Nick Moore | Wednesday, 10 May 2023
It was really nice to go back to where I used to live and work, especially since the fishing up here is absolutely fantastic. Not only in terms of rivers, but Stillwater trout fisheries are plentiful and productive.
On the first day we fished for sea trout on the river, I wanted to try my new waders, and I must say they are absolutely fantastic. They are comfortable, all be it slightly oversized, but no matter. They are meant to keep the water out and they do a very good job. Unfortunately, the fish weren’t there, or not interested, as the figures for the fish pass were pretty low!
The next day we fished a very nice large Stillwater stocked with rainbows and browns. You have to wade this venue, otherwise you wouldn’t be in with a chance of catching fish, as the banks feature a plethora of trees close to where you would stand. I started with a team of buzzers, and switched to caddis larvae imitations which produced a few fish. It was hard going, but overall very enjoyable. A lot of caddis and hawthorn flies were hatching, so it was difficult to decide what to put on as trout take these with a very splashy performance.
After this we went to another fishery which was very beautifully kept, and it turned out to be an amazing day, fishing in the surface film. I had about 20 fish on emergers, the biggest and best turned out to be a grown on 7lb brown which took off like a rocket! How did I catch so many? I observed the rises and placed the fly in the direction it was going, making sure to degrease the tippet to increase success.
The last day was rather special, a new large venue, but this time the lake included rainbow, blue, sparctic and tiger trout. In total I had 3 fish altogether after trying a variety of methods, it was quite hard going, but on my 1st or 2nd cast I hooked into a decent sized fish, a 5lb rainbow which took like a freight train. Wonderful.
All in all it was a fantastic week jamb packed with fish! Tight lines