The Storey Of Two Trout And A Cow

This will be my eighth trout trip. So far I've managed a pike, two grayling and two trout. not a great tally. The last couple of weeks I've not been out, mainly due to the weather. It's either been pissing it down or the rivers have been far too high. The main river was still a bit on the high side, but I was hoping the colour had dropped  out of it. This turned out to be a false hope as it was still very coloured. Still I spent the morning wandering up and down in the hope of seeing a rising fish as there were a few flies hatching. Large and medium olives and the odd mayfly. While I didn't see a single thing rise I did see a dog otter as it disappeared under water. Some people wandering along the footpath also saw it and wondered what it was. They'd only seen females by the sounds of it and were quite shocked as to the size of the male.

With no sign of fish I moved on to one of the tributaries in the hope it would be a bit clearer. It was even though it was a tad high for the time of year. I had a wander along with a sandwich and cuppa to see if anything was happening. I did find a few hatch flies and fish rising to them, though they appeared to be small grayling. By the time I got back with a rod a few heifers were wandering about in the river. I managed to get between them with out any dramas and headed to the confluence of the two rivers. There was very little happening on the bottom half and it wasn't until I got back to the heifers that I saw anything rising. One fish was clearly a trout which I managed a couple of casts to before the next cast snagged on the back cast. Now I had been looking behind me for the nosey cattle which had stayed at the top of the bank. Except one which had stepped down and was now hooked. Luckily it didn't seem to notice and didn't panic. As I kept the line tight and stumbled along the lower bank it first backed away then turned at which point the fly came adrift, thankfully.

 

That bit of commotion put the that fish down, but a bit further along another two fish were rising. I now had the added problem of cattle on both banks bellowing at each other. I wasn't sure which group was trying to return to which group and had visions of them all paddling back and forth across the river. I sat watching the two trout rising, trying to see what they were taking. It appeared they weren't been fussy, but neither was remaining in the same spot. They looked to be just swimming about and picking off what ever drifted over their heads at that moment. This is where the John Storey comes in to it's own. Looking nothing like any particular insect it works well when the trout are not been selective. The cattle had now moved further up so casting was now safe.

It took a couple of casts in the general direction of the nearest trout before I got a take. The fish was clearly larger than the one I'd seen and put up a right scrap. I had to move down stream to net it as I was a couple of feet above the water. I didn't want to drop into the river as the sides can be rather sticky soft clay which is a right pain to get out of. A nice silvery brown trout around the 2lb mark was the result. Well worth all the wandering. I assumed to fight would have scared the other fish(es) off, but sat for ten minutes waiting just in case. with no sign of rising fish I started to head upstream. A fish rose in among the trailing branches of a willow just upstream of me. Then I saw one rise along side me where the second fish had been rising earlier. I swung back round to just above the spot I caught the first fish and after a few casts missed a take from the small fish I'd seen rising when I first got to this spot. It looked like there was more than two fish here. After a short wait the large fish started to rise again. After a mishap with the magnetic cow-parsley I managed to get a cast to it it and after a short drift a take. I did think I'd lost it at one point as I was get some line back on the reel in order to prevent the tangle I'd got into with the last fish, but it was still on. A slightly smaller fish, but just as feisty.

 

I had a look at the fish under the willow, but there was just no way in. A bit further up I bumped a smaller fish. By now the fly life was getting less and less. The only fish I could see rising were little grayling or maybe dace, which were taking smuts. I had another wander up and down , but saw now further action. Contemplating what to do while having another cuppa I looked at the state of the traffic. Four accidents! Googles recommended route was one I'd not have thought of. By the time I'd finished my cuppa the travel times on my normal route were getting very silly. Rather than wait to see if the traffic would clear I set off on the alternate route which turned out to be quite clear and got me home in reasonable a time.

 

After a slow start to the trout season the two fish have more tan made up for it. My previous biggest fish from this little river was around the 11-12" mark, so these two are not to be sniffed at. With the slow start I think my trout and coarse seasons are going to overlap a bit this year.