‘As I walked across the meadow in the drizzle, the leaden grey sky looked as if it was touching the roof tops of a similar colour. Pendle Hill was still wreathed in thick cloud. Curlews and oyster catchers were flighting up and down the river, their haunting calls far more exciting and interesting than modern music to this old wrinkly one’
April is usually the start of river trout fishing which can vary in different parts of the country, in some areas it starts March 15th, other areas it can be April or May 1st. Where ever it starts anglers are full of joy, the thought of casting a fly once more, though if you’re like me, with some good grayling fishing, you can fly fish through the winter months, often in nice conditions, though this past winter the rivers have been bank high for many weeks. Also fly fishing for pike is beginning to get popular. I caught my first pike on a fly in the early 1950s. In the book The Diary of A J Lane published in 1843 he writes about fly fishing for pike; included in the book is a picture of a pike fly. Nothing new in angling…
I must make it clear that fly fishing isn’t just for trout and salmon; I have caught many of our coarse fish species on a fly, barbel, carp, rudd, dace, chub, perch and even the occasional tench, many of these fish being regarded as specimens. In the salt water several species can be caught on a fly, the flounder offer some good sport, along with mullet, bass, wrasse and even sharks.
The following text is from some of my fly fishing sessions which these days start on March 15th…
I was up around 07:00 hrs after a quick shower, followed by tea and toast; I was ready to go fly fishing. Conditions were not good, Pendle Hill was shrouded in thick cloud and a heavy drizzle was falling. I headed off along the A59 to the River Ribble; pulling into the car park, I dropped of my gear in the hut, then pulled on my chest high waders. My first job was to clear away a lot of rubbish, probably from a house clearance. I ended up with several bin-liners of rubbish with several bags in the river which had to be dragged out. What made it more annoying was that the bin-liners had come from Craven District Council area. No doubt the culprits, having found the tip closed, used our property to dump their waste; typical morons. I had to make three trips to the council tip before I was finished.
Back in the cabin, I put on the kettle for a brew, with two slices of toast and marmalade. Sitting outside the cabin, having a well-deserved break, I thought that with the dull wet weather, I doubted if I will see any rising fish. I reckoned it would be nymph fishing upstream so chose the 5-weight Helix with a nine foot tapered leader to a three pound tippet. Then I tied on a size 12 beaded pheasant tail nymph.
As I walked across the meadow in the drizzle, the leaden grey sky looked as if it was touching the roof tops of a similar colour. Pendle Hill was still wreathed in thick cloud. Curlews and oyster catchers were flighting up and down the river, their haunting calls far more exciting and interesting than modern music to this old wrinkly one. Approaching the water’s edge I was surprised to see a nice fish rise close to the scum-line near the far bank, then another good fish rose, engulfing a trapped olive. I was most surprised to see rising fish and realised how wrong I was with my thoughts that ‘it’s a nymphing day’. I made the decision to go back to the fishing hut, then changedto a 4-weight LPS with a 12 foot leader.
Back at the water’s edge, the oyster catchers were still flighting up and down the river and, hearing a shrill whistle, I caught the sight of a kingfisher flying low to the water. I chose to fish from the opposite bank, so carefully waded across the river some fifty yards downstream stream of where I had seen the rising fish. A word of warning here; if you’re planning a trip to your local river over the next few weeks or so then please do take care. The river bed has changed quite dramatically with the winter floods. Where once there was two feet of water, there could now be six feet. Equally, one deep pool is now just three feet deep.
As stated, some shallow areas are several feet deeper. Make sure you have a wading stick and, if you are a bit nervous of wading, then wear a buoyancy aid. Having crossed the river I kept well back from the water’s edge, knowing that several fish could be lying close to the bank in two feet of water close to the scum line.
