Hi Guys

15th of March 2012 will only be my third "early season" on the river my wee spate river, the Carron

First season i got all excited, my first season river fishing however i fished and fished and blank after blank destroyed my confidence i left the river for a few monthes went back when things had warmed up and caught but i never forgot that first early season !

It was if the river only contained stones and water ! Were the heck where all the fish ???? The River appeared dead ! , lifeless !

Ive warned my father this season will be his first "early season" on the river last time he fished it the river seemed full to bursting with jumping salmon and rising brownies.

My second "early season" i was prepared and swung Copperhead black PTN and caught my first brown trout a couple of days after the season started dont get my wrong it was very hard won but satisfying

Given ive alot still to learn and my fathers never seen the river in early March id like to ask what tactics you find effective early on small spate rivers ???

Stephen

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Englander

"Barbless since 2008"

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Stephen, I fish the Carron and the almond which a very similar rivers. Upstream gold heading never goes far wrong mate. Given the warm winter I may even try some spiders

Hi E... we all get excited in anticipation of the new season, but the truth is often that it takes a while to get going. Whilst upstream goldheading is an effective searching method, try swinging a streamer across some of the pools

If you want to be all purist, look for the calmer water and the windows around midday when you are likely to get a hatch of LDO's. The fish are often still fairly torpid at this time of year or sluggish and need to rebuild their energy reserves. They are going to hang out where there is least effort for maximum reward, so tails of slicks and glides where there is a bit of cover are worth searching out. If you do fancy the faster water, try and think in three dimensions and envisage where the margins between the fast flowing current and the slack will be - that will be where the fish are lying.
Best
Dave

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"A homeward tramp thro' mist wrapped night,
With heart and creel in common light,
Complete content, the day has brought it,
They fished for pleasure - and they caught it"

P F Morgan
taken from the catch record book at Llanthony Hotel, Honddu Valley, Aug 1942

www.monnowlogue.com
www.monnow.org.uk

Observation, focus and concentration (along with suitable temperatures and a little luck) are the only ingredients required.

Keep your eyes peeled and your mind on the job - you will learn much more about your stream and the trout that live there.

Earn your fish, don't rely on blind chance that is so often the main element of fishing with a nymph. It can be very effective and hugely skilfull in the right hands but in practice it can make river anglers lazy and unobservant.

Stick that in your pipe, headmaster!!

x

P

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Trout fishermen revere the trout; trout, on the other hand, unaware of their sublime standing in man's world, revere nothing, including man, a creature they seem to view with special contempt. Nihilism is a rare trait in fish but trout are full of it. The old men liked that.

and if all else fails and the fish are not showing the pub is a good place to be , i am a die hard and like to stick it out . and i hope it will be a lovely warm spring day on the 15th as that to is my first day , and it is going to be a good tear the weather will be good ( but dont hold me to that )

All sound advice, weighted nymphs and wets will be the menu most days. Our season in Northern Ireland starts 1st March and have already seen the first few snouts up supping LDO's on the Cusher a week ago. Mild winter hopefully is going to mean some dryfly action to break the day up. Only 15 days to go!


Brian Russell Flyfishing

Fascinating stuff - and as only a second-season newbie it saved me asking the self-same question

Incidentally Englander (me too btw) my local river is the Devon in Clackmannanshire and I think it may be a slightly challenging year there, early-season sluggish fish notwithstanding. For more info on this for those interested I put a link to the latest DAA (Devon Angling Association) newsletter in the River Devon thread in the Trout and Grayling forum).

With similar thoughts in mind I wanted some closed-season reading material and my now wife bought me "Prospecting For Trout" by Tom Rosenbauer (an Orvis guy) for Christmas. Your comments Tigermoth on the use of streamers are something this authour seems to endorse - although as ive discovered, they have much fewer foibles about using lures on small rivers in the States than we do over here (and many fewer rules and regs too it seems, not to mention snobbishness about the "correct" or "ethical" approach to trout fishing in general). From other stuff ive read it seems Rosenbauer's ideas are more-or-less transferable to UK waters - in his case he seems to be an advocate of the Wooly ****** especially.

However, I nipped into the Alloa fishing shop next to where I work and the proprietor recommended both goldheads AND Grayling bugs - the latter mainly because theyre weighted it seems. I'm a little dubious about deeper fishing on a river like the Devon for fear of snags. I have a sinking line and tried it a couple of times - losing flies on both occasions on the bottom or some invisible obstruction. Rosenbauer however seems to thing a sinker isnt really neccesary on rivers like this. I wonder what others think about this?

As far as upstream nymphing is concerned im very green around the gills tbh - and the few occasions ive tried it have probably been unsuccessful because a) the flow was too fast and I couldnt retrieve quickly enough to get the "dead drift" he talks about in the chapter on nymphing and b) because my casting isnt as proficient (yet) as it should be. Any advice greatly appreciated (mind you he also recommends using a little split shot on the line to take the nymph down more quickly in faster flow - something im not very sure about really, although I know some people "dap" a fly on a short line using shot where there's a high bank and thick bankside vegetation, even in the UK). Actually, while I talk about obtaining dead drift, I also read that drag isnt nearly as important a factor when nymphing as it is with dry and downstream wet fly fishing, so that seems to contradict Rosenbauer who says that it IS a factor even when fishing at depth because of the varying rates of flow at different depths. Who is right I wonder?

Cheers, Les

---------- Post added at 10:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:44 PM ----------

Really? You cant write a fly name like Wooly B*gger on here without getting censored? What's going to happen when I type Bloody Butcher then???????????

---------- Post added at 10:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 PM ----------

Well that question's been answered then

Well my advice would be to get there at the right time.

Early season I'd want to be there between 11:00 and 14:00. Don't give up and stick it out for the full 3 hours. Early season the peak of insect activity (and trout activity) will take place during this period of the day and the fish can switch on to feed for only a short period of time so being there at the right time can be the difference between fishing a stream that looks devoid of life and one full of fish.

Be observant and just enjoy being on the river, one of life's greatest pleasures is walking the river and seeing the first few LDO's hatching in the tail of a riffle then floating down the river like a floatilla little battle ships. The trout won't be far away, and if you're lucky they may start to rise to them if so tie on the dry fly. If they are not coming to the insects on the surface they may be pre-occupied on the nymphs so tie on a nymph and fish your way up in to the tail of the riffle.

Usually early season I try and think of fishing trips to my local small stream as more a walk with a rod rather than a serious fishing day. Surprising how many of these turn into surprisingly good days.

Cheers

MP

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"There's only one way of life, and that's your own, that's your own, that's your own" The Levellers.

Good advice Mickey, thanks As it happens I pretty much treat most of my visits to my local river this way - I walked much of it long before I ever took up a rod. Obviously going with other things in mind (i.e trout!) leads one to look at it in different ways. Amazing how much more ive learned about bugs since I started this game and even when just out for a walk I find myself trying to I.D species as go.

One question though - and im probably missing the obvious here but...whats an L.D.O? Oh, actually, I assume the "O" stands for Olive but...

---------- Post added at 07:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:58 PM ----------

Oh, and like the "signature" btw - one of my favourite Levellers songs and quite cathartic for me too

Large dark olive, mate