Pendreich 10th April 2011
I had my usual Sunday morning session up at Cocksburn Reservoir today. The sun was out it was actually quite warm ( I had to remove my base layer under my shirt for the first time this year) and it was glassy flat at times.
A stunning calm morning at Pendreich, the fish are rising
The fish were rising pretty well from the off. Looked like the usual early season olives as well as teensie wee midges were the staples today. I got my XF2 4 weight rod set up quickly as I wanted to try it with a couple of dries, the ubiquitous “Emersons” Sh*t fly, and a small olive CDC Klinkhammer I tied just the other day with an olive goose biot body.
I cast to as many rising fish as I could reach but never touched a thing.
It was fairly apparent after several minutes of this that the fish were probably not taking flies from the surface but just below- Emergers or nymphs. I decided to get my other rod set up with a couple of nymphs.
The wind was lifting and dropping a bit now and the boat was drifting all over the place. One minute going North to South, the next East to West. I tried the Drogue but it was hopeless in the changeable breeze.
As I drifted towards the Dam wall on my second or third drift, fishing a sink tip line with a PTN on top dropper and a black buzzer on point I got a pull, then another.
I cast again and tried to raise some interest. A tug and I was in, it was a small one though, probably less than half a pound taking the PTN. It wasn’t even worth getting the net for and I hand lined it in and unhooked the barbless hook, as he swum away unharmed.
I cast again a good few times and was getting tug after tug on the line. Some were so slight at first I thought it was merely the friction from my fingers on the line as I retrieved, but then I realised actually I was getting a lot of attention, the fish were clearly tail nipping the PTN. I thought I was into a second but there was a swirl on the surface and if it was ever on, it was off again. I am sure I never really touched it.
After about 20 minutes of this tug, tug activity I decided to move.
It amazed me how subtle fish takes can be, if I fished very carefully and kept in touch with the flies, I could feel the barely perceptible tweaks of fish at them. I reckon but for really putting a lot of effort into feeling the line I would have missed all this activity. I wonder how many fish I have missed in the past this way. I was quite amazed at the level of sensitivity required.
On moving to fish the bank line from about 40 yards out at anchor, again I had pulls and tugs, some were really quite aggressive but nothing there when you struck.
I decided to swap the buzzer on point for a Diawl Bach.
Still tugs but no fish though the odd swirl behind the flies.
A nice brownie of close to a pound- quite a chubster- look at the red spots
I was fishing very slowly and by now swapped to a full floater and was still getting interest. I moved again and the activity went quiet for a good 30 mins. I was considering packing up by now, there were quite a few other anglers out now and I thought some others might need the boat, and it was crossing my mind how for all that I have used Diawl Bach’s so many times, I could not recollect ever hooking a fish on one. Last cast, nothing. Just then as if to provoke a reaction from me, a fish broke cover in front. I cast again- one more final cast, then another! I felt resistance, barely perceptible, was there something there, I slowly tightened up, still not sure, then suddenly a boil in front of me, and a fish was on. Not a bad one this time, it went right under the boat but I managed to get him out and up to the side of the boat, a fat wee Brown Trout of I would reckon close to a pound- his length belied his weight as he was quite a rotund wee chap. He had taken the Diawl Bach- thats a first!
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