An hour of testing

I decided to grab the fly tying vice the other day and top up the fly box before my next trip out and decided on tying a couple of parachute patterns, I do like fishing with them from time to time when not fishing the more traditional patterns that I love to fish, so a short while later I ended up with these.

This was a self tied pattern I had in my box at the start of the season, & I found it very effective when the March Brown's were on the scene, and being down to my last couple these were the ones I tied just to top up the box.

As well as the brown's I added a few olive and black patterns to try out with different sight posts, the fluorescent pink I wanted to try in fast water.

On my way home today I decided to grab an hour as my fishing kit was in the boot of the car anyway so I headed to my nearest club stretch and set about seeing if anything was moving on the water.

As I got to the river the skies started to darken

The weather had been undecided all day and for a short period this afternoon we had a few heavy showers where the hailstones were the size of marbles and hurt like hell when hitting you, I just hoped it would stay dry for an hour or so.

I seen a few flies hatching off and a couple of fish moving for them so decided to stick on one of the newly tied olive green flies and give it a whirl.

Result on the 2nd cast a lovely small trout.











As I moved down the runs another couple of small trout came up and splashed at the fly but without taking it so it was definitely attracting interest and just as I was about to lift off at the end of a cast I hooked into a better fish which put a bend on the rod.

One of the club stockies, the first one Ive managed to hook into this year but in fine condition and almost fin perfect.

I'm not a great fan of stocked fish and tend to keep away from the stretches which are stocked but with this just being a quick hour I wasn't messing around. Thankfully the club don't stock heavily and mark all the stocked fish with a small dye tattoo on their stomachs when they buy them so they are easily identified when caught.

Just as I was releasing the fish the skies opened and a heavy shower of hail came on, within seconds the tops of my shoulders were white from hailstones, so I decided to grab some shelter under a tree and see if it passed, within 10 minutes it had passed overhead and I continued downstream. I hooked into another fish which I suspect was another stock fish but it managed to release itself at long range, not that I was bothering as I had the results I had came for the flies I wanted to try work.

As I walked back to the car I seen another fish rising and sure enough it took a liking to the fly also.

An hour and 25 minutes total on the bank and 4 fish on one on the new olive green patterns I had just made up as a sampler, Id say they work and a few more will get tied next time the vice is out.