Fish of the Week Winner
This week’s fish of the week winner is Brody with his specimen Pike. Brody has been hooked since his first trip aged just 3, he’s caught many different species but this was his proudest moment yet!
After extoling the virtues of trout fishing with shads and spinners, my friend was halfway to disowning me if I didn’t get back on the # ItOnlyCountsOnFly team. I’ll fish any legal method and if possible I think I’ll be out with him using worms and trout paste at some point this year. There’s no denying that this time of year offers excellent fly fishing with rivers flowing a little higher than in summer the hungry trout take no time at all in locking onto the early season hatches and feeding voraciously on the bugs that absent anglers never even see.
If you’re thinking of wetting a line in the early season then there a few variables you’ll need to consider: weather, river conditions, times of day, angling styles and hatches will all be different to those you’ll have experienced in high summer.
In March & April, everything is centred around ‘the hatch’. This is a point in the day when flies, usually March Browns, LDO’s and Duns emerge, and the trout can go nuts feeding at the surface on the glut of fly. It’s a sight to see and it’s one of the best things for any angler, but what do you do before the hatch?
Although the river looks like a barren place early in the morning, trout are there and catchable. The flies that hatch later in the day and the fish that will rise after them are probably already active in the water and the best way to cover an awful lot of water and find them is with nymphing tactics. Upstream nymphing probably gives you the best searching method with a high percentage chance of bumping into fish when there’s no visible hatch.
Assuming that most of your day’s fishing won’t be with a dry, searching the water with Spiders or Nymphing styles. My friend will always carry a second setup, keeping a dry fly rod rigged and close to hand. I’ll tend to use a single rod and make do with quickly swapping leaders that I’ve prepped so I can change when the hatch turns on.
Any early season hatches can be over in minutes, so being able to take advantage of them involves predicting them and being prepared. If you see a fish rise keep an eye on the area, if it rises again grab your second setup and make a cast; it’s amazing how often you can pick a fish up to brighten a day! Most of your early hatches will be around midday when the sun is at its highest as the light levels stir the bugs in to action. Try to find a nice pool below a shallow gravel flat for an hour either side of noon.
Early season efforts are often spent concentrate on areas of the river which has a riffle running into deep water, you can expect to find them down on or near the riverbed for a lot of the day. They will be in small depressions, behind stones on or near any drop-off areas opportunistically feeding on whatever comes their way.
Fingers crossed you’re out catching on your locals this week, there might be a bit more legwork but get wrapped up and there’s some fantastic fishing to be hand.
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