First trip of the new season yesterday for a few hours in the afternoon to a small and very overgrown Dorset chalkstream.
The wind was very strong and chilly so I really did not expect much, especially using the dry fly. A few olives were hatching and in the more sheltered pools the fish started to respond.
Well I had my best opening day for ages with 8 beautiful wild brownies between 10" & 14" all to my CDC & Elk. This was well worth the 5 flies I lost to various branches, but then when I think about it thats also why hardly no one else fishes this secret little stream.

......... Ian

__________________
Seen anything rise?

Cheers for that - very informative - no doubt we could all benefit from that.

__________________
[COLOR="Blue"]"A fish seen is a fish nearly caught"[/COLOR]

Wow - what an opening day - I've never caught more than 3 or 4 trout on the first day of the seaon.

Out of interest was it a stocked stretch?

Bri

Well done Ian! My opening bag from the Wiltshire Avon consisted of Grayling, Brownies and a rogue Rainbow who at 8oz and fit as a butchers dog was not your average stockie in more ways than one, CDC and Elk and small F Fly's did the damage. See you on the Monnow in May!
Jason

Cheers Jason, I am really looking forward to the Monnow trip after all the great posts from Tigermoth and Cranefly it has some reputation to live up to. Actually I am not too fussed about the fishing so long as the social is good!
Bri, all the fish in this stream are wildies as far as I know. I can`t imagine anyone stocking the place with it so wild and overgrown. It really is an assault course with fairly steep banks and probably 10 or more trees fallen across the river in the 5 or 600 yards I fished. Its part of my syndicate water but even last year in May there was no evidence of other members having fished it.

............ Ian

__________________
Seen anything rise?

Sounds like a piece of heaven.

That is the type of river fishing i like to fish.

WCB

__________________
http://devonschoolofflyfishing.com/ The BEST Fly fishing tuition guiding in Devon

http://funkyflytying.co.uk

All the better then!

Yes, perfect, that and a few more like it will provide angling Nirvana for 750,000 fly fishers.

__________________
Private Fishing! Dry fly only now!!!!