River Fly Monitoring and Stuff

Saturday there was to be a work party on the new section of beck, so I got there early to have a bit of a fish before hand. A simple nymph rig was used with a single weighty hare's ear bug. Fished in the traditional upstream style rather than the more modern euro-nymph style. It wasn't long before I latched on to a fish which I bumped off when a pheasant shot up from behind a tree squawking like fury and frighten the crap out of me. I know they taste nice and have some useful feathers for fly tying, but the really are an annoying bird. Anyway I made my way upstream chucking the nymph into likely looking spots eventually latching on to another fish. With out any drama a 7" WBT was landed. No picture as I'd left my phone in the car. Rather stupidly I'd left it on the dashboard in full view of the world.

The section of beck we worked on is to be left 'wild', but there were several fallen trees that had got hung up and these were to be removed as they're damn dangerous. While they didn't come down easily it'll be Sod's Law that they'll come down in the slightest breeze when you try to pass under one when fishing.

Sunday was River Fly Monitoring day on a different beck. Again I arrived early to have a bit of a fish on the bottom stretch before things started. While I didn't catch using a simple klink-n-dink rig I did mange to spook a decent trout and also saw a dozen or so small dace/chub in a shoal.

As I was having a cuppa the troops gathered. There are two monitoring sites on this beck. One above a sewage outfall and one below. We started on the the upper one first with the following results.

The results were very much as expected apparently. At the site below the outfall I did the sampling. The first thing I did was get stuck on the soft sand at the side of the beck as I got in. A V-weir has been placed just above the site and is scouring the bed out nicely but the sand is being deposited on the sides and the vegetation hasn't taken hold on it yet. It's the same where wiggles have been reintroduced the sand is still soft as the vegetation starts to take hold. The results where as follows. Again much as expected. Although it was pointed out there were enough shrimp for a paella. There was also a fair bit of toilet paper debris. Hands were thoroughly sanitised afterwards.

After a spot of lunch I had a fling about with the klink-n-dink rig on this upper end of the stretch. I managed to spook a couple of fish when retrieving flies from overhanging bankside vegetation. Eventually I got to the lower monitoring spot where I knew there was a deep hole beside a tree. Second cast and something powerful took the nymph. After the initial run upstream it came back quietly before kicking off again at the net. A rather pale trout of 11". Something went a bit wonky with the phone when taking the photo. Not only did it end up in a low resolution mode, but it looks like the flash went off as well. Wet hands and touch screens aren't the best combination.

 

Near the top of the stretch, where there's a bit more streamer weed, I spotted two or three smaller fish. I tried to cover them but the nymph kept snagging the bottom. Rather than shorten the tippet I put on a black spider instead. First cast and I was in. A small, and again, silvery coloured 5" trout. As I brought it in several others, of a similar size, shot off.

By now it was time to go. We know there aren't many trout in this stretch at the moment but there does seem to be more moving in. While I was there I didn't see anything rise or any hatching insects. I will, however, have to tie up some shrimp patterns as I don't seem to have any for some reason.

Tiny Trout In The Jungle

 I got the chance to fish one of the tiny becks on The Moors that I haven't fished for years. It's one of those where parts of it disappear when the water is low, so it looks like a series of small pools. Some of these pools can be quite deep though and have sheer edges to them so care is needed as one I found to be over four foot deep (I didn't fall in it). The great thing with a place like this is there's no great problem with fly choice. Most any small fly will generally suffice, Grey Duster, Adams, APT, or similar. I choose a small, size 18, midge type thing with six foot leader made from two foot lengths of 8,5, & 3lb mono.  The challenge is not the size of fish but getting the cast in. The six foot two weight I was using seemed a tad too long at times.

It should have been a good excuse to get to grips with the camera on my new phone, but I spent more time just watching nature such as a kingfisher dropping into one of the deeper pools and coming up with very small trout. I did attempt to film it but it landed  on an overhanging branch and dropped in the water almost straight away then was off with a fish for it's brood I assume. In between just sitting and watching I had dozen or so trout all with in an inch of each other. A similar number throw the hook. One thing with these size of fish is that you think you're missing a lot of takes, but if you watch carefully the eagerness of the fish to get a meal means they often miss the fly.

Apart for the 'black stuff' the was very little fly life. The odd olive fluttered past along with a solitary yellow may. I did get close to an Oyster Catcher's nest given the antics of a couple of them. They flow flew about whistling loudly and kept landing well into the sheep grazed meadow. The stopped once I got through into the next field. 

As was glad I'd arrived early as by lunch time nearly all signs of fly life had stopped and so did the rises. Prospecting about failed to raise any fish. A fun little session on the sort of water I'd intend to avoid this year as I'd hoped to concentrate on the rivers for something bigger.