Season Opener - Wellow post lockdown

Well long time coming but the day had come when fishing had been released from lockdown. One thing for it day off work and off to the river in the hope of some isolating indulgence. It had been a while so I relied on a list to remember my kit. The temps had dropped but there was still some warmth in the sunshine. Anyway here is how I got on:

Wellow on the dry.. lots of birds and bees going on.

Colder but the odd sunny interval following a bit of rain and a period of unseasonably strong winds. The Wellow remained fairly clear and as I slipped in the water I could see rises ahead which gave me hope. I immediately put on a dry and started to cover fish. Predominant hatches were Large Dark Olives. Within the first few casts I had targeted and hooked several beautiful browns on the dry. Although there were head and tail rises most were just sips creating dimples as the flies emerged. My go to dry is the klink and delivered today tempting 80% of the fish I targeted and bringing rises from blind casts in likely runs.

Lots of breeding birds today with Green Woodpecker nesting in an Alder above, another pair of Mandarin Ducks looking for hollowed trees and Kingfishers nesting high in an earth bank above a deeper pool. I settled on a log further upstream and a metre to my right was alerted by a Robin feeding its young between nettles in the bank. I am acutely aware of disturbance so never stop long to ensure the parents are not adversely affected. What surprised Red and myself today was the changes in the river from last season. Some new pools had been created where banks had been undercut and some old pools had now become runs where deposits had changed the river direction.

 

Pleasure to be out today with Red netting at least half a dozen trout obliging to the dry. First Mayfly also clocked drifting through the shady sunshine.

Not quite Mayfly madness but enjoyable nevertheless...

A few sessions recently. The Wellow has been fishing pretty hard I have to say, but my timing has been out as I only make the jaunt during the day. A few smaller trout on the nymph with small numbers of Mayfly trickling off and few rises. The scenery however is looking beautiful with birdsong and damsels all around.

The Bristol Frome of evening has been giving up its secrets as the Mayfly drift amongst the shady runs. Trout, Dace and Chub all making use of the bounty. Colossal struggle with a fine wild one that fell to the dry as the sun dropped. A few smaller trout and some really large Dace looking a bit worse for wear from spawning. This urban river never ceases to amaze.

A bit of Wellow heaven...

Beautiful run of weather for May with average temps at 25C. Spent lovely morning on Wellow fishing beat downstream of normal haunts. Lower section usually interrupted by angry Rainbows but not today. A lovely wild Brownie taking the nymph under a shady run.

Fishing was slow and very few rises. No upwings coming off despite mild weather. Mainly Caddis and Chiromonids in great rafts over the water. Moving upstream I came across a wonderfully wild section of Wellow with mixed cover and open gravel runs. Having fished a number of sections of the Wellow this area is about as good as it gets.

Beautiful Demoiselle

Went on to catch another two wild brownies on the nymph all relatively deep in oxygenated runs.

Wellow and Chew back to back

Beautiful weekend saw me fishing Wellow on Saturday with Red and on my own at River Chew on Sunday. Both days despite warm weather proved difficult with no Mayfly yet and just a few upwings coming off with very few rises. Masses of Chronomids in swarms over the rivers. After frustrating few hours on Wellow, with just one tiny par on the nymph, walking back to car a rise was spotted. Red handed me his rod all loaded up with a small dry black knat pattern, scramble down the bank, and a few casts later a lovely little brownie in the net. Stalking a fish like this makes it a special.

Sunday similar situation on Chew. Really difficult with few fish. Managed a couple of Grayling from fishing heavy nymphs in faster flow and a couple of small Brownies all sub surface. The Balsam seems to be less prevalent this year with the banks well covered in nettles. Hardly any sign of other fisher folk as I was cutting virgin trails through the undergrowth. Managed a swim in one pool which I was convinced was wadeable from previous visits, lesson learnt always be wary where you can't see the bottom as contours change dramatically each year.

2018 First Fish of the Wellow

Finally water had dropped a little for a nice afternoon session on Wellow. Overcast but mild the water was clear, but not gin clear. Tried the dry for a few rising fish but missed the takes as they were quick little rises from smaller fish. After the rises stopped went to nymph and connected with half a dozen fish in one turbulent pool all coming to the net. Best a lovely long slender Brownie of about 14 inches. I was pleased to hook a number of smaller fish some no longer than my finger which indicated the resident population were doing well. My final fish was on the dry a confident take mistaking my Klink for an LDO.

