Flyfishing FWSW

With last Sunday being warm and sunny I once again tried the chub section.
Off course against better judgment since it was too early for successful chub sessions.
I was pondering to purchase a day ticket for another syndicate downstream from my
usual chub haunts but decided against it.

Still I visited the spot from the other syndicate to see how things where panning out early season.
In hindsight a bad move as the spot was teeming with chub including one monster fish.
All I could do was staring at the fish out of my grasp.

I headed south to the waters I was allowed to fish in and in contrast to last time I spotted more fish.
Big fish and quite a few of them but all as wary as hell.
Tried hopper and mayfly to get them to eat on the surface but they spooked once the fly
landed on the water.

I had one hit of a small fish that got off.
Spotted a larger fish upstream from my vantage point and served a hopper upstream.
The fish turned and was about to gulp the hopper in but my weak point surfaced … early strike.
So the fish bolted … no show.

It looked like I was about to skunk when I spotted a school of dace.
Tied on a small sedge and caught the only fish of the day.
Targeted some other chub in the surface late in the afternoon but just could not get them
to strike the fly.

Further exposure to the heat, tall grass and unwilling chub seemed pointless so it was off to the pub.
My friend where already there and had arranged a cold one for me as I arrived.
When I told them about the early strike the replies where …. again?  oh well, season is not over yet.
When the hoppers arrive chances will be better to get a fish.

After that rather fruitless day hunting for the chub in the open fields I went back
troutfishing.
Again a sunny day but quite a chilly start and again that constant northeastern wind
blowing strongly over the land.

The pool in front of me had clear water and I could see some of the small shiners moving about.
More intriguing was however a silver shimmering from something larger on the bottom.
It was a trout and it just would not take any of the flies I presented.
The fish did not respond to a juicy mayfly drifting on top or a nymph or squirmy.

Last resort was to change colour on the squirmy, from the trusty pink to a tan version with
an orange beadhead.
I fished the fly deep close to the adjacent bank and the trout went it, a nice fish indeed.
The usual bycatch consisted of small rudd an roach.

Under a bridge I spotted another trout but all offering where ignored.
It was still quite early which made me confident enough to sneak to a spot that was
officially off limits.
It was really shallow and the only fish I could see where small shiners.
Then again I didn’t have x-ray vision so there could be something lurking in the rapid
flowing water.

The squirmy did not yield some takes, only nibbles from the shiners and those where
tail biters.
I opted for the perdigon nymph as it had a heavy tungsten bead and would be less
prone to updraft by the current.
That approach did the trick as I hooked a very nice patterned trout.

Later I moved to sections upstream to check upon the fish I had missed during my last visit.
With the wind the insect activity was sporadic.
Despite that I spotted that big trout from last time rising to a mayfly.
Had to cast downstream but alas no hit and a final dredging with a streamer was also
unsuccessful.

At another spot I once again noticed a rising fish which I interpreted as rising dace.
Tied on a small sedge and tossed it upstream, instant hit of a fish.
It was a small trout and boy it went ballistic several times.
The rest of the spots yielded some dace on the sedge but no signs of rising trout
anymore.

My arrival at the pub coincided with the leaving of most day-trippers so no
extensive waiting time for drink and food.
Ran into one of the fishing club members who had ordered the baked potatoes
with eggs and bacon, it looked tasty so I ordered it also.
First though a nice mushroom soup for starters.
Was so stuffed that there was no room for coffee and dessert anymore…

Saturday I went to the stream of syndicate nr. 1 hoping to catch a trout on a big mayfly.
To my horror one of my favourite spots was turned in to a marksman fair so no peace
and quiet for me.
Since it was still early so I gave it a shot, spotted a trout rising but could not get it.
Further upstream I scared another trout away.

When the crowds starting to arrive I split, better luck next week.
Next I tried our day ticket stretch and at first I struggled to get anything.
Despite the strong wind I spotted some BWO’s and some of the big Danica mayflies.

At one spot I noticed rising fish but decided not to use the dry fly because of the constant
stream of chestnut flower debris on the surface.
The Perdigon nymph worked wonders and I hauled in some nice dace which were pretty big
for this stretch of water.

The pool above the one I fished had a fish rising which made such a racket that it could only
be trout.  It was impossible for me to reach the spot with the dry fly due to the foliage.
I opted for the streamer and entered the water upstream from the trout. I drifted the streamer at the last known location of the trout and boy it came out of its
lair and went for the streamer.
The fish missed though and I could net get it to charge the fly a second time.

At some other spots I caught a few more dace and lost a small brown trout.
The beginning of the day ticket stretch had some more hiding places for a trout.
Just by chance I spotted a big one as the sunlight illuminated the spot where the
trout was hanging out.
Again impossible to reach by cast but as the fish moved under a deadfall I saw a chance.
I moved down the bank and dropped a nymph just over the deadfall.
The reaction of the trout was not the one I had hoped, it bolted and off it went.

Soon I spotted another rising trout but again foliage and debris in the water made casting
though. After getting stuck two times the game was over.
The last chance to get a trout would be in a recently cleared stretch of the forest.
That action pretty much killed the cover for the fish but maybe some where left.

The wind was by now pretty strong and left and right branches where flying of the trees.
With quite a few big dead trees leaning over the water a tricky day to be outside so
I took care where to walk.
Alas no rising fish to be seen and even the shiners seemed to have day off.

The last spot of the day was a pool where I had done well last season but it seemed
empty. The pool had deepened since last season so I tried fishing deep.
That did the trick as I was soon into a good fish that fought so deep that at first I
had the impression that it was a brook trout.

With the light tippet I fished I had to take utmost care fighting the fish and eventually
got it to the surface.
I was after all a common brown trout but a nice fish and icing on the cake for me.