And finally the fish are on the dry on the Chew...

Afternoon on the Chew I fished almost exclusively with Olive Klink on short 7' leader. It was simple and effective at targeting the wild fish which hugged the banks and overhanging vegetation. The odd Mayfly was starting to emerge but the fish were not targeting them and rises were quite low key. The birdsong was wonderful today and the Dippers as bold as ever. I managed about half a dozen fish, nothing big, but it was good to be focused on the rising fish. Water low and lots of Otter tracks today in the mud. The weather was mild with hazy sunshine making my fly almost invisible in the faster runs with only a splash to indicate a take. Managed to get enough video footage today for a short edit which I hope is enjoyable watching - makes a change from photos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yezai3LPfTA&feature=share&list=UU_2d7dQIp6f2QhxWfZTZ3lA

River Chew gives up some lovely wild ones today

Late afternoon session on Chew. Arrived just when a good Large Dark Olive hatch was coming off. The fish weren't rising but were feeding sub-surface. In the first pool I must have caught half a dozen fish with two beauties one of about a pound and another even bigger. After the first hour things went quiet and only went on to catch a few more small parr. I did miss a head and tail rise on the dry from a big fish. Finished in a hail storm which was nice!

Not a bad start..

then it got better...

and better  - beautiful wild fish from the Chew

Bristol Frome - Smoltification. You what?

Spent the evening, after the hottest day of the year so far, fishing for a few hours on my local stretch of the Bristol Frome. Fished my usual pools and caught one on the dry and one on the nymph. I saw about half a dozen rises but the fish seemed a bit fussy not rising or taking just any fly. Big surprise was that one of the fish I caught in the evening was what I can only describe as a Smolt. It was a small feisty trout on steroids that once in the net was clearly a distinct silver bar. The fins were semi transparent with a dark edge. Why would any wild Brownie some 10 miles upstream of the sea, above perhaps ten weirs, an underwater culvert, and the barrier of Bristol Docks ever think smoltification to go to sea was ever a good idea! Is it in the genes of the population that every now again one of the resident fish will go all the way and transform to a Sea Trout? It did make me think of one other fish I'd previously caught that was distinctly different in colouration that could have also had the urge but the case was not as clear cut as this one (see my post 21/5/2012).  I wished it well on its downward journey and would like to think it would one day attempt its mammoth journey back up to one of my favoured pools with some extra saline muscle to put a bend in my 3 weight! Likelyhood is it will 'slob' out with all the other party goers down at the waterfront feeding on bread for the swans in Bristol Docks never to return. The resilience of nature never ceases to amaze me.

Not a great shot but the silver is unmistakeable

Friday fish on the Cam Brook - its all about the timing.

Hopes were high as I set off for Cam today. The sky was clear with some warmth coming through. Had to fish the morning as commitments mid afternoon needed me back on parental duties. The brook looked lovely with sporadic small rises early in the day. The vegetation was starting to take a hold and it won't be long before this little stream becomes almost unfishable as the canopy closes in. I found it hard today as tight casting and the odd gust of wind began to eat into my confidence. Its incredibly difficult to approach and cast to a rising fish on this stream and more often than not my first cast must have spooked fish. I missed several rises to the dry and lost two or three fish on the nymph within the first half an hour. After several hours of nothing, other than a dolls hand trapped in the roots of an alder which freaked me,  I finally connected with one small fish in a fast run to save the day. 

As I left there was a steady trickle of what I think were female Pale Watery duns (Baetis Fuscatus) coming off in a shallow stretch and I felt that the fish were just about to start feeding again but both time and enthusiasm had got the better of me. First Yelllowhammer of the year calling today in the valley.

A rare chance shot of  the spring canopy as I tried to catch the duns  in action!