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Post by springerman on Feb 20, 2014 10:16:17 GMT
Well done Louis, not many of us out with rod and line. My rivers are, like you say, dropping, but there is more rain to come. I remember a February a few years ago just the same as this but March was better. I do hope the same applies.
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Post by Simon on Feb 20, 2014 10:29:24 GMT
Hope you had your life jacket on Louis? Keeping fingers crossed for the Lower Alyn this weekend, it's dropping fairly quickly.
Simon.
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Post by orangeotter on Feb 21, 2014 8:23:59 GMT
No question of wading too far out but fish are often within reach from waters edge at that height ( as they were).
Alyn is 0.55 mtrs at Pontycapel this morning and steady - hope you can get out.
( can you call me sometime please)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2014 18:36:34 GMT
We both seem to be constantly checking the river levels more in hope than expectation, though my Christmas present and I would love to get on the water and see how it could handle Grayling on the Dee. Simon had been talking to Louis who had caught a couple of grayling and as the weather was predicted to be fine on Saturday but raining and very windy on Sunday, it was decided to at least go to the river and try from the edges if wading wasn’t a safe option. After thoroughly enjoying the Friday Rugby we woke up to see the sun shining and it wasn’t raining so we packed up and headed to Llangollen. Our first stop meant we had to pass our intended fishing location as we hadn’t been to Llangollen to renew our licences due to the appalling weather we have experienced this year. Legally allowed to go fishing on the Dee the car was parked and we started to change into our waders. I was feeling butterflies in my stomach, it was exciting to be finally thinking of heading towards the river then the nagging doubts of have we got everything we need for the trip etc. were in my head until I actually saw the water and the stunning scenery. Heading to the water we saw Louis who was teaching and after a brief chat we looked at the water deciding where to start fishing. While Tenkara may be easy to set up and quickly start fishing Simon and I made it look anything but. We both seemed to be fingers and thumbs, I couldn’t fully extend my rod then I literally had to think about tying a knot I was feeling rather scatter brained and that was all before casting my new rod. The fast flowing river suggested a weighted nymph to deal with the flow so a hare’s ear with pink behind the bead was put on the end of my tippet. The rod and I seemed to be getting along fine though heavy gusts made casting upstream a chore so I opted for downstream casting while getting use to my new friend the TRY 390 from tenkara times. While the rod felt light and beautiful in hand the fish were not that obliging. I started generally searching the water then casting in the slacker water and close to the undercut bank thinking they were keeping out of the strong current. With nothing but cold feet I got out of the water for a warm and a natter but Simon wasn’t doing any better than me. On the opposite bank Simon pointed out what he thought was an otter in the distance using a well-used trail, only after walking downstream did it become clear that this was a large very dark coloured mink. Then a dipper flew downstream and I spent some time enjoying seeing this lovely little bird doing what dippers do before getting my mind back to fishing. Louis left and I returned upstream and started my way down the run while Simon continued further downstream. After a short time and after trying different manipulations which brought the same result of no fish to hand I decided to opt for a slightly heavier tungsten beaded red tag and try the faster sections of water I had ignored on my previous run. It meant wading deeper in the water but it was worth trying a different approach. After about 5 minutes I felt a nibble but I failed miserably in engaging the hook and the fish was free to go on his merry way. Another couple of steps and this time I was ready and to my extreme delight there was a fish on the end. It was obvious by the effort needed from me and by the bend in the rod that there was more than a tiddler on the end of my line. Firstly I took a deep breath, then I removed my gloves with my teeth then they were stuffed into my waders for safe keeping; now I was ready to bring the fish to net if needed. As the grayling came nearer I was enthralled by its beauty the depth of colour and that amazing dorsal fin which he used to great effect in the strong current, I hope to never tire of seeing and catching these beautiful creatures. To my relief the rod was more than capable of handling the grayling and he was soon in my net I was one very happy angler with a beaming smile on my face. On the other side of the river there were a group of rafters who said I was the first fishermen they had seen all day but it was nice seeing a decent fish being caught. I shouted for Simon just to let him know I caught a fish as he knew that I had changed fly. The rain was getting heavier together with the gusts of wind and we could see darker clouds coming our way so with one grayling each we headed home to see the rugby. My fish was 40cms while Simon's was around the pound mark so we were both happy to have finally got out of the house and fished the river.
Sonia.
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Post by orangeotter on Feb 23, 2014 18:45:41 GMT
Well done Sonia and Simon, under difficult conditions. I moved downstream below Newbridge and failed miserably which surprised me as I've caught there in higher water. What I did notice though was that the water was nice and clear where you were but definitely murky for me. This is strange as there's no trib's that I know of. There is a small stream at the head of my beat which often carries waste from Ruabon sewerage works so perhaps this was the cause.
Glad the new rod worked out well.
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Post by orangeotter on Feb 23, 2014 19:30:16 GMT
Just a test to get my head around picture uploads.
