16th June and it’s the open season on the rivers again… I decided that like last year it just had to be done and I got up at 0430 hrs and was at the river for 0545 hrs.
It was a lovely morning with mist rising off the fields – the forecast for the following day was going to be storms from the Irish Sea are… not good! On the way to the river bank a fox was looking intently into the hedge bottom waiting to commit murder most terrible and completely oblivious to me… bet if I had a rifle in my hads he’d smell the gun oil and be off. The kingfishers now part of the river scene again provided the electric blue flashes that are stunning in the early morning.
The river was busier than last year’s opening day… more unemployed with the recession we are suffering? Chap on the first peg delighted in telling me he’d had a couple of reasonable chub and a few roach.
I decided on the fly rods one floating and one sink tip.
With much of the usual marks taken up I decided to head off to a small mark that I know produces a fish… floating line with a dear hair diver and nothing… OK fish it deeper with the bucktail. After a few casts and fishing it deep the inevitable happened – I hit a snag! Lost a favourite bucktail… bugger! I then decided to use the foam popper on the sink tip… allowing it to rise at the end of the retrieve.
It was at the end of probably the 4th retrieve that I had the popper sat on the surface and thinking of the next cast. I decided to cast over and beyond weed to my right… as I lifted the fly off the water the water erupted in a ball of foam with a green and gold monster with gill covers flared trying for the fly… if only I’d waited a millisecond extra. The fish was easily 15lbs as it slammed back into the water.
The air was blue with expletives and my heart pounded at the damn near laxative effect of the encounter!
I plodded on through the day seeing a jack of 3 or 4lbs and a nice brown trout of a couple of lbs that wouldn’t take the spinner (yes, shame on me I’d taken a spinning rod with me as back up!).
So the opening day was technically a blank… but at least I know my favourite spot still holds a pike and it is castable with the fly rod!
Reflecting on the fly I lost… it’s been a favourite pattern of mine for ages and has been the most successful of all. I’ve got into my tying and it’s almost become as big a hobby as the fishing. I’ll come back to that again in the future.
I actually gave away a fly when I was at Chew… to a chap (Jim Hart pictured above in the killer hat!) who was going to pike fly fish for the first time. If I’m honest my pal Toby had given him a fly and I wasn’t going to be out done and was interested to see if my pattern was as successful in someone else’s hands.
Jim has used and now lost my fly but not before accounting for a good number of pike on it – just look at the photos! Fantastic Jim… I think I should make you go and get that fly back…. As for another to replace it looks like I’m at the vice again… Now how much does the pixie dust cost?
It was a lovely morning with mist rising off the fields – the forecast for the following day was going to be storms from the Irish Sea are… not good! On the way to the river bank a fox was looking intently into the hedge bottom waiting to commit murder most terrible and completely oblivious to me… bet if I had a rifle in my hads he’d smell the gun oil and be off. The kingfishers now part of the river scene again provided the electric blue flashes that are stunning in the early morning.
The river was busier than last year’s opening day… more unemployed with the recession we are suffering? Chap on the first peg delighted in telling me he’d had a couple of reasonable chub and a few roach.
I decided on the fly rods one floating and one sink tip.
With much of the usual marks taken up I decided to head off to a small mark that I know produces a fish… floating line with a dear hair diver and nothing… OK fish it deeper with the bucktail. After a few casts and fishing it deep the inevitable happened – I hit a snag! Lost a favourite bucktail… bugger! I then decided to use the foam popper on the sink tip… allowing it to rise at the end of the retrieve.
It was at the end of probably the 4th retrieve that I had the popper sat on the surface and thinking of the next cast. I decided to cast over and beyond weed to my right… as I lifted the fly off the water the water erupted in a ball of foam with a green and gold monster with gill covers flared trying for the fly… if only I’d waited a millisecond extra. The fish was easily 15lbs as it slammed back into the water.
The air was blue with expletives and my heart pounded at the damn near laxative effect of the encounter!
I plodded on through the day seeing a jack of 3 or 4lbs and a nice brown trout of a couple of lbs that wouldn’t take the spinner (yes, shame on me I’d taken a spinning rod with me as back up!).
So the opening day was technically a blank… but at least I know my favourite spot still holds a pike and it is castable with the fly rod!
Reflecting on the fly I lost… it’s been a favourite pattern of mine for ages and has been the most successful of all. I’ve got into my tying and it’s almost become as big a hobby as the fishing. I’ll come back to that again in the future.
I actually gave away a fly when I was at Chew… to a chap (Jim Hart pictured above in the killer hat!) who was going to pike fly fish for the first time. If I’m honest my pal Toby had given him a fly and I wasn’t going to be out done and was interested to see if my pattern was as successful in someone else’s hands.
Jim has used and now lost my fly but not before accounting for a good number of pike on it – just look at the photos! Fantastic Jim… I think I should make you go and get that fly back…. As for another to replace it looks like I’m at the vice again… Now how much does the pixie dust cost?
1 comment:
Top notch writting david love it! Ken
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