Having had my arm pulled off at Farmoor on Saturday, I have been itching to do some river trouting. I know a small river locally which has produced trout in the past (nuisance trout, I might add, when targeting roach) and so on Sunday afternoon I had a walk of the banks. I only ever used to fish it in winter, and usually when everywhere else was flooded, so I'd never seen how lovely it is in the spring. Very clear, lots of weed, clean bottom. A few too many shopping trolleys and polythene bags, too, but it's a river by a conurbation. I saw lots of good roach but only one trout, and it saw me first, but it looked too good not to be full of 'em. I took some photographs and planned a return the next day.







So, this afternoon I arrived armed with my new river rod and reel. My plan was to walk to the downstream end of the stretch and then fish back up, but some rising trout caught my attention on the way and I was soon tackling up with feverish enthusiasm. Sadly, they must have felt it, as they melted away. Chalked up for later. I wandered further down, and got chatting to a local, who wanted to put me onto a good swim. Unfortunately, it looked more of a roach swim than a trout swim, deep, slow and and soft of bottom, and in any case I couldn't get downstream of it. I gave up after a little while and moved up to a swim I'd caught trout from before when roaching. I'd seen no more rises, so I thought I'd have a bash with a PTN. My half-hearted attempts to hone my nymphing skills were cut short, however, by a bloke with a skinhead chucking his loopy labrador in the swim round the corner. This was going to achieve nothing. I stopped fishing for a while, and watched and waited as the sun sunk lower and the dog-walkers and dog-swimmers went home.

Soon, I started to see occasional rises a little way upstream. I couldn't cast to it, and entry to the water was awkward. I walked upstream, crossed the bridge, walked down, tried from the opposite side. No good, and I spooked them trying to find a way in. I put on a rough olive, and had a bash in another swim while I let the fish return. Then attempted another tack. Not really cricket, but could I get to them from upstream? After some faffing, I managed to get a fly to them, which raised a fish. The fish rejected the fly fairly spectacularly before I could do anything, but it was clearly not going to be easy. Right, time to cut the Gordian Knot and just get downstream and in the bloody water!

I clambered down the bank and upstream in the riffle. The fish were rising under some low overhanging branches, which was going to be an interesting challenge. I found that a roll cast kept the loop low enough only to put my fly in the tree much of the time.

(the fish were actually just round the bend at the top of the shot)





As the light levels fell, more and more fish were rising. I couldn't quite place my fly where I wanted it every cast, but eventually I put it where I just knew it would be taken. And it was. Reflexive strike, no conscious thought, the muscle memory that twitches when a float goes under on the TV screen, and I had something small and very fast attached. Better land it!



And there it was, a perfect little wild brown trout of about ten inches, caught on a dry fly and so much the point of the agonising over rods and reels and lines, and the generous advice from friends. As he went back, arrowing downstream, I assumed that I would need to find another swim, but no, still there were rises under the trees. I moved closer and fished on. I missed rises, including one that had two bites of the cherry as I retrieved an unpromising cast. The tree claimed both of my rough olives and a couple of klinkhammers. I put on a little black gnat - the klinkhammers didn't seem to be quite what they wanted. A teenager with a spinning rod and float gear settled just upstream of my swim - I think my casting upstream confused him. Being a newcomer to flyfishing, I was unsure of the correct etiquette - does downstream early bluebottle take priority over upstream dry, or does one chuck the little bugger in? He wasn't catching anything, at least, and his choice of bottom-end only float severely curtailed the damage a skilled trotter could have done to my swim. He didn't stay long. Then, another trout, a good deal smaller but no less welcome;



By this point, I had followed the fish upstream (perhaps "chased" rather than followed) and it was becoming harder and harder to cover the rises - I just couldn't get under the branches. I considered retreating and letting them come back out, but decided instead to try another promising swim; somewhere with enough space for a nice overhead cast, too! A thick iron pipe formed a bridge and a boom across the stream, backing the flow up like a weir. There had been nothing to see earlier, but it looked as if it must be worth a go. As I arrived, I could see something rising upstream and into the near side. I climbed down and stood on the pipe, and began casting, running the fly down the inside. After only a couple of casts there was a swirl and I had another fish on. This one, similar in size to the first, turned out to be hooked just under the jaw, but it was a fair rise and a fair fight, and close enough for jazz, so I shall count it all the same.



Perhaps it is Izaak's admonition for such unsporting thoughts that the photograph came out unfocused. Perhaps it is because my phone doesn't have a very good camera. I don't mind that the only good photograph is the smallest trout - this wasn't a day for weights and measures! And that was all. I had a few casts on the way back to the car, but nothing more came of it, and I was content. Wild brownies caught on the dry fly, with my new rod, reel and line, some challenging casting, some challenging bites and my new waders don't leak. Perfect! Thanks, everyone, for all your help and advice.

Now thats a proper session after small stream brownies! Well done I'm glad you had so much fun as the real fun is in solving the problems welcome to the wonderful world of river trouting

Excellent report Steve! What a lovely little stream, it certainly sounds challenging. Wild brownies on the dry fly - it doesn't get much better than that.

Certainly doesn't!

If your river isn't awake yet (or you just fancy a change), give me a shout.

Well done.

Cheers
OT

I'll be checking my little river again soon, hopefully this evening. But I wouldn't say no to a little dabble on your stream! Slightly different to Farmoor...!

Just a little different to Farmoor!

I'll probably try to get down one evening this week after work, if you can make it? Friday, possibly?

Thanks OT; I think I will give my furled leader another try next time - I was catching too much of the scenery on it at Anderoo's little river, and put it away.

I can make you a shorter one if you like.

That's why I started making them. I couldn't get leaders short enough. (I know I could cut down a tapered leader, but I loose most of the taper if I do that).

