Like many others: I was really looking forward to the big day, and I still am, but now - after last night's rain - with a touch of trepidation. Rain swept through our region overnight and this morning the Environment Agencies gauge at Temple Sowerby showed that the Eden had risen to approximately two metres.
Although the river is on the turn now, there's another band of rain forecast to sweep through today. If it's not too much I'm still hopeful that the river will clear and be at a fishable level for Opening day....
Fishing on the 15th has become a bit of a tradition for me over the years and I've had to wet a line somewhere, irrespective of what the elements have tossed our way. Wind, rain, snow, I've braved it all - other than a raging flood - and quite often, so have our hardy early upwings. On past outings I've stood on the banks getting coated in snow and watched a trickle of Large Dark Olives sailing down the river. More often than not on these cooler, damper early season days, they'll manage an unmolested drift downstream and out of sight. The trout usually have more sense than us (me and the flies) and keep their heads down, ignoring what appears to be easy pickings as the freshly hatched duns struggle to take to the wing. But they'll often respond well to the sub-surface fly. Up here in the North of England that usually means a team of well presented North Country Spiders...or the nymph.
Fishing on the 15th has become a bit of a tradition for me over the years and I've had to wet a line somewhere, irrespective of what the elements have tossed our way. Wind, rain, snow, I've braved it all - other than a raging flood - and quite often, so have our hardy early upwings. On past outings I've stood on the banks getting coated in snow and watched a trickle of Large Dark Olives sailing down the river. More often than not on these cooler, damper early season days, they'll manage an unmolested drift downstream and out of sight. The trout usually have more sense than us (me and the flies) and keep their heads down, ignoring what appears to be easy pickings as the freshly hatched duns struggle to take to the wing. But they'll often respond well to the sub-surface fly. Up here in the North of England that usually means a team of well presented North Country Spiders...or the nymph.
.JPG)
On any favourable/milder days since mid-February, I've witnessed light hatches of LDO's and a few relatively plump, and fit - for the time of year - trout have been coming to the nymph on recent grayling forays, so I'd like to think that all bodes well for some early season sport....
A trout from opening day 2012
The only fish of opening day 2013 taken in a short session on a rising river
One of many taken on a mixture of nymphs and spiders on opening day 2014
Tight lines to all for the coming season and let's hope it's as good as 2014....
And if you don't get as many fish as you'd like...fishing is not all about catching fish....'Every day on the water is a good day, and every year that you can fish is a good year'
No comments:
Post a Comment