Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2012 19:10:02 GMT
Out on my local stretch of the Tolka this afternoon to have another go dry fly fishing with the Tenkara rod.
The river has dropped 1.5' since I was there on Monday and is running crystal clear again.
First stop was my "hotspot" from Monday. Bit of a change today, in that the hole that held all the fish is now only about 8" deep. I had a mooch around the pool and took advantage of the low water to explore under the trees (and retrieve a couple of flies i'd lost there last week !). A couple of fish rising, but I managed to put them all down while trying to bow cast under the trees ;D
Downstream from the same spot is another deep pool with some nice fast runs into it...no joy here either.
Couple of yards downstream is another shallow run that normally holds a few fish. Couldn't tempt any rises here, so things were not looking good for this trip..
Final stop today is another nice shallow run. Dropped the fly into the water as I put the camera away only to have it inhaled by a 4" trout right at my feet ! A fluke, but at this stage I'm just happy to see a fish
Started fishing upstream and found a pod of fish in the shade of the tree and Giant Hogweed.
I took six fish up to 3/4lb from the same 6 sq foot of water here.
It took 15 mins of persistant casting and fly changes to get the largest fish. Exciting stuff watching this fish approach and refuse the fly. Another decent fish moved out of the tree branches, but I decided to leave them in peace for today.
The wind was an issue today with strong upstream gusts switching to down and across at random. Lots of wind knots, but I managed to get the flies where I wanted. I'm finding the Tenkara rod excellent for presentation, with very little water disturbance from the level line.
I've only used 3wt and 4wt Western lines before, and there is no way I can get this kind of presentation with them. Again, I've only been fly fishing for a few months, so my casting is still heavy handed Not sure how it would compare for a more experienced angler.
No fish pictures today, as they were all played fast and unhooked in the water.
Very heavy rain forecast for tomorrow, so it'll probably be a few days before I get back to the river. I'll be bring the rod further upstream into the wilder sections of the river, so hopefully I'll be able to find some of the better wild fish there.
Well done for reading this far ;D
Adrian.
The river has dropped 1.5' since I was there on Monday and is running crystal clear again.
First stop was my "hotspot" from Monday. Bit of a change today, in that the hole that held all the fish is now only about 8" deep. I had a mooch around the pool and took advantage of the low water to explore under the trees (and retrieve a couple of flies i'd lost there last week !). A couple of fish rising, but I managed to put them all down while trying to bow cast under the trees ;D
Downstream from the same spot is another deep pool with some nice fast runs into it...no joy here either.
Couple of yards downstream is another shallow run that normally holds a few fish. Couldn't tempt any rises here, so things were not looking good for this trip..
Final stop today is another nice shallow run. Dropped the fly into the water as I put the camera away only to have it inhaled by a 4" trout right at my feet ! A fluke, but at this stage I'm just happy to see a fish
Started fishing upstream and found a pod of fish in the shade of the tree and Giant Hogweed.
I took six fish up to 3/4lb from the same 6 sq foot of water here.
It took 15 mins of persistant casting and fly changes to get the largest fish. Exciting stuff watching this fish approach and refuse the fly. Another decent fish moved out of the tree branches, but I decided to leave them in peace for today.
The wind was an issue today with strong upstream gusts switching to down and across at random. Lots of wind knots, but I managed to get the flies where I wanted. I'm finding the Tenkara rod excellent for presentation, with very little water disturbance from the level line.
I've only used 3wt and 4wt Western lines before, and there is no way I can get this kind of presentation with them. Again, I've only been fly fishing for a few months, so my casting is still heavy handed
Not sure how it would compare for a more experienced angler.No fish pictures today, as they were all played fast and unhooked in the water.
Very heavy rain forecast for tomorrow, so it'll probably be a few days before I get back to the river. I'll be bring the rod further upstream into the wilder sections of the river, so hopefully I'll be able to find some of the better wild fish there.
Well done for reading this far ;D
Adrian.
. There are also the urban cowboys who come charging through the river a couple of times a day. Any cities in the UK have hoodies on horseback ?