I have a week off work though largely this means I am still around the house ( well, the garden mainly) a lot just not working. I do intend to get some fishing in this week if the weather permits, though it has to be said it has been pretty windy of late. After a heavy shift on my pond building project in the garden, yesterday morning, I was encouraged to take a break and head out in the afternoon, by my Mrs.
Not ideal conditions
With the wind though it was always going to be challenging wherever I headed, but the River Carron seemed the safest bet as you can generally find some shelter there. I decided to fish at a spot I think I have only accessed really once in all the time I have fished the river, mainly because it had a few obstructions that spoiled a few of the fishier looking spots, and also because my last time here, it was very slow water and maybe not ideal for the fly. Nonetheless, I was out for a walk and an explore as much as anything and it seemed a good area to limit the chance I might encounter others.
There were two cars parked up when I arrived, and one angler either bait fishing or spinning upstream ( it seemed a bit low for the latter to be honest), so that very much decided I was heading downriver in any case. Ready to go with my rod set up but no reel on as I decided my method would be dictated by the conditions. I was, I have to say, hopeful that I might see a few rising fish and be able to give the dries a throw.
Walking quite a distance ( avoiding one other angler who seemed to be bait fishing in another pool downstream, I really wasn’t sure what was going on there until I got pretty close as all I could see was a guy standing on the bank and no rod….. it was set down propped against a tree with a line out. (Is that even legal?)
Into new territory
Anyway, crossing the river a few times I think I reached the limit of how far I had ventured previously down this section several years ago and found a couple of fish rising under an overhanging tree. They seemed like they were probably small fish. But it was all the encouragement I needed to put on my new Sage 2230 reel, I got this for my Birthday (well, with my birthday “money”) and had yet to try it out, with 3# line on.
Upstream fishing was going to be impossible in the wind, not helped by the fact I seem to have mislaid my tapered leaders for dry fly fishing so was having to rely on a straight-through section of 4lb fluorocarbon to terminate my line. no ideal but needs must. I really need to spend some time and have a rake through my gear as I should have a selection of leaders but for the life of me cannot find them.
Try a dry
So downstream dries it was and the straight-through leader performed reasonably well, assisted by the wind. I tried an emerger and a CDC Spider but if the fish was still there it showed no interest, the water though was very shallow so I suspect they were tiddlers. On downstream, I headed and back on the south bank it got very high above the river and was far from easy to get down to water level, though after some exploring did find a couple of ways into the river from where I could wade. I spent more time watching for activity but nothing stirred though I felt this area seemed fishier and had a good bit more depth. In the absence of rising fish, I swapped to the French Leader and a couple of very small nymphs, in fact, one nymph and one CDC Spider.
I was optimistic of getting something here as there was both decent flow and reasonable depth but was surprised nothing had a look. It turned very cold for a spell and the sun vanished and actually for the first time in the outing despite no fish showing interest, I felt my enthusiasm rise a little. I have to admit despite it being a long time since I fished for trout on a river ( last season in fact) I was struggling to get motivated until now. Not sure why….it’s been a strange year!
I varied my flies, weights but with n interest then spent 10 minutes trying to work out how to get back onto the bank which is pretty high above the water level.
Having found an exit…full of stinging nettles, I had noticed a splash maybe 40metres downstream and tried to work out how to get there. Access was again a nightmare but eventually, I made a reasonable entry to the water maybe 20 metres further down than where I judged the splash to have been. Was it a fish or one of the many ducks?
A big trout
I had not fished long when suddenly I spotted a fish turn and follow my small bugs coming down towards me. The fish, a really good-sized trout, then turned away and resumed its station just above me. I tried a second cast and again it followed down but again turned away just when it seemed like it had to take. I pulled the flies out and noticed the point fly, a size 18 black nymph had collected some of the rock snot that was in evidence all over the river. Low water and high temperatures can be a pest at this time of year.
With the flies cleaned off I tried once more. The water was very shallow, little more than shin deep and the Trout was as big a trout as I have seen in the Carron, if not bigger, it had to be a comfortable 2lb fish and the water was just clearing its dorsal fin, when it moved you could see the wake on the surface a little.
Casting again and once more the fish adjusted station to look. I did see its mouth open but neither detected, felt or saw it take the bugs, this time it turned away not 5 feet from me and turned into even shallower water under a nearby tree.
Engaged at last
One good thing, this fish really got me engaged with my fishing on this outing. I was adjusting my set up to try something smaller and less prone to picking up the rock snot that was everywhere. By the time I had adjusted things the fish had moved and I wasn’t too sure where to, so I slowly worked upstream. Once again I encountered this Big Tease of a fish under another overhanging branch and again in water that was barely 6 inches deep. It showed no interest this time though just kept moving down towards me then swimming back a little further up each time until I lost sight of where it might be. I had fished the entire 60 metres or so of river ending up back where I started when I first saw something splash so knew how to get out….. those nettles again though…..
I kept walking until I got to the junction of the River Carron and the Bonny Water and the river took a bit of a downturn in terms of conditions. There seemed to be a lot of water coming down this tributary and it was pretty grey in colour, with a bit of a smell. Not Sewage but definitely a drains smell that put me off progressing further. One side of the river was gin clear the other side grey and I suspect another 50 metres downstream it might have been a lot murkier.
I fished what I could then decided to call it a day having walked a reasonable distance to get here and headed back to the car. Nice to be out but fish-less, though not a great surprise in the conditions.
