A day chasing the ladies

 

 After the Brown Trout season ends a few of the Association’s beats can still be fished for Grayling, until the end of January. By dint of using one of my guest tickets, Bri and I could spend a day chercher les dames! Upon our rendezvous we realised we had both fished here before, independently of each other and many years ago, by way of the gift of a day’s fishing bought from the Rod Box, once a major feature in fly fishing Hampshire. We recollected that back then the banks had been mown right to the edge, making the beat largely featureless. Nowadays, its nice to report, the Association’s keeper has very much ‘wilded’ the banks, carefully, so that there are some unfishable stretches and those that are fishable are from one bank or the other, not both.

It’s certainly full of fish throughout, the majority being wild Brown Trout, some already plainly up to a-pound-and-a-half. There were still many of the stockers too, left from earlier in the season. During the day I walked all of the beat, fishing hither and thither, and saw some Grayling, but only in ones or twos. The keeper later told us they do shoal up in a couple of swims, in steadier, deeper glides, but that was in hindsight, so will need another visit perhaps? All the fish were skittish if not downright spooky, and with wading not permitted on this particular beat, it means the fish see you on the bank usually before you see them, except where you can use background cover. Even then, as we both found out very soon, they don’t like casts, or worse still indicators, falling anywhere near them. B, however hooked a fish which shot out from beneath some ranunculus to the fly. It turned out to be a three-quarter pound Rainbow Trout, which ought to have been despatched but B was unaware of that requirement and had returned it. After the first hour and a bit we took off the indicators and reverted to straight-line upstream nymphing.

 You can’t make it up, but first cast with the more stealthy set-up featuring a green shrimp pattern, Bang! B was in. It turned out to be a lovely fourteen inch Grayling featuring deep crimson in its dorsal ‘flag’, a real Christmas cracker!

We split up, taking different banks at first. I’m happy to say that although B eventually out-fished me three to one, all of the fish fell to flies I tied, so I can’t really moan about being stuffed ‘at home’(theoretically a home water, he being an invitee, see?). For the time of year, the day was just about perfect: grey skies, no breeze, and temperatures hitting a high of an unseasonal 13 degrees C, so we enjoyed our repast (courtesy of B) at the picnic table in front of the fishing hut, watched by a Kestrel and some nearby sheep.

 Light began to fade soon after 14.30 as the cloud cover thickened, and the temperature began to fall. Try as I might I couldn’t get near those skittish Grayling, and had to work hard to avoid the OOS Brownies, but nil desperandum, I am still learning this particular water. B netted a three-quarter-pound Brown, and was pleased to have hit a slam on this beat, even if it wasn’t a grand one! An hour later found us back at the picnic table, discussing the day’s events and where we would fish next, when we were joined by the keeper, anxious to know how our day had been. We chewed the fat thoroughly, and it was enlightening to hear first-hand the troubles the EA are going through, caused in the main by cuts to budgets made by successive Parliaments. Let’s not go there, ‘tis the season to be of good cheer’!

 Happy Christmas! [The next post will be around New Year.]