Just before 2pm with the skies still very dark & grey I was sitting beside the river with a westerly wind blowing straight across and no hatching insect life at all, so opted for a team of spiders in the low clear water.
Just as I was about to slip into the river this daffodil caught my eye, not your usual daffodil shape and looked absolutely stunning.
Finishing down throw the faster but very clear & shallow water I managed to net a couple of very small Grayling, at least I wasnt going to dry net but still no sign of any fly life nor trout.
Getting down to a large corner I was hoping that the trees would block out the westerly wind and hopefully some sort of fly life might start showing away from the wind, I sat for nearly 30 minutes observing and saw no movement but it was nice to sit & watch a pair of oyster catchers in a courtship.
The marsh marigolds all around as I sat in the lea of the bank away from the wind.
Decisding to slip on a minnow pattern and try the deeper pools to see if I could get a response from a trout.
Fishing back upstream I came to a deep pool and fished the minnow through and got an instant response straight away but I suspect from a salmon as it sped off at a very rate of knots and it felt heavy but the fly and the fish parted company and I was left after a brief run with a limb line. I decided enough was enough and started to make my way back to the car and just at that a hercules flying low came up the Dale, first one I've seen in a few weeks now, as they are a common sight flying low up through the Dale.
The sight of the hercules reminded me of the letter I recently received form RAF Leeming for the donation from the AGM where I took some furled Leaders and sold them in aid of a Cancer charity and airmen who has been struck down by the horrible disease.
A couple of the fishermen who have my weight forward furled leaders out on trial are sending back positive feedback so far, but a few more weeks of use before I can say if Im going to continue with it.
Tester 1
Had a quick play with the leader today on a wee 6' #5 rod. Turned over well and would allow me to put slack into it to allow for drag free drifts. It worked well in a breeze today so all is good
Tester 2
Brilliant leader was out today, turn over and everything was spot on. It was windy where I was and it done the damage, good performance good presentation, well happy with it.
George.... You will be seeing the Hercules a lot over the next few weeks, with various exercises going on.
ReplyDeleteI know mate, my wife works at Leeming .
DeleteGeorge, those trusty spiders came to the rescue.
ReplyDeleteHappy to see you made the best of what was not a nice day.
spiders always pull me something Alan, hence I love fishing them so much. Although not many fish caught still an enjoyable day.
DeleteGeorge as you know I'm also a huge spider fan. But which one works better for you. I find the Partridge and Orange catch's more for me, always tied on my middle dropper
ReplyDeleteIt honestly varies from river to river Neil, The Partridge & Orange is a favourite of mine on the top dropper, but the Snipe & Purple & the Waterhen Bloa have all produced fish for me over the years when no other would so that would probably be my top three although I have one I reserve especially for the Tees which always produces :)
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