The Continuing Adventures of the Fluff Club, Episode 9
The real names and
places are disguised or hidden to protect the innocent.
The drive from home took 1 hour 40 minutes; leaving before 07.30 meant little traffic to interfere, the satnav just about made herself heard above my stereo and did her thing thus I arrived at the venue five minutes late for our agreed RDV of 09.00, … to find none of the others. Not that I expected many of the Fluff Club to turn out, those Fluff boys don't like to travel more than an hour away as I've mentioned before. I enjoy travelling, but not as much as fishing.
"Zut alors" I thought "les petit dejeuners!" remembering idle talk at the FDG (you know, the Fluff Club) tying evening a few days previously, discussing where to get breakfast en route.
I thought I should have a look round, this being an entirely new venue to us homies. The fishery is quite mature, formed by damming a watercourse of springs and run-off from the surrounding downs, there are five ponds ranging down the small valley, the lowest two being each larger than the three above them. Two other anglers were already fishing, so I spoke to one while on my tour, trying to glean some inside information. In places near the dam walls, the depths apparently get to 20 feet. I noticed while the water seems clear enough, it carries a strong tea tint throughout.
I hatched a plan to start at the highest and work through all five on the descent, giving each one half an hour to see what was what. Still no sign of the others, so I started to tackle up at the car, setting up a #6 intermediate outfit to fish lures and nymphs providing the ability to go deeper if required.
"Must be a cracking breakfast" I thought at 10.00 as I set off for the highest pool.
I cast out my pinkish Cats Whisker and it was taken on the drop! The trout fought long and hard and I was happy to eventually land it. It looked to be around the three-pound mark, fully finned and in great fettle, and although clearly a Rainbow the tint in the water had somehow given it an underlying bronze tone which made it very pretty indeed, markedly different to any other 'bow I've caught. Casting around it wasn't too long before I connected with a second, smaller fish, full of spirit and as it turned out, eggs. At first, I thought two pounds but after I stripped the eggs it was probably one pound nine ounces. Next up, a passing tree grabbed my back-cast and wouldn't let go of the fly. Luckily, I had another of that pattern in my box but willed myself to try to remember to tie up a few more. The first half hour was now up, so I headed for the next highest pool, having to pass the third highest to get to the second, following the track.
The usually trusty pinkish CW didn't work its magic here though, so I started to change flies, covering any fishy movements spotted on the surface. Twenty minutes or so later I covered a slight swirl with a #14 orange blob (yes, I've definitely moved to the dark side now) and immediately had a bow-wave follow but it petered out after a few yards.
A woman in farm overalls appeared, coming down the hillside. I guessed her to be Dawn, 50% of the management team named in the fishery office. She asked about the fishing, I told her about the two from above, but that the fish here were being much less obliging. She asked if I would object to a photograph, explaining she was trying to build the fishery's publicity using Facebook, I agreed "I'll just get my line in" and reeling, and as I was about to lift off a fish appeared, following the fly: I twitched the blob twice and it took! Another nice, hard-scrapping Rainbow, again carrying eggs and almost a twin to its predecessor. We flattened the bass bag on the grass, posed the three trout on it, along with the rod and reel, and Dawn took her shots; noticing the gear's brand name was visible Dawn said the fishery would hopefully "get another 'like' from Orvis".
The second half hour was up so I moved to the third and smallest water, where the guy I had spoken to earlier was now fishing. This pool is a bit snug, there are really only about three pegs to fish from.
In a while my companion hooked a lively fish and was getting close to the netting stage when I had a take to a 'fire and ice Nomad'. A double-up on this small pool! My fish was around two pounds but no eggs this time. This particular half hour wasn't up yet but I had covered all the water in front of me and felt it was time to move again.
Down the little valley to the fourth and biggest. I chose to fish from the dam, counting down to fish all the dark depths. The valley was somewhat wider now, and the swirling breeze started to pose problems to my casting from time to time, especially when blowing directly towards me. Hey ho, it wouldn't be so much fun if fishing was easy.
After a while I spotted a swirl straight out from me so tried the CW again and hooked up at only about three feet deep. Another fun fight with this fish once again around the two-pound mark; these trout really do look good, so colourful and less spotted than normal. A little while before I had realised I was a 'Billy-no-mates Fluff boy', but at least I was fishing - no domestic Sunday chores for me! (Yet)
With just a few minutes of this pond’s allocated slot remaining I thought about a half-hearted follow I thought I had detected a few casts ago and so decided to change the orange Blob to a different coloured one, and switched over to a white & yellow, size 14. Two or three casts later time was up, so I cast out all the line at my feet to wind it back onto the reel, but after winding a few feet the line began to tighten up and I was into my sixth trout, about the same stamp as before. By the time I netted it I realised I had actually gone over my self-imposed timing, so I hurried the short distance over the dam down to the final pool. The wind was stronger here but I hoped another fish might oblige. After a while I had another chase to a Blob but failed to hook up properly on the take, and with a swirl the fish was gone. A change to the opposite bank mitigated the problematic wind a little, and with another colour change there was a brief bow wave which soon subsided, but I decided time was up and started packing away, driving up the field to the 'office' to fill in the catch return. It started drizzling and kept up all the way home. On the way I mused that in the last few months I have mostly been tying size 16 nymphs and things, yet when I go fishing I'm usually using lures and blobs. Go figure.
Later that evening I checked my personal emails, not having bothered since Friday, and there it was, an email from the Professor: "This month's trip cancelled at short notice due to the forecast 35mph winds".
Breakfasts be blowed. (That's the polite version). There had been nothing like 35mph in that valley!
