The End Is Near

 The end of the trout season is fast approaching here in Yorkshire and as often seems the case the weather is trying to ruin the last few days. The salmon & sea trout anglers  are over the moon with the prospect of the rivers being given a bit of a lift. I on the other hand have a limited time to extract a few brown trout from one of the becks for some scale samples. 

Tuesday I ventured forth to said beck in an attempt to catch a couple of browns. Having had a bit of a wander around, noting the fallen trees that will need to be moved so as they're parallel to the bank, I decided nymphing or streamers would probably be the best choice with no obvious fly life about.

 

First fly on the end of a sort of Euro style nymphing rig was a small PTN Jig. After battling my way through somewhat excessive vegetation and fallen trees I arrived at a deep, three foot, pool. First drift through with the nymph produced a take which I missed. A couple more drifts and a chublet took firm hold of the nymph. This was quickly followed by a second. A drift around the far side of the pool produced a small perch which had engulfed the nymph. The little horror managed to spike me as I unhooked it and returned to the depths with out a photo. A few more drifts produced nothing other than a few leafs.

I continued up the stretch to the top. dropping the nymph into any likely looking hole. Nothing seemed to be hungry in these spots. Mostly I seemed to be snagging twigs and leaves. At the top of the stretch I partook of lunch. A change of fly was called for. A small white jig come Woolly Bugger thing was put on. Bouncing it about in a deepish hole at the top of the length produced a a tentative tug which turned into a 15" Rainbow trout. Not what I was after but  another escapee is removed.

I continued dropping the lure into the deeper holes with very little to show. I did get a vicious take in one spot that only succeeded in ripping a lot of the tail from the lure. A change to n olive version didn't fair any better. Nor did a black one. Oh well a few more days to go before the end of the season which is surely enough to capture a couple of the browns. I did, however, add to my species tally from this section of beck. I now have Brown & Rainbow trout, Dace, Chub, Minnow, and Perch on rod and line. Along with Bullhead, and Lamprey during river fly sampling. The damned Himalayan Balsam doesn't seem to be going away either, with more plants popping up here and there.

If Only The Trout Were As Numerous As The Balsam

It was rather still and muggy when I arrived at the beck on Thursday. Looking around there was precious little in the way of bugs and flies about.Not even the smuts and midges that are often seen were about.  I'd only recorded THREE bugs on my numberplate with Bugs Matter on the 30 mile journey there.

Given the lack of fly life I opted for a spot of nymph fishing. I also opted to head upstream from the bridge/ford, something I'd not done before. It was not pleasant wading. Waist deep with a rather dodgy river bed made up of silt, woody debris, and the odd wobbly rock. I spent most of my time removing twigs from the hook. After an hour of this I gave up and retired for a cuppa and sandwich. After lunch I headed downstream for a spot of balsam bashing then some more fly fishing.

 I thought I'd spend an hour or so pulling up the few plants there were left form my last visit. Clearly a lot of it has been hiding behind other plants and had sprung up when I'd finished pulling their friends up. Thankfully only one had formed seed pods. These were clipped off very carefully and placed in an empty crisp packet. I'd also had a bit of a panic when I saw some pink plants a long way from the beck, but as I got closer I realised they were foxgloves.

After two and a half hours of balsam bashing I felt it was time for a drink. It took me some fifteen minutes to find my vest and rod that I'd leant against a tree. Like a dropped screw they just seem to merge with their background. I all this time I'd not seen a single fish rise. Apart from a couple of bees the only fly life I's seen was a mayfly and a small olive. I had, however seen some deer tracks under a fallen barbedwire fence. I'd also seen a nice large pool that I though would be a good stating point.

