So that's it for another year. No more Trout from the river (but still plenty in the Reservoir of course). Today was the last day, even though some of us 'Winter Fishers' will be back on the river as usual next week, but looking for Grayling, and perhaps the odd coarse fish. That will only be on Beats 3 a,b,c, 4, 6, 7, and not Beat 5, 1 or 2. That means that Trottenden and Share Farm are now strictly out of bounds until next April, and so with Tony, I paid a last visit to Trottenden on the last day.
I'd struggled a bit there earlier in the week, catching 5 but losing 3 of them, so I wasn't expecting too much. As it happened, the clearer water helped a lot and I saw a number of fish, which always helps to target them. The 1st fell to a downstream GH Daddy in field 1 - the cattle having obligingly moved over. Next came the corner pool just in field 2, where I spotted 2 fish, and caught one on my first cast after changing to an off-bead Silver Quill. Tony tried for the other one, and as soon as he swapped to a Silver Quill he caught it first cast too.
In the last corner of field 2, we saw a rise above the flat stones, and Tony hooked it but it got off and catapulted his fly into a tree. We moved down and Tony successsfully fished the big deep pool while I had another go at the lost trout from downstream, and a nice 2.5 pounder succumbed to the Silver Quill.
We eventually started working our way back up and I spotted a rise in 'Trout Alley' and as I was using a nymphing rod, I tried various nymphs to no avail, so tied on a dry Daddy on a dropper, which provoked some interest, but no take. I then added a Grey Wulff in place of the nymph, but again only passing interest, then I lost the lot in a Hawthorn. I retrieved them using the trusty treble hook and line gadget (see 'Hanging Around', 2 July), and contemplated how to catch a wary rising fish with a nymphing rod.
Luckily (well not really) I had my nifty 15" Tenkara rod in the back pocket of my fly vest. I often carry it for just such an occasion, so I tied on the fixed line (no reel) and extended it to 12' and tied on a procession of dries (Sedge, Daddy, Wulff) which the trout looked at but wouldn't take. Tony then suggested something small and black, so I tied on my favourite Grayling fly, the Double Badger, and after a few drifts past, it turned a took it.
That was exciting of course, but then I had the challenge of landing him, which is not easy with a very delicate 12' rod and no reel to wind in the line. Eventually I landed a very lovely Brown, and released him none the worse for wear. I have to say it was the perfect way to end the season, and a perfect day on the river.
If you want a second rod when you're out nymphing, just in case you see a rise, you can get a Tenkara kit (rod, line, flies) online for under £60, and it's light and easy to carry anywhere, and can be terrific fun. Just catching that Brown today was enough to justify the outlay on its own for me, but I'm keen to try it out on the Grayling as well.
I hope you all had good days on the river this season, but don't forget that you can still have fun with the Work-Parties during the Winter, as we carry out some maintenance on the river and reservoir to make them even better next year.
Cheers
PeterB
The only thing that gave me more pleasure than watching Peter catching the brownie on the dry fly, was to see him afterwards, hopping up and down like an excited Bob Mortimer.