April afternoon on the Wellow

Spent pleasant afternoon on Wellow today with Red. Cooler but bright with still no significant rain since the season started. The water was low but not as low as the Chew with a cloudy tinge. Lots of algae coating the nymph also suggested that the quality was not perhaps what it should be. I guess with less water in the system concentrations of nitrates are higher. Still the fish were feeding but very wary. It was case of trying to make the first or second cast count as rises quickly disappeared even with the stealthiest of approaches. Grannom and the odd Yellow May coming off. I caught about half a dozen beautifully marked wild trout mainly on the nymph but a couple on the dry.

Kingfisher very active between the high banks. Dipper and Grey Wagtail also made an appearance. Without doubt one of the most beautiful streams in the Avon catchment.

Wellow beauty...

Red sorted me a guest ticket on Avon Tributaries section of the Wellow. Beautiful stretch nearer its confluence with the Cam downstream to the Knowle beat I am used to fishing. The fishing was not as easy as I was expecting and the wild fish were just not showing. After a change of fly to a green fluro shrimp pattern, on Red's recommendation, I picked up a nice stocked Rainbow in one of the deeper sections. Funny how that fly will probably be returned to the box and will not be used for another 12 months until I am left scratching my head.  Fantastic sunny day in a secluded valley on the outskirts of Bath.

Late Spring on the rivers around Bristol...

I have been fishing for wild Brownies at numerous locations during the late spring sunshine. Evenings or later in the afternoon have been the most productive. Although I have encountered the odd Mayfly hatch I really missed the main event on my local streams the Chew and Wellow. Nevertheless the fishing has been good with plentiful fish on both streams of fish up to a 1lb. I have to say though the larger fish have been a bit elusive - perhaps it has just been my timing. The Chew is now like a jungle and unfishable or inaccessible on my favourite stretches. The Wellow is not so extreme in terms of effort getting to the river but casting is severely restricted. Both streams are about as vibrant as they are all year with Damsels, flowering Water Crowfoot and plenty of young bird life.

A trip to the Culm a few weeks back proved tough with clear sunny skies but no obvious hatches left three of us scratching our heads on where the fish were. We managed a few on deeply fished nymphs but the Champerhaies beat was disappointing with very few rises or signs of trout in fairly cloudy low flowing water.

My local, local however just less than a mile from my door splitting the urban belt of North Bristol has really produced the goods with plenty of good size fish coming to the net all on the dry. Perhaps it is the timing as I fish this on evenings after work just before dusk. Amazingly saw some little wild Brownies rising in my Bradley Brook recently just a few hundred metres from house - I knew they would make it upstream but just how far I was never quite sure.

 

2014 Trout Season opener in the West Country

First trip out closer to home Red and I fished the Midford Brook and Wellow.  Red was first in to the fish on an Olive Klink. A dry fly enthusiast in all but the most difficult of conditions Red connected with a number of good sized wild brownies further upstream of me. I hooked with a good fish on the nymph but its silvery flanks led me to believe it was not a trout and it shook the hook in the fast current before I could net it. In the run Red had gained success I immediately netted a nice brownie which hammered the dry. What a great start. Shortly afterwards a real surprise a nice Grayling which came to the Klink again - I had no idea they were in this stream. 

After a few hours we moved up to the Wellow which I have to say looked pristine with a good clear flow and plenty of rising fish not to mention a number of small upwinged flies coming off. Stealthy fishing netted me a fair few beautiful brownies both to the dry on the shallower runs and to the nymph sunk deep into the pools. I love the meandering nature of this little brook as you turn a corner and see a dimpling in the corner of a pool. It taxes the mind of where to place that fly to seamlessly cover the fish and the all important first cast has to count.   The weather remained fairly dry if overcast for the day - its just a shame my Greys GRXi waders one season on couldn't give me the same comfort!