Sitting well back from the water, I counted fifteen olives, with several rising fish. It was time to cast; I tied on a size 16 Adams to a 2lb tippet then waded quietly out into the stream, so I could make a long cast upstream. I had chosen to fish an area of water overhung by the spreading branches of an oak tree. First cast I was quickly hooked up to a hard fighting brown trout. It was a text book drift, the fish quietly sucked in the fly. I tightened into a good fish and line was pulled from the reel as the fish powered across the river into the fast flowing water. For some minutes it was give and take between me and the fish. Slowly I pulled the fish across the river into the quieter water where I soon had the head of the fish out of the water and coming to the net; then it was mine. I marvelled at the beautiful colours, the tiny Adams was in scissors; it was no trouble to take out the small barbless fly. I lowered the net in the water, watching as the fish swam off strongly. On my next cast to another rising fish I had a take within a minuteand another nice brown trout was unhooked and released.
I sat on the bank for about five minutes waiting for another fish to show. Olives were still coming off in ones and twos. Within a rod length a fish sucked down an olive, I made a roll cast as the fly landed on the water; it was immediately sucked down. It was an amazing fishing session to be catching in early March. I’ve often had the odd fish but not fishing like this, using dry flies at this time of the year.
Today, in Mid-April, I chose to fish well upstream on the River Ribble into the county of Yorkshire. It was 11-30 am when I arrived on the river. Primroses were everywhere with curlews and oyster catchers calling. It was great being out in this huge wilderness of streams, moorland, fields, woods and the river Ribble. An icy wind from the north-east blew straight down the river. Saying to myself, ‘I reckon it’s going to be a nymphing day’ and, with the strong wind, I chose to use a 5-weight Helix rod. Having tackled up, I headed upstream for about half a mile where in the past I’ve been able to catch some nice wild brown trout. I then ending up fishing a big weir-pool where I would have a late lunch. I was well wrapped up against the icy wind but still occasionally shivered.
For about thirty minutes I fished a beaded pheasant-tail nymph on a size 10 barbless hook, casting upstream, then fishing the cast out, before taking another step upstream. I felt one gentle take but missed it. At least something in the icy cold water wanted to eat. I persevered but received no more hits. I decided to sit on the bank with my back to the wind and my hood pulled tight around my ears.
After about fifteen minutes I spotted a slight dimple. ‘Grayling;’ I thought, ‘they’re out of season.’ In the next twenty minutes I spotted a trout rise twice so tied on a large Klinkhammer special. On the second drift a fish had a look. A dozen casts later I switched over to a size 18 barbless black-and-peacock. Second drift down, I received the perfect rise and tightened into a nice fish which actually took some line off the reel as it moved upstream.
After a spirited scrap I was able to net a nice brown trout about fourteen inches. Unhooking the fish without touching it by hand, I watched it swim off upstream. I was over the moon at taking a trout in these tough conditions on a dry fly. It was most pleasing to have caught it. I sat watching for another rise and then, with lunch looming, I walked off downstream.
At a small tree-lined pool I switched to a Richard Walker mayfly nymph. I fished for about twenty minutes without a sign of a fish so it was time for a fresh brew with a sandwich but I was a happy angler. Rather than sit in my car, I pushed myself deep into a reed-bed which offered some relief from the wind. Lunch over, it was back on the river for another hour without any success. I called it a day then headed off home.
Trout fishing low gin clear rivers
It always amazes me as to why so many anglers approach low, clear rivers to fish for brown trout in the same manner as they would on still waters for rainbows, often arriving with a 10 ft. 7-weight outfit in tandem with a sink-tip line, not a floating line. Using tackle better suited for sea trout and grilse, at the end of the session they go away moaning about the poor fishing. I remember my grandfather often telling me when I was a youngster, “A poor workman always blames his tools.” I say, “Don’t blame the river for the bad fishing, instead think about the subject and conditions.” When river trout fishing on a low, gin-clear river or stream, often in bright sunshine, you will need the finest and lightest tackle possible. This type of fishing demands good presentation, water craft and most importantly, casting accuracy combined with a quiet approach. Spook your fish and you have no chance.
Some Do’s and Dont’s
Don’t use 9 foot 6lb leaders and streamer flies, don’t go clumping up and down the banks, don’t crash your feet down on the bed of the stream when wading; do it quietly, in fact the less you wade the better. Don’t use a rod above a 4-weight, for me it’s a light soft action 3- or 4- weight rod, often offibreglass. Thomas & Thomas make a fine range of glass fibre rods under in the Heirloom series; my favourite is the 7’ 6” 3-weight or my 8’ 4-weight; they have the action of cane but the weight of carbon. I match this with a small reel and a double taper floating line.
