A bit more Colour in the River

If you haven't visited the river for a few weeks, then you really should try and go soon. At the end of April the river level suddenly rose from the low twenties up to 32cm and it has stayed there since then. That was enough to clear a lot of the brown algae that had been building up, and the flow is now just about perfect. It's been slowly clearing as well, so what's this about more colour in the river?

Well, according to the Catch Returns, there have been a lot more Browns caught recently, so I'm not sure if some have been stocked recently, or they're just getting more active. There is also a new colour of Trout in the river however, in addition to the Browns and Rainbows, as the last stocking introduced some Blues.

Here's one caught by Keith just over a week ago, and more have been caught recently. As you can see, they have no Rainbow or Brown markings, and they do look very blue from above especially in the water. They're also very lively, but so are most of the fish at the moment, once they're hooked.

One thing I have observed lately, is the the takes can be surprisingly subtle, so you really have to concentrate. As a result, I'm finding that rather than rely on Klink'n'Dink or Duo indicators, or even using a second nymph on a dropper, I find it best to rely on an appropriately weighted single nymph on point, and to use the 'contact nymphing' technique. This is where you cast a relatively short distance upstream, and after allowing the nymph to sink, lift the rod so that you're in direct contact with the nymph, and you're more likely to detect a bite, and maintain that tight line right to the swing and lift at the end of the drift. If you happen to see him on the river, Peter Verrinder is a great proponent of this technique.

A lot of ctaches have been on nymphs so far, including the following: PTN, Black PTN, Copper John, Mayfly nymph, GRHE, Duracell, Curry nymph, Brown Shrimp,Silver Quill and various other quill types, as well as a foam bug and even a small black streamer. I haven't seen many reports of catches on dries, though I'm hoping that we'll see more hatches and rises now, and I'm certainly going to try some dries this week.

The other thing you could try is a wet spider type, especially in any rapid ripply water. I caught a perfect wild Brownie this way recently on a partridge hackle spider in some fast water, and it was particularly gratifying as I'd tied it myself at the last fly-tying evening. I do plan to try and use these more now that the flow is much better.

Finally, thanks to those who have reported Mink sightings. If you'd like to report them directly, you can do so at https://www.waterliferecoverytrust.org.uk/report-a-sighting/ and you can upload a photo or video there too. Make sure you take a note of the exact location, preferably using What3Words.

Tight Lines (even before you hook a fish)

PeterB