Devon delight
Saturday: When I got back from holidays, with everything unpacked and most of the day left I sloped off for a few hours to explore the River Devon. Having been away the weather where I have been was stunning and the rivers were all fairly low and clear.
Most of my hols were loch fishing but the sight of so many fabulous rivers had me hankering for some moving water sport.
I knew there had been rain near to home but wasn’t expecting the Hot Chocolate I saw when I got down to the riverside at a section previously unvisited by me. I nearly walked away but decided I was here now so might as well explore. I am glad I did as I discovered a really nice section of water- Ok, it was a bit like treacle in places but I know where to go in future. As if to tempt me as I sat by the bank tying on a fly- a fish rose right in front of me. I tried casting for it, but unless it had some sort of penetrative sight there would be little chance of it seeing my fly.
I found a nice wee bend with a deep flow and tried a spot of upstream nymphing but never had any reaction, though I know there were fish there. Finally, I came across a shallow gravel bar with an island created by some fallen trees. The river splits around this and behind it on the downstream side, fish were rising everywhere.
At this point the weather got a bit nasty with torrential rain and flashes of lightning but I was able to persevere off and on and managed to rise a few fish and eventually hooked a small wild Brown Trout to a tiny size 20 Fly- my first fish from the Devon. Worth It!.
Swanswater- a bogey place
Sunday: Last night of my holidays from work- I had to go fishing!
It had been a warm mostly dry day all day, but as evening approached a huge thundery shower passed through. My hopes for a 4 hour session were dashed and two was my limit. On arriving I wandered up to a surprisingly busy Swanswater (the main loch). It, like the Devon the day before was the colour if watery hot chocolate. I did not see too many happy smiling faces so decided to hedge my bets on the smaller ponds.
I wish I had not bothered.
There were plenty of fish moving but do you think I could get one? Initially, no one was having any luck but nearer half nine one chap seemed to hit paydirt and I seen him catch three or four, some on an Orange blob and a Snatcher.
I tried everything: Klinkhammers, Shuttlecock buzzers, tiny F flies, Olive Damsel, Hothead Damsel, Bunny leach, Black Montana, Orange Blob, Black Pennel, Green tailed spider, and some other nymph patterns
Almost every method got some sort of reaction- the hardest tug I got was when a Blue Trout grabbed the Blob and let go again, but I also had rises to the Shuttlecocks, swirls to the Wet flies- you name it: everything but fish.
I have to say I am a bit fed up with Swanswater, its the only place I consistently blank, since the start of the season I have been 4 times and blanked 3 times. On the once when I didn’t they were not exactly suicidal either. I think I will leave it for Autumn and Winter.
Pendriech- dogs and lost fish
Fish were boiling on the surface
Monday: It was a cracking night Monday and I went up to Pendriech for a couple of hours up to sundown, expecting it to be busy. Not a soul there! It was mirror flat calm and the fish were heavy on the feed, taking tiny midges. They were far from easy to catch but I did OK. I fished very light with my 4 weight rod– I love this rod! Fishing a CDC emerger I had a few tentative rises to the fly but no takes, so went down to a size 18 F Fly in olive. Almost right away, with a longer Co Polymer tippet I got a take but I missed it. Second go I was in and a lumpy trout of about a pound was landed. Its belly was all lumps and bumps as it had obviously been gorging on midges!
The trouble with these wee F Flies is they lose their float once they are greased up by a fish, so on went another one.
As I was casting I heard noise then splashing to my left, I was staying fairly low in the long grass, a flaming dog went barrelling to the water right near where I was fishing. I chased it fearing it would spook the close in fish. Casting out again the dog returned so I dropped the rod and shoo’ed it away- getting the attention of the owners who were miles away. I then heard a noise and realised my reel was winding off so run to see my rod disappearing into the loch, grabbing it in time I lifted and thought I was in luck to hook a fish but a few seconds later it came off!
Bah Humbug!
A decent well-fed fish of over a pound and a half
After a while, the wee flies seemed to stop working and the fish were positively boiling on the surface, like Piranha’s in a frenzy. I tried the brown Klinkhammer and managed to get a fish on again, ths one was probably the biggest fish I have had up here all season and my biggest Brown to date- it was at least one and a half pounds and maybe a bit more- about the size of the smaller stock fish you get at commercial fisheries. I released it and after a few minutes it swum off.
Great!