Don't forget to grease the leader and degrease your tippet.

Cheers,
OT

It was actually a lot tighter on Anderoo's river, because I was making shorter casts from the bank - and I was ending up in the thistles and brambles a lot. 6'6 + tippet was a little more line than I wanted out. On my stream, I was casting further from in the water, using a 9' tapered mono leader, and that was fine mostly, although I was sometimes having trouble turning over all of the leader with a roll cast. It didn't occur to me to try the furled one again until I was packing up at the car.




Gotcha. Will about 3 feet of tippet work OK with a 6'6 leader?

3 or 4 feet with a single fly is perfect.

Don't forget to use loop to loop for the tippet as a knot will cut the leader when you get a fish on. The force on a loop to loop is compressive (If properly formed) whereas a single piece of mono put through the loop and tied is a shear force. Not good!

If you look after a furled leader it will last you several seasons. My current one is on its third. Its just like yours only about 8 feet long.

I have made them down to 18", but only for a demo.

Try casting the leader with your hand. you'll be amazed how well it turns over.

If you want to practice casting indoors with your new rod take about 8 feet of chenille and tie it to the ring one down from the tip, put it through the tip ring and try casting that. You will need very little power. It takes a lot of practice but will help you on the river.

Cheers
OT

Brilliant report Steve, and that is definitely my sort of small stream !

Went out this week on one of my streams, which is heavily overgrown. Very narrow, but too deep to wade in knee boots. So most of the fishing was from the bank, and judging from the untrampled undergrowth, I was the first to fish it this season. Got four trout, of which one came home for lunch. Didn't make a single overhead cast all morning, and not many rollcasts either. Nearly all improvised side-switch casts aided by a strong upstream wind.

Over the years, my leaders for this type of fishing have got shorter and shorter ....but I still invariably start the session with a leader that is too long ! Ten minutes fishing sees me shortening it to about 30 to 36 inches - usually because I have lost a fly to an overhanging bramble.

Would like to do some pictures, but the camera is on the blink (see Non-Fishing Chat) Hopefully the problem will be resolved soon with a new camera.

Thanks Dave - it's all very new and interesting, technically, though of course they're just fish at the end of the day. Usual rules apply, just new tools and techniques. I'm really glad I've made the effort this year, and can see fly fishing filling out my calendar quite nicely!

I managed an hour or two after work today - I was in two minds whether to bother, because we've had a fair bit of rain. I went anyway. The water was up a little and carrying a bit of colour, but it looked perfectly fishable. There wasn't much rising, however - whether down to the colour in the water or the lack of flies about with the weather, I don't know. I had a dabble in a couple of promising looking swims, but eventually went to the swim that had produced most fish last time. Sure enough, there were a few rises under the trees. I lost the first fish I hooked, but got the second in.



I also got a better photograph of where the fish were:



I made a point today of trying my furled leader (thanks OT). I can really see the benefit of them, they turn over beautifully and lay the tippet and fly out so gently, and the two fish I hooked, I hooked using it. I did find, however, that as the fish retreated under the trees and my casting got more and more distorted to try to keep the loop low, the weight of the butt of the leader could slap down messily on the surface. I got into a bit of a vicious circle with this, the disturbance pushing the fish further out of reach and inviting ever more desperate and cack-handed casting. By the time I gave up and put a nylon leader on, it was too late. So I think the lesson learnt from that is to use my furled leader for really good presentation where I can get a nice cast in - it was far superior while the fish were out of the trees.

Nice fish and a nice little river, well done!

Steve, do you double haul? if you do you will get a much tighter loop. Its not just for distance!

If you don't, the way to learn was shown to me by Philip White. Learn the action without a rod in your hands. it is like learning to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time. If you are right handed point your index finger of your right hand and make a casting movement. Move your hand back, the back cast. Then move your left hand down and up. Move your right hand forward, the forward cast. Move your left hand down and up. Practice this move. As you get used to it, you want to time the move of your hands so that the movement of your hands coincides. That is that your left hand finishes its down and up move as your right hand completes the casting stroke.

Once you can make this move without it feeling strange then try it with your rod. The rod will give you the timing. I struggled with this, until Philip White showed me this technique. It is always better to try to learn one thing at a time, doing it this way you are.

Another tip that helps is that if you are dropping your back cast, cast in front of your face. then if you bend your wrist you hit yourself in the face. You will not do this twice!

Right its Saturday morning... Time to go fishing

Cheers,
OT

Lovely fish Steve - I'm looking forward to having a little go there soon! I couldn't get out all weekend unfortunately, so I don't know what my stream is like at the moment.

I kept looking out of the window and grimacing!

I was trying all sorts of things! That's a good tip, though. I think I tried overhead casts with and without double hauling, and roll casting. It was just basically awkward to cast to and out of my comfort zone, and in between avoiding the brambles behind and the branches overhead and the branches overhanging where I wanted the fly, I couldn't always manage a graceful landing of the line. Just needs more practice, I think.

Just let me know when you're free and we'll sort it.

I was in half a mind to try it again last night, but instead thought I would try an evening ticket on a local stillwater, Watermark. It's only 15 minutes drive away, though there is no C&R. It was OK, bit too much in the vein of Bushyleaze at Lechlade, really. When I arrived, people were telling me that it wasn't fishing well, and they'd blanked, and for an hour or so there was nothing doing, but by 7pm there were fish rising all over the place. I had one on a buzzer and then spent a while trying to catch one on a dry. Eventually put the buzzer back on and had another fish in no time:



I'm not sure I'm really bothered about fishing it again, but they do have a little bit of river. I'm not sure what the situation is with fishing the river, there's nothing on the website about it.