Predators on the fly…
With the end of the coarse season nearing I fear I’ve had my last throw of the fly at the Pike, Perch and Chub until June 16th arrives. Each of the last two Saturdays I have been on the river with the fly rod.
The weekend before last I was hoping for some Pike action, whilst I was joined by Graham from Wildflies who took his 5wt in the hope that the milder weather had woken up the chub and perch. It was a lovely sunny spring day and whilst this isnt ideal for Pike, it wasnt long until I had a bend in the rod. A lean fish around 5lb taken from a large slack in the middle of a weirpool. We moved further downstream and I worked the fly back towards me, I was hit by a decent fish but it didnt stick. Luckliy next cast he came back for more. A lovely fish with plenty of weight to him!
As I recovered from the fight, Graham put his smaller fly through hoping a Perch might be lurking on the drop off. He was hit straight away and with the bend in the rod we were both hoping it was a stripey! It soon became clear it wasnt! Luckily the 8lb tippet held and he landed a nice Pike for the 5wt!
As the sun got brighter and brighter we struggled to catch much else. Graham was messing around with some bleak and minnows who were happy to attack small dry flies – a sure sign of spring! I had one other small fish, not much bigger than the fly but in mint condition!
Last Saturday Graham and I headed out again, this time both armed with 5wts. With the lack of Perch last time out we solely focused on them. We travelled to a small river not known for its Perch but we had seen them in the past. Again it was a gorgeous bright sunny day but we were hopeful!
Graham had the luck first of all with two lovely perch in quick succession.
A little further downstream I had a lovely fish, fat as they come and a true scrapper that really bent my cane!
Further on down I had two smaller fish on consectutive casts after seeing them swarming around my fly on the previous retrieve. A great day out but the venue must have been tough on our wading boots as both pairs fell apart, perhaps cutting the day a little short!
I can look forward to the trout and some trips to the coast in the coming months. Spring is definitley here!
AR…