Apologies to the reader, not exactly a proper Fluff Club tale for you, but maybe next time?
The drive from home took 1 hour 40 minutes; leaving before 07.30 meant little traffic to interfere, the satnav just about made herself heard above my stereo and did her thing thus I arrived at the venue five minutes late for our agreed RDV of 09.00, … to find none of the others. Not that I expected many of the Fluff Club to turn out, those Fluff boys don't like to travel more than an hour away as I've mentioned before. I enjoy travelling, but not as much as fishing.
"Zut alors" I thought "les petit dejeuners!" remembering idle talk at the FDG (you know, the Fluff Club) tying evening a few days previously, discussing where to get breakfast en route.
I thought I should have a look round, this being an entirely new venue to us homies. The fishery is quite mature, formed by damming a watercourse of springs and run-off from the surrounding downs, there are five ponds ranging down the small valley, the lowest two being each larger than the three above them. Two other anglers were already fishing, so I spoke to one while on my tour, trying to glean some inside information. In places near the dam walls, the depths apparently get to 20 feet. I noticed while the water seems clear enough, it carries a strong tea tint throughout.
I hatched a plan to start at the highest and work through all five on the descent, giving each one half an hour to see what was what. Still no sign of the others, so I started to tackle up at the car, setting up a #6 intermediate outfit to fish lures and nymphs providing the ability to go deeper if required.
"Must be a cracking breakfast" I thought at 10.00 as I set off for the highest pool.
I cast out my pinkish Cats Whisker and it was taken on the drop! The trout fought long and hard and I was happy to eventually land it. It looked to be around the three-pound mark, fully finned and in great fettle, and although clearly a Rainbow the tint in the water had somehow given it an underlying bronze tone which made it very pretty indeed, markedly different to any other 'bow I've caught. Casting around it wasn't too long before I connected with a second, smaller fish, full of spirit and as it turned out, eggs. At first, I thought two pounds but after I stripped the eggs it was probably one pound nine ounces. Next up, a passing tree grabbed my back-cast and wouldn't let go of the fly. Luckily, I had another of that pattern in my box but willed myself to try to remember to tie up a few more. The first half hour was now up, so I headed for the next highest pool, having to pass the third highest to get to the second, following the track.
The usually trusty pinkish CW didn't work its magic here though, so I started to change flies, covering any fishy movements spotted on the surface. Twenty minutes or so later I covered a slight swirl with a #14 orange blob (yes, I've definitely moved to the dark side now) and immediately had a bow-wave follow but it petered out after a few yards.
A woman in farm overalls appeared, coming down the hillside. I guessed her to be Dawn, 50% of the management team named in the fishery office. She asked about the fishing, I told her about the two from above, but that the fish here were being much less obliging. She asked if I would object to a photograph, explaining she was trying to build the fishery's publicity using Facebook, I agreed "I'll just get my line in" and reeling, and as I was about to lift off a fish appeared, following the fly: I twitched the blob twice and it took! Another nice, hard-scrapping Rainbow, again carrying eggs and almost a twin to its predecessor. We flattened the bass bag on the grass, posed the three trout on it, along with the rod and reel, and Dawn took her shots; noticing the gear's brand name was visible Dawn said the fishery would hopefully "get another 'like' from Orvis".
The second half hour was up so I moved to the third and smallest water, where the guy I had spoken to earlier was now fishing. This pool is a bit snug, there are really only about three pegs to fish from.
In a while my companion hooked a lively fish and was getting close to the netting stage when I had a take to a 'fire and ice Nomad'. A double-up on this small pool! My fish was around two pounds but no eggs this time. This particular half hour wasn't up yet but I had covered all the water in front of me and felt it was time to move again.
Down the little valley to the fourth and biggest. I chose to fish from the dam, counting down to fish all the dark depths. The valley was somewhat wider now, and the swirling breeze started to pose problems to my casting from time to time, especially when blowing directly towards me. Hey ho, it wouldn't be so much fun if fishing was easy.
After a while I spotted a swirl straight out from me so tried the CW again and hooked up at only about three feet deep. Another fun fight with this fish once again around the two-pound mark; these trout really do look good, so colourful and less spotted than normal. A little while before I had realised I was a 'Billy-no-mates Fluff boy', but at least I was fishing - no domestic Sunday chores for me! (Yet)
With just a few minutes of this pond’s allocated slot remaining I thought about a half-hearted follow I thought I had detected a few casts ago and so decided to change the orange Blob to a different coloured one, and switched over to a white & yellow, size 14. Two or three casts later time was up, so I cast out all the line at my feet to wind it back onto the reel, but after winding a few feet the line began to tighten up and I was into my sixth trout, about the same stamp as before. By the time I netted it I realised I had actually gone over my self-imposed timing, so I hurried the short distance over the dam down to the final pool. The wind was stronger here but I hoped another fish might oblige. After a while I had another chase to a Blob but failed to hook up properly on the take, and with a swirl the fish was gone. A change to the opposite bank mitigated the problematic wind a little, and with another colour change there was a brief bow wave which soon subsided, but I decided time was up and started packing away, driving up the field to the 'office' to fill in the catch return. It started drizzling and kept up all the way home. On the way I mused that in the last few months I have mostly been tying size 16 nymphs and things, yet when I go fishing I'm usually using lures and blobs. Go figure.
Later that evening I checked my personal emails, not having bothered since Friday, and there it was, an email from the Professor: "This month's trip cancelled at short notice due to the forecast 35mph winds".
Breakfasts be blowed. (That's the polite version). There had been nothing like 35mph in that valley!
Apologies to the reader, not exactly a proper Fluff Club tale for you, but maybe next time?
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