It's that time of year again on the Chew, what the fish and fly fisherman has been waiting for ...

Got back from Cornwall Sunday night and my wife allowed me to indulge on Monday night as I was desperate to get out and fish in the summer weather. The Chew came up trumps after a slow start. The Mayfly increased throughout the evening and in the last hours of daylight I was festooned in Danica with fish leaping everywhere. Funnily enough my first couple of fish were not trout but Dace and small Chub but soon the wild Brownies began to dominate. Most of the fish I caught were getting on for a pound with a couple of larger fish. Having fished the stretch many times earlier in the year I just couldn't believe the numbers of trout this little river sustains which are rarely so visible. On one shallow stretch in the low water I clocked nearly a dozen fish jostling for position at the tail of a pool all over 12 inches in length. Needless to say I used just a dry fly in the form of a Parachute Adams or olive Klink and tried to focus on the larger fish with my casting. I ended up with over 20 in the net and some large ones evaded capture. 

 

Cornish Coarse on the fly

Just spent glorious week in Cornwall. Not much fishing other than dabbling with a bit of coarse fly fishing on a local campsite lake - that was until I was told it was banned due to health and safety reasons. While it lasted I caught Roach and Rudd on the dry and nymph. I have to say most sport came with some tiny bread flies I tied for Mullet but I did get sport on some Size 16 pink Grayling nymphs and parachute flies. The Rudd were incredibly fast and enjoyable to fish for on the fly even though none were more than palm sized. My brother caught a couple of nice Carp, one on my Size 10 bread flies linked to a bubble float. 

Surf was uninspiring with best session a 3-4ft day at Crantock which was sheltered from the predominant NW wind. The weather however was in the main great with endless days on the beach rockpooling, bodyboarding and relaxing with the family.

My son Henry paddleboarding up the Gannel at Crantock.

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!

River Chew again - a few fish about but not always what I was after...

Sunny interspersed with sharp hail. Temperatures had dropped to just touching double figures and apart from the odd small upwinged Pale Watery flies not much insect life today. What did surprise me were the family of Dippers. The young were almost the size of the adults and dotted along the river bank waiting impatiently to get there next meal from the bedraggled parents. On the fishing front the shallow runs failed to produce any fish today although I did spook a big Rainbow in a riffle as I made my way up the river. First fish a good sized out of season Grayling which I wasn't too disappointed with. This was followed by a couple of nice Dace all on the nymph. I could see one of the Dace was gravid with eggs so to avoid disrupting their breeding any further I moved on.

Further downstream finally started to connect with a few wild trout. Only one took the dry and that was sunk so no real surface action. 

Mistle Thrush, Green Woodpecker, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail very vocal today. On my way I also saw Whitethroat and Skylark in the fields which was good to see. You might have noticed a different camera today - hoping to take some video but the hail put the fish and my videoing exploits down. My wife points out that the photos are all a bit repetitive and are they not all the same photos from one day. So I aim to mix it up a bit.