Decided to do a bit of fishing on the river Eden in Scotland, all seemed to start quite well, suited up in my Ron Thomson new waders and ready to go.

However it was a complete nightmare to cast most places up the river for the trees and the weeds in the water, snag after snag. Then my line gets caught up in my rod for the tenth time and realised I was not having a good day. That was until I realised that my right foot and leg was starting to feel really funny, then it came to me yes my waders had a leak!
By the time I got out of the water my right leg was nearly full of water.

So all in all a miserable day trying river fishing for the first time, from now on I think i will play safe and stick to a fishery. It is moments like these that you realise why fisheries exist and are needed, the notion of wild brown trout fishing is great but unless you have the perfect river with no foilage or trees then it sucks.

Sorry but my opinion and wild brown trout fishing for me is not something I want to really pursue.

Nothing worth doing comes easy. I'm sure when you started out on stilwaters you had more than a few problems. I know when I first started at a still water, it took me about 8 visits before i caught a fish. I am now in my third season on a difficult river and now go expecting to catch more than a few, in fact it has been at least 18 months since I went to a stillwater, a time when I caught an 8 pounder and you know what? I would swap that 8 pounder for half a dozen 8 ounce wild brown trout caught on the river any day of the week. So, my advice is to give it another go, after you have changed the waders, Your persistence will be rewarded with many pleasures. ATB, Alan

Sounds like you chose a pretty difficult stretch for your first outing river fishing. (I hope that I'm not being presumptuous in assuming it was your first river outing?)
I wouldn't give up so easily, try to find a more open stretch that a bit easier to cast until you get the hang of it. I'm sure that other forum members will be able to point you in the right direction for something local to you.
Better still get a guide for a day.
Once you get the hang of it river fishing is the dogs but as I recall from my early days it can be very frustrating to start with but you'll never forget your first river trout.

As for the waders. New waders should NOT leak, no matter what the price, but let's just say that the make in question probably falls into the lower bracket of 'budget' as far as these things go...

Andy

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that's a shame to hear that as it's not always like that. i was a stockie basher too but now i'm totally converted. yes we all have our bad days, but your first bad experience has put you off. when you fell off your bike as a child, did you get back on it? that is the question

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I could fish deep into the night
Well past the light
But at the end of the day
It's the end of the day

Burhan

mc_death187@yahoo.com

Sorry to hear that you had a 'mare................won't you give it just one more go ? Perhaps go with somebody that knows the river and can give you a few pointers. A few points for you ..............if the river really was that unfishable why try ? Find a better stretch or another river. Maybe you need a bit more casting practise if you are constantly getting wrapped around the rod. Oh, and send the waders back..........they are not the rivers fault. If this was your first trip please don't write it off.................go on have another crack at it. I am sure that you will get to like it........................birdsnest

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BN based in Wolverhampton

This is my 1st year on a river aswell mate, I have had some stinking days, nearly falling in the river countless times, dissapearing down wholes on the bank covered by long grass, my waders have more holes than a tea bag due to trying to get through the barbed wire to quickly so i can get some fishing done, but seriousley its worth sticking at. Take your time and after a few visits you will become more aware of what is around you and you will adapt your casting to suit your surroundings. Every time i head back to the car im aware of a new leak in my waders needing patched and a change of socks is required. From what i gather everyone still looses flys to the tree gods and in general can have a hard day on the river but IMO its far more enjoyable than the fisheries. Keep at it, you won't regret it.

It isn't easy. Which is why it's so appealing to people

Plus it's a natural as you can get.
Catching fish in fisheries is great and it's still a wild creature etc, but catching them on a river is great!

I do both. I prefer fisheries/lakes etc for convience, but you can beat the feeling of catching a nice wild brown...nomatter how much of a pain in the **** was

Thats just a bad day. We all get them. By the sounds of it, the area you chose was bad as well. Try and look for more accessable areas to fish. Gravel banks on river corners etc. Fish the tail end. They're usually pleasant enough

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John Danter

I often flyfish a small river which is usually fished with spinners and worm, is heavily gorsed and unwadeable in the lower sections as it has a sandy bottom and soft banks. In short it's awful for easy flyfishing... I had a lot of nightmare days. Then I had a word with a local casting instructor (Morayflyfisher - AKA Kevin) after he showed me the rudiments of double and single spey and snap T the river opened for me.

Overhead casting is for boats, stillwaters and ressies with clear banks, rollcasting is the thing for most small rivers. If you were trying to overhead cast of a river with lots of cover then it won't have been fun... Don't write it off until you've tried different casts...

Come on lose the sulk Nothing's easy first time and a challenge is part of the fun.

My favourite river (in SA ) varies from 400 yards wide to channels between islands of 10 ft wide. The visibility is an average of 20 inches so you can rarely see what you are wading over or through.
I tend to loose12 - 24 flies a day to snag ups on rocks, hung up in the willows, break offs etc. Quite a few guys are wearing shin guards due to the uneven nature of the river bottom.
Would I stop ?????, Never ever ever.

The thrill of your first "wild" fish, irrespective of size, and then all the lost flies, tangles, bleeding shins, holed waders etc. just become part of the enjoyment.

In short, don't give up. Try and team up with someone for a day, or even better get a guide for a day. Any guide worth his salt will teach you more in a day than you would learn in a year of weekends getting frustrated on your own.

There is no such thing as an impossible place to fish, you just have to get in about it and be creative with your casting. I love having to take a minute and figure out just how I intend to get my fly into the right spot, that is a large part of the appeal with wild waters, small streams especially. To be honest Im glad most folk get put off by the slightest obstacles, it just means all the more water for me