The problem with these large pools in small becks they  often turn out to be very disappointing, but just after I arrived I saw my first rise of the day. I changed the Nymph to a dry fly. As I moved around to get a cast there was another rise. I landed the fly close to the area of the two rises, But trying to get enough slack to keep it on the bubble line with out dragging wasn't easy. Third or fourth cast I got it about right. The fly disappeared, but the strike contacted with nothing except the Sycamore behind me. A little wait and another cast and the fly was back in the Sycamore. How do trout manage to grab a fly like that but fail to get the hook point in their mouth.

I continued on upstream. Overhanging branches made life difficult as they always seemed to be positioned above the bubble line. The odd log jam and deep section didn't help either. I much prefer it if I don't have to wade but the steep banks make access very difficult. Not to mention the barbed wire fence on one side. Still very little sign of insect life. I continued casting to likely looking spots with little success. A drift of the fly along the edge of a fallen tree in the edge produced a nice take and this time I connected. A spotty little 62 WBT soon graced the net. Another drift down the side produced another one. However this one managed to shed the hook near the net.

I continued on with no more luck until I arrived at the large pool below the railway bridge. I had a bit of a cast about. A fish rose on the far side in the slack. Despite several casts to the area it never rose again. I let the fly drift past me along the edge of a dead shrub like thing. As I did so a vole trotted along the tree roots above me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a ripple and as I looked round realised my fly had gone. Too late for me to contact with anything though. I tried fishing above the bridge but the light had disappeared with the very cloudy sky. It was nearly impossible to see the fly as most of this stretch is surrounded by trees as well. I tried nymphing again but this only produced one rattle and that was it.

Balsam Bashing (Again) & Rainbow Bashing

I arrived a bit early for the Balsam bashing session so has a bit of a chuck about with the fly rod and a dry fly. A size 16 Elk Hair Sedge to be precise. There wasn't much sign of fish. I tried to keep the fly as close to the bankside vegetation as I could as I suspect that's where they were hiding. It wasn't until I got to one of the three foot deep holes that something stirred. Third cast and one of the larger fish grabbed the fly. A very lively 11" escapee rainbow that did a sterling job of dodging the net. At one point it managed to get between my legs, but was eventually in the net. An autopsy revealed it has been eating Baetis & BWO nymphs along with the odd gammarus.

After some three hours of serious Balsam bashing and nearly falling in as we splodged about in the beck I was time for a cuppa. We'd covered about 200 yards of bank. Bank we'd been over at least twice before. No doubt more will pop up over the next month.

After lunch I had another go along the stretch but this time with a nymph. I'd kind of hoped that Our splodging about would have stirred up the nymphs etc. and have the trout feeding. It didn't work quite as I'd hoped, but I did hook a couple of rather small fish which managed to flip themselves of the hook. I don't know why I have such a hard time keeping these little rainbows on the hook.

Balsam Bashing And Trout

The intention was to spend an hour or so pulling the odds and sods of Balsam left on this stretch before having a bit of a fish. As it was there was more Balsam then I'd realised. Even when I thought I'd got most of it, having wandered up and down three or four times, I spotted a four foot tall plant in flower in among a stand of them. Quite how I'd missed this I don't know.

The Balsam bashing left me with about an hour for fishing. Slightly less after a cuppa. As I crossed the bridge to enter the water I spotted one of the escapee rainbows. A rather clumsy cast landed the Elk Hair Caddis just above it. It wasted no time grabbing the  fly. After bit of a hectic dash about it came adrift just beyond the net.

I worked my way up the narrow little beck bow-and-arrow casting the fly into likely looking spots until I got two thirds the way up the short length. A fish was ring ahead in a very tight spot. I couldn't get a cast to it with out the fly creating drag. Dropping back and going around on the bank I was able to get a cast downstream. Second attempt and the fish took. Things were rather hectic in the confined space but I got it in the net. A nice little WBT around the 9" mark. I think the Eeyores approved as they came over to have a look.

I continued to the top of the stretch but nowt else was seen. 

Time had run out. Especially as the traffic was building up and I had to be else where. So that was that, but i have more time tomorrow for a go elsewhere.