Turning night into day – sewin during office hours

Daytime sea trouting on the Cothi, near Brechfa, Carmarthenshire.

Summer 2007 will not be remembered with much pleasure by the nocturnal sewin anglers on many of the Welsh rivers. Fortunately, there are exceptions, like the river Towy. It was the wettest summer since records began in 1914 and Welsh rivers were flowing red at flood level for weeks on end.

This ruined the customary night fishing, which is done best when rivers are at normal flow. Many fishers just did not even go out to fish for sewin. Pity this, as there were sewin in the rivers and they could be caught during the day.
It is obvious that the future of sewin fishing is unpredictable due to the huge variations in weather patterns, so it is important that anglers are prepared to vary their tactics but they must go out to fish. No sewin are caught in the bar! Very high and very low river conditions can obliterate the night fishing we all love, hence it is wise to meet the challenge of finding other approaches to sewin fishing. They are demanding – yes! – but also so rewarding.

The most effective fishing method under high water condition – when the floods allowed the anglers to get to the river – was the running worm, but the ever-popular night fishing for sewin is not successful once the river runs high. Under such conditions, however, daytime fishing with a fly can be extremely successful and can give great sport. When sewin fishing in daylight, weather condition is still very important.

A rough day with a strong wind can be a good omen as sewin generally hold up in well oxygenated sections of pools and the wind can help with the presentation as well as keeping the angler out of the fish’s vision. Wind always seems to help the flies work at varying speeds in different sections of the pool.

Generally, an intermediate line is used – although in swift-flowing glides and pools a Di3 is best. Correct use of rod and the angle in which to work the line is important. A longer rod helps to govern the presentation and to control the line. Line control is important when fishing wet or dry fly.

I once watched Hugh Falkus fishing the River Cleddau in Pembrokeshire under high water conditions and he used a double-handed rod. He was casting in his individual Spey style and holding the flies in different parts of the pools by judicious use of the length of the rod and his unique casting. He was covering water that other fly fishers would not have been able to reach.

Covering all parts of the pool is vital and this is achieved by changing the angle of cast; it is also important under high-water conditions to ensure that the fly is seen in all nooks and corners. The choice of fishing up or down river is also important. Sewin is a shy fish and it is imperative to keep well out of its field of vision. Most tend to fish from the neck of the pool downriver. This approach can make the control of speed and the depth of flies more difficult. I find that I have far more control over the presentation of the flies when I work up river, especially the control over the depth.
Often an angler will be able to tempt a sewin to a fly, but will fail to hook it during daylight hours. Abortive pulls can be experienced often.

Observation
One Sunday afternoon many years ago, I recall observing a shoal of sewin in the river Cothi. I was with a ‘Reverend’ cousin of mine who was a great sewin fisher – his forte being the running worm which he fished successfully in all river conditions. We decided to try a little experiment. He first fished a small worm on a light line. He directed the worm to run down the pool to the place where the shoal was stationed in the shallows and in the shade of a huge rock. I could see the worm in the clear water coming down quite naturally with the water flow and straight into the patch where the shoal was.
On the first run of the worm three sewin showed an interest and another three moved around after the worm – I believed one had mouthed the worm but my cousin did not feel any pressure on the line. He then proceeded with the second part of our little experiment which was to cast a fly on a light leader over the shoal. Again three fish out of the same shoal showed interest and followed the fly as it swung around. Again, I thought one of the three went so close to the fly that I believed he actually mouthed it but, again, no pressure was felt on the line.

Having been grayling fishing with a number of expert continental anglers and observing their techniques, I realised that many of them finish off all casts by allowing the fly to hang quite still in the water for a short time and then strike the line quite sharply. It was amazing to see how many grayling were being taken with this ploy. It certainly was not foul-hooking. This technique could be used when fishing for sewin as they too could be either tasting or playing with the fly.
For daytime fishing it is important to look carefully at the flies and in particular their dressing.

On a two-fly leader some successful anglers use 8lb BS breaking strain in all heights of water and others go down to 6lb with smaller flies if the water is clear. The leader is generally six to ten feet long. Water speed also comes into the equation with a shorter leader for the quick flowing sections. It sometimes pays to have a Bumble type fly on the dropper and a weighted fly on the point. The weighted fly should be weighted in relation to the depth fished.

The bob fly needs to have a fairly lively hackle that will ‘blurp, sloop and fart’ (my cousin’s words not mine!) in the surface film. It is important that the bob fly has a lively presence and that it creates a ‘buzz’.

Some flies work well as a team. Some favour a Poacher or Coch a Bonddu on the bob and a weighted Peter Ross or Teifi Terror on point.