Early Morning Fluking Trout

With seriously hot weather predicted, again, I decided on an early morning session to try and beat the heat.  First thing on arrival was to check the water temperature. I didn't have a thermometer, but used the standard is it warm enough to wet wade. No it wasn't, there was still a slight chill to it.

It was quite some time before I found fish rising. I soon discovered I can't cast a fly line early morning. Normally I have very little problem with weird and wonderful casts, it's your normal overhead cast that defeats me as I rarely use it. Today, though, I was slapping the line on the water, snagging the bankside vegetation and flinging flies high into trees. Eventually I did sort myself out casting wise, but managed to lose the first three fish I hooked.

As I'd wander along the bank looking for fish I'd been kicking up clouds of grass pollen. This not a good idea when You've forgotten to take your medication. As I could now feel my eyeballs itch I retired back to car for a cuppa and medication. When I returned to the river There were a lot more ish rising, but many of them turned out to be greedy little things about 2 inches long. They would happily sink the fly, a parachute Grey Duster.

I spent quite some time trying different flies to quite a reasonable trout loitering in the shade under an over hanging branch before snagging a bit of bankside vegetation and slapping it down on top of it. The trout had been quite patient with me up to that point, but this pissed  him and off he went.  Another trout started rising a couple of yards upstream and if it hadn't been so greedy I wouldn't have hooked it. I waited to see if it would rise again, and happily it did several times, but not in the same spot. The little duster was cast upstream of the area it was rising in and allowed to drift down. I was distracted by a reflection on the water and looked up to see a large raptor gliding overhead. Unfortunately he sun was right behind it so I couldn't get a proper look before it swerved away behind the trees. At this point I felt a tug on the rod and lifted it to a little trout. It was quickly in the net, at least I'd caught even if it was a bit of a fluke. It still had it's parr markings, just. They don't really show in the photo. Unfortunately I'd not switched a action cam back on so didn't get any moving pictures.

Further upstream I hooked another of similar size which came adrift as I'd snagged the landing net on a wild gooseberry and fumble bringing to hand. By now it was getting really hot, even under the shade of the trees. I'm not a hot weather person. I decided to give it a few more minutes in the shade of the bridge. As I approached a clumsy dipper chick appeared ahead of me. It was quite assuming to watch and I did get a bit of it on video. What didn't occur to me was the fact I was stood in shade and the chick was in bright sunshine, so the automatic whatever in the camera overcompensated and exposure was too much. This is the problem when you can't see the screen.

Five hooked one landed is better than my last visit. Think I may have a go next week, dependent on the weather as we have thunderstorms predicted  for tomorrow and the weekend. We'll have to see what it does for the levels.