First Trout of the Season

This was only my second trip out fly fishing for trout and boy was it hard work. The first trip was on the same venue on opening day, some months back. I reckon I walked 10-11 miles up and down the stretch looking for fly life and/or rising fishing.  The lack of fly life was astonishing even for this water. It wasn't until late afternoon that any appeared and even then there wasn't much. A couple of LDO, some sedge and a few medium olives.were all I saw. The odd fish was rising when I arrived and as I walked along, but judging by the silver flashes and splashy rises I think they were dace or grayling. Dace were among them as I caught a few prospecting.

It was quite late in the afternoon when I spotted my first trout rise. I didn't see what it took and in the ten minutes I sat and watched it I didn't see it rise again. I tried to tempt it with a couple of flies but only managed to put it down after the fifth cast. The next fish I spotted was similarly close to the bank awaiting passing food and again ignored my offerings. This happened a couple more times before I got to the top of the stretch. Heading back one of the fish I'd tried for earlier was back on station. By now I'd been through the usual suspects in the way of flies. Back near the car I spotted another rise and again failed to see what was taken. I'd recently found a bit of dubbing I'd been given by a gentleman years ago. that went into a fly he was using to great effect that he called the green ginger. Green bodied fly seem to do quite well down here.

 Green Ginger

Size 16 Hook

Thread            Brown

Hackle            Ginger

Body                Mint Green Dubbing

Rib                    Brown Thread Furled

Tail                    Ginger Cock Fibres

As I'd tied a few up I put one on and cast it to the trout only to have it intercepted by a dace. A second cast and the trout got there first. After a couple of seconds I thought I'd lost it only to realise it was heading towards me. After a bit of acrobatics it was in the net. A rather nice fish of 35cm. It would be nice to have been fishing on one of those nice gravel tout stream but I was at the bottom of a very steep muddy bank. Not the most photogenic of spots. Still it was nice to be off the mark.

I didn't see any more trout or rises over the next hour so called it a day.  So intent was I at finding fly life that i really didn't take any photos as I wandered about. I did get to film a buzzard been harassed by a crow earlier in the day before I nearly tripped over.

I'll have to get up into the dales next week for some proper trouting.