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Post by Simon on Feb 23, 2014 19:32:32 GMT
Photo looks great, I'll do an update to uploading photos using Photobucket this week depending on work in London.
Simon.
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Post by Paul G on Feb 24, 2014 8:31:15 GMT
Well done for getting out and fishing :-) Lovely result Sonia.
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Post by orangeotter on Mar 21, 2014 18:48:59 GMT
I had my first trouting trip of the season today under difficult conditions.It blew like hell most of the day with showers which made line control very difficult. The river at first sight seemed in good order but a check on the EA site this evening showed a slight lift, this was release water.
All I managed was a 10" trout on my favourite GRHE SK at the end of the day but very welcome indeed. Interestingly, I was using the Sasoi technique of holding back at intervals as it drifted downstream, which doesn't usually work for me. The downstream wind made this really the only sensible option.
There was only a smattering of olives and a few March Brown but no sign of fish moving to them.
Things can only get better and I'll visit this lovely beat at the top of the Llangollen waters when conditions improve.
Good luck to everyone on their first visits.
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Post by pedros on Mar 23, 2014 19:18:15 GMT
Hi Louis,
Interesting picture of the trotting gear - line coming off the top of the reel?
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Post by orangeotter on Mar 23, 2014 23:07:27 GMT
Well spotted Pedros - this is how most serious trotters set the reel up. The line is then close to the rod and in line with the guides, also, the line tends not to drop around the back of the reel. Clearly, most trotting reels have no line guards.
The down side to this set up is that you wind backwards to retrieve line, not a problem when you get used to it.
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Post by Simon on Mar 29, 2014 18:39:04 GMT
Saturday 29th March 2014. Yesterday we had thunder storms and heavy rain for most of the day, surprisingly the Alyn only came up a small amount but it did colour up so we decided to go to fish the Dee at Trevor. Being a larger river the odd storm has less effect on its levels which at this time is good. Arriving at the pub car park it was noticeable that there was going to be an upstream breeze / wind? But we decided to stick with the T rods and see how things develop. The trip down to the river is steep reminding us of the need at the end of the day of the climb back up. As we approached the river in bright sunshine loads of olives could be seen hatching off the surface against the dark background of the far tree covered bank, every now and then you could see fish jumping to take the airborne olive. We both set up with a dry light grey Mole fly, Sonia using a level line while I decided to use my 15ft olive furled leader that had been unused since last year. Very soon we were we were into fish, unfortunately all fish caught today were OFS Grayling, as the wind became stronger the casting became very easy the down side being both our eyes were streaming with tears caused by the wind. The fish were staying in just one area starting in the crease between the fast water and the dead side along with about 50mts downstream of this, many fish could be seen rising and jumping in the slower water on the far side, but for us these were unreachable. All the fish caught today were around 2lb. Sonia caught 3 and missed a few, I had around 10 and also missed fish also by the time we had to leave. Let’s hope this weather stays so we can keep with the fantastic dry fly fishing. Simon.
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Post by orangeotter on Mar 29, 2014 19:00:09 GMT
great session Simon, but if I can be pedantic, the upright fly is a March Brown - no wonder the fish went mad.
I'm still looking for my first hatch on the Dee -hard to judge when to be there. On the Usk recently they've hatched 4 times in the day, for 15 minutes each time.
Well done again !
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Post by orangeotter on Mar 31, 2014 8:59:02 GMT
Grabbed a couple of hours Sunday afternoon with hopes of emulating Simon and Sonia's great trip, but on a lower beat (Ddol Issa). Still the cold wind but fairly sunny and water up to 50 degrees. All I managed was 2 good grayling plus another turned over but I was happy to catch these on my favourite GRHE S/K. Very few flies hatching and not a single rising fish. The water level is being held recently at 0.69 mtrs (Erbistock) which I hold responsible for poor sport (despite Simon/Sonia's day). Another reason could be the flock of gooseanders which followed me about !!!
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Post by orangeotter on Apr 1, 2014 17:23:28 GMT
Had a difficult day on the Dee today, cold wing, brilliant sunshine and slightly coloured water, heavy rain last night. A smattering of olives, March Brown and the first Grannom of the year - not a single rising fish. Fished GRHE S/K for 3 hours to no avail so moved miles downstream below Newbridge to find a clearing water. A few March Browns at 2.45pm and at last, 2 rising fish. I tried one with the SK but no response - changed to a MB emerger and bingo, first cast, lovely trout of 3/4lb. Left the dry on and quickly caught another smaller trout. These were the only risers seen all day and to catch both was satisfying. The hatch died and to continue with the dry proved futile so back to SK with nil response. Good to be out but really hard work at present. I find that in the first few days of the Grannom fish are reluctant to move to them but the big hatches turn them on, it's just being on the river at the right time !
It seems from the forum that not many of us are getting out.
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