Wellow nymphing

Met up with Red and fished Wellow for a few hours. Stream in good shape with a healthy flow and crystal clear. The fish I caught were deep and getting the nymph down in the fast flow required some additional weight. Caught about a half a dozen fish, beautifully marked to match the gravel substrate.

We then fished one of the local lakes for carp on the fly but those fish have either become very wary or are just not interested in surface food. Last year tempting them was but this year it has been anything but. I had a few half hearted nosings but that was about it.

Wellow inspiration - fish on the dry, well not quite slightly wet but dry!

After Red had tipped me off the Wellow was fishing well we agreed to meet for an afternoon on this lovely little river. The water was high but clear and the bottom had been cleaned and scoured to perfection. Some runs almost chalk stream like in nature with the mottled pebbles and sandy banks giving way to beds of Rannuculus. First fish came to nymph which was immediately taken after it had risen to the dry.

Very few rises lead me to use a weighted nymph at one deep pool. I put a shot between the dry and nymph and let both sink on the dead drift after casting to the head of the pool. As it reached the deepest part of the pool my leader loop shot forward into another good fish. To my surprise it had taken the sunken Klink. I repeated this method to good effect with another two fish from within a meter of the first all taking the sunken dry. Clearly it was drifting enticingly just a foot or so of the bottom. Ended up with about a half dozen feisty wild fish of a good average size. The village of Wellow was buzzing with the flower festival, ramblers and cyclists.

And finally the rivers return to some normality - Wellow Friday fish

The sun was shining after nearly a months break as the rivers were almost unfishable on the fly. Fished the Wellow from about mid afternoon onwards. Lost count of the number of wild Brownies with most coming to an Olive dubbed Klink dry fly. At a couple of the deeper pools where there was no surface activity I twitched a heavy nymph through the deeper elements and hooked a couple of good fish. The Wellow seems to have a fairly consistent size of fish with most around 8"-10". Many have striking contrasting marks with creamy underbellies and heavily marked backs. Red and I fished two sections although the upper section has less pools and with still high water it was not easy to fish. Unfortunately stumbled across a mink at one point.

Southbourne Kayak and last light on Wellow

The last week or so has had more and more rain. I took a day off on the eve of the longest day for some sea kayak fishing on one of the few dry days recently. My brother and I launched from Southbourne with Black Bream and Mackerel the target. Unfortunately the light winds forecast were not sustained and before long we were trying to drift in 15 mph onshore winds with a swell to go with it. Despite several hours of jigging, feathering and bottom fishing, mainly with squid, we ended up with just two Mackerel. We had a few knocks on the squid but no hook ups. On the way back to Bristol I took slight diversion to the Wellow for the last two hours of light. The river was high but clear and fishing was tough. I clipped a the tail from a Paradun in the light after covering numerous fish without success. As soon as I had done this the fish started to come. Ended up with 4 wild Brownies to about 10 inches.

Yesterday went to the Wellow again but the water was too high and coloured. Red and I ended up at one of the lakes and despite several early plucks on a Shipmans I failed to catch. Red hooked a nice fish on a G&H Sedge. Loads of Carp near the surface but not really in a feeding mood. This week looks drier but I think it will be few days before the rivers are fishable on the fly.

2011 First Day on the Rivers - Wellow Brook

Beautiful spring day with river running pretty clear. Met up with fishing buddy Red and fished the Wellow. We started below the footbridge and worked our way upstream. I started on the nymph, a small dubbed Goldhead, and hooked a couple of fish but lost them. I'd snagged a few trees and the bottom a few times and could have really done with a hook sharpener. A rising fish in the first pool I was unable to tempt on the dry despite covering it several times. I tried a Klink but perhaps should have persevered with some more representative patterns. At one of my favoured pools I eventually  netted a few Brownies on a heavier Brassie Goldhead dropped into the turbulent water at the head and then twitched out through the crease. As I hooked a fish others would chase the hooked trout round the pool. The small trout were great sport on my little Odyssey jumping clear of the water and searching for every snag. Red concentrated on the dry using a Greenwells and although had a rise or two did not connect. In the end I'd netted four Brownies all around 8'-10' and had great afternoons fishing with good company. Drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker, first Willow Warbler and first Swallow of Spring 11 added to the day.