Using a Tie Fast tool I attach fifteen inches of 20lb b.s. line to my floating fly line and then attach a taper leader usually 9 feet in length, comprising a butt of 20lb with a tippet of 4lb. I then attach another five to ten feet of 3lb tippet. Sometimes, when fish don’t take the fly and stop short, I will tie on a couple of feet of 2lb b.s. I discovered this by using a short length of fluorocarbon, when fishing size 18 and 20 hooks, chironomids and other small dry flies.
If you arrive on your favourite stretch of river with no rising fish, just sit on the bank in an area where you have seen fish in the past. Often, within ten minutes or perhaps an hour, you will usually see dimples or light bulges on the calm surface of the river; this is usually fish taking emergent flies. Those fish are for catching.
As you sit there you will see the occasional small flies leaving the water and as often or not they are tiny black buzzers, known as a non-biting midge or chironomids. Many still water fly-fishers will have experienced clouds of buzzer around the water’s edge. When buzzers are hatching off, the water surface becomes dimpled by rising fish; even the ducklings, coots, moorhens, swallows, swifts and other birds join in the action, filling their beaks with these tiny morsels of food. I say, “It’s time you, the river angler, started fishing the buzzer.”
Sadly, too few river anglers think of fishing the buzzer, thinking that it is only for their still-water angling friends; not true, the buzzer is often a major food item for our river trout, especially this season, when my trout have been spooned or stomach pumped. The Americans have known for many years that the midge reigns supreme on many rivers and streams. They have perfected this style of fishing on flowing water which the UK angler would do well to follow. Two of the best books you can read on the subject are Fishing the Midge by Ed Koch published in 1972 by Freshet Press (a revised edition was published in1988 by Stackpole books) and in 2001 Stackpole published Midge Magic by Don Holbrok and Ed Koch. I reckon this last book is one every fly-fisher should have on his or her bookshelf.
The American midge angler will often fish a midge down to size 24, even size 28 on some of the clear limestone streams in Pennsylvania. I often fish a size 20 or 22 but nothing smaller; I doubt if I could thread the leader through the eye of the fly. It’s important to remember when fishing a very small midge or fly that you need to use a very fine tippet matched with a soft action rod. I sometimes use a few inches of power gum tied in the leader. The takes from a trout when using the midge can often be very savage.
Fishing the Dry Fly
For me the most delightful way of catching trout is by sight fishing with a dry fly. River trout fishing should not be difficult; the fish will show you where they live by rising to the surface and in addition they will show you what they are eating. By observing the flies coming off, then matching the hatch, you should catch that trout unless it’s spooked by a bad cast. You should cast up and across the stream so the fly lands like thistle-down, several feet above the feeding trout.
The best advice I can give is to fish the longest leader you can handle but I reckon it needs to be at least twelve feet and I often fish a leader of twenty feet. When casting a fly to your intended quarry, don’t make more than one false cast, as the fish often get spooked by the line being cast over them. Just make a roll cast, a back cast, then a forward cast, so dropping the fly where you want it to land. You should then catch that rising fish; it is not rocket science. Above all, enjoy being at the waterside. I have had some delightful dry fly fishing on the river Kennet and often the rules are that all dry fly fishing must be upstream but I don’t see a problem with this. Another excellent water is the Upper Avon where I enjoyed good sport with the late Bernard Venables MBE.
The lovely river Frome, a chalk stream which rises in the west of Dorset, then flows in an easterly direction into Poole Harbour is in an area well known to those who served in the Marines. As chalk streams go, I rate the Frome very highly; this river has a reasonable flow rate over lovely, clean gravel. How I would love to manage this river; I defiantly would not stock, relying only on the wild fish. I’ve had a few fishing trips to the river at Pallington, near Dorchester, situated not far from novelist and poet Thomas Hardy’s cottage (a writer that truly captured the essence of the Dorset countryside and its people). Hardy passed away in 1928, leaving a wealth of literature for English speaking people to enjoy. How I would have loved to have been alive in Hardy’s time. Enjoy your season.
Writing & Images – Martin James MBE, March 2024
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