and took more “normal” stockies.
Anyway, this is where I totally went over to the “dark side”. I tied a goldhead blood worm pattern on the point of a six-foot leader, with an Apps on the middle and- a large CDC “thing” sort of like a parachute buzzer but not much buzzer in it on top- as an indicator.
I used the very slow retrieve. I have to say here_ I was casting as good as I ever have I think- some sort of improvement- getting used to the HM3 rod now I think.
I was having a real problem spotting the CDC buzzer on the top in the light, so went fully over to the dark side by changing to a FAB- Foam Arsed Blob.
This was much more visible.
Nothing was taking so I moved to the peg to my left behind the aerator.
Second cast and the blob went under- and I was into another nice blue that fought well.
A brace of winter Trout
That was me bagged up for 8 and a half pounds.
After booking in I went C&R on the small Meadow Pond- if fishing the ponds I prefer the Mill Pond- the larger of the two but there were a few people at the area I like to go to.
It did not take long before I was into a fish using the bloodworm under a blob, and the fish was strong, unfortunately, it slipped the now debarbed hook- and managed to bend it! I never saw it but I think it was a decent size- especially for the ponds.
A little more time and I was into a 2lb rainbow that gave a spirited fight- I never played it much as on C&R you really don’t want to tire the fish excessively so I bullied it a bit to the net and unhooked it and it was off.
I got talking to a chap and while blethering noticed a few fish were rising to something. I decided to put on a tiny wee dry fly- sold as a “shit fly” by John Emerson at Unique Flies. It looks like a grey midge spattered on your car windscreen in summer.
I cast it onto the centre of a fading rise ring and simply left it there. Sure enough bang- into a nice Blue and it was netted and released in due course. Not bad for the 22nd of January at 4 in the evening, near freezing and 2 degrees in the water. Dry flies are summer only? – pah!
