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Mid
June
There was a big run of sea trout through the lower reaches
of the Ribble on Thursday, so that evening Yvonne and I headed
to our lower beat of the Hodder, the Ribble's main tributary.
But there was a cold breeze and I couldn't spot any sea trout
there so we nipped the few miles to my club's reservoir. There,
despite the chill, the brown trout were feeding keenly at
the surface and, in seven casts I lost one fish and landed
five. I tapped one on the head and took it home for supper.
When I checked its stomach contents I was surprised to find
about 60 small caddis larvae (I ran it down to the caddisfly
Mystacides longicornis, the adult sedge being called the grousewing
by fly-fishers). There were also the remains of four landbred
flies and two buzzer pupae.
Next evening was warmer so I went to see if the sea trout
were home. They were! Hurrah! Just after dark I had one on
a big Stoat's Tail and later one on my floating Night Muddler
(that has also been named the Mouse by other inventors of
the same fly). It is simplicity to dress:
Mount: size 6 low water salmon single with a size 12 treble
to the rear (if only single hooks permitted, use a size 2
and dress the thing 'short')
Thread: black or brown
Body: spun deerhair, clipped to cigar shape with fibres uncut
and trailing to rear.
The aim is to skate this across the pool surface at dead of
night, creating a big wake. It certainly wakens the sea trout
up! I have heard of several others caught and some, as ever,
sadly lost (though, as Izaak Walton rightly pointed out, 'How
can a man lose what he never had!').
Just over a week ago I visited the Aire and found only one
fish in over a mile of stream. Many folk imagine that the
reason they catch little is that they don't own a Sage rod
or have yet to discover the right fly. It may be simpler than
that. Rumour has it that the place has been heavily poached
so there is only one fish left to catch!
Dry fly fishing on the Ribble changed greatly between the
middle of May and beginning of June. In May, brown trout dominated
my catches, but now the river is heaving with grayling and
it is difficult to avoid them. For instance, two Friday's
ago I tried not to cast to anything that didn't seem to be
a trout (you cannot see the fish, but must use position in
the river and rise form to guess the species). I finished
up with five trout and eleven grayling. Had I gone for grayling
deliberately (which in theory would have been illegal, for
they are out of season here until the 16th June) I reckon
I would have had 50 or more. Medium olives were on the water
and a tiny oliver emerger worked.
I'm to Sweden on 29 June. Will let you know how I get on as
soon as I return.
Tight lines,
Malcolm Greenhalgh |
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